Late Pleistocene to early Holocene aeolian activity in the upper and middle Shoalhaven catchment,New South Wales

Thermoluminescence dating of relict source‐bordering dunes in the middle and upper Shoalhaven catchment show them to have been active between 19ka and 6ka. During this time, except for a brief period of dune stability sometime between 18 ka and 14ka, the climate of this area was considerably drier than present. The onset of aeolian activity here coincides with the glacial maximum indicating that it was not until then that arid or semi‐arid conditions were able to penetrate the humid coastal rim of south‐east Australia. The extension of these conditions into the early Holocene, whilst supported by the palaeobotanical record of nearby Lake George, contrasts with pollen evidence from other nearby catchments, suggesting that there were variable environmental responses throughout the south‐east highlands of NSW to the amelioration in climate during the early Holocene.     

Climate variability at the southern boundaries of the Namib (southwestern Africa) and Atacama (northern Chile) coastal deserts during the last 120,000 yr

In this study, we present grain-size distributions of the terrigenous fraction of two deep-sea sediment cores from the SE Atlantic (offshore Namibia) and from the SE Pacific (offshore northern Chile), which we ‘unmix’ into subpopulations and which are interpreted as coarse eolian dust, fine eolian dust, and fluvial mud. The downcore ratios of the proportions of eolian dust and fluvial mud subsequently represent paleocontinental aridity records of southwestern Africa and northern Chile for the last 120,000 yr. The two records show a relatively wet Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) compared to a relatively dry Holocene, but different orbital variability on longer time scales. Generally, the northern Chilean aridity record shows higher-frequency changes, which are closely related to precessional variation in solar insolation, compared to the southwestern African aridity record, which shows a remarkable resemblance to the global ice-volume record. We relate the changes in continental aridity in southwestern Africa and northern Chile to changes in the latitudinal position of the moisture-bearing Southern Westerlies, potentially driven by the sea-ice extent around Antarctica and overprinted by tropical forcing in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.     

Malaco temperature reconstructions and numerical simulation of environmental conditions in the southeastern Carpathian Basin during the Last Glacial Maximum

We investigate the glacial climate conditions in the southeastern Carpathian Basin (Vojvodina, Serbia) based on the reconstruction of malacological palaeotemperatures and results from a high-resolution regional climate simulation. Land snail assemblages from eight loess profiles are used to reconstruct July temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The malacological reconstructed temperatures are in good agreement with the simulated LGM July temperatures by the Weather Research and Forecast model. Both methods indicate increasing temperatures from the northwestern towards the southeastern parts of the study area. LGM aridity indices calculated based on the regional climate model data suggest more arid conditions in the southeastern parts compared with more humid conditions in the northwestern parts. However, for present-day conditions, the moisture gradient is reversed, exhibiting more humid (arid) conditions in the southeast (northwest). An explanation for the reversed LGM aridity pattern is provided by an analysis of the prevailing wind directions over the South Banat district (Serbia). The prevailing moist northwesterly winds during summer are not able to compensate for the annual lack of moisture induced by the dry winds from the southeast that are more frequent during the LGM for the other seasons.     

Modeling an irrigation ditch opens up the world. Hydrology and hydraulics of an ancient irrigation system in Peru

Ancient Peruvian irrigation systems have been studied extensively, but much remains unknown about technical and hydrological aspects of these irrigation systems. The Pampa de Chaparrí irrigation system in Peru is used as an example to show how modeling approaches for hydrological and hydraulic features of irrigation can yield results to improve our understanding of irrigation in the area. Analysis focuses on water availability compared demand, the way available water may have been applied to crops and whether the water needed could be delivered through the canal system. Results suggest that on the Pampa some 2500 hectares may have been cultivated within certain security limits for acceptable yields. The rhythm with which the irrigation requirement was applied to crops most likely influenced yields and thus food security. Furthermore, the influence of groundwater on crop growth may have been considerable. The hydraulic behavior of the irrigation system suggests that it should not be taken for granted that theoretically required water flows could actually be diverted and/or distributed to water users. The many questions coming out of the results define important items for a joint research agenda of archeologists and irrigation scientists.     

On climate variability in Northeast of Brazil

The time-series (annual period and dry- and wet-season) of eight climatic variables were analysed to ascertain the existence of climate variability in Northeast of Brazil. Results indicated generally increasing trends in most of these variables (statistically significant at p<0.01 or <0.05) by Mann–Kendall test. However, relative humidity and rainfall presented decreasing behavior. The study showed that most of the stations studied are going through a process of environmental dryness. The results also suggest that the historical trends may be related to climate variability in Northeast of Brazil, which affects both semi-arid and coastal part of the region.     

湿润指数与干操度关系的探讨

为使我国气候区划标准与国际气侯区划标准接轨, 从其定义出发, 将《国际防治荒漠化公约》中采用湿润指数划分气候区与我国传统的干燥反气候区划作比较认为: 湿润指数气候区划与干燥度气候区划在理论上有相关性, 其相关系数为: 当≥4时, 湿润指数为0.8/K, 当4>K≥1.5时, 湿润指数为0.75/K, 当K<1.5时, 湿润指数为0.65/K.在实际应用中, 湿润指数气候区划与干燥度气侯区划相比较, 我国湿润区面积有所扩大, 极干旱气候区域有所北移。     

中国东北三省1960—2005年地表干燥度变化趋势

为研究气候变化对东北三省地表干湿状况的影响,利用该区1960—2005年72个气象站的观测资料,采用Penman Monteith模型计算了各站的潜在蒸散量,由潜在蒸散量和降水量之比构建干燥度指数,并采用Kriging法进行空间插值以分析其区域特征。结果表明,该区地表干湿状况具有明显的时空变化特征。1960—1979年间,由于降水减少和潜在蒸散增加,地表干燥度指数呈增加趋势,水汽压差增大是潜在蒸散增加的主要原因;1980—2005年间,大部分地区地表干旱状况有所减缓,其中以黑龙江省和吉林东部尤为明显。降水增加和潜在蒸散减少是地表干旱状况趋缓的主要原因,风速降低和净辐射减小导致潜在蒸散减少。总体而言,气候变化并未加剧东北三省的干旱化。     

云南初夏干湿演变特征和基于CMIP6模式模拟的预估分析

使用1961—2020年的观测数据和2021—2080年的模式预估数据,首先分析了云南初夏干燥度指数（aridity index,AI）的演变特征和影响因子相对贡献,然后采用国际耦合模式比较计划第六阶段（CMIP6）中的20个全球模式,对SSP1-2.6、SSP2-4.5以及SSP5-8.5情景下云南初夏未来干湿变化进行了预估研究。结果表明：(1) 1961—2020年云南初夏气候整体湿润,但为变干燥的趋势,有明显的年代际变化特征,1960s、1970s以及2000s气候相对湿润,其余年代相对干燥,2000s（2010s）为1961年以来最湿润（干燥）的10年。(2) 2021—2080年在3种排放情景下,云南初夏气候较1995—2014年均为变干燥的趋势,SSP1-2.6、SSP2-4.5以及SSP5-8.5情景下,AI分别减少13.9%、17.9%以及24.9%,西南部将可能是湿润度降幅最大值中心。(3) 1961—2020年,降水对云南初夏气候干湿变化的贡献大于潜在蒸散量;而2021—2080年,潜在蒸散量对气候变干燥的贡献大于降水量,且随排放情景的增高和时间推移,其贡献将逐渐增大。     

Hydroclimatology of the Volta River Basin in West Africa: Trends and variability from 1901 to 2002

Long-term historical records of rainfall (P), runoff (Q) and other climatic factors were used to investigate hydrological variability and trends in the Volta River Basin over the period 1901-2002. Potential (E_p) and actual evaporation (E), rainfall variability index (δ), Budyko’s aridity index (I_A), evaporation ratio (C_E) and runoff ratio (C_Q) were estimated from the available hydroclimatological records. Mann-Kendall trend analysis and non-parametric Sen’s slope estimates were performed on the respective time series variables to detect monotonic trend direction and magnitude of change over time.Rainfall variability index showed that 1968 was the wettest year (δ = +1.75) while 1983 was the driest (δ = −3.03), with the last three decades being drier than any other comparable period in the hydrological history of the Volta. An increase of 0.2 mm/yr² (P < 0.05) was observed in E_p for the 1901-1969 sub-series while an increased of 1.8 mm/yr² (P < 0.01) was recorded since 1970. Rainfall increased at the rate of 0.7 mm/yr² or 49 mm/yr between 1901 and 1969, whereas a decrease of 0.2 mm/yr² (6 mm/yr) was estimated for 1970-2002 sub-series. Runoff increased significantly at the rate of 0.8 mm/yr (23 mm/yr) since 1970. Runoff before dam construction was higher (87.5 mm/yr) and more varied (CV = 41.5%) than the post-dam period with value of 73.5 mm/yr (CV = 23.9%). A 10% relative decrease in P resulted in a 16% decrease in Q between 1936 and 1998. Since 1970, all the months showed increasing runoff trends with significant slopes (P < 0.05) in 9 out of the 12 months. Possible causes, such as climate change and land cover change, on the detected changes in hydroclimatology are briefly discussed.     

Patterns of human occupation during the early Holocene in the Central Ebro Basin (NE Spain) in response to the 8.2 ka climatic event

The Central Ebro River Basin (NE Spain) is the most northern area of truly semi-arid Mediterranean climate in Europe and prehistoric human occupation there has been strongly influenced by this extreme environmental condition. Modern climate conditions single out this region due to the harsh environment, characterised by the highest absolute summer temperatures of the Ebro River Basin. The Bajo Aragón region (SE Ebro River Basin) was intensively populated during the Early Holocene (9400-8200 cal yr BP) but the settlements were abandoned abruptly at around 8200 cal yr BP. We propose that this “archaeological silence” was caused by the regional impact of the global abrupt 8.2 ka cold event. Available regional paleoclimate archives demonstrate the existence of an aridity crisis then that interrupted the humid Early Holocene. That environmental crisis would have forced hunter-gatherer groups from the Bajo Aragón to migrate to regions with more favourable conditions (i.e. more humid mountainous areas) and only return in the Neolithic. Coherently, archaeological sites persist during this crisis in the nearby Iberian Range (Maestrazgo) and the North Ebro River area (Pre-Pyrenean mountains and along the northwestern Ebro Basin).