Isotopic evolution of the terminal Neoproterozoic and early Cambrian carbon cycle on the northern Yangtze Platform, South China

Profound geotectonic, climatic and biological changes occur during the terminal Neoproterozoic and its transition into the early Cambrian. These are reflected in temporal variations of the chemical and isotopic composition of seawater. We are studying a sequence of sedimentary rocks at the Shatan section, northern Yangtze Platform, Sichuan Province of China. This succession comprises, in ascending stratigraphic order, predominantly calcareous sediments of the Sinian upper Dengying Formation and black shales of the lower Cambrian Guojiaba Formation (time equivalent of Niutitang Fm.). Paleoenvironmental setting represents shallow-water shelf deposits. The objective of our study is to provide temporal records for the isotopic compositions of organic and carbonate carbon throughout this time interval. Organic carbon isotope values display a range between -35.8‰ and -30.1‰ with clear stratigraphic variations. Carbonate carbon isotope data vary between -3.5‰ and +0.5‰. These secular variations are interpreted to reflect perturbations of the global carbon cycle, specifically changes in the fractional burial of organic carbon. However, local conditions have further affected the isotopic signals.     

全球增温与碳循环

全球变暖是地球系统科学领域的热点问题 .全面深入地理解全球碳循环的规律 ,将有助于客观地认识全球增温的原因 .系统地分析了全球碳循环的基本规律 ,评述了各个方面的研究进展 ,指出了研究当中应当注意的关键性问题 ,并且提出了目前探索和研究的重点课题 .     

Sulfur and carbon isotopic variations in Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks from southern China

A new set of δ34Ssulfide, δ34Ssulfate and δ13Ccarbonate values has been reported from Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks in southern China. The interglacial black shales of the Datangpo Fm. display higher δ34Ssulfide values with >+20‰ average, but the postglacial black shales from the Doushantuo Fm. show negative δ34Ssulfide values. However, the Jinjiadong Fm., the same post-glaciation as the Doushantuo Fm., has positive δ34Ssulfide values, implying that the δ34S value of sedimentary sulfides would be controlled by lithofacies and paleogeographic environments. The δ34Ssulfate values relative to δ13Ccarbonate were obtained by extraction of trace sulfate from the successive carbonate sequences in the Yangtze Gorges sections. A preliminary interpretation suggests that the oceanic environment may fluctuate dramatically at the post-glacial Doushantuo stage and, then, recover its stability at the Dengying stage on the basis of the high resolution δ34S and δ13C curves of seawater.     

Variations of sulfur and carbon isotopes in seawater during the Doushantuo stage in late Neoproterozoic

The Doushantuo Formation of the Sinian System in the Yangtze area is the first sedimentary stratigraphic unit after the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth event[1], named the Nantuo Glaciation in south China. There are not only phosphorite and manganese mineralized beds[2], but also a series of biome which represents the biological radiation in Neoproterozoic[3] found in this formation. It is important to study the palaeoenvironment and the early biological evolution implied in the Doushantuo …     

Inside out:deep carbon linked to deep-time carbon cycle

The Ediacaran Shuram excursion (SE) is widely regarded as one of the largest carbon isotope (δ13C) negative excursions in Earth history,with carbonate δ13C valu...     

Dual modes of the carbon cycle since the Last Glacial Maximum

The most conspicuous feature of the record of past climate contained in polar ice is the rapid warming which occurs after long intervals of gradual cooling. During the last four transitions from glacial to interglacial conditions, over which such abrupt warmings occur, ice records indicate that the CO2 concentration of the atmosphere increased by roughly 80 to 100 parts per million by volume. But the causes of the atmospheric CO2 concentration increases are unclear. Here we present the stable-carbon-isotope composition (delta 13 CO2) of CO2 extracted from air trapped in ice at Taylor Dome, Antarctica, from the Last Glacial Maximum to the onset of Holocene times. The global carbon cycle is shown to have operated in two distinct primary modes on the timescale of thousands of years, one when climate was changing relatively slowly and another when warming was rapid, each with a characteristic average stable-carbon-isotope composition of the net CO2 exchanged by the atmosphere with the land and oceans. delta 13 CO2 increased between 16.5 and 9 thousand years ago by slightly more than would be estimated to be caused by the physical effects of a 5 degrees C rise in global average sea surface temperature driving a CO2 efflux from the ocean, but our data do not allow specific causes to be constrained.     

The largest negative carbon isotope excursions in Neoproterozoic carbonates caused by recycled carbonatite volcanic ash

The late Ediacaran Shuram Excursion (SE) records the most prominent negative δ13C excursions (δ13C =-12‰) during Earth's history.It has been hypothesized to hav...     

Albrecht五层显式格式的破译

利用加耗散项的方法,重新构造了解四阶杆振动方程的Albrecht五层显式差分格式,并证明其局部截断误差阶为O(2τ h2 (τh)2),且是绝对稳定的.进而说明利用这种方法构造的同类格式是唯一的,它就是Albrecht格式.     

Influence of the carbon cycle on the attribution of responsibility for climate change

The carbon cycle is one of the fundamental climate change issues.Its long-term evolution largely affects the amplitude and trend of human-induced climate change,as well as the formulation and implementation of emission reduction policy and technology for stabilizing the atmospheric CO2concentration.Two earth system models incorporating the global carbon cycle,the Community Earth System Model and the Beijing Normal University-Earth System Model,were used to investigate the effect of the carbon cycle on the attribution of the historical responsibility for climate change.The simulations show that when compared with the criterion based on cumulative emissions,the developed(developing)countries’responsibility is reduced(increased)by 6%–10%using atmospheric CO2concentration as the criterion.This discrepancy is attributed to the fact that the developed world contributed approximately61%–68%(61%–64%)to the change in global oceanic(terrestrial)carbon sequestration for the period from 1850 to2005,whereas the developing world contributed approximately 32%–49%(36%–39%).Under a developed world emissions scenario,the relatively larger uptake of global carbon sinks reduced the developed countries’responsibility for carbon emissions but increased their responsibility for global ocean acidification(68%).In addition,the large emissions from the developed world reduced the efficiency of the global carbon sinks,which may affect the long-term carbon sequestration and exacerbate global warming in the future.Therefore,it is necessary to further consider the interaction between carbon emissions and the carbon cycle when formulating emission reduction policy.     

Rubisco without the Calvin cycle improves the carbon efficiency of developing green seeds

Efficient storage of carbon in seeds is crucial to plant fitness and to agricultural productivity. Oil is a major reserve material in most seeds, and these oils provide the largest source of renewable reduced carbon chains available from nature. However, the conversion of carbohydrate to oil through glycolysis results in the loss of one-third of the carbon as CO2. Here we show that, in developing embryos of Brassica napus L. (oilseed rape), Rubisco (ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) acts without the Calvin cycle and in a previously undescribed metabolic context to increase the efficiency of carbon use during the formation of oil. In comparison with glycolysis, the metabolic conversion we describe provides 20% more acetyl-CoA for fatty-acid synthesis and results in 40% less loss of carbon as CO2. Our conclusions are based on measurements of mass balance, enzyme activity and stable isotope labelling, as well as an analysis of elementary flux modes.     

The Chinese carbon cycle data-assimilation system （Tan-Tracker）

In this study, the Chinese carbon cyle dataassimilation system Tan-Tracker is developed based on the atmospheric chemical transport model （GEOS-Chem） platform. Tan-Tracker is a dual-pass data-assimilation system in which both CO2 concentrations and CO2 fluxes are simultaneously assimilated from atmospheric observations. It has several advantages, including its advanced data-assimilation method, its highly efficient computing performance, and its simultaneous assimilation of CO2 concentrations and CO2 fluxes. Preliminary observing system simulation experiments demonstrate its robust performance with high assimilation precision, making full use of observations. The Tan-Tracker system can only assimilate in situ observations for the moment. In the future, we hope to extend Tan-Tracker with functions for using satellite measurements, which will form the quasioperational Chinese carbon cycle data-assimilation system.     

Eocene bipolar glaciation associated with global carbon cycle changes

The transition from the extreme global warmth of the early Eocene 'greenhouse' climate approximately 55 million years ago to the present glaciated state is one of the most prominent changes in Earth's climatic evolution. It is widely accepted that large ice sheets first appeared on Antarctica approximately 34 million years ago, coincident with decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and a deepening of the calcite compensation depth in the world's oceans, and that glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere began much later, between 10 and 6 million years ago. Here we present records of sediment and foraminiferal geochemistry covering the greenhouse-icehouse climate transition. We report evidence for synchronous deepening and subsequent oscillations in the calcite compensation depth in the tropical Pacific and South Atlantic oceans from approximately 42 million years ago, with a permanent deepening 34 million years ago. The most prominent variations in the calcite compensation depth coincide with changes in seawater oxygen isotope ratios of up to 1.5 per mil, suggesting a lowering of global sea level through significant storage of ice in both hemispheres by at least 100 to 125 metres. Variations in benthic carbon isotope ratios of up to approximately 1.4 per mil occurred at the same time, indicating large changes in carbon cycling. We suggest that the greenhouse-icehouse transition was closely coupled to the evolution of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and that negative carbon cycle feedbacks may have prevented the permanent establishment of large ice sheets earlier than 34 million years ago.     

The human footprint in the carbon cycle of temperate and boreal forests

Temperate and boreal forests in the Northern Hemisphere cover an area of about 2 x 10(7) square kilometres and act as a substantial carbon sink (0.6-0.7 petagrams of carbon per year). Although forest expansion following agricultural abandonment is certainly responsible for an important fraction of this carbon sink activity, the additional effects on the carbon balance of established forests of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, increasing temperatures, changes in management practices and nitrogen deposition are difficult to disentangle, despite an extensive network of measurement stations. The relevance of this measurement effort has also been questioned, because spot measurements fail to take into account the role of disturbances, either natural (fire, pests, windstorms) or anthropogenic (forest harvesting). Here we show that the temporal dynamics following stand-replacing disturbances do indeed account for a very large fraction of the overall variability in forest carbon sequestration. After the confounding effects of disturbance have been factored out, however, forest net carbon sequestration is found to be overwhelmingly driven by nitrogen deposition, largely the result of anthropogenic activities. The effect is always positive over the range of nitrogen deposition covered by currently available data sets, casting doubts on the risk of widespread ecosystem nitrogen saturation under natural conditions. The results demonstrate that mankind is ultimately controlling the carbon balance of temperate and boreal forests, either directly (through forest management) or indirectly (through nitrogen deposition).     

根系输入对森林土壤碳库及碳循环的影响研究进展

植物根系输入是森林土壤碳库的重要来源。全球气候变化可能引起森林地下部分碳通量改变,进而影响森林土壤碳库及碳循环。笔者综述了根系输入对土壤碳累积、土壤活性碳库(包括土壤微生物生物量碳和可溶性有机碳)和土壤碳库稳定性的影响,综合分析了森林土壤呼吸、土壤微生物和土壤酶活性对根系输入变化的响应。分析发现:①根系输入减少可能减弱根际的激发效应,使土壤有机碳(SOC)短期增加,但从长期来看根系输入的缺失会导致SOC的减少;②根系分泌的一些物质促进土壤初始团聚体的形成,但其对矿物-有机质结合物稳定性的影响还不完全清楚;③根系输入减少会降低土壤呼吸作用;④微生物群落结构对根系输入变化的响应主要取决于微生物对底物质量和数量的适应,而这些响应在不同森林生态系统间可能也有差异;另外,酶合成主要取决于与微生物生长相关的资源分配到酶生产中的成本效率。目前,关于根系输入对碳循环,特别是土壤呼吸的研究比较多,但根系输入物组成复杂,微生物与酶对不同根系输入物的响应机制尚不清楚,这些响应在不同森林生态系统中也有差异;此外,根系输入对土壤碳库稳定性的作用常被忽视,根系与微生物的相互作用对碳循环和土壤碳库稳定性的影响还有很大不确定性。建议加强植物根系、土壤和微生物的相互关系研究,以深入理解气候变化背景下森林生态系统碳循环。