Spatiotemporal vegetation cover variations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau under global climate change

Empirical Orthogonal Function （EOF） analysis and the related Principal Components （PC） analysis are used to extract valuable vegetation cover derived information from the National Oceanic and Atmos-pheric Administration （NOAA-AVHRR）＇s Leaf Area Index （LAI） satellite images. Results suggest that from 1982 to 2000 global climate change has contributed to an increase in vegetation cover in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The correlation between rainfall and LAI EOF PC1 and PC2 indicates that rainfall is the major climatic factor influencing interannual variations of average vegetation cover throughout the entire Plateau. However, annual mean vegetation cover trends in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are mainly out of phase with air temperature increasing, which is primarily responsible for nonsynchro-nous changes of vegetation cover. In the southern ridge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, recent warming trends contribute to humid weather and favorable conditions for vegetation growth. By contrast, higher temperatures have led to arid conditions and insufficient rainfall in the northern part of the Plateau, leading to drought and other climatic conditions which are not conducive to increased vegetation cover.     

Meiyu in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River since 1736

＂Yu Xue Fen Cun＂ records during the Qing Dynasty are used to identify the starting and ending dates of Meiyu at the period of 1736-1911. These results, along with the instrumental meteorological records, are used to reconstruct the series of length and precipitation of Meiyu during 1736-2000 over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The characteristics of Meiyu are analyzed since 1736. Moreover, the strength of East Asian Summer Monsoon and locations of rainband are discussed, based on the relationship between the length of Meiyu and the Index of East Asian Summer Monsoon. It is found that the starting and ending dates and the length of Meiyu have significant interannual and interdecadal variations. Apart from 7-8 years, 20-30 years and 40 years cycles for the lengths of Meiyu, the centennial oscillation is also presented. The length of Meiyu, monsoon rainband movement over eastern China, and the strength of East Asian Summer Monsoon （EASM） have a very good correlation, which can be expressed in the following： during the periods of 1736-1770, 1821-1870 and 1921-1970, the EASM was stronger, and the monsoon rainband was located in North China and South China easily, corresponding to the decreased length of Meiyu. Whereas during the periods of 1771-1820, 1871-1920 and 1971-2000, the EASM was weaker and monsoon rainband usually stopped at the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, corresponding to the increased length of Meiyu.     

Nd isotopic variations and its implications in the recent sediments from the northern South China Sea

The chondrite-normalized REE distribution patterns in recent sediments from the northern South China Sea and surrounding areas are similar, with the HREE values being almost equal to or slightly higher, and the La_N/Lu_N ratio being lower, than PAAS standards. However, samples from the Xijiang River, a major branch of the Pearl River system, show opposite trends, i.e., with slightly lower HREE values and higher La_N/Lu_N ratio than PAAS. The distribution of Nd isotopes in sediments from the northern South China Sea was controlled by the Pearl River and the inshore area of South China, respectively. The volume of ε_Nd(0) from inshore areas of southern China is apparently higher than that from the Pearl River, and ε_Nd(0) values in offshore sediments and Taiwan Island are between these values. The results clearly show that ε_Nd(0) volume in the northeastern South China Sea is higher than in the southwest part of the northern South China Sea, indicating different source rock types. The main source rock of the Pearl River sediment is carbonate types and affects sediment deposition in the southwest of the northern South China Sea, while the source rock in the inshore area of southern China, mainly Mesozoic and Cenozoic granites, contributes to sediments in the northeastern area of the northern South China Sea. Due to different source rock types, the HREE values and the volume of ε_Nd(0) in recent sediments supplied by the inshore area of southern China are higher than those from the Pearl River. Over 80% of the rapidly accumulated sediments on the northern slope of the South China Sea in the southeast of Dongsha Islands area were derived from Taiwan Island and from inshore areas of South China, with only less than 20% from the Pearl River. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40276019, 40238060 and 40621063), and National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB819501)     

Interdecadal shift in the western North Pacific Summer SST anomaly in the late 1980s

An interdecadal shift in summer (June―August) sea surface temperature (SST) variations during the period of 1968―2002 was identified in the late 1980s, which is characterized by a phase alternating from negative to positive phases of the leading mode of the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the summer monthly mean SST in the Pacific domain 100°―180°E and 0°―40°N, accounting for 30.5% of the total variance. During the period of 1968―1987, the leading mode with a mean negative phase state (mean standard deviation = ?0.586) controlled SST variability in the western North Pacific. Correspondingly, negative SST anomalies occupied the western North Pacific south of Japan and Chinese marginal seas. During the period of 1988―2002, the leading mode shifted to its strong positive polarity (mean standard deviation = 0.781), thus positive SST anomalies appeared in the western North Pacific. Accompanied by the interdecadal shift in summer mean SST, summer mean rainfall increased in southern and southeastern China during the late period, particularly in southeastern China where increase in summer mean rainfall exceeded 40 mm, at the 0.05 significance level.     

Neolithic rice paddy from the Zhaojiazhuang site, Shandong, China

To identify and study the Neolithic rice paddy in Shandong, eastern China, is not only an important issue in the development of Chinese rice agriculture, but also a key part of the study on rice spread in East Asia. Due to the limitation of archaeological materials and the research methods, there have been no discoveries about the Neolithic rice paddy in Shandong Province for a long time. Based on the identification of possible rice paddy by archaeological excavation, phytolith analysis of soil samples from this "paddy" has been systematically carried out and the results have shown a 4600—4300 years old rice paddy preserved at the Zhaojiazhuang site. This is the first examination and study of the rice paddy in North China by systematic phytolith analysis, which is very important for the Neolithic archaeological research and the study of the eastward spread of rice agricultural techniques in East Asia.     

Regional characteristics of the interdecadal turning of winter/summer climate modes in Chinese mainland

Tomé and Miranda’s climate trend turning discriminatory model is used to identify the spatial-temporal characteristics of the interdecadal turning of winter/summer climate modes at stations and in eight sub-areas over Chinese mainland based on the 1961–2000 observations. It is found that the stations with close occurrence years of the interdecadal trend turning (ITT) and coincident trends after the ITT exhibit a zonal distribution. A view is accordingly proposed that the interdecadal turnings of climate modes in China have remarkably regional structures. The research results show that after the early 1980s, winter climate over Chinese mainland overall trends towards a “warm-wet” mode, while summer climate had an abrupt change into “warm wet” mode in the late 1980s, suggesting that the time of the “warm-wet” mode turning for winter climate is earlier than that for summer climate. The regional characteristics and test results of the ITTs in eight sub-areas suggest that winter climate exhibits a distinctive “warm-dry” trend in North China after the late 1970s, and a slight “warm-dry” trend in Northeast China, South China, and Southwest China after the late 1980s. A “warm-wet” trend appears in the rest four sub-areas (the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River Valley, briefly Jianghuai, the east of the Tibetan plateau, and the east and west of Northwest China) after the early 1980s. The summer climate trends towards a “warm-dry” mode in Northeast China, North China and the east of Northwest China after the late 1980s, but a “warm-wet” mode appears in Southwest China and the east of the Tibetan plateau after the middle 1970s, as well as in Jianghuai and the west of Northwest China after the early 1980s. Specially, summer climate in South China started a “cold-wet” trend in 1984.     

夏季风建立期间低层流场的变化及其与中国雨带活动的关系

本利用多年欧洲中心格点风和中国降水资料，分析了夏季风建立期间，亚洲南部及其邻近海域上低层流场的变化和雨带在中国南方的活动。结果表明，夏季风于5月中在南海地区建立。低层流场的变化主要表现为副热带高压脊从南海的东撤和气旋性气流切变线从中国西南向华南沿海的东伸。相应地，雨带有一次从南移转向北推的过程。由于5月份中南半岛－南海区域一直为西南气流所影响，因此，很难从风向来判断气流性质的变化，相对而言，雨带北移能更好地反映出夏季风向北扩散的地理位置。     

A physically-based statistical forecast model for the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley summer rainfall

A new approach to forecast the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley summer rainfall in June-August （JJA） is proposed in this paper. The year-to-year increment of the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley is forecasted and hence the summer precipitation could be predicted. In this paper, DY is defined as the difference of a variable between the current year and the preceding year （year-to-year increment）. YR denotes the seasonal mean precipitation rate of the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley summer rainfall. After analyzing the atmospheric circulation anomalies in winter and spring that were associated with the DY of YR, six key predictors for the DY of YR have been identified. Then the forecast model for the DY of YR is established by using the multi-linear regression method. The predictors for the DY of YR are Antarctic Oscillation, the meridional wind shear between 850hPa and 200hPa over the Indo-Australian region, and so on. The prediction model shows a high skill for the hindcast during 1997-2006, with the average relative root mean square error is at 18%. The model can even reproduce the upward and downward trends of YR during 1984--1998 and 1998--2006. Considering that the current operational forecast models of the summer precipitation over the China region have the average forecast scores at 60%--70% and that the prediction skill for the middle-lower reaches of Yangtze River Valley summer precipitation remains quite limited up to now, thus this new approach to predict the year-to-year increment of the summer precipitation over the Yangtze River Valley （and hence the summer precipitation itself） has the potential to significantly increase the operational forecast skill of the summer precipitation.     

Characteristics of decadal-centennial-scale changes in East Asian summer monsoon circulation and precipitation during the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age and in the present day

Using meteorological observations, proxies of precipitation and temperature, and climate simulation outputs, we synthetically analyzed the regularities of decadal-centennial-scale changes in the summer thermal contrast between land and ocean and summer precipitation over the East Asian monsoon region during the past millennium; compared the basic characteristics of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) circulation and precipitation in the present day, the Little Ice Age (LIA) and the Medieval Warm Period (MWP); and explored their links with solar irradiance and global climate change. The results indicate that over the last 150 years, the EASM circulation and precipitation, indicated by the temperature contrast between the East Asian mainland and adjacent oceans, had a significant decadal perturbation and have been weaker during the period of rapid global warming over the past 50 years. On the centennial time scale, the EASM in the MWP was strongest over the past 1000 years. Over the past 1000 years, the EASM was weakest in 1450?C1570. When the EASM circulation was weaker, the monsoon rain belt over eastern China was generally located more southward, with there being less precipitation in North China and more precipitation in the Yangtze River valley; therefore, there was an anomalous pattern of southern flood/northern drought. From the 1900s to 1920s, precipitation had a pattern opposite to that of the southern flood/northern drought, with there being less precipitation in the Yangtze River valley and more precipitation in North China. Compared with the case for the MWP, there was a longer-time-scale southern flood/northern drought phenomenon in 1400?C1600. Moreover, the EASM circulation and precipitation did not synchronously vary with the trend of global temperature. During the last 150 years, although the annual mean surface temperature around the world and in China has increased, the EASM circulation and precipitation did not have strengthening or weakening trends. Over the past 1000 years, the weakest EASM occurred ahead of the lowest Northern Hemispheric temperature and corresponded to the weakest solar irradiance.     

Elemental composition in surface snow from the ultra-high elevation area of Mt. Qomolangma （Everest）

A total of 14 surface snow （0-10 cm） samples were collected along the climbing route （6500-8844 m a.s.h） on the northern slope of Mt. Qomolangma in May, 2005. Analysis of elemental concentrations in these samples showed that there are no clear trends for element variations with elevation due to redistribution of surface snow by strong winds during spring. In addition, local crustal aerosol inputs also have an influence on elemental composition of surface snow. Comparison between elemental concentration datasets of 2005 and 1997 indicated that data from 2005 were of higher quality. Elemental concentrations （especially for heavy metals） at Mt. Qomolangma are comparable with polar sites, and far lower than large cities. This indicates that anthropogenic activities and heavy metal pollution have little effect on the Mt. Qomolangma atmospheric environment, which can be representative of the background atmospheric environment.     

Latitude migration of solar activity at high latitudes

Utilized here is the Carte Synoptique solar filament archive, namely the catalogue of solar filaments from March 1919 to December 1989, corresponding to solar rotation numbers 876 to 1823 to study latitudinal migration of solar activity at high latitudes. Except the well-known poleward migration of solar activity from middle latitudes to the poles, an equatorward migration is found from the solar poles toward middle latitudes （about 40°） within a normal cycle, which is neglected before, and the time interval for the former migration （4.4 years） is about 2.2 years shorter than that for the latter （6.6 years）, indicating that the change from one migration to the other takes place around the maximum time of a normal cycle. In the future, a dynamo model should represent the migration from the poles toward middle latitudes of the Sun, besides the migration in ＂butterfly diagrams＂ and the ＂rush to the poles＂. The traditional extended activity cycle is actually a part of the period of the successive migration from the poles toward the solar equator.     

Integrated research of parallel computing: Status and future

In the past twenty years, the research group in University of Science and Technology of China has developed an integrated research method for parallel computing, which is a combination of ＂Architecture- Algorithm-Programming-Application＂. This method is also called the ecological environment of parallel computing research. In this paper, we survey the current status of integrated research method for parallel computing and by combining the impact of multi-core systems, cloud computing and personal high performance computer, we present our outlook on the future development of parallel computing.     

The application of large volume airgun sources to the onshore-offshore seismic surveys： implication of the experimental results in northern South China Sea

Onshore-offshore seismic experiments were carried out for the first time in northern South China Sea using large volume airgun sources at sea and seismic stations on land. The experimental results indicate that seismic signals from the new airgun array of R/V Shiyan 2 can be detected as far as 255 km. The signal effective area reaches nearly 50000 km2, which covers Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta. Compared with the old airgun array, the signal amplitude, propagation distance and effective area of the new airgun array have been increased notably, which demonstrates that the upgrade of the airgun source was successful. Comparisons with previous experimental results in other regions show that the shooting effect of the new airgun array is similar to those best airgun sources in the world. Especially, it is a new breakthrough in using the permanent seismic stations onshore to record long distance airgun signals offshore, which has great significance to the realization of the "seismic radar" concept and the 3D seismic surveys of crustal structure in coastal areas.     

High precision topographic data on Lop Nor basin＇s Lake ＂Great Ear＂ and the timing of its becoming a dry salt lake

High precision elevation measurements using DGPS were carried out along three representative tran-sects for the ＂Great Ear＂ area, a dry salt lake within the Lop Nor basin. Results indicate that the Lop Nor basin is only 5.2 m deep and its lowest point occurs at the center of the ＂Great Ear＂. In addition, the basin is asymmetric-steeper in the southwest （0.19‰） and gentler in the northeast （0.09‰）. Points along the same ＂Great Ear＂ ring were found to have an identical elevation value, but different when from different ones （lower towards the center）. The spacing of the ＂Great Ear＂ rings was found to be closely related with the surface steepness. The closer the ＂Great Ear＂ rings are spaced, the steeper the ground surface, and vice versa. These findings support the argument that the ＂Great Ear＂ rings are the former shoreline trails left behind by Lop Nor water during the last few episodes of recession towards its total dry up. A comprehensive analysis of the high precision elevation data, historical accounts, aerial and satellite photographs and imagery, and official topographic maps of the study area suggests that the ＂Great Ear＂ area in the Lop Nor basin was incorrectly mapped as being covered by a great body of water on the 1963 topographic maps. A re-interpretation of the 1958 aerial photographs and newer remote sensing imagery indicated that the ＂Great Ear＂ ring structure was already in place in 1958 and it continued to appear on the subsequent remote sensing data without any major changes. It is estimated that lake water in the ＂Great Ear＂ area of the Lop Nor basin disappeared between the late 1930s and early 1940s.     

On the horizon of Protopteryx and the early vertebrate fossil assemblages of the Jehol Biota

Protopteryx, a monotypic fossil bird discovered from the Sichakou basin in Fengning, Hebei, is the most primitive enantiornithine currently known. The bird-bearing strata do not contain the index fossils of the Yixian Formation in western Liaoning; the fish and bird fossils have more primitive features than the related forms found in the Yixian Formation, and the conchostracans are those usually distributed in the Dabeigou and Dadianzi formations in northern Hebei. Besides, the Protopteryx-bearing strata underlie the deposits bearing the index fossils of the Yixian Formation in the neighboring basin. Thus, it could be confirmed that the horizon of Protopteryx should be lower than the Yixian Formation, and Is approximately equivalent to the Dadianzi Formation in northern Hebei. This is the lowest horizon of the known fossil birds in China and Mesozoic enantiornithine birds in the world. Accompanying Protopteryx, there are other birds, acipenseriform fishes, salamanders, and mammals, which compose the Peipiaosteus fengningensis-Protopteryx fengningensis assemblage. This new assemblage traces the vertebrate evolution history of the Jehol Biota back to 130.7 Ma before. It is suggested that the demarcation of the Jehol Biota should be based on the large-scale tectonic-sedimentary cycles, and Peipiaosteus, instead of Lycoptera, could be taken as the vertebrate representative of the Jehol Biota.     

Effect of crystallization temperature and propylene sequence length on the crystalline structure of propylene-ethylene random copolymers

Crystallization behavior and resultant crystalline structure of a series of temperature-rising elution-fractionated specimen of a Ziegler-Natta catalyst-synthesized propylene-ethylene random copolymer were studied by DSC, WAXD and AFM. The experimental results indicate that both crystallization temperature and propylene sequence length exhibit great influence on the crystallization behavior and crystalline structure of the copolymer. It was found that the ethylene co-monomers acting as point defects inserted into the polypropylene chains play an important role in the formation of y-iPP. As the co-monomer content increases, the crystallizable sequence length of iPP decreases, which produces an appropriate condition for its y crystallization. At the same time, the existence of chain defects leads to a lower crystallinity of the copolymer and imperfection of the resultant crystals. For each individual sample with certain propylene sequence length or ethylene content, the increment of y-iPP crystal content with increasing crystallization temperature demonstrates that higher crystallization temperature is in favor of the y-iPP crystallization. Pure y-iPP crystals have been got in samples with propylene sequence length lower than 21 under suitable crystallization conditions.     

中国冬季降水对东亚春季O3强弱信号的响应

 利用欧洲中心(ECMWF)ERA-Interim提供的1979—2013年的O₃、温度和位势高度逐月资料及国家气候中心的160站的逐月降水资料,采用EOF分析、相关分析和合成差值分析等方法,分析了东亚春季臭氧的时空变化特征及中国冬季降水对东亚春季O3强弱信号的响应.研究发现：①通过EOF分析可知,东亚春季O₃主要有3种变化特征：其一是东亚春季不同时间的O₃随着纬度的增加而增加（或减少）.其二是青藏高原是一个O₃异常信号较强的地区.其三是鄂霍次克海以西的内陆地区和中国东北部地区的春季O₃异常信号最强,且这两地区的异常信号位相相反.②东亚春季O₃强时,中国冬季降水从西到东呈现了“多-少-多-少-多-少”的分布.这种响应显著的区域位于北方和内陆地区,而中国的东南地区较弱.这就说明,东亚春季O₃对中国冬季降水是有一定的影响的.O₃是如何引起中国冬季降水出现这种波列分布的原因尚有待于进一步的研究.③选取了6个层次分别代表平流层和对流层来开展研究.从相应于O₃强弱年的温压场分析来看,北半球冬季的温度场和位势高度场的合成差值在中高纬度都呈现了波列的分布,在平流层呈“正-负-正”分布,在对流层呈“负-正-负-正-负”分布,且这种温压场对O₃变化的响应在50、100、500hPa和700hPa层次最为显著.据此推测,东亚春季O3变化会引起北半球的温度场和位势高度场的调整,从而使得中国冬季降水分布出现异常.
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Effects of negative emotion and its correlated neural activity on secretory immunoglobulin A

In this study, we investigated how the negative emotional arousal induced by watching a number of unpleasant images altered the concentration of secretory immunoglobulin A （SlgA） in saliva. Although our results found discrepancies among participants＇ SIgA concentration （i.e. some participants＇ SlgA decreased after watching unpleasant pictures, whereas others increased）, further analysis revealed correlations among participants＇ changes in SIgA concentration, their general coping styles and their actual strategies for emotion regulation when perceiving unpleasant pictures, and the event-related potentials （ERPs） associated with viewing unpleasant pictures. The participants whose SIgA increased after watching unpleasant pictures （the ＂Increasers＂） had higher positive coping scores in the Trait Coping Styles Questionnaire （TCSQ） than those whose SIgA decreased （the ＂Decreasers＂）. Also, relative to the ＂Decreasers＂, the ＂Increasers＂ tended to use more emotion regulation strategies, particularly with extremely negative pictures. The amplitude of their late positive potentials （LPPs） exhibited a reverse dissociation pattern for extremely negative pictures versus least negative ones and was related to the cognitive evaluation of the stimuli＇s meaning. In sum, this research revealed the psychological mechanisms by which negative emotional states influence the immune system and the related ERP changes.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of kink in 〈100〉 edge dislocation in body centred cubic iron

Using the molecular dynamics method,we have constructed two kink models corresponding to the 〈100〉{010} and 〈100〉{011} edge dislocations (EDs) in body centred cubic (bcc) Fe. It is found that the geometric structure of a kink depends on the type of edge dislocation and the structural energies of the atoms sites in the dislocation core region. The formation energies,migration energies and widths of the kinks in different types of EDs are calculated. The results show that formation and migration of the kink in the 〈100〉{010} edge dislocation are difficult. The 〈100〉{011} edge dislocation moves primarily through kink nucleation,rather than kink migration.     

Microbial community structure in major habitats above 6000 m on Mount Everest

Bacterial abundance in surface snow between 6600 and 8000 m a.s.l. on the northern slope of Mt. Ev- erest was investigated by flow cytometry. Bacterial diversity in serac ice at 6000 m a.s.l., glacier melt- water at 6350 m, and surface snow at 6600 m a.s.l. was examined by constructing a 16S rRNA gene clone library. Bacterial abundance in snow was higher than that in the Antarctic but similar to other mountain regions in the world. Bacterial abundance in surface snow increased with altitude but showed no correlation with chemical parameters. Bacteria in the cryosphere on Mt. Everest were closely related to those isolated from soil, aquatic environments, plants, animals, humans and other frozen environ- ments. Bacterial community structures in major habitats above 6000 m were variable. The Cyto- phaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides (CFB) group absolutely dominated in glacial meltwater, while β-Proteobacteria and the CFB group dominated in serac ice, and β-Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria dominated in surface snow. The remarkable differences among the habitats were most likely due to the bacterial post-deposition changes during acclimation processes.