A 332-cm long lacustrine core was drilled in the Nam Co in the central-southern part of the Tibetan Plateau. From the core, 15 species of ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda), which belong to 6 genera have been identified. According to the variations of the ostracod assemblages and the ostracods ecological features, which are sensitive to the changing environment, three main stages can be distinguished as follows: Stage I was from 8400 to 6800 a BP, during which the climate was cold-humid, and the lake depth changed from shallow to deep. Stage II was from 6400 to 2500 a BP, during which the climate changed from warm-humid to cold-humid, and then to cold-dry. The lake depth gradually became deep. The shifting of climate, from wet-cold to dry-cold during this period, had constructed the basis of present environment in the Nam Co. Stage III was from 2500 a BP to the present, which showed a trait of lake depth increasing. At the earlier period of this stage, the climate kept as cold-dry as that in the former stage, but the salinity of the lake increased. At the later period of this stage, the degree of cold-dry was enhanced, and the activities of land surface runoff tended to be weakened. Our research also found that the peak values of ostracods with black shell was coherent with the maximum production of the ostracods, and agreed with the increasing sedimentary water dynamics. This indicated that the ostracods with black shell was simultaneous with the high prolificacy of ostracod, and transported from other places. The abundance of Candona juvenile shells reflected the high mortality of that kind of ostracods under an unfavorable condition. This was probably a result of the rapid change of water dynamics of sedimentary environment.
GIMMS NDVI database and geo-statistics were used to depict the spatial distribution and temporal stability of NDVI on the Mongolian Plateau.The results demonstrated that:(1) Regions of interest with high NDVI indices were distributed primarily in forested mountainous regions of the east and the north,areas with low NDVI indices were primarily distributed in the Gobi desert regions of the west and the southwest,and areas with moderate NDVI values were mainly distributed in a middle steppe strap from northwest to southeast.(2) The maximum NDVI values maintained for the past 22 years showed little variation.The average NDVI variance coefficient for the 22-year period was 15.2%.(3) NDVI distribution and vegetation cover showed spatial autocorrelations on a global scale.NDVI patterns from the vegetation cover also demonstrated anisotropy;a higher positive spatial correlation was indicated in a NW-SE direction,which suggested that vegetation cover in a NW-SE direction maintained increased integrity,and vegetation assemblage was mainly distributed in the same specific direction.(4) The NDVI spatial distribution was mainly controlled by structural factors,88.7% of the total spatial variation was influenced by structural and 11.3% by random factors.And the global autocorrelation distance was 1178 km,and the average vegetation patch length(NW-SE) to width(NE-SW) ratio was approximately 2.4:1.0.
Electrical Conductivity Measurement(ECM) from ice core is a representative index for atmospheric environmental change.The pH value and ECM from three shallow ice cores(each 3.85 m,231 ice samples total) on Glacier No.1 at the headwater of Urumqi River,Glacier No.48 in Kuitun area,and Miaoergou Glacier in Hami area in the eastern Tianshan Mountains,western China,were measured and analyzed for atmospheric environment records research.Ice core record shows that the changing trend of pH and ECM in three sites in recent years is different:ECM in Kuitun increases with the ice depth change,but ECM in Hami and Urumqi Glacier No.1 ice cores show a decreasing trend.Average ECM value in Hami is much larger than other two sites,just as the dust concentration and ions concentration are also very high in this site.ECM records in all three sites are mainly affected by aerosol mineral dust of Central Asia,and correlative coefficients of ECM and mineral ions such as Ca2+,Mg2+,Na+ are all significantly high.The pH value and ECM are also significantly high correlative coefficients in the eastern Tianshan Mountains.Comparison between the eastern Tianshan Mountains and other sites in western China,and Polar Regions,shows that the difference of ECM can very well reflect the spatial difference of worldwide atmospheric environment.
As one of the most typical wetlands,marsh plays an important role in hydrological and economic aspects,especially in keeping biological diversity.In this study,the definition and connotation of the ecological water storage of marsh is discussed for the first time,and its distinction and relationship with ecological water requirement are also analyzed.Furthermore,the gist and method of calculating ecological water storage and ecological water requirement have been provided,and Momoge wetland has been given as an example of calculation of the two variables.Ecological water use of marsh can be ascertained according to ecological water storage and ecological water requirement.For reasonably spatial and temporal variation of water storage and rational water resources planning,the suitable quantity of water supply to marsh can be calculated according to the hydrological conditions,ecological demand and actual water resources.
With the degeneration of environment and acceleration of urbanization,human environment has attracted great attention worldwide.This paper sets up the Human Settlements Environment Index(HEI) model and evaluates the natural environment suitability for Human Settlements in China based on GIS technology.The results show that the HEI of China decreases from southeast to northwest in general,HEI is significantly correlated with population density at grid size and the correlation coefficient(r) between them reaches 0.93,which indicates that natural environment suitability for Human Settlements has a significant influence on population distribution.Most people in China mainly concentrate in areas with high natural environment suitability.The total suitable area is 430.47×104 km2,which accounts for nearly 45% of the total land area in China,while the proportion of people living in the area reaches 96.56%.With a population density of 18 people per square kilometer,the critical area is the transitional region for people to live in China.The critical area covers 225.11×104 km2 with a population of 41.12 million.The non-suitable area covers 304.42×104 km2 with a population of only 2.49 million.
Estuarine wetlands serve as a natural barrier to remove the land-generated pollutants and attenuate the pollutant load from the land to the sea.As one of the most important estuarine wetlands,the Yangtze estuarine wetlands have attracted particular interests in the biogeochemical studies of nutrients.The objectives of this study were to characterize the seasonal and spatial distribution of dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN) fluxes across the sediment-water interface;to calculate the total DIN fluxes in a year and different seasons;and to evaluate the DIN removing capability of the sediment in the tidal wetlands of the Yangtze Estuary.The spatial distribution of DIN fluxes shows complicated seasonal variations and spatial differences.The annual DIN fluxes range from-22.22 mmol N m-2 h-1 to 19.54 mmol N m-2 h-1,with an average of-1.48±1.34 mmol N m-2 h-1.The tidal wetlands in the Yangtze Estuary behave as a source of water DIN in spring when DIN is released from sediment into overlying water,and the released amount of DIN is 1.33×104 tons of nitrogen(T N).In summer,autumn and winter,the sediment absorbs the DIN from the overlying water,and the absorbed amounts of DIN are 4.36×104 T N,6.81×104 T N and 2.24×104 T N,respectively.The average amount of DIN in overlying water of the Yangtze Estuary is 52.6×104 T N yr-1,and the perennial average amount of DIN absorbed from the overlying water by the sediment is 12.1×104 T N yr-1.The annual DIN elimination rate of the tidal wetlands was 23.0%.
Simulated rainfall is a valid tool to examine the runoff generation on the slope.13 simulated rainfall experiments with different rainfall intensities and durations are completed in a 5 m ×10 m experimental plot in mountainous area of North China.Simultaneously,rainfall,surface runoff,soil-layer flow,mantel-layer flow and soil moisture are monitored respectively.From the results,it is found that the hydrographs in all layers have the characteristics of rapid rise and fall.The recessions of surface flow and soil-layer flow are much faster than that of mantel-layer flow.Surface flow,the main contributor,makes up more than 60% of the total runoff in the study area.It even exceeds 90% in the cases of high intensity rainfall events.Runoff coefficient(ratio of total runoff to rainfall amount) is mainly influenced by rainfall amount,rainfall intensity and antecedent soil moisture,and the relationship can be well expressed by a multiple linear regression function α = 0.002P + 0.182i + 4.88Wa-0.821.The relation between the rainfall intensity and the lag time of three flows(surface runoff,soil-layer flow and mantel-layer flow) is shown to be exponential.Then,the result also shows that the recession constant is 0.75 for surface runoff,is 0.94 for soil-layer and mantel-layer flow in this area.In this study area,the dominant infiltration excess runoff is simulated by Horton model.About 0.10 mm/min percolation is observed under the condition of different rainfall intensities,therefore the value is regarded as the steady infiltration rate of the study area.
This paper analyzed the anomalous low-temperature events and the anomalous rain-abundant events in January since 1951 and winter since 1880 for southern China.The anomalous events are defined using ±1σ thresholds.Twelve cold Januaries are identified where temperature anomaly below-1σ,and ten wet Januaries are identified where precipitation anomaly above +1σ.Among these events there are three patterns of cold-wet Januaries,namely 1969,1993 and 2008.The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data are used to check the atmospheric circulation changes in association with the anomalous temperature and precipitation events.The results show that the strong Siberian High(SBH),East Asian trough(EAT) and East Asian jet stream(EAJS) are favorable conditions for low-temperature in southern China.While the anomalous southerly flow at 850 hPa,the weak EAT at 500 hPa,the strong Middle East jet stream(MEJS) and the weaker EAJS are found to accompany a wetter southern China.The cold-wet winters in southern China,such as...更多 January of 2008,are mainly related to a stronger SBH,and the circulation in the middle to upper troposphere is precipitation-favorable.In wet winters,the water vapor below 500 hPa is mainly transported by the anomalous southwesterly flow and the anomalous southern flow over the Indo-China Peninsula and the South China Sea area.The correlation coefficients of MEJS,EAMW(East Asian meridional wind) and EU(Eurasian pattern) to southern China precipitation in January are +0.65,-0.59 and-0.48 respectively,and the correlations for high-pass filtered data are +0.63,-0.55 and-0.44 respectively,the significant level is all at 99%.MEJS,EAMW and EU together can explain 49.4% variance in January precipitation.Explained variance for January and winter temperature by SBH,EU,WP(west Pacific pattern) and AO(Arctic Oscillation) are 47.2% and 51.5%,respectively.There is more precipitation in southern China during El Nio winters,and less precipitation during La Nia winters.And there is no clear evidence that the occurrence of anomalous temperature events in winter over southern China is closely linked to ENSO events.
Acid rain has been recognized as a serious environmental problem in China since the 1980s,but little is known about the effects of the climatic change in regional precipitation on the temporal and spatial variability of severe acid rain.We present the effects of the regional precipitation trend change on the area and intensity of severe acid rain in southern China,and the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of SO2 and NO2 concentrations are analyzed on the basis of SO2 and NO2 column concentration data.The results are as follows.(1) The emission levels of SO2 and NO2 have reached or passed the precipitation scavenging capacity in parts of southern China owing to the emission totals of SO2 and NO2 increasing from 1993 to 2004.(2) Notable changes in the proportion of cities subject to severe acid rain occurred mainly in the south of the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River during 1993-2004.With an abrupt change in 1999,the severe acid rain regions were mainly located in central and western China during 1993-1999 and moved obviously eastward to the south of the lower-middle reaches of the Yangtze River with the proportion of cities subject to severe acid rain increasing significantly from 2000 to 2004.(3) The spatial distribution and variation in the seasonal precipitation change rate of more than 10 mm/10a are similar to those of severe acid rain in southern China.An abrupt change in 1999 is seen for winter and summer precipitation,the same as for the proportion of cities subject to severe acid rain in southern China.The significant increase in summer storm precipitation from 1991 to 1999 mitigated the annual precipitation acidity in the south of the Yangtze River and reduced the area of severe acid rainfall.On the other hand,the decrease in storm rainfall in summer expanded the area of severe acid rainfall in the south of the Yangtze River in 2000-2006.Therefore,the change in seasonal precipitation is an important factor in the severe acid rain regions moving eastward and expanding in southern China.
Pan evaporation,an indictor of potential evaporation,has decreased during the last several decades in many parts of the world;the trend is contrary to the expectation that the increase of actual evaporation will accompany global warming,known as the pan evaporation paradox.What is the essential relationship between pan evaporation and actual evaporation? This is still an uncertain problem.In this paper,the trends of pan evaporation and actual evaporation are investigated using observational data and observation-constrained simulation results using NCAR Community Land Model(CLM) in Xinjiang from 1960 to 2005.Our analysis suggests that the decreasing trend of annual pan evaporation accompanies the increasing trend of annual actual evaporation,the tendencies of them both have statistical significance(at 99% level and at 95% level,respectively).We also find that there is the same turning point in precipitation,pan evaporation and actual evaporation of 1986,and either before the point or after,pan evaporation has inverse trend comparing with actual evaporation and precipitation.The above analysis indicates that pan evaporation and actual evaporation have complementary relationship.These results support the issue of evaporation paradox described by Brutsaert and Parlange(1998) and suggest that decrease of pan evaporation indicates an increase of actual evaporation in Xinjiang in the past half century.The correlation analysis shows that diurnal temperature range(DTR),wind speed,low cloud cover and precipitation are the most likely driving forces for the reduced pan evaporation and the ascending actual evaporation.
