Spatial and temporal distribution of large volcanic eruptions from 1750 to 2010

Using the dataset provided by the Smithsonian Institution＇s Global Volcanism Program, we have extracted the large volcanic eruptions（volcanic explosivity index ≥ 4） from the period 1750–2010 and have then analyzed the main characteristics of large volcanic eruptions since 1750 according to their geographic latitudes, their elevations, and the years and months in which they occurred. The results show that most large volcanic eruptions were located around the margins of the Pacific Ocean and the islands of Sumatra and Java, especially in the equatorial regions（10°N–10°S）. Large volcanic eruptions were concentrated at 1000–2000 m elevations and in the months of January and April. There were more eruptions in the summer half-year（from April to September） than in the winter half-year（from October to the next March）. Large volcanic eruptions have interdecadal fluctuations, including cycles of 15–25 years and 35–50 years, which were detected by Morlet wavelet analysis, with the fluctuations being more frequent after 1870 than before. During the periods 1750–1760, 1776–1795, 1811–1830, 1871–1890, 1911–1920 and 1981–1995, there were relatively many large volcanic eruptions.     

1750-2010年强火山喷发事件的时空分布特征(英文)

Using the dataset provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, we have extracted the large volcanic eruptions(volcanic explosivity index ≥ 4) from the period 1750–2010 and have then analyzed the main characteristics of large volcanic eruptions since 1750 according to their geographic latitudes, their elevations, and the years and months in which they occurred. The results show that most large volcanic eruptions were located around the margins of the Pacific Ocean and the islands of Sumatra and Java, especially in the equatorial regions(10°N–10°S). Large volcanic eruptions were concentrated at 1000–2000 m elevations and in the months of January and April. There were more eruptions in the summer half-year(from April to September) than in the winter half-year(from October to the next March). Large volcanic eruptions have interdecadal fluctuations, including cycles of 15–25 years and 35–50 years, which were detected by Morlet wavelet analysis, with the fluctuations being more frequent after 1870 than before. During the periods 1750–1760, 1776–1795, 1811–1830, 1871–1890, 1911–1920 and 1981–1995, there were relatively many large volcanic eruptions.     

基于方志资料重建1644-1949年长江三角洲地区台风频次序列(英文)

The proxy records on typhoons in the Yangtze River Delta from 1644 to 1949AD were extracted from historical chorographies in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China Period.In reference to the basic principles for identifying historical typhoons,time series on the Yangtze River Delta over a period of 306 years were developed.The conclusions are as follows.(1) There were a total of 241 typhoons from 1644 to 1949AD.Using the historical chorographies from 1884 to 1949AD,the number of typhoons was 65,equal to 87.8% recorded by meteorological observation.The number of years with differences in typhoon activities reconstructed using two ways no more than once is 55,reaching 83.3% in the period from 1884 to 1949AD.This result means the series of historical typhoons reconstructed using historical chorographies can represent the change of typhoon activities over years.(2) The average number of typhoon activities is 0.79 times per year from 1644 to 1949AD,and they show an increasing trend.These 306 years can be divided into three periods by the average number of typhoon activities:it is low from 1644 to 1784AD,and more typhoon activities are found from 1785 to 1904AD.It is worth noting that the number of typhoon activities reaches the summit in the last period,which is 1.2 times per year from 1905 to 1949AD.(3) Before the 20th century,the number of typhoon activities in warm periods is less than the number of cold periods.However,the number of typhoon activities increased dramatically in the early 20th century.Comparing the typhoon activities with El Ni o events,the data show that the number of typhoon activities did not increase when El Ni o occurred.     

60年来黄河流域径流量时空变化(英文)

Water discharge data of the Yellow River over the past 60 years was analyzed using the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) and Mann-Kendall (MK) test methods to identify spatial and temporal variation patterns. Potential connections between water discharge in the Yellow River Basin and El Ni o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) were also examined by the cross wavelet and wavelet coherence methods. CWT results show that the periodic oscillations in water discharges had occurred at the temporal scales of 1-, 2to 4-, 6to 8and 10to 22-year. It was also found that at the annual timescale (1-year) the phase relations between water discharge and ENSO were indistinct probably due to the strong influence by human disturbances. However, over the longer time scales, the phase relation becomes much clearer with an anti-phase relation being found mainly at inter-annual scale (2to 8-year) and in-phase relation at decadal scale (16to 22-year). According to the MK test results water discharge at most stations except Tangnaihai have decreased significantly and the abrupt change occurred in the mid-1980s or the early 1990s. The changes in water discharge were found to be influenced by both climate changes and human activities. Before 1970 the change in water discharge was positively related to precipitation variations in the river basin, but after 1970 the decrease in water discharge has been largely caused by various human activities including constructions of reservoirs, water abstraction and water-soil conservation with water abstraction being the main cause.     

中国南方冬季异常低温和降水事件

This paper analyzed the anomalous low-temperature events and the anomalous rain-abundant events in January since 1951 and winter since 1880 for southern China.The anomalous events are defined using ±1σ thresholds.Twelve cold Januaries are identified where temperature anomaly below-1σ,and ten wet Januaries are identified where precipitation anomaly above +1σ.Among these events there are three patterns of cold-wet Januaries,namely 1969,1993 and 2008.The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data are used to check the atmospheric circulation changes in association with the anomalous temperature and precipitation events.The results show that the strong Siberian High(SBH),East Asian trough(EAT) and East Asian jet stream(EAJS) are favorable conditions for low-temperature in southern China.While the anomalous southerly flow at 850 hPa,the weak EAT at 500 hPa,the strong Middle East jet stream(MEJS) and the weaker EAJS are found to accompany a wetter southern China.The cold-wet winters in southern China,such as...更多 January of 2008,are mainly related to a stronger SBH,and the circulation in the middle to upper troposphere is precipitation-favorable.In wet winters,the water vapor below 500 hPa is mainly transported by the anomalous southwesterly flow and the anomalous southern flow over the Indo-China Peninsula and the South China Sea area.The correlation coefficients of MEJS,EAMW(East Asian meridional wind) and EU(Eurasian pattern) to southern China precipitation in January are +0.65,-0.59 and-0.48 respectively,and the correlations for high-pass filtered data are +0.63,-0.55 and-0.44 respectively,the significant level is all at 99%.MEJS,EAMW and EU together can explain 49.4% variance in January precipitation.Explained variance for January and winter temperature by SBH,EU,WP(west Pacific pattern) and AO(Arctic Oscillation) are 47.2% and 51.5%,respectively.There is more precipitation in southern China during El Nio winters,and less precipitation during La Nia winters.And there is no clear evidence that the occurrence of anomalous temperature events in winter over southern China is closely linked to ENSO events.     

Anomalous winter temperature and precipitation events in southern China

This paper analyzed the anomalous low-temperature events and the anomalous rain-abundant events in January since 1951 and winter since 1880 for southern China.The anomalous events are defined using ±1σ thresholds.Twelve cold Januaries are identified where temperature anomaly below-1σ,and ten wet Januaries are identified where precipitation anomaly above +1σ.Among these events there are three patterns of cold-wet Januaries,namely 1969,1993 and 2008.The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data are used to check the atmospheric circulation changes in association with the anomalous temperature and precipitation events.The results show that the strong Siberian High(SBH),East Asian trough(EAT) and East Asian jet stream(EAJS) are favorable conditions for low-temperature in southern China.While the anomalous southerly flow at 850 hPa,the weak EAT at 500 hPa,the strong Middle East jet stream(MEJS) and the weaker EAJS are found to accompany a wetter southern China.The cold-wet winters in southern China,such as...更多 January of 2008,are mainly related to a stronger SBH,and the circulation in the middle to upper troposphere is precipitation-favorable.In wet winters,the water vapor below 500 hPa is mainly transported by the anomalous southwesterly flow and the anomalous southern flow over the Indo-China Peninsula and the South China Sea area.The correlation coefficients of MEJS,EAMW(East Asian meridional wind) and EU(Eurasian pattern) to southern China precipitation in January are +0.65,-0.59 and-0.48 respectively,and the correlations for high-pass filtered data are +0.63,-0.55 and-0.44 respectively,the significant level is all at 99%.MEJS,EAMW and EU together can explain 49.4% variance in January precipitation.Explained variance for January and winter temperature by SBH,EU,WP(west Pacific pattern) and AO(Arctic Oscillation) are 47.2% and 51.5%,respectively.There is more precipitation in southern China during El Nio winters,and less precipitation during La Nia winters.And there is no clear evidence that the occurrence of anomalous temperature events in winter over southern China is closely linked to ENSO events.     

Volcanic geology of Admiralty Bay,King George Island,Antarctica

At Admiralty Bay of central King George Island, Keller Peninsula, Ull-man Spur and Point Hennequin are main Tertiary volcanic terranes. Field investigation and isotopic datings indicate that, there occurred three periods of eruptions ( three volcanic cycles) and accompanying N-toward migration of the volcanic center on Keller Peninsula. After the second period of eruptions, the crater collapsed and a cal-dera was formed, then later eruptions were limited at the northern end of the peninsula and finally migrated to Ullman Spur. Thus Keller Peninsula is a revived caldera, and its volcanism migrated toward E with time. Point Hennequin volcanism happened more or less simultaneously with the above two areas, but has no clear relation in chemical evolution with them, frequently it belongs to another independent volcanic center.     

The relationship betwwen ENSO cycle and high and low—flow in the upper Yellow River

Firstly,the hydrological and meteorological features of the upper reaches of the Yellow River above Tangnag are analyzed based on observation data,and effects of El Nino and La Nina events on the high and low flow in the upper Yellow River are discussed.The results show El Nino and La Nina events possess consanguineous relationship with runoff in the upper Yellow River.As a whole,the probability of low flow occurrence in the upper Yellow River is relatively great along with the occurrence of El Nino event.Moreover,the flood in the upper Yellow River occurs frequently with the occurrence of La Nina event.Besides,the results also show dissimilarity of El Nino event occurring time exerts greater impact on high flow and low flow in the upper Yellow River,that is,the probability of drought will be greater in the same year if El Nino event occurs in spring,the high-flow may happen in this year if El Nino occurs in summer or autumn;the longer the continuous period of El Nino is,the lower the runoff in the upper Yellow River is.     

Precipitation cycles in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River （1736-2000）

Based on the long-term precipitation series with annual time resolution in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and its four sub-regions during 1736-2000 reconstructed from the rainfall and snowfall archives of the Qing Dynasty, the precipitation cycles are analyzed by wavelet analysis and the possible climate forcings, which drive the precipitation changes, are explored. The results show that： the precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River has inter-annual and inter-decadal oscillations like 2-4a, quasi-22a and 70-80a. The 2-4a cycle is linked with El Nino events, and the precipitation is lower than normal year in the occurrence of the El Nino year or the next year; for the quasi-22a and the 70-80a cycles, Wolf Sun Spot Numbers and Pacific Decadal Oscillation （PDO） coincide with the two cycle signals. However, on a 70-80a time scale, the coincidence between solar activity and precipitation is identified before 1830, and strong （weak） solar activity is generally correlated to the dry （wet） periods; after 1830, the solar activity changes to 80-100a quasi-century long oscillation, and the adjusting action to the precipitation is becoming weaker and weaker; the coincidence between PDO and precipitation is shown in the whole time series. Moreover, in recent 100 years, PDO is becoming a pace-maker of the precipitation on the 70-80a time scale.     

西南地区冬季气温和降水的时空变化

In recent years,the socio-economic impacts of winter extreme climate events have underscored the importance of winter climate anomalies in Southwest China (SWC).The spatio-temporal variability of surface air temperature (SAT) and precipitation in SWC and their possible causes have been investigated in this paper based on observational data from 1961 to 2010.The results indicate that SAT anomalies in SWC have two dominate modes,one is homogenous,and the other a zonal dipole.The former is caused by the anomalies of East Asian winter monsoon;the latter arises from the anomalies of both subtropical west Pacific high and regional cold air in lower troposphere.The most dominant mode of precipitation anomalies in SWC is homogenous and it has a high correlation with northern hemisphere annular mode (NAM,AO).Neither NAM nor ENSO has significant impacts on SAT in SWC.The anomalies of NAM are associated with the anomalies of tropical circulations,and there-fore precipitation over the SWC.When NAM is in positive (negative) phase,the winter pre-cipitation is more (less) than normal in SWC.Winter precipitation increase over the whole SWC is associated with the El Nino.However,during La Nina winter,the pattern is not uni-form.There is an increase in precipitation over the central parts and a decrease in western and eastern parts of SWC.The severe drought in SWC in winter 2010 is more likely caused by anomalies of NAM,not El Nino.     

黄河内蒙古河段冲淤演变及其影响因素(英文)

Rivers with fluvial equilibrium are characterized by bed deformation adjustment. The erosion-deposition area in cross-section reflects this characteristic, which is a base of researching the river scour and deposition evolution by time series analysis. With an erosion-deposition area indicator method proposed in this paper, the time series of erosion-deposition area quantity at Bygl and Shhk stations were obtained with the series duration of 31 years from 1976 to 2006. After analysis of its trend and mutation, three different ten- dencies about the evolution were observed in general from the quasi-equilibrium phase through a rapid shrinkage to the final new quasi-equilibrium. It is also found that the trend of erosion-deposition area series will change once a big flood occurred in some of the tributaries, and its ever greater influence is due to the decrease of deluge with the completion of upstream reservoirs. Almost all the turning points were coincident with the time when hyper-concentrated sediment flood occurred in some tributaries. With the time series of clear mutations since the late 1990s, the Inner Mongolian Reach has been in a new equilibrium phase. This can be concluded in two aspects. 1. The absence of big floods and sediment transportation from tributaries result in the river shrinkage, and to regain the channel flow-carrying capacity in Inner Mongolian Reach a large flood is needed both of high peak discharge and of lengthy interval to destroy the new equilibrium. 2. The proposed method of erosion-deposition area indicator is of great help to channel scoureposition evolution analysis because it can demonstrate real time deformation of cross section in quantity.     

1960-2015年中国绿洲胡杨生长季对全球变暖的时空响应及原因（英文）

Daily average temperature data from 48 meteorological stations in Chinese oases that are within the distribution area of Populus euphratica were analyzed to determine the spatiotemporal responses of this tree to climate change. Specifically, the start and end date as well as the number of days that comprised the growing season were analyzed with a multi-year trend line and using the Mann-Kendall mutation test, inverse distance weighted interpolation(IDW) in the software Arc GIS, a Morlet wavelet power spectrum, and correlation analysis. The results of this study show that, over the last 56 years, the start date of the P. euphratica growing season has advanced, while the end date has been postponed, and the number of days that comprise the growing season have gradually increased. The changing trend rates recovered in this analysis for these three time slices are –1.34 d/10 a, 1.33 d/10 a, and 2.66 d/10 a(α≥ 0.001), respectively. Data show that while spatial disparity is extremely significant, it is nevertheless the case that along a southwest-to-northeast transect of Chinese oases, the later the start date of the P. euphratica season, the sooner the end data and the shorter the growing season. Mutations points in start and end date, as well as for the growing season overall were observed in 2001, 1989, and 1996, respectively, and the data presented in this paper show that, in particular, the date of this end of this period is most sensitive to climate warming. Growing season cycles for P. euphratica are between 3.56 years and 7.14 years, consistent with the periodicity of El Ni?o events, while a start date cycle between 3.56 years and 4.28 years is consistent with atmospheric circulation cyclicity. The causal analysis presented in this paper shows that the Asian polar vortex area index(APVAI), the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau index(TPI), the westerly circulation index(WCI), and carbon dioxide emissions(CDE) are the main factors influencing spatiotemporal changes in the growth of P. euphratica, the effect of latitude during the growing season is more significant than altitude, and the start date of the growing season is more significantly influenced by these factors than end date. In addition, data show that the start date, end date, and length of the growing season are all significantly correlated with their average corresponding monthly temperature(corre-lation coefficients are –0.875, 0.770, and 0.897; α≥0.001). Thus, if the average temperature in March increases by 1℃, the start date of the growing season will advance by 2.21 days, while if the average temperature in October increases by the same margin then the seasonal end date will be delayed by 2.76 days. Similarly, if the average temperature between March and October increases by 1℃, the growing season will be extended by 7.78 days. The results of this study corroborate the fact that changes in the P. euphratica growing are sensitive to regional warming and are thus of considerable theoretical significance to our understanding of the responses of Chinese vegetation to climate change as well as to ecological restoration.     

过去2000年中国气候重建与极端事件研究最新进展（英文）

China is distinguished by a prominent monsoonal climate in the east of the country, a continental arid climate in the northwest and a highland cold climate on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Because of the long history of Chinese civilization, there are abundant and well-dated documentary records for climate variation over the whole of the country as well as many natural archives(e.g., tree-rings, ice cores, stalagmites, varved lake sediments and corals) that enable high-resolution paleoclimatic reconstruction. In this paper, we review recent advances in the reconstruction of climate and extreme events over the last 2000 years in China. In the last 10 years, many new reconstructions, based on multi-proxies with wide spatial coverage, have been published in China. These reconstructions enable us to understand the characteristics of climate change across the country as well as the uncertainties of regional reconstructions. Synthesized reconstructed temperature results show that warm intervals over the last 2000 years occurred in AD 1–200, AD 551–760, AD 951–1320, and after AD 1921, and also show that cold intervals were in AD 201–350, AD 441–530, AD 781–950, and AD 1321–1920. Extreme cold winters, seen between 1500 and 1900, were more frequent than those after 1950. The intensity of regional heat waves, in the context of recent global warming, may not in fact exceed natural climate variability seen over the last 2000 years. In the eastern monsoonal region of China, decadal, multi-decadal and centennial oscillations are seen in rainfall variability. While the ensemble mean for drought/flood spatial patterns across all cold periods shows a meridional distribution, there is a tri-pole pattern with respect to droughts south of 25°N, floods between 25° and 30°N, and droughts north of 30°N for all warm periods. Data show that extreme drought events were most frequent in the periods AD 301–400, AD 751–800, AD 1051–1150, AD 1501–1550, and AD 1601–1650, while extreme flood events were frequent in the periods AD 101–150, AD 251–300, AD 951–1000, AD 1701–1750, AD 1801–1850, and AD 1901–1950. Between AD 1551–1600, extreme droughts and flood events occurred frequently. In arid northwest China, climate was characterized by dry conditions in AD 1000–1350, wet conditions in AD 1500–1850, and has tended to be wet over recent decades. On the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, centennial-scale oscillations in precipitation have occurred over the last 1000 years, interrupted by several multidecadal-scale severe drought events. Of these, the most severe were in the 1480 s and 1710 s. In southwest China, extreme droughts as severe as those seen in Sichuan and Chongqing in 2006 are known to have occurred during historical times.     

1901–2013年中亚季节降水时空变化特征及其与ENSO的关系（英文）

The vulnerable ecosystem of the arid and semiarid region in Central Asia is sensitive to precipitation variations. Long-term changes of the seasonal precipitation can reveal the evolution rules of the precipitation climate. Therefore, in this study, the changes of the seasonal precipitation over Central Asia have been analyzed during the last century(1901–2013) based on the latest global monthly precipitation dataset Global Precipitation Climatology Centre(GPCC) Full Data Reanalysis Version 7, as well as their relations with El Ni?oSouthern Oscillation(ENSO). Results show that the precipitation in Central Asia is mainly concentrated in spring and summer seasons, especially in spring. For the whole study period, increasing trends were found in spring and winter, while decreasing trends were detected in summer and fall. Inter-annual signals with 3–7 years multi-periods were derived to explain the dominant components for seasonal precipitation variability. In terms of the dominant spatial pattern, Empirical orthogonal function(EOF) results show that the spatial distribution of EOF-1 mode in summer is different from those of the other seasons during 1901–2013. Moreover, significant ENSO-associated changes in precipitation are evident during the fall, winter, spring, and absent during summer. The lagged associations between ENSO and seasonal precipitation are also obtained in Central Asia. The ENSO-based composite analyses show that these water vapor fluxes of spring, fall and winter precipitation are mainly generated in Indian and North Atlantic Oceans during El Ni?o. The enhanced westerlies strengthen the western water vapor path for Central Asia, thereby causing a rainy winter.     

Multi-scale analysis on last millennium climate variations in Greenland by its ice core oxygen isotope

The empirical mode decomposition method is used for analyzing the paleoclimate proxy δ18O from Greenland GISP2 ice core.The results show that millennium climate change trends in Greenland record the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) from 860AD-1350AD lasting for about 490 years,and the Little Ice Age (LIA) from 1350AD-1920AD lasting about 570 years.During these events,sub cooling-warming variations occurred.Its multi-scale oscillations changed with quasi-period of 3-year,6.5-year,12-year,24-year,49-year,96-year,213-year and 468-year,and are not only affected by ENSO but also by solar activity.The oscillation of intrinsic mode function IMF7,IMF8 and their tendency obviously appear in 1350AD which is considered as the key stage of transformation between MWP and LIA.The results give more detailed changes and their stages of millennium climate change in high latitude areas of the Northern Hemisphere.     

长江源区地表水资源对气候变化的响应及趋势预测(英文)

In this paper,variations of surface water flow and its climatic causes in China are analyzed using hydrological and meteorological observational data,as well as the impact data set(version 2.0) published by the National Climate Center in November 2009.The results indicate that surface water resources showed an increasing trend in the source region of the Yangtze River over the past 51 years,especially after 2004.The trend was very clearly shown,and there were quasi-periods of 9 years and 22 years,where the Tibetan Plateau heating field enhanced the effect,and the plateau monsoon entered a strong period.Precipitation notably increased,and glacier melt water increased due to climate change,all of which are the main climatic causes for increases in water resources in the source region.Based on global climate model prediction,in the SRESA1B climate change scenarios,water resources are likely to increase in this region for the next 20 years.     

Climatic change in Western North America during the last 15,000 years: The role of changes in the relative strengths of air masses in producing the changing climates

In the Cordillera of western North America, the influence of the Pacific Interdecadal Oscillation only affects coastal areas west of the Coast Range and the lowlands of western and southern Alaska. The rest of the area is subject to a climate controlled by the relative strengths of three distinct air masses, viz., the cold cA/cP air that is dominant in winter, the mP air bringing cool moist air over the mountains throughout the year, and the dry hot cT air from the deserts of the southwestern United States. The Arctic Front marks the boundary between the cA/cP air mass and the other two. Changes in the relative strengths of these air masses appear to explain the climatic changes documented throughout the region. Thus, in the last 30 years, the average position of the Arctic Front has moved north from about 53°N to 58°N, causing the warming in northern British Columbia and cooling south of Calgary, Alberta. This concept of changing positions of the air masses also appears to explain the mechanism behind the past climatic changes in this region. During the last Neoglacial event （c.1400-1900 A.D.）, it appears that the cA/cP air mass had strengthened enough to push the Arctic Front south of the 49th parallel. Incursions of mP air increased with localized areas of short-term heavy snowfalls resulting in small-scale advances of glaciers in these regions. This accounts for the variability in timing and extent of these glacial advances, while the resulting increased Chinook activity produced the development of a sand sea between Medicine Hat and Regina on the southern Prairies. The cT air mass was relatively weak, permitting these changes. During the maximum of the Altithermal/Hysithermal warm event （6,000 years B.P.）, the Arctic Front had retreated into the southern Yukon Territory as the cT air mass became stronger. The mP air could not move inland as easily, resulting in drier climates across the region. Prairie plants mi- grated into the southern Yukon Territory, and land snails from the eastern United States were able to migrate up the Saskatchewan River system as far as Lake Louise, Alberta. On the southern Prairies, the many small sloughs and lakes dried up. During the maximum of the Late Wisconsin Glacial event （15,000 years B.P.）, the Arctic Front had moved south to the vicinity of 30°N, while there had been a southward movement of the Zone of Intertropical Convergence from the equator to about 10°S. The mP air was also very strong and dumped enormous quantities of snow in the glaciated Canadian Cordillera, but it does not appear to have moved south any distance into the northern United States, witness the limited glaciation and widespread permafrost that developed there. Instead, there is evidence for buffering of the climatic changes in the closed basins in the northern Cordillera of the contiguous United States. The source of the cT air mass had moved south into the northern part of South America, permitting an exchange of savannah biota between the two continents. An extensive area of white dune sands inundated both savannah and forest along the inland hills in Guyana. This parallels the massive changes in African climatology during the last Ice Age （Fairbridge, 1964）. If these changes occurred each time there was a major glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere, this would explain the movement of biota from all terrestrial environments between the two American continents in the last 2 million years. A similar northward movement of climatic belts occurred in South America, with the cA air from Antarctica expanding northwards into southern Argentina and Chili. However paucity of data and the potential effects of El Ni o and the Southern Oscillation make it difficult toprovide details of the changes there in the present state of knowledge. This technique of studying the mechanisms of present-day climatic changes and applying the results to past climatic events has considerable potential for elucidating past climatic changes elsewhere in continental regions. This may prove particularly valuable in studying the Siberian anticyclone that is the main cause of the distribution of permafrost, but this will need international cooperation to be successful.     

引发意大利托斯卡纳区滑坡的区域降水阈值体系的定义——统计与环境分析(英文)

The aim of this work is the determination of regional-scale rainfall thresholds for the triggering of landslides in the Tuscany Region(Italy).The critical rainfall events related to the occurrence of 593 past landslides were characterized in terms of duration(D) and intensity(I).I and D values were plotted in a log-log diagram and a lower boundary was clearly noticeable:it was interpreted as a threshold representing the rainfall conditions associated to landsliding.That was also confirmed by a comparison with many literature thresholds,but at the same time it was clear that a similar threshold would be affected by a too large approximation to be effectively used for a regional warning system.Therefore,further analyses were performed differentiating the events on the basis of seasonality,magnitude,location,land use and lithology.None of these criteria led to discriminate among all the events different groups to be characterized by a specific and more effective threshold.This outcome could be interpreted as the demonstration that at regional scale the best results are obtained by the simplest ap-proach,in our case an empirical black box model which accounts only for two rainfall pa-rameters(I and D).So a set of thresholds could be conveniently defined using a statistical approach:four thresholds corresponding to four severity levels were defined by means of the prediction interval technique and we developed a prototype warning system based on rainfall recordings or weather forecasts.     

Climate transformation to warm-humid and its effect on river runoff in the source region of the Yellow River

The change characteristics and trends of the regional climate in the source region of the Yellow River, and the response of runoff to climate change, are analyzed based on observational data of air temperature, precipitation, and runoff at 10 main hydrological and weather stations in the region. Our results show that a strong signal of climate shift from warm-dry to warm-humid in the western parts of northwestern China （Xinjiang） and the western Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province occurred in the late 1980s, and a same signal of climate change occurred in the mid-2000s in the source region of the Yellow River located in the eastern part of northwestern China. This climate changeover has led to a rapid increase in rainfall and stream runoff in the latter region. In most of the years since 2004 the average annual precipitation in the source region of the Yellow River has been greater than the long-term average annual value, and after 2007 the runoff measured at all of the hydrologic sections on the main channel of the Yellow River in the source region has also consistently exceeded the long-term average annual because of rainfall increase. It is difficult to determine the prospects of future climate change until additional observations and research are conducted on the rate and temporal and spatial extents of climate change in the region. Nevertheless, we predict that the climate shift from warm-dry to warm-humid in the source region of the Yellow River is very likely to be in the decadal time scale, which means a warming and rainy climate in the source region of the Yellow River will continue in the coming decades.     

Spatial and temporal variabilities of rainstorms over China under climate change

Rainstorms are one of the extreme rainfall events that cause serious disasters, such as urban flooding and mountain torrents. Traditional studies have used rain gauge observations to analyze rainstorm events, but relevant information is usually missing in gauge-sparse areas. Satellite-derived precipitation datasets serve as excellent supplements or substitutes for the gauge observations. By developing a grid-based rainstorm-identification tool, we used the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission(TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis(TMPA) time series product to reveal the spatial and temporal variabilities of rainstorms over China during 1998–2017. Significant patterns of both increasing and decreasing rainstorm occurrences were detected, with no spatially uniform trend being observed across the whole country. There was an increase in the area being affected by rainstorms during the 20-year period, with rainstorm centers shifting along the southwest–northeast direction. Rainstorm occurrence was found to be correlated with local total precipitation. By comparing rainstorm occurrence with climate variables such as the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation, we also found that climate change was likely to be the primary reason for rainstorm occurrence in China. This study complements previous studies that used gauge observations by providing a better understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics of China's rainstorms.