过去1 000 a大气中主要温室气体冰芯记录研究概述

对南北两极和中低纬度山地冰芯中开展的温室气体的相关研究进行了回顾.结果显示:在1000aBP到工业革命阶段,大气中CO2,CH4和N2O等温室气体的浓度及气体稳定同位素受各种自然来源影响显著,平均含量较低,浓度波动也较小;工业革命之后,随着人类工农业等活动对环境的影响的加剧,大气中3种温室气体的含量呈现出剧烈的上升趋势.2007年IPCC第四次评估报告显示,目前CO2、CH4和N2O气体浓度的全球大气平均含量分别达到379mL·m-3、1774μL·m-3和319μL·m-3.对影响工业革命前南极、格陵兰及青藏高原冰芯中温室气体的含量的因素总结发现,由于受不同的温度、杂质含量等条件的影响,温室气体含量区域差异较大.1800A.D.以前,格陵兰冰芯中CO2的含量较南极冰芯高出9mL·m-3,青藏高原达索普冰芯CH4平均含量较南极和格陵兰冰盖高出15%～20%,格陵兰冰芯中的N2O含量也明显高于南极冰芯.工业革命以后,冰芯中3种气体浓度表现出强烈的上升趋势,并均达到1000A.D.以来的最高值.     

米兰科维奇冰期旋回理论:挑战与机遇

米兰科维奇理论认为,北半球高纬夏季太阳辐射变化是驱动第四纪冰期旋回的主因。这个理论的核心是单一敏感区的触发驱动机制,即北半球高纬气候变化信号被放大、传输进而影响全球。最近,由于大量高分辨率及精确定年的气候变化记录的获得,从以下4个方面构成了对米氏理论的挑战:1)一些低纬地区并没有明显的10万年冰量周期,而是以2万年岁差周期为主,表明北半球冰盖的扩张、收缩变化并没有完全控制低纬区的气候变化;2)在最近几次冰消期时,南半球和低纬区的温度增高,要早于北半球冰盖的融化,表明冰消期的触发机制并非是北半球高纬夏季太阳辐射;3)大气CO₂浓度在第2冰消期的增加同南极升温相一致,表明该时大气CO₂浓度增加亦有可能早于北半球冰盖消融;4)南半球的末次冰盛期有可能早于北半球。这就说明单一敏感区触发驱动机制已难以圆满解释所有观察事实,天文因素控制下轨道尺度气候变化机制研究正面临理论突破的新需求和新机遇。     

极地和山地冰川雪冰中重金属的研究进展

地球系统中含量甚微的重金属元素是评价人类活动对大气环境影响的良好指标,研究极地和山地冰川地区过去和现代雪冰中重金属的历史记录,可以重建这些元素在过去大气环境中的循环过程,对认识地球大气环境中重金属污染的规模和历史、揭示这些污染物质的来源及中长距离的输送过程具有重要的作用.概述了格陵兰、南极、阿尔卑斯山和青藏高原等地区雪冰中重金属的研究进展,并对该领域未来的研究方向进行了展望.     

过去2000 年大气甲烷含量与气候变化的冰芯记录

温室气体与气候变化的关系是当前全球变化研究中的一个核心内容。目前关于大气温室气体含量变化只有几十年的实测资料, 而冰芯包裹气体中的CH4 不仅能反映过去大气CH4 含量随时间的变化, 而且能很好地揭示陆地CH 向大气中的释放随时间及空间的分布。近年来, 极地冰芯研究表明南极和北极过去大气层中的甲烷含 量差异很大, 北极大气层中甲烷含量远大于南极大气层。科学家们推测, 中低纬度地区是全球大气层甲烷含量变 化的驱动源。而对这一可能驱动源的甲烷含量变化, 很长时间人们一无所知。达索普冰芯记录揭示了中低纬度大 气CH4 含量与极地冰芯记录相同的变化趋势, 并明确显示工业革命以来大气CH4 含量的增长。高分辨率达索普 冰芯记录的工业革命以来大气CH4 含量变化最显著的特征是20 世纪两次世界大战期间人类活动CH4 排放的减缓 使大气CH4 含量呈负增长。中低纬度大气CH4 含量的恢复使我们有机会与极地冰芯记录进行定量对比研究。 0 ～1850A. D. 中低纬度大气CH4 的平均含量为782nmol /mol, 与格陵兰和南极大气CH4 平均含量差分别达66 nmol /mol和109nmol /mol, 并且其最大自然波动幅度超过200nmol /mol, 这是极地冰芯记录从未有过的。达索普冰芯 记录表明工业革命前中低纬度为全球大气重要的CH4 源区, 但最近1000a 来, 北半球中高纬度的排放有了显著的 加强; 过去2000a 来的自然变化时期, 气候变化的纬向差异对北半球不同纬度带CH4 排放格局有重要影响。     

雪冰中的黑碳记录研究的历史回顾

黑碳(Blackcarbon)是一类大气气溶胶,也是重要的气候驱动因子之一,它与人类活动密切相关.迄今发现,雪冰是保存和记录历史时期黑碳变化的最好介质.根据前人对南极冰芯、格陵兰冰芯、中低纬度山地冰川冰芯以及雪坑样品中的黑碳记录的研究成果,讨论了不同研究地区雪冰中黑碳含量的变化,黑碳对气候环境突变、大气环流变化的响应,总结了人类活动与雪冰黑碳记录之间的关系.雪冰黑碳记录还可以获得如森林大火这样的特殊事件的信息.     

Rapid late-glacial atmospheric CO2 changes reconstructed from the stomatal density record of fossil leaves

The Younger Dryas stadial (11 000-10 000 yr BP) was an abrupt return to a glacial climate during the termination of the last glaciation. We have reconstructed atmospheric CO₂ concentrations from a high-resolution sequence of fossil Salix herbacea leaves through this climatic oscillation from Kråkenes, western Norway, using the relationship between leaf stomatal density and atmospheric CO₂ concentration. High Allerød CO₂ values (median 273 ppmv) decreased rapidly during 130–200 ¹⁴C-years of the late Allerød to ca. 210 ppmv at the start of the Younger Dryas. They then increased steadily through the Younger Dryas, reaching typical interglacial values once more (ca. 275 ppmv) in the Holocene. The rapid late Allerød decrease in CO₂ concentration preceded the Younger Dryas temperature drop, possibly by several decades. This striking pattern of changes has not so far been recorded unambiguously in temporally coarse measurements of atmospheric CO₂ from ice cores. Our observed late-glacial CO₂ changes have implications for global modelling of the ocean-atmosphere-biosphere over the last glacial-interglacial transition.     

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。     

冰芯对于过去全球变化研究的贡献

系统地总结了冰芯在揭示过去气候环境变化、太阳活动、温室气体、火山活动、人类活动等方面研究所取得的成就,着重对一些有争议的重大问题(如Younger Dryas事件、温室气体与气候变化之间的关系、南北半球气候变化之间的关系等)进行了论述,并对其中个别问题提出了可能的解决途径.指出冰芯微生物、冰芯环境磁学将是冰芯研究的新方向.     

Climatic catastrophes in Earth history: two great Proterozoic glacial episodes

Near the beginning and end of the Proterozoic Eon (2.5 Ga–542 Ma) the Earth went through dramatic climatic perturbations. The Palaeoproterozoic (Huronian) glaciations are best known from the Canadian Shield where there is evidence of at least three such episodes. Glacial deposits of comparable age are also known from Fennoscandia, South Africa and Western Australia. In the type area, the Huronian glacial deposits are preserved in an ancient rift system that preceded break‐up of the supercraton, Kenorland, whereas those in the southern hemisphere may have been deposited in a foreland basin setting. Detailed correlations between the two hemispheres must await more geochronological data. Following a long period (~1.5 Ga) with little evidence of glaciation, the climatic upheavals of the Neoproterozoic Era began. The two most widespread glacial events are known as the Sturtian and Marinoan. The Neoproterozoic glaciations also took place on a supercontinent (Rodinia). Some were accompanied by unexpected rock types such as dolomitic cap carbonates and iron formations, both of which show evidence of hydrothermal influence. Major influences on surface temperatures on Earth include solar luminosity (increasing throughout geological history) and the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases such as CO₂ (generally diminishing with time). It is suggested that the two great Proterozoic climatic oscillation periods resulted from perturbations of the balance between these two variables, triggered by drawdown of atmospheric CO₂ during intensive weathering of supercontinents. A weathering‐related negative feedback loop resulted in multiple glaciations with intervening warm periods. Climatic stability only returned after the supercontinent broke apart and reduced continental freeboard moderated continental weathering. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stomatal evidence for a decline in atmospheric CO2 concentration during the Younger Dryas stadial: a comparison with Antarctic ice core records

A recent high‐resolution record of Late‐glacial CO₂ change from Dome Concordia in Antarctica reveals a trend of increasing CO₂ across the Younger Dryas stadial (GS‐1). These results are in good agreement with previous Antarctic ice‐core records. However, they contrast markedly with a proxy CO₂ record based on the stomatal approach to CO₂ reconstruction, which records a ca. 70 ppm mean CO₂ decline at the onset of GS‐1. To address these apparent discrepancies we tested the validity of the stomatal‐based CO₂ reconstructions from Kråkenes by obtaining further proxy CO₂ records based on a similar approach using fossil leaves from two independent lakes in Atlantic Canada. Our Late‐glacial CO₂ reconstructions reveal an abrupt ca. 77 ppm decrease in atmospheric CO₂ at the onset of the Younger Dryas stadial, which lagged climatic cooling by ca. 130 yr. Furthermore, the trends recorded in the most accurate high‐resolution ice‐core record of CO₂, from Dome Concordia, can be reproduced from our stomatal‐based CO₂ records, when time‐averaged by the mean age distribution of air contained within Dome Concordia ice (200 to 550 yr). If correct, our results indicate an abrupt drawdown of atmospheric CO₂ within two centuries at the onset of GS‐1, suggesting that some re‐evaluation of the behaviour of atmospheric CO₂ sinks and sources during times of rapid climatic change, such as the Late‐glacial, may be required. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Plio‐Pleistocene increase of erosion rates in mountain belts in response to climate change

Here, we review an ensemble of observations that point towards a global increase of erosion rates in regions of elevated mountain belts, or otherwise high relief, since the onset of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation about 2–3 Ma. During that period of Earth's history, atmospheric CO₂ concentrations may have dropped, and global climate cooled and evolved towards high‐amplitude oscillating conditions that are associated with the waxing and waning of continental ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere. We argue for a correlation between climate change and increased erosion rates and relief production, which we attribute to some combination of the observed cooling, onset of glaciation, and climatic oscillation at orbital timescales. In our view, glacial erosion played a major role and is driven by the global cooling. Furthermore, analyses of the sedimentary fluxes of many mountain belts show peaks of erosion during the transitions between glacial and inter‐glacial periods, suggesting that the variable climatic conditions have also played a role.     

Wisconsin/Würm glacial stage ice in the subtropical dunde ice cap,China

The insoluble microparticle concentrations and size distributions and oxygen isotope abundances (¹⁸ 0) in two 1-meter ice cores from the margin of the Dunde ice cap (38° 06 'N; 96° 24 'E; 5325 masl) drilled in 1986 and three ice cores drilled to bedrock at the summit of the ice cap in 1987 suggest the presence of Wisconsin/Würm Glacial Stage (LWGS) ice in the subtropics. A Sino-American research group recovered three ice cores 136, 138 and 139 m in length from the summit of the Dunde ice cap in the Qilian Shan which are providing long, high temporal resolution climatic and environmental records for the NE section of the Tibetan Highlands. Particulate concentrations, conductivity and ¹⁸ 0 are the ice core constituents best established as indicators of the glacial/interglacial transition. The analyses of two shallow cores from the margin reveal a 14-fold increase in particulate concentration which is correlative with a 1% to 5% decrease (more negative) in ¹⁸ 0. The lower 10 to 13 m of three ice cores drilled to bedrock at the summit contain a ten-fold increase in dust (both soluble and insoluble) and a 1.2% decrease in oxygen isotopes. Additionally, the morphological properties of the particles in the LWGS ice are identical to those of the thick, extensive loess deposits of central china which accumulated during the cold, dry glacial stages of the Pleistocene. When the climatic and environmental records are fully extracted from the three deep cores they will provide a very detailed record of variations in particulates (soluble and insoluble), stable isotopes, net balance, pollen and perhaps atmospheric gases of CO₂ and methane through the Holocene into the last glacial in the subtropics on the climatically important Tibetan Plateau.     

Milestones in the evolution of the atmosphere with reference to climate change

The history of life on Earth is critically dependent on the carbon, sulfur and oxygen cycles of the lithosphere – hydrosphere – atmosphere – biosphere system. An Archean oxygen-poor greenhouse atmosphere developed through: (i) accumulation of CO₂ and CH₄ from episodic injections of CO₂ from volcanic activity, volatilised crust impacted by asteroids and comets, metamorphic devolatilisation processes and release of methane from sediments; and (ii) little CO₂ weathering-capture due to both high temperatures of the hydrosphere (low CO₂ solubility) and a low ratio of exposed continents to oceans. In the wake of the Sturtian glaciation, enrichment in oxygen and appearance of multicellular eukaryotes heralded the onset of the Phanerozoic where greenhouse conditions were interrupted by periods of strong CO₂-sequestration through intensified capture of CO₂ by marine plants, onset of land plants and burial of carbonaceous shale and coal (Late Ordovician; Carboniferous – Permian; Late Jurassic; Late Tertiary – Quaternary). The progression from Late Mesozoic and Early Tertiary greenhouse conditions to Late Tertiary – Quaternary ice ages was related to the sequestration of CO₂ by rapid weathering of the emerging Alpine and Himalayan mountain chains. A number of peak warming and sea-level-rise events include the Late Oligocene, mid-Miocene, mid-Pliocene and Pleistocene glacial terminations. The Late Tertiary – Quaternary ice ages were dominated by cyclic orbital-forcing-triggered terminations which involved CO₂-feedback effects from warming seas and the biosphere and albedo flips due to ice-sheet melting. Since ca AD 1750 human emissions were ～305 Gt of carbon, as compared with ～750 Gt C in the atmosphere. The emissions constitute ～12% of the terrestrial biosphere and ～10% of the known global fossil fuel reserve of ～4000 Gt C, whose combustion would compare to the ～ 4600 Gt C released to the atmosphere during the K – T impact event 65 million years ago, with associated ～65% mass extinction of species. The current growth rate of atmospheric greenhouse gases and global mean temperatures exceed those of Pleistocene glacial terminations by one to two orders of magnitude. The relationship between temperatures and sea-levels for the last few million years project future sea-level rises toward time-averaged values of at least 5 m per 1°C. The instability of ice sheets suggested by the Dansgaard – Oeschinger glacial cycles during 50 – 20 ka, observed ice melt lag effects of glacial terminations, spring ice collapse dynamics and the doubling per-decade of Greenland and west Antarctic ice melt suggest that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's projected sea-level rises (<59 cm) for the 21st century may be exceeded. The biological and philosophical rationale underlying climate change and mass extinction perpetrated by an intelligent carbon-emitting mammal species may never be known.     

On cenozoic and older glaciationsZur frage känozoischer und älterer vereisungenLes glaciations cénozoíques et antérieures

The distribution of solar radiation on the Earth's surface produces regular climatic zones, including essential ice covers in the polar regions. Thus it is unjustified to speak of glacial and interglacial periods in a global sense. Climatic zones and polar ice caps have been displaced from time to time by polar wandering both on smaller circular paths during one great epoch of Earth history as well as on long straight courses at the limits of these epochs. Polar wanderings are linked among others with expansion processes of the Earth. Alterations in intensity of solar radiation and in atmospheric processes have influenced the transitional climatic zones and caused an alternation of perlglacial and interperiglacial periods in the belts around the ice caps.     

The significance of global snow and ice cover for global change studies

The spatial extent and volume of global snow and ice cover at present and during glacial conditions are reviewed for each of the principal components (snow cover, land ice, sea ice and permafrost). The state of global monitoring of snow and ice conditions is shown to be adequate for some variables, but unsatisfactory for others. Recent trends are reported and expected changes projected for increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are examined.     

现代冰川过程与全球环境气候演变

文章从宏观和微观两个方面扼要阐述了现代冰川过程与全球变化之间的关系。南极冰盖和格陵兰冰盖冰川物质平衡值目前还没有确切结论，虽然它与全球海平面的升降密切相关。山地冰川末端进退变化和冰川物质平衡与全球升温对应较好。极地冰盖现代降水中的稳定同位素比率，主要阴、阳离子、生物有机酸、微粒、超痕量重金属元素、宇宙尘埃以及火山灰等杂质的含量，为认识地球现代环境气候状况提供了丰富的资料。极地冰盖冰芯的分析结果为重建过去气候环境提供了大信息量，高保真度和高分辨率的资料为预测未来气候环境奠定了坚实基础，具有其它任何载体无法取代的优越性。山地冰川的现代和过去气候环境记录，对研究全球和区域性气候环境状况与变迁意义重大     

青藏高原冰芯研究进展

青藏高原习研究是恢复该地区古气候、环境变化的有力手段,近年来取得了显著的成就。对青藏高原冰芯研究在稳定氧同位素、冰川积累量、冰芯的断代以及冰芯记录的环境指标等四个方面的研究进展进行了详细的评述,总结了冰芯记录所恢复的气候、环境变化研究成果,并对当前青藏高原冰芯研究中存在的问题和今后的发展趋势进行了探讨。     

On the nature of lead–lag relationships during glacial–interglacial climate transitions

Analysis of leads and lags between different paleoclimate records remains an important method in paleoclimatology, used to propose and test hypotheses about causal relationships between different processes in the climate system. The robust lead of Antarctic temperature over CO₂ concentration during several recent glacial–interglacial transitions inferred from the Antarctic ice cores apparently contradicts the concept of CO₂-driven climate change and still remains unexplained. Here, using an Earth system model of intermediate complexity and generic scenarios for the principal climatic forcings during glacial–interglacial transitions we performed a suite of experiments that shed some light on the complexity of phase relationships between climate forcing and climate system response. In particular, our results provide an explanation for the observed Antarctic temperature lead over CO₂ concentration. It is shown that the interhemispheric oceanic heat transport provides a crucial link between the two hemispheres. We demonstrate that temporal variations of the oceanic heat transport strongly contribute to the observed phase relationship between polar temperature records in both hemispheres. It is shown that the direct effect of orbital variations on the Antarctic temperature is also significant and explains the observed cooling trend during interglacials. In addition, an imbedded δ¹⁸O model is used to demonstrate that during glacial–interglacial transitions, the temporal evolution of deep calcite marine δ¹⁸O in different locations and at different depths can considerably deviate from that implied by the global ice volume change. This finding indicates that the synchronization of different marine records by means of foraminiferal calcite δ¹⁸O yield large additional uncertainties. Based on our results, we argue that the analysis of leads and lags alone, without a comprehensive understanding and an adequate model of all relevant climate processes, cannot provide direct information about causal relationships in the climate system.     

Distinct climate change synchronous with Heinrich event one, recorded by stable oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions in stalagmites from China

Uranium-series dating of oxygen and carbon isotope records for stalagmite SJ3 collected in Songjia Cave, central China, shows significant variation in past climate and environment during the period 20-10 ka. Stalagmite SJ3 is located more than 1000 km inland of the coastal Hulu Cave in East China and more than 700 km north of the Dongge Cave in Southwest China and, despite minor differences, displays a clear first-order similarity with the Hulu and Dongge records. The coldest climatic phase since the Last Glacial Maximum, which is associated with the Heinrich Event 1 in the North Atlantic region, was clearly recorded in SJ3 between 17.6 and 14.5 ka, in good agreement in timing, duration and extent with the records from Hulu and Dongge caves and the Greenland ice core. The results indicate that there have been synchronous and significant climatic changes across monsoonal China and strong teleconnections between the North Atlantic and East Asia regions during the period 20-10 ka. This is much different from the Holocene Optimum which shows a time shift of more than several thousands years from southeast coastal to inland China. It is likely that temperature change at northern high latitudes during glacial periods exerts stronger influence on the Asian summer monsoon relative to insolation and appears to be capable of perturbing large-scale atmospheric/oceanic circulation patterns in the Northern Hemisphere and thus monsoonal rainfall and paleovegetation in East Asia. Climatic signals in the North Atlantic region propagate rapidly to East Asia during glacial periods by influencing the winter land-sea temperature contrast in the East Asian monsoon region.     

Early Cretaceous atmospheric pCO2 levels recorded from pedogenic carbonates in China

Pedogenic carbonates were collected from Early Cretaceous strata in Sichuan and Liaoning, China. These paleosol carbonates and calcareous paleosols were evaluated in order to reconstruct atmospheric CO₂ concentrations during the Early Cretaceous using a paleosol barometer. Using the isotopic ratios of pedogenic carbonates from Early Cretaceous (early-middle Berriasian, early Valanginian) strata in Sichuan Basin, averaged atmospheric pCO₂ is estimated to have been 360 ppmv in the early-middle Berriasian and a mean value of 241 ppmv in the early Valanginian. In the late Barremian in western Liaoning, however the average was 530 ppmv, with a range of 365 ppmv and 644 ppmv, lower than previous estimates of pCO₂ for these time periods, consistent with the suggestion of overall climate cooling and paleotemperature fluctuation during the Early Cretaceous. This indicates that not all of the Cretaceous was a high or continuous CO₂ greenhouse, especially during Early Cretaceous.