Late Pleistocene／Holocene wetland events recorded in southeast Tengger Desert lake sediments, NW China

The area along the eastern and southeastern margins of the Tengger Desert, NW China, which is sensitive to the summer monsoon variations, was selected for studying the environmental conditions surrounding the transition between Paleolithic foragers and Neolithic farmer/pastoral-ists. Short cores were obtained from four lake basins in the southwestern Tengger using a hand-driven piston coringdevice. Proxies from these cores were supplemented by ra-diocarbon ages obtained from lake sediment cores, shoreline features and spring mound deposits. Together these records provide evidence of millennial-scale climate change eventsfrom the Pleistocene-Holocene transition to the present.Lake/wetland events, representing periods of more intensive summer monsoon, occur in the records at-12.7-11.6,-10.1, -9.3, -8.0, -5.4, -1.5, and -0.8 ka BP. They do suggest that century- to miliennial-seale climatic cycles are characteristic of the Holocene in the southeastern Tengger Desert although the chronology must be considered extremely tentative.     

Holocene lake deposits of Bosten Lake, southern Xinjiang, China

A 9.25-m-long sediment core from Bosten Lake,Xinjiang, provides detailed information about changes in the water budget and biological acticity over the last 8400 cal-endar years. The chronology is constructed from six AMS radiocarbon dates on the terrestrial plant remains. Based onanalyses of TOC, CO3, detrital compounds and biogenic SiO2,lake level fluctuations and periods of remarkably-negative water budget appeared at 8.4-8.2 cal ka, 7.38-7.25 cal ka,5.7-5.5 cal ka, 3.7-3.4 cal ka and 3.3-2.9 cal ka, respec-tively. As they are in-phase with low lake levels at Sumxl Co and Bangong Co in western Tibet Plateau and with paleo-lakes in Inner Mongolia, a climate-induced change to some-what drier and warmer conditions is inferred. A further drop in lake level after 1320 AD of about 200 yr duration may heattributed to a negative water balance prior to the main phase of the Little Ice Age. Deep and stable lake phases of 1500 yr and 1800 yr duration at 7.2-5.7 cal ka and 5.5-3.7cal ka coincide with maximum moisture during the Holocene Megathermai in China. The long term trend towards aridity since about 4.3 cal ka can dearly be recognised. The reduced water budget of Bosten Lake from 640-1200 AD may be attributed to local effects.     

Environmental changes during early-middle Holocene from the sediment record of the Chaohu Lake,Anhui Province

A typical lake sediment core is obtained from the Chaohu Lake in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River,Anhui Province,China.The timing scale is constrained by AMS 14 C dating method.Climate proxies such as pollen and grain size in the core are analyzed to reconstruct the environment changes at this site approximately between 9870 and 2170 cal.a BP.The results indicate that at the research area, the climate in the early-middle Holocene had evolved through 3 stages.From 9870 to 6040 cal.a BP, proxy records show a warm and dry climate with low water levels after the late-glacial period.During this stage,cool and dry events occurred at about 8910 and 6060-6030 cal.a BP.Then,between 6040 and 4860 cal.a BP,the climate was humid and vegetation was more flourishing in the Chaohu Lake Valley.The Holocene Optimum occurred at 5840-5500 cal.a BP in the Chaohu Lake,showing the best condition of water and heat.Elm Decline occurred at the period of 5380-4930 cal.a BP.Since 4860 cal.a BP,the climate was warm and dry through 2170 cal.a BP as shown in both pollen spectrum and grain-size histories.Two obvious dry events occurred in 3760 and 2170 cal.a BP,respectively.At 2170 cal.a BP,the water level of the Chaohu Lake reached the lowest as the lakebed possibly exposed. Such lake sediment observations are consistent with the historical records in this area.     

Environmental changes and lake level fluctuation recorded by lakes on the plain in northern Xinjiang during the late Holocene

Xinjiang Autonomous Region is located in the arid area of westerly of China and there are many arguments about the changes of past temperature and moisture. Most of the lakes on the plain in northern Xinjiang are sealed lakes and terminal lakes. They can evidently reflect the changes in palaeoclimate. The palaeoenvironmental changes of some plain lakes in northern Xinjiang during the late Holocene will be analysed mainly based on the data of pollen, sedimentary facies, loss on ignition （LOI）, susceptibility and grain size from the Sichang Lake, Dongdaohaizi Lake and Aibi Lake. Results reveal an assembled pattern of temperature and moisture dominated by cold-wet and warm-dry. In addition, the impact factor will be discussed.     

Abrupt changes in the Asian southwest monsoon during the Holocene and their links to the North Atlantic Ocean

During the last ice age, the Indian Ocean southwest monsoon exhibited abrupt changes that were closely correlated with millennial-scale climate events in the North Atlantic region, suggesting a mechanistic link. In the Holocene epoch, which had a more stable climate, the amplitude of abrupt changes in North Atlantic climate was much smaller, and it has been unclear whether these changes are related to monsoon variability. Here we present a continuous record of centennial-scale monsoon variability throughout the Holocene from rapidly accumulating and minimally bioturbated sediments in the anoxic Arabian Sea. Our monsoon proxy record reveals several intervals of weak summer monsoon that coincide with cold periods documented in the North Atlantic region--including the most recent climate changes from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age and then to the present. We therefore suggest that the link between North Atlantic climate and the Asian monsoon is a persistent aspect of global climate.     

大布苏湖全新世沉积岩芯的粒度特征与湖面波动

大布苏湖为构造断陷的封闭湖盆,现代沉积环境的研究表明,自湖岸到湖心,其平均粒径２依次递减,钻孔岩 的粒度分析和年代测定揭示,全新世以来,大布苏湖有两次高湖面和两次低湖面时期晚全新世以来,湖面波动式下降,湖水浓缩而演变为我国东部地区罕见的盐湖。     

Holocene climatic and environmental changes recorded in Baahar Nuur Lake core in the Ordos Plateau, Inner Mongolia of China

A 5.3 m lake core was drilled in Baahar Nuur Lake in the Ordos Plateau, and measurements of meangrain size, organic δ 13C (δ 13Corg), organic carbon content (TOC), C/N, carbonate content, carbonate δ 13C(δ 13Ccar) and δ 18O (δ 18Ocar) were conducted for retrieving the Holocene chronosequence of climaticchanges based on 15 AMS 14C dates. The record documented four major stages of climate change inthe Ordos Plateau: (IV) a cold and dry condition before ～7.65 14C ka BP; (III) a warm and humid stagebetween ～7.65 and ～5.40 ka BP; (II) a generally drier and cooler climate since ～5.40 ka BP with twohumid events occurring from ～4.70 to ～4.60 ka BP and from ～4.20 to ～3.70 ka BP, and (I) a dry climatecharacterized by complete desiccation of the lake after 3.70 ka BP. Stage III can be further divided intothree sub-stages: (IIIa) a warm and humid episode from ～7.65 to ～6.70 ka BP, (IIIb) a warm and relativelydry episode from ～6.70 to ～6.20 ka BP, and (IIIc) the magthermal and maghumid episode of the Holo-cene from ～6.20 to ～5.40 ka BP.     

A high-resolution climatic chanse since Holocene inferred from multi-proxy of lake sediment in westerly area of China

Multi-proxy data are presented and a discuss is made of paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes during Holocene from a 225-cm-long sediment core from Wulungu Lake, located in westerly area of China. The chronology is constructed from six AMS radiocarbon dates on the bulk organic matter. Analyses of pollen, TOC, TN, δ^13Corg, ostracod assemblages and the shell stable isotopes, suggest Holocene climate pattern as follows： temperate and dry （10.0-7.6 cal. ka BP） -warm and wet （7.6-5.3 cal. ka BP） -warm and moist （5.3-3.6 cal. ka BP） -temperate and dry （3.6-2.1 cal. ka BP）-temperate and moist （2.1-1.3 cal. ka BP） -cool and dry （1.3 cal. ka BP-present）. With the climatic change, Wulungu Lake experienced two large-scale retreat （5.3-3.6 cal. ka BP and 1.3 cal. ka BP-present） and an obvious transgression （7.6-5.3 cal. ka BP）. The records of climatic and environmental evolution of Wulungu Lake were in good accordance with those of adjacent areas. It responded to regional environmental change, global abrupt climate events and followed the westerly climate change mode.     

A high-resolution climatic change since Holocene inferred from multi-proxy of lake sediment in westerly area of China

Multi-proxy data are presented and a discuss is made of paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes during Holocene from a 225-cm-long sediment core from Wulungu Lake, located in westerly area of China. The chronology is constructed from six AMS radiocarbon dates on the bulk organic matter. Analyses of pollen, TOC, TN, δ 13Corg, ostracod assemblages and the shell stable isotopes, suggest Holocene climate pattern as follows: temperate and dry (10.0―7.6 cal. ka BP)-warm and wet (7.6―5.3 cal. ka BP) -warm and moist (5.3―3.6 cal. ka BP) -temperate and dry (3.6―2.1 cal. ka BP)-temperate and moist (2.1―1.3 cal. ka BP) -cool and dry (1.3 cal. ka BP―present). With the climatic change, Wulungu Lake experienced two large-scale retreat (5.3―3.6 cal. ka BP and 1.3 cal. ka BP―present) and an obvious transgression (7.6―5.3 cal. ka BP). The records of climatic and environmental evolution of Wulungu Lake were in good accordance with those of adjacent areas. It responded to regional environmental change, global abrupt climate events and followed the westerly climate change mode.     

Stalagmite-inferred Holocene precipitation in northern Guizhou Province,China, and asynchronous termination of the Climatic Optimum in the Asian monsoon territory

An absolute-dated, bi-decadal-resolution, stalagmite oxygen-isotopic time series from Shigao Cave reveals the evolution of summer monsoon precipitation over the past 9.9 ka BP in northern Guizhou Province, Southwest China. The  18O-inferred climate conditions are divisible into three distinct stages: (1) a maximum humid era from 9.9-6.6 ka BP; (2) a gradual declining precipitation interval between 6.6-1.6 ka BP; and (3) a relatively low precipitation time window after 1.6 ka BP. Consistency of contemporaneous stalagmite Holocene 18O records between Shigao and other caves in the Indian and East Asian monsoon realms support the effect of primary orbital solar forcings on monsoonal precipitation. However, statistical analysis shows a significant spatial asynchroneity of the Holocene Optimum termination in the Asian monsoon territory. The Holocene Optimum ended at 7.2-7.4 ka BP in Oman, located in the Indian monsoon region, and at 5.6-5.8 ka BP in Central China, in the East Asian monsoon zone. In Southwest China, the termination occurred between these periods, at 6.6-7.0 ka BP, and was influenced by both monsoon systems. We propose that this spatially asynchronous ending of Holocene Optimum in Asia may be attributed to sea surface temperature changes in the western tropical Pacific, which is a primary moisture source for the East Asian monsoon.     

Long-term trend and abrupt events of the Holocene Asian monsoon inferred from a stalagmite δ18O record from Shennongjia in Central China

The middle-Holocene was a period of profound cul- ture transitions: the Neolithic culture around Central China[1], Mesopotamia[2] and India[3] all mysteriously collapsed around 4 ka . It is plausible that this civiliza-tion collapse can be contributed to …     

Evidence for cold events in the early Holocene from the Guliya ice core, Tibetan Plateau, China

Evidence for the “8.2 ka cold event” has been provided mostly from the circum-North Atlantic area. However, whether this cold event occurred in other places is a key to understanding its cause. Here, we provide the evidence for the “8.2 ka cold event” from the Guliya ice core in the northwest Tibetan Plateau, and it was found that the peak cooling (~8.3—8.2 ka) in this ice core was about 7.8—10℃, which was larger than the cooling in the North Atlantic region. The primary causes for this episode were diminished solar activity and weakened thermohaline circulation. Moreover, another weak cold event, centered about 9.4 ka, was also recorded in the Guliya ice core record. These two cold events were concurrent with the ice-rafting episodes in the North Atlantic during the early Holocene, which implies that the millennial-scale climatic cyclicity might exist in the Tibetan Plateau as well as in the North Atlantic.     

The environmental signal of an early Holocene pollen record from the Shiyang River basin lake sediments, NW China

Pollen analyses of 85 samples from the Sanjiaocheng section well along the margin of a palaeolake at the end of the Shiyang River, NW China, show that Picea and Sabina dominate the pollen assemblage. Together they reach as high as 40%–60%, with the percentage of Picea varying inversely with that of Sabina. Similar results were obtained from another section in the Shiyang River drainage. Using modern ecological habitat relationship analogues, pollen transport characteristics, and the overall pollen assemblage, we propose that both Picea and Sabina pollen were transported by the river from the mountains at the upper reaches of the Shiyang River, and that the assemblage is more indicative of changes in upland vegetation than of local conditions near the section. This interpretation is supported by pollen data derived from surface samples, water samples, and riverbed samples. Using a moisture indicator (the Picea to Sabina ratio) and calculated pollen concentrations, we identify a series of palaeoenvironmental changes during the early Holocene (10–6.3 ¹⁴C kaBP).     

New progress of lake sediments and environmental changes research in China

Environmental change recorded by lake sediments is one of the important branches of the past global changes study. The new progress of lake sediments and environmental changes in China since the late 1980s has been comprehensively discussed. The highlights emphasized are Asian paleomonsoon migration reflected by lake level fluctuation, uplift of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau recorded by lacustrine sediments, saltlake sediments and environmental evolution, lake response to the natural-human interaction and modern lake biogeochemical process. Meanwhile important suggestions for the lake sediments and environmental research in the future are proposed, which include studies on the quantitative relationship between lake environment proxies and climate factors, high-resolution evolutionary sequence and spatial differentiation of environments, modern lake dynamic process and environment, Quaternary Chinese lake database and global changes.     

洞庭湖区农业洪涝灾害脆弱性变化研究

根据1989年、l999年两个不同时期的气象资料和经济统计数据，运用数学模型，对不同时间尺度下洞庭湖区的农业洪涝灾害脆弱性进行定量评估，并作出GIs地图，通过对比分析得出该时期内洞庭湖区农业洪涝灾害脆弱性略有上升，脆弱度较高地区包括沅江市、南县、益阳县、安乡县、汉寿县、湘阴县、益阳市和岳阳市，主要分布在南洞庭湖区和四水尾闾，地势低平、河网密集是这些地区高脆弱度形成的重要原因；脆弱度较低地区包括常德市、津市市、岳阳县和汩罗市，大都处在湖区的边缘，洪水压力较小．分析了洪涝灾害脆弱性动态变化的自然环境因素和社会经济因素，并针对如何降低农业洪涝灾害脆弱性提出建议，为有关部门制定政策提供参考。     

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.     

从陆架泥质沉积中寻找高分辨率的全新世东亚季风记录

当前对全新世东亚季风的研究,一是重造了不同地区的季风气候与环境特点,分析、划分了不同的阶段并总结了各阶段的特点;二是通过高分辨率的气候代用指标进一步开展定量古气候研究,揭示其变化与周期,探讨其驱动机制.已有的研究主要来自陆地,而利用海洋沉积物研究季风则集中在深海;且主要体现的是气候整体变化特征或侧重于夏季风,而专门论述全新世东亚冬季风的报道则较少;尚未在短时间尺度上有效地确定全新世东亚冬、夏季风的关系及其驱动机制.该文指出,可以利用中国边缘海陆架泥质沉积开展全新世高分辨率的东亚古季风研究,其粒度和Rb/Sr比值等元素地球化学指标可分别作为高分辨率的东亚冬、夏季风演化的替代性指标.     

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