Mollusk record of millennial climate variability in the Loess Plateau during the Last Glacial Maximum

A high-resolution terrestrial mollusk record from the Loess Plateau of China has been studied to characterize climate variability during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The rapid successions in mollusk taxa in the Weinan loess sequence reveal that climate changes occurred at least four times in this period. In the loess region, millennia-scale climate fluctuations existed, as documented in the grain size and weathering intensity records. Our results show such millennia-scale fluctuations reflecting changes in both temperature and precipitation, rather than a simple cold and warm alternation. Changes in temperature and precipitation were not in phase during the LGM. Temperature varied earlier than precipitation, which could have been the effect of winter and summer monsoon interactions. Our data also reveal that the East Asian summer monsoons could reach the southeast part of the Loess Plateau during the whole of the LGM. The intensification of winter monsoons during the LGM led to short duration of summer monsoons annually impacting on the Loess Plateau, but the intrinsic intensity of summer monsoons would not have changed significantly, thus providing the thermo-hydrological conditions for temperate-humidiphilous mollusks to persistently grow and develop in the glacial age.     

A simulation of New Zealand's climate during the Last Glacial Maximum

New Zealand's climate during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) has been investigated using the United Kingdom Met Office global (HadAM3H) and regional model (HadRM3H). All models were set up according to the glacial conditions as specified by the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP), although SSTs and sea-ice were supplied from a set of prior coupled model (HadCM3) runs. The simulated climate of New Zealand during the LGM was mainly compared against a control simulation which was set up for pre-industrial conditions. New Zealand's simulated LGM climate was cooler than today, varying spatially between 2.5 and 4 °C. There was an increase in seasonality in temperature with the seasonal cooling being largest during winter. Excluding the Alpine/Fiordland region, the largest cooling geographically took place in the east of the South Island (ESI). Annual mean precipitation was reduced but there were significant regional and seasonal variations. The main band of precipitation along the West Coast shifted westwards, resulting in a reduction in precipitation over those regions in the Southern Alps that receive the largest amount of precipitation in today's climate. The westerly circulation increased considerably over the North Island and the northern part of the South Island, but did not change much over the rest of the South Island. The stronger westerly wind accentuated the cooling over the western and northern parts of the North Island and it probably reduced the occurrence of incursions of tropical lows over the north of the North Island. The westerly winds were weaker over New Zealand during winter, which appears to be related to enhanced blocking activity during that season. The number and the strength of the southerlies increased, and they were capable of bringing very cold polar air over most of the country. The east of the South Island was affected especially by these cold winds.The simulated cooling during the LGM is not sufficient to limit forest growth. It is proposed here, that together with the general drier and colder conditions, it was the increase in seasonality and extremes of climate that limited the growth of certain vegetation types.     

Signature and timing of the Kattegat Ice Stream: onset of the Last Glacial Maximum sequence at the southwestern margin of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet

At the end of the Middle Weichselian (30–25 ka BP) a glacier advance from southern Norway, termed the Kattegat Ice Stream, covered northern Denmark, the Kattegat Sea floor and the Swedish West Coast during onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) at the southwest margin of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. The lithostratigraphic unit deposited by the ice stream is the till of the Kattegat Formation (Kattegat till). Because morphological features have been erased by later glacial events, stratigraphic control and timing are decisive. The former ice stream is identified by the dispersal of Oslo indicator erratics from southern Norway and by glaciodynamic structures combined with glaciotectonic deformation of subtill sediments. Ice movement was generally from northerly directions and the flow pattern is fan-shaped in marginal areas. To the east, the Kattegat Ice Stream was flanked by passive glaciers in southern Sweden and its distribution was probably governed by the presence of low permeability and highly deformable marine and lacustrine deposits. When glaciers from southern Norway blocked the Norwegian Channel, former marine basins in the Skagerrak and Kattegat experienced glaciolacustrine conditions around 31–29 ka BP. The Kattegat Ice Stream became active some time between 29 ka BP and 26 ka BP, when glaciers from the Oslo region penetrated deep into the shallow depression occupied by the Kattegat Ice Lake. Deglaciation and an interlude with periglacial and glaciolacustrine sedimentation lasted until c. 24–22 ka BP and were succeeded by the Main Glacier Advance from central Sweden reaching the limit of Late Weichselian glaciations in Denmark around 22–20 ka BP, the peak of the LGM. This was followed by deglaciation and marine inundation in the Kattegat and Skagerrak around 17 ka BP.     

Last Glacial Maximum and Hypsithermal in the Southern Hemisphere

A synthesis of the two contrasting climates of the upper Quaternary in the Southern Hemisphere, based on continental geological indicators, suggests that the Antarctic Anticyclone is the most important climatic system in the hemisphere. According to glaciological and oceanographic studies, the Antarctic Anticyclone covered an area in the LGM that was double of that during the Hypsithermal. This phenomenon produced a consequent shifting of the climatic belts by approximately 10° of latitude to the north in the LGM and a migration to the south during the Hypsithermal. Oceanic and continental anticyclones were active systems in shaping climates in South America, Australasia, and Southern Africa. These structures were enhanced throughout the LGM (provoking generalized droughts), and weakened at the Hypsithermal (permitting more rains in tropical latitudes). The results presented here were obtained by integrating our own results with regional and continental syntheses of other authors. The paleoclimatic proposals are amply validated by more than 1500 dates in the four continents. Geological and geomorphological features, such as dunefields, paleosols, fluvial terraces and lake levels were the main tools employed in the work.     

末次盛冰期以来河北平原第四系地下水流系统的演变

以区域自然地理及地质历史分析为基础,以环境同位素及大陆盐化咸水后期变化为实证依据,重塑了末次盛冰期以来河北平原第四系地下水流模式演变。研究发现,末次盛冰期以来河北平原第四系地下水流系统经历3个演变阶段:(1)距今18～15ka的低海平面时期,接受持续补给,地下水得到充分交替,发育穿透达到或接近第四系底界的区域水流系统;(2)距今15～12ka的海平面急剧抬升期,地形势差减弱,发育穿透第三含水层组的早期中间水流系统,与此同时区域水流系统趋于停滞;(3)距今2.5ka以来,现代河流地貌成形,高位河床与低位河床及河间低地的势差成为主要驱动力,发育穿透第一及第二含水层组的晚期中间水流系统。随着海平面抬升,后期发育的水流系统切割前期水流系统的一部分并叠置其上。因此,现今河北平原第四系的地下水流系统乃是不同演变时期地下水流系统的时空四维集合体。其他濒海平原,乃至侵蚀强度随时间减弱的内陆盆地,都有可能出现类似图景。距今12ka前后形成的大陆盐化咸水,由上升水流带到浅部,导致浅层咸水以及土地盐渍化,乃是河北平原水资源利用及生态与环境保护的关键性不利因素。     

末次盛冰期华北平原古气候古环境演化

华北平原宁晋泊南王庄剖面的^14C和光释光年代测定表明宁晋泊地区在末次盛冰期有连续的湖相沉积。依据孢粉、碳酸盐、有机碳含量（TOC）及C／N值的高分辨率分析与综合判识，末次盛冰期并不是一个持续的干冷时期，而是存在从凉湿-冷偏湿-冷干的波动变化过程。其中早期明显降温事件，可以与Heinrich事件2（H2）对比，说明全球降温的同步性。本研究说明末次盛冰期（20-16ka BP），在全球气候变冷的背景下，存在一个冬季风不断加强夏季风逐渐变弱的过程。     

南海东北部末次冰盛期以来的水文气候变化

本研究以南海东北部MD18-3569孔（22°09.30'N,119°49.24'E;水深1320m）上部10.09m的沉积物为研究材料,利用浮游有孔虫Globigerinoides ruber壳体的氧同位素（δ¹⁸O_c）、Mg/Ca比值计算了表层海水剩余氧同位素（δ¹⁸O_residual）,重建了过去两万年以来（19.88~0.78 ka B.P.,时间分辨率约152a）的表层海水盐度演变历史,结合南海其他站位降水重建记录,分析了研究区的水文气候变化特征。研究表明：1）南海南部和北部δ¹⁸O_residual记录的长期趋势呈反相变化关系,即南海北部δ¹⁸O_residual在末次冰消期逐渐偏负、全新世以来逐渐偏正,指示海表盐度先减小后增大,而南海南部δ¹⁸O_residual则呈现先偏正、后偏负的变化特征。这种南、北反相变化关系表明末次冰消期过程中,随着北半球夏季辐射量逐渐增加,热带海洋上方的大气对流活动增强,包括南海南部在内的暖池区水汽蒸发及相关δ¹⁸O分馏增强,同时东亚夏季风增强、把更多蒸发水汽传输至东亚大陆,途中在南海北部产生更多δ¹⁸O偏轻的季风降水,导致研究区海表盐度降低、δ¹⁸O_residual逐渐偏负。2）在千年尺度上,全新世东亚夏季风于1.4 ka B.P.、2.7 ka B.P.、4.4 ka B.P.、6.2 ka B.P.、7.2 ka B.P.和8.9 ka B.P.共出现6次降水减少事件,平均间隔约1500年,与中国东部石笋δ¹⁸O记录的全新世千年尺度事件一致,可能受太阳辐照度变化影响。因此,末次冰盛期以来,研究区的δ¹⁸O_residual主要受夏季风降水影响。

     

Wetter or colder during the Last Glacial Maximum? Revisiting the pluvial lake question in southwestern North America

Well-preserved shorelines in Estancia basin and a relatively simple hydrologic setting have prompted several inquiries into the basin's hydrologic balance for the purpose of estimating regional precipitation during the late Pleistocene. Estimates have ranged from 86% to 150% of modern, the disparity largely the result of assumptions about past temperatures. In this study, we use an array of models for surface-water runoff, groundwater flow, and lake energy balance to examine previously proposed scenarios for late Pleistocene climate. Constraints imposed by geologic evidence of past lake levels indicate that precipitation for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) may have doubled relative to modern values during brief episodes of colder and wetter climate and that annual runoff was as much as 15% of annual precipitation during these episodes.     

中国末次冰盛期以来泥炭发育与气候变化

泥炭是陆地生态系统碳库的重要组成部分,其发育演化对全球碳循环具有重要的影响。然而,目前轨道时间尺度上中低纬泥炭发育与季风演化关系及其对全球CH₄浓度变化的影响,还存在很大的争议。本研究基于末次冰盛期以来我国泥炭发育的起始¹⁴C年龄数据,通过年龄概率密度方法,系统重建了东亚季风区泥炭发育的时空演变历史。结果表明：末次冰盛期我国南方泥炭开始发育,冰消期以来泥炭发育逐步扩展至华北、东北、西北和青藏高原地区,并发育增强;全新世时段,不同区域泥炭发育存在明显的空间差异,东北和西北泥炭发育呈现持续增加,而南方、华北和青藏高原地区在早-中全新世增加,之后呈现下降趋势。结合全国孢粉记录的古气候定量化重建结果,发现我国末次冰盛期以来不同区域泥炭发育主要受降水变化的影响,揭示出泥炭发育主要受控于东亚季风降水的演化。研究表明在轨道时间尺度上,东亚季风演化及其导致的泥炭发育变化对全球CH₄浓度变化具有重要的贡献。

     

Climate variability during the Last Glacial Maximum in eastern Australia: evidence of two stadials?

A high‐resolution, multiproxy record encompassing the last glacial–interglacial transition is presented for Native Companion Lagoon, a coastal site in subtropical eastern Australia. Rates of aeolian sedimentation in the lake were established by trace element analyses of lacustrine sediments and used as a proxy for aridity. In conjunction with sediment moisture content, charcoal and pollen these provide a multi‐decadal record of palaeoenvironmental variability for the period 33–18 k cal. yr BP. Results indicate that the Last Glacial Maximum in eastern Australia spanned almost 10 k cal. yr, and was characterised by two distinct cold dry events at approximately 30.8 k cal. yr BP and 21.7 k cal. yr BP. Provenance of selected sediment samples by trace element geochemical fingerprinting shows that continental sourced aeolian sediments originated primarily from South Australia during these cold events and from sites in central Australia during the intervening time. Used in combination with a pollen record, the provenance of long‐travelled dust to mainland sites shows that the two cold events were characterised by frequent meridional dry southwesterly winds rather than zonal westerly airflow as previously believed. The intervening period was cool and humid, which we infer as being associated with more frequent southeasterly winds of maritime origin. These results lend support to previous research that indicates the Southern Hemisphere experienced a period of widespread climatic amelioration at the height of the last glacial known as the Antarctic Isotopic Maximum. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

末次盛冰期以来中国东部陆架层序地层研究现状

本文中笔者总结了多年来国内外中国东部陆架晚更新世地层结构研究的主要认识,系统阐述了层序地层与沉积环境演化.中国东部陆架沉积物输运量高、沉积作用受海平面变化影响强烈,是分析晚更新世沉积演化史的理想场所.末次盛冰期(22 ka BP)之前,海面的持续下降形成以浅海、三角洲及海陆交互沉积为主的强制海退体系域.进入盛冰期后,一个新的旋回开始,在海退体系域之上,相继形成了包括低位体系域、海侵体系域及高位体系域在内新的4级层序:22~15 ka BP盛冰期时期,海面降至最低,形成低位体系域,包括陆架深切河湖沉积及风成沉积,以及陆架边缘三角洲和潮流砂体等;盛冰期结束的15~7 ka BP时期,全球海平面快速上升,形成含河道充填、湖泊、盐沼、潮坪、潮流砂体及浅海沉积的退积型海侵体系域;约7 ka BP以后,海面与现今海面位置基本相当,形成高位体系域,主要为三角洲和潮流砂等近岸陆架的沉积.     

内蒙古与冲绳海槽和南中国海晚第四纪末次冰川盛冰期以来古气候记录

控制东亚气候的东亚季风夏季风北界的内蒙古盐湖沉积物记录了晚第四纪末次冰川盛冰期以来的气候冷暖干湿变化特征及各类重要的气候事件。通过对内蒙古伊克昭盟杭锦旗盐海子Ya0 1孔岩心沉积物的有机碳、碳氮比、碎屑矿物成熟度、磁化率、氧碳稳定同位素和沉积物成分的研究表明 ,全新世大暖期起止时间为 8～ 4kaB .P .,其气候特征为暖干型。这一气候特点可与中国北方黄土、冰川、冲绳海槽沉积物及南海有孔虫Pulleniatinaobliguilocalata等代用气候材料所记录的气候波动进行对比 ,也可与加拿大阿尔伯特地区及北美大平原全新世的气候演变特征进行对比。     

New evidence for high discharge to the Chukchi shelf since the Last Glacial Maximum

Using CHIRP subbottom profiling across the Chukchi shelf, offshore NW Alaska, we observed a large incised valley that measures tens of kilometers in width. The valley appears to have been repeatedly excavated during sea level lowering; however, the two most recent incisions appear to have been downcut during the last sea level rise, suggesting an increase in the volume of discharge. Modern drainage from the northwestern Alaskan margin is dominated by small, low-discharge rivers that do not appear to be large enough to have carved the offshore drainage. The renewed downcutting and incision during the deglaciation and consequent base level rise implies there must have been an additional source of discharge. Paleoprecipitation during deglaciation is predicted to be at least 10% less than modern precipitation and thus cannot account for the higher discharge to the shelf. Glacial meltwater is the most likely source for the increased discharge.     

The extent of permafrost in China during the local Last Glacial Maximum (LLGM)

Recent investigations into relict periglacial phenomena in northern and western China and on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau provide information for delineating the extent of permafrost in China during the Late Pleistocene. Polygonal and wedge‐shaped structures indicate that, during the local Last Glacial Maximum (LLGM, between ～35 and 10.5 ka BP), the southern limit of latitudinal permafrost in northern China advanced southward at least to ～38–40°N in the east and to ～37–39°N in the west. This represents an advance of about 5–10° of latitude beyond present‐day permafrost limits. The lower limits of elevationally controlled permafrost on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and its peripheries were about 1000 m lower: this permafrost was largely continuous during the LLGM. This suggests a cooling of between 4 and 10°C, or more. This paper discusses the extent of permafrost during the LLGM and presents maps that have been constructed on the basis of extensive and integrative analysis of all reliable and pertinent data. The results indicate that the extent of LLGM permafrost in China was between ～3.8 and 4.3×10⁶ km². This is 80 to 100% more than that of ～2.15×10⁶ km² in the 1970s, and 120 to ～150% more than that of ～1.75×10⁶ km² today.     

Fast-flowing outlet glaciers of the Last Glacial Maximum Patagonian Icefield

Glacial geomorphology around the Northern Patagonian Icefield indicates that a number of fast-flowing outlet glaciers (the continuation of ice streams further upglacier) drained the icefield during the Last Glacial Maximum. These topographically controlled fast-flowing glaciers may have dictated the overall pattern of Last Glacial Maximum ice discharge, lowered the ice-surface profile, and forced the ice-divide westward. The influence of the fast-flowing outlet glaciers on icefield behavior also helps to explain why the configuration of the Patagonian Icefield at the Last Glacial Maximum is not accurately represented in existing numerical ice-sheet models. Fast-flowing outlet glaciers would have strongly influenced ice discharge patterns and therefore partially decoupled the icefield from climatically induced changes in thickness and extent.     

Asian monsoon climate during the Last Glacial Maximum: palaeo‐data–model comparisons

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (23–19 ka BP) in the Asian monsoon region is generally described as cool and dry, due to a strong winter monsoon. More recently, however, palaeo‐data and climate model simulations have argued for a more variable LGM Asian monsoon climate with distinct regional differences. We compiled, evaluated, and partly re‐assessed proxy records for the Asian monsoon region in terms of wet/dry climatic conditions based on precipitation and effective moisture, and of sea surface temperatures. The comparison of the palaeo‐data set to LGM simulations by the Climate Community System Model version 3 (CCSM3) shows fairly good agreement: a dry LGM climate in the western and northern part due to a strengthened winter monsoon and/or strengthened westerly winds and wetter conditions in equatorial areas, due to a stronger summer monsoon. Data–model discrepancies are seen in some areas and are ascribed to the fairly coarse resolution of CCSM3 and/or to uncertainties in the reconstructions. Differences are also observed between the reconstructed and simulated northern boundaries of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The reconstructions estimate a more southern position over southern India and the Bay of Bengal, whereas CCSM3 simulates a more northern position. In Indochina, the opposite is the case. The palaeo‐data indicate that climatic conditions changed around 20–19 ka BP, with some regions receiving higher precipitation and some experiencing drier conditions, which would imply a distinct shift in summer monsoon intensity. This shift was probably triggered by the late LGM sea‐level rise, which led to changes in atmosphere–ocean interactions in the Indian Ocean. The overall good correspondence between reconstructions and CCSM3 suggests that CCSM3 simulates LGM climate conditions over subtropical and tropical areas fairly well. The few high‐resolution qualitative and quantitative palaeo‐records available for the large Asian monsoon region make reconstructions however still uncertain.     

末次冰盛期和中全新世气候模拟分析进展

回顾了课题组近年来有关末次冰盛期和中全新世气候模拟分析的研究进展,包括中国气候、东亚和全球季风以及相关的主要大气环流系统等变化。多模式试验数据的分析表明,末次冰盛期中国降温和年均有效降水变化与重建记录定性一致,但模拟幅度偏弱;中国冻土区扩张、永冻土区活动层变薄,中国西部冰川物质平衡线高度降低;东亚季风变化在不同模式间差异较大,中国季风区范围和季风降水减小,北半球陆地季风区南移、全球季风区缩小和降水强度减弱共同引起全球季风降水减少;全球降水和潜在蒸散发共同减小使得全球干湿变化总体很小;北半球西风带在高层北移、低层南移,热带宽度变化依赖于指标的选取,厄尔尼诺—南方涛动气候影响、热带太平洋沃克环流均减弱并东移。在中全新世,多模式模拟的中国年和冬季偏冷仍然与大部分重建记录显示的偏暖不同;东亚冬季风增强,东亚夏季降水变化存在空间不一致性;中国和全球尺度的季风区范围和季风降水均增加;东北多年冻土退化、青藏高原多年冻土向低海拔扩张,北半球永冻土区减小、季节性冻土扩张、冻土区北退、永冻土区活动层变厚;全球干旱区面积总体变化很小;夏季东亚西风急流显著减弱并北移,厄尔尼诺—南方涛动减弱,热带太平洋沃克环流...     

渭河盆地末次冰盛期以来沉积环境变化研究

研究过去气候快速变化能为当前极端气候分析和未来环境预测提供自然背景理解。亚洲季风在北半球乃至全球的第四纪气候变化中扮演着重要角色,其演化是全球气候变化背景下的典型区域响应。然而,不同地质载体及不同指标所记录的亚洲冬、夏季风变化存在着较大差异,产生差异的原因及受到的动力机制是值得深入研究的科学问题。渭河盆地位于黄土高原和古三门湖沉积交叠的区域,是研究第四纪亚洲季风演化的理想场所。在盆地西南部西安市户县和长安县获取了两个黄土沉积钻孔,户县ZZC孔长4 m,长安县XFC孔长3 m,两孔的年代均超过25 ka。通过两钻孔的粒度和元素地球化学等代用指标研究,对比分析不同指标对气候变化的敏感度差异,反演了末次冰盛期（LGM）以来的区域沉积环境变化,并尝试探讨该时期发生的气候突变事件及反映的季风强度变化。结果表明,两钻孔的平均粒径从LGM到中全新世逐渐变细,中全新世之后少许变粗,空间上表现出一致性,总体反映了末次冰盛期以来的冬季风强度演化;Ca/Ti反映了与季风降水相关的淋溶强度,从LGM到全新世暖期夏季风逐渐减弱,并记录了若干次气候快速变化。粒度和元素比值变化表明,渭河盆地沉积良好地记录了末次冰盛期至全新世的大幅冷干-暖湿波动及若干次持续时间较短的快速水文变化事件,主要是受到太阳辐射和冰量等因素调控的影响。由于渭河盆地有上千米的新生代沉积,未来开展高分辨率研究有望揭示不同时间尺度季风变化特征及其与区域和全球变化的联系。

     

Variability of the Denmark Strait Overflow during the Last Glacial Maximum

The Denmark Strait Overflow (DSO) today compensates for the northward flowing Norwegian and Irminger branches of the North Atlantic Current that drive the Nordic heat pump. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), ice sheets constricted the Denmark Strait aperture in addition to ice eustatic/isostatic effects which reduced its depth (today ∼630 m) by ∼130 m. These factors, combined with a reduced north-south density gradient of the water-masses, are expected to have restricted or even reversed the LGM DSO intensity. To better constrain these boundary conditions, we present a first reconstruction of the glacial DSO, using four new and four published epibenthic and planktic stable-isotope records from sites to the north and south of the Denmark Strait. The spatial and temporal distribution of epibenthic δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C maxima reveals a north-south density gradient at intermediate water depths from σ₀ ∼28.7 to 28.4/28.1 and suggests that dense and highly ventilated water was convected in the Nordic Seas during the LGM. However, extremely high epibenthic δ¹³C values on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge document a further convection cell of Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water to the south of Iceland, which, however, was marked by much lower density (σ₀ ∼28.1). The north-south gradient of water density possibly implied that the glacial DSO was directed to the south like today and fed Glacial North Atlantic Deep Water that has underthrusted the Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water in the Irminger Basin.