Comparisons of cropland area from multiple datasets over the past 300 years in the traditional cultivated region of China

Land use/cover change is an important parameter in the climate and ecological simulations. Although they had been widely used in the community, SAGE dataset and HYDE dataset, the two representative global historical land use datasets, were little assessed about their accuracies in regional scale. Here, we carried out some assessments for the traditional cultivated region of China （TCRC） over last 300 years, by comparing SAGE2010 and HYDE （v3.1） with Chinese Historical Cropland Dataset （CHCD）. The comparisons were performed at three spatial scales： entire study area, provincial area and 60 km by 60 km grid cell. The results show that （1） the cropland area from SAGE2010 was much more than that from CHCD moreover, the growth at a rate of 0.51% from 1700 to 1950 and -0.34% after 1950 were also inconsistent with that from CHCD. （2） HYDE dataset （v3.1） was closer to CHCD dataset than SAGE dataset on entire study area. However, the large biases could be detected at provincial scale and 60 km by 60 km grid cell scale. The percent of grid cells having biases greater than 70% （〈-70% or 〉70%） and 90% （〈-90% or 〉90%） accounted for 56%-63% and 40%-45% of the total grid cells respectively while those having biases range from -10% to 10% and from -30% to 30% account for only 5%-6% and 17% of the total grid cells respectively. （3） Using local historical archives to reconstruct historical dataset with high accuracy would be a valu- able way to improve the accuracy of climate and ecological simulation.     

基于北京一号CCD数据的植被指数特性分析

植被指数是遥感领域用来表征地表植被覆盖及生长状况简单而有效的度量参数,在环境、生态、农业等领域都有广泛的应用。但由于植被指数繁多,在选择和应用植被指数时往往很随意或盲目。本文以北京一号覆盖永安市的CCD多光谱数据为例,基于光谱、方差和多重分析方法,对13种植被指数特性进行分析。结果表明:RGNDI、RGRI、MSAVI、TNDVI、NDGI可以较好区分农田和浓密林地;RGNDI、NDGI、RGRI可以有效地消除阴影的影响,却易与水体混淆;在不考虑阴影的情况下,NDVI、RVI、RDVI、GRNDVI比RGNDI、NDGI、RGRI可以更好区分不同覆盖程度的植被。     

Comparison of sea surface wind field measured by HY-2A scatterometer and WindSat in global oceans

In this study, we present a comprehensive comparison of the sea surface wind ?eld measured by scatterometer(Ku-band scatterometer) aboard the Chinese HY-2 A satellite and the full-polarimetric radiometer WindSat aboard the Coriolis satellite. The two datasets cover a four-year period from October2011 to September 2015 in the global oceans. For the sea surface wind speed, the statistical comparison indicates good agreement between the HY-2 A scatterometer and WindSat with a bias of nearly 0 m/s and a root mean square error(RMSE) of 1.13 m/s. For the sea surface wind direction, a bias of 1.41° and an RMSE of 20.39° were achieved after excluding the data collocated with opposing directions. Furthermore,discrepancies in sea surface wind speed measured by the two sensors in the global oceans were investigated.It is found that the larger dif ferences mainly appear in the westerlies in the both hemispheres. Both the bias and RMSE show latitude dependence, i.e., they have signi?cant latitudinal ?uctuations.     

THIRD WORLD RESPONSE TO GLOBAL PROCESSES: THE MINERAL ECONOMIES

The utility of intercountry comparison in understanding responses to global economic change is illustrated with reference to the oil exporters, the most important class of mineral economy. The analysis is set within a resource based classification of developing countries.     

Geography and climate policy: a comparative assessment of new environmental policy instruments in the UK and Germany

New environmental policy instruments (NEPIs) (market-based instruments and environmental agreements) have moved to the forefront of environmental policy in recent years. From an economic theory perspective, NEPIs offer substantial benefits over ‘command-and-control’ regulation, yet empirical evaluations of their deployment and performance remain rare. This paper argues for a strong geographical contribution to this research agenda, utilising cross-national comparisons and actor-oriented perspectives to provide critical assessment and refinement of established NEPI theory. To illustrate this potential, this paper examines United Kingdom and German climate policy, using postal surveys and semi-structured interviews to assess corporate, industry association and policy-maker views on the effectiveness of eco-taxes, tradable permits and agreements in curbing greenhouse-gas emissions. Divergences between theoretical and practitioner perspectives on NEPIs are discussed, leading to suggested strategies for enhancing the environmental effectiveness of market-based instruments. The influence of national policy styles on NEPI design and industry reactions to these instruments was also identified as severely under-represented within economic theories of environmental regulation. Whilst industry assessments of environmental policy are unavoidably coloured by vested interests, cross-national and actor-oriented analyses nevertheless provide important insights into processes of policy diffusion and the strengths and weaknesses of different NEPIs.