Effects of Irrigation on Nitrous Oxide, Methane and Carbon Dioxide Fluxes in an Inner Mongolian Steppe

Increased precipitation during the vegetation periods was observed in and further predicted for Inner Mongolia. The changes in the associated soil moisture may affect the biosphere-atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases. Therefore, we set up an irrigation experiment with one watered （W） and one unwatered plot （UW） at a winter-grazed Leymus chinensis-steppe site in the Xilin River catchment, Inner Mongolia. UW only received the natural precipitation of 2005 （129 mm）, whereas W was additionally watered after the precipitation data of 1998 （in total 427 mm）. In the 3-hour resolution, we determined nitrous oxide （N20）, methane （CH4） and carbon dioxide （CO2） fluxes at both plots between May and September 2005, using a fully automated, chamber-based measuring system. N20 fluxes in the steppe were very low, with mean emissions （±s.e.） of 0.9-4-0.5 and 0.7-4-0.5 μg N m^-2 h^-1 at W and UW, respectively. The steppe soil always served as a CH4 sink, with mean fluxes of -24.1-4-3.9 and -31.1-4- 5.3 μg C m^-2 h^-1 at W and UW. Nighttime mean CO2 emissions were 82.6±8.7 and 26.3±1.7 mg C m^-2 h^-1 at W and UW, respectively, coinciding with an almost doubled aboveground plant biomass at W. Our results indicate that the ecosystem CO2 respiration responded sensitively to increased water input during the vegetation period, whereas the effects on CH4 and N2O fluxes were weak, most likely due to the high evapotranspiration and the lack of substrate for N2O producing processes. Based on our results, we hypothesize that with the gradual increase of summertime precipitation in Inner Mongolia, ecosystem CO2 respiration will be enhanced and CH4 uptake by the steppe soils will be lightly inhibited.     

Environmental change over the last millennium recorded in two contrasting crater lakes in western Uganda,eastern Africa (Lakes Kasenda and Wandakara)

The last millennium is a key period for understanding environmental change in eastern Africa, as there is clear evidence of marked fluctuations in climate (effective moisture) that place modern concern with future climate change in a proper context, both in terms of environmental and societal impacts and responses. Here, we compare sediment records from two small, nearby, closed crater lakes in western Uganda (Lake Kasenda and Lake Wandakara), spanning the last 700 (Wandakara) and 1200 years (Kasenda) respectively. Multiproxy analyses of chemical sedimentary parameters (including C/N ratios, δ¹³C of bulk organic matter and δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O of authigenic carbonates) and biotic remains (diatoms, aquatic macrofossils, chironomids) suggest that Kasenda has been sensitive to climate over much of this period, and has shown substantial fluctuations in conductivity, while Wandakara has a more muted response, likely due to the increasing dominance of human activity as a driver of change within the lake and catchment over the length of our record. Evidence from both records, however, supports the idea that lake levels were low from ～AD 700–1000 AD, with increasing aridity from AD 1100–1600, and brief wet phases around AD 1000 and 1400. Wetter conditions are recorded in the 1700s, but drought returned by the end of the century and into the early 1800s, becoming wetter again from the mid-1800s. Comparison with other records across eastern Africa suggests that while some events are widespread (e.g. aridity beginning ～ AD 1100), at other times there is a more complex spatial signature (e.g. in the 1200s to 1300s, and from the 1400s to 1600s). This study highlights the important role of catchment-specific factors (e.g. lakemorphometry, catchment size, and human impact) in modulating the sensitivity of proxies, and lake records, as indicators of environmental change, and potential hazards when regional inference is based on a single site or proxy.     

Present State and Prospects of Ice Sheet and Glacier Modelling

Since the late 1970s, numerical modelling has become established as an important technique for the understanding of ice sheet and glacier dynamics, and several models have been developed over the years. Ice sheet models are particularly relevant for predicting the possible response of ice sheets to climate change. Recent observations suggest that ice dynamics could play a crucial role for the contribution of ice sheets to future sea level rise under global warming conditions, and the need for further research into the matter was explicitly stated in the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In this paper, we review the state of the art and current problems of ice sheet and glacier modelling. An outline of the underlying theory is given, and crucial processes (basal sliding, calving, interaction with the solid Earth) are discussed. We summarise recent progress in the development of ice sheet and glacier system models and their coupling to climate models, and point out directions for future work.     

Evaluation of the 87Rb decay constant by age comparison against the U–Pb system

The Rb–Sr decay system is one of the most widely used geochronometers for obtaining ages and cooling rates of terrestrial magmatic, metamorphic, and hydrothermal events. It has also been extensively applied to date extraterrestrial, early solar system events. The accuracy of Rb–Sr ages, however, strongly depends on the accuracy of the ⁸⁷Rb decay constant (λ⁸⁷Rb). We determined λ⁸⁷Rb relative to the decay constants of ²³⁵U and ²³⁸U by comparing Rb–Sr ages of minerals with U–Pb ages obtained from the same intrusion. Comparison of U–Pb emplacement ages with high-precision Rb–Sr mineral ages from three rapidly cooled igneous rocks covering an age range of ca. 2.5 Ga yields an unweighted mean λ⁸⁷Rb of 1.393 ± 0.004 × 10^?11 yr^?1 (i.e., ± 0.3%), corresponding to a half-life of 49.76 × 10⁹ years. Because this decay constant is 2% lower than the presently recommended one, many previously published ages are 2% too young and the resulting geologic interpretations may need revision.     

Early diagenesis of redox-sensitive trace metals in the Peru upwelling area - response to ENSO-related oxygen fluctuations in the water column

Pore water and solid phase data for redox-sensitive metals (Mn, Fe, V, Mo and U) were collected on a transect across the Peru upwelling area (11°S) at water depths between 78 and 2025 m and bottom water oxygen concentrations ranging from ∼0 to 93 μM. By comparing authigenic mass accumulation rates and diffusive benthic fluxes, we evaluate the respective mechanisms of trace metal accumulation, retention and remobilization across the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) and with respect to oxygen fluctuations in the water column related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).Sediments within the permanent OMZ are characterized by diffusive uptake and authigenic fixation of U, V and Mo as well as diffusive loss of Mn and Fe across the benthic boundary. Some of the dissolved Mn and Fe in the water column re-precipitate at the oxycline and shuttle particle-reactive trace metals to the sediment surface at the lower and upper boundary of the OMZ. At the lower boundary, pore waters are not sufficiently sulfidic as to enable an efficient authigenic V and Mo fixation. As a consequence, sediments below the OMZ are preferentially enriched in U which is delivered via both in situ precipitation and lateral supply of U-rich phosphorites from further upslope. Trace metal cycling on the Peruvian shelf is strongly affected by ENSO-related oxygen fluctuations in bottom water. During periods of shelf oxygenation, surface sediments receive particulate V and Mo with metal (oxyhydr)oxides that derive from both terrigenous sources and precipitation at the retreating oxycline. After the recurrence of anoxic conditions, metal (oxyhydr)oxides are reductively dissolved and the hereby liberated V and Mo are authigenically removed. This alternation between supply of particle-reactive trace metals during oxic periods and fixation during anoxic periods leads to a preferential accumulation of V and Mo compared to U on the Peruvian shelf. The decoupling of V, Mo and U accumulation is further accentuated by the varying susceptibility to re-oxidation of the different authigenic metal phases. While authigenic U and V are readily re-oxidized and recycled during periods of shelf oxygenation, the sequestration of Mo by authigenic pyrite is favored by the transient occurrence of oxidizing conditions.Our findings reveal that redox-sensitive trace metals respond in specific manner to short-term oxygen fluctuations in the water column. The relative enrichment patterns identified might be useful for the reconstruction of past OMZ extension and large-scale redox oscillations in the geological record.     

Unstructured grid based 2-D inversion of VLF data for models including topography

We present a 2-D inversion code incorporating a damped least-squares and a minimum-model approach for plane wave electromagnetic (EM) methods using an adaptive unstructured grid finite element forward operator. Unstructured triangular grids permit efficient discretization of arbitrary 2-D model geometries and, hence, allow for modeling arbitrary topography. The inversion model is parameterized on a coarse parameter grid which constitutes a subset of the forward modeling grid. The mapping from parameter to forward modeling grid is obtained by adaptive mesh refinement. Sensitivities are determined by solving a modified sensitivity equation system arising from the derivative of the finite element equations with respect to the model parameters. Firstly, we demonstrate that surface topography may induce significant effects on the EM response and in the inversion result, and that it cannot be ignored when the scale length of topographic variations is in the order of magnitude of the skin depth. Secondly, the dependency of the inversion on the starting model is discussed for VLF and VLF-R data. Thirdly, we demonstrate the inversion of a synthetic data set obtained from a model with topography. Finally, the inversion approach is applied to field data collected in a region with undulating topography.     

Chromium isotopes identify the extraterrestrial component in impactites from Dhala impact structure,India

The Dhala structure in north-central India is a confirmed complex impact structure of Paleoproterozoic age. The presence of an extraterrestrial component in impactites from the Dhala structure was recognized by geochemical analyses of highly siderophile elements and Os isotopic compositions; however, the impactor type has remained unidentified. This study uses Cr isotope systematics to identify the type of projectile involved in the formation of the Dhala structure. Unlike the composition of siderophile elements (e.g., Ni, Cr, Co, and platinum group elements) and their inter-element ratios that may get compromised due to the extreme energy generated during an impact, Cr isotopes retain the distinct composition of the impactor. The distinct ε⁵⁴Cr value of −0.31 ± 0.09 for a Dhala impact melt breccia sample (D6-57) indicates inheritance from an impactor originating within the non-carbonaceous reservoir, that is, the inner Solar System. Based on the Ni/Cr ratio, Os abundance, and Cr isotopic composition of the samples, the impactor is constrained to be of ureilite type. Binary mixing calculations also indicate contamination of the target rock by 0.1–0.3 wt% of material from a ureilite-like impactor. Together with the previously identified impactors that formed El'gygytgyn, Zhamanshin, and Lonar impact structures, the Cr isotopic compositions of the Dhala impactites argue for a much more diverse source of the objects that collided with the Earth over its geological history than has been supposed previously.     

Probing the surfaces of interstellar dust grains: the adsorption of CO at bare grain surfaces

A solid-state feature was detected at around 2175 cm⁻¹ towards 30 embedded young stellar objects in spectra obtained using the Infrared Spectrometer and Array Camera at the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope. We present results from laboratory studies of CO adsorbed at the surface of zeolite wafers, where absorption bands were detected at 2177 and 2168 cm⁻¹ (corresponding to CO chemisorbed at the zeolite surface) and 2130 cm⁻¹ (corresponding to CO physisorbed at the zeolite surface), providing an excellent match to the observational data. We propose that the main carrier of the 2175-band is CO chemisorbed at bare surfaces of dust grains in the interstellar medium. This result provides the first direct evidence that gas–surface interactions do not have to result in the formation of ice mantles on interstellar dust. The strength of the 2175-band is estimated to be  ∼4 × 10⁻¹⁹ cm  molecule⁻¹. The abundance of CO adsorbed at bare grain surfaces ranges from 0.06 to 0.16 relative to H₂O ice, which is, at most, half of the abundance (relative to H₂O ice) of CO residing in H₂O-dominated ice environments. These findings imply that interstellar grains have a large (catalytically active) surface area, providing a refuge for interstellar species. Consequently, the potential exists for heterogeneous chemistry to occur involving CO molecules in unique surface chemistry pathways not currently considered in gas grain models of the interstellar medium.     

Diversification of Livelihoods in a Society in Transition: A Case Study of Tibetan Communities in Southwest China

In recent years, large development and market integration programs have altered the socioeconomic structures and cultural identity of rural communities and ethnic minorities in Southwest China and influenced the management of natural resources. This article analyzes livelihood strategies in the Shuiluo Valley, a remote area of the Sino-Tibetan borderlands. Agricultural activities and the management of natural resources were studied in five villages of Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Sichuan Province. Characteristic for rural societies in transition, livelihoods were found to be flexible, combining subsistence agriculture, off-farm employment, and the exploitation of both renewable and nonrenewable natural resources. Accessibility of villages did not influence household income and livelihood activities, and poorer households were not found to depend more on natural resources or on income from agriculture than wealthier households. The option of gold prospecting constitutes a major difference compared to more nontimber forest product-based livelihoods in adjacent areas of Southwest China.     

Ground-based GPS measurements: time behavior from half-hour to years

Ground-based GPS and weather stations time series for the period 2010–2012 of precipitable water vapor (PWV), relative humidity (RH), and surface temperature (T) of half-hourly resolution are analyzed to demonstrate their value for dynamical analyses and weather forecasting. Three sample stations in the USA from the SoumiNet network are considered, which have rather continuous data for the last 3 years and a few missing values. Results for the three stations reveal the following features: (1) PWV time behavior is dominated by the annual cycle superimposed on high-frequency fluctuations with missing daily cycle, indicating a prevailing large-scale transport source of precipitable water at these sites; (2) RH is characterized by the daily cycle and high-frequency variability, while the annual cycle is missing; (3) T mainly varies following the annual and diurnal cycles; and (4) all variables show similar scaling properties of their variance spectra, S(f)?～?f ^–β , with a high-frequency regime of red noise type scaling (β?～?2) up to a day and long-term persistence beyond a week (β?～?0.5), with a week-long frequency interval of transition. Detrended fluctuation analysis of relative humidity indicates a clear long-term persistence scaling covering more than three decades. Implications of these findings on weather forecasting and climate modeling are discussed.