Paleoclimatological and paleoenvironmental records since 4 000 a B. P. in sediments of alpine lakes in Taiwan

The 3 310-m-high Chia-min Lake records the climatic history since 4 ka B. P. in Taiwan. The warm/wet period before 2.2 ka B.P. seemed to correspond to the later part of the Holocene Megathermal, and the cold/dry period during 0–2.2 ka B. P. corresponded to the Katathermal. Before the termination of the Megathermal, an especially warm and humid segment (2.2–2.4 ka B. P.) emerged. The paleoclimatic records from Yuen-yang and Chi-tsai Lakes support the notion that the Megathermal in Taiwan terminated during 2—2.3 ka B. P. A warm segment (820–1 320 AD) in the Katathermal could be considered the Medieval Warm Period. The climate turned cold and dry after 1 320 AD and this indicated the onset of the Little Ice Age. These paleoclimatic variations are also in good agreement with those recorded in Great Ghost Lake.     

The conditionality of status: Experience-based reflections on the insider/outsider issue

When a researcher undertakes research into his/her own ethnic group, issues of positionality abound. These issues relate not only to the impact of inherent insider positionality when interacting with study participants but also in the interpretation and presentation of study findings. My research with contemporary Irish immigrants not only reinforced the advantages of being an insider but also highlighted the incomplete and unstable nature of insiderness. Heterogeneity within the study group, in terms of their geo-political, regional and religious origins, meant that presumptions of insiderness and outsiderness were frequently challenged. A new awareness of the conditionality of each positionality was forged from these experiences.     

A precise monitoring of snow surface height in the region of Lambert Glacier basin-Amery Ice Shelf,East Antarctica

The net surface snow accumulation on the Antarctic ice sheet is determined by a combination of precipitation, sublimation and wind redistribution. We present a one-year record of hourly snow-height measurements at LGB69 (70°50'S, 77°04'E, 1850 m a.s.l.). east side of Lambert Glacier basin (LGB), and 4 year record at G3 (70°53'S, 69°52'E, 84 m a.s.l.), Amery Ice Shelf (AIS). The measurements were made with ultrasonic sensors mounted on automatic weather stations installed at two sites. The snow accumulation at LGB69 is approximately 70 cm. Throughout the winter, between April and September, there was little change in surface snow height (SSH) at the two sites. The negative SSH change is due to densification at LGB69, and is due to both ablation and densification at G3. The strongest accumulation at two sites occurred during the period between October and March (accounting for 101.6% at LGB69), with four episodic increasing events occurring during 2002 for LGB69, and eight events during 1999-2002 for G     

Ice-core pollen record of climatic changes in the central Andes during the last 400 yr

This paper presents a high-resolution ice-core pollen record from the Sajama Ice Cap, Bolivia, that spans the last 400 yr. The pollen record corroborates the oxygen isotopic and ice accumulation records from the Quelccaya Ice Cap and supports the scenario that the Little Ice Age (LIA) consisted of two distinct phases—a wet period from AD 1500 to 1700, and a dry period from AD 1700 to 1880. During the dry period xerophytic shrubs expanded to replace puna grasses on the Altiplano, as suggested by a dramatic drop in the Poaceae/Asteraceae (P/A) pollen ratio. The environment around Sajama was probably similar to the desert-like shrublands of the Southern Bolivian Highlands and western Andean slopes today. The striking similarity between the Sajama and Quelccaya proxy records suggests that climatic changes during the Little Ice Age occurred synchronously across the Altiplano.     

Tectonic Movement and Global Climate Change

Glaciation between northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere were synchronous, the ice age occurred not in high but in low value of the eccentricity of the earth's orbit. Such facts went against the precession principle of the astronomical theory of ice age. The inhomogeneous distribution of climate consisted with the inhomogeneous distribution of ocean and continent. The north/south antisymmetry may be attributed to southward deviation of the thermal center and northward deviation of the mass center within the mantle demonstrated by seismic tomography. The core - mantle angular momentum makes rotational energy into thermal energy and mantle plumes erupt in the ocean bottom. The earth's deformation by tidal force makes the eruption of mantle plumes strong. They are the reason that glaciation between the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere are synchronous and the ice age occurred in low value of the eccentricity of the earth' s orbit. The tectonic movement is playing a most important part in global climate change.     

Provenance of freshwater pulses in the Gulf of Mexico during the last deglaciation

During the last deglaciation, the decaying Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) delivered huge volumes of meltwater toward the Gulf of Mexico. The present investigation of clay mineralogy and grain-size characteristics of terrigenous sediments deposited in the Orca Basin (Gulf of Mexico) offers a unique opportunity to link the marine record of these meltwater floods with the reconstructed continental glacial history and the modeled drainage patterns. Five peculiar sedimentary levels, characterized by high smectite content and low CaCO₃ content, were identified and occurred simultaneously with major meltwater floods. According to recently published clay mineral distribution maps for North America, these results help to pinpoint the southwestern margin of the LIS as a main contributor to most of the meltwater discharges. In addition, the peculiar mineralogical composition (illite and chlorite-rich) of the sediments characterizing the meltwater episode associated with Heinrich event 1 suggests a provenance from the Great Lakes area, supporting the interpretation of destabilization of the LIS southeastern margin during this event. Decreased terrigenous contribution associated with changing provenance of sediments after 12.9 cal ka BP suggests strong modifications of the continental hydrography in relation to Lake Agassiz history and changes in the morphology of Mississippi delta due to rising sea level.     

Relative sea-level history from the Lambert Glacier region, East Antarctica, and its relation to deglaciation and Holocene glacier readvance

We present a relative sea-level (RSL) history, constrained by AMS radiocarbon-dated marine-freshwater transitions in isolation basins from a site adjacent to the Lambert Glacier, East Antarctica. The RSL data suggest an initial ice retreat between c. 15,370 and 12,660 cal yr B.P.. Within this period, meltwater pulse IA (mwp IA, between c. 14,600-14,200 and 14,100-13,700 cal yr B.P.) occurred; an exceptionally large ice melting event, inferred from far-field sea-level records. The RSL curve shows a pronounced highstand of approximately 8 m between c. 7570-7270 and 7250-6950 cal yr B.P. that is consistent with the timing of the RSL highstand in the nearby Vestfold Hills. This is followed by a fall in RSL to the present. In contrast to previous findings, the isolation of the lakes in the Larsemann Hills postdates the isolation of lakes with similar sill heights in the Vestfold Hills. An increase in RSL fall during the late Holocene may record a decline in the rate of isostatic uplift in the Larsemann Hills between c. 7250-6950 and 2847-2509 cal yr B.P., that occurred in response to a documented mid-Holocene glacier readvance followed by a late-Holocene retreat.     

MIS 3时期青藏高原东南部稻城古冰帽冰进事件研究

深海氧同位素3阶段（Marine Isotope Stage 3,MIS 3）是全球气候演化过程中特殊的时期,对深入认识区域古气候、古环境演变具有重要意义。青藏高原东南部稻城古冰帽是第四纪冰川作用历史和古气候研究的理想区域,许多学者在该区进行了冰川地貌学和年代学研究。目前,该区域在MIS 3阶段是否存在冰川前进事件仍存在争论。现着重从洞穴石笋、高原冰芯、海洋沉积、古湖孢粉等记录来总结我国MIS 3阶段的气候环境状况,并搜集高原及周边地区MIS 3阶段冰进事件的记录,结合稻城古冰帽区已发表的MIS 3阶段的年代数据来探讨稻城古冰帽区MIS 3阶段的冰川前进的可能性。结果表明：稻城古冰帽区MIS 3阶段（43~53 ka）发生了大规模冰进事件,这可能是由于该冰帽区处于相对冷湿环境且受到了西南季风的影响。本研究可为区域气候重建与环境演变提供新的依据。     

二维能量平衡模式中大气温度对二氧化碳增温效应的响应

利用一个考虑了辐射能传输的二维能量平衡气候模式,解析地分析了二氧化碳浓度改变后冰界纬度的变化,得到了冰界纬度随CO2浓度变化的关系以及全球平均温度的变化曲线.结果表明,当CO2浓度由工业革命前的280×10-6增加到700×10-6时,冰界仅后退(北半球向北)几个纬度;当CO2的浓度继续增加时,冰界纬度会加速向极地退缩,直至出现全球无极冰覆盖的现象.同样地,当CO2浓度由280×10-6增加到700×10-6时,全球地表平均温度虽然在增加,但增加的速率很小,并且增加的速率在减小,而当大于700×10-6之后,温度增加的速率会快速增大,温度将加速上升.对不同反照率进行敏感性试验,发现当反照率从0.1到0.32时,结果并没有显著地改变,即结果对反照率的变化并不敏感.这一计算结果表明,在目前的状态下,由CO2引起的增温作用似乎处于变化很小的准饱和状态,即目前气候不会因为CO2浓度的增加而迅速变暖.较为实际的情形可能是大气温度在缓慢增加到一定程度后才会迅速升高.这并不意味着可以忽视CO2的增温效应,因为根据计算结果,这个临界值大概在700×10-6左右,当CO2浓度增加到超过临界值之后,气温会剧烈上升,气候将会处在一个非常温暖的阶段.     

南极洲乔治王岛柯林斯冰帽小冰穹顶冰芯数学模式初步断代

冰芯钻取后，样品截取原则和环境记录的初步解释要求对年代－深度剖面有一初步了解，即要求建立冰体随深度变化的时间尺度。根据柯林斯冰帽一年多野外实测资料所揭示的小冰穹运动状况、温度分布、物质平衡和动力学特征，本文采用Ｄａｎｓｇａｒｒｄ－Ｊｏｈｎｓｅｎ模型和等温冰体流动模型（ｎ＝３），分别对一支８０．２ｍ冰芯的时间尺度进行初步估算。结果表明两种模型断代结果非常接近，在距冰床１０ｍ深度处，两模型分别给出１８９７年和１８５４年的冰龄。对比指出两种模型计算出的冰帽各深度冰龄最大误差不大于２％。与冰芯中上部含深褐色火山灰冰层的历史记录年代相比误差小于３％。