Axial and equatorial rotations of the Earth's cores associated with the Quaternary ice age

The differential axial and equatorial rotations of both cores associated with the Quaternary glacial cycles were evaluated based on a realistic earth model in density and elastic structures. The rheological model is composed of compressible Maxwell viscoelastic mantle, inviscid outer core and incompressible Maxwell viscoelastic inner core. The present study is, however, preliminary because I assume a rigid rotation for the fluid outer core. In models with no frictional torques at the boundaries of the outer core, the maximum magnitude of the predicted axial rotations of the outer and inner cores amounts to ∼2° year⁻¹ and ∼1° year⁻¹, respectively, but that for the secular equatorial rotations of both cores is ∼0.0001° at most. However, oscillating parts with a period of ∼225 years are predicted in the equatorial rotations for both cores. Then, I evaluated the differential rotations by adopting a time-dependent electromagnetic (EM) torque as a possible coupling mechanism at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) and inner core boundary (ICB). In a realistic radial magnetic field at the CMB estimated from surface magnetic field, the axial and equatorial rotations couple through frictional torques at the CMB, although these rotations decouple for dipole magnetic field model. The differential rotations were evaluated for conductivity models with a conductance of 10⁸ S of the lowermost mantle inferred from studies of nutation and precession of the Earth and decadal variations of length of day (LOD). The secular parts of equatorial rotations are less sensitive to these parameters, but the magnitude for the axial rotations is much smaller than for frictionless model. These models, however, produce oscillating parts in the equatorial rotations of both cores and also in the axial rotations of the whole Earth and outer and inner cores. These oscillations are sensitive to both the magnitude of radial magnetic field at the CMB and the conductivity structure. No sharp isolated spectral peaks are predicted for models with a thin conductive layer (∼200 m) at the bottom of the mantle. In models with a conductive layer of ∼100 km thickness, however, sharp spectral peaks are predicted at periods of ∼225 and ∼25 years for equatorial and axial rotations, respectively, although these depend on the strength of radial magnetic field at the CMB. While the present study is preliminary in modelling the fluid outer core and coupling mechanism at the CMB, the predicted axial rotations of the whole Earth may be important in explaining the observed LOD through interaction between the equatorial and axial rotations.     

长江漫滩沉积特征与地震效应的工程研究

基于多年大量的长江漫滩勘察实际资料，结合地势、地貌和沉积特征，从空间分布、物理力学性质等方面，系统研究总结了岩土工程地质特性，分析了场地地震效应，并从场地建筑持力层的选择、地摹的处理和基础类型的确定、基坑开挖与支护等方面进行了工程对策分析讨论，以促进城市规划和建设中地质环境的充分合理开发利用。     

Carbonate dissolution revealed by silt grain-size distribution: comparison of Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum sediments from the pelagic South Atlantic

The current issue of global warming and the role of the ocean in global exchange of CO₂ increases the interest in solid budgets of marine carbonate production and dissolution. The present study utilizes grain‐size composition of pelagic sediments in order to trace spatial and temporal variability of carbonate sedimentation in the South Atlantic for the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 19–23 cal kyr BP). A decrease in grain size (e.g. sand content, mean grain size of coarse carbonate silt) indicates increased carbonate dissolution as a result of increased fragmentation of calcareous microfossils. The spatial grain‐size pattern suggests a threshold water depth below which a gradual grain‐size decrease becomes increasingly rapid. This water depth is considered as the sedimentary lysocline. For the Holocene time slice, a constant, gradual decrease of foraminifer carbonate of about 5–10% per 1000 m water depth above the lysocline gives evidence for supra‐lysoclinal dissolution. The water depth of the lysocline for the Holocene is tied to the interface of North Atlantic Deep Water and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) (ca 4100 m). Submarine ridges which restrict intrusion of AABW into the Angola Basin cause an asymmetry in carbonate preservation across the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge. The lysocline was reconstructed at ca 3100 m for the LGM. These data suggest that the ca 1000 m rise of the lysocline eradicated the Holocene east–west asymmetry.     

Re-envisioning the structure of last glacial vegetation in New Zealand using beetle fossils

A series of 18 fossil beetle assemblages are used to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of the northwest West Coast, New Zealand, over the period of the last interstadial-stadial transition (ca. 37,000-21,300 cal yr BP). The samples were recovered from an in-filled hollow within a dune field ca. 9 km south west of Westport (41°47′S, 171°30′E). This fossil beetle reconstruction is compared to an existing palynological reconstruction from the same site. The beetle assemblages indicate an environment of marshy shrubland interspersed with closed canopy coastal vegetation prior to glacial onset, and a mosaic of closed canopy patches and open tussock grassland during full glacial conditions. These interpretations, contrast with the palynologically based interpretation which indicates subalpine shrubland prior to glacial onset and widespread grassland with little woody vegetation during the period of maximum glacial cooling. This study is consistent with other non-pollen studies in New Zealand and indicates that the palynological interpretation of the paleoenvironment of the Westport region downplays the importance of closed canopy vegetation in the area during the transition from interstadial to full glacial (stadial) conditions. It challenges the interpretation of open vegetation at low elevations during glacial periods from pollen studies.     

Evidence for a 55-50 ka (early Wisconsin) glaciation of the Cordilleran ice sheet, Yukon Territory, Canada

Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be ages on boulders of 54-51 ka (n = 4) on a penultimate Cordilleran ice sheet (CIS) drift confirm that Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 (early Wisconsin) glaciation was extensive in parts of Yukon Territory, the first confirmed evidence in the Canadian Cordillera. We name the glaciation inferred from the mapped and dated drift the Gladstone. These results are in apparent contrast to the MIS 6 (Illinoian) age of the penultimate Reid glaciation to the east in central Yukon but are equivalent to exposure ages on MIS 4 drift in Alaska. Contrasting penultimate ice extents in Yukon requires that different source areas of the northern CIS in Yukon responded differently to climatic forcing during glaciations. The variation in glacier extent for different source areas likely relates to variation in precipitation during glaciation, as the northern CIS was a precipitation-limited system. Causes for a variation in precipitation remain unclear but likely involve the style of precipitation delivery over the St. Elias Mountains possibly related to variations in the Aleutian low.     

Evidence of a two-fold glacial advance during the last glacial maximum in the Tagliamento end moraine system (eastern Alps)

The glacial history of the Tagliamento morainic amphitheater (southeastern Alpine foreland, Italy) during the last glacial maximum (LGM) has been reconstructed by means of a geological survey and drillings, radiocarbon dating and pollen analysis in the amphitheater and in the sandur. Two phases of glacial culmination, separated by a distinct recession, are responsible for glacial landforms and related sediments in the outer part of the amphitheater. The age of the younger advance fits the chronology of the culmination of the last glaciation in the Alps, well established between 24 and 21 cal ka BP (20 to 17.5 ¹⁴C ka BP), whereas the first pulse between 26.5 and 23 cal ka BP (22 to 21 ¹⁴C ka BP), previously undated, was usually related to older (pre-LGM) glaciations by previous authors. Here, the first pulse is the most extensive LGM culmination, but is often buried by the subsequent pulse. The onset and final recession of the late Würm Alpine glaciation in the Tagliamento amphitheater are synchronous with the established global glacial maximum between 30 and 19 cal ka BP. The two-fold LGM glacial oscillation is interpreted as a millennial-scale modulation within the late Würm glaciation, caused by oscillations in inputs of southerly atmospheric airflows related to Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles. Phases of enhanced southerly circulation promoted increased rainfall and ice accumulation in the southern Alps.     

Malaco temperature reconstructions and numerical simulation of environmental conditions in the southeastern Carpathian Basin during the Last Glacial Maximum

We investigate the glacial climate conditions in the southeastern Carpathian Basin (Vojvodina, Serbia) based on the reconstruction of malacological palaeotemperatures and results from a high-resolution regional climate simulation. Land snail assemblages from eight loess profiles are used to reconstruct July temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The malacological reconstructed temperatures are in good agreement with the simulated LGM July temperatures by the Weather Research and Forecast model. Both methods indicate increasing temperatures from the northwestern towards the southeastern parts of the study area. LGM aridity indices calculated based on the regional climate model data suggest more arid conditions in the southeastern parts compared with more humid conditions in the northwestern parts. However, for present-day conditions, the moisture gradient is reversed, exhibiting more humid (arid) conditions in the southeast (northwest). An explanation for the reversed LGM aridity pattern is provided by an analysis of the prevailing wind directions over the South Banat district (Serbia). The prevailing moist northwesterly winds during summer are not able to compensate for the annual lack of moisture induced by the dry winds from the southeast that are more frequent during the LGM for the other seasons.     

若尔盖盆地黄河第一湾河岸沉积地层序列及其成因研究

经过在若尔盖盆地进行全面野外考察,在黄河第一弯岸边发现了沉积序列清晰的、具有代表性的完整沉积地层剖面。通过沉积学和地层学特征和沉积相的观测分析,结合实验室粒度分析、数据处理和测年断代,其结果表明：该剖面底部蓝灰色古湖相沉积层反映出盆地内部在OSL年龄35 ka之前为较深的湖泊。其上覆盖的风沙与泥炭互层,反映出在该区域湖水消失之后,在30 ka之前古湖底出现泥炭沼泽,同时风沙作用盛行。而浊黄橙色古洪水沉积层（OFD1）则反映出在30~27 ka之间,曾经有来自于黄河源区流域的规模巨大的洪水进入若尔盖盆地,在古湖底泛滥并且将其携带的分选良好的细沙与粉沙质泥沙堆积下来。该剖面中部厚度达5~7 m的河漫滩-风沙层,沿着河岸追索,则可见其表现为高低起伏的古沙丘。这表明在末次冰期盛期和冰消期,气候干旱寒冷,黄河已经下切形成其河槽,其河漫滩沉积物被强劲的风力吹扬,形成连绵起伏的沙丘。该层之上所覆盖的浊黄橙色古洪水沉积层（OFD2）,则反映出在全新世初期9.86~8.28 ka之间,来自于黄河源区流域的大洪水再次进入盆地,在黄河第一湾两岸的古湖底沉积了分选良好的细沙质与粉沙质的泥沙。到了全新世中期后,若尔盖盆地风沙作用依然盛行,黄河河槽深切,第一湾两岸接受沙尘暴沉积。在全新世中期的相对温暖湿润气候条件之下,沙尘暴沉积物被改造为亚高山草甸黑土类土壤,成熟度极高。到了全新世晚期以来,风沙作用与沙尘暴沉积过程持续,沙尘暴沉积物也被改造为亚高山草甸黑土层。本文研究对于深入理解黄河源区末次冰期以来环境变化与地表过程演变,以及晚更新世以来的气候水文变化规律具有重要的科学意义。     

天山末次冰期以来干旱化过程的冰川证据

依据天山7个有确切年代学资料的典型地区进行冰川面积和平衡线高度等重建,揭示天山地区末次冰期以来冰川经历的扩张和收缩过程。冰川规模在MIS 4~MIS 3大幅度扩张,形成大规模的复合型山谷冰川和山麓冰川;MIS 2冰川扩张显著,但远不及MIS 4~MIS 3,许多山区形成大型山谷冰川;全新世新冰期NG和小冰期LIA都略有扩张,冰碛垄分布在现代冰川外围,冰川类型与现在一致。冰川平衡线高度的降幅亦表现为MIS 4~MIS 3最大,MIS 2以后降幅递减。MIS 4~MIS 3天山冰川大规模扩张与欧亚冰盖演化,巨大冰前湖泊、广阔的湿地的形成为西风提供更多水气带到天山有关;MIS 2至今,随着欧亚冰盖减小到消失,西风带来的水气渐少,干冷的蒙古高压逐渐加强,制约了冰川规模扩张。     

西藏冰湖溃决灾害事件极端气候特征

以1960年以来西藏境内已有记载的27次冰湖溃决灾害事件作为研究对象,基于西藏国家气象站点长时间序列（有效记录至今）日气温和日降雨数据,计算得到16个极端气温指数和6个极端降雨指数。通过主成分变换,提取综合极端气温指数和综合极端降雨指数,并进行历史（10年内对比）极端气候特征对比,获得冰湖溃决灾害发生当年及当月极端气候状态,结果表明西藏冰湖溃决灾害发生期（当年及当月）极端气候特征显著,反映极端气候状态对于激发西藏冰湖溃决灾害发生的重要贡献,具体表现为：(1) 67%（18次）的冰湖溃决事件发生当年综合极端气温指数和综合极端降雨指数均大于前期50%年份的综合极端气候指数,其中,13次灾害发生当年极端气候异常水平超过前期70%年份;(2)已有灾害暴发月份记载的25次冰湖溃决事件中,19次冰湖溃决事件发生当月极端气候指数异常偏高,11次冰湖溃决事件发生当月极端气温和极端降水均大于75%往年同期综合极端气候指数;(3)部分灾害事件如扎日错（1981年6月)、龙纠错溃决（2000年8月）等,灾害发生当年极端气温状态低于往年,而暴发当月综合极端气温指数和综合极端降雨指数均大于历史同期水平,表现为加剧状态;(4)所有冰湖溃决灾害发生当月的综合极端气温指数均高于往年同期指数,表明短历时极端气温事件对高原冰湖溃决灾害形成具有重要影响。