Changes in the velocity structure of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Using satellite radar interferometry observations of Greenland, we detected widespread glacier acceleration below 66 degrees north between 1996 and 2000, which rapidly expanded to 70 degrees north in 2005. Accelerated ice discharge in the west and particularly in the east doubled the ice sheet mass deficit in the last decade from 90 to 220 cubic kilometers per year. As more glaciers accelerate farther north, the contribution of Greenland to sea-level rise will continue to increase.     

Mass Balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet at High Elevations

Comparison of ice discharge from higher elevation areas of the entire Greenland Ice Sheet with total snow accumulation gives estimates of ice thickening rates over the past few decades. On average, the region has been in balance, but with thickening of 21 centimeters per year in the southwest and thinning of 30 centimeters per year in the southeast. The north of the ice sheet shows less variability, with average thickening of 2 centimeters per year in the northeast and thinning of about 5 centimeters per year in the northwest. These results agree well with those from repeated altimeter surveys, except in the extreme south, where we find substantially higher rates of both thickening and thinning.     

Radioactive cesium from the Chernobyl accident in the Greenland Ice Sheet

Measurements of cesium-134 and cesium-137 in Greenland snow together with models of long-range transport have been used to assess radionuclide deposition in the Arctic after the Chernobyl accident. The results suggest that a well-defined layer of radioactive cesium is now present in polar glaciers, providing a new reference for estimating snow accumulation rates and dating ice core samples.     

Greenland Ice Sheet: High-Elevation Balance and Peripheral Thinning

Aircraft laser-altimeter surveys over northern Greenland in 1994 and 1999 have been coupled with previously reported data from southern Greenland to analyze the recent mass-balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Above 2000 meters elevation, the ice sheet is in balance on average but has some regions of local thickening or thinning. Thinning predominates at lower elevations, with rates exceeding 1 meter per year close to the coast. Interpolation of our results between flight lines indicates a net loss of about 51 cubic kilometers of ice per year from the entire ice sheet, sufficient to raise sea level by 0.13 millimeter per year-approximately 7% of the observed rise.     

Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Properties and Ice Dynamics from ERS-1 SAR Imagery

C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery from the European Space Agency's ERS-1 satellite reveals the basic zonation of the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The zones have backscatter signatures related to the structure of the snowpack, which varies with the balance of accumulation and melt at various elevations. The boundaries of zones can be accurately located with the use of this high-resolution imagery. The images also reveal a large flow feature in northeast Greenland that is similar to ice streams in Antarctica and may play a major role in the discharge of ice from the ice sheet.     

CLIMATE CHANGE: Enhanced: The Greenland Ice Sheet Reacts

The Greenland Ice Sheet holds a substantial part of Earth's fresh water, and melting of the sheet contributes to sea level rise. Dahl-Jensen discusses the reports by Krabill et al. and Thomas et al., which shed light on short- and long-term surface elevation changes of the ice sheet. Low-altitude areas are melting, but high-altitude areas show no net reduction over both the short and the long term.     

Fracture propagation to the base of the Greenland Ice Sheet during supraglacial lake drainage

Surface meltwater that reaches the base of an ice sheet creates a mechanism for the rapid response of ice flow to climate change. The process whereby such a pathway is created through thick, cold ice has not, however, been previously observed. We describe the rapid (<2 hours) drainage of a large supraglacial lake down 980 meters through to the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet initiated by water-driven fracture propagation evolving into moulin flow. Drainage coincided with increased seismicity, transient acceleration, ice-sheet uplift, and horizontal displacement. Subsidence and deceleration occurred over the subsequent 24 hours. The short-lived dynamic response suggests that an efficient drainage system dispersed the meltwater subglacially. The integrated effect of multiple lake drainages could explain the observed net regional summer ice speedup.     

Large and rapid melt-induced velocity changes in the ablation zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Continuous Global Positioning System observations reveal rapid and large ice velocity fluctuations in the western ablation zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Within days, ice velocity reacts to increased meltwater production and increases by a factor of 4. Such a response is much stronger and much faster than previously reported. Over a longer period of 17 years, annual ice velocities have decreased slightly, which suggests that the englacial hydraulic system adjusts constantly to the variable meltwater input, which results in a more or less constant ice flux over the years. The positive-feedback mechanism between melt rate and ice velocity appears to be a seasonal process that may have only a limited effect on the response of the ice sheet to climate warming over the next decades.     

The response of vegetation on the Andean flank in western Amazonia to Pleistocene climate change

A reconstruction of past environmental change from Ecuador reveals the response of lower montane forest on the Andean flank in western Amazonia to glacial-interglacial global climate change. Radiometric dating of volcanic ash indicates that deposition occurred ~324,000 to 193,000 years ago during parts of Marine Isotope Stages 9, 7, and 6. Fossil pollen and wood preserved within organic sediments suggest that the composition of the forest altered radically in response to glacial-interglacial climate change. The presence of Podocarpus macrofossils ~1000 meters below the lower limit of their modern distribution indicates a relative cooling of at least 5°C during glacials and persistence of wet conditions. Interglacial deposits contain thermophilic palms suggesting warm and wet climates. Hence, global temperature change can radically alter vegetation communities and biodiversity in this region.     

海拔梯度上西南亚高山-高山土壤微生物生物量碳季节动态

【目的】分析在高海拔地带海拔因素对土壤微生物生物量季节动态的影响规律。【方法】以亚高山-高山3 250⁴ 098m不同海拔生境下原位培养的均质化重装土柱为研究对象,测定04 098m不同海拔生境下原位培养的均质化重装土柱为研究对象,测定0¹0cm和1010cm和10²0cm的土壤微生物生物量碳(microbial biomass carbon,MBC)含量、微生物生物量氮(microbial biomass nitrogen,MBN)及碳氮比的季节变化。【结果】低温季节(11月-3月)亚高山-高山土壤表层与表下层MBC仍处于较高水平(均高于1.3g/kg),且MBC沿海拔升高而降低,而5月-9月高海拔的MBC高于低海拔土壤;对于不同深度的土壤MBC季节差异,低温季节所有海拔均是下层(1020cm的土壤微生物生物量碳(microbial biomass carbon,MBC)含量、微生物生物量氮(microbial biomass nitrogen,MBN)及碳氮比的季节变化。【结果】低温季节(11月-3月)亚高山-高山土壤表层与表下层MBC仍处于较高水平(均高于1.3g/kg),且MBC沿海拔升高而降低,而5月-9月高海拔的MBC高于低海拔土壤;对于不同深度的土壤MBC季节差异,低温季节所有海拔均是下层(10²0cm)MBC高于表层(020cm)MBC高于表层(0¹0cm),7月所有海拔土壤MBC均是表层高于下层,季节转换的5月和9月,海拔3 250m和3 438m均是表层低于下层,而高海拔处则是表层高于下层;沿海拔梯度土壤微生物生物量碳氮比变化明显,9月、11月和3月各海拔010cm),7月所有海拔土壤MBC均是表层高于下层,季节转换的5月和9月,海拔3 250m和3 438m均是表层低于下层,而高海拔处则是表层高于下层;沿海拔梯度土壤微生物生物量碳氮比变化明显,9月、11月和3月各海拔0¹0cm和1010cm和10²0cm土壤微生物生物量碳氮比多低于4;在5月和7月,仅低海拔(3 250m和3 438m)土壤微生物生物量碳氮比仍低于4。【结论】川西亚高山-高山土壤MBC季节动态,在海拔梯度上、土壤深度(020cm土壤微生物生物量碳氮比多低于4;在5月和7月,仅低海拔(3 250m和3 438m)土壤微生物生物量碳氮比仍低于4。【结论】川西亚高山-高山土壤MBC季节动态,在海拔梯度上、土壤深度(0¹0cm和1010cm和10²0cm)上差异显著,而且微生物生物量碳氮比的变化规律也明显不同。     

Comment on "The response of vegetation on the Andean flank in western Amazonia to Pleistocene climate change"

Cárdenas et al. (Reports, 25 February 2011, p. 1055) used the presence of Podocarpus pollen and wood to infer ≥5°C cooling of Andean forests during Quaternary glacial periods. We show that (i) Podocarpus has a wide elevation range in the Neotropics, and (ii) edaphic factors cannot be discounted as a factor governing its distribution. Paleoecologists should therefore reevaluate Podocarpus as a cool-temperature proxy.     

Record of Volcanism Since 7000 B.C. from the GISP2 Greenland Ice Core and Implications for the Volcano-Climate System

Sulfate concentrations from continuous biyearly sampling of the GISP2 Greenland ice core provide a record of potential climate-forcing volcanism since 7000 B.C. Although 85 percent of the events recorded over the last 2000 years were matched to documented volcanic eruptions, only about 30 percent of the events from 1 to 7000 B.C. were matched to such events. Several historic eruptions may have been greater sulfur producers than previously thought. There are three times as many events from 5000 to 7000 B.C. as over the last two millennia with sulfate deposition equal to or up to five times that of the largest known historical eruptions. This increased volcanism in the early Holocene may have contributed to climatic cooling.     

加强引导合理规划加速宣威马铃薯产业发展

宣威市地处东经.103°35’～104°40’,北纬25°56’～26°44’,属高原季风气候带,年平均温度13.3℃,年降雨量980 mm,年日照时数2     

青藏铁路措那湖沿岸防风固沙工程效益

青藏铁路格拉段北起青海省格尔木,基本沿青藏公路南行抵至拉萨市,线路全长1140km。铁路沿线遭受轻度以上风力侵蚀的线路长约260km,风蚀严重影响着铁路的安全运营。以西藏安多县境内措那湖沿岸布设的以高立式沙障、石方格沙障、碎石压沙措施相结合的综合防风固沙体系为研究对象,对其降低风速和输沙量的特征进行了研究。结果表明:位于风沙流活动前沿的高立式沙障具有显著的降低输沙率和风速的功效,和对照区相比,第1、2,第2、3排高立式沙障中间的输沙率分别降低了72.00%和99.30%;障后的风速降幅也较大,第1排沙障后降低风速的范围为35.54%～92.82%,第2排沙障后降低风速的范围为8.66%～92.98%,第3排沙障后降低风速的范围为26.84%～90.13%。高立式沙障障后不同距离的石方格和碎石压沙防护区的输沙率降幅更大,在距离第3排高立式沙障50和150m处石方格沙障区,其输沙率分别是0.59%和0.24%。距离第3排高立式沙障100和200m处的碎石压沙区,其输沙率分别是0.53%和0.25%。     

Ice Movement of Valley Glaciers Flowing into the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Seven glaciers from 9 to 26 kilometers in width move 0.3 to 2.3 meters per day. Byrd Glacier is the fastest moving of the known valley glaciers in Antarctica.     

辽西河滩地杨树立地质量代换评价及适地适树的研究

本文采用数量化地位指数方法实现了小青杨、北京杨、小钻杨、健杨等辽西主要适宜杨树种类间的立地质量代换评价，建立了６对树种转换评价的配对方程。在此基础上进行了适地适树分析，将江西河滩地分为５个地力等级，分析了不同立地条件下各树种生长特性，在高地位质量条件下健杨生长最好，在中等立地条件下小钻杨为最优造林树种，在立地条件较差时小青杨、小叶杨较为适宜，北京杨则不作为辽西今后大力发展的树种。最后为不同地力等级内的各立地类型设计了最优造林树种和主要的改土培肥措施。     

Rapid deformation of the South flank of kilauea volcano, hawaii

The south flank of Kilauea volcano has experienced two large [magnitude (M) 7.2 and M 6.1] earthquakes in the past two decades. Global Positioning System measurements conducted between 1990 and 1993 reveal seaward displacements of Kilauea's central south flank at rates of up to about 10 centimeters per year. In contrast, the northern side of the volcano and the distal ends of the south flank did not displace significantly. The observations can be explained by slip on a low-angle fault beneath the south flank combined with dilation deep within Kilauea's rift system, both at rates of at least 15 centimeters per year.     

Recent ice-sheet growth in the interior of Greenland

A continuous data set of Greenland Ice Sheet altimeter height from European Remote Sensing satellites (ERS-1 and ERS-2), 1992 to 2003, has been analyzed. An increase of 6.4 +/- 0.2 centimeters per year (cm/year) is found in the vast interior areas above 1500 meters, in contrast to previous reports of high-elevation balance. Below 1500 meters, the elevation-change rate is -2.0 +/- 0.9 cm/year, in qualitative agreement with reported thinning in the ice-sheet margins. Averaged over the study area, the increase is 5.4 +/- 0.2 cm/year, or approximately 60 cm over 11 years, or approximately 54 cm when corrected for isostatic uplift. Winter elevation changes are shown to be linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation.     

Ice flow of the Antarctic ice sheet

We present a reference, comprehensive, high-resolution, digital mosaic of ice motion in Antarctica assembled from multiple satellite interferometric synthetic-aperture radar data acquired during the International Polar Year 2007 to 2009. The data reveal widespread, patterned, enhanced flow with tributary glaciers reaching hundreds to thousands of kilometers inland over the entire continent. This view of ice sheet motion emphasizes the importance of basal-slip-dominated tributary flow over deformation-dominated ice sheet flow, redefines our understanding of ice sheet dynamics, and has far-reaching implications for the reconstruction and prediction of ice sheet evolution.