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.     

Paleoenvironmental information recorded by pollen in B-3GC gravity core in Okinawa Trough

Based on pollen records in B-3GC gravity core, environmental change since 9500 aBP of Okinawa Trough and its adjacent islands was derived. The result showed that the most time during this period was in a warm temperate climate except in middle Holocene (6800-4400 aBP) that was under subtropical climate control. During 9500–8300 aBP and 3100–2000 aBP periods, it appeared colder and drier than the rest time. The original area of pollen sources surrounding Okinawa Trough was covered by evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forest alternatively with mixed broad-leaf-conifer forest distributed in high mountainous areas. Usually, these three kinds of forests existed at the same time with difference in altitude. Pollen from subtropical and tropical plants increased obviously in about 5000–6000 aBP, reflecting a great lifting of vegetation zone and expansion of evergreen broad-leaf forest in the study area. However, there was a slight descending of plant zone and shrinking of evergreen broadleaf forest during 9500-8300 aBP and 3000-2000 aBP. During the remaining periods vegetation zone was higher than the present but in a limited range.     

长江三角洲南翼 PJ孔揭示的全新世突变气候事件分析研究

全新世存在周期性气候突变事件已被多项研究证实,但有关于这些突变气候事件的驱动因子一直存在争议。本项研究通过对长江三角洲南翼PJ钻孔沉积物研究,反演区域全新世期间多次气候突变事件,几次明显的突变事件在500,1900,2900,3800,4500,5800,6800,7800,8500 cal yr BP左右,这些突变气候事件与全球其它地区的研究成果有很好的对比性。本文认为这些突变气候事件在全球范围内都有明显表现,可能是由于全球性气候因子的周期性变化所致,而非局地气候因子引起。     

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.     

Fluctuation of Picea timberline and paleo-environment on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains during the late Holocene

The fluctuation of alpine timberline, which can serve as a good indicator for Holocene climate, is the syn-thetically effective results of many environmental fac-tors during geological and historical periods and mod-ern times. In recent years, researches …     

Eolian sand deposition and its environmental significance in the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

The dry climate which appeared about 8#x2013;7 Ma ago in South Asia has been interpreted as results of the intensification of Asian monsoon caused by the uplift of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau at its maximum altitude around that time. Whether it is or not, it is a critical problem. A total of 55 samples were taken from the Tertiary red earth and Quaternary lacustrine deposits and loess in the Linxia Basin which is located in the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, for the analysis of quartz types and contents using electron probe microanalyzer. The results indicate that the eolian sands have existed since 15Ma and reached its maximum content at 8 and 6#x2013;5 Ma, respectively. This means that the climate was very dry during 8-5 Ma period in western China, which was regarded as the result of global climatic change at that time. Mean size of quartz sand grains was about 0.4 mm during 15#x2013;3.6/2.6 Ma period and dropped to 0.1–0.07 mm dramatically after 3.6–2.6 Ma. This demonstrates that the local eolian deposition was decreased significantly and even disappeared since Late Pliocene and was replaced by dust deposits from distal source, suggesting the uplift of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and the change of air circulation after 3.6–2.6 Ma.     

Groundwater recharge and climatic change during the last 1000 years from unsaturated zone of SE Badain Jaran Desert

The history of groundwater recharge and cli-matic changes during the last 1000 years has been estimated and reconstructed using environmental chloride from un-saturated zone profde in the southeast Badain Jaran Desert,NW China. By using a steady-state model for duplicate un-saturated zone chloride profiles, the long-term recharge at the site was estimated to be 1.3 mm yr^-1. From one profde,which reached the water table, the climatic change events of 10-20 years duration were well preserved. There were 3 wet phases and 4 dry episodes during the recent 800 years ac-cording to the peaks and troughs of recharge rate calculated via chloride concentration and moisture content. There was a dry episode before 1290 AD. At ca. 1500-1530 AD, which is an important date, there was an abrupt change from drought to wet conditions. At the beginning of the 1800s, local climate changed from wet to dry occurred and subsequently dete-riorated over the past 200 years,The unsaturated profile was compared with the Guliya ice core records.The agreement of wet and dry phases from 1200 to 1900 AD is quite good,whilst trends diverged during the last 100 years.It seems that the large-scale climate difference took place between mountain regions and the desert basin in NW China during the 20th century,which closely correspond to the water table reduction of some l metre.     

The early Holocene optimum inferred from a hish-resolution pollen record of Husuansyan Maar Lake in southern China

A high-resolution pollen record of the past 13000 a from Huguangyan Maar Lake reveals the vegetation and environment changes in southern China during the Holocene. It shows that （i） pollen percentage of trees and shrubs reached 56% during the early Holocene （11600-7800 cal a BP）, of which the pollen percentage of tropical trees reached a maximum at 9500-8000 cal a BP, reflecting a hot and wet environment; （ii） during the mid-Holocene （7800-4200 cal a BP）, the pollen percentage of montane coniferous trees and herbs increased, while the percentage of tropical-subtropical trees decreased, indicating lower temperature and humidity; （iii） in the late Holocene spanning from 4200 to 350 cal a BP, the pollen percentage of herbs and montane conifer increased significantly, indicating a marked decrease of temperature and humidity. Our pollen data reveal that the time period 9500-8000 cal a BP in southern China represents a climatic optimum for the Holocene characterized by hot and wet conditions. This is consistent with the Holocene optimum found in lower latitude regions globally. We speculate that strong insolation might cause the northward migration of the ITCZ and subtropical summer monsoon front, which resulted in an early Holocene optimum in the Huguangyan area. The dry tendency and climate fluctuations of the middle and late Holocene could be associated with a decrease in solar insolation and frequent ENSO event.     

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.     

关于高位泥炭形成时代的研究

以泥炭藓植物残体为主的高位泥炭，是古气候研究的重要佐证。其形成与湿润气候期密切相关。利用＾１４Ｃ测年及古气候研究的有关结果，对中国东北与白俄罗斯高位泥炭的形成特点进行了多方面研究，划分出几个重要的形成时期和阶段；探讨了它与全气候期以及几次重要气候事件的关系。     

A 16000-year pollen record of Qinghai Lake and its paleo-climate and paleoenvironment

The paleoclimate and paleoenvironment of Qinghai Lake indicated by a 16000-year pollen record are as follows. It was very cold and dry before 15200 years. During the Late Glacial, the climate varied from colder and semiarid to cool and semi-humid and fluctuated frequently but with little amplitude. Three cold events in the periods of 13400–13000, 11600–12000, and 11000–10400 aBP respectively correspond to the Oldest Dryas, Older Dryas and Younger Dryas events, whereas the two warm periods between them, 12000–13000 and 11600–11000 aBP, respectively correspond to Bölling and Alleröd periods. The temperature increased abruptly after the Younger Dryas event, and then the climate gradually turned to be warm and wet from warm and semiarid. In the Holocene, the largest amplitude of cold event that occurred at ca. 8200 aBP is quite prominent. The Holocene climatic optimum culminated at 6700 aBP. After 2100 aBP, the climate tended to be cold and dry, keeping on up to now. Palaeoclimatic evolution and events of Qinghai Lake based on pollen assemblage and concentrations can be well parallel with the global climatic events.     

Reconstruction of the spatial patterns of desert/loess boundary belt in North China during the Holocene

The desert/loess boundary belt is the transi-tional region between desert and loess, where aeolian sandand loess interlock in space and alternate in time. It, being seriously unstable in space-time, sensitive to climatic changes and with fragile ecological environment, is an ideal region for studying the global climate change. There are deposi-tional sequences of paleosol with sub-horizontal interbedded aeolian sand and loess, and the stratigraphical evidences show that there widely exist 3—4 layers paleosol in sand lands of northeastern China, 4—5 layers in Mu Us Sandy Land and Hunshandake Sandy Land, more than 4 layers in the Qinghai Lake region and the Gonghe Basin of Qinghai Province during the Holocene. These indicate that the desert has experienced several times of extending and compacting, along with which the desert/loess boundary belt vibrated. It possesses good coherence with global climate change and eustasy. The coherence shows that the monsoon change in East Asia is the primary driving factor for the swing of desert/loess boundary belt. Besides, human influence con-stantly intensified the swing of the belt, especially in the south of Mu Us Sandy Land during the 2000—3000 aBP.     

Abrupt Holocene changes of the Asian monsoon at millennial- and centennial-scales: Evidence from lake sediment document in Minqin Basin, NW China

Considerable research is now focusing on abrupt Holocene changes at millennial- and centennial-scales all over the world. This study shows that the changes in the Holocene summer monsoon can be divided into two main periods, based on climatic proxy records of lake sediments from the Sanjiaocheng section located at the NW boundary of the summer monsoon, Gansu Province. The early and middle Holocene was humid with stronger summer monsoon, while the late Holocene is dry with weak summer monsoon. Detailed results also show a series of millennial- and centennial-scale changes in the intensity of the summer monsoon, with a periodicity of {dy1600} years during the whole Holocene, and with a periodicity of 800 years during the early Holocene. Ten dry events during the Holocene are associated with the weakening of the summer monsoon. These rapid climatic changes may be representative of a global climatic change pattern during the Holocene.     

Precise timing of lacustrine gypsum in Luobubo, Xinjiang using the thermal ionization mass spectrometry U-series method

Dating techniques including gypsum dissolution in water, iron hydroxide co-precipitation with uranium and thorium and mass spectrometric determination have been investigated in this note. The ages of the gypsum samples in a CK core from Luobubo lacustrine sediments are in the range of (12.85±0.21) kaBP (4 m distance from the top core) to (153.2±7.2) kaBP (49 m distance from the top core) with the relative errors of ±1.6%–±4.7%. It indicates that the sedimental environment of the CK core was situated in the middle-late Pleistocene and Holocene periods, corresponding to 1–6 stages of oxygen isotopes in the abyssal sediments and included much information from last interglacial to Holocene warm periods.     

Holocene abrupt climate shifts recorded in Gun Nuur lake core, northern Mongolia

A continuous 7.44 m lake core was successfully drilled at Gun Nuur Lake, northern Mongolia, and analyses on environment magnetic parameters, organic matter content and organic δ^13C were conducted in an attempt to retrieve the Holocene chronosequence of climatic changes based on 6 AMS ^14C dates. We found that the Holocene climate in northern Mongolia has been alternating between cold (or cool)/wet conditions and warm/arid conditions, and also punctuated with a series of abrupt climate shifts. The abrupt climate shifts occurred around 1750, 2800, 4000, 5200, 7200, and 9200 aBP (^14C age), being chronologically correlative to those abrupt climatic events recorded in the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean. The correlation indicates that the climatic changes in northern Mongolia were linked with those in the North Atlantic Ocean probably via the North Atlantic Oscillation-affected westerly winds. The strength and position of westerly winds might have modulated the Siberian-Mongolian high pressure system (winter monsoon), directly influencing the climate in China.     

Melt-Water-Pulse （MWP） events and abrupt climate change of the last deglaciation

The last deglaciation is characterized by massive ice sheet melting, which results in an average sea-level rise of -120-140m. At least three major Melt-Water-Pulse （MWP） events （19ka-MWP, MWP-1A and MWP-1B） are recognizable for the last deglaciation, of which MWP-1A event lasting from -14.2 to -13.7 ka B.P. is of the most significance. However, the accurate timing and source of MWP-1A event remain debatable and controversial. It has long been postulated that meltwater of the last deglaciaUon pouring into the North Atlantic resulted in a slowdown or even a shutdown of the thermohaline circulation （THC） which subsequently affected the global climate change. Accordingly, the focus of this debate consists in establishing a reasonable relationship between MWP events and abrupt climate change. Here we summarize a variety of geological and model results for the last deglaciation, reaching a conclusion that the major MWP events did not correspond with the rigorous stadials, nor always happened within climate reversal intervals. MWP events of the last deglaciation had very weak influences on the intensity of the THC and were not able to trigger a collapse of the global climate. We need to reevaluate the influences of the temporal meltwater variability on the global climate system.     

Climate change in China in the 21st century as simulated by a high resolution regional climate model

Climate change in the 21st century over China is simulated using the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) Regional Climate Model version 3 (RegCM3). The model is one-way nested within the global model CCSR/NIES/FRCGC MIROC3.2_hires (Center for Climate System Research/National Institute for Environmental Studies/Frontier Research Center for Global Change/Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate). A 150-year (1951-2100) transient simulation is conducted at 25 km grid spacing, under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (IPCC SRES) A1B scenario. Simulations of present climate conditions in China by RegCM3 are compared against observations to assess model performance. Results show that RegCM3 reproduces the observed spatial structure of surface air temperature and precipitation well. Changes in mean temperature and precipitation in December-January-February (DJF) and June-July-August (JJA) during the middle and end of the 21st century are analyzed. Significant future warming is simulated by RegCM3. This warming becomes greater with time, and increased warming is simulated at high latitude and high altitude (Tibetan Plateau) areas. In the middle of the 21st century in DJF, a general increase of precipitation is found in most areas, except over the Tibetan Plateau. Precipitation changes in JJA show an increase over northwest China and a decrease over the Tibetan Plateau. There is a mixture of positive and negative changes in eastern China. The change pattern at the end of the century is generally consistent with that in mid century, except in some small areas, and the magnitude of change is usually larger. In addition, the simulation is compared with a previous simulation of the RegCM3 driven by a different global model, to address uncertainties of the projected climate change in China.     

Response of mollusk assemblages from the Luochuan loess section to orbital forcing since the last 250 ka

This note presents a new result of terrestrial mollusk study from the Luochuan loess section since the last 250 ka. A total of 213 samples, taken at intervals of 10 cm in the S₀-L₃ portion, were analyzed for fossil mollusks. Generally, 150–600 individuals were counted in each sample. According to the distribution of mollusk fossil assemblages in the loess section, 11 mollusk fossil zones have been recognized, representing different climatic and ecological conditions. Three main ecological groups were identified according to the temperature and moisture requirements of each taxon. The cold-aridiphilous group shows maxima at about 240–220, 190–182, 150–140 and 74–66 ka BP. The thermo-humidiphilous set has high abundances for at least 6 times in the section at about 246–240, 220–216, 170–158, 92–86, 60–44 and 10 kaBP. Our results show that variations in mollusk ecological groups are related with changes in the Earth orbital parameters at the 41 and 20 ka frequencies. Maxima in thermo-humidiphilous taxa are in phase with accretion intervals of obliquity (41 ka period), reflecting the East Asian summer monsoon with 41 ka period in controlling variations in terrestrial mollusk ecological groups. In addition, maxima in thermohumidiphilous taxa appearing at about 246–240, 220–216, 60 and 10 kaBP, are consistent with procession (20 ka period) maxima, indicating that the procession period also plays an important role in adjusting the ecological pattern of mollusk groups.     

The climate influence of anthropogenic land-use changes on near-surface wind energy potential in China

There is considerable interest in the potential impact of climate change on wind energy in China. The climate change of near-surface wind energy potential in China under the background of global warming and its association with anthropogenic land-use changes are investigated by calculating the difference in surface wind speeds between the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the observations since the reanalysis dataset contains the influence of large-scale climate changes due to greenhouse gases, it is less sensitive to regional surface processes associated with land types. The surface wind data in this study consist of long-term observations from 604 Chinese Roution Meteorological Stations and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data from 1960-1999. The results suggest that the observed mean wind speeds significantly weakened and the near-surface wind power trended downward due to urbanization and other land-use changes in the last 40 years. The mean wind energy weakened by -3.84 W·m^-2 per decade due to the influence of anthropogenic land-use change, which is close to the observed climate change （-4.51 W·m^-2/10 a）.     

Global change and climate-vegetation classification

Three phrases of the quantitative study of climate-vegetation classification and their characteristics are presented based on the review of advance in climate-vegetation interaction, a key issue of “global change and terrestrial ecosystems (GCTE)” which is the core project of International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP): (i) characterized by the correlation between natural vegetation types and climate; (ii) characterized by climatic indices which have obviously been restricted to plant ecophysiology; (iii) characterized by coupling both structure and function of vegetation. Thus, the prospective of climate-vegetation classification for global change study in China was proposed, especially the study coupling climate-vegetation classification models with atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs) was emphasized.