Recent progress of glaciological studies in China

1IntroductionIn the early 1960s, glaciers in western China were classified into maritime- and continental-types by different glacial environment and physical characteristics (Shi and Xie, 1964). With extensive glaciological investigations in the western regions (Lanzhou Institute of Glaciology and Geocryology of CAS, 1988), Lai and Huang (1990) suggested a new classification of temperate, subpolar and quasipolar glaciers, corresponding to the maritime-, subcontinental- and extremely contin…     

环境同位素记录中共生碳酸盐氧同位素分馏差值的影响

湖泊化学沉积碳酸盐δ18O是研究区域气候演变的重要环境指标之一。青海湖等闭流湖泊的研究结果证实,在对δ18O环境记录进行共生碳酸盐氧同位素分馏效应校正时,应依据具体情况,采用0-1‰的分馏差值。由高温实验结果推断出的常温分馏差值(4‰-7‰)不能被应用到自然条件下湖泊共生碳酸盐氧同位素分馏效应的校正。     

青海湖南岸全新世黄土地球化学特征及气候环境意义

位于青藏高原东北部的青海湖是我国最大的内陆湖泊，通过湖相沉积进行湖区全新世环境演变研究已取得诸多成果。作者选择青海湖南岸黑马河有绝对年代控制的全新世黄土剖面，利用CaCO2、CaO、MgO和Sr元素组分以及氧、碳同位素等较为可靠的地球化学指标，尝试进行了湖区全新世黄土的分层，探讨了黄土堆积过程中的气候环境演变。结果表明，青海湖南岸的黄土按成土作用强度的不同可分为两层：上部为成土化较弱的黄土层；下部为成土化较高的古土壤层，其仍可进一步分为两个亚层。全新世湖区气候环境的波动在地球化学分布特征中有较强表现。     

用遗传算法反演地壳的变密度模型

用青藏高原布格重力异常资料 ,结合亚东 格尔木地学断面得到的Moho面结构 ,反演了青藏高原中部地壳内密度随深度变化的指数分布函数 ,试验得出地壳表层与地幔的密度差约为 - 0 .92 6 g·cm-3 ,地壳的平均密度值为 2 .75 0 g·cm-3 。     

Recent progress of glaciological studies in China

Glacier inventory compilation during the past 20 years and modifications of that for the Eastern Pamir and Banggong Lake indicate that there are 46,342 modern glaciers with a total area and volume of 59415 km2 and 5601 km3 respectively in China. These glaciers can be classified into maritime and continental (including sub-continental and extremely continental) types. Researches show that glaciers in China have been retreating since the Little Ice Age and the mass wastage was accelerated during the past 30 to 40 years. Being an important part of glaciological studies in China, ice core climatic and environmental studies on Tibetan Plateau and in the Antarctica have provided abundant, high resolution information about past climatic and environmental evolution over the Tibetan Plateau and Antarctica. Except for different parameters recorded in ice cores relating to climate and environment changes on Tibetan Plateau, records from ice cores extracted from different glaciers show that the discrepancies in climatic and environmental changes on the north and south parts of the plateau may be the consequence of different influencing effects from terrestrial and solar sources. Glaciological and meteorological phenomena imply that Lambert Glacier valley is an important boundary of climate in the east Antarctica, which is thought to be connected with cyclonic activities and Circum-polar Waves over the Antarctica.     

Atmospheric hydrological budget with its effects over Tibetan Plateau

Based on 1961-2000 NCEP/NCAR monthly mean reanalysis datasets, vapor transfer and hydrological budget over the Tibetan Plateau are investigated. The Plateau is a vapor sink all the year round. In summer, vapor is convergent in lower levels (from surface to 500 hPa) and divergent in upper levels (from 400 to 300 hPa), with 450 hPa referred to as level of non-divergence. Two levels have different hydrologic budget signatures: the budget is negative at the upper levels from February to November, i.e., vapor transfers from the upper levels over the plateau; as to the lower, the negative (positive) budget occurs during the winter (summer) half year. Evidence also indicates that Tibetan Plateau is a "vapor transition belt", vapor from the south and the west is transferred from lower to upper levels there in summer, which will affect surrounding regions, including eastern China, especially, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze. Vapor transfer exerts significant influence on precipitation in summertime months. Vapor transferred from the upper layers helps humidify eastern China, with coefficient -0.3 of the upper budget to the precipitation over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze (MLRY); also, vapor transferred from east side (27.5o-32.5oN) of the upper level has remarkable relationship with precipitation, the coefficient being 0.41. The convergence of the lower level vapor has great effects on the local precipitation over the plateau, with coefficient reaching 0.44, and the vapor passage affects the advance and retreat of the rainbelt. In general, atmospheric hydrologic budget and vapor transfer over the plateau have noticeable effects on precipitation of the target region as well as the ambient areas.     

Establishment of apparent quantum yield and maximum ecosystem assimilation on Tibetan Plateau alpine meadow ecosystem

The alpine meadow is widely distributed on the Tibetan Plateau with an area of about 1.2×106kn2. Damxung County, located in the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau, is the place covered with this typical vegetation. An open-path eddy covariance system was set up in Damxung rangeland station to measure the carbon flux of alpine meadow from July to October,2003. The continuous carbon flux data were used to analyze the relationship between net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange (NEE) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), as well as the seasonal patterns of apparent quantum yield (α) and maximum ecosystem assimilation (Pmax).Results showed that the daytime NEE fitted fairly well with the PAR in a rectangular hyperbola function, with α declining in the order of peak growth period (0.0244 μmolCO2 · μmol-1pAR) ＞early growth period ＞ seed maturing period ＞ withering period (0.0098 μmolCO2 · μmol-1pAR).The Pmax did not change greatly during the first three periods, with an average of 0.433mgCO2· m-2· s-1, i.e. 9.829 μmolCO2· m-2· s-1. However, during the withering period, Pmax was only 0.35 mgCO2 · m-2 · s-1, i.e. 7.945 μmolCO2 · m-2 · s-1. Compared with other grassland ecosystems, the α of the Tibetan Plateau alpine meadow ecosystem was much lower.     

Experimental study on soil CO2 emission in the alpine grassland ecosystem on Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau, the Roof of the World, is the highest plateau with a mean elevation of 4000 m. It is characterized by high levels of solar radiation, low air temperature and low air pressure compared to other regions around the world. The alpine grassland, a typical ecosystem in the Tibetan Plateau, is distributed across regions over the elevation of 4500 m. Few studies for carbon flux in alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau were conducted due to rigorous natural conditions. A study of soil respiration under alpine grassland ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau from October 1999 to October 2001 was conducted at Pangkog County, Tibetan Plateau (31.23°N, 90.01°E, elevation 4800 m). The measurements were taken using a static closed chamber technique, usually every two weeks during the summer and at other times at monthly intervals. The obvious diurnal variation of CO2 emissions from soil with higher emission during daytime and lower emission during nighttime was discovered. Diurnal CO2 flux fluctuated from minimum at 05:00 to maximum at 14:00 in local time. Seasonal CO2 fluxes increased in summer and decreased in winter, representing a great variation of seasonal soil respiration. The mean soil CO2 fluxes in the alpine grassland ecosystem were 21.39 mgCO2 · m-2 · h-1, with an average annual amount of soil respiration of 187.46 gCO2 · m-2 · a-1. Net ecosystem productivity is also estimated, which indicated that the alpine grassland ecosystem is a carbon sink.     

Geochemical Information Indicating the Water Recharge to Lakes and Immovable Megadunes in the Badain Jaran Desert

1 Introduction The Badain Jaran Desert, located in western Inner Mongolia, China, has a unique landscape containing 144 lakes (72 of which are still watery) with a total water area of about 23 km2, and the world’s highest stationary sand dunes with a height between 200 m and 500 m. Much attention has been paid to the water recharge of the desert in the past decade. Investigations on the resources of water system there have been performed continuously since the early 1990s, which lead to th…