Arctic dipole anomaly and summer rainfall in Northeast China

A dipole structure anomaly in summer Arctic atmospheric variability is identified in this study, which is characterized by the second mode of empirical orthogonal function （EOF） analysis of summer monthly mean sea level pressure （SLP） north of 70°N, accounting for 12.94% of the variance. The dipole anomaly shows a quasi-barotropic structure with opposite anomalous centers over the Canadian Arctic and the Beaufort Sea and between the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea. The dipole anomaly reflects alternating variations in location of the polar vortex between the western and eastern Arctic regions. The positive phase of the dipole anomaly corresponds to the center of the polar vortex over the western Arctic, leading to an increase in summer mean rainfall in Northeast China. The dipole anomaly has a predominant 6-year periodicity, and shows interdecadal variations in recent decades.     

Study on crustal, lithospheric and asthenospheric thickness beneath the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent areas

Based on the results of pure dispersions of Rayleigh wave tomography in the Qinghai-Tlbet Plateau and its adjacent areas, tsklng S wave velocities from previous linear inversion as the initial model, using the simulated annealing algorithm, a nonlinear simultaneous inversion has been carried out for S wave velocity and thickness of different layers, including the crust, the lithosphere and the asthenosphere. The results indicate： The crustal thickness shows strong correlation with geology structures sketched by the sutures and major faults. The crust is very thick in the Qinghal-Tibet Plateau, varying from 60 km to 80 kin. The Ilthospherlc thickness in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Is thinner （130-160 kin） than Its adjacent areas. And two blocks can be recognized, divided by an NNE strike boundary running between 90°E-92°E inside the plateau. Its asthenosphere is relatively thick, varies from 150 km to 230 kin, and the thickest area is located in the western Qiangtsng. India has a thinner crust （32-38 kin）, a thicker lithosphere of 190 km and a rather thin asthenosphere of only 60 kin. Sichuan and Tarlm basins have the crust thickness less than 50 kin. Their Iithospheres are thicker than the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and their asthenospheres are thinner. A discussion has been made on the character and formation mechanism of the typical crust-mantle transition zone in the western Qiangtsng block.     

Meridional seesaw-like distribution of the Meiyu rainfall over the Changjiang-Huaihe River Valley and characteristics in the anomalous climate years

Although Meiyu rainfall has its in-phase spatial variability over the Changjiang-Huaihe River Valley (CHRV) in most years, it is distributed in some years like a seesaw to the north and south of the Changjiang River, when the precipitation tends to be nearly normal throughout the valley, which would inevitably increase difficulties of making short-term prediction of the rainfall. For this reason, EOF analysis is made on 15 related stations’ precipitation from June to July during 1951─2004, revealing that the EOF2 mode shows largely a north-south seesaw-like pattern, and thereby classifying Meiyu patterns into two types: "northern drought and southern flood (NDSF)" and "northern flood and southern drought (NFSD)". Afterwards, the authors investigated ocean-atmospheric characteristics when these two anomalous types occured using the NCEP reanalysis (version 1) and the extended reconstructed SSTs (version 2). The results show that in the NDSF years, the low-level frontal area and moisture convergence center lie more southward, accompanied by weaker subtropical summer mon- soon over East Asia, with the western Pacific subtropical high and 200 hPa South Asia High being more southward. Both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere Annular Modes are stronger than normal in preceding February; SST is higher off China during boreal winter and spring and the opposite happens in the NFSD years. Also, this seesaw-form Meiyu rainfall distribution might be affected to some degree by the previous ENSO event.     

Response of soil heat-water processes to vegetation cover on the typical permafrost and seasonally frozen soil in the headwaters of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers

The response of soil temperature and moisture to vegetative cover in the active layer of permafrost and seasonally frozen soil were assessed and compared. Soil temperature and moisture, under a range of vegetation covers (92%, 65% and 30%) in the permafrost and vegetation covers (95%, 70%―80%, 40%―50% and 10%) in the seasonally frozen soil, were measured on a daily basis. A decline in vege-tation cover led to a decrease in the integral of freezing depth of active permafrost layer, but an in-crease in seasonally frozen soil. The maximum invasion depth and duration of the negative isotherm during the frozen period and of the positive isotherm during the non-frozen period clearly increased when vegetation cover declined. With a reduction of vegetation cover, the soil moisture in the active layer of the permafrost decreased for depths of 0.20―0.60 m, but increased for depths of 0.60―0.80 m, while for seasonally frozen soil, soil moisture of the entire profile (0.10―1.20 m) increased. Variation in vegetation cover alters soil heat-water processes, but the response to it is different between permafrost and seasonally frozen soil.     

The early Holocene optimum inferred from a hish-resolution pollen record of Husuansyan Maar Lake in southern China

A high-resolution pollen record of the past 13000 a from Huguangyan Maar Lake reveals the vegetation and environment changes in southern China during the Holocene. It shows that （i） pollen percentage of trees and shrubs reached 56% during the early Holocene （11600-7800 cal a BP）, of which the pollen percentage of tropical trees reached a maximum at 9500-8000 cal a BP, reflecting a hot and wet environment; （ii） during the mid-Holocene （7800-4200 cal a BP）, the pollen percentage of montane coniferous trees and herbs increased, while the percentage of tropical-subtropical trees decreased, indicating lower temperature and humidity; （iii） in the late Holocene spanning from 4200 to 350 cal a BP, the pollen percentage of herbs and montane conifer increased significantly, indicating a marked decrease of temperature and humidity. Our pollen data reveal that the time period 9500-8000 cal a BP in southern China represents a climatic optimum for the Holocene characterized by hot and wet conditions. This is consistent with the Holocene optimum found in lower latitude regions globally. We speculate that strong insolation might cause the northward migration of the ITCZ and subtropical summer monsoon front, which resulted in an early Holocene optimum in the Huguangyan area. The dry tendency and climate fluctuations of the middle and late Holocene could be associated with a decrease in solar insolation and frequent ENSO event.     

Estimation of wind erosion rates by using 137Cs tracing technique: A case study in Tariat-Xilin Gol transect, Mongolian Plateau

Wind erosion is one of the major environmental problems in semi-arid and arid regions. Here we established the Tariat-Xilin Gol transect from northwest to southeast across the Mongolian Plateau, and selected seven sampling sites along the transect. We then estimated the soil wind erosion rates by using the 137Cs tracing technique and examined their spatial dynamics. Our results showed that the 137Cs inventories of sampling sites ranged from 265.63=44.91 to 1279.54=166.53 Bq. m-2, and the wind erosion rates varied from 64.58 to 419.63 t. km-2. a-~ accordingly. In the Mongolia section of the transect （from Tariat to Sainshand）, the wind erosion rate increased gradually with vegetation type and climatic regimes; the wind erosion process was controlled by physical factors such as annual precipitation and vegetation coverage, etc., and the impact of human activities was negligible. While in the China section of the transect （Inner Mongolia）, the wind erosion rates of Xilin Hot and Zhengxiangbai Banner were thrice as much as those of Bayannur of Mongolia, although these three sites were all dominated by typical steppe. Besides the physical factors, higher population density and livestock carrying level should be responsible for the higher wind erosion rates in these two regions of Inner Mongolia.     

基于GWR模型的中国NDVI与气候因子的相关分析

在ArcGIS支撑下, 基于1982-2010年8 km分辨率的AVHRR NDVI及气温和降水数据, 应用最小二乘法和地理加权回归方法, 构建中国NDVI与气候因子的地理加权回归模型, 定量分析中国NDVI与气温和降水的相互关系, 获取各个回归参数的空间格局, 并将模拟结果与全局性回归结果进行对比。结果表明, 与线性回归模型相比, 地理加权回归模型的拟合效果显著提高, 拟合优度从0.3提高到0.6。气候因子对NDVI的影响具有空间异质性: 从北到南, 气候因子对NDVI的影响逐渐减小; 西北内陆等干旱荒漠地带, 气候因子对NDVI的影响较大。对中国大部分地区而言, 气温对NDVI的影响超过降水。各区NDVI与主导气候因子发生作用的特征尺度不同。     

A comparative study of n -alkane biomarker and pollen records: an example from southern China

We report the results of a comparative study of n-alkane biomarkers and pollens in lacustrine and peat deposits at Dingnan, Jiangxi Province in southern China, and discuss the likely causes for the discrepancy in the interpretations of the n-alkane biomarker and pollen records in terms of climate and vegetation change. The results show that past changes in climate and vegetation revealed by the n-alkane record are not always consistent with the pollen assemblage record in the whole section. Biomarkers do not permit direct identification of the plant family and/or genus and mainly record compositions of local plant remains, while pollens mainly reflect the regional vegetation change. Biomarkers and pollen records complement each other, providing a better picture of local and regional environments. Furthermore, biomarkers are more sensitive than pollen to climatic and vegetational change. Several climatic events are clearly identified by the n-alkane biomarker proxies, such as C₃₁/(C₂₇+C₂₉+C ₃₁) ratio and can be correlated to the North Atlantic Heinrich event, B/A, YD and two dry-cool events during the early Holocene such as the periods of 9850 to 9585 cal a B.P. and 8590 to 7920 cal a B.P. These events are consistent with those found in the surrounding regions, suggesting that the regional climate was coupled with global-scale abrupt climatic events. Our results suggest that biomarker and pollen data can record the more detailed climate and vegetation information, thus improving the resolution and precision of vegetation and climate reconstruction. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40602004) and National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2004CB720200)     

Records of volcanic events since AD 1800 in the East Rongbuk ice core from Mt. Qomolangma

Continuous Bi profile of the East Rongbuk (ER) ice core near Mt. Qomolangma reveals nine major volcanic events since AD 1800. Compared with Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), it shows that the concentrations of Bi in the ER ice core can reflect the major volcanic events within the key areas. This provides a good horizon layer for ice core dating, as well as a basis for reconstructing a long sequence of volcanic records from the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau ice cores. Supported jointly by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB411501), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 90411003), Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX3-SW-344) and Hundred Talents Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences     

River discharge changes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

THE QINGHAI-TIBET PLATEAU IS SENSITIVE TO GLOBAL CLI- MATE CHANGES, AND ITS MEAN WARMING AMPLITUDE DURING THE PAST 50 YEARS IS GREATER THAN THAT OF THE NORTHERNHEMISPHERE AND OTHER REGIONS IN THE SAME LATITUDE[1,2]. DUE TO ITS SPECIFIC GEOMORPHIC CONDITIO…     

Nitrogen isotopic composition of plant-soil in the Loess Plateau and its responding to environmental change

The nitrogen isotope of soil is of emerging significance as an indicator of climatic change and biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen in nature systems. In this paper, the nitrogen content and isotopic composition of modern ecosystems from arid and semiarid Loess Plateau in northwestern China, including plant roots and surface soil, were determined to investigate trends in δ15N variation of plant roots and soil along a precipitation and temperature gradient in northwestern China under the East Asian Monsoon clim...     

Diurnal variations of summer precipitation in Beijing

Climatic characteristics and secular trends of diurnal variations of summer precipitation in Beijing are studied using hourly self-recording rain-gauge data during 1961-2004. The results show that both rainfall amount and rainfall frequency present high values from late afternoon to early morning and reach the minima around noon. Two separate peaks can be identified in the high value period, one in the late afternoon and the other in the early morning. Taking the rainfall duration into account, it is found that the rainfall during late afternoon to midnight mainly comes from the short-duration rainfall events （an event of 1-6 hours in duration）, while the rainfall during midnight to early morning is accumulated mostly by the long-duration rainfall events （an event that lasts longer than 6 hours）. In the recent 40 years, the summer precipitation in Beijing has been considerably restructured. The total rainfall amount of short-duration events has increased significantly, while the total rainfall amount of Iong-duration events has decreased.     

Statistic characteristics of severe convective storm during Warm-Season in the Beijing-Tianjin region and its vicinity

This study analyzed the climatological characteristics of severe convective storms in the Beijing and Tianjin region and its vicinity based on the Doppler radar data of Tanggu during May-August of 2003-2007. The climatological characteristics, e.g. storm area, volume, top height, max reflectivity, life time and motion, are analyzed. The results include： 75% of all storms in the Beijing-Tianjin region last no more than 30 minutes, and most storms have a volume less than 400 kin3; most storms move from southwest to northeast while the speed is between 10-30 km/h; the mean storm top height is about 6 km, but some strong convective storms can have a top height larger than 15 kin; finally, storm area and volume have a similar geographical distribution character showing increasing trends from west to east. Compared with the statistic results based on the conventional surface meteorological observations, the results based on the radar data can present not only 3D spatial statistic results of convective storms （e.g., volume and top height）, but also the quantitative climatological characteristics, such as the lifetime and speed distributions. These statistical results are useful for studying the climatic characteristics of convective storms in the Beijing-Tianjin region and its vicinity.     

The program structure designing and optimizing tests of GRAPES physics

According to the modularization and standardization of program structure in Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System （GRAPES）, the plug-compatible and transplantable regional meso-scale and global middle-range physics software package is established. The package＇s component integrality is comparative with the other advanced models physics. A three-level structure of connecting GRAPES physics and dynamic frame has been constructed. The friendly interface is designed for users to plug in their own physics packages. Phenomenon of grid-point storm rainfall in numerical prediction is analyzed with the numerical tests. The scheme of air vertical velocity calculation is improved. Opti- mizing tests of physics schemes are performed with the correlative parameters adjusting. The results show that the false grid-point storm rainfall is removed by precipitation scheme improving. Then the score of precipitation forecast is enhanced.     

Climatic significance of δ18O records from precipitation on the western Tibetan Plateau

Analysis of daily precipitation samples for stable oxygen isotopes （δ^18O） collected at the Shiquanhe and Gerze （Gaize, Gertse） stations in the Ngari （Ali） region on the western Tibetan Plateau indicates that air temperature affects the δ^18O variations in precipitation at these stations. In summer, Shiquanhe and Gerze show strongly similar trends in precipitation δ^18O, especially in simultaneous precipitation events. Moreover, both stations experienced low δ^18O values in precipitation during the active monsoon period, resulting from the southwest monsoon （the summer phase of the Indian monsoon）. However, during the break monsoon period （during the summer rainy season, when the monsoon circulation is disrupted）, δ^18O values in summer precipitation remain relatively high and local moisture recycling generally controls the moisture sources. Air temperature correlations with δ^18O strengthen during the non-monsoon period （January--June, and October--December） due to continental air masses and the westerlies. In addition, evaporation also influences the δ^18O variations in precipitation. The observed temporal and spatial variations of δ^18O in precipitation on the western Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions show that the late May and early June-the late August and early September time frame provides an important period for the transportation of moisture from various sources on the Tibetan Plateau, and that the region of the West Kunlun-Tanggula Ranges acts as a significant climatic divide on the Plateau, perhaps for all of western China.     

Millennial temperature reconstruction based on tree-ring widths of Qilian juniper from Wulan, Qinghai Province, China

The climate of the past 1000 years is an important context for evaluating the recent climate warming. However, there are few 1000-year-long climate reconstructions with annual resolution in the Qinghal-Tibet Plateau. In this paper, a dendroclimatic analysis was conducted for the radial growth of Qilian juniper from the upper forest limit in Wulan, Qinghai Province. The results of correlation analysis between the tree-ring widths and the climate variables indicate that the growth of junipers at the upper forest limit is mainly limited by low temperatures of September, November and February of the pregrowth season, and July of the current growth season. There is no significant correlation between the tree-ring widths and precipitation. A mean temperature from the previous year＇s September to the current year＇s April was reconstructed for the Wulan area since A.D. 1000. The reconstruction can explain 40.8% of the instrumental variance in the calibration period （1856-2002）. The reconstruction shows that the 20th century is the warmest 100 years, and the 1990s is the warmest decade during the past 1000 years, while the coldest 100 years and decade occur at 1600-1699 and 1642-1651, respectively. The variations are verified well by the temperature reconstruction of the middle Qilian Mountain （QL） and the total organic carbon （TOC） in the Qinghai Lake sediments. The comparison of our reconstruction with the annual temperature reconstruction of extra-tropical Northern Hemisphere suggests that the climate of Wulan during the Medieval Warm Period is of obvious regional specialty, but there was a good response to the climate of hemispheric scales during the recent 400 years.     

Vegetation evolution on the central Chinese Loess Plateau since late Quaternary evidenced by elemental carbon isotopic composition

There are many controversial issues in loess studies such as natural vegetation types on the Chinese Loess Plateau during the historical periods and the spatial and temporal evolution of C3/C4 plants. Elemental carbon isotopic composition （δ^13Cec） in the loess section may offer new evidence for these problems. Elemental carbon （EC） is produced by incomplete combustion of vegetation, and its carbon isotopic composition has a very small difference from that of the formal vegetation, then δ^13Cec can be used as a record to recover the changes of vegetation. Elemental carbon was extracted by applying the oxidation method from the Ioess-paleosol sequence in the central Chinese Loess Plateau, and its car- bon isotope composition was analyzed by the isotope mass spectrometer. The results showed that the vegetation in this region was a mixed type of C3 and C4 plants, dominated with C3 plants in most of the time. Since late Quaternary, C3/C4 plants may not follow a simple glacial-interglacial cycle mode on the Chinese Loess Plateau, but showing fluctuations. C3 plants increased gradually in L4 period, and more C3 plants occurred during $3 period, and C4 plants increased again during L3-- L2 periods, after that, Cs plants dominated again during S1 --S0 periods. During periods of paleosol development, C3 plants were abundant in S3 and S1, and there were more Ca plants in S2 and SO. During periods of loess sedimen- tation, there were more C3 plants in L4 and L1, and there were more C4 plants in L3 and L2. On the orbital timescale, the vegetation variations revealed by δ^13Cec record are consistent with the results of pollen data and also similar to the results obtained by organic carbon isotopic composition since the last glacial period.     

A new approach to the generation of initial perturbations for ensemble prediction: Conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation

Conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP）, which is a natural extension of singular vector （SV） into the nonlinear regime, is applied to ensemble prediction study by using a quasi-geostrophic model under the perfect model assumption. SVs and CNOPs have been utilized to generate the initial perturbations for ensemble prediction experiments. The results are compared for forecast lengths of up to 14 d. It is found that the forecast skill of samples, in which the first SV is replaced by CNOP, is comparatively higher than that of samples composed of only SVs in the medium range （day 6-day 14）. This conclusion is valid under the condition that analysis error is a kind of fast-growing ones regardless of its magnitude, whose nonlinear growth is faster than that of SV in the later part of the forecast. Furthermore, similarity Index and empirical orthogonal function （EOF） analysis are performed to explain the above numerical results.     

Ages and tectonic significance of the collision-related granite porphyries in the Lhunzhub Basin, Tibet, China

The Paleocene collision-related granite porphyries are identified for the first time along the western margin of the Lhunzhub Basin, Tibet. SHRIMP U-Pb zircon analysis indicates that the granite porphyries were emplaced at 58.7±1.1 Ma (MSWD = 0.79) during the Indo-Asian continental collision. The granite porphyries are peraluminous and high in K, belonging to the calc-alkaline to high-K calc-alkaline series. They are relatively enriched in LILE, Th and LREE and depletion in Ba, Nb, P and Ti, characterized by LREE-enriched patterns with slightly to moderately negative Eu anomalies. These Paleocene granite porphyries are interpreted as the products generated by partial melting of the pre-existing arc crustal rocks caused by the increase of pressures and temperatures during the crustal shortening at the early stages of the Indo-Asian continental collision since 65 Ma. Despite inherited geochemical features and tectonic settings of the arc protoliths, they are significantly different from the volcanic rocks of the Dianzhong Formation within the Linzizong Group and the Miocene granite por- phyries in the Gangdise belt.     

Comparison of the carbon isotope composition of total organic carbon and long-chain <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-alkanes from surface soils in eastern China and their significance

Surface soil samples collected over a high spatial resolution in eastern China were analyzed for carbon isotope composition （δ^13C） of total organic carbon （TOC） and higher plant-derived long-chain n-alkanes, with the latter reported as weighted mean values. The two sets of δ^13C values are significantly correlated and show similar trends in spatial variation. The spatial distribution of δ^13C shows less negative values in the mid-latitudes between 31°N and 40°N and more negative ones at higher and lower latitudes. This is consistent with previously reported carbon isotope data from surface soil phytoliths in the same region and suggests that the mid-latitude area provides relatively favorable growing condi- tions for C4 plants. Furthermore, δ^13C values of both TOC and long-chain n-alkanes from 12 surface soil samples collected from a small grassland in north China displayed similar carbon isotope values and the difference between paired δ^13C of a soil samples remains relatively constant. Our data demonstrate that in eastern China, soil δ^13C composition of both TOC and long-chain n-alkanes is effective indicators of C3/C4 ratios of the prevailing vegetation. This work suggests that -22‰ and -32‰ are good es- timated end members for the weighted mean δ^13C values of long-chain n-alkanes （C27, C29 and C31 n-alkanes） from soils under dominant C4 or C3 vegetation, allowing us to reconstruct paleovegetation trends.