Study on Modern Plant C－13 in Western China and Its Significance

Organic carbon isotopic composition(δ^13C) is one of the important proxies in paleoenvironment studies.In this paper modern plant δ^13C in the arid areas of China and Tibetan Plateau is studied.It is found that most terrestrial plant species in western China are C3 plants with δ^13C values ranging from -32.6‰ to -23.2‰ and only few species are C4 plants with δ^13C values from -16.8‰ to -13.3‰.The δ^13C is closely related to precipitation (or humidity),i.e., light δ^13C is related to high precipitation(or humid climate),while heavy δ^13C to low precipitation (or dry climate),but there is almost no relation between plant δ^13C and temperature.Submerged plants have δ^13C values ranging from -22.0‰ to -12.7‰,like C4 plants,while merged plants have δ^13C values ranging from -28.1‰ to -24.5‰，like C3 C4 plants,while marged plants have δ^13C values ranging from -28.1‰ to -24.5‰,like C3 plants.It can then be concluded that organic δ^13C variations in terrestrial sediments such as loeas and soil in western China can indicate precipitation changes,but those in lake sediments can reflect organic sources and the productivity of different types of aquatic plants.     

Deep-sea coral geochemistry: Implication for the vital effect

Deep-sea corals hold a great potential as a key to important aspects of paleoceanography for at least two reasons, 1) they offer temporal high resolution records of deep-sea environment, because they have growth banding structures, 2) and they are well suited for studying vital effects, because the deep-sea environment does not change over short time scales. However, the relationship between the chemical composition of deep-sea coral skeletons and environmental factors is not well understood. In this study, the chemical composition of deep-sea corals was measured in bulk individuals and along skeletal micro-structures. Among the bulk individuals, δ¹⁸O value and Sr / Ca ratio show a negative but weak correlation with ambient temperature. On the other hand, the Mg / Ca ratio has a positive, weak correlation with the temperature. Large variations were found among samples collected from similar temperature. The variation is up to 3.8‰ for δ¹⁸O, 0.9 mmol/mol for Sr / Ca ratios, and 0.78 mmol/mol for Mg / Ca ratios among samples with ambient average temperature within 1 °C. This variation may be due to a large vital effect. The centers of calcification (COCs), which were formed at high calcification rate, have lower Sr / Ca, U / Ca and higher Mg / Ca ratios than surrounding fasciculi. This chemical distribution supports the model that elemental incorporation depends on calcification rate. This suggests that calcification rate is a very important factor for the chemical composition in deep-sea corals and is one of the most significant mechanisms of the vital effect. Because of this large vital effect, further investigations are essential to use the deep-sea coral as a temperature proxy.     

Stratigraphic evidence for millennial-scale temporal clustering of earthquakes on a continental-interior fault: Holocene Mississippi River floodplain deposits, New Madrid seismic zone, USA

The earthquake cycles that characterize continental-interior areas that are far from active plate boundaries have proven highly cryptic and difficult to resolve. We used a novel paleoseismic proxy to address this issue. Namely, we reconstructed Holocene Mississippi River channels from maps of floodplain strata in order to identify channel perturbations reflective of major displacement events on the high-hazard and mid-plate Reelfoot thrust fault, New Madrid seismic zone, U.S.A. Only three discrete slip events are currently documented for the Reelfoot fault ( AD 900,  AD 1450, and AD 1812). This study extends this record and, thus, illustrates the utility of stratigraphic proxies as paleoseismic tools. We concurrently offer here some of the first quantified response times for tectonically induced channel pattern changes in large alluvial rivers.

We identified at least two cycles of pervasive meandering that were interrupted by channel-straightening responses occurring upstream of the Reelfoot fault scarp. These straightening responses initiated at 2244 BC +/− 269 to 1620 BC +/− 220 and  AD 900, respectively, and each records initiation of a period of Reelfoot fault slip after millennia of relative tectonic quiescence. The second (or New Madrid) straightening response was triggered by the previously known  AD 900 fault slip event, and this initial low sinuosity has been protracted until the modern day by the latter  AD 1450 and AD 1812 events. The first (or Bondurant) straightening response began a period of several hundred to  1400 years of low river sinuosity which evidences a similar period of multiple recurrent displacement events on the Reelfoot fault. These Bondurant events predate the existing paleoseismic record for the Reelfoot fault.

These data offer initial evidence that slip events on the Reelfoot fault were temporally clustered on millennial scales and, thus, offers the first direct evidence for millennial-scale clustering of earthquakes on a continental-interior fault. This carries additional ramifications. Namely, faults that have been quiescent and non-hazardous for millennia could re-enter an enduring period of recurrent hazardous earthquakes with little warning. Likewise, the Reelfoot fault also reveals evidence of temporal clustering of earthquakes on short-term cycles (months), as well as evidence for longer-term reactivation cycles (10⁴–10⁶ years). This introduces the possibility that temporal clustering could be hierarchical on some continental-interior faults.     

8.2ka BP冷气候事件确实在中国发生过吗？

综合迄今中国境内湖泊沉积、冰心、泥炭、石笋、古土壤和洪积物获得的全新世数据及序列表明,早全新世气候变化是不稳定的,至少存在一次明显的降温事件,且表现为区域差异,其根本原因是受不同气候系统、复杂地形（特别是高原）的制约。但是,将不同地区、存在于9.0～7.6ka BP期间、500a至200a不等的气候突变或波动和记录与环北大西洋的8.2ka BP气候突变事件相对应,并归因于Laurentide冰盖的崩塌冰融水注入北大西洋造成的降温显然是草率的。中国主要地处季风气候区,加上目前我们所得序列的不同年代、样品精度、不同材料以及缺乏对气候事件前后精确的年代数据的控制,对于中国是否存在相同的或相似的气候降温事件是值得商榷的。如果真的存在,其时间跨度、降温幅度以及诱发机制又是什么,均需进一步认真研究。     

黑碳在开封古城黄泛地层沉积旋回划分中的指示意义

多次黄河泛滥使现今开封城市地面以下叠置数座古城,出现"城摞城"奇观。泛滥之后的城市重建等人类活动常常扰动正常的沉积层序,给粒度旋回划分带来巨大困难,因此需要寻找其他代用指标。分别在"城摞城"中心区(ZKsz)和郊区(ZKjm)获取25 m连续岩芯,以10 cm间隔分样;用激光粒度法结合筛分开展沉积物粒度分析,用Lim法(1996)测定黑碳含量,用小波分析划分沉积旋回。结果表明:ZKjm岩芯的粒度旋回界线大多与黑碳旋回一致,表明黑碳含量可以作为划分沉积旋回的代用指标。ZKsz钻芯深度8.8~23.5 m之间的地层,粒度旋回和黑碳旋回的数量及其界限基本相同;北宋以后地层(深度0.3~8.8 m)的粒度旋回只有2个,而黑碳旋回有7个,表明黑碳含量适用于城市扰动地层的沉积旋回划分。     

Terminal Ediacaran anoxia in deep-ocean: Trace element evidence from cherts of the Liuchapo Formation,South China

Here we report a detailed trace element study of the cherts from Liuchapo Formation, which is a terminal Ediacaran (551-542 Ma) succession in South China deposited in deep-water basinal setting. The REE of Liuchapo cherts shows similar features as observed for anoxic modern seawater (but not for hydrothermal fluids), characterized by positive La anomaly (La_N/Ce_N = 0.83–1.91, average 1.37), moderately negative Ce anomaly (0.53–1.1, average 0.73), positive Gd anomaly (average 1.08), positive Y anomaly (average 1.21), and depleted LREE and MREE. In addition, the Liuchapo cherts have low ΣREE (3.36–56.13 ppm, average 20.6 ppm), low Al₂O₃, Ti, Th and Zr concentrations, and high Y/Ho ratios (up to 43.9). The redox-sensitive trace elements concentrations in the cherts do not correlate with detrital input proxies. All of these features suggest that the redox-sensitive trace elements in the cherts were authigenically concentrated in water column and their concentrations thus are excellent indicators of ancient redox conditions. Very low Th/U ratios, high V/(V+Ni) and Fe_⊤/Al ratios, enrichments of redox-sensitive trace elements (U, V, Mo), and low concentration of Mn in the cherts imply anoxia in the deep seawater. Our data reveal that the terminal Ediacaran ocean was not completely oxidized and the deep ocean was still anoxic, at least in South China. We propose that although the oxidative events existed in the terminal Ediacaran oceans, decomposition of organic matter prolonged anoxia in the deep ocean. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants Nos. 40532012, 40873007, 40603021) and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX3-SW-141)     

石笋氧碳同位素古气候代用指标研究进展

洞穴石笋以其独立的绝对年龄和稳定的古气候代用指标而成为很好的陆地古气候研究材料。应用U 系定年,可以获得独立精确的日历年时间序列,结合年纹层统计,可以获得年际甚至是季节性变化古气候记录。作为古气候代用指标,石笋氧同位素具有全球可对比性,现已建立了氧同位素的全球气候变化曲线,显示了比深海氧同位素及极地冰芯氧同位素记录更多的优势。石笋δ18O 的影响因素很多,在东亚季风控制区和其它季风控制区,石笋的δ18O 反映了夏季风的强度或者是季风降雨的变化。这些全球可对比的具有高精度绝对定年的石笋δ18O 记录,突破了早期的单一温度控制机理,不仅为古气候学家提供了坚实的古气候变化时间序列,而且使古气候研究能从机理上探讨其变化规律。δ13C不如δ18O 具有全球可对比性,在同位素平衡的开放体系,石笋δ13C 主要反映了洞穴上覆土壤CO2 的同位素特征。因此,一般认为石笋δ13C可直接反映当地植被的特征,包括植被类型C3/C4 比率的变化及植被的茂盛与衰退,在一些地区也可作为大气降水和温度变化的指标。石笋δ13C 很易受到蒸发作用、滴水的快速去气、动力分馏、碳酸盐的先期沉积等影响而使得其数值偏正,应该予以重视。通过介绍石笋氧碳同位素的研究现状,使得读者对石笋的稳定同位素指标有一个初步认识。同时,对今后的研究方向给与一定的探讨。     

热释光在南黄海、东海表层沉积物研究中的应用

提出了海洋沉积物热释光的测量方法。对南黄海和东海350个表层沉积物样品进行了热释光测量,研究了它们的热释光强度和发光曲线特征,探讨了沉积物热释光强度与其他指标之间的关系,讨论了热释光作为海洋沉积物的一个研究参数的原理和可行性。研究发现,沉积物热释光强度与砂、粘土和平均粒径有很好的相关关系;根据发光曲线的特征对研究海区进行了分区,发光曲线有明显的区域特征,这与各区的沉积环境有关。因此,热释光特征有可能成为研究海洋沉积物和沉积环境的一个替代指标。     

Recent Progress in Studies of Climate Change in China

An overview of basic research on climate change in recent years in China is presented. In the past 100 years in China, average annual mean surface air temperature (SAT) has increased at a rate ranging from 0.03℃ (10 yr)-1 to 0.12℃ (10 yr)-1 . This warming is more evident in northern China and is more significant in winter and spring. In the past 50 years in China, at least 27% of the average annual warming has been caused by urbanization. Overall, no significant trends have been detected in annual and/or summer precipitation in China on a whole for the past 100 years or 50 years. Both increases and decreases in frequencies of major extreme climate events have been observed for the past 50 years. The frequencies of extreme temperature events have generally displayed a consistent pattern of change across the country, while the frequencies of extreme precipitation events have shown only regionally and seasonally significant trends. The frequency of tropical cyclone landfall decreased slightly, but the frequency of sand/dust storms decreased significantly. Proxy records indicate that the annual mean SAT in the past a few decades is the highest in the past 400-500 years in China, but it may not have exceeded the highest level of the Medieval Warm Period (1000-1300 AD). Proxy records also indicate that droughts and floods in eastern China have been characterized by continuously abnormal rainfall periods, with the frequencies of extreme droughts and floods in the 20th century most likely being near the average levels of the past 2000 years. The attribution studies suggest that increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere are likely to be a main factor for the observed surface warming nationwide. The Yangtze River and Huaihe River basins underwent a cooling trend in summer over the past 50 years, which might have been caused by increased aerosol concentrations and cloud cover. However, natural climate variability might have been a main driver for the mean and extreme precipitation variations observed over the past century. Climate models generally perform well in simulating the variations of annual mean SAT in China. They have also been used to project future changes in SAT under varied GHG emission scenarios. Large uncertainties have remained in these model-based projections, however, especially for the projected trends of regional precipitation and extreme climate events.     

Temperature and Precipitation Changes in China During the Holocene

We review here proxy records of temperatare and precipitation in China during the Holocene,especially the last two millennia.The quality of proxy data,methodology of reconstruction,and uncertainties in reconstruction were emphasized in comparing different temperatare and precipitation reconstruction and clarilying temporal and spatial patterns of temperature and precipitation during the Holocene.The Holocene climate was generally warm and wet.The warmest period occurred in 9.6-6.2 cal ka BP,whereas a period of maximum monsoon precipitation started at about 11.0 cal ka BP and lasted until about 8.O-5.0 cal ka BP.There were a series of millennial-scale cold or dry events superimposed on the general trend of climate changes.During past two millennia,a warming trend in the 20th century was clearly detected,but the warming magnitude was smaller than the maximum level of the Medieval Warm Period and the Middle Holocene.Cold conditions occurred over the whole of China during the Little Ice Age (AD 1400-AD 1900),but the warming of the Medieval Warm Period(AD 900-AD 1300)was not distinct in China,especially west China.The spatial pattern of precipitation showed significant regional differences in China,especially east China.The modern warm period has lasted 20、years from 1987 to 2006.Bi-decadal oscillation in precipitation variability was apparent over China during the 20th century. Solar activity and volcanic eruptions both were major forcings governing the climate variability during the last millennium.