中国的多年冻土──过去与现在

中国多年冻土区的总面积约占中国陆地面积的２２．４％，达２１５００００ｋｍ²。多年冻土的分布特征受气候条件在三度空间的变化所制约。自晚更新世以来，其分布情况已有相当的变化。在东次冰期最盛期，东北地区多年冻土南界曾推进到北纬４１—４２°，在全新世暖期，南界向北退缩，但晚更新世形成的冰楔和多年冻土至今仍存在于大兴安岭北部，全新世中期严寒期冻土有所扩展并形成冰楔。随着气候变化，中国西部高山和高原区高海拔冻土的分布下界已上移８００—１０００ｍ，但高山和高原的主要部分仍处于冰缘环境，有的地方在全新世还发育了共生型多年冻土。     

中国西部末次冰期以来冰川、环境及其变化

晚更新世以来,由于青藏高原及其周围山地的上升,中国西部的气候愈来愈干冷,冰川发育受到抑制。末次冰期最盛时,雪线比今日低300—1500m,古冰缘下限比今日低300—1400m,高山带的气温比今日低3—7℃,高原外围地区低8—10℃。青藏高原从13000aB.P.开始气候变暖,6000aB.P.高温期时冰川强烈退缩或消失,4000—3000aB.P.气候又再次变冷进入全新世新冰期和现代小冰期。目前气候又开始变暖,大部冰川又转入后退时期。     

Pollen analysis of hyena coprolites and sediments from Equus Cave,Taung, southern Kalahari (South Africa)

Equus Cave, in Quaternary tufa near Taung in the semiarid woodland of the southern Kalahari, yielded 2.5 m of sediment in which a rich assemblage of bones and coprolites was preserved. The fossils were accumulated mainly by hyenas during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Pollen from coprolites reflects diet as well as vegetation over relatively large areas visited by hyenas, while pollen from sediments represents more local sources. The pollen sequence derived from coprolites and sediments demonstrates how the vegetation evolved from open grassland with small shrubs and occasional trees during the late Pleistocene, to open savanna with more small shurbs, then, during the last 7500 yr, to modern savanna. Temperatures were not more than 4°C cooler and it was slightly moister than today during the late Pleistocene phase; it became gradually warmer but relatively dry before optimal temperature and moisture conditions developed around 7500 yr B.P. Climatic conditions slightly less favorable for woodland occurred during part of the late Holocene.     

青藏高原南部第四纪花粉植物群及古气候

本文选择了青藏高原南部具有代表性的６个花粉剖面，应用主成分分析处理这些剖面的花粉数据，重建了这些地区的古植被和古气候。研究表明，在青藏高原南部，早、中更新世的植被类型主要是松林、云杉林、铁杉林、桦林、桤木林和栎林，晚更新世和全新世的植被类型主要是高山灌丛草原、小半灌木草原、杂类草草甸、亚高山灌丛和落叶阔叶灌丛；在早、中更新世气候条件良好，有森林生长，晚更新世以后气候明显恶化，基本无森林生长。     

青藏高原冻土退化的研究

青藏高原从70年代后期气温持续转暖,导致高原多年冻土呈区域性退化趋势。年平均地温升高0.1～0.5℃,在边缘地带垂向上形成不衔接冻土和融化夹层,多年冻土分布下界上升40～80 m,高原多年冻土总面积约减少10×10⁴km²。     

台湾恒春半岛的隆起珊瑚礁台地

台湾本岛南端的恒春半岛,出露隆起珊瑚礁石灰岩和现代珊瑚礁海岸。隆起珊瑚礁石灰岩在地貌上的表现是多阶的台地。最高的公园面可达海拔300m,依次向下,是海拔约100～160m的笼仔埔面,海拔70～80m的埔顶面以及海拔10～20m的垦丁面。在恒春半岛的西侧,珊瑚礁台地面已经倾斜,因此高度的表现不同。ESR及¹⁴C定年表明,抬升的更新世珊瑚礁台地形成于0.5Ma B.P.前后及0.13Ma B.P.两时期;海拔10～20m的全新世珊瑚礁台地约形成于6 000a B.P.的时期。这些证据显示了地质时期里全球变迁的蛛丝马迹。     

中国现代冰川平衡线分布特征与末次冰期平衡线下降值研究

青藏高原及周边山地拥有地球上最高大且最广阔的高山高原,是除两极外最大的现代冰川作用中心,这也使得中国成为中低纬度地区现代冰川最发育的国家之一. 现代冰川平衡线分布具有纬度地带性特征,在青藏高原上还呈不对称的环状. 根据相关研究资料估算,中国末次冰期最盛期时的冰川面积约为50×10⁴ km²,是现代的8.4倍. 基于平衡线处年降水量和夏季平均气温（6-8月）之间的相关关系重建的中国西部（105° E以西）末次冰期最盛期时的平衡线分布图与现代的相似. 在青藏高原内部与西北部,平衡线下降值在500 m以内,小的仅为200~300 m;在青藏高原东南边缘下降值约800 m,最大可达1 000~1 200 m. 天山与阿尔泰山平衡线下降值均在500 m左右. 中国东部（105° E以东）没有发育现代冰川,仅有数处中高山地,如贺兰山、太白山、长白山与台湾山地保存有确切的末次冰期冰川地形,末次冰期最盛期时的平衡线下降800~900 m,大于青藏高原、天山与阿尔泰山地区的下降值. 根据中国东部末次冰期的平衡线分布图以及相关的古气候与古环境研究资料,海拔2 000 m以下的中低山地在第四纪期间任何一次冰川作用中都不具备冰川发育所需的地势条件.     

Temperature variability and vertical vegetation belt shifts during the last ∼50,000 yr in the Qilian Mountains (NE margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China)

A 13.94-m-long sediment core, collected from a medium-sized lake in the Qilian Mountains (NE Tibetan Plateau, China), was analysed palynologically at 81 horizons. The interpretation of indicator taxa yielded various vertical shifts of the vegetation belts. These palaeovegetation results have been checked with lake surface pollen spectra from 8 lakes representing different altitudinal vegetation belts. Our main findings are the following: A short period of the late Marine Isotope Stage 3 (around ∼46,000 yr ago) was characterized by interglacial temperature conditions with a tree line above its present-day altitude. During the LGM, the vicinity of the lake was not covered by ice but by sparse alpine vegetation and alpine deserts, indicating that the climate was colder by ∼4-7°C than today. Markedly higher temperatures were inferred from higher arboreal pollen frequencies between ∼13,000 and ∼7,000 yr ago with a Holocene temperature optimum and a maximal Picea-Betula mixed-forest expansion between ∼9,000 and ∼7000 yr ago, when temperatures exceeded the present-day conditions by at least 1-2°C. Alpine steppes and meadows and sub-alpine shrub vegetation dominated around the lake since the middle Holocene, suggesting that vegetation and climate conditions were exceptionally stable in comparison to previous periods.     

Late Quaternary Vegetation and Climate of the Wind River Range, Wyoming

Sediments from Rapid Lake document glacial and vegetation history in the Temple Lake valley of the Wind River Range, Wyoming over the past 11,000 to 12,000 yr. Radiocarbon age determinations on basal detrital organic matter from Rapid Lake (11,770 ± 710 yr B.P.) and Temple Lake (11,400 ± 630 yr B.P.) bracket the age of the Temple Lake moraine, suggesting that the moraine formed in the late Pleistocene. This terminal Pleistocene readvance may be represented at lower elevations by the expansion of forest into intermontane basins 12,000 to 10,000 yr B.P. Vegetation in the Wind River Range responded to changing environmental conditions at the end of the Pleistocene. Following deglaciation, alpine tundra in the Temple Lake valley was replaced by a Pinus albicaulis parkland by about 11,300 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Picea and Abies, established by 10,600 14C yr B.P., grew with Pinus albicaulis in a mixed conifer forest at and up to 100 m above Rapid Lake for most of the Holocene. Middle Holocene summer temperatures were about 1.5°C warmer than today. By about 5400 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Pinus albicaulis and Abies became less prominent at upper treeline because of decreased winter snowpack and higher maximum summer temperatures. The position of the modern treeline was established by 3000 ¹⁴ C yr B.P. when Picea retreated downslope in response to Neoglacial cooling.     

青藏高原北缘断裂擦痕的构造分析

通过大量断层擦痕数据计算机处理和野外地质观察，作者将青藏高原北缘上新世以来的脆性构造应力场分为２期；上新世－中更新世，主压应力近于Ｓ－Ｎ；中更新世至今，主压应力方位为ＮＥ向和ＮＷ向；最后对青藏高原北缘的地球动力学过程作了分析。     

晚新生代青藏高原岩溶地貌及其演化

本文在野外考察的基础上并参照洞穴次生方解石的年代资料和有关文献,指出青藏高原目前所见到的岩溶地貌主要是第三纪古岩溶地下部分经后期剥蚀形成的。更新世间冰期至少在高原南部,湿热型岩溶地貌过程得以延续;更新世冰期在灰岩山地冰川槽谷的边缘,冰川融水作用亦可发育小型洞穴。现代灰岩表面一些深度在十数cm以下的平行溶沟则形成于全新世。晚新生代以来青藏高原岩溶地貌经历了一个从低海拔到高海拔、从较低纬度到较高纬度的三维演化过程。     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate and geomorphic histories as interpreted from a 23,000 C yr B.P. paleosol and floodplain soils, southeastern West Virginia, USA

Field, micromorphological, pollen, whole soil (XRF), and stable isotope geochemical methods were used to evaluate the latest Pleistocene to Holocene climate record from a floodplain-terrace system in southeastern West Virginia. A late Pleistocene (22,940 ± 150 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) silt paleosol with low-chroma colors formed from fluviolacustrine sediment deposited during the last glacial maximum (Wisconsinan) and records a cooler full-glacial paleoclimate. Fluvial gravel deposited between the latest Pleistocene and earliest Holocene (prior to 6360 ± 40 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) was weathered in the middle Holocene under warmer, drier climate conditions, possibly correlated with the Hypsithermal and Altithermal Events of the eastern and southwestern United States, respectively. The glacial to interglacial climate shift is recorded by: (1) changes from a poorly drained landscape with fine-textured soil, characterized by high organic C and redoximorphic features related to Fe removal and concentration, to a well-drained, coarse-textured setting without gley and with significant argillic (Bt) horizon development; (2) changes from a high Zr and Ti silt-dominated parent material to locally derived, coarse fluvial gravels lower in Zr and Ti; (3) a shift from dominantly conifer and sedge pollen in the paleosol to a modern oak/hickory hardwood assemblage; and (4) a shift in δ¹³C values of soil organic matter from −28‰ to −24‰ PDB, suggesting an ecosystem shift from cooler, C3-dominated flora to one that was mixed C3 and C4, but still predominantly composed of C3 plants. A root-restrictive placic horizon developed between the late Pleistocene silt paleosol and the overlying fluvial gravel because of the high permeability contrast between the two textures of soil materials. This layer formed a barrier that effectively isolated the Pleistocene paleosol from later Holocene pedogenic processes.     

第四纪中国自然环境变迁的原因机制

作者在重建晚第三纪和第四纪古气候环境的基础上,着重讨论了晚第三纪和第四纪古气候之间的显著差异以及引起中国第四纪自然环境大幅度变迁的主要原因机制。中国新生代晚期构造运动导致自然环境的巨大变迁,其中青藏高原隆起的影响尤为突出。作者认为,青藏高原隆起及其反馈作用、季风环流的加强以及全球气候变化的影响,协同成为中国第四纪气候大幅度变化的主要原因,当然也是新生代晚期以来,尤其是中更新世以来中国自然环境变迁的主要原因机制。     

An 8000-year record of vegetation, climate, and human disturbance from the Sierra de Apaneca, El Salvador

An ∼8000-cal-yr stratigraphic record of vegetation change from the Sierra de Apaneca, El Salvador, documents a mid-Holocene warm phase, followed by late Holocene cooling. Pollen evidence reveals that during the mid-Holocene (∼8000-5500 cal yr B.P.) lowland tropical plant taxa were growing at elevations ∼200-250 m higher than at present, suggesting conditions about 1.0°C warmer than those prevailing today. Cloud forest genera (Liquidambar, Juglans, Alnus, Ulmus) were also more abundant in the mid-Holocene, indicating greater cloud cover during the dry season. A gradual cooling and drying trend began by ∼5500 cal yr B.P., culminating in the modern forest composition by ∼3500 cal yr B.P. A rise in pollen from weedy plant taxa associated with agriculture occurred ∼5000 cal yr B.P., and pollen from Zea first appeared in the record at ∼4440 cal yr B.P. Human impacts on local vegetation remained high throughout the late Holocene, but decreased abruptly following the Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption of Volcán Ilopango at ∼1520 cal yr B.P. The past 1500 years are marked by higher lake levels and periodic depositions of exogenous inorganic sediments, perhaps indicating increased climatic variability.     

Quaternary glaciation of Mt. Qomolangma-Xixabangma region

The uplift of the Himalaya and Qinghai-Xizang plateau began at the end of Pliocene to the beginning of Early Pleistocene, changing the atmospheric circulation in Asia, enhancing the South Asian monsoon and enormously effecting the climatic conditions and glacial development.According to the evidence of glacial deposits, geomorphology, paleobiology, paleopedology, etc., at least four glaciations can be recognized. The uplift of the Himalayas was earlier than that of other mountains, so that the glaciation occurred in Early Pleistocene, forming small piedmont glaciers on the N slope, whilst at the same time there were wide short valley glaciers on the S slope. During the Middle Pleistocene, the height of Himalaya was about 4000 m a s l, the monsoon was strong, and much water vapour reached the interior of the plateau, the most favourable period for glacial development. Great piedmont glaciers and small ice caps formed on the mountains N of Himalayas and great valley glaciers occurred on the S slope, but no great ice sheet covered the plateau.During the early Late Pleistocene, the Himalayas had risen to over 5000 m asl, forming a barrier against the incursion of the Indian monsoon, so that the precipitation decreased sharply on the plateau N of Himalayas, thus diminishing the extent of the glaciation. But on the high mountains of the S part of Xizang and on several high mountains of the S slope of the Great Himalaya, the precipitation increased and the extent of glaciation reached a maximum. Since Last Glaciation, the precipitation of the alpine zone has decreased more sharply, the climate has become drier and colder, becoming unfavourable for glacial development.During the Holocene, three stages may be distinguished, i.e. the recession in Early Holocene (10,000-8000 BP); the disappearance of most glaciers in the Hypsithermal period in Middle Holocene, (8000-3000 BP); and the neoglacial fluctuations in Late Holocene (3000 BP up to present). The glaciers of the Neoglaciation advanced several hundred meters or even 3–5 km farther than existing glaciers.     

Plio‐Pleistocene landscape and vegetation reconstruction of the coastal area of the Tjörnes Peninsula,Northern Iceland

Marine and continental deposits from the Tjörnes area in northern Iceland were studied to obtain their pollen/spore content. Six Pollen Zones (PZ) were defined in the Early Pliocene Tjörnes beds and the Early Pleistocene Breidavík Group. The pollen is most diverse during the deposition of the lowest Tapes Zone (PZ 1) and the lower part of the overlying Mactra Zone (PZ 2). Local pollen from marshland, levee and foothill forests was deposited on a large coastal plain. The pollen spectrum reflects transgression and deepening during the second part of the Mactra Zone (PZ 3) and the lower part of the Serripes Zone (PZ 4). Gymnosperm pollen derived from the higher inland plateau increases in PZ 3. This background pollen was of minor importance during periods with an extensive coastal plain (PZ 1, 2, 4, 6). PZ 5 did not yield sufficient pollen for analysis. The pollen analysis allowed refinement of the sea‐level variations based on sedimentology and molluscs. Pollen of warmth‐demanding plants is recorded throughout the Tjörnes beds and the Early Pleistocene interglacial deposits. Warmth‐loving species indicate summers 8°C warmer than today during deposition of the Tapes Zone, and at least 5°C warmer during the rest of the Tjörnes beds. The Pliocene vegetation of Iceland matches well that of the present‐day western European maritime temperate climate. The drastic cooling at the onset of the Quaternary led to a marked vegetation impoverishment, already noticeable in the Early Pleistocene Breidavík Group.     

Origins and antiquity of the island fox (Urocyon littoralis) on California's Channel Islands

The island fox (Urocyon littoralis) is one of few reportedly endemic terrestrial mammals on California's Channel Islands. Questions remain about how and when foxes first colonized the islands, with researchers speculating on a natural, human-assisted, or combined dispersal during the late Pleistocene and/or Holocene. A natural dispersal of foxes to the northern Channel Islands has been supported by reports of a few fox bones from late Pleistocene paleontological localities. Direct AMS ¹⁴C dating of these “fossil” fox bones produced dates ranging from ∼ 6400 to 200 cal yr BP, however, postdating human colonization of the islands by several millennia. Although one of these specimens is the earliest securely dated fox from the islands, these new data support the hypothesis that Native Americans introduced foxes to all the Channel Islands in the early to middle Holocene. However, a natural dispersal for the original island colonization cannot be ruled out until further paleontological, archaeological, and genetic studies (especially aDNA [ancient DNA]) are conducted.     

Relic permafrost structures in the Gobi of Mongolia: age and significance

Relict permafrost structures (ice-wedge casts and cryoturbation structures) are present in the Gobi of southern Mongolia. Luminescence dates of sediments are presented to constrain the age of formation of permafrost structures. These data show that there was a phase of permafrost development during the latter part of the Last Glacial (after about 22 to 15 ka) that resulted in cryoturbated sediments and ice-wedge casts. Furthermore, permafrost degradation occurred during late Pleistocene times (13–10 ka) and was absent during the early Holocene. These permafrost structures mark the southernmost evidence of permafrost in northern Asia during late Quaternary times and indicate that the mean annual air temperature was below approximately −6°C during their formation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.