Sea‐surface temperature and salinity changes in the northwest Pacific since the Last Glacial Maximum

The oxygen isotope records of both benthic and planktonic Foraminifera in five piston cores, collected from the region between the Oyashio and Kuroshio Currents near Japan, clearly show the marked latitudinal shifts of these two currents during the past 25 kyr. Under the present hydrographic condition, a clear relationship between the sea‐surface temperature (SST) and oxygen isotope differences from benthic to planktonic Foraminifera is observed in this region. Using this relationship, we find decreased SSTs of 12–13°C (maximum 15°C) in the southernmost core site at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), indicating the Oyashio Current shifted southward. The SSTs at the southern two core sites abruptly increased more than 10°C at 10–11 ka, suggesting the Kuroshio Current shifted northward over these sites at 10–11 ka. In contrast, the northern two core sites have remained under the influence of the cold Oyashio Current for the past 25 kyr. With the reasonable estimate of bottom‐water temperature decrease of 2.5°C at the LGM, the SSTs estimated by this new method give exactly the same SST values calculated from Mg/Ca ratio of planktonic Foraminifera, allowing palaeosea‐surface salinities to be reconstructed. The result suggests that the ice volume effect was 1.0 ± 0.1‰ at the LGM. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lake sedimentary processes and vegetation changes over the last 45k cal a bp in the uplands of south-eastern Amazonia

This study addresses paleoclimate influences in a southern Amazonia ecotone based on multiproxy records from lakes of the Carajás region during the last 45k cal a bp. Wet and cool environmental conditions marked the initial deposition in shallow depressions with detrital sediments and high weathering rates until 40k cal a bp. Concomitantly, forest and C3 canga plants, along with cool-adapted taxa, developed; however, short drier episodes enabled expansion of C4 plants and diagenetic formation of siderite. A massive event of siderite formation occurred approximately 30k cal a bp under strong drier conditions. Afterwards, wet and cool environmental conditions returned and persisted until the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The LGM was marked by lake-level lowstands and subaerial exposure. The transition from the LGM to the Holocene is marked by the onset of oscillations in temperature and humidity, with an expansion of forest and canga plants. Cool taxa were present for the last time in the Carajás region ~ 9.5–9k cal a bp. After 10k cal a bp , shallow lakes became upland swamps due to natural infilling processes, but the current vegetation types and structures of the plateaus were acquired only after 3k cal a bp under wetter climatic conditions.     

Glacial and deglacial climatic patterns in Australia and surrounding regions from 35 000 to 10 000 years ago reconstructed from terrestrial and near-shore proxy data

This study forms part of a wider investigation of late Quaternary environments in the Southern Hemisphere. We here review the terrestrial and near-shore proxy data from Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), New Zealand and surrounding oceans during 35–10 ka, an interval spanning the lead-up to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the LGM proper (21 ± 2 ka), and the ensuing deglaciation. Sites selected for detailed discussion have a continuous or near continuous sedimentary record for this time interval, a stratigraphically consistent chronology, and one or more sources of proxy climatic data. Tropical Australia, Indonesia and PNG had LGM mean annual temperatures 3–7 °C below present values and summer precipitation reduced by at least 30%, consistent with a weaker summer monsoon and a northward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The summer monsoon was re-established in northwest Australia by 14 ka. Precipitation in northeast Australia was reduced to less than 50% of present values until warmer and wetter conditions resumed at 17–16 ka, followed by a second warmer, wetter phase at 15–14 ka. LGM temperatures were up to 8 °C lower than today in mainland southeast Australia and up to 4 °C cooler in Tasmania. Winter rainfall was much reduced throughout much of southern Australia although periodic extreme flood events are evident in the fluvial record. Glacial advances in southeast Australia are dated to 32 ± 2.5, 19.1 ± 1.6 and 16.8 ± 1.4 ka, with periglacial activity concentrated towards 23–16 ka. Deglaciation was rapid in the Snowy Mountains, which were ice-free by 15.8 ka. Minimum effective precipitation in southern Australia was from 14 to 12 ka. In New Zealand the glacial advances date to ～28, 21.5 and 19 ka, with the onset of major cooling at ～28 ka, or well before the LGM. There is no convincing evidence for a Younger Dryas cooling event in or around New Zealand, but there are signs of the Antarctic Cold Reversal in and around New Zealand and off southern Australia. There remain unresolved discrepancies between the climates inferred from pollen and those inferred from the beetle and chironomid fauna at a number of New Zealand sites. One explanation may be that pollen provides a generalised regional climatic signal in contrast to the finer local resolution offered by beetles and chironomids. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were up to 5 °C cooler during the LGM with rapid warming after 20 ka to attain present values by 15 ka. The increase in summer monsoonal precipitation at or before 15 ka reflects higher insolation, warmer SSTs and steeper thermal gradients between land and sea. The postglacial increase in winter rainfall in southern Australia is probably related to the southward displacement of the westerlies as SSTs around Antarctica became warmer and the winter pack ice and Antarctic Convergence Zone retreated to the south.     

Revisiting the abandoned shorelines of Lake George,Australia: a refined optical dating framework

Abandoned shorelines are an important archive used to constrain past fluctuations in the hydrological balance of lakes around the globe. Within Australia, the shorelines preserved at Lake George, NSW, form one of the few shoreline archives in the south-east of the continent that record palaeoenvironmental conditions throughout the late Quaternary. Here, we examined and tested the lake-level record for Lake George constructed in the 1970s by dating a well-preserved shoreline sequence at Luckdale, on the lake's eastern shore, using single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. Ten stratigraphic units were identified, and these suggest a late Quaternary highstand for Lake George in MIS 3, with fluctuations superimposed upon an overall drying trend throughout MIS 2 and into the present. At Luckdale, the highest four shoreline-associated units were deposited ~13 to 19 m above lake base and date to between 39 ± 2 and 29 ± 1 ka ago. Our study pushes back the timing of maximum lake depth at Lake George to at least MIS 3, rather than MIS 2. The overall drying trend is supported by similar reductions in both Riverine Plain fluvial activity and other associated lake-level records from within the Murray basin.     

Contrasting patterns of hydrological changes in Europe in response to Holocene climate cooling phases

The quantitative reconstruction of climatic parameters from pollen and lake-level data obtained at Saint-Jorioz, Lake Annecy (eastern France), gives evidence for cooler and wetter conditions during the 8.2 ka cold event. A comparison of these regional data with other hydrological records reconstructed in Europe for the same period suggests, as a working hypothesis, that mid-latitudes between ca 50° and 43° underwent wetter conditions in response to the cooling, whereas northern and southern Europe were marked by drier climate, in the latter case leading to an interruption of the sapropel 1 formation in the Mediterranean. A similar hydrological tri-partition of Europe can be observed during other Holocene cooling phases associated with North Atlantic IRD events. Data indicate, that the middle zone characterised by wetter climate conditions could have had a more extended latitudinal amplitude during phases of climate cooling weaker than the 8.2 ka event. The differences in expansion of the wet mid-European zone depending on Holocene climate cooling phases could reflect variations in the strength of the Atlantic Westerly Jet in relation with the thermal gradient between high and low latitudes.     

Optical dating of sand wedges and ice‐wedge casts from Qinghai Lake area on the northeastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau and its palaeoenvironmental implications

Sand wedges and ice‐wedge casts in the Qinghai Lake area on the northeastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP) occur within alluvial gravel or river terrace deposits. In this study, we report the results of quartz Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of the infill of five relict sand wedges and one ice‐wedge cast. Combining our dating results with previously published luminescence ages of permafrost wedges in the Qinghai Lake area, we show that sand/ice wedges formed at c. 62 ka, c. 45 ka and between 30 and 15 ka, and that the mean annual air temperature (MAAT) was depressed by at least ～3°C relative to present during the sand/ice‐wedge formation periods. This new work is partially corroborated by post‐LGM proxy records from lakes and aeolian deposits reported from the northeastern QTP. It also significantly extends the palaeoenvironmental record in the region in the period before the LGM, when other proxy records are rare, allowing a better understanding of the palaeoenvironmental conditions on the northeastern QTP.     

西藏安多的湖泊变化与环境

钻孔和剖面资料表明，西藏安多地区两个较大的现代湖泊，错那湖和兹格塘错湖至迟形成于３５ｋａＢ．Ｐ．。早期两源相连，水位较高。随后因气候变干，湖面下降，但在２０－１７ｋａＢ．Ｐ．期间湖面又重新升高，并保持相对稳定。自１７ｋａＢ．Ｐ．以后，湖面急剧下降，矿化度随这提高，钙质胶结物出现。在此过程中，因湖面阶段性的相对稳定所形成的１０道砂坝堤，反映了该区气候波动的特征。     

Quantitative estimates of temperature changes over the last 2700 years in Michigan based on pollen data

Temperatures for the past 2700 yr are estimated using well-dated pollen data from northwestern lower Michigan. The pollen data were sampled from sediment cores of four lakes along a 75-km transect, with fine-grained morainic soils around the two western lakes and sandy outwash soils around the lakes to the east. Climatic reconstructions based on the pollen data from the sandy sites show less temperature change than the reconstructions from the other sites, because variations in the composition of the vegetation at the sandy sites are edaphically restricted. One of the cores studied was dated by counting visible annual laminations (varves). The cores from the other lakes were dated based on three radiocarbon dates per core as well as the historically determined age of the settlement horizons. All the time scales were cross-checked using pollen-stratigraphic correlation between the four sites. A calibration function was developed using a network of modern pollen and climate data covering all of lower Michigan. Based on this calibration function, the 2700-yr reconstruction for Marion Lake indicates an estimated growing-season temperature range of 1.3°C between extreme 30-yr means. Mild conditions persisted prior to ca. A.D. 400, but a cold interval occurred between ca. A.D. 500 and 800. The well-marked warm period evident from ca. A.D. 1000 to 1200 was the last time when temperatures were about equal to the 1931–1960 mean. A prolonged longed cooling occurred after A.D. 1200 and reached 1°C below the 1931–1960 mean by the 1700s. A warming of 0.5°C is indicated from ca. A.D. 1750 to 1850. The estimated temperatures for the 1830s at Marion Lake agree with the instrumental data for that period and this provides some validation of the calibration-function results.     

Vegetation and climate changes over the last 30 000 years on the Leizhou Peninsula,southern China,inferred from the pollen record of Huguangyan Maar Lake

A pollen record from Huguangyan Maar Lake documents regional palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate changes in southern China over the last 30 000 years. Huguangyan Maar Lake is located close to the South China Sea (SCS) coastline and is influenced by the East Asian Monsoon (EAM). The pollen assemblages show a succession of vegetation and climate changes. During the Last Glaciation, 30–15.8 cal. ka BP, the Huguangyan area was dominated by subtropical evergreen‐deciduous forest with grassland surrounding the lake, indicating a colder and drier climate than today. During 15.8–11 cal. ka BP, the study area experienced several climatic fluctuations. From 11 to 2 cal. ka BP, the climate shifted to warmer and wetter conditions. After the Holocene Optimum in the early Holocene, the temperature and precipitation decreased. The sediment record of the last 2000 years cannot be used to interpret natural palaeoclimate changes due to the intense anthropogenic influences. Overall, however, the Huguangyan pollen archive highlights the rapid responses of subtropical vegetation to insolation changes in southern China.     

Carbon Sequestration and Release from Antarctic Lakes: Lake Vida and West Lake Bonney (McMurdo Dry Valleys)

Perennial ice covers on many Antarctic lakes have resulted in high lake inorganic carbon contents. The objective of this paper was to evaluate and compare the brine and CO₂ chemistries of Lake Vida (Victoria Valley) and West Lake Bonney (Taylor Valley), two lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (East Antarctica), and their potential consequences during global warming. An existing geochemical model (FREZCHEM-15) was used to convert measured molarity into molality needed for the FREZCHEM model, and this model added a new algorithm that converts measured DIC into carbonate alkalinity needed for the FREZCHEM model. While quite extensive geochemical information exists for ice-covered Taylor Valley lakes, such as West Lake Bonney, only limited information exists for the recently sampled brine of >25 m ice-thick Lake Vida. Lake Vida brine had a model-calculated pCO₂ = 0.60 bars at the field pH (6.20); West Lake Bonney had a model-calculated pCO₂ = 5.23 bars at the field pH (5.46). Despite the high degree of atmospheric CO₂ supersaturation in West Lake Bonney, it remains significantly undersaturated with the gas hydrate, CO₂·6H₂O, unless these gas hydrates are deep in the sediment layer or are metastable having formed under colder temperatures or greater pressures. Because of lower temperatures, Lake Vida could start forming CO₂·6H₂O at lower pCO₂ values than West Lake Bonney; but both lakes are significantly undersaturated with the gas hydrate, CO₂·6H₂O. For both lakes, simulation of global warming from current subzero temperatures (?13.4 °C in Lake Vida and ?4.7 °C in West Lake Bonney) to 10 °C has shown that a major loss of solution-phase carbon as CO₂ gases and carbonate minerals occurred when the temperatures rose above 0 °C and perennial ice covers would disappear. How important these Antarctic CO₂ sources will be for future global warming remains to be seen. But a recent paper has shown that methane increased in atmospheric concentration due to deglaciation about 10,000 years ago. So, CO₂ release from ice lakes might contribute to atmospheric gases in the future.     

Late Quaternary highstands at Lake Chilwa,Malawi: Frequency,timing and possible forcing mechanisms in the last 44 ka

The extensive shoreline deposits of Lake Chilwa, southern Malawi, a shallow water body today covering 600 km² of a basin of 7500 km², are investigated for their record of late Quaternary highstands. OSL dating, applied to 36 samples from five sediment cores from the northern and western marginal sand ridges, reveal a highstand record spanning 44 ka. Using two different grouping methods, highstand phases are identified at 43.7–33.3 ka, 26.2–21.0 ka and 17.9–12.0 ka (total error method) or 38.4–35.5 ka, 24.3–22.3 ka, 16.2–15.1 ka and 13.5–12.7 ka (Finite Mixture Model age components) with two further discrete events recorded at 11.01 ± 0.76 ka and 8.52 ± 0.56 ka. Highstands are comparable to the timing of wet phases from other basins in East and southern Africa, demonstrating wet conditions in the region before the LGM, which was dry, and a wet Lateglacial, which commenced earlier in the southern compared to northern hemisphere in East Africa. We find no evidence that wet phases are insolation driven, but analysis of the dataset and GCM modelling experiments suggest that Heinrich events may be associated with enhanced monsoon activity in East Africa in both timing and as a possible causal mechanism.     

Recognition and palaeoclimatic implications of late Quaternary niche glaciation in eastern Lesotho

Geomorphic evidence of former glaciation in the high Drakensberg of southern Africa has proven controversial, with conflicting glacial and non‐glacial interpretations suggested for many landforms. This paper presents new geomorphological, sedimentological and micromorphological data, and glacier mass‐balance modelling for a site in the Leqooa Valley, eastern Lesotho, preserving what are considered to be moraines of a former niche glacier that existed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The geomorphology and macro‐sedimentology of the deposits display characteristics of both active and passive transport by glacial processes. However, micromorphological analyses indicate a more complex history of glacial deposition and subsequent reworking by mass movement processes. The application of a glacier reconstruction technique to determine whether this site could have supported a glacier indicates a reconstructed glacier equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of 3136 m a.s.l. and palaeoglacier mass balance characteristics comparable with modern analogues, reflecting viable, if marginal glaciation. Radiocarbon dates obtained from organic sediment within the moraines indicate that these are of LGM age. The reconstructed palaeoclimatic conditions during the LGM suggest that snow accumulation in the Drakensberg was significantly higher than considered by other studies, and has substantial relevance for tuning regional climate models for southern Africa during the last glacial cycle. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

西藏纳木错末次间冰期以来的气候变迁与湖面变化

在西藏纳木错沿岸,发育了6级湖岸阶地及拔湖48～139.2m的高位湖相沉积.根据湖相沉积的U系法测年和孢粉分析结果,本文探讨了纳木错及邻区末次间冰期(MIS5)以来的古植被、古气候与湖面变化.研究表明,纳木错与邻区的湖面变化可以划分为116～37kaB.P.间的古大湖--"羌塘东湖"期、37～30kaB.P.间的"古纳木错"外流湖-残余古大湖期和30kaB.P.以来的纳木错-藏北湖群期等3大阶段.在MIS5的古大湖阶段,包括纳木错、色林错等藏北高原东南部的众多大、中型湖泊,是互相连通的一个大湖,其范围可能超过了现代的藏北内、外流(怒江)水系的分水岭.在MIS5e末的最高湖面时期,湖面面积可达78800km²,它或许还与藏北高原西南部和中南部的其他古大湖相连,成为面积巨大的网格状深水大湖--"羌塘湖".通过纳木错湖面变化曲线与西昆仑古里雅、格陵兰、南极等冰芯和深海岩芯的氧同位素变化曲线的对比可以发现,全球MIS5的气温要高于末次冰期间冰阶(MIS3),此时藏北高原为气候温和轻爽与湖面最高的大湖期;在末次冰期的两个冰阶(MIS4和MIS2)中,湖面明显下降,邻近的念青唐古拉山发育了小型山谷冰川;而在间冰阶MIS3中,其气候波动的幅度,要比世界其他地区更加明显,湖面波动也较大,特别是36～35kaB.P.间,气温和湿度都较今略高或较高,但不及MIS1中的全新世气候最宜时期的暖湿程度.总之,MIS5和MIS3是亚洲夏季风强烈时期,但前者的强烈程度应大于后者.     

Paired Measurements of Foraminiferal d18O and Mg/Ca Ratios of Indian Monsoons Reconstructed from Holocene to Last Glacial Record

The effect of seasonally reversing monsoons in the northern Indian Ocean is to impart significant changes in surface salinity (SS). Here, we report SS changes during the last 32 kyr in the Lakshadweep Sea (southeastern Arabian Sea) estimated from paired measurements of d18O and sea surface temperature (SST) using Globigerinoides sacculifer, an upper mixed layer dwelling foraminifera. The heaviest d18OG.sacculifer (–0.07±0.08‰) is recorded between 23 and 15 ka, which could be defined as the last glacial maximum (LGM). The d18OG.sacculifer shift between the LGM and Holocene is 2.07‰. The SST shows an overall warming of 2°C from the LGM to Holocene (28°C to 30°C). However, coldest SSTs are observed prior to LGM, i.e., ~27 ka. The SS was higher (~38 psu) throughout most of the recorded last glacial period (32.5–15 ka). This high salinity together with generally lower SSTs suggests a period of sustained weaker summer or stronger winter monsoons. The deglacial warming is associated with rapid reorganization of monsoons and is reflected in decreased salinity to a modern level of ~ 36.5 psu, within a period of ~5 kyr. This indicates intensification of summer monsoons during cold to warm climate transition.     

Causes of model-data discrepancies in european climate during oxygen isotope stage 3 with insights from the last glacial maximum

Oxygen isotope stage 3 (OIS 3), encompassing the long middle section of the last glacial interval, has been the focus of an intensive high-resolution climate modeling effort for Europe. These model simulations produce substantially colder climates than modern simulations; however, the temperatures appear warmer than many proxy indicators suggest. In order to evaluate the importance of the model boundary conditions, comparable simulations are completed for the last glacial maximum (LGM). The LGM simulation produces a much colder European continent than OIS 3, despite similarities in the specification of sea-surface temperatures (SSTs). Ice-sheet dimension is evidently a key factor in explaining the difference in European climates over the past 40,000 yr. However, underestimates in specified OIS 3 ice sheets cannot be invoked to explain the discrepancies, since data strongly indicate small ice-sheet extents at that time; this leaves errors in specified OIS 3 SSTs as the most likely cause.     

武汉东湖是如何形成的?

东湖位于湖北省武汉市中心城区,是中国乃至亚洲最大的城中湖之一.她是首批国家重点风景名胜区和国家5A级旅游景区.武汉市正在打造东湖城市生态绿心.东湖对于武汉在资源、环境、生态、人文各方面均具有重要意义.关于东湖的成因长期众说纷纭.研究首次从地质、地貌、沉积等方面对东湖的成因进行了分析,并对东湖与长江的关系进行了讨论.（1）东湖位于中-晚更新世形成的岗地区.湖汊发育,岸线蜿蜒,岬湾交错,是东湖最大的特点.（2）东湖的湖相沉积厚度各处不一,总体呈现南薄北厚、边缘薄中间厚的特点.下伏主要地层为晚更新世下蜀黄土,在靠近基岩残丘的南部边缘局部为晚更新世坡积层,两者之间为明显的侵蚀接触关系.（3）东湖的湖盆形成于距今2万年左右的末次冰期盛期.东海海平面的大幅度下降,长江河床深切.发育于长江南岸珞珈山、南望山、喻家山一带的地表径流,在汇入长江时因江水水位较低而发生侵蚀,形成多条冲沟组合而成的侵蚀洼地.之后,随着冰后期的全球变暖,长江水位快速上升,两岸天然堤发育、壮大,使侵蚀洼地的出口被淤塞,逐渐积水成湖,即东湖为沟谷壅塞湖.（4）根据湖泊地质地貌特征,东湖与沙湖是两个不同成因且相对独立的湖泊;长江并未经东湖流过.但东湖的形成与长江有关,乃是全球气候变化驱动下海、江、湖相互作用的产物.（5）东湖之美,美于自然.保护其自然特质,顺应其自然规律,是东湖保护与利用必须坚持的原则.将湖域、湖岸、岸上作为一个整体,将水域和流域作为一个系统,按照山水林田湖草生命共同体的科学理念,对东湖进行整体性和系统性的保护与治理是十分必要的.      

Chironomids as indicators of the Holocene climatic and environmental history of two lakes in Northeast Greenland

Schmidt, S., Wagner, B., Heiri, O., Klug, M., Bennike, O. & Melles, M. 2010: Chironomids as indicators of the Holocene climatic and environmental history of two lakes in Northeast Greenland. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00173.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Two Holocene sediment sequences from arctic lakes on Store Koldewey, an island in Northeast Greenland, were investigated for fossil chironomid assemblages. A total of 18 and 21 chironomid taxa were identified in 290‐ and 252‐cm‐long sediment sequences from Duck Lake and Hjort Lake, respectively. The chironomid assemblages were very similar in the two lakes. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to compare fossil chironomid assemblages from Store Koldewey with chironomid assemblages and environmental conditions presently found in Canadian Arctic lakes and, hence, to infer environmental changes for Northeast Greenland. The first chironomids appeared at c. 9500 cal. a BP in Hjort Lake, and 500 years later in Duck Lake. Taxa typical for cold and nutrient‐poor arctic lakes dominated the earliest assemblages. Chironomid assemblages with taxa typical of higher summer air temperatures and lakes with higher nutrient availability occur between 8000 and 5000 cal. a BP. This period probably marks the regional Holocene thermal maximum, which is relatively late compared with some palaeoenvironmental records from East Greenland. One possible reason could be the location of Store Koldewey at the very outer coast, with local climatic conditions strongly influenced by the cold East Greenland Current. From around 5000 cal. a BP, chironomid assemblages in Duck Lake and Hjort Lake again became more typical of those presently found in Northeast Greenland, indicating relatively cold and nutrient‐poor conditions. This shift coincides with an increase of ice‐rafting debris off East Greenland and an intensification of the East Greenland Current.     

欧亚大陆湖泊记录和两万年来大气环流变化

159个湖泊地质记录提供了欧亚大陆两万年来大气环流变化信息。盛冰期北欧低湖面而地中海地区高湖面,反映冰流反气旋控制和西风带南迁。随着晚冰期冰流高压减弱、西风带回迁,南欧为低湖面而北欧低湖面范围减小。全新世早中期北欧阻塞高压发展,干燥炎热;南欧地区性季风环流加强,气旋雨增加。中国青藏高原至东西伯利亚高湖面,反映东亚季风扩张、季风雨以及高原对流雨增加。晚更新世以来湖泊所反映的西风带和季风环流变化,揭示了辐射异常和北半球冰流消长的动力控制。     

Modeled patterns of Late Pleistocene glacier inception and growth in the Southern and Central Rocky Mountains,USA: sensitivity to climate change and paleoclimatic implications

High-resolution modern climate data for the Southern and Central Rocky Mountains provide a starting point for analysis of climate changes necessary to produce regional Late Pleistocene glaciation. A GIS-based model was used to assess the sensitivity of glaciation in different ranges to climatic change and the combinations of temperature and precipitation change necessary to sustain the last glacial maximum (LGM) extent of glaciation in each range. Extensive glaciation initiates first in the Wind River Range of Wyoming under every climate change scenario tested. In absence of precipitation change a summer temperature depression of 6–8 °C would be necessary to maintain LGM ice extents in Colorado and Wyoming. If precipitation was halved, necessary summer temperature depression would be 8–10 °C; if precipitation was doubled, a depression of 3.5–5.5 °C would suffice. Given model uncertainties, these values may underestimate necessary temperature depression by as much as 2 °C. Under all scenarios tested, LGM glaciation in Utah, particularly the Wasatch Range, requires either more temperature depression for given precipitation change, or more precipitation for a given temperature depression than is required in the Colorado/Wyoming Rockies. A summer temperature depression of 7 °C, which would suffice to sustain LGM ice extent with little change from modern precipitation in the Colorado/Wyoming Rockies, would need to be coupled with a near doubling of precipitation to maintain LGM ice extent in the Wasatch Range. This difference appears to reflect LGM precipitation enhancement in the Wasatch Range, and to a lesser degree the Uinta Mountains, resulting from the presence of Lake Bonneville immediately upwind of these ranges.     

末次盛冰期西太平洋海温差异对亚洲夏季风影响的数值模拟

文章利用Zhao等的模拟结果,进一步研究了在末次盛冰期(LGM)情景下汪品先和CLIMAP两种重建海洋表面温度(SST)资料差异对亚洲夏季风的影响。模拟结果表明:在LGM情景下西太平洋海域SST资料的不同对模拟的亚洲夏季风有着十分重要的作用。夏季,与CLGM方案相比,在WLGM方案中,当热带西太平洋SST较暖时,印度地区的大气热量出现显著增加,大气热量的这种变化,使得南非高压、南印度洋经向Hadley环流加强,伴随着索马里越赤道气流加强,也导致了印度季风区纬向季风环流的加强,从而造成了印度夏季风增强、降水增多;与较暖的热带西太平洋相对应,澳大利亚高压和120°E附近越赤道气流减弱,东亚季风区20°N以南经向季风环流加强、20°N以北经向季风环流减弱,指示着一个强的南海夏季风和较弱东亚副热带大陆夏季风。