Variation of soil △δ ~(13)C values in Xifeng loess-paleosol sequence and its paleoenvironmental implication

The loess-paleosol sequence on the Chinese Loess Plateau provides abundant information of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment[1―3]. The carbon isotopic compo- sitions of the C3 and C4 plants are different: from ?32‰ to ?20‰ (mean value is ?27‰) for C3 p…     

δ13CSC values of the loess-paleosol sequence in Dali area, Shaanxi Province, China, and paleoenvironmental implications

The carbon isotopic ratios of carbonate in the two profiles of the Dali area were analyzed and some new understandings on the influencing factors of the δ^13Csc value of the Iocss-paleosol sequence and its paleoenvironmental implications were discussed preliminarily in this report. The δ^13Csc value of the Dali Ioess-paleasol sequence is synchronizing with the variance of magnetic susceptibility basically and the negative peaks of the δ^13Csc curves are corresponding to the different developmental periods of the paleosol. It is believed that the intervention of the CO2 produced by plants will cause the decrease of the δ^13Csc value, the amplitude of which may be relevant to the paleovegetation density and the ancient humidity. The relative biomass of C4 plants in the vegetation will affect the sublevel change of the δ^13Csc. Low δ^13Csc value by and large indicates the environmental conditions of the relatively abundant vegetation and humid climate. During the last 250000 years, the period with the sparsest vegetation and the most arid climate is the phase of the loess in L2 depositing and the period with the most abundant vegetation and the most humid climate is the last interglacial period. The δ^13Csc curves of Dali also show that the High Temperature and Large Precipitation Event of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau during 40-30 kaBP had affected the Central Shaanxi Plain with relatively humid climate, and had apparent influence on the local vegetation and humidity.     

Determination of trophic relationships within a Bohai Bay food web using stable δ15N and δ13C analysis

This study measured stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in phytoplankton, zooplankton, five invertebrates species, eight fishes species and three seabirds species collected in Bohai Bay. δ^13C ranged from -25.38‰ to -11.08‰ showing a relative low enrichment in the food web from Bohai Bay. The mean δ^13C of mullet is higher than that of other organisms, and this might be due to that mullet is migration fish and feeds mainly on inshore sources. δ^15N ranged from 4.08‰ to 13.98‰, and showed a step-wise enrichment with trophic level of 3.8‰. The δ^15N enrichment factor was used to construct an isotopic food web model to establish trophic relationships within this marine food web. According to this model, exact trophic levels of all organisms were estimated as 1.46-2.10, 1.91-3.32, 2.55-4.23 and 2.98-4.28 for plankton, invertebrates, fishes, and seabirds.     

Different climatic controls of soil δ 13Corg in three mid-latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere since the Last Glacial period

Paleoecological records of soil δ^13Corg from three regions in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, including the Chinese Loess Plateau （CLP）, the Great Plains and adjacent areas of North America and northwestern Europe, showed different variations since the Last Glacial period. An attempt was made to evaluate the causes for the difference in δ^13Corg on the basis of the modern climatic data collected in these regions and of the modern C3 and C4 plant distributions. The analysis indicates that temperature, especially the growing season temperature, has a dominant control on the growth of C4 plants. When the mean annual or growing season temperatures are below the ＂threshold value＂, the growth of C4 plants is limited. When the temperature is above the ＂threshold value＂, C4 plants can grow under a wide range of precipitation. However, when the precipitation is high enough to favor the growth of trees, the proportions of C4 plants in local biomass will decline. The implicit control factor recovered by sedimentary records is consistent with the control factor on modern C3/C4 distribution. Pure C3 plants have been dominating the local biomass since the Last Glacial period in European loess region, mainly owing to the low local temperature. The increases in C4 plants from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene in the Chinese Loess Plateau, the Great Plains and adjacent areas, mainly reflect the influence of increasing temperature.     

High resolution stalagmite δ18O records over the past 1000 years from Dongge Cave in Guizhou

Based on MC-ICP-MS U-series dating andstable O-isotope analysis results, a 4-5 years resolution monsoon record over the past 1000 years has been established for two stalagmites from Dongge Cave, Guizhou. The high resolution oxygen isotope record serves as a proxy for variations in rainfall of Asian southwest monsoon over the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. A close relation of the δ18O record with the A^14C record from tree rings largely reflects impact of centennial-scale solar activity on the monsoon climate changes. The conspicuous decrease in the δ18O value at AD 1720 indicates an abrupt increase in monsoon rainfall, suggesting that an atmospheric-oceanic couple over the tropical Indian Ocean plays an important role in rapid increase of the Northern Hemisphere temperature over the last century.     

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 …     

Na(THF)2(μ2-η5-Cp)(η5,η5,η1-Cp3Yb)(THF)]n: The synthesis and X-ray structure of an anionic organolanthanidepolymer formed via self-assembly

Cp2Yb·2THF reacts with CpNa in 1：1 molar ratio in THF at 40℃ for 2 h, and the in situ generated anionic divalent complex NaYbCp3（THF）n reacts further with an excess of CpH at 40℃ for 48h, after work-up, affording the trivalent anionic ytterbium complex[Na（THF）2（μ2-η^5-Cp） （η^5, η^5,η^1-Cp3Yb）（THF）]n：（1） by oxidation reaction of Cp2Yb with CpH. Crystal structure determination reveals that complex 1 has one-dimension polymeric chains of distinct Na（THF）2（μ2-η^5-Cp） （η^5, η^5,η^1-Cp3Yb）（THF） units, which were formed by the coordination of the bridging Cp ligand with Cp3Yb＇THF and Na（THF）2 in η^5,η^5 mode via self-assembly.     

Synoptic-scale variation of δ18O in summer monsoon rainfall at Lijiang, China

Based on the daily δ~(18)O data in June―September 2003 at Lijiang and the daily mean NCEP/ NCAR reanalysis data, synoptic-scale variation of δ~(18)O in summer monsoon rainfall was investigated. The 'precipitation amount effect' is obvious for the daily δ~(18)O variation, whereas the 'temperature effect' is insignificant. Alternate occurrences of active phase and break phase of the southwest monsoon probably influence the synoptic-scale δ~(18)O variation prominently. Moreover, the isotopic composition in precipitation during the late monsoon months is presumably influenced significantly by recycling of monsoon precipitation. Both the above factors disturb the 'amount effect' of isotopic variation in the monsoon region. This study also indicates that the synoptic-scale rainfall δ~(18)O variation at Lijiang in summer is domi-nated by the Indian monsoon depression (low pressure) system at large scale. These results are important for further studying the 'amount effect' and reconstructing paleoclimate in the monsoon region.     

Foliar δ^13C and δ^15N values of C3 plants in the Ethiopia Rift Valley and their environmental controls

The foliar C and N stable isotopic compositions （δ^13C and δ^15N） and the relationships between these compositions and environmental factors of C3 plants in the Ethiopia Rift Valley were investigated. There were three distribution patterns for foliar δ^13C with mean values of -26.7‰±0.4‰, -29.7‰ ±0.6‰ , and -26.9‰± 1.2‰ in cold-moist, temperate-moist, and arid-hot environments, respectively. The δ^15N values ranged from -1.4‰ ±1.7‰ to 14.3‰ ± 0.1‰, with higher values under arid-hot conditions and the lowest values in plants growing at higher altitudes under cold-moist conditions. A strong negative relationship between mean annual precipitation and δ^15N explained more than half of the observed variation in the δ^15N values （r2= 0.54, P 〈 0.001）; a modest positive relationship was also found between δ^15N and temperature （r2 = 0.32, P 〈 0.01）. A weakly positive relationship existed between δ^13C and temperature, and changes in δ^13C values with precipitation and altitude followed quadratic curves. This suggests a shift in the effects of water and heat conditions caused by altitude on carbon isotopic discrimination.     

Application of backflush and micro-flow techniques to the analysis of C5—C13 hydrocarbons in crude oils and its geochemical significance

An Agilent 6890N GC equipped with both FID and Agilent 5975 MSD analyzer has been employed to analyze C₅—C₁₃ hydrocarbon fractions of crude oils. A technical combination of program temperature volatilizer injection, backflush and micro-flow controller afforded a fine separation of C₅—C₁₃ compounds on a PONA column with the heavy part of crude oils being cut off before entering the analytical column. Both GC-FID chromatogram and GC-MS mass chromatograms (MID and full scan) could be obtained at the same time. The retension time differences of nC₆—nC₁₃ alkanes between GC and TIC were in the range of 0.02—0.58 minutes. Totally 286 peaks have been assigned group compositions. Results on 8 typical oil samples from CNPC Key Laboratory Crude Oil Library showed that the characteristics of C₆—C₁₃ hydrocarbon group composition could be used in oil-oil correlation studies.     

Application of backflush and micro-flow techniques to the analysis of C5—C13 hydrocarbons in crude oils and its geochemical significance

An Agilent 6890N GC equipped with both FID and Agilent 5975 MSD analyzer has been employed to analyze C₅—C₁₃ hydrocarbon fractions of crude oils. A technical combination of program temperature volatilizer injection, backflush and micro-flow controller afforded a fine separation of C₅—C₁₃ compounds on a PONA column with the heavy part of crude oils being cut off before entering the analytical column. Both GC-FID chromatogram and GC-MS mass chromatograms (MID and full scan) could be obtained at the same time. The retension time differences of nC₆—nC₁₃ alkanes between GC and TIC were in the range of 0.02—0.58 minutes. Totally 286 peaks have been assigned group compositions. Results on 8 typical oil samples from CNPC Key Laboratory Crude Oil Library showed that the characteristics of C₆—C₁₃ hydrocarbon group composition could be used in oil-oil correlation studies.