Interglacial History of a Palaeo-lake and Regional Environment: A Multi-proxy Study of a Permafrost Deposit from Bol’shoy Lyakhovsky Island, Arctic Siberia

Chironomid, pollen, and rhizopod records from a permafrost sequence at Bol’shoy Lyakhovsky Island (New Siberian Archipelago) document the development of a thermokarst palaeo-lake and environmental conditions in the region during the last Interglacial (MIS 5e). Open Poaceae and Artemisia associations dominated vegetation at the beginning of the interglacial period. Rare shrub thickets (Salix, Betula nana, Alnus fruticosa) grew in more protected and wetter places as well. Saalian ice wedges started to melt during this time, resulting in the formation of an initial thermokarst water body. The high percentage of semi-aquatic chironomids suggests that a peatland-pool initially existed at the site. A distinct decrease in semi-aquatic chironomid taxa and an increase in lacustrine ones point to a gradual pooling of water in the basin, which could in turn induce thermokarst and create a permanent pond during the subsequent period. The highest relative abundance of Chironomus and Procladius reflects unfrozen water remaining under the ice throughout the ice-covered period during the later stage of palaeo-lake development. The chironomid record points to three successive stages during the history of the lake: (1) a peatland pool; (2) a pond (i.e., shallower than the maximum ice-cover thickness); and (3) a shallow lake (i.e., deeper than the maximum ice-cover thickness). The trend of palaeo-lake development indicates that intensive thermokarst processes occurred in the region during the last Interglacial. Shrub tundra communities with Alnus fruticosa and Betula nana dominated the vegetation during the interglacial optimum. The climate was moister and warmer than present. The results of this study suggest that quantitative chironomid-based temperature reconstructions from Arctic thermokarst ponds/lakes may be problematic due to other key environmental factors, such as prolonged periods of winter anoxia and local hydrological/geomorphological processes, controlling the chironomid assemblages.     

Response of alpine chironomid communities (Lake Chuna, Kola Peninsula, northwestern Russia) to atmospheric contamination

A short sediment core from the deepest part of an alpine lake (Lake Chuna, Kola Peninsula, northwestern Russia), covering about the past 200 yrs of sediment accumulation, was analysed for chironomid head capsule remains. The lake has been receiving acidic precipitation and heavy metals loading from the atmosphere since the 1940's. A total of 22 chironomid taxa were recorded. The most important taxa were typical elements of oligotrophic lakes, i.e.Micropsectra insignilobus, Paratanytarsus penicillatus, Stictochironomus spp. and Heterotrissocladius marcidus. Based on the cluster analyses results for the reconstructed environmental variables and chironomid communities, three developmental stages were distinguished from the lake history: (1) Natural ontogeny stage (before ~1945); (2) Initial stage of anthropogenic ontogeny (~1945-~1982); and (3) Anthropogenic ontogeny stage (~1982-~1996). During the first period, the changes in the chironomid fauna were characterized as an anthropogenically undisturbed community, with M. insignilobus dominating (46-66%). The changes during the second period reflected the initial phase of anthropogenic succession associated with the beginning of acidification and heavy metal pollution. The main species showed opposite distributional patterns in this period; the abundance of the group M. insignilobus/Stictochironomus spp. decreased, whereas the abundance of P. penicillatus/H. marcidus increased. The third period was characterized by a major shift in the faunal assemblages, from M. insignilobus to other dominant species including P. penicillatus (19-30%). The increases of Orthocladiinae relative abundance and total organic content in the uppermost sediment layers may be explained by a decrease in lake productivity. The decreases of cold-stenothermal taxa Stictochironomus spp. and M. insignilobus in the uppermost sediment layers can be explained by the global warming during the 20th century. The lake ecosystem is likely to be affected by both inputs of airborne contaminants and climate changes.     

Chironomid responses to long-term metal contamination: a paleolimnological study in two bays of Lake Imandra, Kola Peninsula, northern Russia

Short sediment cores from two gulfs, Monche Bay and Kunchast Bay, of Lake Imandra (Kola Peninsula, northern Russia) were analysed for sediment chemistry and chironomid head capsule remains. Monche Bay has been receiving metals from the Severonikel copper-nickel smelter since the late 1930's. Kunchast Bay was selected in the remotest lake basin as an internal reference site. There were no pronounced changes in the chironomid assemblages with the beginning of slight metal contamination of Kunchast Bay. Based on the reconstructed environmental variables and chironomid assemblages, three developmental stages were distinguished from the chironomid fauna history of Monche Bay: (1) A natural development stage; (2) the early warning stage; and (3) the developing crises stage. During the first period, the changes in the chironomid fauna reflect an anthropogenically undisturbed assemblage, with Micropsectra insignilobus dominating (17–23%). The changes during the second period reflect the initial phase of anthropogenic succession associated with the beginning of metal pollution. The main species showed opposite distributional patterns in this period: the abundance of M. insignilobus decreased, whereas the abundance of Chironomus, Procladius and Sergentia coracina increased. At the same time, maximal numbers were attained for species richness (45) and Shannon-Weaver diversity (4.85) of chironomid assemblages, and the highest head capsule concentration (75 head capsules · g^–1 of dry sediment). The third period was characterized by a major shift in the faunal assemblages, from M. insignilobus to other dominant species, including Chironomus (22–44%), Procladius (10–30 %) and S. coracina (15–18%). Besides fauna changes, assemblages of the third period are distinguished by the occurrence of mouthpart deformities in Chironomus head capsules.     

太湖平原碟形洼地沉积物记录的距今8000年以来植被、气候与地貌演变

利用DGY孔沉积物的岩性、粒度及孢粉分析资料,探讨了太湖平原碟形洼地沉积物记录的8000年以来植被演化、气候波动,流域地貌环境的演变及其对海平面波动的响应。孢粉记录表明:本区距今8000~5000年木本植被由以落叶阔叶乔木和针叶乔木为主变为落叶阔叶乔木和常绿阔叶乔木为主,气候由温和略干转为暖热湿润;距今5000~4000年森林退缩,气候温和偏干;距今4000年左右出现低温事件;距今4000~3,000年木本植被以常绿阔叶乔木为主,气候温暖湿润;距今3000年以来木本植被主要为常绿阔叶乔木、落叶阔叶乔木和针叶乔木,气候总体温暖湿润,有波动变凉干趋势。岩性、粒度及孢粉记录综合显示本区距今8000~5000年发育潟湖相泥质粉砂,反映流域环境开放、与海连通;距今5000~4000年发育淡水沼泽,未受海水作用,反映水域缩小、流域环境封闭;距今4000~3000年水域扩大,并出现海水倒灌,反映内低外高的碟形洼地已经形成;距今3000年以来,发育湖沼平原,发生数次海水倒灌,反映碟形洼地地貌的进一步发育。     

超高压变质作用不同阶段的流体变化：碧溪岭榴辉岩的氢、硼同位素分析

大别山碧溪岭榴辉岩中有三种含水矿物:多硅白云母、角闪石和黑云母,它们分别是超高压(UHP)阶段(即柯石英榴辉岩相阶段)或者石英榴辉岩相阶段、退变质后成合晶阶段和角闪岩相退变质阶段的产物,本文利用离子探针技术对它们进行了氢同位素和硼同位素的分析。三种矿物内部的同位素组成都是均一的,多硅白云母的δD为-105‰±9‰,δ~(11)B为-25.9‰±2.0‰;角闪石的δD为-100‰±9‰,δ~(11)B为-24.4‰±0.9‰;黑云母的δD为-65‰±4‰,δ~(11)B为-19.3‰±1.3‰。多硅白云母和角闪石的氢-硼同位素组成在误差范围内是相同的,而和黑云母则有明显的差别,这表明,从UHP阶段或者石英榴辉岩相阶段到随后的后成合晶阶段,变质流体是内部缓冲的,而在角闪岩相变质阶段,则有了外来流体的加入,这个流体是相对富集D和~(11)B的。碧溪岭榴辉岩矿物相对于其地壳原岩表现出低δ~(11)B的特征,说明俯冲过程中板块经历了强烈的脱硼。     

Insight into the Last Glacial Maximum climate and environments of the Baikal region

This study presents a multi‐proxy record from Lake Kotokel in the Baikal region at decadal‐to‐multidecadal resolution and provides a reconstruction of terrestrial and aquatic environments in the area during a 2000‐year interval of globally harsh climate often referred to as the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The studied lake is situated near the eastern shoreline of Lake Baikal, in a climatically sensitive zone that hosts boreal taiga and cold deciduous forests, cold steppe associations typical for northern Mongolia, and mountain tundra vegetation. The results provide a detailed picture of the period in focus, indicating (i) a driest phase (c. 24.0–23.4 cal. ka BP) with low precipitation, high summer evaporation, and low lake levels, (ii) a transitional interval of unstable conditions (c. 23.4–22.6 cal. ka BP), and (iii) a phase (c. 22.6–22.0 cal. ka BP) of relatively high precipitation (and moisture availability) and relatively high lake levels. One hotly debated issue in late Quaternary research is regional summer thermal conditions during the LGM. Our chironomid‐based reconstruction suggests at least 3.5 °C higher than present summer temperatures between c. 22.6 and 22.0 cal. ka BP, which are well in line with warmer and wetter conditions in the North Atlantic region inferred from Greenland ice‐cores. Overall, it appears that environments in central Eurasia during the LGM were affected by much colder than present winter temperatures and higher than present summer temperatures, although the effects of temperature oscillations were strongly influenced by changes in humidity.     

缓变型地球化学灾害:特征、模型和应用

“缓变型地球化学灾害”是通过长期积累而存在于土壤或沉积物中的包括重金属和有机污染物在内的环境污染物,因环境物理化学条件(例如温度、pH值、湿度、有机质含量等)的改变减小了环境容量,某种或某些形态的污染物大量地被重新活化和突然释放出来并造成严重生态和环境损害的灾害现象。这种灾害具有明显的特征,其定量数学模型可较完整地概括出环境系统从“干净”到“污染”再到“灾害”的整个过程,可以用于灾害的风险概率评估、预测、灾害爆发轨迹等方面的研究,为土壤污染防治和灾害预警提供了定量研究工具和可供实际采用的基本手段,对当前国土资源调查中的“生态环境地球化学评价”具有重要的借鉴意义。     

Holocene temperature variations at a high-altitude site in the Eastern Alps: a chironomid record from Schwarzsee ob Sölden, Austria

Few well-dated, quantitative Holocene temperature reconstructions exist from high-altitude sites in the Central Eastern Alps. Here, we present a chironomid-based quantitative reconstruction of mean July air temperatures (T_July) throughout the Holocene for a remote high-mountain lake, Schwarzsee ob Sölden, situated above the treeline at 2796 m a.s.l. in the Austrian Alps. Applying a chironomid-temperature inference model developed from lakes of the Alpine region to a high-resolution chironomid record from the lake provides evidence for early Holocene (ca 10000–8600 cal yr BP) T_July of up to 8.5 °C, i.e. >4 °C above the modern (1977–2006) mean July temperature. The reconstruction reveals the so-called ‘8.2-ka cold event’ centered at ca 8250–8000 cal yr BP with temperatures ca 3 °C below the early-Holocene thermal maximum. Rather warm (ca 6 °C) and productive conditions prevailed during ca 7900–4500 cal yr BP. The chironomid record suggests a climate transition between ca 5200 and 4500 cal yr BP to cooler T_July. A distinct cooling trend is evident from ca 4500 until ca 2500 cal yr BP. Thereafter, the study site experienced its coldest conditions (around 4 °C or less) throughout the rest of the Holocene, with the exception of the warming trend during the late 20th century. Beside other factors, the Northern Hemisphere summer insolation seems to be the major driving force for the long-term trends in T_July at high altitudes in the Eastern Alps. Due to the extreme location of the lake and the limited temperature range represented by the applied calibration data set, the chironomid-based temperature reconstruction fails to track phases of the late-Holocene climatic history with T_July cooler than 4 °C. Further chironomid-based palaeoclimate model and down-core studies are required to address this problem, provide more realistic T_July estimates from undisturbed high-altitude lakes in the Alps, and extract a reliable regional temperature signal.     

Lateglacial environmental and climatic changes at the Maloja Pass,Central Swiss Alps,as recorded by chironomids and pollen

Chironomids and pollen were studied in a radiocarbon-dated sediment sequence obtained from a former lake near the Maloja Pass in the Central Swiss Alps (1865 m a.s.l.) to reconstruct the Lateglacial environment. Pollen assemblages imply a vegetation development around the Maloja Pass from shrub tundra at the beginning of the Allerød to coniferous forest during the early Holocene with a lowering of the timberline during the Younger Dryas. Chironomid assemblages are characterized by several abrupt shifts in dominant taxa through the Lateglacial. The occurrence of taxa able to survive hypoxia in the second part of the Allerød and during the Preboreal, and their disappearance at the onset of the Younger Dryas cold phase suggest summer thermal stratification and unfavourable hypolimnetic oxygen conditions in the palaeo-lake during the warmer periods of the Lateglacial interstadial and early Holocene. Mean July air temperatures were reconstructed using a chironomid-temperature transfer function from the Alpine region. The pattern of reconstructed temperature changes agrees well with the Greenland δ¹⁸O record and other Lateglacial temperature inferences from Central Europe. The inferred July temperatures of ca 10.0 °C during most of the Allerød were slightly lower than modern values (10.8 °C) and increased up to ca 11.7 °C (i.e., above present-day values) at the end of the Allerød. The first part of the Younger Dryas was colder (ca 8.8 °C) than the second part (ca 9.8 °C). During most of the Preboreal, the temperatures persisted within the limits of 13.5–14.5 °C (i.e., ca 3 °C above present-day values). The amplitudes of temperature changes at the Allerød–Younger Dryas–Preboreal transitions were ca 3.5–4.0 °C. The temperature reconstruction also shows three short-lived cooling events of ca 1.5–2.0 °C, which may be attributed to the centennial-scale Greenland Interstadial events GI-1d and GI-1b, and the Preboreal Oscillation.     

大别山北部黄土岭片麻岩的锆石U-Pb年龄和氧同位素组成：古老的原岩和多阶段历史

利用阴极发光和离子探针技术，对大别山北部黄土岭片麻岩的锆石进行了内部结构、U-Pb年龄和氧同位素组成的系统分析。黄土岭片麻岩的锆石具有核-幔-边三层结构，核部是原岩的岩浆锆石，形成时代为-2800Ma；幔部是变质重结晶的产物，变质作用的时代为-2000Ma；边部则是在-110Ma从部分熔融体里结晶出来的增生锆石，是受大别山燕山期构造-岩浆事件影响的反映。黄土岭片麻岩和麻粒岩中-2800Ma和-2000Ma的年龄，以及麻粒岩中约3400Ma的残留锆石年龄均可以与扬子崆岭群变质岩对比。由此可以推断，北大别在构造属性上属于扬子板决，扬子与华北板决的缝合线应在北大别以北。锆石的核-幔-边具有不同的氧同位素组成，氧同位素数据表明黄土岭片麻岩的原岩是S型花岗岩，在-2000Ma和-110Ma的事件中都有外来物质(流体或熔体)的加入。