Potential of Svalbard reindeer winter droppings for emission/absorption of methane and nitrous oxide during summer

Droppings of Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) could affect the carbon and nitrogen cycles in tundra ecosystems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of reindeer droppings originating from the winter diet for emission and/or absorption of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) in summer. An incubation experiment was conducted over 14 days using reindeer droppings and mineral subsoil collected from a mound near Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, to determine the potential exchanges of CH₄ and N₂O for combinations of two factors, reindeer droppings (presence or absence) and soil moisture (dry, moderate, or wet). A line transect survey was conducted to determine the distribution density of winter droppings at the study site. The incubation experiment showed a weak absorption of CH₄ and a weak emission of N₂O. Reindeer droppings originating from the winter diet had a negligible effect on the exchange fluxes of both CH₄ and N₂O. Although the presence of droppings resulted in a short-lasting increase in N₂O emissions on day 1 (24 h from the start) for moderate and wet conditions, the emission rates were still very small, up to 3 μg N₂O m⁻² h⁻¹.     

Recent variations of Antarctic temperature, sea ice and ozone

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Emission of methane and nitrous oxides from agricultural soils and related global warming potentials of Murshidabad District,West Bengal

Agricultural activities emit substantial amounts of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxides (N2O), the two important greenhouse gases (GHG) with high global warming potentials (GWP). So far, many studies have already been carried out at national and state level, but lack micro‐level (district or block‐level) inventory in India. The present study sheds light on the flux of CH4 and N2O (from all possible sources) from agricultural soil of various blocks in the Murshidabad district, based on the inventory prepared, using the IPCC methodology, with adjusted emission factors and coefficients appropriate for the local level. The economy of the Murshidabad district almost completely rests on agriculture as more than 80 per cent of the population is directly or indirectly dependent on it for their livelihood. Paddy is the dominating crop, cultivated on more than 60 per cent of the gross cropped area. The present work is based on the review of various literature and reports collected from respective state government offices and websites. Results show that CH4 and N2O emission from the agricultural fields are 126.405 Gg and 0.652 Gg respectively for the year 2011?12 with a large scale spatial variation (block‐level) within the district.     

Spatial and temporal variations of vegetation in Qinghai Province based on satellite data

This paper used five years (2001-2006) time series of MODIS NDVI images with a 1-km spatial resolution to produce a land cover map of Qinghai Province in China. A classi-fication approach for different land cover types with special emphasis on vegetation, espe-cially on sparse vegetation, was developed which synthesized Decision Tree Classification, Supervised Classification and Unsupervised Classification. The spatial distribution and dy-namic change of vegetation cover in Qinghai from 2001 to 2006 were analyzed based on the land cover classification map and five grade elevation belts derived from Qinghai DEM. The result shows that vegetation cover in Qinghai in recent five years has been some improved and the area of vegetation was increased from 370,047 km2 in 2001 to 374,576 km2 in 2006. Meanwhile, vegetation cover ratio was increased by 0.63%. Vegetation cover ratio in high mountain belt is the largest (67.92%) among the five grade elevation belts in Qinghai Prov-ince. The second largest vegetation cover ratio is in middle mountain belt (61.80%). Next, in the order of the decreasing vegetation cover ratio, the remaining grades are extreme high mountain belt (38.98%), low mountain belt (25.55%) and flat region belt (15.46%). The area of middle density grassland in high mountain belt is the biggest (94,003 km2), and vegetation cover ratio of dense grassland in middle mountain belt is the highest (32.62%), and the in-creased area of dense grassland in high mountain belt is the greatest (1280 km2). In recent five years the conversion from sparse grass to middle density grass in high mountain belt has been the largest vegetation cover variation and the converted area is 15931 km2.     

近5年青海省植被覆盖变化的遥感监测

This paper used five years （2001-2006） time series of MODIS NDVI images with a 1-km spatial resolution to produce a land cover map of Qinghai Province in China. A classification approach for different land cover types with special emphasis on vegetation, especially on sparse vegetation, was developed which synthesized Decision Tree Classification, Supervised Classification and Unsupervised Classification. The spatial distribution and dynamic change of vegetation cover in Qinghai from 2001 to 2006 were analyzed based on the land cover classification map and five grade elevation belts derived from Qinghai DEM. The result shows that vegetation cover in Qinghai in recent five years has been some improved and the area of vegetation was increased from 370,047 km^2 in 2001 to 374,576 km^2 in 2006. Meanwhile, vegetation cover ratio was increased by 0.63%. Vegetation cover ratio in high mountain belt is the largest （67.92%） among the five grade elevation belts in Qinghai Province. The second largest vegetation cover ratio is in middle mountain belt （61.80%）. Next, in the order of the decreasing vegetation cover ratio, the remaining grades are extreme high mountain belt （38.98%）, low mountain belt （25.55%） and flat region belt （15.46%）. The area of middle density grassland in high mountain belt is the biggest （94,003 km^2）, and vegetation cover ratio of dense grassland in middle mountain belt is the highest （32.62%）, and the increased area of dense grassland in high mountain belt is the greatest （1280 km^2）. In recent five years the conversion from sparse grass to middle density grass in high mountain belt has been the largest vegetation cover variation and the converted area is 15931 km^2.     

Ground－based measurements of column abundance of ozone and UV－B radiation over Zhongshan Station，Antarctica in the 1993＂OzoneHole＂

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Microcoring and dendrometer-detected intra-annual wood formation of Populus euphratica in the Ejina Oasis,northwestern China

Seasonal stem radial growth and wood formation of trees have become research hotspots because of their significance for dendroclimatological and dendroecological studies. However, until recently, these studies concentrated on coniferous tree species in high-altitude and high-latitude regions, while detailed information on arid-zone riparian forests is scarce. The main focus of this study is to monitor the intra-annual dynamics of radial growth and tree ring formation in a deciduous species, Populus euphratica. In 2013, we combined the dendrometer and microcoring methods to study this species in the riparian forest of the Ejina Oasis, in arid northwestern China. Vessel enlargement began in early May, and the maximum rate of cell production occurred in early June. The cell division then ceased from early to mid-July. The dendrometer method failed to reliably detect the date of growth initiation and cessation, but succeeded to detect the time of maximum growth rate just like the microcoring method did. We found that weekly stem radial increment data described xylem growth more accurately than daily datasets. Based on correlation analysis among climatic and hydrologic variables, and weekly stem radial increment, weekly ring width increase dataset, the depth to groundwater was the main factor that limited tree ring growth. From a practical perspective, such studies of intra-annual wood formation can provide empirical guidance for seasonal water allocations within a river basin.     

青藏高原湖泊变化遥感监测及其对气候变化的响应研究进展

青藏高原位于中国西南部、亚洲中部,平均海拔高程大于4000 m,面积约300万km²,是“世界屋脊”,与周边地区一起常被称为地球的“第三极”。青藏高原分布着约1200个面积大于1 km²的湖泊,占中国湖泊数量与面积的一半;同时也是黄河、长江、恒河、印度河等大河的源头,被称为“亚洲水塔”。近几十年来,在全球变暖的背景下,青藏高原升温更加突出,其能量与水循环发生了显著变化,气候趋于暖湿化,冰川加速消融,湖面水位上升。湖泊是气候变化的重要指标,青藏高原湖泊分布密集、人为活动影响较小,多源遥感数据的广泛应用,为监测高原湖泊变化提供了难得的契机。本文依托国家自然科学基金青年项目“基于多源遥感的青藏高原内流区湖泊水量变化及水体相态转换研究(2000-2009年)”,主要研究进展为：初步查明了西藏高原的湖泊数量、面积及水位变化与时空格局,以及湖泊水量变化与水量平衡;探讨了湖泊变化对气候变化的响应。目前对青藏高原湖泊的变化及驱动因素虽有一些认识,但其定量的水量平衡及驱动机制还有待于进一步研究。这对了解世界第三极、一带一路国家和地区水资源状况与变化、生态文明和生态安全屏障建设具有重要的意义,同时也可为第三极国家公园的建立提供重要的科学基础。     

Analysis of geomagnetic variations in south-western Nigeria

Geomagnetic variations, observed at 11 sites in south-western Nigeria, have been analysed to derive interstation transfer functions with the site at Ile-Ife as reference station. The study involves frequencies from 1 to 6 c.p.h. The reference station Ile-Ife is 160 km northward of the continental slope off the Nigerian coastline and 400 km southward of the dip equator. The analysis has been carried out separately with selected data sections of a few hours length during daytime and during the night. Thus expressed linear relations between field components are in the case of day events of dual implication: (1) for the source field structure of the equatorial electrojet, (2) for internal conductivity conditions, including the coast effect from the Bight of Benin. Conductivity anomalies are the sole cause for an observed spatial variability of night events. A 2-D thin-sheet conductivity model has been derived taking both the source and the coast effect into consideration. This model provides a reasonably good fit between observed and computed transfer functions during day and night.     

Evaluation of stratospheric ozone,temperature, and aerosol profiles from the LOANA lidar in Antarctica

We present an evaluation of observations from the Lidar Ozone and Aerosol for NDACC in Antarctica (LOANA) at the Dumont d’Urville station, Antarctica. This instrument is part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), and ensures continuity with lidar measurements made since 1989 with the previous instrument at this site. This study is based on the dataset from 2008 to 2009, and comparisons are made with observations from balloon soundings, and from three satellite experiments: Aura/MLS, TIMED/SABER, and CALIOP/CALIPSO. The lidar ozone data are in very good agreement with the balloon sounding data (ECC sensor), revealing a bias of less than 3% between 17 and 34 km. For temperature, the lidar shows a low bias of ?3 K at 20 km when compared with Aura/MLS. Between 30 and 50 km, the bias is less than 2 K. We also present our initial results showing diurnal variations in temperature. The amplitude of these diurnal cycles is on the order of 1 K and is unlikely to account for the temperature biases between LOANA and the reference instruments. Comparisons of total attenuated backscatter reveal good qualitative agreement between LOANA and CALIOP, with differences of less than 30% in the derived optical depth.     

Holocene sedimentation in Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: implications of compositional and textural variations

Two seismic facies were recognized in the sedimentary sequence overlying acoustic basement in Lake Winnipeg. The upper facies, which overlies a regional unconformity, is termed the Lake Winnipeg Sequence. Based on the seismostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, and radiocarbon dates of approximately 4000 and 7000 yr BP from material collected directly over the unconformity in the southern and northern parts of the lake, respectively, this facies has been interpreted as representing Holocene sedimentation. Results of compositional and textural analyses of the Holocene sediment (Winnipeg sediment) from thirteen long (>2 m) cores indicate a transgressional sequence throughout the basin. In the South Basin, the generally fining upward sequence is characterized at the base by silt-sized detrital carbonate minerals, quartz and feldspar which decrease in concentration upward. In this basin, the high carbonate content and V/Al and Zn/Al ratios are indicative of a Paleozoic and Cretaceous provenance for sediment derived from glacial deposits through shoreline erosion and fluvial transport, via the Red River. Sedimentation in the central part of the lake and the North Basin is attributed to shoreline erosion of sand and gravel beaches. Consequently, the texture of these sediments is generally coarser than in the South Basin, and the composition primarily reflects a Paleozoic and Precambrian provenance. The basin-wide decrease in Ca, total carbonate minerals, dolomite and calcite concentrations upward in the cores is reflected by a decrease in the detrital carbonate component in all but the most northern cores. Other basin-wide trends show an upward increase in organic content in all cores. An increase in grain size near the top of most cores suggests a major, basin-wide change in sedimentation within the last, approximately 900 years in the South Basin.     

Analysis of atmospheric boundary ozone profiles in winter in hinterland of Taklimakan Desert

In order to reveal the variation characteristics of ozone (O₃) concentration in the atmosphere boundary layer over a desert in winter, an observation experiment was carried out in the Tazhong area by means of a tethered balloon during January 18–25, 2008. The vertical distribution of O₃ concentration and its correlation with temperature and humidity were analyzed based on experimental observation data and related data. Results show that: (1) The concentration of O₃ mainly ranges from 10 to 50 μg/L, with a maximum of 56.1 μg/L, minimum of 2.6 μg/L, and a daily average concentration of 34.4 μg/L. (2) O₃ profiles can be divided into three types: peak, uniform, and growth, where uniform accounts for the majority. (3) Temperature and moisture are influential on O₃ concentrations in atmospheric boundary layer. Temperature inversion and water vapor increase in an atmospheric boundary layer leads to a decrease of O₃. (4) O₃ concentration has an obvious daily change in Tazhong. It is lower at night, begins to increase after sunrise, and reaches a maximum at noon. The maximum appears at 17:00 BJT (Beijing Time), and the minimum appears at 08:00 BJT.     

Mid-late Holocene anthropogenic and natural variations in geochemistry and sedimentation in the Yazoo Basin: Clark Lake,Sharkey County,Mississippi

A 4000-yr history at Clark Lake reveals natural variations in sediment geochemistry and nutrient levels and anthropogenic influence on twentieth century sedimentation rates. Sediment texture and ridge and swale topography indicate that the channel system creating Clark Lake is now occupied by the Yazoo River. Between 1.24 and 0.60 m (2522–865 cal yr BP), total carbon percentages and the C/N ratio average 42% and 17, respectively. The base of the 1650-yr interval and onset of high organic activity in the lake coincides with the abandonment of the Yazoo Meander Belt. The top of the interval is marked by a drop in C/N ratio to 11 and a geochemical transition zone. No change in the rate of sediment accumulation or clay mineralogy was observed despite increased cumulative percentages of Al, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Ca, and Na. The decrease in organic activity at 865 cal yr BP is attributed to unfavorable growth conditions related to the entrenchment of the Yazoo River and changes in the hydroperiod of the area. Significant floodplain alteration was completed in 1978, but the only major effect was increased sedimentation in the late twentieth century due to the completion of the Whittington Auxiliary Channel.     

Geology, tectonics, and the 2002-2003 eruption of the Semeru volcano, Indonesia: Interpreted from high-spatial resolution satellite imagery

The paper illustrates the application of high-spatial resolution satellite images in interpreting volcanic structures and eruption impacts in the Tengger-Semeru massif in east Java, Indonesia. We use high-spatial resolution images (IKONOS and SPOT 5) and aerial photos in order to analyze the structures of Semeru volcano and map the deposits. Geological and tectonic mapping is based on two DEMs and on the interpretation of aerial photos and four SPOT and IKONOS optical satellite images acquired between 1996 and 2002. We also compared two thermal Surface Kinetic Temperature ASTER images before and after the 2002-2003 eruption in order to delineate and evaluate the impacts of the pyroclastic density currents. Semeru's principal structural features are probably due to the tectonic setting of the volcano. A structural map of the Tengger-Semeru massif shows four groups of faults orientated N40, N160, N75, and N105 to N140. Conspicuous structures, such as the SE-trending horseshoe-shaped scar on Semeru's summit cone, coincide with the N160-trending faults. The direction of minor scars on the east flank parallels the first and second groups of faults. The Semeru composite cone hosts the currently active Jonggring-Seloko vent. This is located on, and buttressed against, the Mahameru edifice at the head of a large scar that may reflect a failure plane at shallow depth. Dipping 35° towards the SE, this failure plane may correspond to a weak basal layer of weathered volcaniclastic rocks of Tertiary age. We suggest that the deformation pattern of Semeru and its large scar may be induced by flank spreading over the weak basal layer of the volcano. It is therefore necessary to consider the potential for flank and summit collapse in the future. The last major eruption took place in December 2002-January 2003, and involved emplacement of block-and-ash flows. We have used the 2003 ASTER Surface Kinetic Temperature image to map the 2002-2003 pyroclastic density current deposits. We have also compared two 10 m-pixel images acquired before and after the event to describe the extent and impact of an estimated volume of 5.45 × 10⁶ m³ of block-and-ash flow deposits. An ash-rich pyroclastic surge escaped from one of the valley-confined block-and ash flows at 5 to 8 km distance from the crater and swept across the forest and tilled land on the SW side of the Bang River Valley. Downvalley, the temperature of the pyroclastic surge decreased and a mud-rich deposit coated the banks of the Bang River Valley. Thus, hazard mitigation at Semeru should combine: (1) continuous monitoring of the eruptive activity through an early-warning system, and (2) continuous remote sensing of the morphological changes in the drainage system due to the impact of frequent pyroclastic density currents and lahars.     

Soil morphological variations on the Taoyuan Terrace, Northwestern Taiwan: Roles of topography and groundwater

To understand whether soils on the same geomorphic surface have similar properties, this study examines the morphology of soils developed on the 30-kyr-old Taoyuan Terrace, Northwestern Taiwan. Relationships among soil morphology, variations in the groundwater table, and soil forming processes were established based on field investigations and previously published datasets. The soil series in the study area can be grouped into seven types, including three homogeneous groups, two mottled groups, one gley group, and one reworked group. Fifteen hand-core samples collected in the field and borehole data were used to understand spatial variations in soil morphology. The results indicate that soil morphology on the southern Taoyuan Terrace changes systematically from the fore-edge to the back-edge: from red/orange soils to yellow soils, then to mottled soils, and finally to gley soils. The borehole data indicate that the groundwater table is generally parallel to the ground surface but drops significantly near the terrace fore-edge. This pattern matches with the observed soil toposequence, indicating that the pedogenic processes in the study area are mainly controlled by groundwater distribution determined by topography. Although soils on the terrace fore-edge have developed under the well-drained conditions that favor lateritization, at least two distinct soil types (i.e., red and orange) can be observed there, reflecting different geomorphological settings in a paleo-fluvial landscape. This work suggests that geomorphological and hydrological conditions should be examined carefully before using soil morphology for correlating geomorphic surfaces.     

Thermochronology, denudation and variations in palaeosurface temperature: a case study from the North Slope foreland basin, Alaska

Integration of vitrinite reflectance (R_o) and apatite fission track (AFT) data from well sequences can provide a direct estimate of the geothermal gradient at the time of maximum palaeotemperatures and the time at which sequences began to cool from maximum palaeotemperatures. These values, plus an understanding of the effects of cooling in response to long-term climatic changes, are particularly important when estimating the amount of denudation experienced by the sequences during cooling from maximum palaeotemperatures. In this case study, AFT data have been generated for subsurface samples from eight wells drilled within the North Slope foreland basin of northern Alaska in an effort to study the thermal history of the basin. The combination of R_o and AFT data establish that maximum palaeotemperatures were attained within the North Slope foreland basin prior to cooling beginning in the Palaeocene. Furthermore, they indicate that palaeogeothermal gradients when cooling began were close to the present-day values, and that Cenozoic surface cooling resulted in a significant amount of 'apparent' denudation. These results suggest that heating throughout the basin was largely due to deeper burial, and that cooling was due to both removal of section by denudation and a drop in the mean annual surface temperature.     

Hydrographic and current measurements in the Fram Strait, August 1981

The hydrographic (CTD) observations and pendulum current measurements obtained with M/S 'Lance' in August 1981 in the area west and north of Spitsbergen, are presented. The warm and saline northward flow, known as the West Spitsbergen Current, is found to follow the shelf break. In the Fram Strait the hydrographic structure is complicated because of eddies and other transient movements. The current measurements suggest a two-layer structure where the velocity vector rotates in opposite directions in the two layers with a period near the semidiurnal tidal period.