Spatiotemporal variability in tree ring’s δ13C of Picea crassifolia in the Qilian Mountains: climatic significance and responses to rising CO2

The carbon isotopic composition (δ¹³C) of tree rings was used to assess changes in intrinsic water-use efficiency (W_i) to increasing atmospheric CO₂ and climate change during the period of 1891–2003. Five Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) stands were selected in the Qilian Mountains, growing along a precipitation gradient. All five δ¹³C were correlated to each other, but two sites (DDS and CLS), which are far from the main body of the mountains, show relative weak connections to other sites. Although trees at all sites had improved their W_i in response to increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentration, spruce growing in the regions far away from the main body of the mountains were less sensitive to improved W_i than those of other sites. Based on the correlation between carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), the drought history covering the period of 1891–2003 was reconstructed in the study region. The two most severe drought epochs of the late 1920s and the last decade were caused by reduced precipitation and climate warming, respectively. Our results will be useful in assessing any further spatial climate-related bioclimatic information.     

Impact of global warming on drought in China

Spatial and temporal change patterns of air temperature (T), precipitation (P), relative humidity (RH), lower vapor pressure (VP), potential evapotranspiration (PET) and drought situation of 690 meteorological stations for all of China were evaluated in this study to understand the effects of warming on regional drought and hydrological processes. Here, the drought extent is expressed by aridity index (AI), which is the ratio of precipitation and reference crop evapotranspiration (ET₀) calculated by FAO Penman-Monteith equation, taking into account air temperature, atmospheric humidity, solar radiation, and wind. Our results indicate that there are different patterns of climate change from 1961 to 2008 and from 1981 to 2008. Little precipitation change occurred in China and ET₀ decreased from 1961 to 2008. But, the warming trend has intensified and the area with significant increasing precipitation has reduced since the early 1980’s and ET₀ has increased in most areas of China from 1981 to 2008 and decreased from 1961 to 2008. The areas affected by drought have shifted from North China and Northeast China to East China and South China since 1981. It is speculated that the increasing warming intensity after 1981 possibly strengthened the power of potential evapotranspiration and resulted in drought in most areas of Northeast China, North China, eastern Southwest China, and especially in East China and South China.     

Effects of separate and mutual application of Na and Si on drought resistance of Haloxylon ammodendron

We studied pot cultivated Haloxylon ammodendron’s growth, physiological changes and drought resistance under NaCl, H₂SiO₃, and NaCl+H₂SiO₃ treatments. Results show that 0.3 g/kg NaCl, 0.2 g/kg H₂SiO₃ or 0.3 g/kg NaCl+0.1 g/kg H₂SiO₃ treatments can effectively promote growth and improve the drought resistance of H. ammodendron. Compared with that without NaCl treatment, H. ammodendron’s height, crown diameter and fresh weight increased by 42%, 91% and 62% respectively under 0.3 g/kg NaCl treatment, and its main stem diameter, main root diameter and main root length increased by 40%, 39% and 23%, respectively. Compared with that without H₂SiO₃ treatments, H. ammodendron’s height, crown diameter and fresh weight increased by 36%, 45% and 27% respectively under 0.2 g/kg H₂SiO₃ treatment, and its main stem diameter, main root diameter and main root length increased by 23%, 23% and 20%, respectively. Compared with that under 0.3 g/kg NaCl treatment, H. ammodendron’s height, crown diameter and fresh weight and main root length increased by 9%, 10%, 17% and 12% respectively under 0.3 g/kg NaCl+0.1 g/kg H₂SiO₃ treatment. Compared with that under 0.1 g/kg H₂SiO₃ treatment, H. ammodendron’s height, crown diameter and fresh weight increased by 28%, 76% and 68% respectively under 0.3 g/kg NaCl+0.1 g/kg H₂SiO₃ treatment, and its main stem diameter, main root diameter and main root length increased by 30%, 32% and 27%, respectively. This suggests that moderate levels of NaCl+H₂SiO₃ interaction can effectively promote growth and improve drought resistance of H. ammodendron than separate applications of NaCl or H₂SiO₃.     

Ecophysiological responses to drought stress in Populus euphratica

Ecophysiological responses to drought stress of Populus euphratica in Alashan Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station were investigated. Results show that under mild and moderate drought stress, stomatal length, aperture,area and density is likely to decrease in the early days, but afterwards this is likely to recovery with treatment over the passage of treatment time. Under severe drought stress, these properties appear to decline continuously. However, after45 days of drought-stress treatment, the decline is not as noticeable as before, indicating that Populus euphratica could possibly reduce water evaporation by shutting down the stoma, leading to an improvement in its water use efficiency with better survival under drought stress conditions. The leaf area first decreases, and then increases under mild and moderate drought stress conditions, with the average values under different degree of stress found to be approximately 129.52,120.08, 116.63 and 107.28 cm2, respectively. Under moderate stress conditions, the leaf water potential appears to show a continuous decline where the average values under different degree of stress are found to be-1.27,-1.85,-4.29 and-4.80 MPa, respectively. In terms of proline content, the results demonstrate that this factor appears to increase significantly under moderate and severe drought stress conditions. Especially under severe drought stress condition, the content is found to be more than 700 μg/g. Ranging over average values of 14.64 and 15.90 nmol/g under moderate and severe drought stress, respectively, Malondialdehyde content is found to increase quite rapidly under moderate and severe drought stress conditions at first, which then appears to decrease gradually with the treatment over time.     

溶液化学专刊

The present work are extract cesium (Cs_⁺) and rubidium (Rb_⁺) from the salt lake brine containing the potassium (K_⁺) and magnesium (Mg_²⁺) after concentrated through evaporation. It has excellent effect of extraction that 4-sec-butyl-2-(α-methylbenzyl) phenol (t-BAMBP) was diluted in the Sulfonated Kerosene (SK). The infrared spectrum studies indicate that polymerize to form the dimer in the t-BAMBP when Cs_⁺ or Rb_⁺ were extracted. The effect of K_⁺ and Mg_²⁺, t-BAMBP concentration, the volume ratio of organic phase to aqueous phase (O/A) and the alkalinity(pH) of aqueous phase were investigated. The K_⁺ and Mg_²⁺ should be eliminated through precipitation before extraction and separation Cs_⁺ and Rb_⁺. The experimental brine was extracted of optimum conditions were using 0.8 mol/L t-BAMBP in SK, the pH exceed 13, and O/A of 1:1 for 2 min contact time under room temperature. The optimal extraction yields of Cs_⁺ and Rb_⁺ up to 100% and 85.8%, and 8.76% K_⁺ was co-extracted. Further work target to increase theSextractionSyield and selectivity ofSRb_⁺, and realize the efficient seperation of Cs_⁺ and Rb_⁺ products .     

Research advances on drought resistance mechanism of plant species in arid zones of China

Drought and shortage of water resources, which restrict the economy, society development and environmental protection, are key factors in arid zones of China. In the arid zones of Western China, researching plant drought resistance mechanism, selecting plant species with higher drought resistance, and developing water-saving techniques, are important for environmental improvement and economic development. This paper reviews research advances on drought resistance mechanism of plant species, based on research of morphological, physiological, and ecological adaptation mechanism of plant species under drought stress, such as anatomical structure of root systems and leaves, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme system, malondialdehyde (MDA), osmotic adjustment, endogenous hormone, drought-induced proteins and δ¹³C. Finally, this paper points out the key field of future research.     

New Zealand chironomids as proxies for human-induced and natural environmental change: Transfer functions for temperature and lake production (chlorophyll a)

The analysis of chironomid taxa and environmental datasets from 46 New Zealand lakes identified temperature (February mean air temperature) and lake production (chlorophyll a (Chl a)) as the main drivers of chironomid distribution. Temperature was the strongest driver of chironomid distribution and consequently produced the most robust inference models. We present two possible temperature transfer functions from this dataset. The most robust model (weighted averaging-partial least squares (WA-PLS), n = 36) was based on a dataset with the most productive (Chl a > 10 μg l⁻¹) lakes removed. This model produced a coefficient of determination () of 0.77, and a root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP_jack) of 1.31°C. The Chl a transfer function (partial least squares (PLS), n = 37) was far less reliable, with an of 0.49 and an RMSEP_jack of 0.46 Log₁₀μg l⁻¹. Both of these transfer functions could be improved by a revision of the taxonomy for the New Zealand chironomid taxa, particularly the genus Chironomus. The Chironomus morphotype was common in high altitude, cool, oligotrophic lakes and lowland, warm, eutrophic lakes. This could reflect the widespread distribution of one eurythermic species, or the collective distribution of a number of different Chironomus species with more limited tolerances. The Chl a transfer function could also be improved by inputting mean Chl a values into the inference model rather than the spot measurements that were available for this study.     

Lake Area Changes and the main causes in the hinterland of Badain Jaran Desert during 1973–2010, China

Lake area information in the Badain Jaran Desert in 1973, 1990, 2000, and 2010 was obtained by visual interpretation and water index analysis of remote sensing images, based on the spatial and temporal characteristics of lake area changes during 37 years. Results indicated that the number of lakes declined from 94 to 82 and the total surface area was reduced by 3.69 km² during 1973–2010. The desert lake area reduced by different degrees in different periods, but this occurred most rapidly during 1973–1990. According to the statistics of lake area changes, lake area decreases mainly occurred in the lakes with areas less than 0.2 km², while the areas of lakes greater than 0.9 km² only fluctuated. The changes of lake areas were probably due to changes in the quantity of underground water supplies rather than the effects of local climate change or human factors.     

The efficacy of Kriging spatial interpolation for filling temporal gaps in daily air temperature data: A case study in northeast China

Quality-controlled and serially complete daily air temperature data are essential to evaluating and modelling the influences of climate change on the permafrost in cold regions. Due to malfunctions and location changes of observing stations, temporal gaps (i.e., missing data) are common in collected datasets. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of Kriging spatial interpolation for estimating missing data to fill the temporal gaps in daily air temperature data in northeast China. A cross-validation experiment was conducted. Daily air temperature series from 1960 to 2012 at each station were estimated by using the universal Kriging (UK) and Kriging with an external drift (KED), as appropriate, as if all the observations at a given station were completely missing. The temporal and spatial variation patterns of estimation uncertainties were also checked. Results showed that Kriging spatial interpolation was generally desirable for estimating missing data in daily air temperature, and in this study KED performed slightly better than UK. At most stations the correlation coefficients (R²) between the observed and estimated daily series were >0.98, and root mean square errors (RMSEs) of the estimated daily mean (T_mean), maximum (T_max), and minimum (T_min) of air temperature were <3℃. However, the estimation quality was strongly affected by seasonality and had spatial variation. In general, estimation uncertainties were small in summer and large in winter. On average, the RMSE in winter was approximately 1℃ higher than that in summer. In addition, estimation uncertainties in mountainous areas with complex terrain were significantly larger than those in plain areas.     

Environmental records of snow pits in Yuzhufeng Glacier and Xiao Dongkemadi Glacier in the Tibetan Plateau

The contents and distribution characteristics of ions, n-alkanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in snow pits on the Yuzhufeng (YZF) Glacier and the Xiao Dongkemadi (XDKMD) Glacier are studied. Parameter characteristics and correlation coefficients between ions and two organic compounds are used to explore the possible sources of these chemical compositions. The results indicated that both glaciers are influenced by west wind circulation, but the contents of ions, n-alkanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the YZF Glacier are higher than in the XDKMD Glacier because of differences in geographical position. The ratios of ΣnC₂₁^–/ΣnC₂₂⁺ and CPI values (CPI: carbon preference index) indicate that the n-alkanes from natural sources in these two glaciers are mainly derived from higher plants, whereas the contribution from lower organisms was small, also, n-alkanes from anthropogenic sources in the YZF Glacier are higher than in the XDKMD Glacier. The ratios of LPAHs/HPAHs and (Fly+Pyr)/(BghiP+INP) indicate that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in these two glaciers are mainly derived from low temperature combustion of coal and biomass, and, in the XDKMD Glacier, partially from the vehicle exhaust.     

Studies on photoprotective mechanism of desert plant Reaumuria soongorica under progressive soil drying

Reaumuria soongorica (pall.) Maxim, a perennial desert semi-shrub, is widely found in semi-arid areas of China. It shows strong tolerance to drought, high temperature and intense radiation in its natural habitat. In the present study, photoprotective mechanism of R. soongorica was investigated by analyzing diurnal variations of gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorecence parameters during progressive soil drying. The results show that leaf water potential of R. soongorica decreased when the soil water content dropped. Diurnal patterns of net photosynthetic rate (Pn) changed from "two peaks" to "one peak" under drought stress, and the leaf water use efficiency (WUE) increased under moderate drought and declined under severe drought. Pn , the primary maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) and the quantum efficiency of non-cyclic electron transport of PSII (ΦPSII) decreased obviously at noon, and showed a photoinhibition phenomenon. But, the non-photochemical quenching of fluorescence (NPQ) soon reached its maximum in the day and then remained almost at the high level until 17:00, indicating that the xanthophylls cycle-dependent thermal energy dissipation played an important role. Diurnal variations of the original chlorophyll fluorescence (Fo) increased at first and then decreased. The increased value of F o under drought stress indicates that there was a reversible inactivation of PSII reaction center. These results indicate that the photoprotective mechanism in R. soongorica was the photoinhibition by using both the xanthophylls cycle-dependent thermal energy dissipation and the reversible inactivation of PSII reaction center under drought stress.     

Study on the impact of vegetation degeneration to hydrology characteristic of the Alpine soil

Alpine soil infiltration process is an important part of the hydrological characteristics of alpine soil in permafrost. This research is carried out in the source region of the Yellow River where the permafrost is severely degraded, using various methods for choosing typical sample areas, and to experiment, study and simulate the soil water curve, soil saturated hydraulic conductivity, soil infiltration and soil moisture under different characteristics of degraded vegetation. The results indicate that the empirical equation θ=AS^−B, proposed by Gradner and Visser, is very reliable in simulating the soil moisture curve; soil saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil infiltration are significantly different under different vegetation coverage: in the soil surface within 0–10 cm, the saturated hydraulic conductivity and infiltration intensity of Black Beach are the strongest; respectively, in soil layers below 30 cm, vegetation has almost no impacts on the saturated hydraulic conductivity, infiltration intensity and soil moisture content. Significant reduction of soil moisture occurs in soil surfaces with degraded vegetation. The more serious the degradation, the more water loss, and it can be up to 38.6% in the worst situation. Soil moisture of developed vegetation root systems in depths within 10–20 cm has the greatest impact on the soil environment, and the loss of moisture induces difficulty in the restoration of degraded meadows. Through a comparative study, the Kostiakov infiltration equation f(t) = at^−b is more applicable for studies on the process of soil moisture infiltration of the alpine meadow in the source region of the Yellow River.     

Relationship between pollen assemblages and organic geochemical proxies and the response to climate change in the Zhuye Lake sediments

This paper examines the relationship among organic geochemical proxies (TOC, C/N ratio and δ¹³C) and pollen assemblages in Zhuye Lake sediments since the Late Glacial. Results show that the reaction extent of organic geochemical proxies and pollen assemblages to environment changes are different. Organic geochemical proxies are sensitive to overall environmental change, while pollen assemblages indicate detailed information of environmental change. For the entire sedimentary section (except the sand layer from the bottom of the section), when values of TOC, C/N ratio and total pollen concentrations are high, δ¹³C values are low, and vice versa. The different responses of organic geochemical proxies and pollen records in Zhuye Lake are mainly due to their different sensitivity and diverse influencing factors in different environmental conditions.     

The aboveground biomass of desert steppe and its spatiotemporal variation in western Inner Mongolia

A precise understanding of the aboveground biomass of desert steppe and its spatio-temporal variation is important to understand how arid ecosystems respond to climate change and to ensure that scarce grassland resources are used rationally. On the basis of 756 ground survey quadrats sampled in western Inner Mongolia steppe in 2005–2011 and remote sensing data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)—the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) dataset for the period of 2001–2011—we developed a statistical model to estimate the aboveground biomass of the desert steppe and further explored the relationships between aboveground biomass and climate factors. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the aboveground biomass of the steppe in the research area was 5.27 Tg (1 Tg=10¹² g) on average over 11 years; between 2001 and 2011, the aboveground biomass of the western Inner Mongolia steppe exhibited fluctuations, with no significant trend over time; (2) the aboveground biomass of the steppe in the research area exhibits distinct spatial variation and generally decreases gradually from southeast to northwest; and (3) the important factor causing interannual variations in aboveground biomass is precipitation during the period from January to July, but we did not find a significant relationship between the aboveground biomass and the corresponding temperature changes. The precipitation in this period is also an important factor influencing the spatial distribution of aboveground biomass (R²=0.39, P<0.001), while the temperature might be a minor factor (R²=0.12, P<0.01). The uncertainties in our estimate are primarily due to uncertainty in converting the fresh grass yield estimates to dry weight, underestimates of the biomass of shrubs, and error in remote sensing dataset.     

Purification and characterization of acetylcholinesterase from brain tissues of Oreochromis aurea and its application in environmental pesticide monitoring

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) plays an important role in enzyme-based detection of pesticides in the environment. In this paper, AChE from the Triton X-100 extract of brain tissues of Oreochromis aurea was purified by (NH₄)₂SO₄ fractional precipitation, Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, and DEAE-cellulose ion exchange chromatography. Certain biochemical characterizations of the purified enzyme and inhibition of pesticides on the enzyme were also studied. The specific activity of this purified enzyme was 20.628 U/mg protein, fold of purification was 139, and recovery was 22.1%. The optimal temperature of this enzyme was between 35–40 °C, and optimal pH was between 7.5–8.0. The Michaelis constant (K_m) for acetylthiocholine iodide was 0.183 mmol/L. The enzyme activity was inhibited by excess substrate, and optimal substrate concentration was 6 mmol/L. Four pesticides (dichlorvos, phoxim, triazophos, and methomyl) exhibited strong inhibitions on this enzyme with IC₅₀ less than 5 μg/mL. This study suggests that Oreochromis aurea (tilapia) could be a good enzyme source for pesticide monitoring in water environments.     

Seasonal variation of foliar δ13C values and its indictor significance in Sabina przewalskii and Sabina chinensis

Seasonal variation of foliar δ¹³C values as well as proline, silicon, MDA and relative water content in Sabina przewalskii Kom. and S. chinensis (Lin.) Ant. were measured. The results show that foliar δ¹³C values were significantly different at different seasons: lower in winter but higher in summer. δ¹³C values were positively correlated with air temperature and soil temperature. This demonstrates that foliar δ¹³C of Sabina is a successful empirical indictor of temperature. Furthermore, foliar δ¹³C values were positively related to proline and silicon content, and negatively related to relative water content and MDA content. Compared with S. chinensis, S. przewalskii has higher δ¹³C values, proline and silicon content as well as lower MDA and relative water content. All these results provided strong evidence that it is feasible for δ¹³C to be regarded as another index to evaluate freezing tolerance of Sabina.     

Response to climate change of different tree species and NDVI variation since 1923 in the middle arid region of Ningxia, China

The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used extensively to describe vegetation cover and ecological environment change. The purpose of this study was to contrast the response of different tree species growing in the same habitat to climate change and retrieve past NDVI using tree-ring width data from tree cores collected from the transitional zone of Pinus tabulaeformis and Picea crassifolia in the Luoshan Mountains in the middle arid region of Ningxia. Correlation analysis indicated that radial growth of P. tabulaeformis is more sensitive to precipitation and temperature change than that of P. crassifolia. Natural factors such as water availability and heat at this elevation are more suited to the growth of P. crassifolia, and are more advantageous to its renewal and succession. P. crassifolia is probably the better of the two species for protecting the forest ecosystem and conserving water in the Luoshan desertification area. Ring width of P. crassifolia correlates significantly with average NDVI for April–May (r =0.641, p <0.01), and both of them are influenced positively by precipitation in April–May. The reconstructed NDVI for 1923–2007 shows the relatively low vegetation cover occurred in the 1920s–1930s, the 1960s–1970s, and the early 21st century. The reconstructed NDVI better reflected the drought climate in the study area.     

Photosynthetic performance of Setaria viridis to soil drought and rewatering alternations

The ability of psammophyte(a plant that grows in sand or sandy soil) to withstand and recover from severe droughts is crucial for desertification control and restoration of degraded vegetation in semi-arid sandy land in northern China.Responses of the photo-synthetic gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence of an annual(Setaria viridis) were measured through three cycles of soil drying and rewatering.Results showed that the net photosynthesis rate(Pn) decreased by 95 percent,91 percent,and 61 percent at end of three drought periods;the stomatal conductance(gs) decreased by 72 percent,73 percent,and 53 percent;the transpiration rate(Tr) decreased by 70 percent,69 percent,and 37 percent;and water-use efficiency(WUE) decreased by 83 percent,69 percent,and 38 percent.At the same time,the trapping probability with no dark adaptation(FV’/FM’) decreased by 70 percent,12 percent,and 10 percent,while the electron transport per cross-section(ET0’/CS’0) decreased by 80 percent,45 percent,and 13 percent.The intercellular CO2(Ci) increased by 1.77,1.02,and 0.66 times,and the dissipation per cross-section(DI0’/CS0’) increased by 98 percent,28 percent,and 22 percent.These results indicated that S.viridis was subjected to photoinhibition and some nonstomatal limitation of photosynthesis under drought.However,the above photosynthetic characteristics were restored to control values after three or four days of rewatering.The capability to recover from drought may contribute to the plant’s use of water as efficiently as possible.Furthermore,during the subsequent drought spells,suppression of Pn,gs,Tr,FV’/FM’,and ET0’/CS0’ decreased or slowed down following the drying and rewatering alternations,especially in the third drought spell.     

Recent Progress on Structure of Aqueous Polyborate Solutions

The crystal structure of metal borates has been extensively investigated by X-ray and neutron diffraction,but,the structure of aqueous polyborate solutions are still largely unknown.Over the last decade,our group has focused on studying the structure of complex aqueous polyborate solutions of Li,Na,K,Rb,Cs,and Mg using synchrotron radiation X-ray scattering(XRS),EXAFS,Raman,NMR,and DFT,as well as determining the density,conductivity and pH of such solutions.Polyborate species distributions were calculated using pH measurements,and the main species in the solution have been confirmed by NMR and Raman spectra.For alkali-metal metaborates,the dominant species is always B(OH)-₄in a wide range of concentration,while the presence of others species is negligible.For alkali metal tetraborates,when concentration is in the extreme low range,only B(OH)₃ and B(OH)-₄ are present in these solutions.As the total boron concentration increases,B(OH)₃ and B(OH)-₄ polycondensated to form more complex oligomers.Of them,while B₄O₅(OH)2-₄ in the tetraborate solutions is the main species,B(OH)₃,B(OH)-₄,and B₃O₃(OH)-₄ are minor species,and B₃O₃(OH)2-₅ and B₅O₆OH)-₄ are present only in negligible amounts.As solution continues to concentrate,B₄O₅(OH)2-₄ eventually becomes the dominant species,which is consistent with the congruent compound M₂B₄O₇·nH₂O(M=Li,Na,K,Rb,Cs) in the system M₂O-B₂O₃-H₂O(M=Li,Na,K,Rb,Cs).For alkali metal pentaborates,B(OH)₃ and B(OH)-₄ are the main species at low concentrations.The species distribution,Raman and NMR spectroscopy results verified that the dominant species in concentrated pentaborate solutions with Li and Na is pentaborate B₅O₆OH)-₄,but it is surprising that the main species with K,Rb,and Cs is always the triborate monoanion B₃O₃(OH)-₄.Although all M[B₅O₆OH)₄]·nH₂O(M=Li,Na,K,Rb,Cs) are all congruent compounds in the system M₂O-B₂O₃-H₂O(M=Li,Na,K,Rb,Cs) ,the main species in aqueous solutions are quite different because of various cation hydration distance(d),hydration number(CN),and configuration,especially charge(Z).For bivalent Mg²⁺,three borate minerals,namely,Inderite(2MgO·3B₂O₃·15H₂O),Hungchaoite(MgO·2B₂O₃·9H₂O),and Mcallisterite(MgO·3B₂O₃·7.5H₂O),exist in the system MgO-B₂O₃-H₂O at 298K.Inderite is a congruent compound,but Hungchaoite and Mcallisterite are incongruent compounds.The species distribution and Raman spectra demonstrat that the predominant species in all the solutions with magnesium borates is bivalent triborate B₃O₃(OH)2-₅,while the subordinate species are B(OH)-₄ at a low B₂O₃/MgO ratio and B(OH)₃at a high B₂O₃/MgO ratio,and the other anions are negligible,as the high Z of the borate anion must match that of Mg²⁺.The disappearance of divalent B₄O₅(OH)2-₄ is in agreement with its incongruent nature.The DFT and XRS results showed that tetrahedral Li(H₂O)⁺₄(d=0.20 nm,CN=4),octahedral Na(H₂O)₆⁺(d=0.236 nm,CN=6),and Mg(H₂O)²⁺₆(d=0.210 nm,CN=6) in the first hydration shell belong to Platonic polyhedra.However,K(H₂O)⁺₈(d=0.28 nm,CN=8,XRS and DFT),Rb(H₂O)⁺₈(d=0.293 nm,CN=7.7-8.2,EXAFS),and Cs(H₂O)⁺₈(d=0.320-0.326 nm,CN=7.6-7.9,EXAFS) are inclined Voronoi polyhedra.Therefore,the effects of cation Z and d on the structure of polyborates in aqueous solutions are deterministic,while the effect of hydrated-cation symmetry is secondary.Their hydrolysis order was:Mg＞Li＞Na＞K＞Rb＞Cs,in step with hydration power.Among them,Mg²⁺ and Li⁺have a strong tendency towards hydrolysis,but Na⁺ scarcely hydrolyzes,especially Rb⁺ and Cs⁺ have a little protonation.X-ray scattering of aqueous alkaline sodium borohydride solutions confirmed that dihydrogen bonds exist in an aqueous solution.The four distinct features of dihydrogen bonds in aqueous solution-unidirectionality,divaricativity,multicentricity,and multidentativity have been also described here in brief.     

Characterization and quantification of within-year variation of snow-cover elevation in mountainous regions, eastern Tibet

Fluctuating snow-covered elevation (FSCE) was conceptualized and proposed to characterize within-year variation of the border between snow-covered and snow-free area in mountainous regions. Two parameters, namely median of snow free period (T_m) and snow free duration (ΔT), were defined to quantify FSCE. A regression model of FSCE was developed for the Lhasa River Basin, Niyang River Basin, and Changdu region in eastern Tibet. Statistical analysis of the snow-products data with a spatial resolution of 25km×25km shows that: (1) T_m correlates weakly with geographical and topographic factors, having the yearly mean value of July 31; (2) ΔT correlates significantly with the average elevation of the snow-products cell, having the yearly mean value of nearly five months (i.e., 151 days); (3) the region begins snow disappearance in late April and finishes snow coverage in mid November, being snow-free from late June to mid September and snow-covered from December to March in the next year. In addition, snow-products with higher spatial resolution will be helpful to characterize FSCE in smaller spatial scales.