Late Quaternary vegetation changes around Lake Rutundu,Mount Kenya,East Africa: evidence from grass cuticles,pollen and stable carbon isotopes

Woody, subalpine shrubs and grasses currently surround Lake Rutundu, Mount Kenya. Multiple proxies, including carbon isotopes, pollen and grass cuticles, from a 755‐cm‐long core were used to reconstruct the vegetation over the past 38 300 calendar years. Stable carbon‐isotope ratios of total organic carbon and terrestrial biomarkers from the lake sediments imply that the proportion of terrestrial plants using the C₄ photosynthetic pathway was greater during the Late Pleistocene than in the Holocene. Pollen data show that grasses were a major constituent of the vegetation throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The proportion of grass pollen relative to the pollen from other plants was greatest at the last glacial maximum (LGM). Grass cuticles confirm evidence that C₄ grass taxa were present at the LGM and that the majority followed the cold‐tolerant NADP‐MEC₄ subpathway. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Preboreal climate reversal and a subsequent solar‐forced climate shift

Accurate chronologies are essential for linking palaeoclimate archives. Carbon‐14 wiggle‐match dating was used to produce an accurate chronology for part of an early Holocene peat sequence from the Borchert (The Netherlands). Following the Younger Dryas–Preboreal transition, two climatic shifts could be inferred. Around 11 400 cal. yr BP the expansion of birch (Betula) forest was interrupted by a dry continental phase with dominantly open grassland vegetation, coeval with the PBO (Preboreal Oscillation), as observed in the GRIP ice core. At 11 250 cal. yr BP a sudden shift to a humid climate occurred. This second change appears to be contemporaneous with: (i) a sharp increase of atmospheric ¹⁴C; (ii) a temporary decline of atmospheric CO₂; and (iii) an increase in the GRIP ¹⁰Be flux. The close correspondence with excursions of cosmogenic nuclides points to a decline in solar activity, which may have forced the changes in climate and vegetation at around 11 250 cal. yr BP. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Possible chemical structures and biological precursors of different vitrinites in coal measure in Northwest China

Chemical structure of Jurassic vitrinites isolated from the coals in basins in NW China have been checked using solid state ¹³C NMR and flash pyrolysis-GC/MS. Study shows some Jurassic collodetrinites are rich in aliphatic products in pyrolysates, consisting with the high amount of methylene carbon in ¹³C NMR spectra. In contrast, pyrolysates of Jurassic collotelinites are rich in phenols and alkylbenzenes. Also one Pennsylvanian and one Permian vitrinite selected from the Ordos basin, NW China have been checked for comparison. The proportion of aliphatics is low in pyrolysates, and aliphatic carbon peak in ¹³C NMR spectrum of Permian vitrinite is mostly composed of gas-prone carbons compared with collodetrinites in those Jurassic basins. But both pyrolysis and ¹³C NMR data shows the Pennsylvanian vitrinite is not only gas-prone but also oil-prone. Relatively high proportion of long chain aliphatic structure of some Jurassic vitrinite in Junggar, Turpan-Hami basins may be due to the contribution of liptodetrinites, which may be included during the formation of vitrinites. And it seems that suberinite is the most possible precursor of long chain aliphatics in the structure of Jurassic collodetrinite.     

Spatial variability in the primary productivity in the East China Sea and its adjacent waters

Primary productivity in the East China Sea and its adjacent area was measured by the¹³C tracer method during winter, summer and fall in 1993 and 1994. The depth-integrated primary productivity in the Kuroshio Current ranged from 220 to 350 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹, and showed little seasonal variability. High primary productivity (above 570 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹) was measured at the center of the continental shelf throughout the observation period. The productivity at the station nearest to the Changjiang estuary exhibited a distinctive seasonal change from 68 to 1,500 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹. Depth-integrated primary productivity was 2.7 times higher in the shelf area than the rates at the Kuroshio Current. High chlorophyll-a specific productivity (mgC mgChl.-a⁻²d⁻¹) throughout the euphotic zone was mainly found in the shelf area rather than off-shelf area, probably due to higher nutrient availability and higher activity of phytoplankton at the subsurface layer in the shelf area.     

类脂化合物单体碳稳定同位素在古气候环境研究中的意义

类脂化合物极大地扩展了全球变化研究的深度，尤其是单体碳稳定同位素技术在古气候、古环境重建上有着重要作用。基于近些年来国内外的最新研究成果，就类脂化合物单体碳同位素在古气候环境方面的应用研究进行了较为全面的评述。已有研究表明利用类脂化合物单体碳同位素组成可以追溯到海洋和湖泊环境中陆源有机质的物源，其母源区历史时期 C3、C4植被的变迁以及区域性的古气候、古环境重建。     

Paleoclimate reconstruction based on the timing of speleothem growth and oxygen and carbon isotope composition in a cave located in the rain shadow in Israel

High-resolution ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U ages and δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C compositions of speleothems in Ma’ale Efrayim Cave located to the east of the central mountain ridge of Israel enable us to examine the nature of the rain shadow aridity during glacial and interglacial intervals. Speleothem growth occurred during marine glacial isotopic periods, with no growth during the two last marine isotope interglacial intervals and during the peak of the Last Glacial Maximum. This contrasts with speleothem growth in caves located on the western flank of the central mountain ridge, in the Eastern Mediterranean semiarid climatic zone, which continued throughout the last 240,000 yr. Thus, during glacial periods water reached both sides of the central mountain ridge. A comparison of the present-day rain and cave water isotopic compositions and amounts at the Ma’ale Efrayim Cave site with those on the western flank shows that evaporation and higher temperatures on the eastern flank are major influences on isotopic composition and the lack of rainfall. The δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C profiles of the speleothems deposited between 67,000 and 25,000 yr B.P. match the general trends of the isotopic profiles of Soreq Cave speleothems, suggesting a similar source (eastern Mediterranean Sea) and similar climatic conditions. Thus, during glacial periods the desert boundary effectively migrated further south or east from its present-day location on the eastern flank, whereas interglacial periods appear to have been similar to the present, with the desert boundary at the same position. The decrease in overall temperature and a consequent reduction in the evaporation to precipitation ratios on the eastern flank are viewed as the major factors controlling the decay of the rain shadow effect during glacial periods.     

中国新疆博斯腾湖全新世沉积环境年代学特征

通过对博斯腾湖沉积物湖芯样品进行137Cs,14C-AMS测年分析,湖芯剖面上有明显的1986年的切尔诺贝利核事故蓄积峰,以及1975年和1963年次蓄积峰,这些137Cs蓄积峰对博斯腾湖现代沉积有明显的时标意义。通过质量深度与年代分析,博斯腾湖的沉积速率相对稳定,平均沉积速率为0.13±0.01g/cm2.a。与14C年代获得的中全新世以来的平均沉积速率0.13±0.03cm/a和0.12±0.05cm/a相似,表明博斯腾湖中全新世以来的沉积环境较稳定,并且也说明14C-AMS测年分析所得的结果较为可靠,可以利用博斯腾湖沉积物样品测定的14C年代进行线性回归作年代校正,由于湖泊沉积物中老碳效应的影响,博斯腾湖沉积物有机质14C测年偏老约650a左右。     

楚科奇海表层沉积物的生源组分及其对碳埋藏的指示意义

工业革命以来大气中CO₂浓度由280 ppm剧增至375 ppm,是导致全球气候变暖的主要原因[1]。海洋作为大气CO₂的“汇”之一,每年可吸收人类释放CO₂气体总量的30%,对全球碳循环的收支平衡有重要作用[2]。两极地区是CO₂的主要汇区,也是全球变化的重要反馈窗口。因此,了解碳在北冰洋的生物地球化学循环过程是十分必要的[3-4]。海洋中的生源沉积物主要来自于海洋上层浮游生物碎屑的沉降,主要由蛋白石(以生物硅代替,BSi)、碳酸钙(CaCO₃)和有机质(通常用有机碳替代,TOC)组成[5]。     

基于FY-3C微波辐射成像仪海表温度产品的偏差订正方法研究

提出一种针对FY-3C搭载的微波辐射成像仪(MWRI)海表温度产品的分段回归偏差订正方法,该方法通过引进气候态海表温度数据,建立与关联实测海表温度相匹配的回归模型,并通过对模型中关联变量的误差分析,选择最优样本进行分段回归,以实现对海表温度数据的重新估计。通过对MWRI海表温度数据的偏差订正试验表明,采用分段回归方法获得的订正结果无论在误差指标的空间分布还是时间序列上,都要明显优于采用传统概率密度函数偏差订正方法的结果。其中,采用概率密度函数方法订正后的海表温度产品误差标准差和均方根误差从订正前的0.9—1.0℃,减小到0.8℃左右,而采用分段回归方法获得相应的订正误差仅为0.6℃左右,订正效果有明显改善。     

高温气相色谱与石油分析

气相色谱最高柱温主要受柱系统技术水平的限制。使用耐高温如４００℃以上的固定相,改善配套部件的某些性能,可以将传统气相色谱的柱温提高到３２５℃以上。高温气相色谱的应用将为高分子量烃类研究提供重要的分离鉴定手段。综合国内外研究动态论述了高温气相色谱在原油的模拟蒸馏、高蜡原油分析及石蜡产品表征等几方面的研究现状和发展方向。