MM5 Simulations of the China Regional Climate During the LGM.I: In uence of CO2 and Earth Orbit Change

Using a regional climate model MM5 nested to an atmospheric global climate model CCM3, a series of simulations and sensitivity experiments have been performed to investigate the relative Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) climate response to different mechanisms over China. Model simulations of the present day (PD) climate and the LGM climate change are in good agreement with the observation data and geological records, especially in the simulation of precipitation change. Under the PD and LGM climate,changes of earth orbital parameters have a small influence on the annual mean temperature over China.However, the magnitude of the effect shows a seasonal pattern, with a significant response in winter. Thus,this influence cannot be neglected. During the LGM, CO2 concentration reached its lowest point to 200 ppmv. This results in a temperature decrease over China. The influences of CO2 concentration on climate show seasonal and regional patterns as well, with a signi cant influence in winter. On the contrary, CO2 concentration has less impact in summer season. In some cases, temperature even increases with decreasing in CO2 concentration. This temperature increase is the outcome of decrease in cloud amount; hence increase the solar radiation that reached the earth's surface. This result suggests that cloud amount plays a very important role in climate change and could direct the response patterns of some climate variables such as temperature during certain periods and over certain regions. In the Tibetan Plateau, the temperature responses to changes of the above two factors are generally weaker than those in other regions because the cloud amount in this area is generally more than in the other areas. Relative to the current climate, changes in orbital parameters have less impact on the LGM climate than changes in CO2 concentration. However,both factors have rather less contributions to the climate change in the LGM. About 3%-10% changes in the annual mean temperature are contributed by CO2.     

青藏高原及邻区晚更新世-全新世冰川活动的年代学及影响因素

山岳冰川发育是否同步于北半球冰期,西风与季风对山岳冰川发育的控制作用是青藏高原及周边山地的冰川年代学研究的关键.近年来就地宇宙成因核素和光释光测年技术的快速发展为山岳冰川发育规律研究提供了大量的数据支持.本文综合分析了近年来在青藏高原和周边山地获得的冰川年代学数据,发现该地区山岳冰川发育与北半球冰期不同步,冰川发育贯穿于整个MIS 3阶段.在MIS 2阶段冰川活动峰期明显滞后于北半球末次冰期冰盛期.但是,山岳冰川对Heinrich Event 1和Younger Dryas两次快速气候波动事件有显著响应.这可能说明了西风作为纽带可以将北大西洋气候变化与青藏高原联系起来,同时,来自南方的季风对高原冰川的发育也有着重要的控制作用.造山带地区的冰川进退与高原抬升、地貌及气候之间是一个复杂的耦合系统.     

末次盛冰期以来南海南部天然气水合物储库变化及其对环境的影响

末次盛冰期以来南海南部海平面及海洋底水温度均发生了很大的变化. 为了研究南海南部天然气水合物稳定带厚度在这个过程中的变化情况及其对环境的影响,我们利用相关的计算公式,并编制了计算稳定带厚度的程序,在南海南部的南沙海槽、曾母盆地、巴拉望盆地和苏禄海等四个重点海域选取了35个点进行末次盛冰期及目前稳定带厚度的计算. 计算结果表明,南海南部末次盛冰期和目前的天然气水合物稳定带厚度分别为262m和233m;甲烷资源量分别为269×1013m3和239×1013m3;水合物资源量分别为164×1011m3和146×1011m3. 这说明自末次盛冰期以来,南海南部稳定带厚度平均减薄了29m,平均减薄百分比为12%,同时释放了大约30×1012m3的甲烷,这些甲烷对环境产生了较大影响,对末次冰期的结束起了较大作用.     

渭河盆地末次冰盛期以来沉积环境变化研究

研究过去气候快速变化能为当前极端气候分析和未来环境预测提供自然背景理解。亚洲季风在北半球乃至全球的第四纪气候变化中扮演着重要角色,其演化是全球气候变化背景下的典型区域响应。然而,不同地质载体及不同指标所记录的亚洲冬、夏季风变化存在着较大差异,产生差异的原因及受到的动力机制是值得深入研究的科学问题。渭河盆地位于黄土高原和古三门湖沉积交叠的区域,是研究第四纪亚洲季风演化的理想场所。在盆地西南部西安市户县和长安县获取了两个黄土沉积钻孔,户县ZZC孔长4 m,长安县XFC孔长3 m,两孔的年代均超过25 ka。通过两钻孔的粒度和元素地球化学等代用指标研究,对比分析不同指标对气候变化的敏感度差异,反演了末次冰盛期(LGM)以来的区域沉积环境变化,并尝试探讨该时期发生的气候突变事件及反映的季风强度变化。结果表明,两钻孔的平均粒径从LGM到中全新世逐渐变细,中全新世之后少许变粗,空间上表现出一致性,总体反映了末次冰盛期以来的冬季风强度演化;Ca/Ti反映了与季风降水相关的淋溶强度,从LGM到全新世暖期夏季风逐渐减弱,并记录了若干次气候快速变化。粒度和元素比值变化表明,渭河盆地沉积良好地记录了末次冰盛期至全新世的大幅冷干-暖湿波动及若干次持续时间较短的快速水文变化事件,主要是受到太阳辐射和冰量等因素调控的影响。由于渭河盆地有上千米的新生代沉积,未来开展高分辨率研究有望揭示不同时间尺度季风变化特征及其与区域和全球变化的联系。     

Landscape evolution and origin of Lake Fúquene (Colombia): Tectonics, erosion and sedimentation processes during the Pleistocene

The Basin of Ubaté–Chichinquirá (5°28′N, 73°45′ W, c. 2580 m altitude) includes the Fúquene Valley and is located in the central part of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. Rocks and sediments were folded and faulted during the Miocene, uplifted during the (late) Pliocene, and affected by glaciers during the Pleistocene. Successive glacial and interglacial periods left significant marks in the landscape which were used to reconstruct six stages in the development of the landscape along a relative chronology. During early Pleistocene episode 1 glaciers formed U-shape valleys. Evidence of the impact of ice sheets has been found as far downslope as ca. 2900 m elevation. During episode 2 moraines developed which were cut by the present San José River. During episode 3 abundant sediment was produced by glacial erosion. It accentuated the sculpturing of hard rock and deepening of the drainage basin. The ancestral Ubaté–Suarez River constituted a dynamic erosive system that gave rise to deep V-shaped valleys and progressively formed a set of intricate valleys with a high sediment production. Finally, intense glacial and fluvio-glacial erosion led to a geomorphological system with high energy levels and intensive sediment transport leading to wide valleys. During episode 4 the Ubaté–Suarez River eroded and deepened its valley until it captured the old El Hato–San José Valley. It caused intense erosion of the moraine and the fluvio-glacial gravels. Deep V-shaped valleys stabilized in the high areas of the main drainage system and these valleys form the present-day fluvial sub-basins. During episode 5 the deep valley in the northern part of the Basin of Ubaté–Chichinquirá developed. During middle Pleistocene episode 6 colluvial sediments formed the Saboya dam and a lake was formed in the river valley of which the present Lake Fúquene is only a small remnant. Lithological changes indicate fluctuating water levels and Lake Fúquene must have expanded periodically up to an area 5 to 10 times the present-day surface.     

西峰蔡家咀黄土剖面记录的末次盛冰期到全新世最佳期气候变化

采用挖探井方式获取西峰蔡家咀剖面200 cm黄土沉积序列,以7个¹⁴C-AMS测年数据为年龄控制点,利用沉积物粒度模式建立最近20 ka的年代框架。磁化率、灰度、粒度等指标的综合对比表明该剖面记录了末次盛冰期增温以来几次重要气候事件,如Heinrich事件1(H₁)、Bølling-Allerød暖期(B-A)、新仙女木事件(YD)、8.2 ka事件等,说明西峰黄土剖面具有记录短尺度气候突变事件的潜力。     

Structural, tectonic and glaciological controls on the evolution of fjord landscapes

The fjord landscape of South America, stretching ~ 1500 km between Golfo Corcovado (~ 43°S) and Tierra del Fuego (~ 56°S), is the largest continuous fjord landscape on Earth. This paper presents the results of new structural geological and geomorphological mapping of this landscape using optical satellite images and digital elevation models. First-order geological structures are represented by strike-slip faults forming lineaments up to hundreds of kilometres long. The strike-slip faulting has been active since Late Cretaceous times and is responsible for the presence of a conspicuous structural cleavage visible as lineaments up to ~ 10 km long. A detailed analysis of these second-order lineaments from digital image data was carried out in three sectors. In Sector 1, located northwest of the North Patagonian Icefield, there are three distinct mean orientations, characterized by a main nearly orogen-parallel orientation (az. ~ 145°) and two orogen-oblique secondary orientations (az. ~ 20° and az. ~ 65°). In Sector 2, located west of the South Patagonian Icefield, there are also three separate mean orientations, with most of the lineaments concentrated between azimuths 0° and 80° (mean at ~ 36°); and two other orogen-oblique means at azimuth ~ 122° and ~ 163°. In Sector 3, around the Cordillera Darwin, there is a single main orogen-parallel mean at ~ 100–115°. In all three sectors, mapped fjord orientations bear a striking similarity to the structural data, with fjords orientated preferentially in the same direction as structural lineaments. We infer that successive glaciations followed the same ice-discharge routes, widening and deepening pre-existing geological structures at the expense of the surrounding terrain to create the fjord landscape. This study has broader implications for ice sheet reconstructions and landscape evolution beneath ice sheets because we demonstrate that the primary control on fjord development in glaciated areas is geological and not glaciological.     

Summer temperatures during the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age inferred from varved proglacial lake sediments in southern Alaska

For the heavily glaciated mountains of southern Alaska, few high-resolution, millennial-scale proxy temperature reconstructions are available for comparison with modern temperatures or with the history of glacier fluctuations. Recent catastrophic drainage of glacier-dammed Iceberg Lake, on the northern margin of the Bagley Icefield, exposed subaerial outcrops of varved lacustrine sediments that span the period 442–1998 AD. Here, an updated chronology of varve thickness measurements is used to quantitatively reconstruct melt-season temperature anomalies. From 1958 to 1998, varve thickness has a positive and marginally significant correlation with May–June temperatures at the nearest coastal measurement stations. Varve sensitivity to temperature has changed over time, however, in response to lake level changes in 1957 and earlier. I compensate for this by log-transforming the varve thickness chronology, and also by using a 400-year-long tree-ring-based temperature proxy to reconstruct melt-season temperatures at Iceberg Lake. Regression against this longer proxy record is statistically weak, but spans the full range of occupied lake levels and varve sensitivities. Reconstructed temperature anomalies have broad confidence intervals, but nominally span 1.1°C over the last 1500+ years. Maximum temperatures occurred in the late twentieth century, with a minimum in the late sixth century. The Little Ice Age is present as three cool periods between 1350 and 1850 AD with maximum cooling around 1650 AD. A Medieval Warm Period is evident from 1000 to 1100 AD, but the temperature reconstruction suggests it was less warm than recent decades—an observation supported by independent geological evidence of recent glacier retreat that is unprecedented over the period of record. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Glacial isostatic adjustment in Fennoscandia from GRACE data and comparison with geodynamical models

The Earth’s gravity field observed by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission shows variations due to the integral effect of mass variations in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere. Several institutions, such as the GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) Potsdam, the University of Texas at Austin, Center for Space Research (CSR) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, provide GRACE monthly solutions, which differ slightly due to the application of different reduction models and centre-specific processing schemes. The GRACE data are used to investigate the mass variations in Fennoscandia, an area which is strongly influenced by glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). Hence the focus is set on the computation of secular trends. Different filters (e.g. isotropic and non-isotropic filters) are discussed for the removal of high frequency noise to permit the extraction of the GIA signal. The resulting GRACE based mass variations are compared to global hydrology models (WGHM, LaDWorld) in order to (a) separate possible hydrological signals and (b) validate the hydrology models with regard to long period and secular components. In addition, a pattern matching algorithm is applied to localise the uplift centre, and finally the GRACE signal is compared with the results from a geodynamical modelling. The GRACE data clearly show temporal gravity variations in Fennoscandia. The secular variations are in good agreement with former studies and other independent data. The uplift centre is located over the Bothnian Bay, and the whole uplift area comprises the Scandinavian Peninsula and Finland. The secular variations derived from the GFZ, CSR and JPL monthly solutions differ up to 20%, which is not statistically significant, and the largest signal of about 1.2 Gal/year is obtained from the GFZ solution. Besides the GIA signal, two peaks with positive trend values of about 0.8 Gal/year exist in central eastern Europe, which are not GIA-induced, and also not explainable by the hydrology models. This may indicate that the recent global hydrology models have to be revised with respect to long period and secular components. Finally, the GRACE uplift signal is also in quite good agreement with the results from a simple geodynamical modelling.     

Postglacial isostatic adjustment in a self-gravitating spherical earth with power-law rheology

Since microphysics cannot say definitively whether the rheology of the mantle is linear or non-linear, the aim of this paper is to constrain mantle rheology from observations related to the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) process—namely relative sea-levels (RSLs), land uplift rate from GPS and gravity-rate-of-change from GRACE. We consider three earth model types that can have power-law rheology (n = 3 or 4) in the upper mantle, the lower mantle or throughout the mantle. For each model type, a range of A parameter in the creep law will be explored and the predicted GIA responses will be compared to the observations to see which value of A has the potential to explain all the data simultaneously. The coupled Laplace finite-element (CLFE) method is used to calculate the response of a 3D spherical self-gravitating viscoelastic Earth to forcing by the ICE-4G ice history model with ocean loads in self-gravitating oceans. Results show that ice thickness in Laurentide needs to increase significantly or delayed by 2 ka, otherwise the predicted uplift rate, gravity rate-of-change and the amplitude of the RSL for sites inside the ice margin of Laurentide are too low to be able to explain the observations. However, the ice thickness elsewhere outside Laurentide needs to be slightly modified in order to explain the global RSL data outside Laurentide. If the ice model is modified in this way, then the results of this paper indicate that models with power-law rheology in the lower mantle (with A  10⁻³⁵ Pa⁻³ s⁻¹ for n = 3) have the highest potential to simultaneously explain all the observed RSL, uplift rate and gravity rate-of-change data than the other model types.