North Atlantic Oscillation response to transient greenhouse gas forcing and the impact on European winter climate: a CMIP2 multi-model assessment

This study investigates the response of wintertime North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) to increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) as simulated by 18 global coupled general circulation models that participated in phase 2 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP2). NAO has been assessed in control and transient 80-year simulations produced by each model under constant forcing, and 1% per year increasing concentrations of CO₂, respectively. Although generally able to simulate the main features of NAO, the majority of models overestimate the observed mean wintertime NAO index of 8 hPa by 5–10 hPa. Furthermore, none of the models, in either the control or perturbed simulations, are able to reproduce decadal trends as strong as that seen in the observed NAO index from 1970–1995. Of the 15 models able to simulate the NAO pressure dipole, 13 predict a positive increase in NAO with increasing CO₂ concentrations. The magnitude of the response is generally small and highly model-dependent, which leads to large uncertainty in multi-model estimates such as the median estimate of 0.0061±0.0036 hPa per %CO₂. Although an increase of 0.61 hPa in NAO for a doubling in CO₂ represents only a relatively small shift of 0.18 standard deviations in the probability distribution of winter mean NAO, this can cause large relative increases in the probabilities of extreme values of NAO associated with damaging impacts. Despite the large differences in NAO responses, the models robustly predict similar statistically significant changes in winter mean temperature (warmer over most of Europe) and precipitation (an increase over Northern Europe). Although these changes present a pattern similar to that expected due to an increase in the NAO index, linear regression is used to show that the response is much greater than can be attributed to small increases in NAO. NAO trends are not the key contributor to model-predicted climate change in wintertime mean temperature and precipitation over Europe and the Mediterranean region. However, the models’ inability to capture the observed decadal variability in NAO might also signify a major deficiency in their ability to simulate the NAO-related responses to climate change.     

A world without Greenland: impacts on the Northern Hemisphere winter circulation in low- and high-resolution models

To investigate the effect of Greenlands orography on the northern hemisphere winter circulation experiments with an atmospheric GCM are conducted: a perturbed integration where standard orography is reduced to sea level in the Greenland area is compared to a standard orography control integration. The outcome of these experiments suggests that the existence of high mountains at Greenland causes a reinforcement of the stationary wave field in the Atlantic sector, colder temperatures to the west of Greenland and warmer temperatures to the east and south, over the North Atlantic. The impact on the flow field cannot be understood in the framework of standing Rossby waves, but it indicates a resonance between remotely forced stationary waves and local (thermo-) dynamics. The pattern of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), in particular the northern centre, lies further to the east in the flat-Greenland experiment compared to the control run and the observations. Together with the fact that the climatological low-pressure system around Iceland hardly shifts, this suggests that the location of the NAO is not necessarily tied to the time mean pressure distributions. Considering the model resolution as a parameter, experiments with a high resolution (T106) suggest that the near-field changes are represented sufficiently by a T42 resolution, a standard resolution used in state-of-the-art coupled climate models. In contrast, far-field changes depend critically on model resolution. Hemispheric circulation and temperature changes differ substantially from low to high resolution, and generalized statements about the impact of Greenlands orography cannot be made.     

OSL Age Determination of Archaeological Stone Structures Using Trapped Aeolian Sediments: A Case Study from the Negev Highlands,Israel

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating is widely applied to sediments in paleoenvironmental sciences. However, there are only limited examples determining the age of archaeological stone structures by OSL using dust deposits. The age of dust deposits associated with ancient buildings may be used to date the onset of settlement (sediment below structures), settlement activity (occupation layer), or the time after a settlement had been abandoned or destroyed (sediment between collapsed roofs and walls). In this study, OSL dating is applied to establish numerical dates for settlement structures situated in the Negev Highlands, Israel. Two archaeological sites are investigated to identify their occupation history, by dating nine samples of aeolian dust trapped within the remains of ancient buildings. The OSL dating technique is applied using coarse grain quartz and a standard single‐aliquot regenerative‐dose (SAR) protocol. It was possible to date the onset of sedimentation in a later phase of the human occupation or shortly after the sites were abandoned, to 3.7 ± 0.3 ka (Intermediate Bronze Age) at the central site and to 2.7 ± 0.2 ka (Iron Age) at the ephemeral site. These results are supported by archaeological evidence gained from pottery finds and the architecture of the ancient buildings.     

High concentrations of exopolymeric substances in Arctic winter sea ice: implications for the polar ocean carbon cycle and cryoprotection of diatoms

Exopolymeric substances (EPS) produced by microorganisms play important roles in various aquatic, porous, and extreme environments. Only recently has their occurrence in sea ice been considered. We used macroscopic and microscopic approaches to study the content and possible ecological role of EPS in wintertime fast ice near Barrow, Alaska (71°20′ N, 156°40′ W). Using Alcian blue staining of melted ice samples, we observed high concentrations of EPS in all samples examined, ranging from 0.79 to 7.71 mg xanthan gum equivalents (XGEQV) l⁻¹. Areal conversions to carbon equivalents yielded 1.5−1.9 g C m⁻² ice in March and 3.3−4.0 g C m⁻² in May (when the ice was thicker). Although EPS did not correlate with macronutrient or pigment data, the latter analyses indicated ongoing or recent biological activity in the ice within temperature horizons of −11°C to −9°C and warmer. EPS correlated positively with bacterial abundance (although no functional relationship could be deduced) and with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. Ratios of EPS/DOC decreased at colder temperatures within the core, arguing against physical conversion of DOC to EPS during freezing. When sea-ice segments were maintained at representative winter temperatures (−5°C,−15°C and −25°C) for 3−14 months, the total EPS content increased significantly at rates of 5−47 μg XGEQV l⁻¹ d⁻¹, similar to published rates of EPS production by diatoms. Microscopic images of ice-core sections at these very cold temperatures, using a recently developed non-invasive method, revealed diatoms sequestered in spacious brine pockets, intact autofluorescent chloroplasts in 47% of the (pennate) diatoms observed, and indications of mucus in diatom-containing pores. The high concentrations of EPS detected in these winter ice cores represent a previously unrecognized form of organic matter that may contribute significantly to polar ocean carbon cycles, not only within the ice but after springtime release into the water column. The EPS present in very high concentrations in the brine of these microhabitats appear to play important buffering and cryoprotectant roles for microorganisms, especially diatoms, against harsh winter conditions of high salinity and potential ice-crystal damage.     

河北邯郸洪山铜矿Ar-Ar和U-Pb年龄及其对成矿时代的限定

[研究目的]近年来在邯郸洪山岩体及其周边发现多处铜金矿(化)体.成矿时代确定是厘定矿床成因和分析成矿作用过程的关键.[研究方法]在详细野外地质工作的基础上,对赋矿岩石中锆石及铜矿化热液蚀变矿物黑云母分别采用了U-Pb和40Ar-39Ar阶段加热法进行了同位素测年.[研究结果]测得洪山铜矿床矿化蚀变产物黑云母40Ar-3...     

全新世以来腾格里沙漠风沙活动地质记录与模拟数据综合研究

自晚更新世以来,地处干旱与半干旱过渡区的腾格里沙漠,在亚洲季风的作用下,经历了几度流沙出现、扩大和固定、半固定乃至弱成壤的沙漠正、逆交替变化过程。东亚季风在时空尺度上的强弱变化通常被解释为驱动腾格里沙漠环境变化的主要原因。用于重建古环境和风沙活动的变化多依赖于腾格里沙漠边缘区域的黄土、湖泊、孢粉和冲洪积物,然而涉及到沙漠腹地的古环境记录较少,并且不同地点的沉积剖面所记录的地质信息具有区域局限性。本研究在腾格里沙漠西南边缘至腹地采取4个典型风沙沉积序列,共采集97个沉积样品和11个风沙沉积物光释光年代数据,并收集整理了约14 ka以来已发表的69个风沙沉积物光释光年龄数据以及137个古土壤、湖相沉积物和钙质根管的¹⁴C年龄数据;另外,为了减少沉积序列在解读和重建沙漠环境演变的或然性,运用TraCE-21 ka古气候模拟数据分别计算了14 ka以来腾格里沙漠地区地表有效湿度和沙丘活化指数的变化趋势,以及春冬和夏秋季节沙丘活化指数对全年平均值的贡献量,综合探讨了全新世以来腾格里沙漠近地表风沙活动历史以及驱动因素。结果表明：1）早全新世时期（11.7~8.0 ka）,较粗的平均粒径和偏多的风沙年代数据表明该时期风沙活动较强;模拟数据结果显示该时期风沙活动呈现减弱趋势,这主要是由于减弱的东亚冬季风引起的近地表风速下降所导致的,从而发生大量的风沙堆积;2）中全新世时期（8~3 ka）,较高的低频磁化率和较多的¹⁴C年代数据指示该时期古土壤发育,地表湿润条件转好,风沙活动较弱。模拟数据结果表明该时期地表有效湿度较高,风沙活动处于较低水平,这主要是由于增强的东亚夏季风带来了大量的降水,促使地表有效湿度较高,沙丘逐渐被植被固定;3）晚全新世以来（3~0 ka）,较粗的平均粒径和风沙年代数据增多表明风沙活动再次活跃。模拟数据结果显示该时期风沙活动呈现增加趋势,表明东亚夏季风减弱和腾格里沙漠的气候干旱导致沙漠地表有效湿度逐渐下降,植被退化,固定沙丘再度活化。

     

Electronically conducting brittle-ductile shear zones in the crystalline basement of Rittsteig (Bohemian Massif,Germany): Evidence from self potential and hole-to-surface electrical measurements

Crustal-scale shear zones may act as prominent electrical conductors given that sufficient amounts of graphite or fluids are present. There are several graphite-enriched shear zones within the 583-m-deep Rittsteig drilling (Bavaria, Germany), two of which are of major importance. One shear zone cuts through Moldanubian biotite-muscovite schists at 320 m depth. The other shear zone separates Teplá-Barrandian amphibolites from Moldanubian biotite-muscovite schists at 460 m depth. To detect these shear zones adjacent to the drilling, the self-potential method and the non-linear impedance spectroscopy have been applied. From the new data, obtained from hole-to-surface and surface measurements, we conclude that (1) graphite is pervasively distributed within the Rittsteig shear zones resulting in powerful electronic conductors, (2) the graphite-bearing shear zones are dipping moderately towards the S, and (3) the shear zone drilled at 320 m depth extends to the Earths surface where it has been detected ca. 400 m to the N of the drilling. As the graphite-bearing shear zones of both the Rittsteig drilling and the German Continental Deep Drilling (KTB) developed in the brittle-ductile regime of quartzofeldspathic rocks, we argue that the brittle-ductile boundary layer may act as a significant graphite attractor in the continental crust.

基于视觉显著性和图分割的高分辨率遥感影像中人工目标区域提取

目标检测与提取是遥感影像处理与解译的重要研究内容。提出一种基于显著性检测和图像分割的面向对象高精度目标提取方法。首先,给出一种融合"基于图论的视觉显著性"和"基于边线密度的视觉显著性"的显著性计算模型。通过引入线密度,可以在复杂背景图像下有效提取目标区域,用于高分辨率遥感图像无监督的快速场景分析。然后,利用图论分割方法获取特征相似的图像区域。同一区域中的像素具有相似的显著度值和特征。以图块为对象分析其显著性大小,可以提取精细的目标轮廓。相对于基于像素点的显著性目标提取方法,本文所用面向对象的分析方法能够在保证较高检测精度的同时有效降低冗余检测率。在高分辨率遥感影像上的试验证实对人工目标(如建筑物)的检测更准确并且所得轮廓更精确。     

The role of the SO2 oxidation for the background stratospheric sulfate layer in the light of new reaction rate data

Presently available data on the reaction of SO₂ with OH radicals (OH + SO₂ + \(M\xrightarrow[{k_1 }]{}\) HSO₃ +M) are critically reviewed in light of recent stratospheric sulfur budget calculations. These calculations impose that the net oxidation ratek of SO₂ within the stratosphere should fall within the range 10^?7≤k≤10^?9, if the SO₂ oxidation model for the stratospheric sulfate layer is assumed to be correct. The effective reaction rate constantk ₁ ^* =k ₁[M] at the stratospheric temperature is estimated as $$k_1^* = \frac{{(8.2 \pm 2.2) \times 10^{ - 13} \times [M]}}{{(0.79 \mp 0.34) \times 10^{ - 13} + [M]}}cm^3 /molecules sec$$ where [M] refers to the total number density (molecules/cm³). Using the above limiting values ofk ₁ ^* , and the estimated OH density concentrations, the net oxidation rate is calculated as 3.6×10^?7≤k≤1.3×10^?8 at 17 km altitude. This indicates that the upper limit of thesek values exceeds the tolerable range imposed by the model by a factor of about four. Obviously the uncertainty of thek ₁ ^* values and of the OH concentrations in the stratosphere is still too large to make definite conclusions on the validity of the SO₂ model.