Ratios of stable carbon isotopes in some High Arctic plants and lake sediments

¹³C/¹²C ratios for a number of High Arctic vascular plants (51 determinations), mosses (11), and freshwater algae (11) show considerable variation, particularly among the freshwater algae (range from-6.9 to -36.3). In some cases the stable carbon ratios on modern and fossil materials provide guidance as to whether marine waters formerly occupied a given pond or lake basin. In other cases the ¹³C values for algae collected along the present-day shore of a pond or lake bear no relation to the values obtained on constituents preserved within the bottom sediments, suggesting that major changes have occurred in the last few thousand years.Geological Survey of Canada Contribution No. 17291. Contribution No. 41 from the Cape Herschel Project.     

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.     

Middle Weichselian environments on western Yamal Peninsula, Kara Sea based on pollen records

Pollen data from two sections from a coastal cliff on the western Yamal Peninsula (69°43.27′N, 66°48.80′E) document the environmental history during the Karginsky (Middle Weichselian) interstadial. Low pollen concentrations, high amounts of redeposited pollen, and relatively high presence of Artemisia pollen characterize sediments deposited at about 33,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Grass-sedge plant associations with few other herbs occupied the area during the late Karginsky interstadial. Artemisia pollen may indicate rather xerophytic vegetation and disturbed soils in the area. The dominance of redeposited pollen reflects scarce (disturbed) vegetation cover and low pollen productivity. The climate was relatively cold and dry. Sediments dated to 32,400 ¹⁴C yr B.P. contain fewer redeposited pollen and concentration of non-redeposited pollen is significantly higher. Pollen contents indicate the dominance of tundra-like grass-sedge vegetation and more humid conditions. Pollen records dated between 30,100 and 25,100 ¹⁴C yr B.P. also reflect scarce tundra-like vegetation during this interval. The presence of Betula nana and Salix pollen may reflect limited presence of shrub communities. This suggests that the climate was somewhat warmer during the latter part of the interstadial. However, generally the pollen records show that harsh environmental conditions prevailed on the Yamal Peninsula during the Karginsky interstadial.     

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。     

中国湿地生态系统的外来入侵种研究

湿地是地球上各种生命形式高度聚集的生态体系之一,被称为“物种基因库”。湿地良好的环境条件不仅有利于本地种的生存,也利于外来物种的入侵。据现有资料统计,目前中国湿地生态系统中有外来入侵植物10种,隶属7个科;外来入侵动物53种,涉及哺乳类、鸟类、爬行类、两栖类、甲壳类、软体动物、鱼类和昆虫类。论述了这些入侵种的主要入侵途径,包括作为饲料、观赏、净化水质等目的人为有意引种,以及由非人为因素引起的入侵;同时还讨论了这些外来入侵种给湿地生态系统造成的不良影响,即导致物种多样性丧失、降低社会经济价值、破坏原有的生态系统和景观。     

Permanent Scatterers for landslide investigations: outcomes from the ESA-SLAM project

Within the SLAM project (Service for Landslide Monitoring), launched in 2003 by the European Space Agency (ESA) the Permanent Scatterers (PS) technique, a multi-image interferometric approach, coupled with the interpretation of aerial-photos and optical satellite images, was carried out for landslide investigations. The PS analysis was applied at a regional scale as support for landslide inventory mapping and at local scale for the monitoring of single well-known slope movements. For the integration of the PS measurements within a landslide inventory the Arno river basin (Italy) was chosen as test site for the presence of a high number of mass movements (to date about 300 areas at high landslide risk and more than 27,000 individual landslides mapped by the institutional authorities). About 350 SAR images have been interferometrically processed by means of the PS technique, with the detection of about 600,000 PS. The use of optical images contributed spatial meaning to the point-wise information provided by the PS, making it easier to identify terrain features related to slope instability and the landslide boundaries. Here we describe the employed methodology and its impact in the updating of a preexisting landslide inventory. 6.8% of the total number of landslides were characterized by ground displacement measurements from the PS: 6.1% of already mapped landslides and 0.8% of new unstable areas detected through the PS analysis. Moreover, most of the PS are located in urban areas, showing that the proposed methodology is suitable for landslide mapping in areas with a quite high density of urbanization, but that over vegetated areas it still suffers from the limitations induced by the current space-borne SAR missions (e.g. temporal de-correlation). On the other hand, the use of InSAR for the monitoring of single slow landslides threatening built-up areas has provided satisfactory results, allowing the measurement of superficial deformations with high accuracy on the landslide sectors characterized by a good radar reflectivity and coherence.     

Diversity and stages in evolution of conodontophorids and bivalve mollusks in Triassic seas of Siberia and the Far East

Comparative analysis of taxonomic diversity dynamics of condontophorids from Boreal (Arctic regions of Russia) and Tethyan (Northwest Pacific) paleobasins showed that they had most favorable habitat environments in tropical seas. In the Boreal realm, condontophorids went through three stages of evolution comprising probably four substages and four phases, whereas three stages with six substages and twelve phases are distinguished in the Tethyan realm. The most important abiotic factors that controlled development of conodontophorids are paleotemperature of seawater and paleogeographic settings. Renewals in taxonomic composition conodontophorids and diversification of their assemblages have been confined to moments of paleotemperature and/or sea level rise. The comparative analysis of stages in evolution of conodontophorid and bivalve assemblages has been carried out. As is established, the peak taxonomic diversity of bivalves in Boreal seas was in the Late Triassic after the diversity minimum of the Early Triassic time. In contrast, conodontophorids were most diverse in the Olenekian Age.     

Synchrotron IR study of hydrous ringwoodite (γ-Mg2SiO4) up to 30 GPa

High-pressure synchrotron infrared (IR) absorption spectra were collected between 650 and 4,000 cm⁻¹ at ambient temperature for hydrous Mg-ringwoodite (γ-Mg₂SiO₄) up to 30 GPa. The main feature in the OH⁻ stretching region is an extremely broad band centred at 3,150 cm⁻¹. The hydrogen bond is strong for most protons and the most probable site for protonation is the tetrahedral edge. With increasing pressure, this band shifts downward while decreasing its integrated intensity until disappearance at a pressure of 25 GPa. Only one band at 2,450 cm⁻¹ and an absorption plateau persist with a maximum wavenumber of 3,800 cm⁻¹. This behaviour is reversible upon pressure release. We interpret this as a second-order phase transition occurring in hydrated Mg-ringwoodite at high pressure (beyond ∼ 25 GPa). This result is compatible with the observation by Kleppe et al. (Phys Chem Miner 29:473–476, 2002a) who suggested the presence of Si–O–Si linkages and/or partial increase in the coordination of Si. Beyond the phase transition, the protons are delocalized and their environment on the ringwoodite structure is probably quite different from that at low pressure. Data obtained in situ at high pressures and temperatures are needed to better understand the effect of protonation on the structure and to better constrain this phase transition.     

东北地区冬季气温与北极涛动年代际关系研究

利用中国160站气温资料、北极涛动指数资料及关国NCEP／NCAR再分析资料中月平均海平面气压场、高度场、风场资料，分析了东北地区冬季气温、冬季北极涛动的年代际特征及其关系。结果表明：在年代际时间尺度上，两者之间存在显著正相关。冬季北极涛动处于低（高）指数期，东北冬季气温为持续冷冬（暖冬）期。可能影响机制是：在地面，冬季北极涛动处于低（高）指数期时，西伯利亚高压增强（减弱），亚洲大陆偏北冬季风增强（减弱），东北为持续冷冬（暖冬）期；在对流层中层，冬季北极涛动处于低（高）指数期时，东亚大槽加深（减弱），贝加尔湖以西以北脊增强（减弱），环流呈经向（纬向）型发展，东北对流层中层偏北风增强（减弱），东北为持续冷冬（暖冬）期。