Paleoenvironmental records of water level and climatic changes from the middle to late Holocene at a Lake Erie coastal wetland, Ontario, Canada

Pollen and diatom assemblages, and peat stratigraphies, from a coastal wetland on the northern shore of Lake Erie were used to analyze water level and climatic changes since the middle Holocene and their effects on wetland plant communities. Peat deposition began 4700 cal yr B.P. during the Nipissing II transgression, which was driven by isostatic rebound. At that time, a diatom-rich wild rice marsh existed at the site. Water level dropped at the end of the Nipissing rise at least 2 m within 200 yr, leading to the development of shallower-water plant communities and an environment too dry for most diatoms to persist. The sharp decline in water level was probably driven primarily by outlet incision, but climate likely played some role. The paleoecological records provide evidence for post-Nipissing century-scale transgressions occurring around 2300, 1160, 700 and 450 cal yr B.P. The chronology for these transgressions correlates with other studies from the region and implies climatic forcing. Peat inception in shallow sloughs across part of the study area around 700 cal yr B.P. coincides with the Little Ice Age. These records, considered alongside others from the region, suggest that the Little Ice Age may have resulted in a wetter climate across the eastern Great Lakes region.     

Rodent paleofaunas as indicators of climatic change in Europe during the last 125,000 years

This paper presents a quantitative reconstruction of the European late Pleistocene paleoclimate based on 72 rodent assemblages of five sequences from France, Germany and Bulgaria, covering the last interglacial-glacial cycle. They show a pattern of severe changes in temperature, with reduced precipitation during the coldest periods. A tentative correlation between the isotopic and palynological records and the paleotemperature changes is shown. These changes are consistent with variations in atmospheric circulation patterns in response to an expanding-retracting Fennoscandian ice-sheet. They can be attributed to the enhancement-weakening of the Scandinavian-Polar anticyclone and its associated dry winds, the south-north shifting of the North Atlantic Polar Front, and the varying supply of moist air from the Atlantic. Qualitative paleoenvironmental analysis shows broadleaved-deciduous forests in France and Bulgaria during most of the studied period. Taiga and tundra appeared in eastern France during the lower Würm. The German sequence indicates the presence of coniferous forests. These results are broadly consistent with other paleobiological records (mammalian, avian and insect faunas, isotopic record in dental tissue, palynology). The main discrepancies with the paleoclimate inferred from the palynological record are found during the coldest periods and are probably due to the interaction between vegetation, climate, and atmospheric CO₂ levels.     

Abrupt climate change: An alternative view

Hypotheses and inferences concerning the nature of abrupt climate change, exemplified by the Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events, are reviewed. There is little concrete evidence that these events are more than a regional Greenland phenomenon. The partial coherence of ice core δ¹⁸O and CH₄ is a possible exception. Claims, however, of D-O presence in most remote locations cannot be distinguished from the hypothesis that many regions are just exhibiting temporal variability in climate proxies with approximately similar frequency content. Further suggestions that D-O events in Greenland are generated by shifts in the North Atlantic ocean circulation seem highly implausible, given the weak contribution of the high latitude ocean to the meridional flux of heat. A more likely scenario is that changes in the ocean circulation are a consequence of wind shifts. The disappearance of D-O events in the Holocene coincides with the disappearance also of the Laurentide and Fennoscandian ice sheets. It is thus suggested that D-O events are a consequence of interactions of the windfield with the continental ice sheets and that better understanding of the wind field in the glacial periods is the highest priority. Wind fields are capable of great volatility and very rapid global-scale teleconnections, and they are efficient generators of oceanic circulation changes and (more speculatively) of multiple states relative to great ice sheets. Connection of D-O events to the possibility of modern abrupt climate change rests on a very weak chain of assumptions.     

海滨湿地生态系统的热点研究

海滨湿地具有强大的生态服务功能,然而由于人类活动的长期和强烈干扰,导致该系统严重受损和退化。海滨湿地生态系统的严重退化引起国内外学术界的高度关注。有关其退化及生态恢复的研究热点涉及该系统的演化与机制、对外来种入侵的响应与生态控制、退化海滨湿地生态系统的修复、生态系统健康的评估及其保护与利用平衡的研究。本文综述了上述热点研究的进展,有利于把握国际前沿研究动态,借鉴最新研究方法和经验,推动我国在这一领域的研究尽快赶上国际先进水平。     

The formation and evolution of the barrier islands of Inhaca and Bazaruto, Mozambique

The barrier islands of Inhaca and Bazaruto are related to the extensive coastal dune system of the Mozambican coastal plain, south-east Africa. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of key stratigraphic units indicates that accretion of sediment within these systems is episodic. Both islands appear to have been initiated as spits extending from structural offsets in the coastline. Superposition of significant quantities of sediment upon these spits during subsequent sea-level highstands formed the core of the islands, which were anchored and protected by beachrock and aeolianite formation. At least two distinct dune-building phases occurred during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, tentatively attributed to marine transgressions during sub-stages 5e and 5c. Although some localized reactivation of dune surfaces occurred prior to the Holocene, large quantities of sediment were not deposited on either island during the low sea-levels associated with MIS 2. Significant dune-building and sediment reworking occurred immediately prior to and during the Holocene, though it is not clear whether these processes were continuous or episodic. Significant erosion of the eastern shoreline of Bazaruto suggests that it is far less stable than Inhaca and may suffer further large-scale erosion. A model is presented for the formation of barrier islands along the Mozambican coastal plain.     

Post-depositional 137Cs Mobility in the Sediments of Three Shallow Coastal Lagoons, SW England

We present ¹³⁷Cs profiles for three low lying coastal lagoons in Southwest England that show a decline in activity with sediment depth. ¹³⁷Cs inventories are lower than expected by comparison with local reference inventories despite the fact that sampling was undertaken in the deep-water zone of each lake where sediment and ¹³⁷Cs focusing would be expected. At all three locations, lake sediment ⁷Be and unsupported ²¹⁰Pb (²¹⁰Pb_un) inventories are not significantly lower than the local reference inventory. ¹³⁷Cs inventories in the study cores range from 38 to 95% of local reference inventories. The standing water level and mud: water interface at two sites are below maximum tide level and, at all three sites, salinity increases significantly in the water columns between low and high tide and in the pore waters of the underlying sediments. We suggest that the difference in hydrostatic pressure between sea level and standing water levels in the lagoons forces salt water up through the sediment column and that monovalent cations (especially Na⁺ and K⁺) replace ¹³⁷Cs on exchange sites leading to the upward migration and loss of ¹³⁷Cs. Rising sea levels may therefore contribute to remobilisation and release of ¹³⁷Cs to the aquatic environment from the sediments of coastal lagoons.     

Occurrence of salt water above fresh water in dynamic equilibrium in a coastal groundwater flow system near De Panne, Belgium

A salt water lens is found above fresh water under the shore between Dunkerque (France) and Nieuwpoort (Belgium). This inverse density distribution is in a dynamic equilibrium. It develops due to the infiltration of salt water on the back shore during high tide. Under this salt water lens, water infiltrated in the adjacent dune area flows towards the sea and discharges at the seabed. This water quality distribution differs from the classic salt water wedge under fresh water described in the literature. Here, the evolution to this water quality distribution is simulated with a density dependent numerical model. A large tidal range, shore morphology and a permeable groundwater reservoir are the main conditions for the observed water quality distribution. By altering these conditions, intermediate water quality distributions between the classic salt water wedge and the one discussed here develop. Based on these simulations, it is expected that similar kinds of inverse density distribution could be present in a number of coastal areas, which have tides, a gently sloping shore and a permeable substratum.     

Hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in a Mediterranean coastal aquifer, Mersin-Erdemli basin (Turkey)

In this study, hydrogeologic and hydrochemical information from the Mersin-Erdemli groundwater system were integrated and used to determine the main factors and mechanisms controlling the chemistry of groundwaters in the area and anthropogenic factors presently affecting them. The PHREEQC geochemical modeling demonstrated that relatively few phases are required to derive water chemistry in the area. In a broad sense, the reactions responsible for the hydrochemical evolution in the area fall into four categories: (1) silicate weathering reactions; (2) dissolution of salts; (3) precipitation of calcite, amorphous silica and kaolinite; (4) ion exchange. As determined by multivariate statistical analysis, anthropogenic factors show seasonality in the area where most contaminated waters related to fertilizer and fungicide applications that occur during early summer season.     

襄樊汉江四桥大口径灌注桩成孔施工实践

介绍了使用泥浆护壁气举反循环回转钻进工艺进行襄樊汉江四桥大口径嵌岩桩的施工实践。施工中采用下置双护简隔离卵石层，合理选用钻头类型(卵砾石层采用五翼合金刮刀钻头，基岩采用球齿滚刀钻头)和钻进参数(混合器沉没深度，尾管长度，孔内空气流量与压力)，摸索与总结出一套复杂地层成孔施工经验。     

冬季浙闽沿岸水分布的短期变动与风的关系初探

利用1999年7月至2003年5月期间的遥感数据,包括AVHRR海表层温度、QuikSCAT风场和风应力数据,在分析4年内月平均遥感温度场和风场特征与历年现场观测所获得的认识一致的基础上,选取2002年002-008天这一连续晴空的时段,尝试建立简单的沿岸冷水影响面积表征方法,初步探讨了冬季台湾海峡浙闽沿岸水分布的短期变动与风应力之间的关系。结果表明,风是决定冬季台湾海峡海表层温度逐日变动的关键因素,日平均SST与风应力的相关系数R2达到0·90。采用温度法(SST≤17℃)和温度空间距平法(≤-1℃)表征的浙闽沿岸水影响面积的变化趋势基本一致,而且影响面积的逐日变动与风应力显著相关,二者的相关系数R2分别达到0·90和0·91。