Late Holocene paleoecology of the Southern Plains

Analyses of pollen and land snails from rocksheter sites in the Osage Hills of northeastern Oklahoma indicate that the period 2000-1000 yr B.P. was moister than today. During that time, colonies of the prairie vole Microtus ochrogaster were present in the Texas Panhandle. About 1000 yr B.P. the climate changed to dry conditions that have persisted to the present. Disjunct colonies of small mammals in Texas became extinct at the beginning of the dry episode, thereby establishing the composition of the modern fauna. The climatic model for the origin of the Panhandle Aspect (A.D. 1200–1500) is questioned on the grounds that the Southern Plains experienced a long period of dry climate commencing A.D. 950.     

A landscape analysis of the candelaria watershed in mexico: Insights into paleoclimates affecting upland horticulture in the southern yucatan peninsula semi-karst

Biocultural systems adapt to global climate change through its regional manifestations. Subsistence customs are the cultural interface between regional climate and culture at large. Swidden horticulturalists in Campeche, Mexico report that dry April followed by early onset of the wet season enhances the productivity of upland tropical gardens, or milpas. To relate regional seasonality of moisture to global climate, growing season discharge for Mexico's Candelaria River from 1958 to 1990 was analyzed relative to global average temperature. Analysis of covariance revealed a statistically significant relationship (p < 0.001). Further analysis showed that hot global climate eliminates the dry season, which lowers milpa productivity by preventing burning of the slash. Cold global climate delays the wet season and planting, also at cost of productivity. Intermediate global temperature fosters optimal wet—dry season combinations. Productivity of milpas is therefore directly related to global climate through the intervening mechanism of seasonality of moisture. A regression model reflecting these findings is used to retrodict paleohydrology for the last 3000 years. The pattern of ascendancy and decline of ancient southern Maya lowland urban centers is reviewed in the perspective of changing hydrological conditions. The model indicates that fluorescence occurred with optimal balance of wet and dry season duration and catastrophes unfolded during extended wet or dry periods. We suggest that the southern Maya lowlands have had a precipitous record of urban development and collapse in part because of complex interactions of global climate and upland horticulture. The most productive conditions for milpa issue from an inherently unstable overlay of global climate on a relatively narrow band of partially developed karst (semikarst) geological formations.     

A Holocene climatic record denoted by geochemical indicators from Barkol Lake in the northeastern Xinjiang,NW China

The Barkol Lake, as a closed inland lake, is located at the northeast Xinjiang in northwest China. A combination of geochemical indicators including δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C of carbonate, TOC, carbonate contents, as well as grain size proxies and magnetic susceptibility of sediments obtained from a newly recovered section at this lake, provides a high-resolution history of climatic change in the past 9400 years. Multi-indicators reflect that Holocene climatic change in the study region generally follows the Westerly Wind pattern of Holocene, and three climatic periods can be identified. Between 9400 and 7500 cal a B.P., climate was characterized by relatively drier and colder condition. From 7500 to 5800 cal a B.P., a relatively warmer and moister climate prevailed, but between 5800 and 3500 cal a B.P., climate shifted towards warmer and drier conditions. A relatively colder and wetter climate prevailed during 3500∼1000 cal a B.P., then it changed towards cold and dry between 1000 and 500 cal a B.P.; after 500 cal a B.P., climate changed towards warm and dry conditions again. This study reflects that during the Middle Holocene (from ca 7000 to 3500 cal a B.P.), variations of carbonate δ¹⁸O of sediments from several lakes in the northern Xinjiang were synchronous with that of Qinghai Lake, where was strongly influenced by the South Asian monsoon; however, after 3500 cal a B.P. this consistency was interrupted, possibly resulting from a re-domination of the Westerly Wind and the retreat of South Asian monsoon in the northern Xinjiang.     

中全新世云南寻甸地区气候演化过程及其驱动机制初步研究

通过对云南寻甸仙人洞XR1石笋进行TIMS-U系测年、氧碳同位素、有机碳含量分析,重建了寻甸地区中全新世季风气候演化模式:(1)8.0～6.0kaB.P.为温暖湿润期;(2)6.0～5.1kaB.P.为气候突变期,气候由温湿变为冷干;(3)5.1～2.1kaB.P.为凉干期。通过石笋有机碳含量与石笋δ18O记录对比,认为石笋有机碳可以反映气候变化,但是存在滞后效应。最后,利用XR1石笋δ18O记录与北半球33°N太阳辐射量,本文初步分析了云南寻甸地区中全新世气候变化的驱动因素:寻甸地区中全新世气候的整体变化趋势受33°N太阳辐射量控制,同时受中全新世火山活动的影响。      

粒度指标指示的坝上御道口地区8 000 a B.P.环境变化

承德坝上御道口地区是对气候变化非常敏感的生态环境脆弱带,认识本区气候变化对未来增温背景下采取应对措施有重要意义。粒度是气候环境变化敏感代用指标,粒度分析结果可推测沉积物形成条件和环境。文章对御道口地区YDK剖面沉积物进行粒度测试。通过对粒度数据进行组分分离和敏感粒级的提取,利用AMS14C测年结果建立年代框架,探讨了坝上御道口地区8000 a B.P.以来的古气候古环境变化。结果显示气候变化经历了三个阶段:（1）8 000~6 100 a B.P.,粒度指标指示此时段动力较大,粉尘距源区较近,风沙活动较强,携带较多粗颗粒物质造成粒径较粗,估计此时段气候干燥,区域植被较差。（2）6 100~1 700 a B.P.,此时段粒度指标指示动力较小,粉尘距源区较远,粗颗粒物质减少,估计此时段气候湿润,区域植被较好,风沙活动减弱。（3）1 700 a B.P.至今,动力较大,粉尘距源区较近,估计此时段气候变干,区域植被较差,风沙活动强。     

珠江三角洲全新世环境演变

本文根据23个钻孔的约200个岩芯样品和6个露头剖面的20个样品的孢粉分析,划分了11个孢粉带和8个亚带以及相应的气候期。以多种喜热与喜凉植物孢粉含量的比值作为温度变化的半定量指标,绘成珠江三角洲全新世气候变化半定量曲线,并用历史时期气候记载检验该曲线。认为存在多次约1000a 尺度的气候变化。用107个已测年的古海面标志物绘制了珠江三角洲全新世海平面变化曲线,并用古文化遗存的性质和区域分布检验该曲线。初步认为,气候曲线与海平面变化曲线有较好的对应关系。海平面升降是本区环境演变的主导因素,并制约先民的生产和栖息。     

北京地区末次冰消期气候环境变化记录的初步研究

对北京房山县长沟镇附近埋藏末次冰消期湖沼沉积物层序和岩性变化的观测资料，以及１４Ｃ测年、孢粉分析、磁化率、有机碳δ^１３Ｃ值和有机质含量等测定资料的综合研究表明：１)约１３０００ａＢ．Ｐ．以前本区气候相当干冷，植被稀疏；２)约１３０００～１２１００ａＢ．Ｐ．气候明显变暖，植被日趋繁茂，出现针叶－落叶阔叶林；３)约１２１００～１００００ａＢ．Ｐ．气候波动相当显著，十分不稳定，并在约１１６００～１１３００ａＢ．Ｐ．和约１０９５０～１０４８０ａＢ．Ｐ．气候明显向干冷逆转；而在这两个气候逆转之间出现相对湿润或温湿的气候。这一短期气候变化与北大西洋地区有相似之处，又有差异。     

德日进"亚洲干极"理论的现实意义

"亚洲干极"是德日进总结中国北方中生代以来不断干旱化得出的观点.构造运动驱动气候变干是其主导思想.德日进关于中国新生代古地理演化的基本框架至今仍然适用,当代研究补充和深化了"亚洲干极"的理论,老第三纪行星风系的干热气候逐渐在新第三纪被季风气候取代,代表干旱气候的粉尘沉积逐步扩大空间范围,湖相沉积则逐渐收缩.22MaB.P.,8.5MaB.P.,3.6MaB.P.和1.2MaB.P.是"亚洲于极"逐步加强的关键时段.     

哈萨克斯坦Tramplin剖面孢粉记录的MIS3a环境变化

利用AMS ¹⁴C测年,通过对哈萨克斯坦南部Tramplin黄土-古土壤沉积剖面的孢粉分析,揭示了中亚干旱区深海氧同位素(MIS)3a阶段植被和气候演化历史：41.4 ka B.P.以前,植被为蒿属植物占优势的荒漠草原,气候干旱; 41.4～40  ka B.P.,植被为蒿草草原,气候湿润程度增加;40～36  ka B.P.,植被为蒿属植物占优势的荒漠草原,气候湿润程度轻微下降;36～33  ka B.P.,植被为蒿草草原,气候湿润程度增加;33～30  ka B.P.,植被为蒿属植物占优势的荒漠草原,湿润程度轻微下降;30～28 ka B.P.,植被为蒿草草原,气候湿润程度轻微上升。     

桂林盘龙洞石笋发光性特征及其古环境记录的初步研究

洞穴次生化学沉积物的发光性的研究可以提供分辨率更高的古环境变化信息。桂林盘龙洞一石笋发光性的研究表明，该地区在３．２～１．１万ａ之间普遍处于干冷条件下，而且微层发光谱线表明在此阶段仍存在多次次一级气候变化。在１．１３万ａ左右，谱线值突然由低升高，在１．１０万ａ后，在不断变化中逐渐上升，这可能是新仙女木事件（１．１３～１．１万ａ）在该地区的记录。此外，通过发光性记录与稳定同位素记录和微量元素记录的对比，其变化趋势基本一致，且具更高的分辨率。因此，洞穴次生化学沉积物发光性的研究可能会提供一个地区分辨率更高的古     

The Younger Dryas Event and Holocene Climate Fluctuations Recorded in a Stalagmite from the Panlong Cave of Guilin

Comprehensive studies on a stalagmite from the Panlong cave, Guilin, have shown that the isotopic records and sedimentary characteristics can reflect the changes of both palaeotemperatures and palaeorainfall, that is to say, it is possible to get some information about the changes in climate of the area from the speleothem. The results suggest that: (1) the Younger Dryas event might have persisted in the area from 11 300 to 10 800 a B.P.; (2) from 9000 to 7000 a B.P., the climate got warmer and wetter, and the summer monsoon was gradually enhanced; (3) from 7000 to 4500 a B.P., the climate was warm and wet, and the summer monsoon prevailed; and (4) from 4500 a B.P. on, the summer monsoon was weakened and the modern climate pattern appeared, but there were several cold and dry periods, namely, from 4000 to 2500 a B.P., ca. 2400 a B.P. and < 1000 a B.P.     

Lowland Maya water management practices: The household exploitation of rural wells

A hypothesis developed by Vernon Scarborough and endorsed and modified by Lisa Lucero and Anabel Ford proposes that lowland Maya elites centralized and coordinated political power by controlling access to water stored in large, centrally located reservoirs. The hypothesis presupposes that in the central and southern Maya lowlands, nonelites did not have access to viable alternative dry‐season water sources. This paper demonstrates that, in the east‐central and southwestern areas of the Maya lowlands, fault springs were an important source of water, particularly to rural peoples. After reviewing the evidence of Maya fault spring exploitation and documenting the hydrogeological conditions under which fault springs form, I describe wells that rural households built to expose fault springs and enhance their flow, including clay‐lined and stone‐lined shafts. Also documented are three well types found elsewhere in the Maya lowlands: (1) wells built to exploit permanent, generally shallow water tables; (2) wells dug to catch precipitation as it filtered down through bedrock; and (3) buk'teob, built to recover during the dry season the receding contents of pools that during the rainy season collect in aguadas. The dispersed distribution of Maya wells in rural settings and their frequent association with modest residential remains suggests that nonelite households managed them. The existence of Maya wells that supplied water to rural peoples through the dry season is inconsistent with the Scarborough‐Lucero‐Ford hypothesis. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

云南阳宗海流域过去13000年植被演替与森林火灾

以云南阳宗海1020 cm长的湖泊沉积物岩芯为研究对象,由7个木屑和树叶残体样的AMS14C测年建立岩芯年代框架,以18~19 cm间隔获取52个样品作花粉/炭屑分析,重建了阳宗海流域过去13000年的植被、气候以及森林火灾历史。研究结果表明,过去13000年植被演替、气候变化和森林火灾可分为5个阶段:1)13200~11000 cal.a B.P.,植被以常绿、落叶阔叶混交林为主,气候温凉湿润,森林火灾多发,后期(12300~11000 cal.a B.P.)随着温度和湿度的降低,森林火灾发生愈加频繁;2)11000~8000 cal.a B.P.,松林扩张,阔叶林缩小,气候较上阶段温暖偏干,森林火灾发生次数明显降低;3)8000~5000 cal.a B.P.,松林和常绿阔叶林占优势,且出现暖热性的枫香林,流域内气温升至13000 cal.a B.P.以来的最高值,湿度进一步降低,但森林火灾发生频率低;4)5000~800 cal.a B.P.,松林扩张至最盛,常绿阔叶林收缩,落叶阔叶林成分增加,气温和湿度均明显下降,森林火灾发生频率有所增加;5)800 cal.a B.P.至今,松林和常绿阔叶林收缩,落叶阔叶成分增加,草本植物中禾本科迅速上升,可能与人类活动有关,森林火灾发生频率低。阳宗海花粉/炭屑记录重建的植被、气候和森林火灾史表明,在滇中地区,落叶阔叶成分易引起森林火灾,冷气候导致多发的森林火灾,冷干气候是宜森林火灾发生的气候条件。     

Paleoecological and climatic changes of the Upper Lerma Basin, Central Mexico during the Holocene

The record of Almoloya Lake in the Upper Lerma basin starts with the deposition of the late Pleistocene Upper Toluca Pumice layer. The data from this interval indicate a period of climatic instability that lasted until 8500 cal yr B.P., when temperature conditions stabilized, although moisture fluctuations continued until 8000 cal yr B.P. Between 8500 and 5000 cal yr B.P. a temperate climate is indicated by dominance of Pinus. From 5000 to 3000 cal yr B.P. Quercus forest expanded, suggesting a warm temperate climate: a first indication of drier environmental conditions is an increase in grassland between 4200 and 3500 cal yr B.P. During the Late Holocene (3300 to 500 cal yr B.P.) the increase of Pinus and grassland indicates temperate dry conditions, with a considerable increase of Pinus between 1100 and 950 cal yr B.P. At the end of this period, humidity increased. The main tendency during the Holocene was a change from humid to dry conditions. During the Early Holocene, Almoloya Lake was larger and deeper; the changing humidity regime resulted in a fragmented marshland, with the presence of aquatic and subaquatic vegetation types.     

Evidence for millennial-scale climatic events in the sedimentary infilling of a macrotidal estuarine system,the Seine estuary (NW France)

High-resolution sedimentological and rock magnetic analyses from sediment cores collected in the Seine estuary record changes in coastal sedimentary dynamics linked to climatic variations during the late Holocene. Using AMS ¹⁴C and paleomagnetic data we present a first attempt in developing a reliable age model on macrotidal estuarine archives, with a decadal resolution. Correlations between sedimentary successions from the outer Seine estuary document the main sedimentary infilling phases of the system during the last 3000 years. Between 3000 and 1150 cal. BP sedimentary patterns reveal that sequence deposition and preservation are predominantly controlled by marine and tidal hydrodynamics while severe storm events are recorded at ca. 2700 and 1250 cal. BP in the outermost estuary. Conversely, the Medieval Warm Period (MWP; 900–1200 AD) is characterized by a drastic waning of the influence of marine hydrodynamics on sediment preservation. Pronounced episodes of Seine river floods indicate a much stronger impact of continental inputs on sedimentary patterns during this period. The onset of the Little Ice Age marks a diminishing influence of continental inputs while tidal and open marine hydrodynamics again exerted a primary control on the sedimentary evolution of the system during 1200–2003 AD. Coastal sedimentary dynamics as preserved within sedimentary successions appear to have been largely influenced by changes in storminess during the last 3000 years. We have matched the preservation of MWP Seine river floods, as revealed by sedimentological and rock magnetic proxy data, to a prolonged interval of weakened storminess in Normandy permitting the preservation of estuarine flood deposits within a context of reduced coastal erosion in northern Europe. The preservation of sedimentary successions in the Seine estuary is therefore maximal when climate conditions resembled those of the preferred low phase of the NAO on multidecadal timescales such as during 800–1200 AD (MWP). In contrast, increased removal and transport of estuarine sediments occur when winter storm activity greatly intensified over northwestern France. We report four prominent centennial-scale periods of stronger storminess, occurring with a pacing of ～1500 years, which are likely to be related to the last four Bond's Holocene cold events. Our results documenting a close link between coastal sedimentary dynamics, millennial-scale variations in Holocene climate and North Atlantic atmospheric circulation are fairly consistent with other records from Scandinavia, central Greenland and southern Europe.     

Lacustrine strata sedimentology and lake-level history in ancient Zhuyeze Lake since the Last Deglaciation

The ancient Zhuyeze Lake lies in the east Hexi corridor of Northwest China and it is the interacting belt of the East Asian summer monsoon and the westerly line. The research on paleoclimate of the lake facilitates the understanding of the processes and mechanism of climate change in Northwest China since the Last Deglaciation. Related researches of this area started in the 1960s, and the research on environment changes has become the “hotspot” during the last 10 years. This paper focuses on four sections (Qingtuhu Section, Xiqu Section, Shakengjing Section, Jiutuoliang Section) in ancient Zhuyeze Lake. Much work was done in spot investigation, section strata comparison, geophysical analyses, geochemical analyses and dependable ¹⁴C dating in order to retrieve the dry-wet history of climate changes in ancient Zhuyeze Lake since the Last Deglaciation. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) the highest terminal lake level was 1313–1315 m. In Holocene, the highest lake level was 1308–1309 m occurring between 6700–5800 a B.P.. (2) After geophysical and geochemical analyses, high-resolution records of the climate change since the Last Deglaciation were revealed as follows: cold and dry during 15800–13000 a B.P.; cool and wet during 13000–9500 a B.P.; warm and dry during 9500–6700 a B.P.; warm and wet during 6700–4300 a B.P.; cool and wet during 4300–2700 a B.P.; and at last dry during 2700-0 a B.P.. __________ Translated from Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, 2007, 21(12): 161–169 [译自: 干旱区资源与环境]     

柴达木盆地尕海湖区冰消期晚期以来的气候环境演变

通过对柴达木盆地东部尕海湖沉积物碳酸盐含量、自生碳酸盐碳氧同位素等指标的综合分析,建立了尕海湖地区自冰消期晚期以来的气候环境演变特征。结果表明,冰消期(12710～11360aB.P.)气候环境变化较大;进入全新世(自11360aB.P.开始)后,早全新世(11360～8370aB.P.)气候波动明显,整体较为干旱,温度有所回升;中全新世(8370～3200aB.P.),早期为湿润气候环境,是全新世气候环境最稳定的阶段,晚期气候环境仍较湿润,但环境条件变差;在晚全新世(3200aB.P.以来),早期湖泊水体仍然较淡,但气候环境明显趋向干旱,后期气候变得干旱,气候环境存在波动变化。约1500aB.P.存在一次湿润事件。     

Variability of Monsoon Climate in East Asia at the End of the Last Glaciation

High-resolution paleomonsoon proxy records from peat and eolian sand–paleosol sequences at the desert–loess transition zone in China denote a rapid oscillation from cold–dry conditions (11,200–10,600¹⁴C yr B.P.) to cool–humid conditions (10,600–10,200¹⁴C yr B.P.), followed by a return to cold–dry climate (10,200–10,000¹⁴C yr B.P.). Variations in precipitation proxies suggest that significant climatic variability occurred in monsoonal eastern Asia during the Younger Dryas interval. Late-glacial climate in the Chinese desert–loess belt that lies downwind from Europe was strongly influenced by cold air from high latitudes and from the North Atlantic via the westerlies. The inferred precipitation variations were likely caused by variations in the strength of the Siberian high, which influenced the pressure gradient between land and ocean and therefore influenced the position of the East Asian monsoon front.     

A 10,000-year high-resolution diatom record from Pilkington Bay, Lake Victoria, East Africa

A new diatom record from Lake Victoria’s Pilkington Bay, subsampled at 21- to 25-year intervals and supported by 20 AMS dates, reveals a ∼10,000 calendar year environmental history that is supported by published diatom and pollen data from two nearby sites. With their chronologies adjusted here to account for newly documented ancient carbon effects in the lake, these three records provide a coherent, finely resolved reconstruction of Holocene climate change in equatorial East Africa. After an insolation-induced rainfall maximum ca. 8800-8300 cal yr B.P., precipitation became more seasonal and decreased abruptly ca. 8200 and 5700 yr B.P. in apparent association with northern deglaciation events. Century-scale rainfall increases occurred ca. 8500, 7000, 5800, and 4000 yr B.P. Conditions after 2700 yr B.P. were generally similar to those of today, but major droughts occurred ca. 1200-600 yr B.P. during Europe’s Medieval Warm Period.     

云南北海湿地沉积物记录的过去2050年气候演化及对区域人类文明的影响

过去2 000年气候变化是深入了解过去全球气候演化机制、探索人类活动与环境演化相互关系的重要依据。我国西南地区是气候变化与人类文明研究的重要区域,获取更多记录资料对深入理解两者之间的相互关系尤为重要。本文以云南省腾冲县北海湿地沉积物为研究对象,利用AMS 14C测年建立年代学序列,利用烧失量、粒度分析结果建立了该地区过去2 050年气候演变序列。结果表明:2 050 cal. a B.P.~1 400 cal. a B.P.期间尤其是最后阶段气候寒冷干旱;1 400 cal. a B.P.~750 cal. a B.P.期间相对温暖湿润;750 cal. a B.P.~300 cal. a B.P.期间寒冷干旱;300 cal. a B.P.以来温暖偏湿。通过与云南地区人类活动记录对比发现,该地区人口的增长、社会政权的更替在一定程度上受自然气候环境演化的影响,南诏和大理民族政权的建立主要集中在相对温暖湿润的中世纪暖期;此外,云南地区近2 000年来人口数量的变化与气候变化同样呈现出较好的一致性。