Glacier mass balance of tropical Zongo glacier, Bolivia, comparing hydrological and glaciological methods

A glaciological program has been undertaken since 1991 on Zongo glacier in Bolivia (6000–4850 m asl, 2.4 km², 16°S). This program involves mass balance measurements, hydrological studies and energy balance investigations. On outer-tropical glaciers, melting and snow accumulation are both maximum in the wet season (austral summer), whereas the dry season (winter) is a period of low ablation. Errors on each term of the glaciological (stakes, snow-pits and integration method of the measurements) and hydrological (precipitation, discharge and runoff coefficient of free ice areas) methods are investigated to estimate the overall accuracy of the mass balance measurements. The hydrological budget is less than the glaciological one (mean difference: 60 cm w.e. per year), but both methods reproduce similar inter-annual variations. Errors in assessment of evaporation or water storage inside the glacier cannot explain the discrepancy. Errors using the glaciological method are large (around ± 40 cm w.e. per year), but no bias can explain the departure from the hydrological balance. Errors on discharge measurements are small and the uncertainty on the runoff coefficient has a minor effect on the mass balance. We concluded that hydrological budgets are too low due to the catch deficiency of rain gauges and absence of precipitation measurements at high altitudes, emphasizing the difficulty to assess snowfall distribution in high mountainous basins.     

Phytochemical changes in leaves of subtropical grasses and fynbos shrubs at elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations

The effects of elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentrations on plant polyphenolic, tannin, nitrogen, phosphorus and total nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations were investigated in leaves of subtropical grass and fynbos shrub species. The hypothesis tested was that carbon-based secondary compounds would increase when carbon gain is in excess of growth requirements. This premise was tested in two ecosystems involving plants with different photosynthetic mechanisms and growth strategies. The first ecosystem comprised grasses from a C₄-dominated, subtropical grassland, where three plots were subjected to three different free air CO₂ enrichment treatments, i.e., elevated (600 to 800 μmol mol⁻¹), intermediate (400 μmol mol⁻¹) and ambient atmospheric CO₂. One of the seven grass species, Alloteropsis semialata, had a C₃ photosynthetic pathway while the other grasses were all C₄. The second ecosystem was simulated in a microcosm experiment where three fynbos species were grown in open-top chambers at ambient and 700 μmol mol⁻¹ atmospheric CO₂ in low nutrient acid sands typical of south western coastal and mountain fynbos ecosystems. Results showed that polyphenolics and tannins did not increase in the grass species under elevated CO₂ and only in Leucadendron laureolum among the fynbos species. Similarly, foliar nitrogen content of grasses was largely unaffected by elevated CO₂, and among the fynbos species, only L. laureolum and Leucadendron xanthoconus showed changes in foliar nitrogen content under elevated CO₂, but these were of different magnitude. The overall decrease in nitrogen and phosphorus and consequent increase in C:N and C:P ratio in both ecosystems, along with the increase in polyphenolics and tannins in L. laureolum in the fynbos ecosystem, may negatively affect forage quality and decomposition rates. It is concluded that fast growing grasses do not experience sink limitation and invest extra carbon into growth rather than polyphenolics and tannins and show small species-specific chemical changes at elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. Responses of fynbos species are varied and were species-specific.     

Theory of stability, and regulation and control of ecological system in oasis

Starting with analysis on the evolving course of oasis and the characteristics and evolution of transitional zone between oasis and desert, in consideration of ecological elements including plant stomata resistance, area covered by vegetation, and physical elements including albedo of vegetation and bare soil, atmosphere temperature, and humidity, under the condition of the balance among net radiation flux, latent heat flux, and sensible heat flux, the following are calculated: temperatures of vegetation and bare soil in different conditions, as well as the evapotranspiration rate of ecosystem. Analysis on evapotranspiration rate indicates that it depends on both the climate of environment and the physiological and ecological conditions of plants. On certain conditions, the evapotranspiration rate of transitional zone between oasis and desert (i.e. area covered by vegetation less than 20%), in some parameter domains, appears in bifurcation or multiequilibrium state. Meanwhile, in such area, ecosystem is extremely unstable. Any minor change to the balance will cause either increase or reduction of area covered by vegetation in ecosystem, on the basis of discussion on the emergency of these phenomena. This paper is attempting to propose an effective way of destruction and rebuilt ecosystem in transitional zone. The way is to control the evaporation of plant through selecting anti-drought country plant with big stomata resistance, and modify the roughness of the underlying surface in ecosystem by establishing rational interspace structure of plant community, so as to put the degenerative ecosystem into the natural succession track. This primary theory is being verified through observation and analysis on historical data.     

Comparison of heat balance characteristics at five glaciers in the Southern Hemisphere

Ablation characteristics of five glaciers in Patagonia and New Zealand were compared. Investigated glaciers were Tyndall and Moreno in southern Patagonia, Soler and San Rafael in northern Patagonia, and Franz Josef in New Zealand. Micro-meteorological observations were carried out at the glaciers and the heat balance components were estimated. At Franz Josef and Soler glaciers, the sensible heat flux is the largest and the latent heat flux is the second, and they are larger than the net radiation. At San Rafael Glacier, the net radiation is the largest and the latent heat flux is the smallest component, which is similar to Moreno and Tyndall glaciers. Though the latent heat flux is the smallest component at San Rafael Glacier, it is more than twice as large as that at Tyndall Glacier and contributes substantially to ice melting. The ratios of heat balance components were very different among glaciers, but the total heat flux ranged from about 240 to 300 W m⁻² showing little difference among glaciers.     

Land water storage contribution to sea level from GRACE geoid data over 2003–2006

Seasonal and inter-annual change in land water storage (expressed in terms of water volume change) over 27 large river basins worldwide are estimated from monthly GRACE geoids solutions computed at GFZ from February 2003 to February 2006. The largest annual water volume change is found in the Amazon basin, followed by the Parana, Ob, Orinoco, Tocantins, Niger, Congo, Ganges, Mekong, and Brahmaputra. In terms of trend over the 3-year period, positive and negative values are observed but in a number of cases computed trends are at the noise level. However significant negative trends are found in the Amazon, Ganges, Mississippi, Nile, Parana, and Zambezi basins, indicating water mass loss over that period. Positive trends (water mass gain) are marginally significant. We have computed the land water contribution to sea level change. On average over the 3-year time span, we find that the net effect is positive (net loss of water in terrestrial reservoirs), on the order of 0.19 +/− 0.06 mm/yr. If sustained over a longer time span than considered here, such a value may become comparable to the ice sheets contribution to sea level rise.     

全球纬向平均的海气耦合一维模式分析

本文从能量平衡角度,考虑海气相互作用和纬向间的差异,设计了一个纬向平均的海气耦合一维模式,进行了模式平衡态求解、敏感性试验以及随机分析。并对模式部分计算结果进行了与实测资料的比较,验证了模式的合理性和可信性。     

黑龙江盘古-碧水韧性剪切带中段构造地球化学特征

盘古-碧水韧性剪切带中段糜棱岩的叠加强度和质量平衡分析表明:剪切带在变形过程中组分发生了显著的交换。糜棱岩类总体CaO、K2O、SiO2大量带入,TiO2、MnO、FeO是带出的。随着糜棱岩化程度的提高,SiO2、K2O、MnO明显带入,CaO少量带出。以Al2O3守恒为限制条件,整个剪切带质量和体积增加了16.87%。大规模的物质带入带出发生在糜棱岩阶段。     

中纬度造山带地区的长期化学风化——中亚和北美的对比研究

长期化学风化速率（LCWR）和化学风化剥蚀率（CDF）是表征区域化学风化程度和揭示地貌和气候系统演变的重要依据。全球尺度上,中纬度地区的长期化学风化研究远比低纬地区争议更多,原因之一是其风化机制在理论认识上仍存在不确定性,特别是造山带地区的长期化学风化与物理侵蚀、构造、气候之间的关系等。本文利用地球化学质量平衡方法,针对北半球中纬度典型造山带（中亚黑河流域和北美内华达山脉）开展了相关数据和资料的系统整理与再分析,估算了黑河流域的LCWR值和物理侵蚀速率（E）值并与内华达山脉进行了对比研究。分析结果表明,黑河流域、内华达山脉的LCWR分别为17. 4~895 t/km2/a、1~173 t/km2/a,CDF分别为0. 17~0. 81、0. 02~0. 61,LCWR与E均显著正相关,与海拔高度、年均温度、年均降水量等仅局部相关。研究区的长期化学风化主要表现为“供应受限型”风化,但黑河流域局部地区已处于“供应受限”与“动力学受限”过渡的风化阶段。结合回归分析结果和已有成果的综合分析,中纬度造山带地区的长期化学风化速率受到地质、气候等因素的协同影响,但主控因素为地质因素,而化学风化剥蚀率则主要受控于其他因素。     

青岛海陆风三维结构的数值模拟

本文采用 1个陡地形影响修正的三维中尺度流体静力的气象学模式 ,对青岛地区海陆风的日变化规律和三维结构进行了较细致的分析。结果显示 ,青岛有多支海陆风存在 ,且每支海陆风出现的时间、强度和向内陆伸展的距离有很大的不同。这其中沿岸山地的机械和热力作用扮演着重要的角色。在观测站 ,模拟结果和实测资料等方面有较好的一致性。     

城市热岛效应的研究进展与展望

随着世界各国城市化的进展,城市热岛效应已经成为一个跨学科领域的问题,受到包括大气环境、区域气候、水文和生态等多学科科学家的关注。在过去半个多世纪中,城市热岛问题的研究获得了相当丰富的研究成果,通过对这些成果的综合分析,归纳出城市热岛研究中采用的3类主要方法——观测(外场试验和遥感技术)、数值模拟以及实验室仿真法。系统地回顾了城市热岛效应的研究历史,重点对与城市热岛关系最密切的城市边界层、热岛环流与复杂地形的相互作用以及能量平衡研究所取得的成果进行了总结和评述。最后对城市热岛问题未来8个可能的研究方向进行了探讨,其中,包括沿海和复杂地形附近的城市热岛问题、城市群间热岛环流的相互作用、城市化与空气污染问题、城市热岛效应对平均降水的影响、城市化对雾和闪电的影响、城市天气预报的精细化、城市气候变化预测以及城市热岛效应减缓方案的制定,并对其发展前景进行了粗略的展望。