Trends in particulate matter and its chemical compositions in China from 2013–2017

Accurate determination of the atmospheric particulate matter mass concentration and chemical composition is helpful in exploring the causes and sources of atmospheric enthalpy pollution and in evaluating the rationality of environmental air quality control strategies.Based on the sampling and chemical composition data of PM_(2.5) in different key regions of China in the CARE-China observation network,this research analyzes the environmental air quality data released by the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre during the studied period to determine the changes in the particulate matter mass concentration in key regions and the evolution of the corresponding chemical compositions during the implementation of the Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Air Pollution from 2013-2017.The results show the following.(1) The particulate matter mass concentration in China showed a significant downward trend;however,the PM_(2.5) annual mass concentration in 64% of cities exceeds the New Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standard(CAAQS) Grade Ⅱ(GB3095-2012).The region to the east of the Taihang Mountains,the Fenhe and Weihe River Plain and the Urumqi-Changji regions in Xinjiang,all have PM_(2.5) concentration loading that is still high,and heavy haze pollution occurred frequently in the autumn and winter.(2) During the heavy pollution in the autumn and winter,the concentrations of sulfate and organic components decreased significantly.The mean SO_4~(2-) concentration in PM_(2.5) decreased by 76%,12%,81% and 38% in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei(BTH),the Pearl River Delta(PRD),the Sichuan-Chongqing region(SC) and the Fenhe and Weihe River Plain,respectively.The mean organic matter(OM) concentration decreased by 70%,44%,48% and 31%,respectively,and the mean concentration of NH_4~+ decreased by 68%,1.6%,38% and 25%,respectively.The mean elemental carbon(EC) concentration decreased by 84% and 20% in BTH and SC,respectively,and it increased by 61% and 11% in the PRD and Fenhe and Weihe River Plain,respectively.The mean concentration of mineral and unresolved chemical components(MI) dropped by 70%,24% and 13% in BTH,the PRD and the Fenhe and Weihe River Plain,respectively.The change in the PM_(2.5) chemical composition is consistent with the decrease of the PM_(2.5)mass concentration.(3) In 2015,the mean OM concentration contributions to fine particles and coarse particles were 13-46%and 46-57%,respectively,and the mean MI concentration contributions to fine particles and coarse and particles were 31-60%and 39-73%,respectively;these values are lower than the 2013 values from the key regions,which is the most important factor behind the decrease of the particulate matter mass concentration.From 2013 to 2015,among the chemical components of different particle size fractions,the peak value of the coarse particle size fraction decreased significantly,and the fine particle size fractions of SO_4~(2-),NO_3~-,and NH_4~+ decreased with the decrease of the particulate matter mass concentration in different particle size fractions.The fine-particle size peaks of SO_4~(2-),NO_3~-and NH_4~+ shifted from 0.65-1.1μm to the finer size range of0.43-0.65 μm during the same time frame.     

Observations on surface pollution in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea during the Sindbad Voyage (1980–1981)

Analysis of 159 visual observations on tar balls, oil slicks and other surface pollutants in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea form the basis of this study. Observations were made between November 1980 and June 1981 aboard a replica of an ancient Arab sailing vessel, Sohar, during the ‘Sindbad Voyage’. The vessel, being both small and slow-moving, provided an almost ideal platform from which to make visual observations on surface pollution. Tar balls were encountered in more than 20% of the observations, and show a progressive increase in occurrence from Malaysia/Indonesia (<15%) towards the Gulf region (>60%). In contrast, oil slicks and other forms of surface pollution were encountered less frequently. The results are discussed in the light of observations made during the Marine Pollution [Petroleum] Monitoring Pilot Project (MAPMOPP).     

Changing structures of summertime heatwaves over China during 1961–2017

Despite the prevalence of artificial separation of daytime and nighttime hot extremes, they may actually co-occur or occur sequentially. Considering their potential lead-lag configuration, this study identified an entire heatwave period as consecutive days with either daytime or nighttime hot extremes and investigated the changes of the prevalence and sequence of daytime and nighttime hot extremes during heatwaves over China from 1961 to 2017. It was found that the majority(82%) of heatwaves were compound heatwaves that had both daytime and nighttime hot extremes exceeding the 90 th percentile-based thresholds, while only 7%(11%) were purely daytime(nighttime) heatwaves that contained only daytime(nighttime) hot extremes. During the entire periods of compound heatwaves, daytime hot extremes usually occurred one day or a few days before nighttime hot extremes, which was in accordance with the daily variations in radiation and meteorological conditions, such as the increasing surface humidity and cloud cover, and decreasing solar radiation during the entire heatwave periods. From 1961 to2017, compound heatwave numbers exhibited the sharpest increase with a statistically significant trend of 0.44 times decade-1, in contrast to an insignificant trend of 0.00 times decade-1 for purely daytime heatwaves and a significant trend of 0.09 times decade-1 for purely nighttime heatwaves. Within the compound heatwave periods, hot nights were starting earlier and ending later, and numbers of concurrent daytime-nighttime hot extremes increased significantly at 0.20 days decade-1. In particular,urban area were not only subject to increasingly more frequent and longer compound heatwaves, but also to more occurrences of concurrent daytime-nighttime hot extremes with more serious impact. This study provides instructions for researchers to customize and select appropriate heatwave indices.     

The changes of renewable water resources in China during 1956–2010

Water is a critical natural resource upon which all social and economic activities and ecosystem functions depend. With a surprising social and economic development in the past decades, water has become an important constraint for China’s sustainable development, and a matter concerning economic security, ecological security and national security of the country. Understanding the changes of water resources is greatly helpful in analyzing the impacts of climatic change, formulating plans for utilization and protection of water resources, and making water resource decisions. Based on China’s national water resources assessment, the Mann-Kendall’s test, and Morlet wavelet, we analyzed the changing trends and periods of China’s renewable water resources during 1956–2010. The results as following: (1) There is no significant change trend of water resources on the countrywide scale during the period 1956–2010, the total water resources show a slight increasing trend, and the national annual average water resources during the period 1991–2010 increased by 1% relative to that of the period 1961–1990. (2) The changes of water resources in different level-I water resource regions vary significantly. Annual average water resources of the Haihe River and Yellow River regions in the northern China decreased 19% and 17% respectively in the past 20 years. Water resource increased in Southern and Northwestern rivers regions, particularly in the Northwest rivers region, with the increasing amplitude by nearly 10% in the past 20 years. (3) The inter-annual variation of national water resource became larger in the past 20 years, as compared with that of the period 1961–1990. The coefficients of water resource variation increased in Northwestern and Southwestern rivers regions, while the inter-annual variation tended to decrease in the Haihe and the Yellow River regions where significant decline of water resources happened. (4) A 14-year quasi-periodicity of the national water resource variation was detected, overlapping with various periodicities of water resources of different level-I water resource regions. Remarkable uniformity exists between the first or secondary primary periodicity of water resource variation in adjacent level-I water resource regions.     

Climate and hydrological changes in the Ob River Basin during 1936–2017

Changes in the hydrological regimes of Arctic rivers could affect the thermohaline circulation of the Arctic Ocean. In this study, we analysed spatiotemporal variations in temperature and precipitation in the Ob River Basin regions during 1936–2017 based on data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Center. Changes in discharge and response to climate change were examined based on monthly observed data during the same period. It is indicated the Ob River Basin experienced significant overall rapid warming and wetting (increased precipitation) in the study period, with average rates of 0.20°C (10 year⁻¹) and 5.3 mm (10 year⁻¹), respectively. The annual spatial variations of temperature and precipitation showed different scales in different regions. The discharge in spring and winter significantly increased at a rate of 384.1 and 173.1 m³/s (10 year⁻¹), respectively. Hydrograph separation indicated infiltration and supported that deep flow paths increased the contribution of groundwater to base flow. Meanwhile, the variation of the ratio of Q_max/Q_min suggested that the basin storage and the mechanism of discharge generation have significantly changed. The hydrological processes were influenced by changes of permafrost in a certain in the Ob River Basin. An increase in the recession coefficient (RC) implies that the permafrost degradation in the basin due to climate warming affected hydrological processes in winter. Permafrost degradation affected the Q_max/Q_min more significantly in the warm season than RC due to the enhanced infiltration that converted more surface water into groundwater in the cold season. The impact of precipitation on discharge, including surface flow and base flow, was more significant than temperature at the annual and seasonal scales in the Ob River Basin. The base flow was more obviously influenced by temperature than surface flow. The results of this study are significant for analyses of the basin water budget and freshwater input to the Arctic Ocean.     

Source characterization and spatio–temporal evolution of the metal pollution in the sediments of the Basque estuaries (Bay of Biscay)

According to Water Framework Directive requirements, Member States must identify and analyze effects derived from human pressures in aquatic systems. As different kind of pressures can impact water bodies at different scales, analyses of spatio-temporal evolution of water bodies becomes essential in order to understand ecosystem responses. In this investigation, an analysis of spatio-temporal evolution of sedimentary metal pollution (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn) in 12 Basque estuaries (Bay of Biscay) is presented. Data collected in extensive sampling surveys is the basis for the GIS-based statistical approach used. The implementation of pollution abatement measures is reflected in a long-term decontamination process, mostly evident in estuaries with highest historical sediment pollution levels. Spatial evolution is determined by either naturally occurring or human driven processes. Such spatial processes are more obviously being reflected in estuaries with lower historical sediment pollution levels.     

Study on spatial pattern of land-use change in China during 1995–2000

It is more and more acknowledged that land-use/cover dynamic change has become a key subject urgently to be dealt with in the study of global environmental change. Supported by the Landsat TM digital images, spatial patterns and temporal variation of land-use change during 1995 –2000 are studied in the paper. According to the land-use dynamic degree model, supported by the 1km GRID data of land-use change and the comprehensive characters of physical, economic and social features, a dynamic regionalization of land-use change is designed to disclose the spatial pattern of land-use change processes. Generally speaking, in the traditional agricultural zones, e.g., Huang-Huai-Hai Plains, Yangtze River Delta and Sichuan Basin, the built-up and residential areas occupy a great proportion of arable land, and in the interlock area of farming and pasturing of northern China and the oases agricultural zones, the reclamation of arable land is conspicuously driven by changes of production conditions, economic benefits and climatic conditions. The implementation of “returning arable land into woodland or grassland” policies has won initial success in some areas, but it is too early to say that the trend of deforestation has been effectively reversed across China. In this paper, the division of dynamic regionalization of land-use change is designed, for the sake of revealing the temporal and spatial features of land-use change and laying the foundation for the study of regional scale land-use changes. Moreover, an integrated study, including studies of spatial pattern and temporal process of land-use change, is carried out in this paper, which is an interesting try on the comparative studies of spatial pattern on change process and the change process of spatial pattern of land-use change.     

Prilimary result of temperature distribution and associated thermal stress in crust in Tianshui, China

The heat flow in crust and the thermal stress generated by the flow play a very important role in earthquake occurrence. Different crustal structure has different effect on heat distribution and associated thermal stress. In all of typical seismogenic crustal structure models, including the bulge of Moho surface, the deep-large fault in the mid-lower crust, low-velocity and high-conductive layer in the middle crust, and the typical crustal structure in mid-upper crust, the thermal stress produced by deep heat disturbance may move up to the mid-upper crest. This leads to upper brittle part of crust break and hence, strong earthquakes. This result is constructive in enhancing our understanding of the role of deep fieat flow in curst in development of earthquake and its generation, as well as the generation mechanism of the shallow flowing fluid.     

Analysis of space–time patterns of rainfall events during 1996–2008 in Yilan County (Taiwan)

Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment - Understanding local precipitation patterns is essential to water resource management and flood mitigation. Precipitation patterns can vary in...     

Climate change regionalization in China(1961–2010)

Since climatic condition is the important foundation for human subsistence and development and the key factor in sustainable development of economy and society, climate change has been a global issue attracting great attentions of politicians, scientists, governments, and the public alike throughout the world. Existing climate regionalization in China aims to characterize the regional differences in climate based on years of the mean value of different climate indexes. However, with the accelerating climate change nowadays, existing climate regionalization cannot represent the regional difference of climate change, nor can it reflect the disasters and environmental risks incurred from climate changes. This paper utilizes the tendency value and fluctuation value of temperature and precipitation from 1961 to 2010 to identify the climate change quantitatively, and completes the climate change regionalization in China(1961–2010) with county administrative regionalization as the unit in combination with China's terrain feature. Level-I regionalization divides China's climate change(1961–2010) into five tendency zones based on the tendency of temperature and precipitation, which are respectively Northeast China-North China warm-dry trend zone, East China-Central China wet-warm trend zone, Southwest China-South China dry-warm trend zone, Southeast Tibet-Southwest China wet-warm trend zone, and Northwest China-Qinghai-Tibet Plateau warm-wet trend zone; level-II regionalization refers to fourteen fluctuation regions based on level-I regionalization according to the fluctuation of temperature and precipitation.     

Spatial distribution and temporal variation of reference evapotranspiration during 1961–2006 in the Yellow River Basin,China

Abstract

To explore the spatial and temporal variations of the reference evapotranspiration (ET_ref) is helpful to understand the response of hydrological processes to climate changes. In this study, ET_ref was calculated by the Penman-Monteith method (P-M method) using air temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and sunshine hours at 89 meteorological stations during 1961–2006 in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), China. The spatial distribution and temporal variations of ET_ref were explored by means of the kriging method, the Mann-Kendall (M-K) method and the linear regression model, and the causes for the variations discussed. The contribution of main meteorological variables to the variations of ET_ref was explored. From the results we found that: (1) the spatial distributions of ET_ref display seasonal variation, with similar spatial patterns in spring, summer and autumn; (2) temporal trends for ET_ref showed large variation in the upper, middle and lower regions of the basin, most of the significant trends (P?=?0.05) were detected in the middle and lower regions, and, in particular, the upward and downward trends were mainly detected in the middle region and lower region of the basin, respectively; and (3) sensitivity analysis identified the most sensitive variable for ET_ref as relative humidity, followed by air temperature, sunshine hours and wind speed at the basin scale.

Citation Yang, Zhifeng, Liu, Qiang & Cui, Baoshan (2011) Spatial distribution and temporal variation of reference evapotranspiration during 1961–2006 in the Yellow River Basin, China. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(6), 1015–1026.     

Influence of Land Use Change on Green and Blue Water Resources in Xixi Basin of Southeast China during 1970s–2018

Water Resources - As one of the factors affecting water resources, land use is influenced by humans and is of great significance to water resources management. This paper used SWAT model parameter...     

Progress in Earthquake Science and Technology in China: Review and Prospects (I)

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Progress in Earthquake Science and Technology in China: Review and Prospects (Ⅰ)

In the article the author looks back the hard development course and great progress in earth quake science and technology in China during the last near a half of century and expounds the following 3 aspects: (1) The strong desire of the whole society to mitigate seismic disasters and reduce the effect of earthquakes on social-economic live is a great driving force to push forward the development of earthquake science and technology in China; (2) To better ensure people‘ s life and property, sustainable economic development, and social stability is an essential purpose to drive the development of earthquake science and technology in China; and (3) To insist on the dialectical connection of setup of technical system for seismic monitoring with the scientific research of earthquakes and to better handle the relation between crucial task, current scientif ic level, and the feasibility are the important principles to advance the earthquake science and technology in China. Some success and many setbacks in earthquake disaster mitigation consistently enrich our knowledge regarding the complexity of the conditions for earthquake occurrence and the process of earthquake preparation, promote the reconstruction and modernization of technical system for earthquake monitoring, and deepen the scientific research of earthquakes. During the last 5 years, the improvement and modernization of technical system for earthquake monitoring have clearly provided the technical support to study and practice of earthquake prediction and pre caution, give prominence to key problems and broaden the field of scientific research of earth quakes. These have enabled us to get some new recognition of the conditions for earthquake oc currence and process of earthquake preparation, characteristics of seismic disaster, and mecha nism for earthquake generation in China‘s continent. The progress we have made not only en courages us to enhance the effectiveness of earthquake disaster mitigation, but also provides a basis for accelerating further development of earthquake science and technology in China in the new century, especially in the 10th five-year plan. Based on the history reviewed, the author sets forth a general requirement for develop ment of earthquake science and technology in China and brings out 10 aspects to be stressed and strengthened at present and in the future. These are: upgrade and setup of the network of digitized seismic observation; upgrade and setup of the network for observation of seismic pre cursors; setup of the network for observation of strong motion; setup of the laboratories for ex periment on seismic regime; establishment of technical system for seismic information, emer gency command and urgent rescue; research on short-term and imminent earthquake predic tion; research on intermediate- and long-term earthquake prediction; research on attenuation of seismic ground motion, mechanism for seismic disaster, and control on seismic disaster; ba sic research fields related to seismology and geoscience. We expect that these efforts will signifi cantly elevate the level of earthquake science and technology in China to the advanced interna tional level, improve theories, techniques, and methods for earthquake precaution and predic tion, and enhance the effectiveness of earthquake disaster mitigation.     

Spatial and temporal variation of precipitation in Sudan and their possible causes during 1948–2005

Temporal and spatial patterns of precipitation are essential to the understanding of soil moisture status which is vital for vegetation regeneration in the arid ecosystems. The purposes of this study are (1) to understand the temporal and spatial variations of precipitation in Sudan during 1948–2005 by using high quality global precipitation data known as Precipitation REConstruction (PREC), which has been constructed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, and (2) to discuss the relationship between precipitation variability and moisture flux based on the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data in order to ascertain the potential causes of the spatial and temporal variations of precipitation in the region. Results showed that (1) annual and monthly precipitation in Sudan had great spatial variability, and mean annual precipitation varied from almost nil in the North to about 1500 mm in the extreme Southwest; (2) precipitation of the main rain season, i.e., July, August and September, and annual total precipitation in the central part of Sudan decreased significantly during 1948–2005; (3) abrupt change points were found in the annual, July, August and September in the late 1960s, when precipitation decreased more rapidly than in other periods; and (4) the decreasing precipitation was associated with the weakening African summer monsoon. The summer moisture flux over Sudan tended to be decreasing after the late 1960s which decreased the northward propagation of moisture flux in North Africa. This study provides a complementary view to the previous studies that attempted to explain the Sahel persistent drought and possible causes.     

Dynamics of exrtrusive dome growth and variations in chemical and mineralogical composition of Young Shiveluch andesites in 2001–2013

This paper discribes characteristic features of the extrusive dome growth of the Young Shiveluch Volcano in 2001–2013 and analyzes variations in the chemical and mineralogic composition of magmas erupted during this period. It is shown that, compared with the earlier phases in the dome growth during 1980–1981 and 1993–1995, the andesites that were erupted in the 2000s are less homogeneous in bulk composition, crystal contents and contain phenocrysts, which differ in composition and the conditions of crystallization. These compositional feature of rocks are interpreted as resulting from convection in a shallow magma chamber, with the convection being caused by the arrival of a fresh portion of deep magma.     

Shifting Correlation Between Earthquakes and Electromagnetic Signals: A Case Study of the 2013 Minxian–Zhangxian ML 6.5 (MW 6.1) Earthquake in Gansu,China

The shifting correlation method (SCM) is proposed for statistical analysis of the correlation between earthquake sequences and electromagnetic signal sequences. In this method, the two different sequences were treated in units of 1 day. With the earthquake sequences fixed, the electromagnetic sequences were continuously shifted on the time axis, and the linear correlation coefficients between the two were calculated. In this way, the frequency and temporal distribution characteristics of potential seismic electromagnetic signals in the pre, co, and post-seismic stages were analyzed. In the work discussed in this paper, we first verified the effectiveness of the SCM and found it could accurately identify indistinct related signals by use of sufficient samples of synthetic data. Then, as a case study, the method was used for analysis of electromagnetic monitoring data from the Minxian–Zhangxian M_L 6.5 (M_W 6.1) earthquake. The results showed: (1) there seems to be a strong correlation between earthquakes and electromagnetic signals at different frequency in the pre, co, and post-seismic stages, with correlation coefficients in the range 0.4–0.7. The correlation was positive and negative before and after the earthquakes, respectively. (2) The electromagnetic signals related to the earthquakes might appear 23 days before and last for 10 days after the shocks. (3) To some extent, the occurrence time and frequency band of seismic electromagnetic signals are different at different stations. We inferred that the differences were related to resistivity, active tectonics, and seismogenic structure.