青藏高原隆升及其环境效应

“青藏高原形成演化及其环境资源效应”项目选择青藏高原为典型地区,特别注意高原与毗邻地区的联系,以从全球尺度探讨高原的各种过程,目标集中在大陆碰撞过程和高原隆升过程,以过程为主线贯通碰撞机制、环境变化和资源分布规律的研究;时间上着重新生代以来,在不同精细时间尺度上定量地描述碰撞和隆升的动态过程及环境变化。运用地球科学、生命科学、环境科学及各学科之间有机交叉、综合研究的方法,开展大陆碰撞动力学、环境变化、现代表生过程及各圈层相互作用等重大理论问题的研究,为青藏高原地区的资源开发和环境调控提供科学依据。按照统观全局、突出重点的原则,项目主要研究内容包括以下4个方面：大陆岩石圈碰撞过程及其成矿效应;高原隆升过程与东亚气候环境变化;青藏高原现代表生过程及相互作用机理;青藏高原区域系统相互作用的综合研究。在完成研究计划任务的基础上,项目取得如下的突出研究成果和创新性进展：印度大陆与欧亚大陆初始碰撞时限;青藏高原南北缘山盆岩石圈尺度的构造关系;青藏高原整合构造模型与成矿成藏评价;新生代高原北部重大的构造变形隆升事件序列;高原周边环境变化事件及高原隆升对亚洲季风发展变化的影响;高分辨率气候动态过程及变化趋势;高原主要生态系统碳过程对气候变化的响应;高原气候变化及冰冻圈变化与预测;高原土地覆被变化、恢复整治及管理。     

青藏高原多期次隆升的环境效应

青藏高原隆升对中国西部环境变迁起着决定性影响。通过对柴达木、吐鲁番—哈密、塔里木盆地的演化及其与青藏高原隆升的耦合研究,以柴达木盆地为时空坐标,认为高原隆升可分为三大阶段:(1)古近纪期间青藏高原隆升仅限于冈底斯山一带。当时,受行星纬向气候带控制,中国西北地区为干旱亚热带草原和热带雨林环境,大面积准平原化、泛盆地化,在构造上处于伸展-夷平的拉张环境,与现今亚洲大陆东部相似;(2)青藏高原整体的初次隆升发生在中新世早—中期(23~11·7Ma)。因青藏高原和大兴安岭的阻隔,古近纪的纬向气候带逐渐转变为中亚季候风,古黄土(22Ma)、三趾马动物群的发育,说明高原北缘当时为干旱的荒漠草原环境。同时,这次隆升引起中—晚中新世中国西部广袤地域古地形-构造面貌的变化;(3)形成现今高原面貌的末次快速隆升发生在0·9~0·8Ma。早更新世晚期,印度洋快速扩张,印度板块向中亚大陆脉冲式(A型)陆内俯冲,使得高原快速挤压隆升。这次隆升不仅使高原本身的环境骤变,出现第四纪以来最大的冰川,形成世界上最大的高寒草原,而且引起了全球气候的变化,促使北极圈冰盖的形成。同时,高原隆升使高原内部和周边出现强烈的挤压构造变形,如柴达木、河西走廊、塔里木、吐鲁番—哈密、准噶尔等诸盆地内几万米厚度中—新生界的构造变形与昆仑山、祁连山、天山、阿尔泰山的挤出式双向推覆隆升,形成了中国西北的盆-山地貌。现今,随着青藏高原的持续隆升,高寒草原开始退化,造成中国西北地区大面积的荒漠化,成为制约我国西部生态环境的重要因素。     

黄河三角洲前缘桩106至黄河海港岸段海底地形冲淤变化研究

1976年黄河改道从水清沟入海后,黄河三角洲前沿桩106至黄河海港岸段的海底地形遭受强烈侵蚀,岸滩不断蚀退。黄河三角洲强侵蚀岸段岸线监测资料与历史资料分析研究结果表明,1985-2004年该区最大侵蚀深度达7.5 m,其强侵蚀区中心位置经历了由西北向东南移动的过程,范围不断缩小,目前局部地区已发生淤积现象。种种迹象表明,从冲淤并存和以侵蚀为主向冲淤平衡过渡的现象还将长期进行下去。     

Effect of farmland expansion on drought over the past century in Songnen Plain,Northeast China

The effects of human activities on climate change are a significant area of research in the field of global environmental change. Land use and land cover change(LUCC) has a greater effect on climate than greenhouse gases, and the effect of farmland expansion on regional drought is particularly important. From the 1910 s to the 2010 s, cultivated land in Songnen Plain increased by 2.67 times, the area of cultivated land increased from 4.92×10~4 km~2 to 13.14×10~4 km~2, and its percentage of all land increased from 25% to 70%. This provides an opportunity to study the effects of the conversion of natural grassland to farmland on climate. In this study, the drought indices in Songnen Plain were evaluated from the 1910 s to the 2010 s, and the effect of farmland expansion on drought was investigated using statistical methods and the Weather Research and Forecasting Model based on UK's Climatic Research Unit data. The resulting dryness index, Palmer drought severity index, and standardized precipitation index values indicated a significant drying trend in the study area from 1981 to 2010. This trend can be attributed to increases in maximum temperature and diurnal temperature range, which increased the degree of drought. Based on statistical analysis and simulation, the maximum temperature, diurnal temperature range, and sensible heat flux increased during the growing season in Songnen Plain over the past 100 years, while the minimum temperature and latent heat flux decreased. The findings indicate that farmland expansion caused a drying trend in Songnen Plain during the study period.     

Simulating cross-sectional geometry of the main channel in response to changes in water and sediment in Lower Yellow River

Journal of Geographical Sciences - To understand the non-equilibrium morphological adjustment of a river in response to environmental changes, it is essential to (i) accurately identify how past...     

Variation characteristics of evaporation in the Gulang River Basin during 1959-2013

Based on monthly evaporation of two meteorological stations in the Gulang River Basin of China, the inter-annual variation of evaporation during 1959-2013 were analyzed using Mann-Kendall and wavelet analysis. The results demonstrated that the annual evaporation show a fluctuating increase over the past 50 years approximately, with an average increase rate of 4.26 mm per decade. The overall trend was decrease-increase-decrease. According to the cumulative anomaly curve,the turning point of the annual evaporation occurred in 1979, in which the evaporation increased in the early stage and decreased in the later stage. Meanwhile, the seasonal variation of the evaporation shows that it decreased in Spring and Autumn, and increased in Summer and Winter, especially obvious for the later. The evaporation abruptly changed in Spring and Summer in 2008 and in Winter in 1994. In addition, all evaporation increased after the changes. However,the evaporation in Autumn abruptly changed in 1986 and 1999, which show a trend of increase-decrease-increase.Wavelet analysis shows that evaporation in Summer and wet season would decrease in the next few years, and in the other seasons would increase. Based on the aforementioned analysis, it can be concluded that increased evaporation is mainly induced by increase of evaporation in dry season, especially in Winter, and this trend to be continued in the future for the Gulang River Basin.     

Supply and Demand Levels for Livestock and Poultry Products in the Chinese Mainland and the Potential Demand for Feed Grains

The widening gap between the supply and demand levels for livestock and poultry products in the Chinese mainland poses a significant challenge to the secure supply of feed grains. Therefore, the accurate prediction of the demand potential for feed grains represents a key scientific issue for ensuring food security in the Chinese mainland. This study is based on an analysis of several factors, such as the Chinese mainland’s output, trade volume, apparent consumption of livestock and poultry products, and two different scenarios for predicting the future demand for feed grains are assessed. The results indicate that output and consumption of livestock and poultry products, as well as the country’s trade deficit and the pressure of the supply and demand balance with respect to these products, have been increasing in recent years. The analysis predicts that the demand for feed grains in the Chinese mainland will reach 425.5 or 389.6 million tons in 2030 based on the two scenarios. This finding indicates that with the increasing demand for livestock and poultry products in the Chinese mainland, the demand for feed grains will continue to increase, and the shortfall in feed grains and raw materials will expand further, especially dependence on external sources of protein-rich feed grains will remain high.     

Dynamics of coastline changes in Mexico

Journal of Geographical Sciences - The goal of our work was to locate and quantify changes that occurred in 66% of the Mexican coastline, based on four land cover maps generated by the Mexican...     

How changes of groundwater level affect the desert riparian forest ecosystem in the Ejina Oasis,Northwest China

Groundwater is a key factor controlling the growth of vegetation in desert riparian systems. It is important to recognise how groundwater changes affect the riparian forest ecosystem. This information will not only help us to understand the ecological and hydrological process of the riparian forest but also provide support for ecological recovery of riparian forests and water-resources management of arid inland river basins. This study aims to estimate the suitability of the Water Vegetation Energy and Solute Modelling(WAVES) model to simulate the Ejina Desert riparian forest ecosystem changes,China, to assess effects of groundwater-depth change on the canopy leaf area index(LAI) and water budgets, and to ascertain the suitable groundwater depth for preserving the stability and structure of desert riparian forest. Results demonstrated that the WAVES model can simulate changes to ecological and hydrological processes. The annual mean water consumption of a Tamarix chinensis riparian forest was less than that of a Populus euphratica riparian forest, and the canopy LAI of the desert riparian forest should increase as groundwater depth decreases. Groundwater changes could significantly influence water budgets for T. chinensis and P. euphratica riparian forests and show the positive and negative effects on vegetation growth and water budgets of riparian forests. Maintaining the annual mean groundwater depth at around 1.7-2.7 m is critical for healthy riparian forest growth. This study highlights the importance of considering groundwater-change impacts on desert riparian vegetation and water-balance applications in ecological restoration and efficient water-resource management in the Heihe River Basin.     

青藏高原月NDVI时空动态变化及其对气候变化的 响应

青藏高原脆弱的高寒植被对外界干扰十分敏感,使其成为研究植被对气候变化响应的理想区域之一。青藏高原气候变化剧烈,在较短的合成时间研究气候变化对植被的影响十分必要。因此,本文利用GIMMS NDVI时间序列数据集,研究了1982-2012年青藏高原生长季月尺度植被生长的时空动态变化,探讨了其与气温、降水量和日照时数等气候因子的响应关系。结果表明：在区域尺度上,除8月外,其他各月份植被均呈增加趋势,显著增加多发生在4-7月和9月;大部分月份的NDVI增加速率随着时段的延长显著减小,表明NDVI增加趋势放缓;在像元尺度上,月NDVI显著变化的区域多呈增加趋势,但显著减少范围的扩张多快于显著增加。4月和7月植被生长主要是受气温和日照时数共同作用,6月和9月受气温的控制,而8月则主要受降水量的影响。长时间序列NDVI数据集的出现为采用嵌套时段研究植被生长变化趋势奠定了前提,而植被活动变化趋势的持续性则有助于形象表征植被活动变化过程、深入理解植被对气候变化的响应和预测植被未来生长变化趋势。由此推测,青藏高原月NDVI未来增加趋势总体上趋于缓和,但在像元尺度显著变化的区域趋于增加。