First evidence of Pentoxylales in Antarctica

Plant remains from the Byers Peninsula, South Shetlands Islands, are described. These are leaves referred toTaeniopterissp. and female fructifications referred toCarnoconites llambiasiiCésari sp. nov. They are considered to belong to the Pentoxylales, originally described from India, Australia and New Zealand. This is the first record of this group of gymnosperms from Antarctica. The occurrence contributes to further differentiation between floras of this part of Gondwana and Laurasia.     

Calculating phase diagrams involving solid solutions via non-linear equations, with examples using THERMOCALC

Phase diagrams involving solid solutions are calculated by solving sets of non-linear equations. In calculating P–T  projections and compatibility diagrams, the equations used for each equilibrium are the equilibrium relationships for an independent set of reactions between the end-members of the phases in the equilibrium. Invariant points and univariant lines in P–T  projections can be calculated directly, as can coordinates in compatibility diagrams. In calculating P–T  and T–x / P–x pseudosections – diagrams drawn for particular bulk compositions – the equilibrium relationship equations are augmented by mass balance equations. Lines in pseudosections, where the mode of one phase in the lower variance equilibrium is zero, and points, where the modes of two phases are zero, can then be calculated directly. The software, THERMOCALC, allows the calculation of these and a range of other types of phase diagram. Examples of phase diagrams and phase diagram movies, with instructions for their production, along with the THERMOCALC input and output files, and the Mathematica^TM functions for assembling them, are presented in this paper, partly in hard copy and partly on the JMG web sites (http://www.gly.bris.ac.uk/www/jmg/jmg.html, or equivalent Australian or USA sites).
     

南极长城湾及邻近水域表水异养细菌的含量估计及相关因子分析(英)

A survey was made of the number of the heterotrophic bacteria in surface seawater of Great Wall Bay and its adjacent waters, Antarctica during the period of austral summers from Dec.1993 to Feb. 1994. The result shows that the number of the heterotrophic bacteria in the surface waterof the surveyed area is about 798 CFU. cm-3, ranging from 53 to 4 250 CFU. cm-3. Comparison of thenumbers for three months shows a declining tendency month by month. Comparing with the previous results, this one shows that the heterotrophic bacteria number changes somewhat, but slightly. It is lower than that in nearshore waters but higher than that in the open area. This shows that there is a positive correlative relationship between CFU and NH4- N, which means that heterotrophic bacteria should be an important agent in NH4-N reproduction in the environment surveyed. There is an significant negative correlation both between CFU and NOZ-N, and between CFU and PO4-P. This means that the NOZ-N, PO.-P, which were decomposed and transformed by bacteria, were used rapidly by phytoplankton.     

东南极Lambert冰川流域表面雪层中稳定同位素分布及近几十年来的气候变化(英)

The Lambert Glacier basin is one of particular regions in East Antarctica, because of its distinctive topography. During the repeat inland traverses carried out in recent several years, surface 2 m snow samples and shallow (10～27 m deep) cores were collected at several ten stations and at near ten stations, respectively. The stable isotopic ratios of these samples and cores were measured in order to investigate the relation of isotopes with temperature and to study the climatic change in recent decades over this area. The correlation between isotopic ratios and mean annual temperature gives that δ-temperature gradient is relatively close to that along a traverse route between Vostok and Mirnyy stations. The inconsistency of δ18O profiles of these cores makes it difficult to distinguish an overall trend of climatic change in past decades. After incorporating the result of snow accumulation variability and temperature record over 30 years at the coast station, it is believed that climate was in a little cooling and drying from 1950s to 1980s and has been in a warming period since then.     

Palaeomagnetic and geochronological results from the Cambro-Ordovician Granite Harbour Intrusives inland of Terra Nova Bay (Victoria Land, Antarctica)

Palaeomagnetic investigations and Rb–Sr dating were carried out on samples from two plutons from the Granite Harbour Intrusives of the Transantarctic Mountains inland of Terra Nova Bay. The Rb–Sr whole rock–biotite ages from Teall Nunatak (475±4, 483±4 Ma), a quartz-diorite pluton cropping out to the south of Priestley Glacier, are older than that from the Mount Keinath monzogranite (450±4 Ma), which is located to the north of the glacier. These results are consistent with the literature data, which suggest that during the last phases of the Ross Orogeny the cooling rate of the basement was significantly lower to the north than to the south of Priestley Glacier. The Teall Nunatak quartz-diorite is characterized by a stable magnetization, whose blocking-temperature spectrum ranges from 530 to 570 °C. At one site, the stable magnetization is screened by a large secondary component of opposite polarity, removed by thermal demagnetization below 300 °C. The characteristic directions after thermal demagnetization yielded a southern pole located at lat. 11°S, long. 21°E. The magnetization of Mount Keinath monzogranite consists of several components with overlapping stability spectra. A characteristic direction was isolated at one site only, obtained by demagnetizing the specimens in the temperature range from 380 to 460 °C.
  Comparison with the other East Antarctica poles shows that those from Victoria Land are very well grouped and give a reliable early Ordovician palaeopole (lat. 5°S, long. 23°E, with K =196 and A ₉₅=3.7°), whereas the poles from Wilkes, Enderby and Dronning Maud Land are dispersed. We tentatively advance the hypothesis that the dispersion reflects different magnetization ages due to the slow cooling of these regions during the last stages of the Ross Orogeny.     

Ice-core records of global climate and environment changes

Precipitation accumulating on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets records several key parameters (temperature, accumulation, composition of atmospheric gases and aerosols) of primary interest for documenting the past global environment over recent climatic cycles and the chemistry of the preindustrial atmosphere. Several deep ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland have been studied over the last fifteen years. In both hemispheres, temperature records (based on stable isotope measurements in water) show the succession of glacial and interglacial periods. However, detailed features of the climatic stages are not identical in Antarctica and in Greenland. A tight link between global climate and greenhouse gas concentrations was discovered, CO₂ and CH₄ concentrations being lower in glacial conditions by about 80 and 0.3 ppmv, respectively, with respect to their pre-industrial levels of 280 and 0.65 ppmv. Coldest stages are also characterized by higher sea-salt and crustal aerosol concentrations. In Greenland, contrary to Antarctica, ice-age ice is alkaline. Gas-derived aerosol (in particular, sulfate) concentrations are generally higher for glacial periods, but not similar in both the hemispheres. Marine and continental biomass-related species are significant in Antarctica and Greenland ice, respectively. Finally, the growing impact of anthropogenic activities on the atmospheric composition is well recorded in both polar regions for long-lived compounds (in particular greenhouse gases), but mostly in Greenland for short-lived pollutants.     

南极长城站和中山站辐射特征的研究

对南极长城站和中山站1993～1994年辐射资料的分析表明:两站辐射分量的季节变化特征基本相似。但由于气候状况的差异,长城站到达地面的总辐射和吸收辐射分别为中山站的51%和42%。极昼期间（11～1月）中山站总辐射和紫外辐射总量均超过了青藏高原夏季（6～8月）的总量,两站净辐射夏半年为正,冬半年为负,显示出南极绿洲的辐射气候特点。     

南极瑞穗高原1987—1988年度表面物质平衡及其变化

根据1987/1988年度表面物质积累资料,对Mizuho(瑞穗)高原该年度物质平衡的分布规律及其变化进行了讨论,同时还对年内短期天气过程及地形变化对物质平衡的影响进行了分析。研究发现1987/1988年度物质平衡的空间分布与多年平均状况存在较大区别:海拔550m以下的沿海地带表现为负物质平衡状态。从S_16点向内陆80km范围内为高值物质平衡区。年平均净物质平衡量达0.84m雪层深;80km到瑞穗高原内陆的瑞穗站之间为低值物质平衡区,年平均物质平衡量仅0.14m雪层深。在瑞穗高原,表面物质平衡水平表现为低积累,低支出的特征。此外,年内短期气候和地形变化对物质平衡的影响均大于多年平均状态,在高值物质平衡区,气候变化对物质平衡的影响大于地形变化的影响;而在低值物质平衡区,地形变化对物质平衡的影响则大于气候变化对物质平衡的影响。     

Envisat and SARAL/AltiKa Observations of the Antarctic Ice Sheet: A Comparison Between the Ku-band and Ka-band

The AltiKa altimeter onboard SARAL is a joint CNES/ISRO mission launched in February 2013 that has the same 35 days repeat orbit of the previous European altimeters, Envisat, and ERS-1/2. SARAL/AltiKa is thus a unique opportunity to extend the repeat observations of this orbit that have been surveyed since 1991. However, the altimeter operates in Ka-band, which is higher than the previous frequencies, and offers new paths of investigation. The penetration depth is theoretically reduced from around 10 m in Ku-band to less than 1 m in Ka-band, such that the volume echo originates from the near subsurface. Second, the sharper antenna aperture leads to a narrower leading edge that reduces the impact of the ratio between surface and volume echoes of the height retrieval. Indeed, the spatial and temporal observations of AltiKa at cross-over points and along-track indicate that the impact of backscatter changes on the height decreasesfrom 0.3 m/dB for the Ku-band to only 0.05 m/dB for the Ka-band. Therefore, the height measurement is stable over time. Moreover, the volume echo in the Ka-band results from the near subsurface layer and is mostly controlled by ice grain size, unlike the Ku-band.     

20世纪南极菲尔德斯半岛毛皮海豹食谱比例变化的同位素混合模型比较分析

稳定同位素比值分析已成功用于示踪动物的食物来源研究,近年来已发展了多个同位素混合模型用于计算混合物中多来源物质的组成比例。本文以过去百年来南极菲尔德斯半岛南极毛皮海豹(Arctocephalus gazella)毛发的C、N同位素数据为基础,运用同位素混合模型中的欧几里得距离法、线性模型和贝叶斯模型进行计算、分析和比较,得到毛皮海豹食谱中南极磷虾(Euphausia superb)、南极电灯鱼(Electrona antarctica)和尼氏裸灯鱼(Gymnoscopelus nicholsi)所占比例随时间的变化趋势。各模型计算得出的结果可分为两组,分别是欧几里得距离法公式(1)和(2)的结果,表现为近百年来毛皮海豹食谱中Euphausia superb比例与其毛发稳定N同位素比值呈同步上升的趋势;第二组为欧几里得距离法公式(3)、线性模型和贝叶斯模型的结果,Euphausia superb比例与毛皮海豹毛稳定N同位素比值呈反相关关系。综合对比研究区域气候、海冰环境变化背景和已有的南极磷虾种群密度调查资料分析,第二组模型结果与实际情况较为相符,可用于讨论食物比例的时间变化趋势。近百年来,菲尔德斯半岛毛皮海豹食谱中Euphausia superb的比例显著下降,很可能是由于区域气候快速变暖和海冰的消退造成的。本文的计算结果指示西南极半岛气候变暖已显著影响到区域海洋食物链变化。