Marine and limnic radiocarbon reservoir corrections for studies of late- and postglacial environments in Georgia Basin and Puget Lowland, British Columbia, Canada and Washington, USA

Models of late-glacial environmental change in coastal areas are commonly based on radiocarbon ages on marine shell and basal lake sediments, both of which may be compromised by reservoir effects. The magnitude of the oceanic reservoir age in the inland waters of the Georgia Basin and Puget Lowland of northwestern North America is inferred from radiocarbon ages on shell-wood pairs in Saanich Inlet and previously published estimates. The weighted mean oceanic reservoir correction in the early and mid Holocene is −720±90 yr, slightly smaller than, but not significantly different from, the modern value. The correction in late-glacial time is −950±50 yr. Valley-head sites yield higher reservoir values (−1200±130 yr) immediately after deglaciation. The magnitude of the gyttja reservoir effect is inferred from pairs of bulk gyttja and plant macrofossil ages from four lakes in the region. Incorporation of old carbon into basal gyttja yields ages from bulk samples that are initially about 600 yr too old. The reservoir age declines to less than 100 yr after the first millennium of lake development. When these corrections are accounted for, dates of deglaciation and late-glacial sea-level change in the study area are pushed forward in time by more than 500 yr.     

Comparisons on seasonal and annual variations of δ~(18)O in precipitation

interpretationofpaleoclimaticrecordsinicecore(Dansgaardetal.,1969;Rozanskietal.,1997;Yao,1999;Thompsonetal.,2000).SincethefirstdeepicecorewasdrilledinGreenlandin1966(Dansgaardetal.,1969),hundredsoficecoreswereobtainedsuccessivelyfromicesheetsinAntarcticaandArctic,andmountainglaciersatmid-highlatitudes,fundedbynumerousresearchprogramsonglobalclimateandenvironmentalchange.Theseicecoresprovideuniqueandvaluablefirst-handinformationinrecoveringglobalpaleoenvironmentalrecordsandforecastingfuturecl…     

Targeting seasonal climate forecasts for integration into household level decisions: the case of smallholder farmers in Lesotho

Seasonal climate forecasts have been promoted as a means to increase the resilience of marginal groups in Africa. The manifestations of this are still to be seen. This paper argues that successful dissemination and adoption of the forecast requires an in-depth profile of the characteristics and needs of user groups. The case study of a mountainous village in southern Lesotho is used to highlight the decisions which one group of marginal users – smallholder farmers – might make in response to the forecast. A participatory role-play exercise explores what information households presently receive and how new climate forecast information could be integrated into seasonal decision making. Results show that there are a number of low-input options available to these farmers for responding to the forecast. Adoption, however, is going to require repeated exposure to the forecast in conjunction with forecast development that is suited to users' needs. The case study is linked back to the larger scale by suggesting paths that seasonal climate forecast development could take if it is to contribute to improving livelihood sustainability among marginal groups.     

The causes and environmental effects of land use conversion during agricultural restructuring in Northeast China

During the last decade of the 20th century, extensive conversion in agricultural land use took place in Northeast China. The goal of this study is to ascertain its spatial distribution and regional differentiation, determine its causes, and analyze its environmental impact. Especially we attempt to elucidate how institutional constraints have facilitated the change at a time of agrarian restructuring when newly emerging free market was hybridized with the former planned economy. Information on six categories of land use was mapped from interpretation of Landsat TM images recorded in 1990, 1995 and 2000. Most of land use changes took place during the first half of the decade, coinciding with abrupt and chaotic changes in government directives. Farmland was changed mainly to woodland, water body and built-up areas while woodland and grassland were converted chiefly to farmland. Spatially, the change from farmland to woodland was restricted to the west of the study area. The change from grassland to farmland took place in the grazing and farming interlocked west. These chaotic and occasionally conflicting changes were largely caused by lack of stability and consistency in agricultural land use policies promulgated. They have exerted adverse impacts on the local environment, including land degradation, increased flooding, and modified climate regime.     

Seasonal Variation of the East Asian Subtropical Westerly Jet and Its Association with the Heating Field over East Asia

The structure and seasonal variation of the East Asian Subtropical Westerly Jet （EAWJ） and associations with heating fields over East Asia are examined by using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Obvious differences exist in the westerly jet intensity and location in different regions and seasons due to the ocean-land distribution and seasonal thermal contrast, as well as the dynamic and thermodynamic impacts of the Tibetan Plateau. In winter, the EAWJ center is situated over the western Pacific Ocean and the intensity is reduced gradually from east to west over the East Asian region. In summer, the EAWJ center is located over the north of the Tibetan Plateau and the jet intensity is reduced evidently compared with that in winter. The EAWJ seasonal evolution is characterized by the obvious longitudinal inconsistency of the northward migration and in-phase southward retreat of the EAWJ axis. A good correspondence between the seasonal variations of EAWJ and the meridional differences of air temperature （MDT） in the mid-upper troposphere demonstrates that the MDT is the basic reason for the seasonal variation of EAWJ. Correlation analyses indicate that the Kuroshio Current region to the south of Japan and the Tibetan Plateau are the key areas for the variations of the EAWJ intensities in winter and in summer, respectively. The strong sensible and latent heating in the Kuroshio Current region is closely related to the intensification of EAWJ in winter. In summer, strong sensible heating in the Tibetan Plateau corresponds to the EAWJ strengthening and southward shift, while the weak sensible heating in the Tibetan Plateau is consistent with the EAWJ weakening and northward migration.     

内蒙古中西部地区震源参数和场地响应反演

采用Atkinson方法，基于遗传算法，利用呼和浩特数字地震台网7个子台记录的9次质量较高的地震事件资料，计算了内蒙古中西部地区的品质因子Q值和非弹性衰减系数c（f）。在所研究的频率范围内，前者和频率．厂有很好的线形关系：Q（f）=116．8f^1.000后者与频率．厂的变化关系不明显。在此基础上采用Moya方法反演了7个地震台的场地响应和地震的震源参数，并对它们之间的相互关系进行了讨论。结果显示在所研究的频率域内7个基岩台站的场地均不同程度的存在放大作用，其次震源参数间具有较好的线性关系。本文还详细介绍了Atkinson方法和Moya方法的原理和计算步骤。     

Channel adjustments of the lower Trinity River,Texas, downstream of Livingston Dam

Channel cross‐sectional changes since construction of Livingston Dam and Lake Livingston in 1968 were studied in the lower Trinity River, Texas, to test theoretical models of channel adjustment, and to determine controls on the spatial extent of channel response. High and average flows were not significantly modified by the dam, but sediment transport is greatly reduced. The study is treated as an opportunistic experiment to examine the effects of a reduction in sediment supply when discharge regime is unchanged. Channel scour is evident for about 60 km downstream, and the general phenomena of incision, widening, coarsening of channel sediment and a decrease in channel slope are successfully predicted, in a qualitative sense, by standard models of channel response. However, there is no consistent channel response within this reach, as various qualitatively different combinations of increases, decreases or no change in width, depth, slope and roughness occur. These multiple modes of adjustment are predicted by the unstable hydraulic geometry model. Between about 60 km and the Trinity delta 175 km downstream of the dam, no morphological response to the dam is observed. Rather than a diminution of the dam's effects on fluvial processes, this is due to a fundamental change in controls of the fluvial system. The downstream end of the scour zone corresponds to the upstream extent of channel response to Holocene sea level rise. Beyond 60 km downstream, the Trinity River is characterized by extensive sediment storage and reduced conveyance capacity, so that even after dam construction sediment supply still exceeds transport capacity. The channel bed of much of this reach is near or below sea level, so that sea level rise and backwater effects from the estuary are more important controls on the fluvial system than upstream inputs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soil respiration in tropical seasonal rain forest in Xishuangbanna, SW China

With the static opaque chamber and gas chromatography technique, from January 2003 to January 2004 soil respiration was investigated in a tropical seasonal rain forest in Xishuangbanna, SW China. In this study three treatments were applied, each with three replicates: A (bare soil), B (soil+litter), and C (soil+litter+seedling). The results showed that soil respiration varied seasonally, low from December 2003 to February 2004, and high from June to July 2004. The annual average values of CO2 efflux from soil respiration differed among the treatments at 1% level, with the rank of C (14642 mgCO2· m-2. h-1)＞B (12807 mgCO2· m-2. h-1)＞A (9532 mgCO2· m-2. h-1). Diurnal variation in soil respiration was not apparent due to little diurnal temperate change in Xishuangbanna. There was a parabola relationship between soil respiration and soil moisture at 1% level. Soil respiration rates were higher when soil moisture ranged from 35% to 45%. There was an exponential relationship between soil respiration and soil temperature (at a depth of 5cm in mineral soil) at 1% level. The calculated Q1o values in this study,ranging from 2.03 to 2.36, were very near to those of tropical soil reported. The CO2 efflux in 2003was 5.34 kgCO2· m-2. a-1 from soil plus litter plus seedling, of them 3.48 kgCO2· m-2. a-1 from soil (accounting for 62.5%), 1.19 kgCO2· m-2. a-1 from litter (22.3%) and 0.67 kgCO2·m-2. a-1 from seedling (12.5%).     

Growth patterns and implications of complex dendrites in calcite travertines from Lýsuhóll, Snæfellsnes, Iceland

Calcite dendrite crystals are important but poorly understood components of calcite travertine that forms around many hot springs. The Lýsuhóll hot-spring deposits, located in western Iceland, are formed primarily of siliceous sinters that were precipitated around numerous springs that are now inactive. Calcite travertine formed around the vent and on the discharge apron of one of the springs at the northern edge of the area. The travertine is formed largely of two types (I and II) of complex calcite dendrite crystals, up to 1 cm high, that grew through the gradual addition of trilete sub-crystals. The morphology of the dendrite crystals was controlled by flow direction and the competition for growth space with neighbouring crystals. Densely crowded dendrites with limited branching characterize the rimstone dams whereas widely spaced dendrites with open branching are found in the pools. Many dendrite bushes in the pools nucleated around plant stems. Growth of the dendrite crystals was seasonal and incremental. Calcite precipitation was driven by rapid CO₂ degassing of CO₂-rich spring waters during the spring and summer. During winter, when snow covered the ground and temperatures were low, opal-A precipitated on the exposed surfaces of the dendrites. Segmentation of dendrite branches by discontinuities coated with opal-A and overgrowth development around sub-crystals resulted from this seasonal growth cycle. The calcite dendrite crystals in the Lýsuhóll travertine differ in morphology from those at other hot springs, such as those at Lake Bogoria, Kenya, and Waikite in New Zealand. Comparison with the calcite dendrite crystals found at those sites shows that dendrite morphology is site-specific and probably controlled by carbonate saturation levels that, in turn, are controlled by the rate of CO₂ degassing and location in the spring outflow system.