Palaeoecology: a gigantic fossil arthropod trackway

A unique, complex trackway has been discovered in Scotland: it was made roughly 330 million years ago by a huge, six-legged water scorpion that was about 1.6 m long and a metre wide. To my knowledge, this is not only the largest terrestrial trackway of a walking arthropod to be found so far, but is also the first record of locomotion on land for a species of Hibbertopterus (Eurypterida). This evidence of lumbering movement indicates that these giant arthropods, now extinct, could survive out of water at a time when the earliest tetrapods were making their transition to the land.     

Lake records and LGM climate in China

Chinese lake status database has provided systematic geological records of much higher lake level and fresher water than today at the LGM from western China. This wet condition was significant contrast with very dry conditions in eastern China. Together with lake studies from Eurasian continents, there was a wet-condition belt from the Mediterranean and the Middle East, Central Asia to western China. Palaeoclimate simulations confirmed that the wet conditions in western China were produced by decrease of the evaporation and increase of precipitation by positive anomaly of annual P-E of 70-95 mm/a between the LGM and today. The westerlies enhanced in the strength and shifted southwards-eastwards in the position, and the low thermal conditions in the Eurasian continent creating temperature 4-16℃ lower than today and relatively low evaporation, were the major two important climate conditions to yield cold-wet climates in western China.     

也谈高校建立大学生诚信档案

阐述了建立大学生诚信档案是对大学生进行诚信教育和诚信监督的一项重要措施,并论述了高校建立大学生诚信档案的必要性,分析了大学生诚信缺失的原因,对建立大学生诚信档案提出了具体意见和措施。     

The timing of the last deglaciation in North Atlantic climate records

To determine the mechanisms governing the last deglaciation and the sequence of events that lead to deglaciation, it is important to obtain a temporal framework that applies to both continental and marine climate records. Radiocarbon dating has been widely used to derive calendar dates for marine sediments, but it rests on the assumption that the 'apparent age' of surface water (the age of surface water relative to the atmosphere) has remained constant over time. Here we present new evidence for variation in the apparent age of surface water (or reservoir age) in the North Atlantic ocean north of 40 degrees N over the past 20,000 years. In two cores we found apparent surface-water ages to be larger than those of today by 1,230 +/- 600 and 1,940 +/- 750 years at the end of the Heinrich 1 surge event (15,000 years BP) and by 820 +/- 430 to 1,010 +/- 340 years at the end of the Younger Dryas cold episode. During the warm B?lling-Aller?d period, between these two periods of large reservoir ages, apparent surface-water ages were comparable to present values. Our results allow us to reconcile the chronologies from ice cores and the North Atlantic marine records over the entire deglaciation period. Moreover, the data imply that marine carbon dates from the North Atlantic north of 40 degrees N will need to be corrected for these highly variable effects.     

High-resolution climate evolution derived from the sediment records of Erlongwan Maar Lake since 14 ka BP

Varve counts with AMS 14 C,137 Cs and 210 Pb dating of sediments(0-900 cm) from Erlongwan Maar Lake,NE China were used to establish a high-resolution chronology series for the late Quaternary.Dry density,total organic carbon(TOC) content,total nitrogen(TN) content,TOC/TN ratios and stable organic carbon isotope(13 C org) ratios were continuously analyzed on this sediment profile.On the basis of lithological characters,sporo-pollen assemblages and geochemical analyses,we identified 6 climate stages within the last 14 ka BP.The time before the Holocene(14-11.4 ka BP) represents a higher-order oscillation climatic transitional period(I).The entire Holocene climate development(from 11.4 ka BP to present) exhibited an increasing temperature trend,although there were cold and warm alternations(II-VI).The periods included were:II(11.4-9.05 ka BP) warm-wet stage,III(9.05-7.4 ka BP) cold and warm fluctuation stage,IV(7.4-4.2 ka BP) smoothly warming climate stage,V(4.2-1.67 ka BP) climate optimum stage,and VI(from 1.67 ka BP to present) cool and drier stage.Each climate stage began with a warming event and ended with an abrupt cooling event.This climate change cycle had unequal time spaces that were progressively shorter over time.Several abrupt climate shifts occurred at about 9.4-9.05,8.5-8.2,7.8-7.4,4.6-4.2,3.7-3.25,2-1.67 and 0.3-0.03 ka BP.Thus,it can be seen that the climate has been warming since 1920 AD,which indicates a new climate stage.     

福建省漳州地区第四纪以来植被气候演化的孢粉研究

根据地貌变化,在研究区共施工7个场地33个钻孔,对其中2个代表性钻孔的213个岩芯孢粉样品,采用孢粉谱定量分析法,通过孢粉百分比图式、浓度图式将其划分出若干孢粉组合带,并结合C14和光释光测年数据,揭示了漳州地区第四纪以来的气候演化过程.8.5 ka以来气候演化基本与我国南方区气候演化一致,以温暖气候为主,经历了由温暖偏干到温暖偏湿波动变化的7个阶段.植被经历了中亚热带含针叶树的常绿阔叶、落叶阔叶混交林→北亚热带灌草丛→中亚热带含松、柏树的常绿阔叶林→南亚热带常绿阔叶林→南亚热带含针叶树的常绿阔叶林→南亚热带含针叶树的灌草丛→南亚热带针叶林-灌丛的变化过程.     

Pollen records of Holocene vegetation and climate changes in the Longzhong Basin of the Chinese Loess Plateau

Pollen records with an average time resolution of 20-200 years from Holocene loess sections at Dingxi, Qin'an, and other localities of Gansu Province reveal a detailed history of vegetation and climate changes in the western Loess Plateau. For most time of the Holocene, the landscape was dominated by grasslands or forest steppes. However, during the middle Holocene (7.5-5.8 ka BP), relatively dense forests developed, and the endemic vegetation flourished, suggesting a much warmer and more humid climate condition than the present. Superimposed upon this general pattern are several dry intervals marked by the episodic expansion of grasslands or forest steppe. Xeric vegetation expanded after 3.8 ka BP, indicating a trend towards dry conditions.     

Pollen records of Holocene vegetation and climate changes in the Longzhong Basin of the Chinese Loess Plateau

Pollen records with an average time resolution of 20—200 years from Holocene loess sections at Dingxi, Qin'An, and other localities of Gansu Province reveal a detailed history of vegetation and climate changes in the western Loess Plateau. For most time of the Holocene, the landscape was dominated by grasslands or forest steppes. However, during the middle Holocene (7.5—5.8 ka BP), relatively dense forests developed, and the endemic vegetation flourished, suggesting a much warmer and more humid climate condition than the present. Superimposed upon this general pattern are several dry intervals marked by the episodic expansion of grasslands or forest steppe. Xeric vegetation expanded after 3.8 ka BP, indicating a trend towards dry conditions.     

High-resolution geochemistry records of climate changes since late-glacial from Dajiuhu peat in Shennongjia Mountains,Central China

A peat core with depths of 297 cm was obtained from the Dajiuhu Basin(31°29′27″N,109°59′45″E,1760 m)in Hubei Province,Central China.10 AMS ages provide a time control and reveal that this core spans the past about 16.0 kaBP(calibrated age)(1 4C age:13.3 kaBP).Multi-proxy indexes analysis of geochemistry shows the following character of climate and environmental changes since about 16 kaBP:(1) The climate during the late-glacial period was cold and wet as a whole,but fluctuated continually.11.4- 12.6 cal.kaBP,12.6-15.2 cal.kaBP and 15.2-16 kaBP were corresponding respectively to the Younger Drays,Bφlling-Allerφd Warm Period and the Oldest Drays.(2)Inheriting the some climate characteristics of the late-glacial,the climate during the early-Holocene was wet and temperature increased gradually,during which an obvious dry event around 10.6 cal.kaB appeared.(3)The climate during the mid-Holocene was genarally warm and wet.During 9.2-7.5 kaBP,temperature increased gradually, precipitation was less comparatively and the 8.2 kaBP cold event which might be representative in the globe was reflected markedly.Then,multi-proxy records were relatively stable during 6.7-4.2 kaBP, which shows the best water and thermal condition in the Holocene Optimum.(4)Around 4.2 kaBP,the climate and environment transform from warm and wet to cool and dry,which may result in the collapse of the Neolithic Culture and midwifery the civilization of Xia Dynasty in this region.After 0.9 kaBP,the climate turned cool and wet.Climate and environmental changes archived in Dajiuhu peat respond to the global changes since the late-glacial period and can be contrasted to the changes recorded in other high-resolution archives from the East Asia Monsoon region,which take on the variety model that the monsoon strengthened abruptly after the late-glacial,was strong during the early Holocene,subse- quently declined and became weak after the middle Holocene with dry climate.According to our analysis,the driving mechanism should be the response of s     

Holocene palynological records and their responses to the controversies of climate system in the Shiyang River drainage basin

The Shiyang River drainage basin is located in the northwest margin of the Asian monsoon region. Previous studies reached different conclusions about Holocene climatic changes in the basin. Some studies suggested the Holocene climatic changes were mainly controlled by the Asian monsoon and that the climate was relatively humid during the early Holocene (11.6-7.1 cal ka BP). Other studies found the mid-Holocene Climatic Optimum (7.0-5.0 cal ka BP), and this climate condition was similar to the Holocene westerly wind pattern in arid Central Asia. The modern climate is affected by the Asian monsoon and westerly wind in the drainage basin, and the Holocene climatic records showed two different Holocene climatic patterns-a westerly wind pattern and monsoonal pattern. However, it remains unclear what caused the two different Holocene climatic patterns to co-exist in the region. The palynological records are the main evidence for the Holocene climatic changes in the basin. This paper focuses on palynological records for different parts of the drainage basin. Among them, QTH02, QTL-03 and Sanjiaocheng records are located in the terminal lake, and the Hongshuihe record is located in the middle reaches of the basin. In the terminal lake, the palynological records of QTH02 and QTL-03 are similar, but the Sanjiaocheng record differs. The difference is mainly affected by the variable pollen assemblages in the different locations of the lake basin. From comparison and synthesis of the four palynological records, we concluded that the millennial-scale Holocene climatic changes were affected by the combined effects of the Asian monsoon and westerly wind in the drainage basin, which show the complicated Holocene climatic pattern in the northwest margin of the Asian monsoon.     

Millennial climate changes since MIS 3 revealed by element records in deep-sea sediments from northern South China Sea

High resolution elemental MD05-2903 from the northern South records in core China Sea were obtained from XRF scanning and grain size and mineral component analyses. The K/Ti curve reveals climate changes since MIS 3 on a millennial scale, representing one of the best such records so far from deep-sea sediments of the South China Sea. When compared our K/Ti record with other climate records from high latitude ice cores and from East Asia stalagmites, variations in the K/Ti record show some typical saw-shaped features of rapid climate changes in the Northern Hemisphere. Grain size analysis reveals a close relationship between variations in K/Ti and in the fine end-member grain size. XRD analysis confirms that high K/Ti layers were dominated by K-rich weathering minerals, especially illite, while low K/Ti layers contain low illite but high abundance of Ti-rich heavy minerals. Therefore, the K/Ti record reflects changes in the input and deposition of fine weathering minerals and heavy minerals in the northern South China Sea region during stadials and interstadials. These elemental changes were largely con- trolled by variations in rainfall, erosion, and fluvial trans- portation induced by East Asia Monsoon.     

Palaeoclimatology: Archaean atmosphere and climate

Ohmoto et al. argue that carbon dioxide was abundant in the late Archaean and early Proterozoic atmosphere and that methane was probably scarce, based on a reanalysis of the occurrence of siderite, FeCO3, in ancient rocks. Here I consider several factors that may undermine their conclusions.