Long-term river discharge and multidecadal climate variability inferred from varved sediments, southwest Alaska

Sedimentological analyses of 289 years (AD 1718-2006) of varved sediment from Shadow Bay, southwest Alaska, were used to investigate hydroclimate variability during and prior to the instrumental period. Varve thicknesses relate most strongly to total annual discharge (r² = 0.75, n = 43, p < 0.0001). Maximum annual grain size depends most strongly on maximum spring daily discharge (r² = 0.63, n = 43, p < 0.0001) and maximum annual daily discharge (r² = 0.61, n = 43, p < 0.0001), while varve thickness is poorly correlated with maximum annual grain size (r² = 0.004, n = 287, p = 0.33). Relations between varve thickness and annual climate variables (temperature, precipitation, North Pacific (NP) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) indices) are insignificant. On multidecadal timescales, however, regime shifts in varve thickness and total annual discharge coincide with shifts in NP and PDO indices. Periods with increased varve thickness and total annual discharge were associated with warm PDO phases and a strengthened Aleutian Low. The varve-inferred record of PDO suggests that any periodicity in the PDO varied over time, and that the early 19th century marked a transition to a more frequent or detectable shifts.     

Isotopic tracers of paleohydrologic change in large lakes of the Bolivian Altiplano

We have developed an ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ²³⁴U/²³⁸U, and δ¹⁸O data set from carbonates associated with late Quaternary paleolake cycles on the southern Bolivian Altiplano as a tool for tracking and understanding the causes of lake-level fluctuations. Distinctive groupings of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are observed. Ratios are highest for the Ouki lake cycle (120-95 ka) at 0.70932, lowest for Coipasa lake cycle (12.8-11.4 ka) at 0.70853, and intermediate at 0.70881 to 0.70884 for the Salinas (95-80 ka), Inca Huasi (~ 45 ka), Sajsi (24-20.5 ka), and Tauca (18.1-14.1 ka) lake cycles. These Sr ratios reflect variable contributions from the eastern and western Cordilleras. The Laca hydrologic divide exerts a primary influence on modern and paleolake ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios; waters show higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios north of this divide. Most lake cycles were sustained by slightly more rainfall north of this divide but with minimal input from Lake Titicaca. The Coipasa lake cycle appears to have been sustained mainly by rainfall south of this divide. In contrast, the Ouki lake cycle was an expansive lake, deepest in the northern (Poópo) basin, and spilling southward. These results indicate that regional variability in central Andean wet events can be reconstructed using geochemical patterns from this lake system.     

辽河流域径流对气候变化的响应特征研究

近百年来,全球气候发生了以气温升高为主要特征的显著变化。东北是中国的重要粮食主产区,气候变化将可能加剧东北地区水资源短缺情势,进一步影响到国家的粮食安全。以辽河流域为对象,分析了近60年来降水径流变化特性,采用水文模拟方法,揭示了河川径流变化成因,基于假定气候情景,研究了河川径流量及土壤含水量对气候变化的响应。结果表明:铁岭站实测径流量自20世纪60年代中期以来,总体呈明显的阶段性减少趋势,人类活动是河川径流减少的主要原因。降水增加比减少对河川径流量的影响明显,土壤含水量对降水减少的响应更加敏感,气候暖干化趋势将非常不利于东北地区的水资源利用和农业生产。     

近海浮游植物水华动力学和生物气候学研究综述

浮游植物水华作为近海重要的生物过程,其动态变化对生态系统内的能童传递、生产力水平和各生源要素的循环等均有重要影响.随着气候变化对生态系统影响研究的深入,浮游植物水华生物气候学研究已成为当前生物海洋学研究的热点.综述了浮游植物水华的研究历史、研究方法及其发生发展的动力学机制,重点评述了气候变化对浮游植物水华动态的影响及国...     

北太平洋涡旋振荡研究进展

从观测事实和动力机制两方面,对近年发现的新的气候模态——北太平洋涡旋振荡（NPGO）的研究成果进行系统总结。NPGO的空间结构表现为北太平洋上海表高度异常（SSHA）的正负中心呈南北偶极子分布,当NPGO位于正位相时,南北涡流都加强,这种加强是由风应力旋度及风生涌流所驱动的。关于NPGO的机制研究发现,NPGO是中纬太...     

Marine biodiversity in the Caribbean UK overseas territories: Perceived threats and constraints to environmental management

Islands are often considered to be a priority for conservation, because of their relatively high levels of biodiversity and their vulnerability to a range of natural and anthropogenic threats. However, the capacity of islands to conserve and manage biodiversity may depend upon their governance structures. Many island states are affiliated to other countries through an ‘overseas territory’ status, which may provide them with access to resources and support mechanisms, but which may also influence the capacity for local-scale management of environmental issues. The United Kingdom has 12 island Overseas Territories (UKOTs), most of which support biodiversity of high conservation concern. This study investigates perceptions of current and future threats to marine ecosystems and constraints to environmental protection on the six Caribbean UKOTs, through semi-structured interviews with officials from UK and UKOT government departments and non-governmental organisations. Coastal development, pollution and over-fishing were perceived as threats of most concern for the next decade, but climate change was perceived as by far the greatest future threat to the islands' marine ecosystems. However, a series of common institutional limitations that currently constrain mitigation and conservation efforts were also identified, including insufficient personnel and financial support, a lack of long-term, sustainable projects for persistent environmental problems and inadequate environmental legislation. These findings highlight the need for regional cooperation and capacity-building throughout the Caribbean and a more concerted approach to an UKOT environmental management by the UK and UKOTs' governments.     

Seed germination of Southern Chihuahuan Desert plants in response to elevated temperatures

High temperature is one of the main factors that prevent germination, through premature aging of the embryo. The high temperatures reached in the soil of arid environments can affect seed survival and plant establishment. In this study we tested whether seed exposure to high temperature (40 °C and 70 °C) affected germination of eight species common to the Southern Chihuahuan Desert, and used for fodder, firewood and timber, fiber, edible flowers, fruits and stems. The responses to heat varied between species. Two of the tested species were not affected by heat exposure; for two other species germination was higher, and for the remaining four, germination was lower. There was also a delay of germination after heat exposure. Seeds of three species germinated >1 d slower after exposure to high temperatures. These results could help establish management programs for these Chihuahuan desert species under a climate change scenario.     

Impact of climate change on wetland ecosystems: A critical review of experimental wetlands

Climate change is identified as a major threat to wetlands. Altered hydrology and rising temperature can change the biogeochemistry and function of a wetland to the degree that some important services might be turned into disservices. This means that they will, for example, no longer provide a water purification service and adversely they may start to decompose and release nutrients to the surface water. Moreover, a higher rate of decomposition than primary production (photosynthesis) may lead to a shift of their function from being a sink of carbon to a source. This review paper assesses the potential response of natural wetlands (peatlands) and constructed wetlands to climate change in terms of gas emission and nutrients release. In addition, the impact of key climatic factors such as temperature and water availability on wetlands has been reviewed. The authors identified the methodological gaps and weaknesses in the literature and then introduced a new framework for conducting a comprehensive mesocosm experiment to address the existing gaps in literature to support future climate change research on wetland ecosystems. In the future, higher temperatures resulting in drought might shift the role of both constructed wetland and peatland from a sink to a source of carbon. However, higher temperatures accompanied by more precipitation can promote photosynthesis to a degree that might exceed the respiration and maintain the carbon sink role of the wetland. There might be a critical water level at which the wetland can preserve most of its services. In order to find that level, a study of the key factors of climate change and their interactions using an appropriate experimental method is necessary. Some contradictory results of past experiments can be associated with different methodologies, designs, time periods, climates, and natural variability. Hence a long-term simulation of climate change for wetlands according to the proposed framework is recommended. This framework provides relatively more accurate and realistic simulations, valid comparative results, comprehensive understanding and supports coordination between researchers. This can help to find a sustainable management strategy for wetlands to be resilient to climate change.     

It starts at home? Climate policies targeting household consumption and behavioral decisions are key to low-carbon futures

Through their consumption behavior, households are responsible for 72% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, they are key actors in reaching the 1.5 °C goal under the Paris Agreement. However, the possible contribution and position of households in climate policies is neither well understood, nor do households receive sufficiently high priority in current climate policy strategies. This paper investigates how behavioral change can achieve a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in European high-income countries. It uses theoretical thinking and some core results from the HOPE research project, which investigated household preferences for reducing emissions in four European cities in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden. The paper makes five major points: First, car and plane mobility, meat and dairy consumption, as well as heating are the most dominant components of household footprints. Second, household living situations (demographics, size of home) greatly influence the household potential to reduce their footprint, even more than country or city location. Third, household decisions can be sequential and temporally dynamic, shifting through different phases such as childhood, adulthood, and illness. Fourth, short term voluntary efforts will not be sufficient by themselves to reach the drastic reductions needed to achieve the 1.5 °C goal; instead, households need a regulatory framework supporting their behavioral changes. Fifth, there is a mismatch between the roles and responsibilities conveyed by current climate policies and household perceptions of responsibility. We then conclude with further recommendations for research and policy.     

Consequences of past climate change for species engaged in obligatory interactions

Obligatory interactions between species are fundamental to ecosystem functioning and are expected to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Although the effect of past and current climate changes on individual species has been thoroughly investigated, their effect on obligatory interactions has been overlooked. In this review, we present predictions about the effects of climate change on obligatory interactions and illustrate these predictions with examples from the literature. We focus on abrupt past climate change, especially during the Quaternary, because knowing past responses is useful for understanding and predicting the response of organisms and ecosystems to the current climate change. We also pinpoint the need for better time calibration of demographic events from genetic data, and for more studies focused on particularly suitable biological models. We hope that this review will stimulate interaction between the earth sciences and the life sciences on this timely topic.