Dust influx reconstruction during the last 26,000 years inferred from a sedimentary leaf wax record from the Japan Sea

We obtained the high-resolution record of terrestrial biomarkers (C₂₉ and C₃₁ n-alkanes) for the last 26,000 years from Oki Ridge in the south Japan Sea that enabled us to discuss millennial scale climate changes. Our sampling resolution for the biomarker during the major deglaciation period (10–19.5 cal ka BP) is 300 years and for the elemental analyses (total organic carbon and total nitrogen) is as good as ca 200 years. The estimated mass accumulation rate of these molecules during the last glacial period is substantially higher than during the Holocene. They also exhibited two distinct peaks at 17.6 cal ka BP and 11.4 cal ka BP, which are coincident with Heinrich Event 1 and the latest stage of the Younger Dryas, respectively. The unique oceanographic setting of the Japan Sea tends to preferentially preserve organic material of aeolian origin. The nature of our biomarker record in fact suggests a strong aeolian signal, and hence their flux to the Japan Sea potentially reflects the climate conditions of the dust source regions and transport intensity. Our results are consistent with previously reported monsoon variations based on other proxies that is indicative of a strong linkage between North Atlantic climate and Asian monsoon intensity.     

EVIDENCE FOR ABRUPT CLIMATIC CHANGES ON NORTHWESTERN MARGIN OF EAST ASIAN MONSOON REGION DURING LAST DEGLACIATION

Based on investigations of the Zhongwei Nanshan aeolian section situated in the southeastern margin of Tengger Desert, carbon-14 and TL (thermoluminescence) dating results and paleoclimatie proxies such as magnetic susceptibility and grain size, we inferred that the northwestern margin of East Asian monsoon region experienced abrupt climatic changes during the last deglaciation. Six oscillation events were identified: Oldest Dryas, Bφlling, Older Dryas, Allerφd, Intra-Allerφd Cold Period (IACP) and Younger Dryas (YD). The summer monsoon was weaker during Oldest Dryas and Younger Dryas when the winter monsoon was stronger. However, during the B/A (Bφlling/Allerφd) period, the summer monsoon strengthened, reflected by magnetic susceptibility, when the winter monsoon also became strong, which is different from the paleoclimatic pattern established in the East Asian monsoon region. Furthermore, the summer monsoon was nearly in phase with the climate changes inferred from the oxygen isotopic records of     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Main Street: Northeastern Oregon: The Founding and Development of Small Towns . Barbara Ruth Bailey . Food Politics: The Regional Conflict . David N. Balaam and Michael J. Carey , eds. The International Economy and Industrial Development: Trade and Investment in the Third World . R. Ballance , J. Ansari and H. Singer . Neighborhoods in Urban America . Ronald H. Bayor , ed. The English Heartland . By Robert Beckinsale and Monica Beckinsale . Regional Dimensions of Industrial Policy . Michael E. Bell and Paul S. Lande , eds. Tension Areas of the World . D. Gordon Bennett , ed. Latin America: an Introductory Survey . B. W. Blouet and O. M. Blouet , eds. Integration and Division: Geographical Perspectives on the Northern Ireland Problem . Frederick W. Boal and J. Neville H. Douglas , eds. Energy and Land Use . Robert W. Burchell and David Listokin , eds. Slopes and Weathering . Michael Clarke and John Small . Alaska's Rural Development . Peter G. Cornwall and Gerald Mc Beath , eds. The Politics of Park Design: A History of Urban Parks in America . Galen Cranz . World Congress on Land Policy, 1980, Proceedings . Matthew Cullen and Sharon Woolery , eds. Oregon Divided: A Regional Geography . Samuel N. Dicken and Emily F. Dicken . Urban Food Marketing and Third World Rural Development . T. Scarlett Epstein . South Africa: Spatial Frameworks for Development . T. J. D. Fair . Institutions and Geographical Patterns . Robin Flowerdew , ed. Industrialization of U.S. Agriculture, An Interpretive Atlas . Howard F. Gregor . Planning Theory: Prospects for the 1980s . Patsy Healy , Glen Mc Dougall and Michael J. Thomas , eds. Neighborhood Mobilization: Redevelopment and Response . Jeffrey R. Henig . The American Urban System: A Geographical Perspective . R. J. Johnston . Climate, History and the Modern World . Hubert H. Lamb . Climate and History: Studies in Past Climates and Their Impact on Man . T. M. L. Wigley , M. J. Ingram and G. Farmer . China: Railways and Agricultural Development, 1875–1935 . Ernest P. Liang . A Desirable Energy Future—A National Perspective . Robert S. Livingston , T. D. Anderson , T. M. Besmann , M. Olszewski , A. M. Perry , and C. D. West . Topothesia: Essays Presented to T. S. Ó Máille . B. S. Mac Aodha , ed. Transportation for the Poor: Research in Rural Mobility . Hal S. Maggied . Land Uses in American Cities . Harold M. Mayer and Charles R. Haves . Industrial Organisation and Location . Philip Mc Dermott and Michael Taylor . Human Adaptability: an Introduction to Ecological Anthropology . Emilio F. Moran . Regional Analysis and the New International Division of Labor . Frank Moulaert and Patricia W. Salinas , eds. The Nuclear War Atlas. Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada : Urbanization and Environmental Quality . Isao Orishimo . The Garden of Eden: The Botanic Garden and the Re-Creation of Paradise . John Prest . Earthfire, The Eruption of Mount St. Helens . Charles Rosenfeld and Robert Cooke . Contest for the South China Sea . Marwyn S. Samuels . The Future of the Wetlands: Assessing Visual-Cultural Values . Richard C. Smardon , ed. Tucson: the Life and Times of An American City. C. L. Sonnichsen . The Geography of Multinationals . Michael Taylor and Nigel Thrift , eds. Impact of Marine Pollution on Society . Virginia Tippie and Dana Kester . Reviving the Industrial City: the Politics of Urban Renewal in Lyon and Birmingham . Jerry A. Webman . Andean Reflections: Letters from Carl O. Sauer While on a South American Trip under a Grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, 1942 . Robert C. West , ed. Cartographic Drawing with Computers . P. Yoeli .     

A comparison of cumulus parameterization schemes in a numerical weather prediction model for a monsoon rainfall event

In order to evaluate cumulus parameterization (CP) schemes for hydrological applications, the Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research's fifth‐generation mesoscale model (MM5) was used to simulate a summer monsoon in east China. The performances of five CP schemes (Anthes–Kuo, Betts–Miller, Fritsch–Chappell, Kain–Fritsch, and Grell) were evaluated in terms of their ability to simulate amount of rainfall during the heavy, moderate, and light phases of the event. The Grell scheme was found to be the most robust, performing well at all rainfall intensity and spatial scales. The Betts–Miller scheme also performed well, particularly at larger scales, but its assumptions may make it inapplicable to non‐tropical environments and at smaller scales. The Kain–Fritsch scheme was the best at simulating moderate rainfall rates, and was found to be superior to the Fritsch–Chappell scheme on which it was based. The Anthes–Kuo scheme was found to underpredict precipitation consistently at the mesoscale. Simulation performance was found to improve when schemes that included downdrafts were used in conjunction with schemes that did not include downdrafts. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

塔里木盆地西南部的三维密度扰动成像

塔里木盆地西南部位于昆仑造山带东北方,地壳构造特殊,是中国天然气勘探的重要区域。在地面重力调查的基础上,笔者等对2~15 km的盆地西南部的密度扰动结构进行成像计算,并结合电阻率三维结构对地壳构造进行分析。本文根据重力场小波变换的尺度—源深度转换律,进行地面重力异常场多尺度分解,取得了反映中国地壳不同埋藏深度的小波细节,揭示了研究区地壳的密度结构。结果表明,网度足够密的区域高精度重力场测量可以获得关于沉积盆地深部构造的丰富信息,应用小波多尺度分析和三维反演方法可以把与深层构造有关的地质信息提取出来,客观地为沉积盆地内部构造演化和油气勘探提供依据。塔里木盆地西南部上地壳三维密度扰动成像揭示了昆仑山脉向北仰冲推覆构造楔和山前坳陷带的立体结构,为盆山耦合动力学研究和深层油气勘探提供了新的认识。大地电磁数据三维反演取得的盆地三维电阻率模型,从电性结构角度得到了盆地的三维构造,和盆地西南部的密度结构有很好的相关性,支持了密度扰动成像的有关结论。     

神农架石笋记录的近200年东亚季风变化及其ENSO响应

通过湖北省神农架永兴洞石笋(编号:YX92)230Th年龄和纹层计数年代学研究,建立了1788AD-1956AD时段年际分辨率石笋氧同位素序列。该序列δ18O值变化范围为-9.70‰~-7.87‰,最大振幅约达1.83‰,呈现显著的年代际尺度振荡旋回特征。功率谱分析结果揭示存在显著的60~70年准周期信号。该记录与同区域和尚洞石笋δ18O曲线具有很好的重现性,说明其可能受控于共同的气候因子,指示了东亚夏季风大尺度环流特征。将石笋重建的东亚夏季风指标与全印度夏季降水量指示的印度夏季风指数对比,结果显示两者在年代际旋回特征上具有很好的相似性,但是呈反相位关系。进一步与ENSO指数对比,发现东亚夏季风年代际尺度变化与ENSO存在密切联系,表现为东亚夏季风增强,对应于ENSO暖期,反之亦然。因此,东亚季风与印度季风在年代际尺度上的反相位关系可能源于两者对ENSO机制的不同响应。     

Peatland GDGT records of Holocene climatic and biogeochemical responses to the Asian Monsoon

Branched and isoprenoidal glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) membrane lipids have been widely used to reconstruct past climate and environmental change. They are not, however, widely applied to peat deposits and the controls on their distributions in peats remain unclear. Here, we present a high resolution record of branched and isoprenoid GDGT concentrations and distributions from a peat core from the Tibetan Plateau that spans the last 13 kyr, a period characterised by distinct dry and wet periods in the region. The lowest concentrations of total branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) occurred during a presumably dry interval in the mid-Holocene, suggesting that brGDGTs-producing bacteria are less productive under such conditions, perhaps reflecting their putative anaerobic ecology. The mean annual air temperature (MAT) estimates derived from the methylation index of brGDGTs and cyclisation ratio of brGDGTs (MBT′/CBT) are higher than present mean annual temperature in the region and closer to summer temperatures, perhaps due to seasonal production of brGDGTs. The downcore distributions of isoprenoidal and branched GDGTs are dominated by GDGT-0 and brGDGT II, respectively. The high fractional abundances of GDGT-0 in warm and especially wet intervals suggest that these conditions are favourable for some groups of methanogenic archaea. The mid-Holocene dry interval is associated with an increase in the fractional and absolute abundance of crenarchaeol, which could be indicative of enhanced ammonia-oxidising archaeal-mediated nitrogen cycling under these conditions. Taken together, variations of GDGT concentrations in peats appear to document the response of microbial processes to climate change and variations in the biogeochemical environment.     

季风区长沙站大气水汽和降水中δ18O的模拟

利用稳定同位素大气水平衡模式(i AWBM)模拟了季风区长沙站大气水汽和降水中δ18O的时间变化,并与实际监测结果进行比较,其目的在于检验i AWBM在模拟季风区大气中水稳定同位素循环方面的能力,揭示影响水稳定同位素变化的主要原因,改善对季风区水循环中稳定同位素效应的理解和认识.模拟结果很好地再现了长沙降水中δ18O的季节变化,季风区降水中稳定同位素雨季被贫化旱季被富集的基本特点以及存在的显著降水量效应均被模拟出.在2010年1月-2012年12月,模拟的冬季风盛行期间的加权平均δ18O为-6.58‰,与该时段的实际监测值相当;模拟的夏季风盛行期间的加权平均δ18O为-9.58‰,低于该时段的实际监测值.i AWBM主要利用大气的可降水量、水汽通量、蒸发量和降水量4个驱动变量来模拟水稳定同位素的循环.其中,可降水量对水稳定同位素变化的贡献被包含在其他3个驱动变量中.水汽通量对水汽同位素变化的贡献具有富集和贫化的双重作用,蒸发量和降水量对水汽同位素变化的贡献分别具有富集和贫化的作用.在对水汽同位素起富集作用的两个因子中,水汽通量的平均同位素贡献为1.66‰,贡献率为63.97%;蒸发量的平均同位素贡献为0.91‰,贡献率为36.03%,水汽通量的同位素贡献起主要作用.在对水汽同位素起贫化作用的两个因子中,水汽通量的平均同位素贡献为-1.40‰,贡献率为53.47%;降水量的平均同位素贡献为-1.09‰,贡献率为46.53%,水汽通量和降水量的同位素贡献大致相当.     

Evaluating climate model outputs for hydrological applications

Citation Wilby, R. L. (2010) Evaluating climate model outputs for hydrological applications – Opinion. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(7), 1090–1093.     

Integrated surface water–groundwater modelling in the context of increasing water reserves of a regional Sahelian aquifer

Abstract

Despite the Sahelian drought of the 1970s–1990s, the unconfined aquifer in southwest Niger exhibits a multidecadal increase in groundwater reserves. Recent changes in land surface conditions have enhanced runoff and thus indirect groundwater recharge below endorheic ponds. This paper presents a model-based investigation of surface runoff and groundwater recharge at mesoscale (～5000 km²). A new lumped-conceptual runoff model applicable to the large number of ungauged endorheic catchments is specially developed, derived from an existing fine-scale, physically-based hydrologic model. Runoff simulated for sites identified as groundwater recharge sources are used to derive recharge forcing for a Modflow-based model of the aquifer. The rising water table trend and its spatial distribution over the period 1992–2003 are generally well simulated, albeit smoothed year-to-year dynamics. Comparison with alternative methods of recharge estimation suggests, however, that there may presently exist more recharging sites and/or contributing surfaces than those considered so far.

Citation Massuel, S., Cappelaere, B., Favreau, G., Leduc, C., Lebel, T. & Vischel, T. (2011) Integrated surface water–groundwater modelling in the context of increasing water reserves of a regional Sahelian aquifer. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(7), 1242–1264.