A record of Lateglacial/Holocene environmental change from a high‐elevation site in the Intermountain West,USA

Records of past vegetation and fire history can be complicated by changes in the depositional environment of a sampling location. However, these changes can alternatively be used as a measure of climate variability. Our study site, ca. 18.0 cal. ka BP record from Little Brooklyn Lake, Wyoming, located near the crest of the Snowy Range, records three moisture states. Initially, the lake was likely a glacier‐fed pond indicated by the presence of Pediastrum algae colonies. Around 13.0 cal. ka BP this pond transitioned to a meadow environment, suggested by the loss of Pediastrum algae colonies and slow sedimentation rates. Meadow conditions were maintained until ca. 5.0 cal. ka BP when Pediastrum algae colony abundance increased,indicating the formation of a shallow lake. From 18.0 to ca. 5.0 cal. ka BP, the pollen record is suggestive of alpine vegetation conditions with relatively high spruce and herbaceous taxa. Low charcoal influx also characterizes the period between 18.0 and 5.0 cal. ka BP. After 5.0 cal. ka BP, the coincidence of the formation of shallow lake and pollen data, indicating a shift to a spruce and fir forest, suggests an increase in effective moisture. Fire remained rare in this basin over the entire record, however, once the lake established sedimentation rates and charcoal influx increased. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

北秦岭火山岩岩石化学特征和成因

北秦岭存在A、B、C三类火山岩系列,对应着幔源型、壳幔混染型和壳幔混合型成因类型。火山岩系列和成因类型的系统变化,反映了多旋回壳幔物质迁移特证。     

Impact of the Kuroshio Current on the South China Sea based on a 115 000 year diatom record

We used the tropical oceanic planktonic diatom species Nitzschia marina, Rhizosolenia bergonii and Azpeitia africana/Azpeitia neocrenulata, most commonly found in the surface sediments of the northeasternmost South China Sea (SCS) where the Kuroshio Current enters the SCS through the Bashi Strait north of Luzon, to analyse the influence of the the Kuroshio Current on the SCS. The impact of the Kuroshio Current seems to be relatively strong during major warm periods and, to a lesser degree, in minor warm periods during the last 115 000 years. The strongest influence took place during the main part of the Holocene and during the very late phase of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e. It is possible to distinguish two magnitudes of change in the impact of the Kuroshio Current on the SCS: large changes occurred at shifts between glacial and interglacial conditions, while smaller changes seem to have recurred in both glacial and interglacial episodes as well as during the Holocene. Climatic/oceanographic changes and sea‐level variations were possibly the two most important mechanisms for the varying influences of the Kuroshio Current on the SCS. The interaction between the Kuroshio Current and monsoon‐related processes may also have played a role. However, because of restricted knowledge of the present‐day Kuroshio Current and the absence of a modern analogue to the ancient SCS due to the marked changes in palaeogeography, this relationship is difficult to establish. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Putative Meteoritic Craters in Río Cuarto (Central Argentina) Interpreted as Eolian Structures

Ten oblong aligned depressions in the Río Cuarto area (provincia de Córdoba, Argentina) were supposed to be the result of very-low-angle Holocene meteoroid impacts. However, we consider that authors that studied the structures did not demonstrated their extraterrestrial origin. We suggest that an eolian origin for the structures of Río Cuarto is more likely. Actually, these landforms integrate large systems of similar deflation/accumulation geoforms aligned according to predominant winds during different periods.     

Changing marine productivity off northern Chile during the past 19 000 years: a multivariable approach

A multivariable approach utilising bulk sediment, planktonic Foraminifera and siliceous phytoplankton has been used to reconstruct rapid variations in palaeoproductivity in the Peru–Chile Current System off northern Chile for the past 19 000 cal. yr. During the early deglaciation (19 000–16 000 cal. yr BP), our data point to strongest upwelling intensity and highest productivity of the past 19 000 cal. yr. The late deglaciation (16 000–13 000 cal. yr BP) is characterised by a major change in the oceanographic setting, warmer water masses and weaker upwelling at the study site. Lowest productivity and weakest upwelling intensity are observed from the early to the middle Holocene (13 000–4000 cal. yr BP), and the beginning of the late Holocene (<4000 cal. yr BP) is marked by increasing productivity, mainly driven by silicate‐producing organisms. Changes in the productivity and upwelling intensity in our record may have resulted from a large‐scale compression and/or displacement of the South Pacific subtropical gyre during more productive periods, in line with a northward extension of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and increased advection of Antarctic water masses with the Peru–Chile Current. The corresponding increase in hemispheric thermal gradient and wind stress induced stronger upwelling. During the periods of lower productivity, this scenario probably reversed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3-D BAROCLINIC NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA I. UPPER CIRCULATION

A three-dimensional baroclinic shelf sea model was employed to simulate the seasonal characteristics of the South China Sea (SCS) upper circulation. The results showed that: in summer, an anticyclonic eddy, after its formation between the Bashi Channel and Dongsha Islands in the northeastern SCS, moves southwestward until it disperses slowly. There exists a northward western boundary current along the east shore of the Indo-China Peninsula in the western SCS and an anticyclonic gyre in the southern SCS. But at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, a weak local cyclonic eddy forms in the Nansha Trough, then grows slowly and moves westward till it becomes a cyclonic gyre in the southern SCS in autumn. At the beginning of winter, there exists a cyclonic gyre in the northern and southern SCS, and there is a southward western boundary current along the east shore of the Indo-China Peninsula. But at the end of winter, an anticyclonic eddy grows and moves toward the western boundary after forming in the Nansha Trough. The eddy‘s movement induces a new opposite sign eddy on its eastern side, while the strength of the southward western boundary current gets weakened. This phenomenon continues till spring and causes eddies in the southern SCS.     

Mountain hydrology of Canada and China: A case study in comparative hydrology

Comparative hydrology attempts to identify regions with similar environmental attributes and then compares the hydrological activities in these regions to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and exchange of techniques. As a case study, the mountainous regions of Canada and China were compared. Vertical zonation is a characteristic feature of such regions, generating contrasts in microclimate, vegetation, soil and the resultant hydrological responses. An increase in precipitation with altitude is modified by aspect and other local factors. In temperate and colder latitudes, snow and ice are important, especially at higher elevations. Both countries have conducted many hydrological studies on snow and glaciers, but evaporation in mountainous terrain merits more attention. Runoff from mountainous catchments is often generated by a range of processes including rainfall, snowmelt and glacier melt, and runoff response to water input tends to be rapid. This study identifies some of the strengths and weaknesses of our current knowledge of mountain hydrology in both countries, and suggests that a more comprehensive treatment of the subject will improve the prediction of the hydrological behaviour of such regions.     

东北南部早石炭世植物群研究

自作者（１９８７）在辽东本溪群下部发现Ｓｕｂｌｅｐｉｄｏｄｅｎｄｒｏｎ以来，又相继在吉南、辽南（范炳桓，１９９２）和辽西发现了Ｓｕｂ．ｓｐ．，Ｒｈｏｄｅａｈｓｉａｎｇｈｓｉａｎｇｅｎｓｉｓ等属于早石炭世的植物及维宪－纳缪尔Ａ期孢粉化石，从而证实东北南部普遍存在早石炭世地层。本文记述了产于上述层位的植物化石３０属７９种，并归纳为Ｓｕｂｌｅｐｉｄｏｄｅｎｄｒｏｎ－Ａｒｃｈａｅｏｃａｌａｍｉｔｅｓ－Ｌｉｏｐｔｅｒｉｓ组合（带）．东北南部早石炭世植物群中的一些属种，虽然显示了欧美植物群的特点，但其发生、演化又早于欧美植物群（分子），作者暂称为“东北南部早石炭世华夏植物群”。该植物群与东北北部安加拉植物群的界线，大致与槽台界线相吻合。     

Deepwater Ventilation and Stratification in the Neogene South China Sea

Combined data of physical property, benthic foraminifera, and stable isotopes from ODP Sites 1148, 1146, and 1143 are used to discuss deep water evolution in the South China Sea (SCS) since the Early Miocene. The results indicate that 3 lithostratigraphic units, respectively corresponding to 21-17 Ma, 15-10 Ma, and 10-5 Ma with positive red parameter (a*) marking the red brown sediment color represent 3 periods of deep water ventilation. The first 2 periods show a closer link to contemporary production of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) and Northern Component Water (NCW), indicating a free connection of deep waters between the SCS and the open ocean before 10 Ma. After 10 Ma, red parameter dropped but stayed higher than the modern value (a*=0), the CaCO3 percentage difference between Site 1148 from a lower deepwater setting and Site 1146 from an upper deepwater setting enlarged significantly, and benthic species which prefer oxygen-rich bottom conditions dramatically decreased. Coupled with a major negative excursion of benthic δ13C at ~10 Ma, these parameters may denote a weakening in the control of the SCS deep water by the open ocean. Probably they mark the birth of a local deep water due to shallow waterways or rise of sill depths during the course of sea basin closing from south to east by the west-moving Philippine Arc after the end of SCS seafloor spreading at 16-15 Ma. However, it took another 5 Ma before the dissolved oxygen approached close to the modern level. Although the oxygen level continued to stabilize, several Pacific Bottom Water (PBW) and Pacific Deep Water (PDW) marker species rapidly increased since ~6 Ma, followed by a dramatic escalation in planktonic fragmentation which indicates high dissolution especially after ~5 Ma. The period of 5-3 Ma saw the strongest stratified deepwater in the then SCS, as indicated by up to 40% CaCO3 difference between Sites 1148 and 1146. Apart from a strengthening PDW as a result of global cooling and ice cap buildup on northern high latitudes, a deepening sea basin due to stronger subduction eastward may also have triggered the influx of more corrosive waters from the deep western Pacific. Since 3 Ma, the evolution of the SCS deep water entered a modern phase, as characterized by relative stable 10% CaCO3 difference between the two sites and increase in infaunal benthic species which prefer a low oxygenated environment. Thesubsequent reduction of PBW and PDW marker species at about 1.2 Ma and 0.9 Ma and another significant negative excursion of benthic δ13C to a Neogene minimum at ~0.9 Ma together convey a clear message that the PBW largely disappeared and the PDW considerably weakened in the Mid-Pleistocene SCS. Therefore, the true modern mode SCS deep water started to form only during the "Mid-Pleistocene climatic transition" probably due to the rise of sill depths under the Bashi Strait.