A multi-proxy reconstruction of spatial and temporal variations in Asian summer temperatures over the last millennium

To investigate climate variability in Asia during the last millennium, the spatial and temporal evolution of summer (June–July–August; JJA) temperature in eastern and south-central Asia is reconstructed using multi-proxy records and the regularized expectation maximization (RegEM) algorithm with truncated total least squares (TTLS), under a point-by-point regression (PPR) framework. The temperature index reconstructions show that the late 20th century was the warmest period in Asia over the past millennium. The temperature field reconstructions illustrate that temperatures in central, eastern, and southern China during the 11th and 13th centuries, and in western Asia during the 12th century, were significantly higher than those in other regions, and comparable to levels in the 20th century. Except for the most recent warming, all identified warm events showed distinct regional expressions and none were uniform over the entire reconstruction area. The main finding of the study is that spatial temperature patterns have, on centennial time-scales, varied greatly over the last millennium. Moreover, seven climate model simulations, from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), over the same region of Asia, are all consistent with the temperature index reconstruction at the 99 % confidence level. Only spatial temperature patterns extracted as the first empirical orthogonal function (EOF) from the GISS-E2-R and MPI-ESM-P model simulations are significant and consistent with the temperature field reconstruction over the past millennium in Asia at the 90 % confidence level. This indicates that both the reconstruction and the simulations depict the temporal climate variability well over the past millennium. However, the spatial simulation or reconstruction capability of climate variability over the past millennium could be still limited. For reconstruction, some grid points do not pass validation tests and reveal the need for more proxies with high temporal resolution, accurate dating, and sensitive temperature signals, especially in central Asia and before AD 1400.     

Trans-Equatorial Loop System Arising from Coronal Hole Boundaries through Interactions between Active Regions and Coronal Holes

It is not clear how trans-equatorial loop systems (TLSs) are formed, although they have been observed often with Yohkoh/SXT. We focus here on a TLS that appeared on 27 May 1998. Yokoyama and Masuda (Solar Phys. 254, 285, 2009) proposed a new scenario for the formation mechanism of the TLS. In this scenario, they pointed out the importance of magnetic interaction between an active region and a coronal hole to make “strong-seed magnetic fields” before a transient (bright and short-lived) trans-equatorial loop was created. The main aims of this study are to verify the scenario and to make the TLS formation mechanism clear, based on observational data. Yohkoh/SXT images, SOHO/MDI magnetograph data, and Kitt Peak coronal-hole maps were mainly used for our analyses. We investigated the TLS in detail from the time that there were no signatures of the TLS to its clear appearance. The following results are obtained: i) an active region emerged in the vicinity of a coronal-hole boundary, ii) the coronal-hole boundary retreated during the period when the active region was developing, iii) temporal variations of soft X-ray intensities were roughly synchronized between the coronal-hole boundary and a trans-equatorial region, and iv) new closed loops were observed in soft X-rays clearly at the coronal-hole boundary. Since i), ii), iii), and iv) are just what we expect in the scenario of YM2009, the scenario found support. We conclude that the TLS was originating with large-scale magnetic fields of the coronal-hole boundary through magnetic reconnection between the active region and a coronal hole.     

Permafrost‐thaw‐induced land‐cover change in the Canadian subarctic: implications for water resources

Climate warming and human disturbance in north‐western Canada have been accompanied by degradation of permafrost, which introduces considerable uncertainty to the future availability of northern freshwater resources. This study demonstrates the rate and spatial pattern of permafrost loss in a region that typifies the southern boundary of permafrost. Remote‐sensing analysis of a 1·0 km² area indicates that permafrost occupied 0·70 km² in 1947 and decreased with time to 0·43 km² by 2008. Ground‐based measurements demonstrate the importance of horizontal heat flows in thawing discontinuous permafrost, and show that such thaw produces dramatic land‐cover changes that can alter basin runoff production in this region. A major challenge to northern water resources management in the twenty‐first century therefore lies in predicting stream flows dynamically in the context of widely occurring permafrost thaw. The need for appropriate water resource planning, mitigation, and adaptation strategies is explained. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711300162X

Seismic observations have shown structural variation near the base of the mantle transition zone(MTZ)where subducted cold slabs,as visualized with high seismic speed anomalies(HSSAs),flatten to form stagnant slabs or sink further into the lower mantle.The different slab behaviors were also accompanied by variation of the "660 km" discontinuity depths and low viscosity layers(LVLs) beneath the MTZ that are suggested by geoid inversion studies.We address that deep water transport by subducted slabs and dehydration from hydrous slabs could affect the physical properties of mantle minerals and govern slab dynamics.A systematic series of three-dimensional numerical simulation has been conducted to examine the effects of viscosity reduction or contrast between slab materials on slab behaviors near the base of the MTZ.We found that the viscosity reduction of subducted crustal material leads to a separation of crustal material from the slab main body and its transient stagnation in the MTZ.The once trapped crustal materials in the MTZ eventually sink into the lower mantle within 20-30 My from the start of the plate subduction.The results suggest crustal material recycle in the whole mantle that is consistent with evidence from mantle geochemistry as opposed to a two-layer mantle convection model.Because of the smaller capacity of water content in lower mantle minerals than in MTZ minerals,dehydration should occur at the phase transformation depth,~660 km.The variation of the discontinuity depths and highly localized low seismic speed anomaly(LSSA) zones observed from seismic P waveforms in a relatively high frequency band(~1 Hz) support the hypothesis of dehydration from hydrous slabs at the phase boundary.The LSSAs which correspond to dehydration induced fluids are likely to be very local,given very small hydrogen(H~+) diffusivity associated with subducted slabs.The image of such local LSSA zones embedded in HSSAs may not be necessarily captured in tomography studies.The high electrical conductivity in the MTZ beneath the northwestern Pacific subduction zone does not necessarily require a broad range of high water content homogeneously.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114001108

<正>About three decades after the establishment of the plate tectonics theory in the late 1960s,Maruyama(1994)proposed the"plume tectonics"theory based on whole-mantle seismic tomography image(Fukao,1992;Fukao et al.,1994).According to this theory,the earth's interior is divided into three regimes:the earth's surface region governed by lateral motions of tectonic plates,the mantle governed by vertical motions of"superplumes"(i.e.,large-     

Tree-ring reconstructed summer temperature anomalies for temperate East Asia since 800 C.E.

We develop a summer temperature reconstruction for temperate East Asia based on a network of annual tree-ring chronologies covering the period 800–1989 C.E. The East Asia reconstruction is the regional average of 585 individual grid point summer temperature reconstructions produced using an ensemble version of point-by-point regression. Statistical calibration and validation tests indicate that the regional average possesses sufficient overall skill to allow it to be used to study the causes of temperature variability and change over the region. The reconstruction suggests a moderately warm early medieval epoch (ca. 850–1050 C.E.), followed by generally cooler ‘Little Ice Age’ conditions (ca. 1350–1880 C.E.) and 20th century warming up to the present time. Since 1990, average temperature has exceeded past warm epochs of comparable duration, but it is not statistically unprecedented. Superposed epoch analysis reveals a volcanic forcing signal in the East Asia summer temperature reconstruction, resulting in pulses of cooler summer conditions that may persist for several years. Substantial uncertainties remain, however, particularly at lower frequencies, thus requiring caution and scientific prudence in the interpretation of this record.     

Standardization of baseline and additionality determination under the CDM

Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project developers have long complained about the complexities of project-specific baseline setting and the vagaries of additionality determination. In response to this, the CDM Executive Board took bold steps towards the standardization of CDM methodologies, culminating in the approval of guidelines for the establishment of performance standards in November 2011. The guidelines specify a performance standard stringency level for both baseline and additionality of 80% for several priority sectors and 90% for all other sectors. However, an analysis of 14 large-scale CDM methodologies that use performance standard approaches challenges this top-down approach to the performance standard design. An appropriate performance standard stringency level strongly depends on sector and technology characteristics. A single stringency level for baseline and additionality determination is appropriate only for greenfield projects, but not for retrofit ones. Overly simple, highly aggregated performance standards are unlikely to ensure high environmental integrity, and difficult questions regarding stringency and updating frequency will eventually have to be addressed on a rather disaggregated level. A careful balance between data requirements and the practicability of performance standards is essential because the heavy data requirements of the existing performance standard methodologies have been the key barrier to their actual implementation.

Policy relevance

CDM regulators have been pushed by many stakeholders to standardize baseline setting and eliminate project-specific additionality determination. At first glance, performance standards seem to provide the perfect solution for both tasks. However, a one-size-fits-all political decision – e.g. the average of the top 20% performers as enshrined in the Marrakech Accords – is inappropriate. Substantial disaggregation of performance standards is required both technologically and geographically in order to limit over- and under-crediting and close loopholes for non-additional projects. As a lack of reliable and complete data has been and will be a key bottleneck for the development of performance standards, international support for data collection will be indispensable, but costly, and time-consuming. Empirically driven, techno-economic assessments of performance standard stringency levels must be the central task of the future work on standardized methodologies, and should not be sidelined by perceived needs of policy makers to take bold decisions under time pressures.     

The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) Vector Magnetic Field Pipeline: Overview and Performance

The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) began near-continuous full-disk solar measurements on 1 May 2010 from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). An automated processing pipeline keeps pace with observations to produce observable quantities, including the photospheric vector magnetic field, from sequences of filtergrams. The basic vector-field frame list cadence is 135 seconds, but to reduce noise the filtergrams are combined to derive data products every 720 seconds. The primary 720 s observables were released in mid-2010, including Stokes polarization parameters measured at six wavelengths, as well as intensity, Doppler velocity, and the line-of-sight magnetic field. More advanced products, including the full vector magnetic field, are now available. Automatically identified HMI Active Region Patches (HARPs) track the location and shape of magnetic regions throughout their lifetime. The vector field is computed using the Very Fast Inversion of the Stokes Vector (VFISV) code optimized for the HMI pipeline; the remaining 180^° azimuth ambiguity is resolved with the Minimum Energy (ME0) code. The Milne–Eddington inversion is performed on all full-disk HMI observations. The disambiguation, until recently run only on HARP regions, is now implemented for the full disk. Vector and scalar quantities in the patches are used to derive active region indices potentially useful for forecasting; the data maps and indices are collected in the SHARP data series, hmi.sharp_720s. Definitive SHARP processing is completed only after the region rotates off the visible disk; quick-look products are produced in near real time. Patches are provided in both CCD and heliographic coordinates. HMI provides continuous coverage of the vector field, but has modest spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution. Coupled with limitations of the analysis and interpretation techniques, effects of the orbital velocity, and instrument performance, the resulting measurements have a certain dynamic range and sensitivity and are subject to systematic errors and uncertainties that are characterized in this report.     

Gas capture and rare gas retention by accreting planets in the solar nebula

In this paper, the physico-chemical effects of the nebula gas on the planets are reviewed from a standpoint of planetary formation in the solar nebula.The proto-Earth growing in the nebula was surrounded by a primordial atmosphere with a solar chemical composition and solar isotopic composition. When the mass of the proto-Earth was greater than 0.3 times the present Earth mass, the surface was molten because of the blanketing effect of the atmosphere. Therefore, the primordial rare gasses contained in the primordial atmosphere dissolved into the molten Earth material without fractionation and in particular the dissolved neon is expected to be conserved in the present Earth material. Hence, if dissolved neon with a solar isotopic ratio is discovered in the Earth material, it will indicate that the Earth was formed in the nebula and that the dissolved rare gases were one of the sources which degassed to form the present atmosphere.