East Asia winter monsoon variations on a millennial time‐scale before the last glacial–interglacial cycle

Grain size and magnetic susceptibility measurements on samples from a typical loess–palaeosol sequence on the central Chinese Loess Plateau are used to reconstruct the Pleistocene East Asian monsoon climate. The coarse‐grained fraction, i.e. the weight percentage > 30 μm of the bulk grain‐size distribution, is used as a sensitive proxy index of the East Asia winter monsoon strength. On the basis of an absolute time‐scale, time‐series variations of this proxy show that winter monsoon strengths varied on millennial time‐scales during the periods 145–165, 240–280, 320–350, 390–440, 600–640, 860–890, 900–930 and 1330–1400 kyr BP. The wavelength of these climatic oscillations varied between 1.89 and 4.0 kyr, as is shown by spectral analysis using the multitaper method. Although numerical simulation experiments show that high frequencies also can arise from measurement errors in the grain‐size analysis, the frequencies prove to be sufficiently stable when the spectral analysis is repeated with a different number of tapers. For the time being, we do not correlate these climatic oscillations with palaeoclimatic records in the North Atlantic deep‐sea sediments because both time‐scales need to be further improved. Our data, however, certainly demonstrate that millennial‐scale East Asian winter monsoon variations in the last 1.4 million years can be detected from terrestrial loess records. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sedimentology,palaeoecology and geochronology of Last Interglacial deposits from Deeping St James,Lincolnshire, England

Pollen, plant macrofossil, molluscan and coleopteran data from organic muds below the low terrace of the River Welland at Deeping St James, Lincolnshire indicate deposition in the mixed oak forest phase of a Late Pleistocene interglacial. Coleopteran and molluscan data suggest summer temperatures up to 4°C warmer than at present in eastern England, and plant macrofossil material suggests a climate more continental than that of Britain in the Holocene. No direct analogue of this biota, however, exists currently in Europe. Biostratigraphical indications from the pollen coleoptera and Mollusca suggest an age in the Ipswichian Interglacial. Thermoluminescence dates between 120 ka and 75 ka and amino-acid ratios with a mean of 0.11 show that deposition of the sediments took place during Oxygen Isotope Stage 5. This accurate dating of a partial Ipswichian succession allows discussion of the ages of a number of other interglacial sites in eastern England of assumed Ipswichian age. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

热带西太平洋海温距平与Rossby波传播对1993和1994年东亚夏季风异常影响的差异

利用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料、Hadley中心海温资料与降水资料,分析了1993和1994年东亚夏季风异常的天气气候特征以及大气环流的差异.分析结果表明: 1993年东亚夏季风弱,副热带西风急流和副热带高压位置偏南,来自于孟加拉湾和南海的水汽仅输送到35°N以南地区.东亚地区出现低温凉夏天气.1994年东亚夏季风强,副热带西风急流和副热带高压位置偏北,7～8月副高持续偏强并控制日本,水汽可以输送到45°N以北的较高纬度,东亚发生破纪录的热浪干旱.对1993和1994年东亚夏季风异常物理过程差异的研究发现,副热带西风急流中静止Rossby波的传播和热带西太平洋暖池海温距平激发出来的PJ型遥相关波列作用的叠加引起1994和1993年东亚夏季风异常差异.     

新疆东昆仑-阿尔金地区航磁反映的断裂构造特征

本文根据最新的航磁资料,将东昆仑-阿尔金山地区按照不同的磁异常面貌特征进行了分区描述,其总体展布以北东和近东西向为主,磁异常具有明显的分区、分带性。同时辅以卫星重力资料,通过解析延拓、任意水平方向导数计算等处理,得到大量与断裂相关的地球物理场信息,并结合地质资料综合分析,揭示了研究区内断裂构造尤其是深大断裂在磁场上的特征。这些特征主要以不同磁场分界线、磁异常梯度带和串珠状异常等形式呈现,明显的表现为磁场分区、分带的界线。在此基础上,根据航磁资料解释和实际应用结果对深大断裂与成矿的关系进行了探讨。本文实例揭示已知的中小型矿床多位于深大断裂附近。     

钓鱼岛东北冷涡特征及其生长消亡规律

利用1987到2011年期间7个航次的调查数据揭示了夏季钓鱼岛东北海域存在冷涡的事实,首次将其命名为钓鱼岛东北冷涡,并初步分析了钓鱼岛东北冷涡特征及其生长消亡规律。结果表明:钓鱼岛东北冷涡是由底层海水涌升形成的中尺度冷涡,但其凸起的温盐等值线不能在海表面露头,不能从海表层水文特征识别该涡;该涡尺度在150km左右,其水团特征盐度为34.70—34.80,特征温度低于20°C;该涡是季节性冷涡,每年夏季都会出现,该涡5、6月份开始形成,到8月份强度最强,此时其向上涌升的趋势可以达到水深30m以浅,然后开始减弱,可以持续到10月份左右,其它时间则不存在;从50m层的温盐特征来看,不同年份夏季冷涡核心位置稍有不同,整体位置在123.2—124.2°E,26—27°N的范围内。     

冬季大风影响下的渤黄海水交换特征

利用ROMS海洋数值模式对2006年冬季渤黄海的海洋动力环境进行模拟,基于温度、盐度模拟结果,使用谱混合模型进行水团分析,定义了渤海海峡地区的水交换区。并进一步讨论了冬季大风事件对水交换区的影响,给出了冬季大风影响下的渤黄海水交换特征。研究得出,冬季的黄海水团以“舌”形分布于渤海海峡地区,水交换区则表现为沿“舌”形边缘呈带状分布,具有西北——东南的走向趋势,并且在“舌”尖处的水交换面积最大。通过缩小研究范围,发现位于黄海最北部的沿岸海域并不参与渤黄海之间的水体交换。最后研究发现,冬季大风事件对渤海水交换具有促进作用,具体表现为：大风过程使黄海暖流对渤海的入侵更加深入,水交换区向渤海方向伸展,南部的水交换带变宽,河流径流进入渤海后与渤海水的混合区加大,并发生北移。     

2009年冬季南海北部浮游植物粒度分级生物量和初级生产力

2009年2月在南海北部海域现场观测粒度分级叶绿素a质量浓度和初级生产力(PP)的分布。结果表明,调查海域水柱平均叶绿素a质量浓度的变化范围为0.11～8.37 mg/m³,平均为(1.28±2.23) mg/m³,高值区出现在珠江口及近岸海域;初级生产力的范围为344.8～1 222.5 mgC/(m²·d),平均为(784.2±351.4) mgC/(m²·d),高值区位于近岸及陆架海域。浮游植物粒度分级测定结果表明,在生物量较高的近岸海域,叶绿素a的粒级结构以小型浮游植物占优势,其贡献率为40.9%,微型和微微型浮游植物对总叶绿素a的贡献率分别为34.6%和24.5%;而在生物量较低的陆坡和开阔海域,各粒级浮游植物对叶绿素a的贡献率由大到小依次为微微型浮游植物(78.9%),微型浮游植物(17.2%)和小型浮游植物(3.9%)。相关性分析结果表明,调查海域分级叶绿素a的区域化分布特征与洋流运动下营养盐的分布密切相关,同时叶绿素a又高度影响着此区域PP的分布。此外,我们将调查海域实测所得浮游植物最佳光合作用速率与采用垂向归一化初级生产力模型估算的数据进行对比,发现后者明显低于前者,这说明通过水温估算最佳光合作用速率的算法在冬季南海北部可能存在低估。     

东太平洋CC区西区表层沉积物黏土矿物和地球化学特征

本文以太平洋CC区西区12个表层沉积物样品作为研究对象,对其粒度、化学组分和矿物成分进行分析,讨论其沉积环境和物质来源。研究区地处深海,主要以深海黏土和硅钙质黏土为主,含有少量的硅质黏土、黏土质硅质软泥和黏土质钙质软泥。黏土矿物成分主要是蒙皂石和伊利石,含有部分的高岭石和绿泥石。黏土矿物组成表明,区内沉积物主要是陆源,由高空气流携带而来,南极底流和热液活动对其物源的来源有一定影响。沉积物地球化学特征也表明,物源以陆源为主,稀土元素分布曲线和北太平洋表层海水稀土曲线类似,且表现出强的Ce亏损,表明生物活动导致的生物沉降对表层沉积物也有一定的影响。     

King Canute muses in the South Seas: Why aren’t Pacific Islands transitioning to low carbon sea transport futures?

Transition to low carbon sea transport is a logical response to the extreme dependency of the Pacific Islands region on imported fossil fuel, its significant vulnerability to the effects of climate change and the critical shipping needs of Pacific Island countries (PICs). Building on previous work in low carbon sea transport in the Pacific, this paper further considers the barriers to achieving such transition by assessing, through a ‘post-Paris Agreement’ lens, the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted by PICs and contrasting these to the near total lack of investment and planning for low carbon transition in the transport sector with the parallel occurrence in the electricity sector where ~USD 2 billion of donor investment is deployed or queued despite electricity using only ~20% of fossil fuel across the region. Consistent with recent international studies, inadequate and inappropriate financing and policy have been identified as dominant transition barriers for low carbon sea transport development in PICs. This paper further examines the regional level barriers to policy development, and finds them inhibited by the silo nature of the major regional actors. The implications that the Paris Agreement has for climate financing to support the essential research and capacity development needed to underpin a successful low carbon sea transport transition strategy at any useful scale and speed are also considered in this paper.     

Identification of important marine areas using ecologically or biologically significant areas (EBSAs) criteria in the East to Southeast Asia region and comparison with existing registered areas for the purpose of conservation

The biodiversity of East to Southeast (E–SE) Asian waters is rapidly declining because of anthropogenic effects ranging from local environmental pressures to global warming. To improve marine biodiversity, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets were adopted in 2010. The recommendation of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), encourages application of the ecologically or biologically significant area (EBSA) process to identify areas for conservation. However, there are few examples of the use of EBSA criteria to evaluate entire oceans. In this article, seven criteria are numerically evaluated to identify important marine areas (EBSA candidates) in the E–SE Asia region. The discussion includes 1) the possibility of EBSA criteria quantification throughout the E–SE Asia oceans and the suitability of the indices selected; 2) optimal integration methods for criteria, and the relationships between the criteria and data robustness and completeness; and; 3) a comparison of the EBSA candidates identified and existing registered areas for the purpose of conservation, such as marine protected areas (MPAs). Most of the EBSA criteria could be quantitatively evaluated throughout the Asia-Pacific region. However, three criteria in particular showed a substantial lack of data. Our methodological comparison showed that complementarity analysis performed better than summation because it considered criteria that were evaluated only in limited areas. Most of the difference between present-day registered areas and our results for EBSAs resulted from a lack of data and differences in philosophy for the selection of indices.