Palaeoceanography. Antarctic stratification and glacial CO2

One way of accounting for lowered atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations during Pleistocene glacial periods is by invoking the Antarctic stratification hypothesis, which links the reduction in CO2 to greater stratification of ocean surface waters around Antarctica. As discussed by Sigman and Boyle, this hypothesis assumes that increased stratification in the Antarctic zone (Fig. 1) was associated with reduced upwelling of deep waters around Antarctica, thereby allowing CO2 outgassing to be suppressed by biological production while also allowing biological production to decline, which is consistent with Antarctic sediment records. We point out here, however, that the response of ocean eddies to increased Antarctic stratification can be expected to increase, rather than reduce, the upwelling rate of deep waters around Antarctica. The stratification hypothesis may have difficulty in accommodating eddy feedbacks on upwelling within the constraints imposed by reconstructions of winds and Antarctic-zone productivity in glacial periods.     

西藏普兰地区第四纪以来冰锯作用研究

为了验证西藏普兰地区冰川作用对地形演化的影响, 选取纳木那尼峰、喜马拉雅山和冈底斯山3个区域, 利用数字高程模型(DEM)数据和遥感影像, 对现代冰川与末次冰盛期(LGM)古冰川平衡线高度(ELA)、冰川作用区坡度与高程的关系以及冰川分布的高程频谱进行计算和分析。结果显示, 研究区内冰川剥蚀作用显著、坡度降低最明显的地带位于LGM古冰川平衡线附近, 并在一定程度上限制山脉的高度。根据冰川地貌特征参数和前人研究结果, 认为气候是影响冰锯作用的主要因素。冰期时, 研究区内西风急流南移, 风速增强, 降水量增多, 为冰川发育创造良好条件, 冰锯作用也增强。对于构造抬升强烈的山脉(如纳木那尼峰), 虽然冰锯作用得到加强, 但是构造抬升增加的山脉高度不会完全被冰锯作用抵消。     

Fractures as the main pathways of water flow in temperate glaciers

Understanding the flow of water through the body of a glacier is important, because the spatial distribution of water and the rate of infiltration to the glacier bottom is one control on water storage and pressure, glacier sliding and surging, and the release of glacial outburst floods. According to the prevailing hypothesis, this water flow takes place in a network of tubular conduits. Here we analyse video images from 48 boreholes drilled into the small Swedish glacier Storglaci?ren, showing that the glacier's hydrological system is instead dominated by fractures that convey water at slow speeds. We detected hydraulically connected fractures at all depths, including near the glacier bottom. Our observations indicate that fractures provide the main pathways for surface water to reach deep within the glacier, whereas tubular conduits probably form only in special circumstances. A network of hydraulically linked fractures offers a simple explanation for the origin and evolution of the englacial water flow system and its seasonal regeneration. Such a fracture network also explains radar observations that reveal a complex pattern of echoes rather than a system of conduits. Our findings may be important in understanding the catastrophic collapse of ice shelves and rapid hydraulic connection between the surface and bed of an ice sheet.     

Late Pleistocene glaciation of the Changbai Mountains in northeastern China

The Changbai Mountains （2749 m a.s.l.） in northeastern China are one of the typical mountain regions with glaciation since late Pleistocene as evidenced by well-preserved erosive and accumulative landforms at elevations above 2000 m a.s.l, formed by glaciers around the crater lake, Tianchi Lake. Cirque glaciers developed on both the inner and outer sides of the volcanic cone. Well-preserved cirques, glacial trough valleys, glacial threholds, polished surfaces of the glacial erratics and the moraine ridges indicate that several glaciation processes took place during the last glacial period in this region. Resuits of optically stimulated luminescence （OSL） dating on the moraine sediments, and the K/Ar, thermal ionization mass spectrometry （TIMS）, electronic spinning resonance （ESR） dating on the volcanic rocks suggest two periods of glacier advances. One is named the Black Wind Mouth glacier advance taking place on the west and north slopes of the volcanic cone at an elevation of 2000-2100 m a.s.l., which is dated to about 20 ka, being the result of the Last Glacial Maximum （LGM）. The other is named the Meteorological Station glacier advance at the elevation of 2400-2600 m a.s.l., dated to 11 ka during the late glacial period, and is tentatively correlated to the Younger Dryas stage. The scope of the former glacier advance is larger than that of the latter. Regional comparisons showed that the glacial sequences in the Changbai Mountains are similar to other glaciated areas in eastern Asia during the later part of the last glacial cycle.     

Mineral deformation and subglacial processes on ice-bedrock interface of Hailuogou Glacier

Hailuogou Glacier is located in a warm and humid maritime environment. It is large and moves very fast. The bottom of the glacier slides intensively and the temperature at the bottom approaches the pressure melting point. Therefore, there are abundant melting water and debris which act as effective ＂grinding tools＂ for glacial abrasion. Polarizing microscope is used to observe the mineral deformation characteristics on the ice-bedrock interface. It is found that feldspar, quartz, hornblende and biotite are exposed to deformation, fracture and chemical alteration to various extents. Bending deformation is common for biotite, due to their lattice characteristics, and the bending orientations are mostly the same as the glacier flow. Bending deformation also occurs in a few hornblendes. High-angle tension fracture and low-angle shear fracture are common for quartz and feldspar, some of them are totally crushed （mylonizations） due to their rigidity. Thus, all the abrasion, quarrying, subglacial water action and subglacial dissolution processes at the bottom of the glacier are verified at the micro-scale level. Mineral deformation and fracture are the basic subglacial erosion mechanisms. The abrasion thickness is 30-90 μm for each time and the average is 50 μm. Most of the debris are silt produced by glacial abrasion. The extent of mineral deformation and fracture decreases drastically downwards beneath the bedrock surface. The estimated erosion rate is about 2.2-11.4 mm/a, which is similar to that of other maritime alpine glaciers, smaller than that of large-scale piedmont glaciers in Alaska （10-30 mm/a）, and larger than that of continental glaciers （0.1-1.0 mm/a）. The type and size of a glacier are the main factors that influence its erosion rate.     

冰碛湖库容数学模型的计算方法

全球气候的变暖致使冰湖溃决灾害频繁发生,严重威胁高原地区人民生命财产安全,随之对于冰湖溃决的研究也愈发深入,冰湖库容量作为冰湖研究基础参数,对冰湖危险性评价、冰湖溃决洪峰流量以及模拟洪水演进具有不可代替的作用。计算冰湖库容的方法主要有实地测量和冰碛湖库容计算公式,由于冰碛湖多位于高山极高山地区,对每个冰湖进行实地测量难以实现,传统冰湖库容的计算方法是基于大量冰湖参数与冰湖库容的统计关系,建立冰碛湖库容经验公式,虽然其拟合优度相对较高,但其相关性只能衡量冰碛湖面积和冰碛湖库容在统计规律上的一致性,对于精确计算冰碛湖库容仍有难以完成。本文通过文献资料整理、结合实地考察对湖盆形态模拟分析,将典型冰碛湖湖盆分为三段,通过模拟建立数学模型,以冰湖面积为约束条件,抽象成数学中的曲面立体模型,分别计算其形态体积,由此推算出计算冰湖体积的表达式V=0.0717w²l (w-冰碛湖湖宽;l-冰碛湖整体长度),并利用该模型验证了公式的有效精确性,为我国喜马拉雅山地区冰碛湖库容计算提供理论参考。     

1990—2020年那曲地区冰湖变化研究

基于Landsat遥感影像,采用目视解译的方法提取了青藏高原内部那曲地区冰湖和冰川1990、2000、2010及2020年4期边界数据,并分析近30年来该地区冰湖变化的特征与原因．结果表明:那曲地区现有冰湖255个,总面积（27.829±4.62） km2,冰湖主要集中在东南部,其次是西南部;1990—2020年,研究区新增冰湖72个,面积增长6.14 km2;冰湖扩张趋势明显,具体表现为低海拔地区（≤4 700 m）原有冰湖快速扩张,较高海拔地区（>5 100~5 700 m）新增冰湖集中出现;气温与降水是冰湖变化的关键因素,由于降水与气温分布及变化存在时空差异,冰湖变化呈现“南快北慢,逐期加快”的特征;冰湖与冰川的位置关系也会影响冰湖变化,离冰川位置越近,对冰湖发育越有利,同时与冰湖接触的冰川退缩速率相较于其余冰川有更大的退缩速率,但冰川与冰湖面积变化速率并无明显相关性．      

Response of Zhadang Glacier runoff in Nam Co Basin,Tibet, to changes in air temperature and precipitation form

This paper describes 2007/2008 inter-annual changes in runoff from the Zhadang Glacier located on the northern slope of Nyainqêntanglha Range, Tibet, and analyzes their causes. Precipitation increased by 17.9% in summer months of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, drainage basin runoff decreased by 33.3%, and glacial meltwater decreased by 53.8%. Change in positive accumulated air temperature explained approximately half of the inter-annual difference in glacial meltwater using a de-gree-day model. This suggests that the glacier is extremely sensitive to changes in air temperature. Energy balance analysis showed that change in glacier surface albedo, considered to be caused by difference in precipitation form, resulted in the large inter-annual difference in glacial meltwater. It was shown statistically that precipitation form in the summer months of 2007 was mainly rainfall which comprised 71.5% of total precipitation, while during the same period in 2008 rainfall accounted for 30.7%, with the majority of precipitation falling as snow. Precipitation form should be considered an independent factor when analyzing glacier sensitivity to climate change or forecasting the runoff from certain glaciers.     

阿尼玛卿山多次冰川滑塌链式灾害过程梳理与展望

冰川滑塌是近年来涌现的一种新形式冰川灾害．21世纪以来，青藏高原地区发生10多起冰川滑塌事件，其中高原东北部阿尼玛卿山晓玛沟冰川分别在2004、2007、2016和2019年连续发生4次．利用多序列遥感影像和现有资料的整合统计对近35年来晓玛沟冰川形态、流速特征等进行分析，厘清了4次冰川滑塌事件发生的诱因以及潜在的隐患点．结果表明，4次冰川滑塌发生前期的冰川跃动或末端前进、冰川后缘冰-岩崩、异常高温降水、易于滑动产生的基岩性质等与冰川滑塌事件的发生密切相关．观察到冰川后缘陡坡区在2000—2011年间发生4次规模较大的冰-岩崩，为多次冰川滑塌的发生提供了物质和动力基础．未来几年内再次发生冰川滑塌的可能性极大．2019年冰川滑塌发生后，晓玛沟冰川再次向前滑动；近年来，冰川后缘新发育的不稳定斜坡冰裂隙发育明显增多；斜坡冰流速的变化与下部冰川稳定性之间存在内在联系，在冰川滑塌发生的相关年份斜坡冰流速明显较快．根据对阿尼玛卿山4次冰川滑塌诱因的分析以及新隐患点的判定，提出结合遥感影像和临近气象站点资料的便易手段，加强对晓玛沟内冰川形态和运动特征等的监测，以及时关注和预测未来灾害的发生．      

The effect of millennial-scale changes in Arabian Sea denitrification on atmospheric CO2.

Most global biogeochemical processes are known to respond to climate change, some of which have the capacity to produce feedbacks through the regulation of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Marine denitrification-the reduction of nitrate to gaseous nitrogen-is an important process in this regard, affecting greenhouse gas concentrations directly through the incidental production of nitrous oxide, and indirectly through modification of the marine nitrogen inventory and hence the biological pump for CO2. Although denitrification has been shown to vary with glacial-interglacial cycles, its response to more rapid climate change has not yet been well characterized. Here we present nitrogen isotope ratio, nitrogen content and chlorin abundance data from sediment cores with high accumulation rates on the Oman continental margin that reveal substantial millennial-scale variability in Arabian Sea denitrification and productivity during the last glacial period. The detailed correspondence of these changes with Dansgaard-Oeschger events recorded in Greenland ice cores indicates rapid, century-scale reorganization of the Arabian Sea ecosystem in response to climate excursions, mediated through the intensity of summer monsoonal upwelling. Considering the several-thousand-year residence time of fixed nitrogen in the ocean, the response of global marine productivity to changes in denitrification would have occurred at lower frequency and appears to be related to climatic and atmospheric CO2 oscillations observed in Antarctic ice cores between 20 and 60 kyr ago.     

华南震旦系冰川地层及冰川演化规律

华南震旦系冰成地层(特别是海相)由三部分组成,它们并非代表冰期与间冰期的交替,而是同一冰期的三个不同演化阶段的产物。以滑积岩和浊积岩为特征的下部地层形成于冰进阶段;以泥(页)岩和碳酸盐岩为主的中部地层形成于冰盛阶段;以碎屑流沉积的杂屑岩为特征的上部地层则是冰退阶段的产物。     

A distributed surface energy and mass balance model and its application to a mountain glacier in China

Based on the field observations on Qiyi Glacier during the warm season of 2007, using a digital elevation model (DEM, 15 m resolution), we developed a distributed surface energy- and mass-balance model with an hourly resolution. The model described the effect of topography on shortwave solar radiation, and used a new parameterization for glacier albedo. The model was applied to Qiyi Glacier in the Qilian Mountain, China, for the period 20 : 00 30 June to 12 : 00 10 October 2007, to simulate the firn-line changes, the temporal and spatial variations of mass balance, and the glacial meltwater runoff. The results indicated that the patterns of altitudinal profile of glacier mass-balance were affected mainly by the altitudinal profile of albedo, and the status of the glacier mass balance was influenced directly by the values of albedo. The parameter sensitivity test showed that the model was sensitive to the air temperature lapse rate and precipitation gradient, and also sensitive to the threshold temperature for solid/liquid precipitation. Furthermore, the climate sensitivity test showed that the mass balance was more sensitive to air temperature than precipitation, and the response of mass balance to air temperature change was nonlinear while the response to precipitation change linearly. The negative mass balance trend of the glacier can not be reversed when precipitation increases by 20% and meanwhile air temperature rises by 1°C.     

Quaternary glacier development and the relationship between the climate change and tectonic uplift in the Helan Mountain

Isolated NE-SW stretching the Helan Mountain massif, separating the temperate grassland of the Ordos plateau from the Tenggeli Desert, is a key position of studying the glacier development in west China as well as the coupling conditions of climate change with tectonic uplift. The glacial landforms and deposits including cirques, peaks, knife-edge ridges, lateral moraines, and terminal moraines distribute above 2800 m a.s.l. in the middle part of the Helan Mountain. This distribution indicates that here was once glaciated during the late Quaternary. Morphology features show a clear sequence of landscape forming events took place throughout the Helan Mountain. Laboratory optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and accelerator mass spectrometry radio-carbon dating (AMS 14 C) results indicate a late history of glacial advance. Late Pleistocene glaciers in the middle part of the Helan Mountain advanced to near their positions at least four times, and the glacial sequences can be assigned as the middle stage of last glacial cycle (MIS3b, 43.2±4.0 ka), last glacial maximum (LGM, ~18 ka), late glacial (12.0±1.1 ka) and neo-glacial (3.4± 0.3 ka) respectively. Adopting equilibrium line altitude ~2980 m of last glacial maximum and the modern theoretical snowline altitude ~4724 m as the maximum amplitudes, and the standard marine isotope curve (MIS) as the glacial equilibrium line change since the Gonghe Movement (150 ka), the relationship between the mountain altitude and glacier development is discussed herein. Compared with other environmental indexes such as the loesspaleosol and ice core, conclusions are made that glacier advances in the Helan Mountain during the late Quaternary obviously depended on the coupled control of tectonic uplift of mountain with the climate condition. It is at last glaciation that the mountain reached the altitude above snowline and coupled with the glacial climate. The glacial advances occurred in the early and middle stages of last glacial cycle after the Gonghe Movement.     

A high-resolution environmental change record since 19 cal ka BP in Pumoyum Co,southern Tibet

A 380-cm-long sediment core was acquired from the deep water area of Pumoyum Co, southern Tibet. Twenty-five plant residue samples were selected, and organic carbon stable isotopes were obtained using the AMS ¹⁴C chronological method. The ¹⁴C age and carbon reservoir effect were calibrated with surface sedimentation rate measurements using ²¹⁰Pb dating. Results showed that the core sediment deposited over 19 cal ka BP. Based on a multi-proxy analysis of TOC and IC contents, grain size and pollen assemblage data, the palaeoclimatic evolution of Pumoyum Co was reconstructed since the last glacial. Pumoyum Co was a shallow lake prior to 16.2 cal ka BP; although the glacier around the lake began to melt due to increasing temperatures, climate was still cold and dry. In the interval of 16.2–11.8 cal ka BP, the sedimentary environment fluctuated drastically and frequently. Two cold-events occurred at 14.2 and 11.8 cal ka BP, and these may correspond to the Older Dryas and the Younger Dryas events, respectively. After 11.8 cal ka BP, Pumoyun Co developed into the deep lake as it is now. The lake water temperature was relatively lower at that time because of influx of cold water from glacial meltwater entering the lake. As a result, the multi-proxy indicators showed no sign of warm conditions. Comparisons between the sedimentary record of Pumoyum Co with that of other lakes of the same age in southern Tibet indicate a warmer climate following the last deglaciation influenced the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. These results imply that the southwest Asian monsoon gradually became stronger since the deglaciation during its expansion to the inner plateau. The glacial-supplied water of the lake responded sensitively to cold-events. The entire southern Tibet region was dominantly influenced climatically by the southwest Asian monsoon during the Holocene.     

Discovery of Quaternary glacial evidence of Snow Mountain in Taiwan, China

There are glacial remains of three different periods on the main peak of Snow Mountain in Taiwan province, including cirque lake, crosswall, polished surface, striation, moraine etc. These three different periods were called, respectively, Shanzhuang ((44.25 ±3.72) kaBP), Shuiyuan ((18.26 ±1.52) kaBP), and Xueshan glacial stages (the late period of last glaciation). It is characterized by the earlier glacier broad in scale.     

Decoupling of erosion and precipitation in the Himalayas

The hypothesis that abrupt spatial gradients in erosion can cause high strain rates in active orogens has been supported by numerical models that couple erosional processes with lithospheric deformation via gravitational feedbacks. Most such models invoke a 'stream-power' rule, in which either increased discharge or steeper channel slopes cause higher erosion rates. Spatial variations in precipitation and slopes are therefore predicted to correlate with gradients in both erosion rates and crustal strain. Here we combine observations from a meteorological network across the Greater Himalaya, Nepal, along with estimates of erosion rates at geologic timescales (greater than 100,000 yr) from low-temperature thermochronometry. Across a zone of about 20 km length spanning the Himalayan crest and encompassing a more than fivefold difference in monsoon precipitation, significant spatial variations in geologic erosion rates are not detectable. Decreased rainfall is not balanced by steeper channels. Instead, additional factors that influence river incision rates, such as channel width and sediment concentrations, must compensate for decreasing precipitation. Overall, spatially constant erosion is a response to uniform, upward tectonic transport of Greater Himalayan rock above a crustal ramp.     

基于无人机技术的藏东南帕隆4号冰川表面高程和运动速度变化研究

应用无人机技术，采用后差分测量（post processed kinematic，PPK）方法替代传统控制点的方法，对藏东南帕隆4号冰川消融区进行了航测，获得了2017—2018年3期高精度正射影像（DOM）、数字表面模型（DSM）和三维点云数据；分析了该冰川航测区内表面高程变化、运动速度空间差异和冰川微地貌特征等. 结果表明:PPK测量技术应用效果良好，无人机产品水平和垂直精度分别约为0.11和0.17 m；帕隆4号冰川消融区表面高程变化量呈现随海拔升高而降低的空间分布规律，冰川冰体整体减薄4.06 m；冰川表面运动速度随海拔升高而增大，呈现冰川中流线区域略快于两侧的空间分布特征；冰川表面地貌特征随海拔由高到低呈现趋于“平滑”的变化规律. 此外，还探究了无人机技术在冰川变化研究中的潜力，为未来利用无人机开展更大范围冰川变化的研究提供了有益经验.      

基于遥感与GIS的朋曲流域冰川及冰湖变化研究

由于全球变暖，冰川正逐年退缩，随之引发的冰湖溃决洪水已不容忽视，但静态和孤立地研究冰湖已不能满足人们对冰湖信息的需求．本文基于20世纪70年代的地形图数据和2000年以来的ASTER遥感影像数据，使用GIS手段矢量化朋曲流域20世纪70年代和近期的冰川及冰湖的空间分布，并进行编目．对于获得的空间数据分析结果表明，在过去30年里该区冰川面积减少近9％，冰湖面积则增加了13％，在此基础上比较二者的联系和变化，识别出了24个可能发生溃决的冰湖，这为朋曲流域建立一套冰湖溃决预警系统提供依据；同时，对于研究其他类似地区的冰湖溃决现象也具有指导意义。     

帕隆藏布流域（波密-然乌段）冰川动态变化遥感分析

帕隆藏布流域位于中国海洋性冰川最为发育的藏东南地区,近年来随着全球温室效应加剧,帕隆藏布流域冰川变化极为显著。采用多期遥感影像,对1994～2015年间帕隆藏布流域波密至然乌段的冰川变化趋势、原因及其影响进行研究。结果表明:(1)20余年间冰川总面积减少了451. 72 km2,各冰川每年大约退缩2. 48%～2. 95%,气温升高以及降雨量减少是导致冰川面积持续退缩的主要原因。(2)由于帕隆藏布江南岸山坡所接收的太阳辐射热量更少,但降水却更加充沛,使得帕隆藏布江南岸冰川分布面积及覆盖率远大于北岸,而冰川退缩速率远小于北岸。(3)冰川的不断退缩使得沟道上游大量冻融松散物源在冰雪融水的外动力条件下,进入沟道形成松散堆积物源,导致流域内大规模发育冰川泥石流。由于帕隆藏布江南岸冰川规模更大,导致帕隆藏布江南岸冰川泥石流更为发育。(4)冰川变化动态监测对冰川泥石流机理分析以及预警研究工作有着重要的参考指导价值。     

Modelled atmospheric temperatures and global sea levels over the past million years

Marine records of sediment oxygen isotope compositions show that the Earth's climate has gone through a succession of glacial and interglacial periods during the past million years. But the interpretation of the oxygen isotope records is complicated because both isotope storage in ice sheets and deep-water temperature affect the recorded isotopic composition. Separating these two effects would require long records of either sea level or deep-ocean temperature, which are currently not available. Here we use a coupled model of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets and ocean temperatures, forced to match an oxygen isotope record for the past million years compiled from 57 globally distributed sediment cores, to quantify both contributions simultaneously. We find that the ice-sheet contribution to the variability in oxygen isotope composition varied from ten per cent in the beginning of glacial periods to sixty per cent at glacial maxima, suggesting that strong ocean cooling preceded slow ice-sheet build-up. The model yields mutually consistent time series of continental mean surface temperatures between 40 and 80 degrees N, ice volume and global sea level. We find that during extreme glacial stages, air temperatures were 17 +/- 1.8 degrees C lower than present, with a 120 +/- 10 m sea level equivalent of continental ice present.