Distinctive Paleo-Indian Migration Routes from Beringia Marked by Two Rare mtDNA Haplogroups

Background: It is widely accepted that the ancestors of Native Americans arrived in the New World via Beringia approximately 10 to 30 thousand years ago (kya). However, the arrival time(s), number of expansion events, and migration routes into the Western

The effects of the last glacial paleo-aeolian sands on desertification in northern China

IEECAS SKLLQG

Use of Zr/Rb ratios in Chinese loess sequences to trace paleo-winter monsoon winds strength

IEECAS SKLLQG

The impact of plateau zokor Myospalax fontanierii burrows on alpine meadow vegetation on the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) plateau

The impact of burrows constructed by plateau zokors Myospalax fontanierii (Milne-Edwards, 1867) on alpine meadow vegetation on the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) plateau was investigated. Plant samples taken from quadrats directly over active zokor burrows, back-filled burrows, adjacent burrow controls, and random sites from a field, in which no burrows or mounds occurred were compared. The biomass of plants (below- and above-ground) directly over shallow active burrows was significantly lower than on control plots. This reduction in biomass was not significantly different than that between deep active burrows and control plots. There were no significant differences between above- and below-ground plant biomass on areas perpendicular to active burrows when compared to random sites. Back-filling soil in burrows could promote the growth of above-ground monocotyledonous plants. However, the burrowing activities of zokors had a negative effect on biomass of dicotyledonous plants.

北京地区15000年以来植被与环境变迁的初步研究

本文通过高时间分辨率的孢粉分析、14C测年、烧失量测定(600℃)及炭片统计分析，结合表土孢粉分析、古地磁特性等，对北京地区房山东甘池剖面（40.2ºN，116ºE)进行了较为系统的研究，从而揭示了距今15000年以来北京地区植被演替及环境变迁的关系，讨论了气候突变性事件及火因子对森林植被的影响等，同时借助于考古材料及历史地理文献对7000年以来人类活动导致植被的破坏及环境变化进行了讨论。 考虑到本剖面的特殊地貌单元，在分析流水地貌中花粉沉积和沉积物沉积的特殊性后，将北京地区15000年以来植被与环境变化划分为8个阶段： 1．约15780-14767aB.P.，属晚冰期的最盛期，乔木稀疏，草本类以蒿、藜为优势，缺乏反映隐域性环境的沼泽植被，气候冷干。 2．约14767-13482a B.P.，由于降雨增多，湿度加大，平原区形成小的沼泽环境，香蒲、眼子菜、黑三棱等沼生、水生植物得以在水体中生长繁盛，泥炭发育。由于山区生长的针阔叶混交林中盖度不大，并以针叶树种为主，反映气候以寒冷湿润为特征。此段中约14066aB.P.处出现的冷干环境与哥德堡漂移事件相对应，13520aB.P.，则反映出泥炭积累的暂时中断，为一干冷的气候突变点。 3．约13482-12625a B.P.，针阔叶混交林进一步发展，水生植物减少，沼泽逐渐消失，反映气候趋向暖干。 4．约12625-11418aB.P.，乔木减少，针阔叶混交林中针叶、阔叶出现优势交替现象。水生植物也有波动，反映气候趋于干凉，并有冷暖的波动。环境中湿度变化明显。 5．约11418-9607aB.P.，植被稀疏，气候呈现进一步干冷的特征。其中在 10619-10318aB.P.，孢粉及炭片浓度、年沉积率和烧失量均很低，出现了约相当于新仙女木期的冷干气候特征。 6. 9607—7270aB.P.，落叶阔叶树种有所增加，但其盖度不大。水生植物不繁盛，反映由草原植被向森林草原的演替。气候特征由冷向温干转变。 7、7270-3395aB.P.，阔叶树种明显增多，盖度增大，可视为温暖时期的特征，在5771aB.P.和4563aB.P.，曾出现乔木树种的下降，可视为高温期的短暂冷期。 8. 3395-lOOOaB.P.，气候变干变凉，加之人类活动的加剧，导致植被覆盖度的下降。考古学及史料记载，反映出这段发生了多次冷暖干湿交替出现的情形，加之人类对森林的砍伐、焚烧和拓荒，因而使北京山区的森林植被逐渐发生逆向演替、成为现存的次生植被类型。

Paleoceanographic records in the sedimentary cores from the middle Okinawa Trough

Two gravity piston cores (Cores 155 and 18) involved in this study were collected from the middle Okinawa Trough. Stratigraphy of the two cores was divided and classified based on the features of planktonic foraminifera oxygen isotope changes together with depositional sequence, millennium-scale climatic event comparison, carbonate cycles and AMS(14)C dating. Some paleoclimatic information contained in sediments of these cores was extracted to discuss the paleoclimatic change rules and the short-time scale events presented in interglacial period. Analysis on the variation of oxygen isotope values in stage two shows that the middle part of the Okinawa Trough may have been affected by fresh water from the Yellow River and the Yangtze River during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The oxygen isotope value oscillating ranges of the cores have verified that the marginal sea has an amplifying effect on climate changes. The delta(13)C of benthic foraminifera Uvigerina was lighter in the glacial period than that in the interglacial period, which indicates that the Paleo-Kuroshio's main stream moved eastward and its influence area decreased. According to the temperature difference during the "YD" period existing in Core 180 and other data, we can reach the conclusion that the climatic changes in the middle Okinawa Trough area were controlled by global climatic changes, but some regional factors had also considerable influence on the climate changes. Some results in this paper support Fairbanks's point that the "YD" event was a brief stagnation of sea level rising during the global warming up procession. Moreover, the falling of sea level in the glacial period weakened the exchange between the bottom water of the Okinawa Trough and the deep water of the northwestern Pacific Ocean and resulted in low oxygen state of bottom water in this area. These procedures are the reasons for carbonate cycle in the Okinawa Trough area being consistent with the "Atlantic type" carbonate cycle.

Geological records of marine environmental changes in the southern Okinawa Trough

Indexes of sediment grain size, sedimentation rates, geochemical composition, heavy minerals, benthic foraminiferal fauna, indicator species of the Kuroshio Current, paleo-SST and carbonate dissolution of core E017 conformably suggest a great marine environmental change occurring at about 10.1-9.2 cal. kaBP in the southern Okinawa Trough, which may correspond to the strengthening of the Kuroshio Warm Current and re-entering the Okinawa Trough through the sea area off northeast Taiwan. The invasion of Kuroshio current has experienced a process of gradual strengthening and then weakening, and its intensity became more fluctuation during the last 5000 years. Compared to the transition of sediment grain size, geochemical composition and heavy minerals, the foraminiferal faunas show a 900-year lag, which may indicate that the invasion of Kuroshio Current and the consequent sea surface and deep-water environmental changes is a gradual process, and fauna has an obvious lag compared to environment altering. The carbonate dissolution of the Okinawa Trough has had an apparent strengthening since 9.2 cal. kaBP, and reached a maximum in the late 3000 years, which may be caused by the deep-water environmental changes due to the invasion of Kuroshio Current.

The change of characteristics of tidal wave in the Changjiang River mouth area since the post-glacial transgression maximum

During the period of the post-glacial transgression maximum (PGTM), there was a huge trumpet estuary in the modern Changjiang River Delta area. The location and the shape of the Paleo-Changjiang River Estuary (PCRE) were much different from those of the present Changjiang River Estuary. The study on the change of characteristics of tidal wave in the Changjiang River mouth area since the PGTM can help to understand better the dynamic development of the Changjiang River Delta. The course curves of tidal level and tidal current velocity during a single tidal cycle for 35 points are calculated, and characteristics of tidal waves in the PCRE and its adjacent area are compared with those of tidal waves in the modern Changjiang River mouth area. The results show that the tidal waves within the PCRE and in its adjacent area during the period of the PGTM belonged to standing wave or a mixture of standing wave and progressive wave. Since then, the tidal wave in the Changjiang River mouth become gradually to be progressive wave with the PCRE being filled and the Changjiang River mouth shifting southeastwards.