Response of geochemical records in lacustrine sediments to climate change and human impact during middle Holocene in Mengjin, Henan Province, China

In this paper, we examined the response of geochemical records in lacustrine sediments to climate and human activity in Mengjin, Henan Province of China during the middle Holocene. Indices used in this study include K, Na, Mn, Ba, Sr, Al, Ti, cation ratios, and Gramineae pollen in lacustrine sediments. Results indicate a drought event in this area around 5660 cal a BP, which weakened soil leaching and changed the element composition of surface soil runoff entering the paelo-lake and lacustrine sediments. Human activity appearing from 4695 cal a BP to 4000 cal a BP also affected the chemical composition of lake sediments. Human activities led to enhanced soil erosion and destroyed soil leaching horizons. Therefore, the substance of soil illuvial layer exposed to the surface and entering the paleo-lake were substantially altered by human activities.     

黄土古气候变化趋势与青藏高原隆升关系初探

粒度和磁化率是两个研究黄土古气候最常用的古环境变化指示参数,它们随着黄土古土壤地层变化而出现峰和谷的对应已经被证明是反映了天文轨道要素的周期变化。文章试图忽略这些受控于轨道要素的气候周期变化,而主要侧重考察黄土地层这两个参数的平均值(或背景值)所反映的长期变化趋势。对兰州九州台黄土进行了系统采样和测量,发现兰州九州台黄土剖面粒度和磁化率曲线显示出两个明显的趋势,粒度从剖面底部向上有明显逐渐变粗趋势,指示着冬季风增强,与此同时,磁化率自下而上却逐渐增大,指示着夏季风增强的趋势。与黄土高原其他黄土剖面磁化率和粒度曲线对比发现,这是两个普遍存在的趋势。地理位置靠近青藏高原的剖面,这两个增大的趋势更明显。冬、夏季风同时逐渐增强是海陆热力差异增大所引起,反映了青藏高原第四纪时期的逐渐不断的隆升过程。因此,根据粒度和磁化率曲线变化趋势线的变化特点可以帮助分析和反推第四纪以来青藏高原隆升的过程。兰州九州台以及黄土高原各剖面粒度和磁化率曲线的线性变化趋势则可能指示着第四纪以来青藏高原是逐渐均匀缓慢的变化过程。我们对22Ma以来风积地层记录的变化趋势也做了分析。前人过去普遍认识的第四纪以来跳跃式或间歇式剧烈隆升在我们的数据中没有得到反映。黄土高原西部西宁、兰州、靖远等剖面磁化率显著的增长趋势可能与青藏高原隆升到一定高度后高原季风加强所致。     

中国西北干旱区湖泊沉积物中有机质碳同位素组成的环境意义--以民勤盆地三角城古湖泊为例

通过对中国西北干旱区石羊河流域民勤盆地三角城古湖泊沉积物有机质碳同位素组成(^δ13Corg)分析,表明末次冰期与全新世时气候和植被有明显的差异,末次冰期^δ13Corg总体偏轻(-30‰～-25‰),而全新世碳同位素组成则有较大的变化,在早全新世碳同位素组成有多次短期快速变重(-10‰左右)的变化,中全新世碳同位素组成总体偏重(-20‰～-10‰),晚全新世碳同位素组成偏轻(-25‰左右)。分析表明湖泊沉积物有机质碳同位素组成反映了陆生C₃植物和湖泊内源水生植物变化的关系,末次冰期以来西北干旱区C₄植物不发育,偏重的有机质碳同位素值与C₄植物无关。从沉积物中有机质组分、元素等分析表明,末次冰期时主要以河流相沉积为主,湖泊中有机质主要来源于上游祁连山的陆生C₃植物,有机碳含量较低,表明当时的上游的陆生植被不繁盛,区域气候较干冷;从全新世开始,三角城古湖泊开始形成,沉积物中碳同位素组成偏重的有机质主要来源于湖泊中的沉水植物,此时湖泊水体较大,湖泊生产力较高。而沉积物中有机质碳同位素组成偏轻时期的有机质主要来源于挺水植物、陆生C₃植物,较低的有机碳含量说明该时期陆生植被不发育,气候较干冷,湖泊水体较小     

Climate Change and Silk Road Civilization Evolution in Arid Central Asia: Progress and Issues

Arid central Asia is one of the regions most sensitive to global climate change, as well as the region with dramatically hydrological changes and fragile ecosystems. The region includes the main body of the ancient Silk Road, which played a key role in the cultural exchange and the rise and fall of Silk Road civilization. Scientific assessment of the risks faced by the sustainable development of human society in the arid central Asia under the background of global warming is a major scientific issue that has received much attention. The study of the relationship between cultural exchange, development of Silk Road civilization and climate change can provide a scientific basis for understanding the evolution rules of human-land relationship on different timescales in this area. This study summarized the research progress in the history of cultural exchanges, the rise and fall of Silk Road civilization, climate change during the Holocene, forcing mechanisms of climate and hydrological change on different timescales, as well as the process and rule of human-environment interaction. On this basis, we proposed that the study of the temporal and spatial patterns of Holocene climate change and the evolution of Silk Road civilization in arid central Asia, as well as the research on the interaction mechanisms between human and environment, are obviously insufficient. Solving the problems of regional imbalance of climate change and cultural evolution in arid central Asia and strengthening the cross-disciplinary study of geoscience and archaeology are effective ways to promote the study of climate change and changes of Silk Road civilization, which has important scientific and practical significance for understanding the evolution of human-land relations in the region, coping with the challenges of climate change, and serving the “One Belt, One Road” strategy.     

中国东北地区中新生代岩浆岩中氮及其同位素组成

通过真空热解法分析中国东北地区中新生代以来形成的碱性玄武岩和基性侵入岩中氮含量及其同位素组成的差异，结果表明喷出岩和侵入岩中流体组分在岩浆的上升侵入过程中有不同的表现形式，喷出岩与围岩有较少的混染作用发生。碱性玄武岩包裹体中氮含量较低，为1．91－14．01μL/ g，δ^15N为－22．6‰～-1.8‰。侵入岩包裹体中氮含量为25．39－731.30μL/g,δ^15N为＋0．7‰～ 20.9‰。碱性玄武岩中N2含量和氮同位素组成可能部分代表了上地幔流体的特征，脱气作用造成同位素值有较大变化；而侵入岩中的N2含量和氮同位素组成更多地反映了地壳中含氮物质浓度及同位素组成特征。     

Holocene Moisture Variation Recorded by Aeolian Sand-Palaeosol Sequences of the Gonghe Basin, Northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

The northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau(QTP) of China is located at the triple junction of the Asian winter and summer monsoons and the westerlies, where paleoclimatic evolution has an important scientific significance for recognizing the spatial-temporal pattern of Asian monsoons in the past and predicting environmental change in the future. Nevertheless, the framework of the Holocene moisture variation and related mechanisms remain controversial, owing to complex hydroclimatic conditions triggered by the landform of the large mountain-arid basin. Here, we employed geochemical proxies from typical aeolian sand-palaeosol sequences in the Gonghe Basin, northeastern QTP, together with Optically Stimulated Luminescence(OSL) dating, to reconstruct the pattern of effective moisture variation and associated mechanisms in this region. Our results indicate that the regional effective moisture was at its lowest until 9–8 ka, and approached a maximum during 8–4/3 ka of the middle Holocene. Afterwards, the climate became relatively dry in general, but with a transient humid interval around 2–1 ka. Our geochemical evidence indicates that the dry early Holocene probably can be attributed to a strong winter monsoon forced by remnant ice sheet, combined with the high evaporation caused by solar insolation. Also, shifts of humid-dry are closely linked to the Asian summer monsoonal strength and therefore the balance of evaporation-precipitation in the middle and late Holocene. Thus, the pattern of the Holocene effective moisture variation is characterized as the ‘monsoon model' in a closed intermontane arid and semi-arid basin near the western Asian monsoonal limit.     

Study on Modern Plant C－13 in Western China and Its Significance

Organic carbon isotopic composition(δ^13C) is one of the important proxies in paleoenvironment studies.In this paper modern plant δ^13C in the arid areas of China and Tibetan Plateau is studied.It is found that most terrestrial plant species in western China are C3 plants with δ^13C values ranging from -32.6‰ to -23.2‰ and only few species are C4 plants with δ^13C values from -16.8‰ to -13.3‰.The δ^13C is closely related to precipitation (or humidity),i.e., light δ^13C is related to high precipitation(or humid climate),while heavy δ^13C to low precipitation (or dry climate),but there is almost no relation between plant δ^13C and temperature.Submerged plants have δ^13C values ranging from -22.0‰ to -12.7‰,like C4 plants,while merged plants have δ^13C values ranging from -28.1‰ to -24.5‰，like C3 C4 plants,while marged plants have δ^13C values ranging from -28.1‰ to -24.5‰,like C3 plants.It can then be concluded that organic δ^13C variations in terrestrial sediments such as loeas and soil in western China can indicate precipitation changes,but those in lake sediments can reflect organic sources and the productivity of different types of aquatic plants.     

Restricted utility of δC of bulk organic matter as a record of paleovegetation in some loess-paleosol sequences in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Molecular stratigraphic analyses using gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry have been performed in the upper section (S₀, L₁, S₁) of the Yuanbo loess-paleosol sequences in northwest China, with a record extending from the last interglaciation through the present interglaciation. The CPI (Carbon Preference Index) values of both n-alkanols and n-alkan-2-ones display variations between loess deposits and paleosols, showing a correlation with the magnetic susceptibility record, an indicator of the East Asian summer monsoon. The observed variations in the indexes in relation to changes in lithology/paleoclimate are proposed to result from microbial degradation of higher plant lipids in the paleosols. The CPI values of n-alkanes, n-alkanols, and n-alkan-2-ones are negatively correlated with δ¹³C of bulk organic matter. The correlations suggest that the observed glacial-interglacial variations of δ¹³C data in the loess stratigraphy reflect the relative importance of the contribution of paleovegetation compared with microorganisms (including both the degradation and the addition of organic matter) and allochthonous loess/soil parent materials. It is thus necessary to evaluate the contributions of the latter two before the paleovegetation can be reconstructed based on the δ¹³C analysis of bulk organic matter in some loess-paleosol sequences of the Chinese Loess Plateau.     

Use of magnetic signatures to correlate tephra layers in Holocene loessial soil profiles from a small region, SE Iceland

Rock magnetic measurements have been applied to two adjacent loessial soil sections from a small region, SE Iceland. The soils are composed of reworked locally derived sediment (including airfall tephra) and also contain several visible discrete airfall tephra layers. The main magnetic minerals in the airfall tephras are ferrimagnetic (e.g. magnetite) with paramagnetic minerals also present. The main magnetic grain sizes in the tephras are pseudo single domain. The results show that individual tephras do not have unique magnetic signatures that can be used for identification and correlation between sedimentary sequences. However, a correlation of tephra layers was achieved through the application of statistical techniques to a comprehensive dataset of magnetic parameters. Similarity coefficients and Euclidian distance measures were used to identify the best correlation between tephra layers in the two soil profiles. The technique works well providing some tephras present within both profiles have been formally identified (e.g. Oraefajokulla ad 1362) using electron microprobe analyses. Given this initial framework, the statistical analyses of the magnetic parameters can help in the identification and correlation of unknown tephras between two soil profiles.