The Production of Methanol by Flowering Plants and the Global Cycle of Methanol

Methanol has been recognised as an important constituent of the background atmosphere, but little is known about its overall cycle in the biosphere/atmosphere system. A model is proposed for the production and emission to the atmosphere of methanol by flowering plants based on plant structure and metabolic properties, particularly the demethylation of pectin in the primary cell walls. This model provides a framework to extend seven sets of measurements of methanol emission rates to the global terrestrial biosphere. A global rate of release of methanol from plants to the atmosphere of 100 Tg y^–1 is calculated. A separate model of the global cycle of methanol is constructed involving emissions from plant growth and decay, atmospheric and oceanic chemical production, biomass burning and industrial production. Removal processes occur through hydroxyl radical attack in the atmosphere, in clouds and oceans, and wet and dry deposition. The model successfully reproduces the methanol concentrations in the continental boundary-layer and the free atmosphere, including the inter-hemispheric gradient in the free atmosphere. The model demonstrates a new concept in global biogeochemistry, the coupling of plant cell growth with the global atmospheric concentration of methanol. The model indicates that the ocean provides a storage reservoir capable of holding at least 66 times more methanol than the atmosphere. The ocean surface layer reservoir essentially buffers the atmospheric concentration of methanol, providing a physically based smoothing mechanism with a time constant of the order of one year.     

变化中的地球所面临的挑战:全球变化的科学理解(英文)

简要介绍了变化中的地球所面临的挑战 ,并在描述地球系统科学近年来所取得成就的基础上给出了全球变化的科学理解。同时也简要介绍了世界正在面临的主要环境问题 ;描述了气候系统研究所达成的共识、面临的挑战及所取得的研究进展 ;并从大气、海洋和陆地间的CO2 交换、转换、不确定性等方面阐述了碳循环 ;然后 ,简单描述了全球水循环研究进展 ;最后 ,展望了在变化的地球中生存所要面临的挑战与机遇。     

沙漠化:从圈层耦合到全球变化

从沙漠化概念提出伊始 ,沙漠化成因机理的研究就一直成为学术界关注的焦点。沙漠化过程究竟有多少是由自然因素所致 ,多少是由人类活动所为 ,诸因素与沙漠化之间有何内在关系 ,沙尘天气发生发展过程及其诱因等 ,当属地球系统科学应解决的难题。文章从全球变化的角度 ,将沙漠系统视作一种类生命的非线性动力系统 ,指出沙漠化源于地球表层系统各圈层之间复杂的相关与耦合作用 :气候变化是控制沙漠进退的首要因素 ;陆表水持续亏损则是导致干旱、半干旱地区沙漠化发展的直接原因 ;岩石圈构造运动塑造了不同的地形地貌单元 ,奠定了沙漠分布的地理格局 ;人类的不当活动和气候变化引起的生物生产力的衰退及土地覆盖的破坏 ,造成了现代沙漠化的快速扩张。     

与全球变化有关的几个北极海洋地质问题

极地区域是全球变化研究的重点区域 ,在北极地区与全球变化有关的地质问题主要是北极地区的海陆变化对全球变化的影响 ,以及全球变化在地层中的记录。这涉及到北极形态变化及与其它大洋沟通的水道开闭情况 ,地形起伏对大气、大洋环流的影响 ,地壳升降与海平面变化对河流流量和海岸稳定性的影响 ,气体水合物及有机碳等变化对全球碳循环的影响 ,以及这些影响与气候变化信息在极地沉积物中的记录。文章在对上述影响及海洋地质研究状况进行探讨后 ,又简要介绍了中国的首次北极考察海洋地质研究状况     

Competitive Adjustment and Advancement in Global Commodity Chains II: The Case of the Singapore Garment Industry

This is the second part of a contribution to the debate on the possibilities of leveraging economic globalisation — through incorporation in international production networks and global commodity chains (GCCs) — as a strategy for developing countries to industrialise and advance their position in the world economy. In the first part, we analysed the experience of the East Asian apparel industry and addressed the issues of sustaining positions, upgrading to more rewarding roles, and advancing to less dependent positions within production networks and GCCs. We developed an analytical framework at both the firm and industry levels, and subsequently identified alternative firm- and industry-level strategies and trajectories. The present paper deals with these issues in the context of the Singapore apparel industry. Based on extensive empirical research, we demonstrate that although the East Asian experience of upgrading and repositioning within the GCC is to some extent emulated in the case of the Singapore apparel industry, the outcomes have been less favourable in terms of the depth, extent and strength of these trajectories. The differing outcomes can be explained in terms of different (systemic) conditions in the Singapore business environment, including the agency of local players, the geography of sourcing networks, and the role of the state and prevailing business attitudes. Our conclusions merit continued attention in both research and policy circles on the development of capabilities at the firm level, and the role of local business and institutional environments in local industry development processes under globalisation.     

Global heat budget, plate tectonics and climatic change

For the past 2000 Ma, the temperature of the Earth's surface has fluctuated around a mean similar to that of today, although individual locations have undergone long-term changes of ∼30°C at different times in different places. Water bodies absorb at least five times as much solar radiation as land surfaces, and ocean currents transport the excess heat absorbed in the tropics towards the poles. Changes in the distribution of land and sea due to plate tectonics explain the major temperature fluctuations (>25°C) around the globe in the last 350 Ma, and are first-order controls. Large-scale changes in ocean currents and thermohaline circulations are probably second-order controls (15–25°C). The Milankovitch orbital cycles are third-order controls producing variations in air temperature of the order of 10°C, while massive volcanic eruptions and changes in carbon dioxide are amongst the fourth-order controls producing minor perturbations (<5°C). The major climatic fluctuations are continuous but regional in effect and not global. Extraterrestrial factors may not cause major changes in climate when viewed from a geological perspective.     

我国制造业集群分布现状及其发展特征

目前，在我国很多地区，例如长江三角洲和珠江三角洲，以个别市、县、镇或村为范围，集中某种产品的生产所形成的制造业集群表现出极强的活力和竞争力。集群中的很多企业根据不同技术能力，纷纷进入了全球价值链，已经使中国成为跨国公司控制之下的“世界工厂”。文章从目前局限性的资料出发，将这一现象的分布现状进行了分析，并对其发展特征进行了描述。认为，在新型工业化道路中，企业只有在本地舍作和结网，加强创新，才能有效地插入全球价值链，参与国际竞争。为此，需要通过政策的支持，鼓励合作的信用环境，使价值链上的各级企业以及利益相关者进行合作。