Spatial drought reconstructions for central High Asia based on tree rings

Spatial reconstructions of drought for central High Asia based on a tree-ring network are presented. Drought patterns for central High Asia are classified into western and eastern modes of variability. Tree-ring based reconstructions of the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) are presented for both the western central High Asia drought mode (1587–2005), and for the eastern central High Asia mode (1660–2005). Both reconstructions, generated using a principal component regression method, show an increased variability in recent decades. The wettest epoch for both reconstructions occurred from the 1940s to the 1950s. The most extreme reconstructed drought for western central High Asia was from the 1640s to the 1650s, coinciding with the collapse of the Chinese Ming Dynasty. The eastern central High Asia reconstruction has shown a distinct tendency towards drier conditions since the 1980s. Our spatial reconstructions agree well with previous reconstructions that fall within each mode, while there is no significant correlation between the two spatial reconstructions.     

亚洲中部干旱区丝绸之路沿线环境演化与东西方文化交流

基于环境记录、考古发现,以及同位素资料,对亚洲中部干旱区丝绸之路沿线的全新世以来的环境变化和东西方文化交流进行了梳理。结果表明,研究区独特的地理环境和环境变化过程,深刻地影响着文化的发展和传播。河西走廊受季风影响,表现出季风—西风过渡带干湿变化的模式,晚全新世气候趋向干旱;从新疆到中亚的丝绸之路沿线的环境变化比较一致：在早全新世（BC 6000以前）主要为干旱环境,植被以荒漠类型占优势;中晚全新世,湿润程度增加,草原植被扩展。新疆和中亚全新世中晚期较为湿润的环境为东西文化交流提供了较适宜的环境基础。得益于环境条件的改善,东西方文化交流融合的进程在BC 2000以后明显加速。在BC 2500-2000期间,东西方农业文化在丝绸之路沿线接触融合,是史前丝绸之路的首次贯通;在BC 2000-1000期间,丝绸之路沿线绿洲地带形成了以小麦—/大麦—粟黍—畜牧为特征的混合型经济特征,并扩散到欧亚草原带,和周围的畜牧业形成鲜明的对照,并持续到历史时期。这种空间分异,是地理环境和东西方文化交流共同作用的结果。在史前时期,东西方农业的相向传播和融合,基本沿着山前地带的绿洲蛙跳式前进。到了历史时期,政治版图的变化是影响丝绸之路的首要因素,但环境变化仍然是不可忽略的因素。     

Spatiotemporal changes of epidemics and their relationship with human living environments in China over the past 2200 years

正Epidemics are biological disasters resulting from the widespread occurrence of acute and severe infectious diseases that are normally caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites.They are amongst the most destructive of all natural disasters suffered by humans (Gong, 2019). The pathogens that cause epidemics have always existed in nature, understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of past epidemics is important for preventing and controlling future epidemics.     

末次冰盛期时吉兰泰盐湖的湖泊状态与古气候特征

通过现代季风边缘区的吉兰泰盐湖钻孔JLT11-A孔沉积岩芯的矿物分析,结合地层盘星藻的含量探讨末次冰盛期(LGM)时湖泊的状态和古气候特征。结果显示:在LGM时吉兰泰湖泊沉积矿物主要是石英、长石为主的碎屑岩沉积,含量在85%左右,显示出陆源碎屑矿物的高输入状态,可能指示区域寒冷干旱的环境;其次是以方解石为主的碳酸盐的沉积,含量约为10%;氯化物为主的石盐类矿物一般不足5%,但持续存在,指示湖泊仍然有较高的盐度,因此地层中的淡水藻类盘星藻可能是由河流输入。由于陆源碎屑矿物输入强烈,矿物组合可能难以直接指示吉兰泰盐湖湖水状态。区域的干冷的气候与大多数的古气候记录一致,而与新疆西部的冷湿的环境不同。对比邻近区域的古气候研究结果发现,本区域在LGM时段夏季降水相对于冰消期偏多,而相对于MIS3阶段晚期偏少,整体夏季风减弱。吉兰泰盐湖末次冰盛期到末次冰消期以来矿物组合的变化表明,湖泊环境可能受到夏季太阳辐射、全球与区域温度变化以及夏季风强弱变化的影响。     

Environmental magnetic studies of sediment cores from Gonghai Lake: implications for monsoon evolution in North China during the late glacial and Holocene

Environmental magnetic studies were conducted on a 9.42-m-long sediment core from Gonghai Lake, North China. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the record spans the last 15,000 cal year BP. The principal magnetic mineral in the sediments is pseudo-single domain magnetite of detrital origin with minimal post-depositional alteration. Although the variations in the concentration of detrital magnetic minerals and their grain size throughout the core reflect inputs from both soil erosion and eolian dust, it is shown that their climatic and environmental significance changes with time. In the lowermost part of the core, ~15,000–11,500 cal year BP, the magnetic minerals were supplied mainly by bedrock erosion, soil erosion and dust input when climate ameliorated after the cold and dusty last glacial maximum. The increasing magnetic susceptibility (χ) in this interval may indicate a combination of changes in the lake environment together with catchment-surface stabilization and a decreasing proportion of dust input. In the central part of the core, ~11,500–1,000 cal year BP, the detrital magnetic minerals mainly originated from dust inputs from outside the catchment when the lake catchment was covered by forest, and catchment-derived sediment supply (and thus the lake sediment accumulation rate) were minimal. The generally low concentration of magnetic minerals in this part of the core reflects the highest degree of soil stability and the strongest summer monsoon during the Holocene. In the uppermost part of the core, the last ~1,000 years, detrital magnetic minerals mainly originated from erosion of catchment soils when the vegetation cover was sparse and the sediment accumulation rates were high. Within this part of the core the high magnetic susceptibility reflects strong pedogenesis in the lake catchment, and thus a strong summer monsoon. This scenario is similar to that recorded in loess profiles. Overall, the results document three main stages of summer monsoon history with abrupt shifts from one stage to another: an increasing and variable summer monsoon during the last deglacial, a generally strong summer monsoon in the early and middle Holocene and a weak summer monsoon in the late Holocene. The results also suggest that different interpretational models may need to be applied to lake sediment magnetic mineral assemblages corresponding to different stages of environmental evolution.     

Holocene monsoon climate documented by oxygen and carbon isotopes from lake sediments and peat bogs in China: a review and synthesis

There has been much recent debate about Holocene climate variation in the monsoon region of China, especially the temporal pattern of variations in precipitation, the time-transgressive nature of the Holocene precipitation maximum, and the extent to which variations in regions influenced by the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) have been synchronous. We summarize and compare carbonate oxygen-isotope records (δ¹⁸O_carb) from ten lakes within the present-day ISM region. We discuss their paleoclimate significance considering the present-day moisture source, isotopic composition of precipitation and the hydrological setting. The δ¹⁸O_carb records are controlled mainly by the isotopic composition of lake water, which in turn is a function of regional Precipitation/Evaporation (P/E) balance and the proportion of precipitation that is monsoon-derived. We normalized the δ¹⁸O_carb data and used these records to generate an integrated moisture index. This index, along with oxygen-isotope records from speleothems and carbon-isotope records (δ¹³C_org) from peats within the monsoon region, suggests that Holocene climate was broadly synchronous across the monsoon region and, within the limits of accuracy of the existing age models, provides no strong evidence for previously-proposed anti-phasing of the ISM and the EASM. Stable-isotope records from lake sediments and peat bogs have excellent potential for providing high-quality paleoclimate data for monsoon Asia, and complement high-resolution speleothem sequences, which are only found in certain localities.     

Sensitive response of desert vegetation to moisture change based on a near-annual resolution pollen record from Gahai Lake in the Qaidam Basin, northwest China

We present a 50-year pollen record at near-annual resolution from Gahai Lake in the Qaidam Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Chronology of a 22-cm short core was established by ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs analysis. The pollen results at 0.5 cm intervals show large changes in Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae (A/C) ratios from < 0.2 to 0.95 in the last 50 years. High (low) A/C ratios represent increase (decrease) in steppe pollen production, which correspond to high (low) relative humidity observed at nearby Delingha weather station. On the basis of good correspondence with instrumental records and carbonate content from Gahai Lake, we conclude that A/C ratio is sensitive to moisture change and can be a very useful index in reconstructing paleoclimate of arid regions. Comparison with pollen and snow accumulation data from Dunde ice core suggests that effective moisture at low and high elevations shows the opposite relationship when mountain precipitation was extremely high, possibly due to topography-induced uplifting and subsiding air dynamics.     

光释光测年中石英样品提纯方法的改进

为了解决光释光前处理中遇到的传统方法无法获得满足纯度石英的问题,通过大量对比实验,结合玻璃工艺中石英分离研究成果,最后获得了新的石英提纯流程,与传统方法相比,新方法通过化学分离避免了密度变化对石英长石分离的影响,从而解决了斜长石和岩屑在传统的重液分离中无法剔除的问题,新方法能够获得满足纯度要求和量要求的石英,同时,新方法比传统方法实验室工作效率更高。     

甘青文化区新石器文化的时空变化 和可能的环境动力*

气候变化引起的环境系统的变动,可以对史前文化的时空分布产生决定性的影响。甘青文化区是我国古文明发祥地之一。这里新石器文化非常发达,遗址丰富,类型齐全,为一个自成体系的古文化中心。通过分析不同类型的新石器文化的时空分布的变化,发现自大地湾文化至马家窑文化时期,研究区文化在空间上扩张,而后逐步向南退缩。这一变化和气候的干湿状况的变化密切相关。5kaB.P.气候逐步趋向干旱,导致文化分布上的空间差异,至齐家文化时期,研究区105°E以西遗址点的空间分布大大地向南收缩,而105°E以东齐家文化的分布范围和仰韶文化基本一致。     

中纬度亚洲现代间冰期气候变化的“西风模式”讨论

中纬度亚洲地区存在主要受季风环流影响的东南部湿润地区(简称季风区)和主要受西风环流控制的内陆干旱区(包括青藏高原北部高寒干旱区,简称西风区)。根据对近年来新发表的气候变化记录证据梳理总结,发现西风区在中—晚全新世气候湿润,与亚洲季风在早—中全新世强盛的格局显著不同。过去千年的西风区中世纪暖期干旱,而小冰期相对湿润,与此相对,万象洞石笋氧同位素记录则显示季风降水在中世纪暖期时整体处于高值,在小冰期处于低值段。在近百年,尤其是近50a,西北干旱区湿度增加,而季风影响范围内的西北东部和华北等地变得更干。不仅如此,在分属西风和季风影响区的青藏高原北部和南部,年代际—百年尺度上降水变化也表现出反相位关系。据此我们提出,亚洲中部西风带控制区在现代间冰期从数千年到年代际的各个时间尺度上均存在不同于季风区的湿度(降水)变化模式,称之为现代间冰期气候变化的西风模式。