Is climate change causing the increasing narwhal (Monodon monoceros) catches in Smith Sound, Greenland?

This paper evaluates recent changes in narwhal ( Monodon monoceros ) catches in Siorapaluk, the northernmost community in Greenland, in consideration of the effects of changing climate and uncertainty of stock delineation. The catch statistics show a significant increase in narwhal catches by hunters in Siorapaluk after 2002, which does not appear to be a result of increased effort. Hunters attribute the increase to changed sea-ice conditions providing access by boat to Smith Sound as early as June and July. This indicates that climate change is likely to have a considerable impact on narwhal hunting in northern Greenland. Traditional ecological knowledge and scientific surveys suggest that narwhal in Smith Sound constitute an independent stock. The absence of scientific recommendations for this stock has been seen as an opportunity to increase quotas in West Greenland. Scientific management recommendations are urgently needed to allow the authorities to assign sustainable quotas for this stock. The development of collaborative management agreements and locally based monitoring are recommended to ensure local acceptance of regulations, and to allow rapid responses to climate change.     

LAST GLACIATION AND MAXIMUM GLACIATION IN THE QINGHAI-XIZANG (TIBET) PLATEAU: A CONTROVERSY TO M. KUHLE,S ICE SHEET HYPOTHESIS

Since the late 1950's, many Chinese scientists have explored the remains of the Quaternary glaciation in the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau and its surrounding mountains. In the main, 3-4 glaciations have been recognized. The largest one occurred in the Late Middle Pleistocene with piedmont glaciers, ice caps and trellis valley glaciers in many high peak regions. But here is no evidence of a unified ice sheet covering the whole plateau as described by M. Kuhle. Due to the further uplifting of the Himalayas and Qinghai-Xizang Plateau the climate became progressively drier, diminishing the extension of glaciers during the Late Pleistocene. The elevation of the snow line during the Last Glaciation was about 4,000 m on the south, east and northeast edges of the plateau and ascended to 5500 m on the hinder northwest of the plateau. The thermal effect of the big plateau massif, the sharp increase of aridity from the southeast rim to the northwest inland area and the abrupt decrease of precipitation during the     

The postglacial environmental development of Raffles Sø, East Greenland: inferences from a 10,000 year diatom record

A 341 cm long sediment sequence was recovered from the unofficially named Raffles Sø on Raffles Ø, outer Scoresby Sund region, East Greenland. The sediment sequence consists in the upper part (0–230 cm) of a stratified gyttja enriched in organic carbon and biogenic silica whereas the lower core part (235–341 cm) is composed of terrigenous, consolidated glacio-limnic sediments. ¹⁴C-AMS measurements indicate that the sediment sequence represents the entire Holocene lake history from 10,030 calibrated radiocarbon years.The geochemical parameters (opal, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN)) and the total diatom concentration show similar developments during the Holocene, and reflect changes in biological production and nutrient input into the lake. These records clearly reveal a broad Holocene TOC-opal-maximum interval between 5200 and 1800 cal. yrs BP.The diatom flora consisted of 66 taxa representing 20 genera but only seven taxa were abundant and, sometimes, these were monospecifically dominant during the Holocene. In the sediment core from Raffles Sø four successive stratigraphical zones can be distinguished. Accumulation of diatom valves began at 9900 cal. yrs BP with a Stephanodiscus minutulus (Kütz.) Cleve and Möller dominated assemblage (stratigraphic zone 1) followed by a diatom flora dominated by Cyclotella pseudostelligera Hustedt and, less frequently, by Diatoma tenuis Agardh (9400 until 5900 cal. yrs BP, zone 2). Cyclotella sp. A, a taxon which belongs to the Cyclotella rossii-comensis-tripartita-complex, was the dominant floral element between 5200 and 1800 cal. yrs BP (zone 3). From 1800 cal. yrs BP, the periphytic taxa Fragilaria capucina var. gracilis (Østr.) Hustedt and F. capucina var. rumpens (Kütz.) Lange-Bertalot attained highest relative abundances, also almost monospecifically (zone 4).The distribution and composition of the diatom assemblages in the sediment record from Raffles Sø probably reflect past variations in the extent of the lake-ice cover during the growing season. More or less ice-free conditions during summer may have prevailed during the early Holocene until ca. 1800 cal. yrs BP, which allowed growth of planktonic diatoms (Cyclotella taxa) in the pelagic lake region. From 1800 cal. yrs BP, colder conditions lead to a perennial lake-ice cover with a small ice-free moat in summer which favored the growth of periphytic, littoral species (Fragilaria capucina varieties).     

格陵兰冰盖次表面湖多源遥感监测——以格陵兰中西部流域为例

格陵兰冰盖在夏季会发生剧烈融化,融水在低洼处汇集形成冰面湖,储存了大量的融水,在冰盖的水文系统中起着至关重要的作用,是格陵兰冰盖质量平衡的重要组成部分.近期有研究发现大量的冰面湖在冬季不会完全冻结,而是掩埋在雪层或冰层下以液态水形式存在,形成冰盖次表面湖.冰盖次表面湖对格陵兰冰盖稳定性和物质平衡会产生重要的影响.由于次表面湖存在于冰盖表层之下难以通过可见光影像进行提取和分析,次表面湖的监测成为次表面湖研究的难点之一.本研究提出一种利用Landsat8和Sentinel-1数据自动提取次表面湖范围的方法.该方法先利用可见光影像提取夏季冰面湖的范围对SAR影像进行掩膜,再根据冬天水体和冰面的后向散射具有可分性的原理,通过Rosin阈值分割算法,提取得到2018—2019年冬季格陵兰中西部流域的次表面湖并对其分布进行分析.在研究区内选择10个测试区域,利用该方法对区域内的次表面湖进行目视解译,并对算法自动提取次表面湖结果进行精度验证.结果表明,本研究提出的自动提取算法Kappa系数为0.85.基于该方法,本研究在2018年格陵兰中西部流域共提取夏季冰面湖的面积为102.28 km².约43.09%的夏季冰面湖不会完全冻结,从而在冬季形成次表面湖(面积为44.07 km²).

     

Re-exposed basement landforms in the Disko region, West Greenland — disregarded data for estimation of glacial erosion and uplift modelling

Classifications of large-scale landscapes in Greenland have traditionally been based on type and intensity of glacial erosion, with the general idea that present landforms are mainly the result of erosion from ice sheets and glaciers. However, on southern Disko and in areas offshore in Disko Bugt, a basement surface has preserved remnants of weathered gneiss and pre-Paleocene landforms, recently exhumed from Paleocene basalt. Isolated hills and lineaments have been mapped in a digital terrain model and aerial photographs. Offshore have hills been mapped from seismic lines. The medium size bedrock forms on southern Disko as tors, clefts and roche moutonées have been studied in the field. Remnant saprolites were inventoried, sampled and analysed according to grain size and clay mineralogy. The basement surface retains saprolites up to 8 m thick in close relation to the cover rocks. The landforms in the basement rocks belong essentially to an etched surface only slightly remodelled by glacial erosion and, below the highest coastline, also by wave action. The outline of hills is governed by two lineament directions, ENE–WSW representing the schistocity of the gneiss and NW–SE fracture zones. These structures are thus interpreted to have been exploited by the deep weathering while the frequent N–S lineaments have not and thus might be younger. Main ice-flow has been from the NE and has resulted in plucking of SW facing lee sides, however the resulting bedrock forms are mainly controlled by structures and orientation of joints. The identification of re-exposed sub-Paleocene etch forms on Disko and the hills of similar size offshore, forming a hilly relief, have implications for identification of a hilly relief south of Disko Bugt, its relation to younger planation surfaces as well as for conclusions of uplift events.     

Last interglacial-glacial cycle and an attempt to reconstruct Würmian paleohumidity of the European Alps

A lot of paleoenvironmental surveys have been carried out in the Alpine region to elucidate glacier extension during the Last Glacial or the Würmian (115 - 12 ka BP). However, the evidence of past glaciations differs greatly between Western and Eastern Alps, while contrast between Southern and Northern Alps is not evident. The main purpose of this paper is to interpret variability of humidity during the last interglacial-glacial cycle in the Alpine region, based on results of various surveys performed in the Alpine region. Results show that distribution of moisture throughout the Alps was most even during the Late Würmian, while precipitation was mainly concentrated in the (North)Western Alps during the Early Würmian and in the (North)Western and along all the Southern Alps during the Middle Würmian. The Eastern Alps were rather dry during both episodes. Such moisture distribution can be explained by paths of prevailing winds. Moisture distribution is directly linked with atmospheric and oceanic circulation.     

2008—2018年中国冰川变化分析

调查冰川资源的分布与变化,对区域乃至全球的自然环境与经济社会发展都具有十分重要的意义.基于315景Landsat 8 OLI遥感影像,结合中国第二次冰川编目数据与Google Earth软件,通过人工目视解译等方法调查了2018年中国冰川的分布与变化.结果表明:中国现存冰川53238条,总面积为(47174.21±19...     

Deglaciation history at the Alpine-Mediterranean transition (Argentera-Mercantour,SW Alps) from 10Be dating of moraines and glacially polished bedrock

Estimating the extent and age of the last glacial maxima as well as the chronology of glacial recessions in various environmental contexts is key to source-to-sink studies and paleoclimate reconstructions. The Argentera-Mercantour massif is located at the transition between the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea, therefore, its deglaciation chronology can be compared to the sediment budget of the Var River basin. Based on 13 new cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be) datings performed on moraines and polished crystalline bedrocks and 22 reassessed ¹⁰Be CRE ages from similar altitude nearby steep basement surfaces, and from a lake sediment core, we can constrain the deglaciation chronology of the Argentera-Mercantour massif. These data allow for the first time to fully reconstruct the deglaciation history at the scale of the entire massif in agreement with a major glacier recession at c. 15 ka, at the onset of Bølling transition between the Oldest and Older Dryas. Main deglaciation of the upper slopes [2700–2800 m above sea level (a.s.l.)] occurred after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) at 20.8–18.6 ka, followed by the main deglaciation of the lower slopes (2300 m a.s.l.) at 15.3–14.2 ka. Finally, the flat polished surfaces above 2600 m a.s.l. and the zones confined within narrow lateral valleys were likely affected by progressive ice melting of remaining debris covered glaciers and moraine erosion following the Younger Dryas re-advance stage between 12 and 8–9 ka. At lower elevations, the Vens Lake located at 2300 m a.s.l., allows evidence of the onset of lake sedimentation at c. 14 ka and a transition towards a vegetated environment that mainly occurred before 8 ka. Moraine final stabilization at 5 ka might reflect denudation acceleration during the Holocene humid phase. This contribution reveals a glacier–climate relationship more sensitive to warming phases in the southern Alps highlighted by a major decrease of glaciers after c. 15 ka. This major deglaciation is correlated with a 2.5-fold decrease of sediment discharge of rivers into the Mediterranean Sea. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

6月份格陵兰海冰异常对黄河中上游7月份旱涝的影响

通过北极4个区的海水DQ%指数和全国160站7月份降水关系的诊断分析指出,6月份格陵兰海冰异常与黄河中上游7月份旱涝存在着明显的联系,6月份格陵兰海冰少(多)时,黄河中上游7月份易涝（旱）。产生这种联系的物理机制是6月份格陵兰海冰异常影响7月份欧亚大气环流,导致黄河中上游7月份降水产生异常。通过对相关场进行显著性检验,确认了6月份格陵兰海冰异常与黄河中上游7月份旱涝联系在统计上的可靠性。同时发现,有时随机数序列与气象要素场的相关场会达到很高的显著水平,而且这种相关场中的显著相关区的分布并不是杂乱无章的,而是成片分布的。这项工作指出了把对相关场的显著性检验与相关场成因的物理机制分析相结合的必要性。     

激光雷达测量技术在地学中的若干应用

对激光雷达测量技术在全球冰川监测、局部断裂带提取、滑坡监测和稳定性评价以及海岸线提取和海岸侵蚀等方面的应用做了较为全面的综述.作为一种新型的对地观测手段,激光雷达(含星载、机载、车载和地面)的应用已经从传统的测绘扩大到包括文物保护在内的诸多其他应用领域.所综述的激光雷达技术在地学研究中的4个应用方面,是传统地学研究中与全球变化和人居环境最为密切的方向.分析表明,激光雷达技术在这些研究方向中的应用大有作为.