West Antarctica's sensitivity to natural and human‐forced climate change over the Holocene

The location and intensity of the austral westerlies strongly influence southern hemisphere precipitation and heat transport with consequences for human society and ecosystems. With future warming, global climate models project increased aridity in southern mid‐latitudes related to continued poleward contraction of the austral westerlies. We utilize Antarctic ice cores to investigate past and to set the stage for the prediction of future behaviour of the westerlies. We show that Holocene West Antarctic ice core reconstructions of atmospheric circulation sensitively record naturally forced progressive as well as abrupt changes. We also show that recent poleward migration of the westerlies coincident with increased emission of greenhouse gases and the Antarctic ozone hole has led to unprecedented penetration, compared with >100,000 years ago, of air masses bringing warmth, extra‐Antarctic source dust and anthropogenic pollutants into West Antarctica. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

国际南极冰盖与海平面变化研究述评

海平面上升是全球变暖的主要后果之一。尽管有少数冰川学家认为,气候变暖并不能确保雪积累量的显著增加,同时可能出现冰流的突然变化,因此南极冰盖在未来海平面变化中的作用存在很大的不确定性。但近几十年来南极半岛气温的急剧上升,已使大量的冰架崩解。冰架崩解并不对海平面产生真正的影响,但反映出南极洲气候与冰川存在急剧变化的可能。     

Atlantic ocean heat piracy and the bipolar climate see‐saw during Heinrich and Dansgaard–Oeschger events

The millennial‐scale asynchrony of Antarctic and Greenland climate records during the last glacial period implies that the global climate system acts as a bipolar see‐saw driven by either high‐latitudinal and/or near‐equatorial sea‐surface perturbations. Based on the results of recent modelling of generic Heinrich and Dansgaard–Oeschger scenarios, we discuss the possibility that oscillations of the deep‐ocean conveyor may have been sufficient to cause this bipolar see‐saw. The bipolar climate asynchrony in our scenarios is caused by the toggle between North Atlantic heat piracy and South Atlantic counter heat piracy. Ocean circulation has an enhanced sensitivity to the northern deep‐water source as the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) cannot enter the Southern Ocean at depths shallower than the bottom of the Drake Passage. Any shoaling of the NADW can, therefore, increase the northward incursion of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), and trigger an interhemispheric climate oscillation. As hundreds of years are required to warm the respective high latitudes, the observed climate lead and lags between the two hemispheres can be explained entirely by the variability of the meridional overturning and by the corresponding change in the oceanic heat transport. Accordingly, it is entirely feasible for the global climate to work like a pendulum, which theoretically could be controlled by pushing at either of the deep‐water sources. Our model scenarios suggest that it is entirely feasible for the bipolar climate see‐saw to be controlled solely by variations in NADW formation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The occurrence of lead in Antarctic recent snow,firn deposited over the last two centuries and prehistoric ice

Concentrations of lead have been measured by ultraclean Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry in snow cores covering the last two centuries collected at an inland site in East Antarctica using an ultra clean all plastic hand operated auger and in a prehistoric blue ice block collected at an Antarctic coastal site. Lead contamination of 16 to 200 pg Pb/g existed on the outside of the snow cores, but the measured concentrations decreased more or less abruptly along a radius from the outside to the centers of the snow cores, establishing interior values in the 1 to 5 pg Pb/g range. Some of these interior values are however possibly still slightly affected by lead contamination which could have intruded to the center of the cores because of slight melting of some of the snow cores before laboratory analysis. The interior of the blue ice block appears not to have been significantly contaminated, and contains about 1.7 pg Pb/g.These new data show that most previously published data on lead in Antarctic snow and ice were in high positive error because of contamination during field sampling, laboratory analysis or both. They show that lead concentrations could not have increased in Antarctic snows or ice from prehistoric times to present more than 2 to 3 fold, confirming that the remote polar areas of the Southern Hemisphere are still little affected by industrial lead pollution. Prehistoric Antarctic ice is shown to contain about 1 pg Pb/g natural excess lead above silicate dust lead; this excess cannot be entirely accounted for by volcanoes or sea spray, which suggests the possible existence of some other unknown natural source of prehistoric excess lead. Present day mean eolian fallout flux of lead in Antarctica is estimated to be about 0.07 ng Pb cm^?2 yr^?1, which stands in about the same proportion to that in the South Pacific Westerlies (about 1:30) as the flux in Greenland is observed to stand to those in the North Pacific and North Atlantic Westerlies.     

Post-glacial regional climate variability along the East Antarctic coastal margin—Evidence from shallow marine and coastal terrestrial records

We review the post-glacial climate variability along the East Antarctic coastline using terrestrial and shallow marine geological records and compare these reconstructions with data from elsewhere. Nearly all East Antarctic records show a near-synchronous Early Holocene climate optimum (11.5–9 ka BP), coinciding with the deglaciation of currently ice-free regions and the optimum recorded in Antarctic ice and marine sediment cores. Shallow marine and coastal terrestrial climate anomalies appear to be out of phase after the Early Holocene warm period, and show complex regional patterns, but an overall trend of cooling in the terrestrial records. A Mid to Late Holocene warm period is present in many East Antarctic lake and shallow coastal marine records. Although there are some differences in the regional timing of this warm period, it typically occurs somewhere between 4.7 and 1 ka BP, which overlaps with a similar optimum found in Antarctic Peninsula terrestrial records. The differences in the timing of these sometimes abrupt warm events in different records and regions points to a number of mechanisms that we have yet to identify. Nearly all records show a neoglacial cooling from 2 ka BP onwards. There is no evidence along the East Antarctic coastline for an equivalent to the Northern Hemisphere Medieval Warm Period and there is only weak circumstantial evidence in a few places for a cool event crudely equivalent in time to the Northern Hemisphere's Little Ice Age. There is a need for well-dated, high resolution climate records in coastal East Antarctica and particularly in Terre Adélie, Dronning Maud Land and Enderby Land to fully understand the regional climate anomalies, the disparity between marine and terrestrial records, and to determine the significance of the heterogeneous temperature trends being measured in the Antarctic today.     

Alpine valley heads on the Antarctic Peninsula

Landform assemblages may be useful for elucidating glaciological changes in West Antarctica. Numerous nunataks in the Antaretic Peninsula are highly dissected by alpine valley heads (corries, cirque-headed valleys, etc.). It is believed that these have been cut by wet-based mountain glaciation before and during the build up of the ice-sheet. though the smallest ones may have formed later at times when the ice-sheet was insufficiently thick to submerge them. Dimensions of the features suggest that the main alpine glaciation was in the Miocene. Morphometric analysis of 1663 alpine valley heads has been based on satellite imagery, concentrating on regional variations in frequency, size and orientation. Length of alpine glaciation is believed to be an important control of size. Orientation is believed to have been influenced by palaeoclimate as well as topography. During early, more marginal glaciations poleward and lee-side sites were occupied by corrie glaciers, with more windward sites being added as glaciation intensified, followed by northerly orientations under more recent polar conditions. Comparisons have also been made with other morphometric studies of corries in Antarctica and elsewhere.     

南极新生代海陆格局变迁对全球气候变化的影响

南极大陆记录了新生代以来地质演化中多次重大地质事件,包括大陆生长、裂解和离散、全球冷却和大陆尺度南极冰盖的发展等。尽管非常重要,但至今关于南极大陆新生代地质演化仍有诸多争论。文章主要针对塔斯曼通道和德雷克海峡贯通过程,系统总结并分析了南极洲、南美洲和澳大利亚的构造、岩浆和沉积演化历史。始新世晚期至渐新世早期开始发育的南极环极洋流（ACC）受德雷克海峡和塔斯曼通道扩张程度的控制。综合分析和对比研究表明,~34 Ma全球气候从"暖室"到"冷室"的转变与ACC开始的时间一致,表明构造通道的打开控制了ACC的发育,进而对全球气候产生了重要影响。最后,简要总结了南极作为一个完整的地球系统,其新生代地质演化如何控制海陆格局的变迁,并提出未来研究需要解决的关键问题。      

A diatom‐inferred record of lake variability during the last 900 years in Lützow–Holm Bay,East Antarctica

Decadal–centennial‐scale climate variability in coastal Antarctica remains poorly understood due to the limited number of highly resolved, well‐dated records. We present a 900‐year, decadal‐scale reconstruction based on sedimentary diatoms from Lake Abi in Lützow–Holm Bay, East Antarctica. Hydrological change is inferred from diatom ecological preferences in conjunction with an existing regional training set and implies that lake water specific conductivity, depth and nitrogen availability are the key drivers of diatom assemblage change. Lake Abi underwent a series of subtle environmental changes related to these environmental variables, possibly driven by changes in catchment snow melt and the duration of seasonal ice cover. Ordination is used to trace the major patterns of change in the diatom community, with notable shifts identified between 470 and 400 and at ～350 cal a BP (where present = CE 1950). The frequency of environmental variability at Lake Abi is broadly consistent with a record of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation during the last millennium, but contrasts with the apparent climate stability elsewhere in eastern Antarctica. Further research is required to constrain the limnological and ecological responses of lakes in coastal Antarctica to obtain more rigorous palaeoclimate reconstructions from these sites of immense potential.     

基于CryoSat-2雷达高度计数据的南极内陆冰盖高程变化与物质平衡

南极冰盖对海平面影响巨大,高程变化测量是南极物质平衡监测的重要手段。采用欧空局CryoSat-2雷达高度计数据,通过提取卫星升降轨的地面交叉点,监测了南极内陆冰盖的高程变化（物质平衡）。结果表明,后向散射能量对Ku波段的CryoSat-2雷达高度计的高程数据具有一定的影响,经后向散射能量校正后,时间序列上的高程变化变得平缓,高程变化与已有的降雪数据相比,更加符合实际情况。2010年11月至2017年11月南极内陆冰盖高程变化趋势为（-1.1±0.2）cm·a^-1。西南极的Kamb冰流高程变化率为（38.7±1.1）cm·a^-1,Moeller冰流高程变化率为（-10.3±1.2）cm·a^-1,部分Thwaites冰川区域高程变化率为（-13.4±1.8）cm·a^-1,东南极的Wilkes Land出现高下降区,最高达-20 cm·a^-1。Dronning Maud Land虽然出现变化异常的点,但整体并没有显著的高程变化。南极内陆冰盖质量变化为（-10.6±6.2）Gt·a^-1,整体上南极内陆冰盖质量变化平缓,部分区域变化较大,Kamb冰流达到（17.9±0.5）Gt·a^-1,Moeller冰流达到（-3.4±0.4）Gt·a^-1,部分Thwaites冰川区达到（-3.7±0.5）Gt·a^-1。     

始新世—渐新世气候转变研究进展

始新世—渐新世（E—O）气候转变（34 Ma前后）是新生代气候演化过程中最显著的变冷事件之一,标志着地球气候由“温室”进入“冰室”。这一转变伴随着地球环境的一系列重大变化,对于研究新生代气候变冷的驱动机制、区域气候对全球重大气候事件的响应方式、重大气候事件对生态环境及生物演替的影响等具有重要意义。近年来地质记录和气候模拟在E—O转变研究上取得了一系列重要进展：①不同纬度区的地质记录揭示出这一转变伴随着全球性的显著降温,指示其触发因素是全球性的;②气候模拟研究揭示出大气CO2浓度降低及与之联系的全球碳循环变化是导致这一转变的主因,否定了传统认为的环南极流形成导致E—O气候变冷的假说;③深海沉积记录揭示出这一转变过程持续400～500 ka,表现为全球降温和南极冰盖形成先后两阶段变化;④海—陆气候记录的对比初步揭示出陆地区域的干旱化可能主要与全球降温（对应于E—O转变的第一阶段）相关。当前对E—O气候转变的研究还存在地质记录分辨率不够高、模拟结果与地质记录不完全吻合、陆地记录相对较少等方面的不足。更精确的大气CO2浓度和温度的重建、更多高分辨率海—陆气候记录的研究以及古气候数值模拟的改进有望进一步揭示出E—O转变过程中气候系统各要素的变化特征和相互关系,为更深入认识这一转变的驱动机制提供依据。     

晚新生代黄土高原风尘序列的粒度和沉积速率与中国北方大气环流演变

文章以风尘沉积的粗粒和细粒组分与季风和西风环流的联系为基础,利用黄土高原中部的洛川剖面、西峰剖面和灵台剖面的粒度和沉积速率记录,讨论了晚新生代中国北方季风环流和西风环流的演变历史,总结了这一时期大气环流演变的基本规律和大气环流演变的动力机制.研究表明,自8～7Ma风尘沉积发育至5Ma左右,西风环流和季风环流都有减弱的趋势;自5Ma以来,西风环流和季风环流的强度都在逐步加强;与此同步,季风环流对风尘沉积的贡献增加,而西风环流对风尘的贡献逐渐减小,这一逐渐发展的大气环流趋势与北半球高纬冰盖的逐步发展有关;大气环流的这种趋势变化在8～7Ma,3.4Ma和1.2～0.9Ma这几个时期存在着突变,可能反映了青藏高原的阶段性隆升对中国北方季风环流演化的决定性作用以及对西风环流结构和强度的重要影响.中国北方大气环流在轨道尺度变化的基本特征是,低空季风环流在冰期加强,在间冰期减弱.西风环流和季风环流在冰期和间冰期的强度和格局可能主要与全球冰量的基本状况和青藏高原原面的性质有关.黄土高原的风尘记录在万年尺度和千年尺度的气候事件上都表现出相当明显的区域差异,可能主要与局部地形的大气环流效应有关.     

Cirque infills in the Khibiny Mountains,Kola Peninsula,Russia — palaeoglaciological interpretations and modern analogues in East Antarctica

We report here on cirque infills mapped in the Khibiny Mountains, Kola Peninsula, Russia. Cirque infills are morainic deposits located near the headwalls of valleys and cirques. Their location and shape, often with concave margins towards the valley side, indicate that they were deposited by ice flowing up‐valley, into the mountains, rather than by local glaciers. We suggest that they formed during the last deglaciation, when Khibiny was a nunatak and Fennoscandian ice sheet lobes extended into valleys and cirques of the massif. The formation of cirque infills is probably more related to ice sheet dynamic factors, occurring when the ice margin retreated from the cirques, than to climate‐driven interruption in the ice‐marginal retreat. Glacial conditions similar to those prevalent when the Khibiny cirque infills were formed, occur today in Antarctica where the ice sheets engulf nunatak ranges. In Heimefrontfjella, Antarctica, the formation of supraglacial moraines at the head of cirques are linked to blue‐ice conditions, indicating locally low accumulation rates, a dry continental climate and sublimation dominated ablation. We suggest that these Antarctic moraines are modern analogues of cirque infills on the Kola Peninsula, and possibly, that the cirque infills may be used as palaeoenvironmental indicators. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Abrupt climate change: An alternative view

Hypotheses and inferences concerning the nature of abrupt climate change, exemplified by the Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events, are reviewed. There is little concrete evidence that these events are more than a regional Greenland phenomenon. The partial coherence of ice core δ¹⁸O and CH₄ is a possible exception. Claims, however, of D-O presence in most remote locations cannot be distinguished from the hypothesis that many regions are just exhibiting temporal variability in climate proxies with approximately similar frequency content. Further suggestions that D-O events in Greenland are generated by shifts in the North Atlantic ocean circulation seem highly implausible, given the weak contribution of the high latitude ocean to the meridional flux of heat. A more likely scenario is that changes in the ocean circulation are a consequence of wind shifts. The disappearance of D-O events in the Holocene coincides with the disappearance also of the Laurentide and Fennoscandian ice sheets. It is thus suggested that D-O events are a consequence of interactions of the windfield with the continental ice sheets and that better understanding of the wind field in the glacial periods is the highest priority. Wind fields are capable of great volatility and very rapid global-scale teleconnections, and they are efficient generators of oceanic circulation changes and (more speculatively) of multiple states relative to great ice sheets. Connection of D-O events to the possibility of modern abrupt climate change rests on a very weak chain of assumptions.     

青海省海西州德令哈地区近千年来年降水量变化特征分析

试图揭示位于我国青藏高原东北部的青海省海西州德令哈地区近千年来世纪尺度年降水量变化规律。分析结果表明,该地区近千年年降水量变化存在显著的多尺度周期变化特征,其中以13～18世纪中的200年主控周期最为明显,并在15～17世纪达到最强,而近200年则以准120年的周期振荡为主,且在19世纪两种主要周期变化趋势相反,在近百年又趋向一致。年降水量序列的均值突变一般以30～100年尺度最为明显,世纪尺度的均值突变时段分别为公元1100～1111年、1403～1449年及1615～1661年,表现为年降水量的减少,以及公元1321～1348年、1497～1557年、1728～1743年及1885～1891年,表现为年降水量的增加。200年以上时间尺度的方差突变主要表现为序列的低频变化幅度,从公元1220年前后至1580年前后持续增大,且以15世纪的方差突变最为明显。     

Geochemical investigations to explain iodine-overabundances in Antarctic meteorites

Iodine, bromine, and chlorine concentrations were determined in different Antarctic meteorite specimens (eucrites, high-iron and low-iron chondrites) with isotope dilution mass spectrometry. In all Antarctic meteorites I-overabundances have been analysed compared with the concentrations for non-Antarctic meteorites of the same class. Half of the Antarctic specimens show especially high concentrations of more than 1 μ/g. A similarly high enrichment effect in Antarctic meteorites was not found for Br and Cl, but smaller Cl excesses could be observed in some eucrites and high-iron chondrites.By analysing different types of Antarctic rocks, a significant decrease of the I concentration—but not of the Br and Cl concentration-was determined from the surfaces to the centers of the rocks. This shows that atmospheric I compounds interact with the surfaces of Antarctic rocks and, therefore, with those of Antarctic meteorites as well. Analyses of atmospheric halogens show that the gaseous compound CH₃I is probably responsible for the I-overabundance in Antarctic meteorites and rocks. Chloride and bromide are found in particles derived from sea-spray in Antarctic aerosols. Deposition of halogens in Antarctic snow near the coast shows I/Cl ratios 10–190 higher than the average value for seawater. The corresponding Br/Cl ratios are in the same range as seawater. On the basis of our results and of other reported data we construct a preliminary hypothesis for a geochemical I cycle in Antarctica, taking into consideration long-distance and short-distance transportation of different I compounds from the coast to inland Antarctica.     

南极地区数百年来气候变化的冰芯记录对比研究

随着国际横穿南极科学考察计划的实施, 近年来开展了沿中山站-Dome A考察路线的冰芯研究, 获得了伊丽莎白公主地250 a来气候环境变化的高分辨率记录. 通过与Lambert冰川流域西侧有关研究结果的对比, 揭示了该冰川谷地为东南极洲重要气候分界线的特征. 综合南极地区其它地点冰芯记录和冰盖变化研究结果, 发现以小冰期为代表的寒冷期在东南极洲较为明显, 在西南极洲则不明显, 甚或恰好相反, 表现为温暖阶段. 就东南极洲来说, 也存在明显的区域差异: 以Lambert冰川谷地为界, 东部地区, 如Wilkes Land (Law Dome), Victoria Land北部(Hercules Neve)等地, 小冰期冷期比较突出;西部地区, 如Dronning Maud Land和Mizuho高原, 情况不是很明确. Lambert冰川流域是非常特殊的地方, 虽然小冰期冷期也存在, 但1850年前后的显著高温和近100多年来的降温与南极洲其它地方都不一样, 而与南极半岛北侧一冰芯所给出的400 a温度变化记录极为相似, 我们尚不能解释为何如此遥远的两个地点具有很好的一致性而与其它地方则不一致.     

Exotic pollen as an indicator of variable atmospheric circulation over the Labrador Sea region during the mid to late Holocene

Variability in the abundance of exotic (non‐native) pollen in sediment cores has long been considered as a potential proxy for changing atmospheric circulation, but the difficulty of gaining sufficient total exotic pollen and the incomplete understanding of atmospheric pollen transport patterns has hindered its application. In light of recent advances in the study of pollen transport, we present an exotic pollen record from two fjord sediment cores taken from the west (Placentia Bay, Newfoundland) and east (Narsaq Sund, Greenland) Labrador Sea as a basis for studying variations in regional atmospheric circulation. The two cores cover the last ca. 5500 years and indicate a shift in dominant spring/summer air masses at ca. 2000 (southern Greenland) and 3000 cal a BP (Newfoundland) transporting reduced concentrations of pollen from southerly and south‐westerly vegetation zones. This may suggest a shift away from more dominantly zonal atmospheric circulation (a feature of positive North Atlantic Oscillation years) to more frequent meridional circulation. These results support sea ice/sea‐surface temperature proxy reconstructions from Newfoundland, investigated as part of the same project, which also suggest increased winter atmospheric circulation during the early part of the time period studied. In this region, more positive North Atlantic Oscillation years, and therefore more zonal atmospheric circulation, are associated with increased atmospheric circulation in both the winter and the summer seasons. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Climate variability during the Last Glacial Maximum in eastern Australia: evidence of two stadials?

A high‐resolution, multiproxy record encompassing the last glacial–interglacial transition is presented for Native Companion Lagoon, a coastal site in subtropical eastern Australia. Rates of aeolian sedimentation in the lake were established by trace element analyses of lacustrine sediments and used as a proxy for aridity. In conjunction with sediment moisture content, charcoal and pollen these provide a multi‐decadal record of palaeoenvironmental variability for the period 33–18 k cal. yr BP. Results indicate that the Last Glacial Maximum in eastern Australia spanned almost 10 k cal. yr, and was characterised by two distinct cold dry events at approximately 30.8 k cal. yr BP and 21.7 k cal. yr BP. Provenance of selected sediment samples by trace element geochemical fingerprinting shows that continental sourced aeolian sediments originated primarily from South Australia during these cold events and from sites in central Australia during the intervening time. Used in combination with a pollen record, the provenance of long‐travelled dust to mainland sites shows that the two cold events were characterised by frequent meridional dry southwesterly winds rather than zonal westerly airflow as previously believed. The intervening period was cool and humid, which we infer as being associated with more frequent southeasterly winds of maritime origin. These results lend support to previous research that indicates the Southern Hemisphere experienced a period of widespread climatic amelioration at the height of the last glacial known as the Antarctic Isotopic Maximum. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

非冰期突然气候变化与太阳变化

本文试图介绍发生在非冰期,主要是全新世的突然气候变化研究所取得的进展,包括山地冰川和深海沉积物所记录的全新世突然气候变化,季风和干旱气候突然变化,以及突然气候变化与太阳变化的关系。太阳变化对整个全新世气候变化的影响似乎正愈来愈明晰起来。     

南极冰盖与中国风尘堆积

通过南极冰盖消长和风尘堆积物的气候事件对比,说明在4.3—2.5 Ma B.P,间南极冰盖增长和北极冰盖发展,中国第三纪风尘红壤土沉积可能是中国东部季风气候雏形形成的反映。2.6Ma以来,随着北极冰盖的迅速扩展,中国内陆进一步干旱化并促成黄土堆积。南极极锋带北移与黄土区极寒等事件的发生具有同步性,据此建立极寒事件的序列,可能反映大气环流强度变化情况。南极东方站冰岩芯气候曲线说明,黄土高原晚更新世以来的干冷期可能形成于0.115Ma B.P.。我国东部地区转暖大致发生在13000aB.P.,此后不久可能出现欧洲新仙女木寒冷事件。此外,大约在40000aB.P.可能有一寒冷事件。