The role of moisture cycling in the weathering of a quartz chlorite schist in a tropical environment: findings of a laboratory simulation

Long‐term weathering of a quartz chlorite schist via wetting and drying was studied under a simulated tropical climate. Cubic rock samples (15 mm × 15 mm × 15 mm) were cut from larger rocks and subjected to time‐compressed climatic conditions simulating the tropical wet season climate at the Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory, Australia. Fragmentation, moisture content and moisture uptake rate were monitored over 5000 cycles of wetting and drying. To determine the impact of climatic variables, five climatic regimes were simulated, varying water application, temperature and drying. One of the climatic regimes reproduced observed temperature and moisture variability at the Ranger Uranium Mine, but over a compressed time scale. It is shown that wetting and drying is capable of weathering quartz chlorite schist with changes expected over a real time period of decades. While wetting and drying alone does produce changes to rock morphology, the incorporation of temperature variation further enhances weathering rates. Although little fragmentation occurred in experiments, significant changes to internal pore structure were observed, which could potentially enhance other weathering mechanisms. Moisture variability is shown to lead to higher weathering rates than are observed when samples are subjected only to leaching. Finally, experiments were conducted on two rock samples from the same source having only subtle differences in mineralogy. The samples exhibited quite different weathering rates leading to the conclusion that our knowledge of the role of rock type and composition in weathering is insufficient for the accurate determination of weathering rates. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

随机森林算法在全球干旱评估中的应用

干旱是发生频率最高,造成社会、经济损失和生态破坏最严重、最广泛的自然灾害之一,因此对干旱进行可靠、有效的评估十分重要.本文以月平均降水、月平均温度、月最高温度、月最低温度、土壤湿度、蒸散发、NDVI、叶绿素荧光等作为解释变量,以基于SPI的干旱等级作为目标变量,采用随机森林算法,以2007-2012年的数据作为训练数据...     

Comparison of Three Tropical Cyclone Intensity Datasets

Analyzed in this paper are the 16-yr (1988-2003) tropical cyclone (TC) intensity data from three major forecast centers of the western North Pacific, i.e., China Meteorological Administration (CMA), Regional Specialized Meteorological Center Tokyo (RSMC Tokyo), and Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the United States. Results show that there are significant discrepancies (at 1% significance level) in the intensity of TCs among the three centers, with a maximum difference for the same TC over 30 m s-1. The flight reconnaissance over TC can minish the discrepancy to some extent. A climatic and persistent prediction model is set up to study the impact of initial data from different forecast centers on the prediction of TC intensity. It is obtained that the root mean square error (RMSE) of a 4-yr independent test is the largest using data from JTWC, while the smallest using data from RSMC Tokyo. Average absolute deviation in 24-h intensity prediction is 2.5 m s-1 between CMA and RSMC Tokyo data, and 4.0 m s-1 between CMA and JTWC data, with a maximum deviation reaching 21 m s-1. Such a problem in the initial value increases the difficulty in intensity prediction of TCs over the western North Pacific.     

气象卫星资料在估测热带气旋强度方向的应用进展

在常规观测资料稀少的热带洋面上,气象卫星是监测热带气旋的主要工具.基于可见光和红外的Dvorak技术通过一系列经验规则,将热带气旋在卫星云图中表现出来的云系结构特征及特定的参数同其发展强度联系起来,但它无法得到气旋内部辐射信息.相对而言,波长较长的微波能穿透热带气旋中高层云系,反映出与热带气旋强度相关的暖核辐射信息.介绍了国内外利用Dvorak技术和星载微波技术估测热带气旋强度的研究进展,指出它们在应用中存在的优势和不足,同时展望了该领域在未来的发展方向.     

Climatological characteristics of the tropics in China: climate classification schemes between German scientists and Huang Bingwei

Reviewing some important German scientists who have developed climatic regionalization schemes either on a global or Chinese scale, their various definitions of the tropical climate characteristics in China are discussed and compared with Huang Bingwei's climate classification scheme and the identification of the tropical climate therein. It can be seen that, due to different methodological approaches of the climatic regionalization schemes, the definitions of the tropics vary and hence also their spatial distribution in China. However, it is found that the tropical climate type occupies only a peripheral part of southern China, though it firmly represents a distinctive type of climate that is supsequently associated with a great economic importance for China. As such, the tropical climate type was mostly identified with its agro-climatological significance, that is by giving favourable growing conditions all-year round for perennial crops with a great heat demand. Tropical climate is, hence, conventionally regarded to be governed by all-year round summer conditions "where winter never comes".     

The Würm in NW Iberia, a pollen record from Area Longa (Galicia)

The pollen record at Area Longa is the westernmost sequence available for investigation of the last glaciation in continental Europe. It is located in a region, NW Iberia, for which data from times earlier than the late glacial period are scarce. It comprises a series of exposed limnetic levels that lie above an Eemian (Oxygen Isotope Stage [OIS] 5e) beach and are separated by inorganic layers. The oldest limnetic level (Level I), attributed to the early glacial period (OIS 5a to OIS 5d), shows a dominance of woodland with high proportions of Fagus pollen and is tentatively identified with St. Germain I. The lower pleniglacial (OIS 4) Level II records a stadial landscape of grassland and shrub. Level III, from the pleniglacial interstade (OIS 3), reflects a complex period in which three warmer woodland phases alternated with periods of more open vegetation. This cyclical behavior correlates with the ice core isotope record and with the general tendencies observed in other Würmian pollen records, but the composition of our pollen profiles differs from those observed in these other records. In NW Iberia, the dominant trees were deciduous taxa, not conifers. Of particular note is the presence of lowland Fagus woodlands during the pre-Würm, and the occurrence of Carpinus considerably farther west than the boundary of its current distribution in the Iberian Peninsula.     

中国内陆热带地区近40年气候变化特征

用西双版纳6个气象站40余年观测资料,探讨中国内陆热带地区气候变化特征及趋势。结果表明:西双版纳地区的平均气温、平均最低气温、平均最高气温总体上呈逐年增暖的趋势,其中平均气温上升率0.016 5～0.033 4℃/a,平均最低气温上升率0.008 6～0.038 7℃/a,平均最高气温上升率-0.001 4～0.018 6℃/a;降水长期变化特征则较复杂,规律不如气温明显,但总体趋势减少,年降水量变化主要决定于雨季降水量变化;相对湿度呈现逐年降低趋势。说明该地区气候向干热型转变。     

Throughfall patterns in sugarcane and riparian forest: understanding the effect of sugarcane age and land use conversion

Sugarcane is an annual crop with a dynamic canopy that changes over time mainly because of genetic adaptation. There is uncertainty about the temporal trends of throughfall (TF) in this important commercial crop. In the present paper, we used troughs to measure TF in a third and fourth ratoon and subsequently in a fourth and fifth ratoon. Additional measurements were carried out in an adjacent riparian forest. There were no significant differences between cycles of sugarcane, growth phases and riparian forest. The TF results for ratoon crop and riparian forest in 2011/2012 were 76% and 79.5% of gross rainfall, respectively, while in 2012/2013, they were 79% and 78%, respectively. However, TF was remarkably lower in the riparian forest relative to ratoon from the second half of the culm formation and elongation phase (280 days after harvest) until harvest. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A meta-analysis of the impacts of forest logging on soil CO_2 efflux

Soil CO_2 efflux, the second largest flux in a forest carbon budget, plays an important role in global carbon cycling. Forest logging is expected to have large effects on soil CO_2 efflux and carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems. However, a comprehensive understanding of soil CO_2 efflux dynamics in response to forest logging remains elusive due to large variability in results obtained across individual studies. Here, we used a meta-analysis approach to synthesize the results of 77 individual field studies to determine the impacts of forest logging on soil CO_2 efflux. Our results reveal that forest logging significantly stimulated soil CO_2 efflux of the growing season by 5.02%. However, averaged across all studies, nonsignificant effect was detected following forest logging. The large variation among forest logging impacts was best explained by forest type, logging type, and time since logging. Soil CO_2 efflux in coniferous forests exhibited a significant increase(4.38%) due to forest logging, while mixed and hardwood forests showed no significant change. Logging type also had a significant effect on soil CO_2 efflux, with thinning increasing soil CO_2 efflux by 12.05%, while clear-cutting decreasing soil CO_2 efflux by 8.63%. The time since logging also had variable effects, with higher soil CO_2 efflux for 2 years after logging, and lower for 3-6 years after logging; when exceeded 6 years, soil CO_2 efflux increased. As significantly negative impacts of forest logging were detected on fine root biomass, the general positive effects on soil CO_2 efflux can be explained by the accelerated decomposition of organic matter as a result of elevated soil temperature and organic substrate quality. Our results demonstrate that forest logging had potentially negative effects on carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems.     

热带气旋路径预报的MCE客观综合决策方法研究

采用MCE(Multi-Criteria Evaluation)方法，在台风路径客观综合预报方法研究与业务实验中，根据多家预报的主要结果进行综合评估分析，提出最佳客观综合预报结果以供决策者及预报员参照。取得初步结果：(1)对9711号台风进行了MCE客观综合决策方法的预报试验。结果表明，对于9711号台风生命史中几个关键点的预报，即登陆预报、台风转向北上预报及出海转向预报等以及全程预报，MCE方法取得较佳预报结果。(2)在综合平台上对近10年的疑难路径台风和2000年全年台风进行了MCE方法试验及多种预报结论的对比分析研究。MCE方法预报误差检验结果较好。(3)所提出的模拟预报员预报思维的联想智能模拟方法，以及可操作综合预警平台，为台风路径预报，包括分析、学习、回忆、对比、推理、联想直到形成综合预报结论提供了一个十分有用的工具。(4)讨论的自反馈函数对形成和推演多规则评估决策有一定的实用性。