Ice core records of atmospheric N2O covering the last 106,000 years

Paleoatmospheric records of trace-gas concentrations recovered from ice cores provide important sources of information on many biogeochemical cycles involving carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Here, we present a 106,000-year record of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) along with corresponding isotopic records spanning the last 30,000 years, which together suggest minimal changes in the ratio of marine to terrestrial N2O production. During the last glacial termination, both marine and oceanic N2O emissions increased by 40 +/- 8%. We speculate that our records do not support those hypotheses that invoke enhanced export production to explain low carbon dioxide values during glacial periods.     

Northern hemisphere controls on tropical southeast African climate during the past 60,000 years

The processes that control climate in the tropics are poorly understood. We applied compound-specific hydrogen isotopes (deltaD) and the TEX(86) (tetraether index of 86 carbon atoms) temperature proxy to sediment cores from Lake Tanganyika to independently reconstruct precipitation and temperature variations during the past 60,000 years. Tanganyika temperatures follow Northern Hemisphere insolation and indicate that warming in tropical southeast Africa during the last glacial termination began to increase approximately 3000 years before atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. deltaD data show that this region experienced abrupt changes in hydrology coeval with orbital and millennial-scale events recorded in Northern Hemisphere monsoonal climate records. This implies that precipitation in tropical southeast Africa is more strongly controlled by changes in Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures and the winter Indian monsoon than by migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone.     

Ice record of delta13C for atmospheric CH4 across the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition

We report atmospheric methane carbon isotope ratios (delta13CH4) from the Western Greenland ice margin spanning the Younger Dryas-to-Preboreal (YD-PB) transition. Over the recorded approximately 800 years, delta13CH4 was around -46 per mil (per thousand); that is, approximately 1 per thousand higher than in the modern atmosphere and approximately 5.5 per thousand higher than would be expected from budgets without 13C-rich anthropogenic emissions. This requires higher natural 13C-rich emissions or stronger sink fractionation than conventionally assumed. Constant delta13CH4 during the rise in methane concentration at the YD-PB transition is consistent with additional emissions from tropical wetlands, or aerobic plant CH4 production, or with a multisource scenario. A marine clathrate source is unlikely.     

Unexpected changes to the global methane budget over the past 2000 years

We report a 2000-year Antarctic ice-core record of stable carbon isotope measurements in atmospheric methane (delta13CH4). Large delta13CH4 variations indicate that the methane budget varied unexpectedly during the late preindustrial Holocene (circa 0 to 1700 A.D.). During the first thousand years (0 to 1000 A.D.), delta13CH4 was at least 2 per mil enriched compared to expected values, and during the following 700 years, an about 2 per mil depletion occurred. Our modeled methane source partitioning implies that biomass burning emissions were high from 0 to 1000 A.D. but reduced by almost approximately 40% over the next 700 years. We suggest that both human activities and natural climate change influenced preindustrial biomass burning emissions and that these emissions have been previously understated in late preindustrial Holocene methane budget research.     

The isotopic composition of methane in polar ice cores

Air bubbles in polar ice cores indicate that about 300 years ago the atmospheric mixing ratio of methane began to increase rapidly. Today the mixing ratio is about 1.7 parts per million by volume, and, having doubled once in the past several hundred years, it will double again in the next 60 years if current rates continue. Carbon isotope ratios in methane up to 350 years in age have been measured with as little as 25 kilograms of polar ice recovered in 4-meter-long ice-core segments. The data show that (i) in situ microbiology or chemistry has not altered the ice-core methane concentrations, and (ii) that the carbon-13 to carbon-12 ratio of atmospheric CH(4) in ice from 100 years and 300 years ago was about 2 per mil lower than at present. Atmospheric methane has a rich spectrum of isotopic sources: the ice-core data indicate that anthropogenic burning of the earth's biomass is the principal cause of the recent (13)CH(4) enrichment, although other factors may also contribute.     

Instability of glacial climate in a model of the ocean- atmosphere-cryosphere system

In contrast to the relatively stable climate of the past 10,000 years, during glacial times the North Atlantic region experienced large-amplitude transitions between cold (stadial) and warm (interstadial) states. In this modeling study, we demonstrate that hydrological interactions between the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) and adjacent continental ice sheets can trigger abrupt warming events and also limit the lifetime of the interstadial circulation mode. These interactions have the potential to destabilize the THC, which is already more sensitive for glacial conditions than for the present-day climate, thus providing an explanation for the increased variability of glacial climate.     

Atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide of the Late Pleistocene from Antarctic ice cores

The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C ice core enables us to extend existing records of atmospheric methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) back to 650,000 years before the present. A combined record of CH4 measured along the Dome C and the Vostok ice cores demonstrates, within the resolution of our measurements, that preindustrial concentrations over Antarctica have not exceeded 773 +/- 15 ppbv (parts per billion by volume) during the past 650,000 years. Before 420,000 years ago, when interglacials were cooler, maximum CH4 concentrations were only about 600 ppbv, similar to lower Holocene values. In contrast, the N2O record shows maximum concentrations of 278 +/- 7 ppbv, slightly higher than early Holocene values.     

CO2-forced climate and vegetation instability during Late Paleozoic deglaciation

The late Paleozoic deglaciation is the vegetated Earth's only recorded icehouse-to-greenhouse transition, yet the climate dynamics remain enigmatic. By using the stable isotopic compositions of soil-formed minerals, fossil-plant matter, and shallow-water brachiopods, we estimated atmospheric partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and tropical marine surface temperatures during this climate transition. Comparison to southern Gondwanan glacial records documents covariance between inferred shifts in pCO2, temperature, and ice volume consistent with greenhouse gas forcing of climate. Major restructuring of paleotropical flora in western Euramerica occurred in step with climate and pCO2 shifts, illustrating the biotic impact associated with past CO2-forced turnover to a permanent ice-free world.     

A 0.5-million-year record of millennial-scale climate variability in the north atlantic

Long, continuous, marine sediment records from the subpolar North Atlantic document the glacial modulation of regional climate instability throughout the past 0.5 million years. Whenever ice sheet size surpasses a critical threshold indicated by the benthic oxygen isotope (delta18O) value of 3.5 per mil during each of the past five glaciation cycles, indicators of iceberg discharge and sea-surface temperature display dramatically larger amplitudes of millennial-scale variability than when ice sheets are small. Sea-surface temperature oscillations of 1 degrees to 2 degreesC increase in size to approximately 4 degrees to 6 degreesC, and catastrophic iceberg discharges begin alternating repeatedly with brief quiescent intervals. The glacial growth associated with this amplification threshold represents a relatively small departure from the modern ice sheet configuration and sea level. Instability characterizes nearly all observed climate states, with the exception of a limited range of baseline conditions that includes the current Holocene interglacial.     

Synchronous tropical South China Sea SST change and Greenland warming during deglaciation

The tropical ocean plays a major role in global climate. It is therefore crucial to establish the precise phase between tropical and high-latitude climate variability during past abrupt climate events in order to gain insight into the mechanisms of global climate change. Here we present alkenone sea surface temperature (SST) records from the tropical South China Sea that show an abrupt temperature increase of at least 1 degrees C at the end of the last glacial period. Within the recognized dating uncertainties, this SST increase is synchronous with the B?lling warming observed at 14.6 thousand years ago in the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 ice core.     

Coupling of nitrous oxide and methane by global atmospheric chemistry

Nitrous oxide (N(2)O) and methane (CH(4)) are chemically reactive greenhouse gases with well-documented atmospheric concentration increases that are attributable to anthropogenic activities. We quantified the link between N(2)O and CH(4) emissions through the coupled chemistries of the stratosphere and troposphere. Specifically, we simulated the coupled perturbations of increased N(2)O abundance, leading to stratospheric ozone (O(3)) depletion, altered solar ultraviolet radiation, altered stratosphere-to-troposphere O(3) flux, increased tropospheric hydroxyl radical concentration, and finally lower concentrations of CH(4). The ratio of CH(4) per N(2)O change, -36% by mole fraction, offsets a fraction of the greenhouse effect attributable to N(2)O emissions. These CH(4) decreases are tied to the 108-year chemical mode of N(2)O, which is nine times longer than the residence time of direct CH(4) emissions.     

Mixed-layer deepening during Heinrich events: a multi-planktonic foraminiferal delta18O approach

Proxies from Greenland ice cores and North Atlantic marine sediment cores document repeated extreme climate swings of a few decades to millennia during the last glacial cycle, including periods of intense ice rafting called Heinrich events (HEs). We have found similar oxygen isotope variations recorded in mixed-layer-and thermocline-dwelling planktonic foraminifera during HEs 0, 1, and 4, suggesting that three foraminiferal taxa calcified their shells at similar temperatures in a homogenized upperwater column. This implies that the surface mixed layer was deeper during HEs. Similar deepening occurred on the northern margin of the ice-rafted-debris belt, implying that these deep mixed layers during HEs were widespread in the region. We suggest that an increase in storminess during HEs intensified the vertical mixing of meltwater from ice rafting in the upper ocean.     

Orbital and millennial Antarctic climate variability over the past 800,000 years

A high-resolution deuterium profile is now available along the entire European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C ice core, extending this climate record back to marine isotope stage 20.2, approximately 800,000 years ago. Experiments performed with an atmospheric general circulation model including water isotopes support its temperature interpretation. We assessed the general correspondence between Dansgaard-Oeschger events and their smoothed Antarctic counterparts for this Dome C record, which reveals the presence of such features with similar amplitudes during previous glacial periods. We suggest that the interplay between obliquity and precession accounts for the variable intensity of interglacial periods in ice core records.     

扫气压力对船用天然气/柴油双燃料发动机燃烧排放的影响

为研究扫气压力对缸内直喷船用双燃料发动机燃烧排放特性的影响规律,在通过试验数据对模型验证的基础上,采用有限容积法进行燃烧过程方程组的离散,同时采用半隐式法进行多变量耦合数值求解,分别就船用天然气/柴油双燃料发动机不同扫气压力对发动机缸内压力、缸内温度、缸内湍流和排放产物的影响进行了数值计算。结果表明:扫气压力的提高可导致缸内最大爆压增大,缸内最高温度与缸内湍流动能峰值降低;同时NO和CH~4排放量均随扫气压力的提高呈下降趋势;扫气压力每提高0.25 bar,缸内最大爆压平均升高5%,而缸内最高温度平均降低2.5%,缸内湍流动能峰值平均降低6.9%,NO排放量减少7.8%,CH~4排放量减少10.9%,扫气压力对CH~4排放的影响比对NO排放的影响更明显。研究表明,船用天然气/柴油双燃料发动机在运行过程中,应在发动机热负荷允许的范围内,尽可能采用高的扫气压力,以降低未燃CH~4和NO的排放,从而提升发动机的动力性和经济性。     

Rapid changes in the hydrologic cycle of the tropical Atlantic during the last glacial

Sedimentary time series of color reflectance and major element chemistry from the anoxic Cariaco Basin off the coast of northern Venezuela record large and abrupt shifts in the hydrologic cycle of the tropical Atlantic during the past 90,000 years. Marine productivity maxima and increased precipitation and riverine discharge from northern South America are closely linked to interstadial (warm) climate events of marine isotope stage 3, as recorded in Greenland ice cores. Increased precipitation at this latitude during interstadials suggests the potential for greater moisture export from the Atlantic to Pacific, which could have affected the salinity balance of the Atlantic and increased thermohaline heat transport to high northern latitudes. This supports the notion that tropical feedbacks played an important role in modulating global climate during the last glacial period.     

三江平原旱田土壤甲烷氧化的初步研究

透气性良好的旱田土壤是大气CH4的主要吸收汇,对于降低大气CH4浓度具有非常重要的意义.本研究在三江平原选择两块旱田,分别于1987年和1993年由沼泽湿地开垦而成(分别简写为87D和93D),种植方式均为大豆-冬闲,利用静态暗箱/气相色谱法对2003年和2004年两个生长季的CH4排放进行了野外观测,发现不同垦殖年限的两块旱田在CH4氧化速率上没有明显差异,但它们均具有显著的年际变化特征,2003年大豆生长季内87D旱田表现为向大气排放CH4,排放量为0.68 kg/hm2,而2004年则表现为吸收大气CH4,吸收量为1.29 kg/hm2;93D旱田在2003年和2004年大豆生长季内均表现为吸收大气CH4,吸收量分别为0.57和1.07 kg/hm2,旱田CH4排放上的这种年际变化主要是由大气降水的年际差异造成的.土壤水分状况是控制CH4氧化速率的主要因素,二者呈负相关关系.植物参与能够显著提高土壤氧化CH4的能力,2004年,在植物的参与下,93D旱田和87D旱田土壤与无植物处理相比对CH4的氧化能力分别提高了197.2%和268.6%.     

Rapid Variations in Atmospheric Methane Concentration During the Past 110,000 Years

A methane record from the GISP2 ice core reveals that millennial-scale variations in atmospheric methane concentration characterized much of the past 110,00 years. As previously observed in a shorter record from central Greenland, abrupt concentration shifts of about 50 to 300 parts per billion by volume were coeval with most of the interstadial warming events (better known as Dansgaard-Oeschger events) recorded in the GISP2 ice core throughout the last glacial period. The magnitude of the rapid concentration shifts varied on a longer time scale in a manner consistent with variations in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation, which suggests that insolation may have modulated the effects of interstadial climate change on the terrestrial biosphere.     

基于IPCC方法的福建省农业活动甲烷排放量估算

稻田和畜禽养殖是农业领域甲烷的重要排放源,估算省级农业活动甲烷的排放量,并分析其排放特征,对提出符合福建省农业发展的减排措施有重要意义。本研究基于福建省农业活动水平数据,采用IPCC方法,以2005年为基准年,估算了2005年和2010年福建省农业活动甲烷排放量。结果表明：2005年和2010年福建省农业活动甲烷排放量分别为39.75万t和32.74万t,2010年比2005年减少17.64%。与2005年相比,2010年稻田甲烷排放减少17.37%,动物肠道发酵甲烷排放减少31.59%,动物粪便管理甲烷排放增加1.11%。与2005年相比,2010年稻田面积减少及动物规模化养殖程度提高是农业活动甲烷排放减少的主要原因。稻田甲烷排放受水稻品种、土壤条件、水分状况、施肥管理以及气候条件等因素影响,可从上述途径减少稻田甲烷排放。控制和减少畜禽养殖甲烷排放的关键是优化畜牧业结构,提高规模化养殖水平,改良畜禽品种、改进动物饲养和畜禽排泄物处理技术,提高畜产品产出量,进而减少温室气体排放。研究结果可为决策者制定福建省农业活动甲烷排放控制政策、降低农业活动甲烷排放量提供基础资料。     

Microparticle concentration variations linked with climatic change: evidence from polar ice cores

The microparticle concentrations in three deep ice cores reveal a substantial increase in the concentration of insoluble particles in the global atmosphere during the latter part of the last major glaciation. The ratio of the average particle concentration in the late glacial strata to that in the Holocene strata is 6/1 for the core from Dome C, Antarctica, 3/1 for the core from Byrd Station, Antarctica, and 12/1 for the core from Camp Century, Greenland. Whether this temporal correlation between increased atmospheric particle load and the lower surface temperatures is directly causal is unknown; however, the variations in these two parameters must be satisfactorily resolved in any successful hypothesis that addresses the causes of climatic change.     

Stable carbon cycle-climate relationship during the Late Pleistocene

A record of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations measured on the EPICA (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) Dome Concordia ice core extends the Vostok CO2 record back to 650,000 years before the present (yr B.P.). Before 430,000 yr B.P., partial pressure of atmospheric CO2 lies within the range of 260 and 180 parts per million by volume. This range is almost 30% smaller than that of the last four glacial cycles; however, the apparent sensitivity between deuterium and CO2 remains stable throughout the six glacial cycles, suggesting that the relationship between CO2 and Antarctic climate remained rather constant over this interval.