Fault propagation and climatic control of sedimentation on the Ghoubbet Rift Floor: insights from the Tadjouraden cruise in the western Gulf of Aden

A detailed geophysical survey of the Ghoubbet Al Kharab (Djibouti) clarifies the small-scale morphology of the last submerged rift segment of the propagating Aden ridge before it enters the Afar depression. The bathymetry reveals a system of antithetic normal faults striking N130°E, roughly aligned with those active along the Asal rift. The 3.5 kHz sub-bottom profiler shows how the faults cut distinct layers within the recent, up to 60 m thick, sediment cover on the floor of the basin. A large volcanic structure, in the centre of the basin, the 'Ghoubbet' volcano, separates two sedimentary flats. The organization of volcanism and the planform of faulting, with en echelon subrifts along the entire Asal–Ghoubbet rift, appear to confirm the westward propagation of this segment of the plate boundary. Faults throughout the rift have been active continuously for the last 8400 yr, but certain sediment layers show different offsets. The varying offsets of these layers, dated from cores previously retrieved in the southern basin, imply Holocene vertical slip rates of 0.3–1.4 mm yr⁻¹ and indicate a major decrease in sedimentation rate after about 6000 yr BP, and a redistribution of sediments in the deepest troughs during the period that preceded that change.     

Quantitative models for reconstructing catchment ice-extent using physical-chemical characteristics of lake sediments

The physical characteristics of surface sediments from a suite of pristine lakes on Signy Island, maritime Antarctic, were used to develop a quantitative link between catchment ice-extent and lake-sediment response. Percentage dry weight, median particle size, percentage loss-on-ignition and wet density of the lakes' surface sediments were the most significant variables explaining contemporary catchment ice-extent. Two independent reconstruction models – Partial Least Squares (PLS) and a Modern Analog Technique (MAT) – were applied to dated sediment cores at two sites on Signy Island. The validity of the reconstructions was tested against historical information on catchment ice-extent. With sufficiently high sedimentation rates and sampling resolution, the models can predict sub-decadal changes in ice-extent. The model results are best regarded as indicators of erosion resulting from meltwater activity in the catchment. Comparison of results with Twentieth Century climate records affirms the hypothesis that climatic warming is the most likely cause for the ice retreat observed on Signy Island during the last 40 yrs. Similar reconstruction models using these simple sedimentary measures could be developed for analogous locations in the Antarctic and in Arctic and Alpine regions.     

Long-term climato-limnological cycles found in a 3.5-million-year continental record

Analysis of physical properties in long sediment cores (BDP96) from Academician Ridge in Lake Baikal indicates that major climato-limnological changes during the past 3.5 Myr occurred at about 2.5–2.8, 1.7–1.9, and 0.9–1.2 Ma, which were close to times of major geomagnetic polarity reversals (Matuyama/Gauss, Olduvai, Jaramillo + Matuyama/Brunhes). The principal climato-limnological oscillation has a long-term period of nearly 1,000 kyr, which corresponds to the periodicity of fluctuation in solar insolation. It also seems to be related to geomagnetic field intensity. Other long-term period of 400 kyr corresponds to Milankovitch parameters of eccentricity. These results suggest that changes in solar insolation were closely related to long-term environmental variations in the deep continental interior.     

西藏高原近40年的气温变化

利用西藏1961－2000年月平均气温、最高气温、最低气温资料，分析了近40年高原气温的变化趋势。结果发现，西藏大部分地区四季和年平均气温为升温趋势，尤其是秋、冬季；高原上普遍存在气温非对称变化现象，以Tmax、Tmin显著上升，但Tmin上升幅度大于Tmax为主要类型。Tmax上升主要表现在夏季，增暖以冬季最为明显，气温日较差降夏季外均显著减小。在各纬度带上均表现为升温，春、秋季升温最大，冬季次之。高海拔地区比低海拔地区升温强。近40年来西藏高原年平均气温以0.26℃/10a的增长率上升，明显高于全国和全球气温的增长率。20世纪60年代多异常偏冷年，90年代多异常偏暖年。     

古吉黑造山带拼接带地球物理特征线

吉黑造山带拼接带的地球物理特征线，在重磁图上为伊通-吉昌-桦甸、贤儒-安图-开山屯一线。它分割了两种截然不同的地球物理场区，与两侧中元古宙-早三叠世不同的地质发育历史相呼应；和石炭-二叠系安哥拉与华夏植物地球区系的界线相一致。这是有别于前人而为更多新的地质资料所支持的新认识。     

导致古森林沉没于海的福建深沪湾古地震研究

福建深沪湾海底古森林是强古地震遗迹。研究结果表明 ,全新世早期该处海底古森林生长在由松散的晚更新世含砾砂粘土构成的低凹洼地内。距今 70 0 0a左右的强古地震导致古森林沉没于海并形成泻湖环境 ,约距今 2 0 0 0a的又一次强古地震使海底古森林沉没到更深的海底 ,推测这两次古地震的震级都超过 7级     

利用车贝雪夫多项式进行资料缺测插补的研究

使用一维车贝雪夫多项式展开进行历史年降水量和月平均气温各种缺测情况下资料的插补试验，在迭代计算过程中，还对理想初值的两种临界迭代次数选取方案和迭代终值法进行了大量的试验。结果表明，一般情况下迭代终值计算精度较高，旱涝年则理想初值拟合结果更好一些；一年缺测插补精度高于连续多年缺测；双向插补计算结果优于单独使用顺序或逆序插补结果。     

STUDY ON CANONICAL AUTOREGRESSION PREDICTION OF METEOROLOGICAL ELEMENT FIELDS*

Through extension of canonical correlation to the analysis of meteorological element fields (MEF), a concept from combination of canonical autocorrelation with canonical autoregression (CAR) is developed for short-term climatic prediction of MEFs with a formulated scheme. Experimental results suggest that the scheme is of encouraging usefulness to a weak persistence MEF,i.e., rainfall field and, in particular, to a strong persistance one like a SST field.     

白垩纪红层冰筏沉积的古气候及古地理意义

冰筏沉积是负载沉积物的冰块进入海洋或湖泊中，冰块融化沉积物附落所形成的，它们可形成于高海拔具有明显气候垂直分带的低纬度地区或者是高纬度地区。我们在研究松辽盆地白垩纪古气候时，首次在泉头组层中发现冰筏沉积。根据泉头组孢粉组合的研究透明，它们除了具有热带－亚热植物的孢粉以外，还有少量喜冷分子混生现象。     

A NUMERICAL STUDY FOR MECHANISM OF THE EFFECT OF NORTHERN SUMMER ARCTIC ICE COVER ON THE GLOBAL SHORTRANGE CLIMATE CHANGE

In terms of nine-layer global spectral model involving fuller parameterization of physical process,with arhomboidal truncation at wavenumber 15,experiments are conducted by virtue of two numerical schemes,one withlong-range mean coverage of Arctic ice,and the other with supercooled water at the same temperature as the ice,fol-lowed by an analysis of the difference field simulated by the two schemes.Results show that(1)the impact of Arctic iceon the northern short-range climate is realized through the change in polar ice coverage to cause local temperaturechange in the polar region to set up gradient difference in temperature from north to south,thus affecting the atmospher-ic circulations and,on the other hand,two trains of two-dimensional Rossby waves excited by the atmospheric heatsource anomaly have impacts on the Northern Hemisphere(NH)extratropical region,one of which is similar to the JPteleconnection pattern first presented by Nitta(1987);(2)The significant impact of Arctic ice anomaly on the southernshort-range climate change is accomplished with the aid of the anomaly of the equatorial heat source that excites a two-dimensional Rossby wavetrain propagating along a great circle route into the Southern Hemisphere(SH)extratropics,and the cross-equatorial propagation of the NH wavetrain also has effects on the SH atmosphere.Simulation indicatesthat with the 15-day integration the Arctic ice exerts an influence mainly on the NH and when the model atmosphere isgetting stabilized,the effect is dominantly on the SH short-range climate change.