THE DYNAMIC MONITORING OF HORQIN SAND LAND USING REMOTE SENSING

Hurqin Sand Land is regarded as the typical region for studying the problem of desertification.The integra-tion of 3S(GIS,GPS and RS)techniques offer a most helpful method to study and monitor the dynamics of desertification.Based on the data derived from 3 periodsˊmultitemporal Landsat TM imagery of the 1990s,the regional land use and dynamo-ics of desertification in Horqin Sand Land were studied.The main results revealed that :1)as long as the general change tendency was concerned,the desertification of Horqin Sand Land would continue to spread;2)there was a gradual de-crease in the area of both moving sand dunes and semi-stabilized ones,which meant that fruitful progress had been made to control the desertification during the 1990s;3)as a result of unreasonable cultivation,the total area of stabilized sand dunes and grassland in the middle and western region decreased obviously.It suggested that the increasing damage caused by human was leading to the hazard of further desertification.So in the future,it is necessary to take more effect-tive measures to control the spread of desertification and restore the degraded ecosystems for the purpose of optimizing the global eco-environment in Horqin Sand Land.     

THE LITTLE ICE AGE OF THE NORTHWEST REGION,CHINA

The Little Ice Age began in the early 15 the century and ended in 16 the century in the northwest region of China. In the Northern Hemisphere, the age of the Little Ice Age postponed form north to south, form west to east, and moist region to drought. Judged by the data the Little Ice Age of the Northwest China is later than the eastern China and Europe. The climate of the Little Ice Age in northwest China was cold-wet. In northwest China, as compared with the Little Ice Age, the recently annual temperature have raised about 1-1.3℃, the precipitation have reduced 50-78 mm, the evaporation have increased 7%, the glacier area have reduced about 21-46%, and the runoff have reduced about 14% in the river which the meltwater supply proportion is less than 10%. To sum up, since the Little Ice Age the warm-dry tendency of climatic variation is quite obviously in northwest China. If it goes on like this, its influence will be more severe to the river which meltwater proportion is more than 50%.     

A STUDY ON REGULARITY OF DROUGHT AND FLOOD IN THE CHANGJIANG RIVER VALLEY DURING LAST 10 CENTURIES

According to historical records, there are 264 drought and flood years, occurred in the upper and middle reaches of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River during last 1020 years from 961 to 1980. The evolutionary law and developing trend of drought and flood years are studied. The distribution of drought and flood years are non-uniform and the dry and flood seasons in a year are concentrated. At the angle of monsoon circulation, at present the climate in the upper and middle reaches of the Changjiang River is just in the late stage of frequent drought period and the early stage of least flood period. In addition, the cycle of drought and flood and the feature of drought and flood occurred in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang River are analyzed. It shows that the short period less than 10 years is in the majority, and the drought and flood occurred most frequently in the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang River.     

Paleoclimate study of mountain ecosystems by multiple group biological analysis

Methodological problems of climatic reconstruction for different periods of Holocene are discussed on the basis of a multiple group biological analysis on peat-sapropel sediments.The possibility of biological analysis is exemplified by the paleoclimatic reconstruction for Carpathian and Altai Mountain ranges.For the "Skolevsky Beskidy" national park of Carpaty the paleoclimatic scenarios have been drown up aiming at the more precise definition of climatic conditions for the period of mass mountain slope terracing.The stability of terrace systems of various designs in the current climatic conditions has been assessed.It is shown that during periods of humid climate the terraces,whose designs have been focused on drainage,were built.In periods of dry and warm climate the terrace systems capable of accumulating water were built.Both these types of terrace systems are destroyed in nowadays.Only those terrace systems are stable which were adjusted by their builders to contrast variations of precipitation.For Western Altais the paleoclimatic scenario has been done to forecast the safety of the Bronze Age kurgans(burial earth mounds) with permafrost inside the construction.In the Altay region during the Holocene it has revealed two periods of sharp cooling,the peaks of which occurred in the intervals 4500-4300 and 2500-2300 years ago,and two periods of pronounced climatic drying 4900-4700 and 130-70 years ago.Depletion of the algae composition in the layer corresponding to the last period of drying climate indicates a very sharp change in the parameters of moisture and turning the lake into a dry swamp.Periods of cold weather may have contributed to the formation of special ritual traditions of the Sakan tribes that require the frozen ground to bury the dead.The later climate fluctuations identified have not affected the safety of permafrost in burial mounds constructed in the V-III cc BC.     

INFLUENCE OF THE KUROSHIO ON HYDROGRAPHY AND HYDROMETEOROLOGY IN THE EAST CHINA SEA NEAR-SHORE REGION

The aim of the study was l)to determine the relation between the Kuroshio meander and the intensity of the subtropic high pressure over the Pacific Ocean, and then to obtain statistical validity for the observational conclusion that the occurrence time of the Kuroshio meander leads the time of strengthened C-circulation of Europe by one or more years; 2) to develop a method to predict the occurrence time of flood or drought periods in the Changjiang River Valley from the occurrence time of the Kuroshio meander, since there is a close relation between the occurrence time of the drought or flood periods in the Changjiang River Valley and the occurrence time of the strong or weak periods of C- circulation of Europe; and 3) to develop a logical explanation verifiable by remote sensing technique and other means that the warm species phytoplanktons collected recently in the Jiaozhou Bay of Shandong Peninsula in China were carried there by a new warm current branch of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea.     

RECENT TRENDS OF TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION DISTURBED BY LARGE-SCALE RECLAMATION IN THE SANGJIANG PLAIN OF CHINA

The regional observed temperature and precipitation changes and their abrupt jumps disturbed by large-scale reclamation in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China were studied. Mean annual temperature of the region was tending to go up and has increased by 1.2-2.2℃ over the past 50 years. A warming jump of mean annual temperature of the region occurred in the 1980s, which had an increase amplitude of 0.9℃. Linear tendency rates of annual precipitation were negative in most of the region. The maximum of annual precipitation decrease was 155.8mm over the past 50 years. An abrupt decrease of regional annual precipitation happened in the middle of the 1960s,which had a decrease of 102.1 mm. Based on the fact of climatic change of the Sanjiang plain over the past 50 years,it is held that the region had larger warming amplitude than that change of the Sanjiang Plain over the past 50 years,it is held that the region had larger warning amplitude than that of the surrounding areas in the recent years, which resulted from the large-scale reclamation of various kinds of wetlands.     

THE QUATERNARY CLIMO-ENVIRONMENT CHANGES IN CHAIWQPU BASIN OF XINJIANG REGION

This paper describes the paleoclimatic changesoccurring in the Chaiwopu Basin since 730,000 yr.B.P., together with theformation and evolution of Chaiwopu Lake based on the chronology and characteristics of a core drilled in the basin. Analysis of the drilling core provides information on the climate and environment of the area. It would appear that the paleoclimatic changes that occurred in the basin during the Pleistocene was controlled by the relationship between the sun and the earth and by Long-term (10,000 yr.) climatic cycles. The climate tended to cold-dry during the glacial period (ice age) and warm-moist during the interglacial. Following the warm period of the Holocene, short-term (1,000 yr.) climatic cycles occurred in cool-moist periods, similar to the "Little Ice Age", alternated with warm-dry periods.     

THE STUDY ON CLIMATIC CHANGES AND LAKE LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS OF OINGHAIB LAKE IN HOLOCENE

According to loess and palaeosol climatic record, field observation, analysis data and 14C dating, we discuss the climatic changes and the water level fluctuations of Qinghai Lake. It is pointed out that there were four relatively warm and moist stages in Qinghai Lake basin during the Holocene. They formed in the periods from 10,300 yr.B.P. to 8,500 yr.B.P., 7,000 yr.B.P. to 3,500 yr.B.P., 2,800 yr.B.P. to 2,000 yr.B.P. and from 1,300 yr.B.P. up to now. The climate in the Holocene optimum period, from 7,000 yr.B.P. to 3,500 yr.B.P., was much warmer and moister than that today. Polypodium plant grew luxuriantly around Qinghai Lake. The annual temperature was 2.5℃ higher than that today, but there was no forest at Qinghai Lake shore. It is found that there was a good relationship between precipitation and water level fluctuation. In warm and moist period water level was high and in the cold and dry period it was low in the Holocene. There were four high water level periods for Qinghai Lake in the Holocen     

Strong Tides in 1964 and 1982

1StrongtideandastronomicalconditionsPartial solar eclipse occurred 4 times in 1964, 1982 and 2000 respectively. Time interval is about 3 Saros periods (one Saros period is 18 years and 10.33～11.33 days). Total lunar eclipse occurred 2 times in 1964 and 2000 respectively and 3 times in 1982. However, there was no lunar eclipse in 1966, 1984 and 2002. It seems that they had similar astro-nomical conditions and the best was in 1982. The studies about the effect of tide on the global climate…     

Characteristics of Drought and Flood in Zhejiang Province, East China： Past and Future

On the basis of large amount of historical and measured data,this paper analyzed the regional,periodic,frequency,continuing,and response characteristics of droughts and floods in Zhejiang and proposed the conception of ratio of peak runoff.Main characteristics of droughts and floods in Zhejiang are as follows:1)The western Zhejiang region is plum rain major control area,and the eastern coastal region of Zhejiang is typhoon major control area.2)Within a long period in the future,Zhejiang will be in the long period that features droughts.3)In Zhejiang the 17th century was frequent drought and flood period,the 16th,19th,and 20th centuries were normal periods,while the 18th century was spasmodic drought and flood period.4)The severe and medium floods in Zhejiang were all centered around the M-or m-year of the 11-year sunspot activity period.5)There are biggish years of annual runoff occurred in El Ni?o year(E)or the following year(E 1)in Zhejiang.The near future evolution trend of droughts and floods in Zhejiang is as follows:1)Within a relatively long period in the future,Zhejiang Province will be in the long period of mostly drought years.2)Between 1999 and 2009 this area will feature drought years mainly,while the period of 2010-2020 will feature flood years mostly.3)Zhejiang has a good response to the sunspot activities,and the years around 2009,2015,and 2020 must be given due attention,especially around 2020 there might be an extremely severe flood year in Zhejiang.4)Floods in Zhejiang have good response to El Ni?o events,in El Ni?o year or the following year much attention must be paid to.And 5)In the future,the first,second,and third severe typhoon years in Zhejiang will be 2009,2012,and 2015,respectively.     

Transformation pathway of carbonate pedofeatures based on their micromorhology and carbon isotope data in the Northern Caucasus region, Russia

Carbonate pedofeatures （CPs） in a chronosequence of paleosols buried under kurgans in the Northern Caucasus region of Russia in a period from the end of the 4th to the middle of the 5th centuries AD （It seams that there is no time left） were studied by using a set of morphological and isotopic methods. The CPs in chernozem-type soils of Russia are usually represented by crystallomorphic calcite whereas the non-segregated carbonates occurred at the same horizons - by collomorphic one. Those two morphotypes of calcite have the differences in elemental composition and isotopic composition of carbon and, hence, should have different origins - from true and colloidal solutions, respectively. The same differences including radiocarbon age have been revealed for pseudomycelium of the ABca horizon of the youngest paleosols as compared with the same CPs of other paleosols in the chronosequence studied. Our assumption is that it was succeeded in finding that the pseudomycelium right away after its precipitation from a colloidal solution migrated from the lower soil horizons to the surface horizons during the periods of climatic aridization. After a short time interval （not more than 25-50 years） collomorphic calcite in the pseudomicelium of the yongest paleosols mentioned above will likely become by ＂usual＂ acicular calcite.     

Drought Impacts on Vegetation Indices and Productivity of Terrestrial Ecosystems in Southwestern China During 2001–2012

Drought, as a recurring extreme climate event, affects the structure, function, and process of terrestrial ecosystems. Despite the increasing occurrence and intensity of the drought in the past decade in Southwestern China, the impacts of continuous drought events on vegetation in this region remain unclear. During 2001–2012, Southwestern China experienced the severe drought events from 2009 to 2011. Our aim is to characterize drought conditions in the Southwestern China and explore the impacts on the vegetation condition and terrestrial ecosystem productivity. The Standardized Precipitation Index(SPI) was used to characterize drought area and intensity and a light-use efficiency model was used to explore the effect of drought on the terrestrial ecosystem productivity with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer(MODIS) data. The SPI captured the major drought events in Southwestern China during the study period, indicated that the 12-year period of this study included both ‘normal' precipitation years and two severe drought events in 2009–2010 and 2011. Results showed that vegetation greenness(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI and Enhanced Vegetation Index, EVI) both declined in 2009/2010 drought, but the 2011 drought resulted in less declines of vegetation greenness and productivity due to shorten drought duration and rising temperature. Meanwhile, it was about 5 months lapse between drought events and maximum declines in vegetation greenness for 2009/2010 drought events. In addition, forest, grassland and cropland revealed significant different ecosystem responses to drought. It indicated that grassland showed an early sensitivity to drought, while cropland was the most sensitive to water deficit and forest was more resilient to drought. This study suggests that it is necessary to detect the difference responses of ecosystem to drought in a regional area with satellite data and ecosystem model.     

Climate change and finger millet: Perception,trend and impact on yield in different ecological regions in Central Nepal

The views of local people on climate change along different ecological regions are relatively unexplored in Nepal. This study was conducted in 13 villages in central Nepal at different altitudes to document the views of small holder farmers and compare their perception with trends of climatic variables, finger millet yield, natural disasters, plant phenology(flowering and fruiting), status of forest and wild life, as well as the spread of diseases and pests. Analysis on the climatic data of stations for 36-41 years between 1975 and 2016 showed significant increases in the minimum temperature in lower tropical climatic region(500 m), upper tropical to subtropical climatic region(500-2000 m) and temperate climatic region(2000-3000 m) by 0.01, 0.026 and 0.054℃/year, respectively, and an increase of maximum temperature by 0.008, 0.018, and 0.019℃/year, respectively. Rainfall showed a strongly significant decreasing trend in all elevation regions. This result matches with the views of respondents except 38% respondent from temperate climatic region. People from the temperate climatic region also mentioned that current onset of snowfall is delayed but amount of snowfall remained the same. From the documented records, except events of wild fire, frequency of natural disasters events have increased in the recent years, which was in harmony with the views of local people. Multi-linear regression analysis showed that contribution of climatic variables on finger millet yield in lower tropical climatic region and upper tropical to subtropical regions was 23% and 57.3%, respectively, which was supported by increasing trend on average growing degree day(GDD) temperature at the rate of 0.01℃ in upper tropical to subtropical region and 0.007℃ in lower tropical climatic region yearly. Finger millet yield has been increasing at the rate of 7.39 and 36.9 kg/ha yearly in lower tropical climatic region and upper tropical to subtropical climatic region, respectively. This result provides deeper understanding of people's perception of causes and effects of climate change on diverse variables along different elevation and related magnitude which can contribute to policy making in Nepal.     

CLIMATIC VARIATIONS IN CHINA OVER THE LAST 2000 YEARS

1 INTRODUCTIONIn the last years, evidence for climate changes showed that the timing of the two great climatic events of “Medieval Warm Period” (MWP) and “Little Ice Age” (LIA) differed geographically (HUGHES et al., 1994, JONES and BRADLEY, 1992). In other words, the cold or warm periods in one region were often not coincident with those in other regions. The Northern Hemisphere warmth degree in the Middle Ages was lower than or at most comparable to that in the mid-20…     

Variation of Thornthwaite moisture index in Hengduan Mountains,China

The Thornthwaite moisture index, an index of the supply of water(precipitation) in an area relative to the climatic demand for water(potential evapotranspiration), was used to examine the spatial and temporal variation of drought and to verify the influence of environmental factors on the drought in the Hengduan Mountains, China. Results indicate that the Thornthwaite moisture index in the Hengduan Mountains had been increasing since 1960 with a rate of 0.1938/yr. Annual Thornthwaite moisture index in Hengduan Mountains was between –97.47 and 67.43 and the spatial heterogeneity was obvious in different seasons. Thornthwaite moisture index was high in the north and low in the south, and the monsoon rainfall had a significant impact on its spatial distribution. The tendency rate of Thornthwaite moisture index variation varied in different seasons, and the increasing trends in spring were greater than that in summer and autumn. However, the Thornthwaite moisture index decreased in winter. Thornthwaite moisture index increased greatly in the north and there was a small growth in the south of Hengduan Mountains. The increase of precipitation and decrease of evaporation lead to the increase of Thornthwaite moisture index. Thornthwaite moisture index has strong correlation with vegetation coverage. It can be seen that the correlation between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) and Thornthwaite moisture index was positive in spring and summer, but negative in autumn and winter. Correlation between Thornthwaite moisture index and relative soil relative moisture content was positive in spring, summer and autumn, but negative in winter. The typical mountainous terrain affect the distribution of temperature, precipitation, wind speed and other meteorological factors in this region, and then affect the spatial distribution of Thornthwaite moisture index. The unique ridge-gorge terrain caused the continuity of water-heat distribution from the north to south, and the water-heat was stronger than that from the east to west part, and thus determined the spatial distribution of Thornthwaite moisture index. The drought in the Hengduan Mountains area is mainly due to the unstable South Asian monsoon rainfall time.     

THE GULF STREAM OFF THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES

Current and temperature data from a one-year-long instrument deployment in the region just northeast of Cape Halteras have shown the oceanic variability to be intense and quite complex. Changes in the position of the Gulf Stream's path were observed to occur following cold core Gulf Stream passages through the area. The lime between these changes was a few months. The Gulf Stream jel itself was seen to meander in a manner previously observed, as long as it was not undergoing a strong ring/stream interaction. Several isolated vortices progressed through the array, with the majority of them being in the submesoscale coherent vortex class. Two mid-depth, anticyclonic warm eddies progressed through the array. It is likely the two events were caused by two different transits of the same eddy. The deep waters below the main thermocline oscillated as topographic Rossby waves progressed through the array area.     

THE TROPICAL RAINFOREST VEGETATION IN XISHUANGBANNA

The tropical rainforest in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province of China, is introduced in detail in this paper. Situated at the northern margin of tropical mainland SE Asia and controlled by monsoon climate, the region has been climatically at the lower limits for tropical rainforests, however true tropical rainforests exist and develop luxuriantly in the region. The reasons for this are discussed. In general phytocoenological characteristics such as vertical stratification, life form spectrum, species riches etc. the tropical rainforest in Xishuangbanna is very similar to the typical tropical rainforest in equatorial region, but it is characterized by a clear change of physiognomy between different season. As occurred at the latitudinal and altitudinal limits of tropical rainforest, the flora of the rainforest is endowed with the nature of northern margin of tropical zone of SE Asia and is transitional toward the flora of subtropical forest of China. In recent years the region has been opened up to use in a     

The Impact of Large-Scale Reclamation on Hydro-Dynamic Environment——A Case Study of Xinghua Bay

A hydro-dynamic model is established on basis of MIKE21 FM to simulate the hydro-dynamic characteristics of Xinghua Bay and investigate the influence of reclamation project on the tidal elevation and tidal currents. Tidal elevation data was obtained at the six tide gauge stations around the Xinghua Bay, and another six current stations were established to observe the tidal current velocity and direction. Validation shows that the model-simulated tidal elevation and tidal currents agree well with observations made at different stations. Predictions are made according to the reclamation project proposed in the regional marine planning of Hanjiang Industrial Park around the port in Putian City. The variations of hydro-dynamic factors, such as tide, current velocity and direction and tidal influx are obtained, and the adverse effect of reclamation on marine environment is discussed. It is shown that the tidal level inside the Xinghua Bay during high tide decreases after the reclamation project is completed. The tidal currents during flooding tide generally decrease in the southeast of the reclamation region, with the maximum decreasing amplitude reaching 0.44 m s^-1. On the other hand, the tidal currents during flooding tide increase around the southeast and southwest corners of the reclamation region. The tidal currents during ebb tide increase around the southeast and southwest corners of the reclamation region, with the maximum increasing amplitude attaining 0.18 m s^-1. The results in this paper can give some guidance for the marine environment management and the effective utilization of land in Putian.     

Geochemical characteristics of reservoir after water and polymer flooding in Xingshugang oilfield of Daqing

Collecting 44 oil-sand specimens of Pu-I Member in two inspection wells before and after polymer flooding in the thirteenth district of Xingshugang oilfield,with experimental analysis,the author obtained the data about oil viscosity,flow,oil saturation and oil displacement efficiency.The result shows that viscous oil predominates in the main remaining oil in Xingshugang oilfield after water flooding with a certain amount of low viscosity oil,high viscosity oil and heavy oil;after polymer flooding,the viscous oil is main ingredient.Compared with water flooding,the low mobility and poor oil can be spread by polymer flooding,expanding the affected area and improving sweep efficiency and oil recovery.The geochemical affecting factors of water flooding and oil displacement efficiency refer to reservoir flow,permeability and the viscosity of residual oil.In the reservoir with permeability from low to high,the polymer flooding efficiency is better than water flooding.It provides the basis for improving the water and polymer flooding efficiency of the Xingshugang oilfield.