湖南衡山冰雪资源及其旅游开发

湖南衡山虽地处中亚热带，但特殊的位置和明显的重直地带性使其上部冬季气候与北京相似，冰雪旅游资源十分丰富，交通发达，客源充足，旅游设施齐全，其他旅游资源配合紧密，具有很好的开发利用价值。几年来衡山冬季旅游发展缓慢，有关部门应提高认识，增加冰雪旅游景目、改造部分旅舍、加强对外宣传、搞好旅游服务，才能把衡山冰雪旅游推上一个新台阶。     

Morphological characteristics, formation and glaciological significance of Rogen moraine in northern Scotland

Rogen moraine are enigmatic landforms whose exact origin is still debated. We use NEXTMap digital surface models and aerial photographs to map the distribution of previously unreported fields of Rogen moraine in the vicinity of Loch Shin, northern Scotland. Existing models of formation are tested against detailed morphological Rogen moraine characteristics obtained from the remote sensing data and field observations. Detailed morphometric analyses combined with their geographical setting lead us to postulate a likely mechanism of formation. Rogen moraine appear to have formed in areas where there were strong basal ice-flow velocity gradients. Thrusting by compression, or fracturing by extension of preexisting partially frozen sediment probably occurred in these areas, resulting in Rogen moraine formation. A general down-ice increase in ridge crest spacing suggests that the latter process may have been dominant, and is consistent with the location of Rogen moraine in the lee of topographic obstructions, in areas that experienced overall extensional ice flow. We also suggest that at least one field of Rogen moraine formed where lateral basal ice-flow velocity gradients were strongest — possibly in a subglacial shear margin setting. Given their location, the landforms may be consistent with formation during headward scavenging of the Moray Firth palaeo-ice stream into a shrinking core of cold-based ice.     

中国境内冰川成冰作用的研究进展

冰川是由降雪积累形成,具有一定规模且运动着的自然冰体,是气候变化最敏感的指示器。从雪演化成冰的过程、机理和结果统称为成冰作用。成冰作用的研究可以揭示冰川的发育条件、形成过程和物理特征等;成冰作用的空间变化又是冰川变化的一种反映,对气候变化具有很好的指示作用。中国境内冰川的成冰作用研究开始于1962年谢自楚等对天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川开展的成冰作用研究,随后不同学者对祁连山等地区冰川的成冰作用亦进行了研究。随着研究的深入和发展现已形成具有中国特色的冰川成冰作用概念。主要回顾了冰川成冰带研究的发展历程和在中国的发展状况以及自20世纪60年代开始中国境内祁连山、天山、阿尔泰山、西昆仑山、喜马拉雅山、藏东南地区和横断山区冰川的成冰作用研究的主要成果,展望了今后冰川成冰作用研究的发展及其重要意义,并提出了以前研究中存在的缺陷和不足以及今后在成冰作用研究中应该注意的问题。     

西北太平洋热带气旋的闪电活动、雷达反射率和冰散射信号特征分析

利用热带测雨卫星(TRMM)携带的测雨雷达(PR)、闪电成像仪(LIS)和微波辐射计(TMI)的同步探测资料,选取1998-2008年登陆中国的46个热带气旋,分析了其不同强度阶段的闪电活动、雷达反射率和冰散射信号的分布特征,以及闪电的发生与雷达反射率和冰散射信号之间的关系.结果发现:强度较弱的热带气旋平均闪电次数相对较高;当强度达到强热带风暴阶段后,强度越强,闪电数量反而越少.热带气旋强度不同,闪电的空间分布也有差别,热带风暴、强台风和超强台风阶段眼壁区闪电密度最大,而其他阶段则在外雨带区密度最大.热带气旋大部分区域被层云和弱对流降水控制,0℃层以上雷达反射率迅速减小,冰散射信号也普遍较弱.虽然热带气旋的眼壁区对流活动最强.但相比于外面带却较不易发生闪电.在同等大小的雷达反射率下,闪电更易发生在台风和强热带风暴阶段,超强台风阶段发生闪电阈值最高.由于闪电的发生与软雹、冰晶和过冷水等微物理参量以及上升气流速度紧密相关,因此闪电资料可以提供关于热带气旋不同区域的微物理过程和动力过程信息.     

青藏高原近600年的温度变化

利用1983年7月－1990年12月ISCCP卫星反演的地表温度资料，将高原的温度变化分为三个区。在每一区找1－2个温度变化的代用资料（冰芯、树轮），将近600a的资料进行标准化处理，然后按面积加权，得到了大体可代表整个高原的平均温度变化序列，发现600a来高原上曾出现过三次冷期和暖期，最冷在17世纪中叶。     

Holocene climate inferred from glacier extent,lake sediment and tree rings at Goat Lake,Kenai Mountains,Alaska, USA

Lake sediment, glacier extent and tree rings were used to reconstruct Holocene climate changes from Goat Lake at 550 m asl in the Kenai Mountains, south‐central Alaska. Radiocarbon‐dated sediment cores taken at 55 m water depth show glacial‐lacustrine conditions until about 9500 cal. yr BP, followed by organic‐rich sedimentation with an overall increasing trend in organic matter and biogenic silica content leading up to the Little Ice Age (LIA). Through most of the Holocene, the northern outlet of the Harding Icefield remained below the drainage divide that currently separates it from Goat Lake. A sharp transition from gyttja to inorganic mud about AD 1660 signifies the reappearance of glacier meltwater into Goat Lake during the LIA, marking the maximum Holocene (postglacial) extent. Meltwater continued to discharge into the lake until about AD 1900. A 207 yr tree‐ring series from 25 mountain hemlocks growing in the Goat Lake watershed correlates with other regional tree‐ring series that indicate an average summer temperature reduction of about 1°C during the 19th century compared with the early–mid 20th century. Cirque glaciers around Goat Lake reached their maximum LIA extent in the late 19th century. Assuming that glacier equilibrium‐line altitudes (ELA) are controlled solely by summer temperature, then the cooling of 1°C combined with the local environmental lapse rate would indicate an ELA lowering of 170 m. In contrast, reconstructed ELAs of 12 cirque glaciers near Goat Lake average only 34 ± 18 m lower during the LIA. The restricted ELA lowering can be explained by a reduction in accumulation‐season precipitation caused by a weakening of the Aleutian low‐pressure system during the late LIA. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrological changes during the Roman Climatic Optimum in northern Tuscany (Central Italy) as evidenced by speleothem records and archaeological data

Study of the climate in the Mediterranean basin during different historical periods has taken on a particular importance, particularly regarding its role (together with other factors) in the evolution of human settlement patterns. Although the Roman age is traditionally considered a period with a favourable climate, recent studies have revealed considerable complexity in terms of regional climate variations. In this paper, we compare the hydrological change from speleothem proxy records with flood reconstructions from archaeological sites for Northern Tuscany (central Italy). We identify a period of oscillating climatic conditions culminating in a multidecadal dry event during the 1st century bc , followed by a century of increased precipitation at the beginning of the Roman Empire and subsequently a return to drier conditions in the 2nd century ad. The period of rainfall increase documented by the speleothems agrees with both the archaeological flood record as well as historical flood data available for the Tiber River, ca. 300 km to the south. These data also suggest a return to wetter conditions following the 3nd and 4rd centuries ad.     

Characterization of organic matter in marine sediments to estimate age offset of bulk radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating of Arctic marine sediment is often challenging due to the low availability of calcareous fossils. Consequently, bulk organic matter dating has at times been used to establish sediment core chronologies. Yet, radiocarbon dates based on bulk organic matter often appear to deviate vastly from dates based on fossils, mainly caused by input of allochthounous carbon, including terrigenous organic matter. In this study, we aim to examine the link between the composition of the bulk organic matter and the age offsets between the bulk radiocarbon dates and those obtained from calcareous foraminiferal tests. All samples are taken from the marine sediment core AMD14-204C from offshore Upernavik (eastern Baffin Bay). The radiocarbon dates for bulk organic matter are on average ∼3000 years older than the radiocarbon dates based on foraminifera, but with changing age offsets throughout the record. To investigate the cause of this age offset and its variations over time, we applied core scanning, X-ray Fluorescence analysis, stable isotopes, organic pyrolysis and microscopic organic petrology to examine the distribution and characterization of the organic matter. The results show that the older organic matter includes clastic input of reworked sedimentary rocks potentially originating from West Greenland and/or the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Changes in the input of contemporary marine algal produced organic matter versus both terrigenous input and reworked ancient organic matter appear to control the age offsets between the bulk and foraminifera dates. A low Hydrogen Index and low δ¹³C_org values together with a high Oxygen Index, indicative of high influence of terrigenous organic matter, seem to correspond to samples with the largest age offsets; 1000–2000 years greater than in other samples. To examine the cause of the variations in the age offsets, a new quantification of the autochthonous organic matter as a fraction of the TOC was calculated. This shows that samples with the largest age offsets contained the lowest fraction (as low as ∼12%) of autochthonous organic matter in the TOC.     

A model study of the Little Ice Age and beyond: changes in ocean heat content,hydrography and circulation since 1500

The Earth System Climate Model from the University of Victoria is used to investigate changes in ocean properties such as heat content, temperature, salinity, density and circulation during 1500 to 2000, the time period which includes the Little Ice Age (LIA) (1500–1850) and the industrial era (1850–2000). We force the model with two different wind-stress fields which take into account the North Atlantic Oscillation. Furthermore, temporally varying radiative forcings due to volcanic activity, insolation changes and greenhouse gas changes are also implemented. We find that changes in the upper ocean (0–300 m) heat content are mainly driven by changes in radiative forcing, except in the polar regions where the varying wind-stress induces changes in ocean heat content. In the full ocean (0–3,000 m) the wind-driven effects tend to reduce, prior to 1700, the downward trend in the ocean heat content caused by the radiative forcing. Afterwards no dynamical effect is visible. The colder ocean temperatures in the top 600 m during the LIA are caused by changes in radiative forcing, while the cooling at the bottom is wind-driven. The changes in salinity are small except in the Arctic Ocean. The reduced salinity content in the subsurface Arctic Ocean during the LIA is a result from reduced wind-driven inflow of saline water from the North Atlantic. At the surface of the Arctic Ocean the changes in salinity are caused by changes in sea–ice thickness. The changes in density are a composite picture of the temperature and salinity changes. Furthermore, changes in the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) are caused mainly by a varying wind-stress forcing; the additional buoyancy driven changes due to the radiative forcings are small. The simulated MOC is reduced during the LIA as compared to the industrial era. On the other hand, the ventilation rate in the Southern Ocean is increased during the LIA.     

Sea-level rise: A review of recent past and near-future trends

Global mean sea level is a potentially sensitive indicator of climate change. Global warming will contribute to worldwide sea-level rise (SLR) from thermal expansion of ocean water, melting of mountain glaciers and polar ice sheets. A number of studies, mostly using tide-gauge data from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level, Bidston Observatory, England, have obtained rates of global SLR within the last 100 years that range between 0·3 and 3 mm yr^?1, with most values concentrated between 1 and 2 mm yr^?1. However, the reliability of these results has been questioned because of problems with data quality and physical processes that introduce a high level of spatial and temporal variability. Sources of uncertainty in the sea-level data include variations in winds, ocean currents, river runoff, vertical earth movements, and geographically uneven distribution of long-term records. Crustal motions introduce a major source of error. To a large extent, these can be filtered by employing palaeo-sea-level proxies, and geophysical modelling to remove glacio-isostatic changes. Ultimately, satellite geodesy will help resolve the inherent ambiguity between the land and ocean level changes recorded by tide gauges. Future sea level is expected to rise by ～ 1 m, with a ‘best-guess’ value of 48 cm by the year 2100. Such rates represent an acceleration of four to seven times over present rates. Local land subsidence could substantially increase the apparent SLR. For example, Louisiana is currently experiencing SLR trends nearly 10 times the global mean rate. These recently reduced SLR estimates are based on climate models that predict a zero to negative contribution to SLR from Antarctica. Most global climate models (GCMs) indicate an ice accumulation over Antarctica, because in a warmer world, precipitation will exceed ablation/snow-melt. However, the impacts of attritional processes, such as thinning of the ice shelves, have been downplayed according to some experts. Furthermore, not all climate models are in agreement. Opposite conclusions may be drawn from the results of other GCMs. In addition, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is potentially subject to dynamic and volcanic instabilities that are difficult to predict. Because of the great uncertainty in SLR projections, careful monitoring of future sea-level trends by upgraded tide-gauge networks and satellite geodesy will become essential. Finally, because of the high spatial variability in crustal subsidence rates, wave climates and tidal regimes, it will be the set of local conditions (especially the relative sea-level rise), rather than a single global mean sea-level trend, that will determine each locality's vulnerability to future SLR.