Funding low-carbon investments in the absence of a carbon tax

Introducing a carbon tax is difficult, partly because it suggests that current generations have to make sacrifices for the benefit of future generations. However, the climate change externality could be corrected without such a sacrifice. It is possible to set a carbon value, and use it to create ‘carbon certificates’ that can be accepted as part of commercial banks’ legal reserves. These certificates can be distributed to low-carbon projects, and be exchanged by investors against concessional loans, reducing capital costs for low-carbon projects. As the issuance of carbon certificates would increase the quantity of money, it will either lead to accelerated inflation or induce the Central Bank to raise interest rates. Low-carbon projects will thus have access to cheaper loans at the expense of either ‘regular’ investors (in case of higher interest rates) or of lenders and depositors (in case of accelerated inflation). Within this scheme, mitigation expenditures are compensated by a reduction in regular investments, so that immediate consumption is maintained. It uses future generation wealth to pay for a hedge against climate change. This framework is not as efficient as a carbon tax but is politically easier to implement and represents an interesting step in the trajectory towards a low-carbon economy.     

滦河流域碳、水循环和能量平衡遥感综合试验总体设计

始于20世纪80年代的系列大型遥感试验开始系统研究地表物质和能量交换过程,对遥感与地球系统科学研究的结合起到重要作用,但是尚无综合利用多源遥感数据解决碳、水、能量循环问题的有效方案.遥感科学国家重点实验室于滦河上游地区组织开展基础性、多学科、多尺度的"碳、水循环和能量平衡遥感综合试验".本次试验面向地球系统科学对遥感观...     

福建龙岩地区土壤有机碳储量特征及其影响因素

基于福建龙岩地区多目标区域地球化学调查所获得大量高精度和高密度有机碳数据,通过单位土壤碳储量计算方法,分别采用母质类型、地貌类型、生态系统、土地利用类型及土壤类型5种方式,按照0~1.4m,0~1.0m和0~0.2m等3种不同深度来初步探讨福建龙岩地区土壤有机碳储量特征及其影响因素。结果表明,不同类型土壤区的有机碳储量分布存在不均匀性,平均碳密度均存在较大差异,这可能不仅与成土母质、土壤理化性状(如土壤结构、质地、化学成分、土温等)、系统差异(如历史演变、稳定性等)等内在因素有关,还有可能与气候环境条件、海拔高度、水土流失程度、土壤微生物活动强度、植被状况(如植被类型、植被发育等)以及人类活动影响等外在因素有关。得出福建龙岩地区不同深度的有机碳储量: 0~0.2m为89254953.05t, 0~1.0m为283746254.26t和 0~1.4m为347294329.32t; 不同深度的平均碳密度: 0~0.2m为3980.33 t/km 2, 0~1.0m为12653.69 t/km 2和0~1.4m为15487.62 t/km 2,高于全国典型地区平均水平,显示出福建龙岩地区具较高的碳储量、较强的碳储能力和良好的碳富集环境。     

塔中地区奥陶系喜马拉雅山期S干气充注的证据

塔中地区奥陶系天然气成因多样;Ⅰ号坡折带中东部奥陶系天然气以高干燥系数、 甲烷同位素值重为特征;与塔深1井寒武系原油裂解气接近;应主要来自寒武系原油裂解气成因。寒武系贫H2S、 高成熟原油裂解气在喜马拉雅山期时;气侵奥陶系油气藏;得到了以下主要证据的支持: 1）天然气甲烷δ13C值大多比Chung et al.（1988）天然气模式甲烷δ13C值计算值高3‰以上;2）干燥系数与甲烷δ13C值大体上具有正相关关系;3）天然气干燥系数与H2S含量大体上具有负相关关系。这些特征表明;存在贫H2S、 相对富13C甲烷为主的干气与富H2S、 相对贫13C甲烷的湿气混合作用。奥陶系中H2S-δ34S 值为14‰～20‰;远低于中深1井寒武系原地热化学硫酸盐还原作用（TSR）成因的H2S（33‰）;支持了奥陶系中H2S并不是来源于寒武系古油气藏。于是提出;来自寒武系贫H2S的干气在喜马拉雅山期对良里塔格组和鹰山组油气藏发生了气洗;油气藏的气/油比值增大、 导致了原油蜡含量增高、 甲烷δ13C值发生正偏移。     

Wave breaking on turbulent energy budget in the ocean surface mixed layer

As an important physical process at the air-sea interface, wave movement and breaking have a significant effect on the ocean surface mixed layer （OSML）. When breaking waves occur at the ocean surface, turbulent kinetic energy （TKE） is input downwards, and a sublayer is formed near the surface and turbulence vertical mixing is intensively enhanced. A one-dimensional ocean model including the Mellor-Yamada level 2.5 turbulence closure equations was employed in our research on variations in turbulent energy budget within OSML. The influence of wave breaking could be introduced into the model by modifying an existing surface boundary condition of the TKE equation and specifying its input. The vertical diffusion and dissipation of TKE were effectively enhanced in the sublayer when wave breaking was considered. Turbulent energy dissipated in the sublayer was about 92.0% of the total depth-integrated dissipated TKE, which is twice higher than that of non-wave breaking. The shear production of TKE decreased by 3.5% because the mean flow fields tended to be uniform due to wave-enhanced turbulent mixing. As a result, a new local equilibrium between diffusion and dissipation of TKE was reached in the wave-enhanced layer. Below the sublayer, the local equilibrium between shear production and dissipation of TKE agreed with the conclusion drawn from the classical law-of-the-wall （Craig and Banner, 1994）.     

A new carbon and oxygen balance model based on ecological service of urban vegetation

The application of human induced oxygen consumption and carbon emission theory in urban region was summed up and on this base a new model of urban carbon and oxygen balance (UCOB) was constructed by calculating the carbon and oxygen fluxes. The purpose was to highlight the role of vegetation in urban ecosystems and evaluate the effects of various human activities on urban annual oxygen consumption and carbon emission. Hopefully,the model would be helpful in theory to keep the regional balance of carbon and oxygen,and provide guidance and support for urban vegetation planning in the future. To test the UCOB model,the Jimei District of Xiamen City,Fujian Province,China,a very typical urban region,was selected as a case study. The results turn out that Jimei′s vegetation service in oxygen emission and carbon sequestration could not meet the demand of the urban population,and more than 31.49 times of vegetation area should be added to meet the whole oxygen consumption in Jimei while 9.60 times of vegetation area are needed to meet the carbon sequestration targets. The results show that the new UCOB model is of a great potential to be applied to quantitative planning of urban vegetation and regional eco-compensation mechanisms.     

Temporal and spatial variability of dissolved organic carbon concentration in the Xijiang River, South China

A whole year analysis of riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in the Xijiang River (XJR), South China, showed that the mean riverine DOC concentration (1.24 mg L-1) in the XJR was notably lower than the averaged value (5.75 mg L-1) of the global riverine DOC concentration in several major rivers. There is an inconspicuous monthly fluctuation of the DOC signal in the XJR, but on a semi-yearly time scale, however, the riverine DOC concentration had significant difference between hydrological...     

Land use effects on soil organic carbon,microbial biomass and microbial activity in Changbai Mountains of Northeast China

Land use changes are known to alter soil organic carbon （SOC） and microbial properties, however, information about how conversion of natural forest to agricultural land use as well as plantations affects SOC and microbial properties in the Changbai Moun- tains of Northeast China is meager. Soil carbon content, microbial biomass carbon （MBC）, basal respiration and soil carbon mineraliza- tion were studied in five selected types of land use： natural old-growth broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest （NF）; spruce plantation （SP） established following clear-cutting of NF; cropland （CL）; ginseng farmland （GF） previously under NF; and a five-year Mongolian oak young forest （YF） reforested on an abandoned GF, in the Changbai Mountains of Northeast China in 2011. Results showed that SOC content was significantly lower in SP, CL, GF, and YF than in NF. MBC ranged from 304.4 mg/kg in CL to 1350.3 mg/kg in NF, which was significantly higher in the soil of NF than any soil of the other four land use types. The SOC and MBC contents were higher in SP soil than in CL, GF, and YF soils, yielding a significant difference between SP and CL. The value of basal respiration was also higher in NF than in SP, CL, GF, and YF. Simultaneously, higher values of the metabolic quotient were detected in CL, GF, and YF soils, indicat- ing low substrate utilization of the soil microbial community compared with that in NF and SP soil. The values of cumulative mineral- ized carbon and potentially mineralized carbon （Co） in NF were significantly higher than those in CL and GF, while no significant dif- ference was observed between NF and SP. In addition, YF had higher values of Co and C mineralization rate compared with GF. The results indicate that conversion from NF into agricultural land （CL and GF） uses and plantation may lead to a reduction in soil nutrients （SOC and MBC） and substrate utilization efficiency of the microbial community. By contrast, soils below SP were more conducive to the preservation of soil organic matter, which was reflected in the comparison of microbial indicators among CL, GF, and YF land uses. This study can provide data for evaluating soils nutrients under different land use types, and serve as references for the rational land use of natural forest in the study area.     

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Budget of a Polyculture System of Sea Cucumber （Apostichopus japonicus）, Jellyfish （Rhopilema esculenta） and Shrimp （Fenneropenaeus chinensis）

The nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) budget and the ecological efficiency of a polyculture system of sea cucumber(Apostichopus japonicus), jellyfish(Rhopilema esculenta) and shrimp(Fenneropenaeus chinensis) were studied in a cofferdam, 120.2 ha in size. The nutrients were supplied by spring tide inflow. In total, 139600 kg N yr-1 and 9730 kg P yr-1 input to the system; while 118900 kg N yr-1 and 2840 kg P yr-1 outflowed from the system concurrently, thus the outflow was 85.7%(N) and 29.2%(P) of inflow. The production of N and P was 889.5 kg yr-1 and 49.28 kg yr-1(sea cucumber) and 204 kg yr-1 and 18.03 kg yr-1(jellyfish and shrimp), respectively. The utilization rate of N and P by polycultured animals was 7.8‰ and 6.9‰, respectively, 21.9% and 38% higher than that of monocultured sea cucumber. Our results indicated that the polyculture system was an efficient culture system of animals and a remediation system of coastal environment as well; it scavenged 14.3% and 70.8% of N and P, respectively. Such an ecological efficiency may be improved further by increasing either the stocking density or the size of sea cucumber or both.     

山东济宁许厂煤矿下组煤瓦斯与二氧化碳开发利用前景及存在的问题

许厂煤矿下组煤中蕴藏着较为丰富的瓦斯、二氧化碳资源。下组煤位于瓦斯风化带内,含瓦斯、二氧化碳和氮气等气体,瓦斯含量与埋藏深度呈正相关关系,主要存在低含量瓦斯、二氧化碳抽采率、二氧化碳资源化转换等技术方面的问题。从国家相关优惠政策、资源优势、煤与煤层气一体化开发技术、近水平长钻孔定向钻进技术、煤层压裂造缝技术、煤层注气增产技术和瓦斯、二氧化碳气体提纯技术等关键技术的发展程度,结合煤矿的下组煤层的开采方案,认为许厂煤矿有着较好的煤炭与瓦斯、二氧化碳一体化开发利用前景。