热带第四纪气候变化研究进展

南美洲、非洲、亚洲以及澳洲、太平洋地区近百个实例表明，全球热带第四纪气候的波动不明显，例如晚更新世MlSS5～MISS2期间的D／0暖波动和Hi冷波动、末次冰期盛期、新仙女木冷回返都很少见报道。但是，相对而言，冷波动比暖波动较易识别，末次冰期有较多实例，新冰期I、Ⅱ、Ⅲ也有表现，而末次间冰期及全新世大暖期则不易识别。温度与湿度变化的时空配合有一定的规律性。末次冰期之前，环境普遍趋湿。末次冰期之后，干湿的地域差异较大。全新世回暖，但是，干湿的地域分布与此前相反。气候变化的地域差异与气候的地带性有关。南美洲的暖波动主要出现在北部。非洲中部赤道多雨带的气候相对稳定。亚洲南部的印度干湿变化明显。东南亚诸岛冷期趋湿。     

20世纪中国气候变化研究

Studies on the 20th century climate change in China have revealed that under the background of global warming over the past century,climate in China has also experienced significant change with mean annual temperature increased by about 0.5 °C.More reliable results for the latter part of the 20th century indicate that the largest warming occurred in Northwest China,North China and Northeast China,and the warming in winter is most significant.Although no obvious increase or decrease trends were detected for mean precipitation over China in the past half century,regional differences are very distinct.In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River,precipitation increased,while that in the Yellow River Basin markedly decreased.Studies suggest that climate change in China seems to be related not only with the internal factors such as ENSO,PDO,and the others,but also with the anthropogenic effects such as greenhouse gas emissions,and land use.The future climate change studies in China seem to be important in narrowing understanding the nature of China's climate change and its main causes,since it is significant for projection and for impact assessment of climate change in the future.     

The role of moisture cycling in the weathering of a quartz chlorite schist in a tropical environment: findings of a laboratory simulation

Long‐term weathering of a quartz chlorite schist via wetting and drying was studied under a simulated tropical climate. Cubic rock samples (15 mm × 15 mm × 15 mm) were cut from larger rocks and subjected to time‐compressed climatic conditions simulating the tropical wet season climate at the Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory, Australia. Fragmentation, moisture content and moisture uptake rate were monitored over 5000 cycles of wetting and drying. To determine the impact of climatic variables, five climatic regimes were simulated, varying water application, temperature and drying. One of the climatic regimes reproduced observed temperature and moisture variability at the Ranger Uranium Mine, but over a compressed time scale. It is shown that wetting and drying is capable of weathering quartz chlorite schist with changes expected over a real time period of decades. While wetting and drying alone does produce changes to rock morphology, the incorporation of temperature variation further enhances weathering rates. Although little fragmentation occurred in experiments, significant changes to internal pore structure were observed, which could potentially enhance other weathering mechanisms. Moisture variability is shown to lead to higher weathering rates than are observed when samples are subjected only to leaching. Finally, experiments were conducted on two rock samples from the same source having only subtle differences in mineralogy. The samples exhibited quite different weathering rates leading to the conclusion that our knowledge of the role of rock type and composition in weathering is insufficient for the accurate determination of weathering rates. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Postglacial topographic evolution of glaciated valleys: a stochastic landscape evolution model

The retreat of valley glaciers has a dramatic effect on the stability of glaciated valleys and exerts a prolonged influence on the subsequent fluvial sediment transport regime. We have studied the evolution of an idealized glaciated valley during the period following retreat of ice using a numerical model. The model incorporates a stochastic process to represent deep‐seated landsliding, non‐linear diffusion to represent shallow landsliding and an approximation of the Bagnold relation to represent fluvial sediment transport. It was calibrated using field data from several recent surveys within British Columbia, Canada. We present ensemble model results and compare them with results from a deterministic linear‐diffusion model to show that explicit representation of large landslides is necessary to reproduce the morphology and channel network structure of a typical postglacial valley. Our model predicts a rapid rate of fluvial sediment transport following deglaciation with a subsequent gradual decline, similar to that inferred for Holocene time. We also describe how changes in the model parameters affect the estimated magnitude and duration of the paraglacial sediment pulse. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

合肥盆地钻井地层的同位素测年与地层划分

合肥盆地内部中、新界地层大面积被第四系覆盖，其地层的时代与划分主要依赖已有的6口深井地层资料。由于缺乏可靠的化石记录，这6口深井地层时代与划分一直存在着很大的分歧，制约了对该盆地的油气勘探与远景评价。本文利用这6口深井泥岩类岩屑中自生伊利石，在其结晶度分析基础上，进行了K-Ar同位素测年，成功地获得了不同深度上的地层形成时代。据此地层年龄，文中对这6口深井所钻遇的地层进行了重新的划分。     

A study on the focal parameters of Shidian M =5.9 earthquake sequences in 2001

On the basis of about 300 earthquake wave forms observed in the Shidian M _S=5.9 sequences on April 12, 2001 recorded in Kunming Digital Seismic Network, the spectra of shear wave have been used to estimate the focal parameters of these earthquake sequences. The results show that within the magnitude range of 1.5–5.3, the seismic moments are 10¹⁰–10¹⁶ N·m, the corner frequencies are 0.2–0.8 Hz, radii of the focal rupture are 200–2 500 m and the stress drops are 0.1×10⁵–20×10⁵Pa. Through the statistical analyses of variation of corner frequency f _c and stress drop Δσ with time, it is discovered that the average corner frequency of the foreshock sequences is obviously lower than that of the aftershock sequences. Contrarily, the average stress drops Δσ of the foreshock sequences are clearly higher than that of the aftershocks. It is considered that these variation characteristics of average corner frequency and stress drops before and after the main shock have index significance to the precursory information before a strong earthquake. The higher stress drops for the foreshock sequences show that the higher shear stresses have been stored in the area of main shock. After the main shock, most of the stresses have been released, so the aftershock sequences show a rupture process of lower stresses. Foundation item: Scientific and Technological Key Project of Yunnan Province (2001NG46)     

南半球对流层气候年代际变化及其与太阳活动的联系

通过南半球对流层温度场谱分析和逐次滤波分析发现，南半球对流层大气温度场半个多世纪以来呈现明显的持续升温趋势，升温幅度由低层到高层逐步增加，其中地面层1 000 hPa年升温率为0.013℃/a，对流层中部500 hPa年升温率为0.019℃/ a，对流层上部300 hPa年升温率为0.036℃/ a；滤除南半球大气温度场的趋势变化，发现南半球大气温度场从地面层直至对流层顶广泛盛行着十分显著的与太阳磁场磁性22年周期变化相一致的变化周期。太阳磁场磁性周期变化趋势略有超前，分析认为，这是南半球对流层大气气候系统对太阳磁场周期性变化的响应。进一步分析还发现，南半球从地面层1 000 hPa到对流层顶，再到平流层中部10 hPa各层次大气温度变化22年周期分量振荡位相基本一致，周期振幅由低层到高层迅速增大，说明太阳磁场变化对对流层高层比低层影响大，对平流层影响更大。其中地面层1 000 hPa温度场的22年变化周期是在滤除趋势变化和11年周期之后才显现出来的，所以太阳磁场磁性周期变化对地面层气候的影响较小并且经常处于被掩盖状态；南半球地面层1 000 hPa温度场滤除趋势变化之后显示出十分显著的与太阳活动11年周期相一致的变化周期，分析认为，这是南半球对流层大气气候系统对太阳活动11周期性变化的响应。对流层上层300 hPa温度场滤除趋势变化和22年周期之后也显示出11年变化周期，而对流层中部500 hPa则无此周期反应，说明太阳活动11年周期对地面层1 000 hPa大气气候影响最明显，对流层中上层影响较弱。     

ASSESSING THE SUITABILITY OF THE EPIC CROP MODEL FOR USE IN THE STUDY OF IMPACTS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN WEST AFRICA

The EPIC (Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator) crop model, developed by scientists of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has been successfully applied to the study of erosion, water pollution, crop growth and production in the US but is yet to be introduced for serious research purposes in other countries or regions. This paper reports on the applicability of the EPIC 8120 crop model for the assessment of the potential impacts of climate variability and climate change on crop productivity in sub‐Saharan West Africa, using Nigeria as the case study. Among the crops whose productivity has been successfully simulated with this model are five of West Africa's staple food crops: maize, millet, sorghum (guinea corn), rice and cassava. Thus, using the model, the sensitivities of maize, sorghum and millet to seasonal rainfall were demonstrated with coefficients of correlation significant at over 98 per cent confidence limits. The validation tests were based on a comparison of the observed and the model‐generated yields of rice and maize. The main problems of validation relate to the multiplicity of crop varieties with contrasting performances under similar field conditions. There are also the difficulties in representing micro‐environments in the model. Thus, some gaps appear between the observed and the simulated yields, arising from data or model deficiencies, or both. Based on the results of the sensitivity and validation tests, the EPIC crop model could be satisfactorily employed in assessing the impacts of and adaptations to climate variability and climate change. Its use for the estimation of production and the assessment of vulnerabilities need to be pursued with further field surveys and field experimentation.     

HOLOCENE CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN THE DENMARK STRAIT REGION - A LAND-SEA CORRELATION OF NEW AND EXISTING CLIMATE PROXY RECORDS

ABSTRACT. Two well dated Holocene sediment records bordering the Denmark Strait region have been used to reconstruct past climate variability. The content of biogenic silica, classic and organic material and moss in a lacustrine record from Lake N14 has been used to infer past variability in precipitation and temperature in southern Greenland. Sedimentologic and petrologic composition of sand in a shelf sediment record from the Djúpáll trough is used to infer past variability in the northwestern storm activity on northwestern Iceland, which probably also affected the inflow of polar waters from the East Greenland Current. Our evaluation of these records with a number of previous studies from the region documents Holocene climatic optimum conditions peaking between 8000 and 6500 calendar years before present (cal yr BP). Mid-Holocene climate deterioration set in around 5000 cal yr BP followed by a further marked setback around 3500 cal yr BP. A stacking of climate variability on a centennial timescale from previous studies in the area shows a fairly good correspondence to the timing of marked cold and warm events as evidenced from the Lake N14 and the Djúpáll trough records. Cooler periods are explained as the response to marked incursions of ice-laden polar water from the Arctic Ocean to the Denmark Strait region. Cool northerly and northwesterly winds along the East Greenland coast in relation to frequent strong atmospheric low pressure in the Barents Sea, coupled with strong high pressure over Greenland, would have favoured southward export of polar waters. A comparison with the proxy records of nuclide production (¹⁴C and ¹⁰Be) suggests that solar activity may have had some influence on the atmospheric pressure distribution in the Denmark Strait region.     

Did Paleogene North Atlantic rift-related eruptions drive early Eocene climate cooling?

The delivery of volcanogenic sulphur into the upper atmosphere by explosive eruptions is known to cause significant temporary climate cooling. Therefore, phreatomagmatic and phreatoplinian eruptions occurring during the final rifting stages of active flood basalt provinces provide a potent mechanism for triggering climate change.

During the early Eocene, the northeast Atlantic margin was subjected to repeated ashfall for 0.5 m.y. This was the result of extensive phreatomagmatic activity along 3000 km of the opening northeast Atlantic rift. These widespread, predominantly basaltic ashes are now preserved in marine sediments of the Balder Formation and its equivalents, and occur over an area extending from the Faroe Islands to Denmark and southern England. These ash-bearing sediments also contain pollen and spore floras derived from low diversity forests that grew in cooler, drier climates than were experienced either before or after these highly explosive eruptions. In addition, coeval plant macrofossil evidence from the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA, also shows a comparable pattern of vegetation change. The coincidence of the ashes and cooler climate pollen and spore floras in northwest Europe identifies volcanism as the primary cause of climate cooling. Estimates show that whilst relatively few phreatomagmatic eruptive centres along the 3000 km opening rift system could readily generate 0.5–1 °C cooling, on an annual basis, only persistent or repeated volcanic phases would have been able to achieve the long-term cooling effect observed in the floral record. We propose that the cumulative effect of repeated Balder Formation eruptions initiated a biodiversity crisis in the northeast Atlantic margin forests. Only the decline of this persistent volcanic activity, and the subsequent climatic warming at the start of the Eocene Thermal Maximum allowed the growth of subtropical forests to develop across the region.