Experiment on Qinghai-Tibet railroad subgrade temperature monitoring based on FBG sensors

Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the longest and highest plateau railway in the world. A long term monitoring system of the stability of the subgrade in the permafrost regions should be put forward immediately to prevent damage to the railway. As it's very difficult to set up the long-distance automatic monitoring system which contains a lot of measure points along the 550 kilometers railway in the permafrost area, we present a subgrade temperature monitor system based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG). In this paper the principles of the FBG was presented, and the feasibility of the FBG sensors in the permafrost area of Qinghai-Tibet plateau was analysized. We embedded fifteen FBG temperature sensors and thermal resistance temperature sensors. A contrast experiment is made while the two kinds of sensors are arranged in the same position. The result of the experiment shows that the accuracy of the FBG temperature sensors is less than 0.1 degrees C. and the FBG sensors can do well in the measurement of pattern which the temperature varies with the depth of the permafrost soil. The result also shows the stability of the FBG sensors in the bad environmental condition of Qinghai-Tibet plateau, which proves the feasibility of the application of FBG sensors and our monitoring system on the Qinghai-Tibet railway.

Determination of appropriate condition on replacing methane from hydrate with carbon dioxide

This paper is intended to determine the appropriate conditions for replacing CH4 from NGH with CO2. By analyzing the hydration equilibrium graphs and geotherms, the HSZs of NGH and CO2 hydrate, both in permafrost and under deep sea, were determined. Based on the above analysis and experimental results, it is found that to replace CH4 from NGH with gaseous CO2, the appropriate experimental condition should be in the area surrounded by four curves: the geotherm, (H-V)(CO2), (L-V)(CO2) and (H-V)(CH4), and to replace CH4 from NGH with liquid CO2, the condition should be in the area surrounded by three curves: (L-V)(CO2), (H-L)(CO2) and (H-V)CH4. For conditions in other areas, either CO2 can not form a hydrate or CH4 can release little from its hydrate, which are not desirable results.

地带性多年冻土区小流域水文状况对水热季节变化的响应

大兴安岭北部是我国唯一一片地带性连续多年冻土分布区，也是欧亚大陆地带性多年冻土分布区的南缘，因此对气候变化的响应十分敏感。全球变暖必然会影响到冻土土壤水分状态的变化，从而对冻土区的流域水文状况产生影响；小流域是区域研究的主要对象，冻土活动层变化的最直接后果就是引起流域内水文状况发生变化。本研究利用DEM数据划分小流域，在划分出的小流域的基础上，探讨了影响流域流量变化的几个因子，包括降水、蒸散(Evapotranspiration, ET)和土壤持水，初步简化了流域水量平衡方程，可为进一步研究提供基础。主要包括以下方面的内容： a)平均温度的升高必然会影响到冻土土壤水分状态的变化，从而导致区域小流域水文状况随之变化； b)融深与海拔高度存在一定的相关关系，融深随海拔的升高而增加；土壤水分随海拔变化的规律并不明显。年内降水主要集中在每年的5月份到10月份；11月份和12月份降水一般比春季的多，这两个月份气温很低，降水形式主要是雪。不同地点不同海拔下冻土活动层土壤水分含量变化很大，这和当地的环境条件有关，如地表覆被、土壤类型、坡度、坡向等。 c)参考植被蒸散呈明显的周期性波动规律。每年同期蒸散大致维持在同一水平上。从年初到年中，流域内蒸散呈不断增加的趋势。但是变化规律又稍有不同，每年大致从1月份到4月份，蒸散随时间变化很快，几乎呈线性增加。但是从4月中旬开始，到下半年的9月中旬，ET0呈震荡变化趋势。4月中旬开始，蒸散开始震荡增加，到7月份左右达到最大，然后开始震荡降低，大约到9月中旬或10月初开始转为近似线性减少趋势。 d)土壤水分含量的变化ΔW可以表示为下式：ΔW=R-(0.260Rn-0.036N) Kc+c；其中，ΔW为土壤水分含量的变化；R流域出口处流量；Rn为太阳净辐射；N为白昼长度；Kc植被系数；c为常数。 上述研究结果可以为进一步分析年内冻土湿地水分状况对温度变化的响应提供基础，也可为气候变化条件下冻土湿地水文过程的响应研究提供参考。

大兴安岭冻土湿地泥炭有机碳矿化对气候变化因子的潜在响应

大兴安岭地区是我国地带性多年冻土和冻土湿地的主要分布区，近30年来，大兴安岭地区整体增温显著，气候变化的幅度加大，加之人类活动的频繁，冻土退化严重，冻土湿地出现了原有湿地萎缩和新生湿地扩张的现象。目前，对大兴安岭多年冻土湿地的研究还非常有限，且定性的研究较多，定量的研究极少，多数研究集中于冻土湿地的分布，冻土与湿地之间的机理探讨及描述多年冻土退化对湿地产生的影响等方面。 本论文通过室内培养实验，分析不同温度和湿度梯度及冻融作用下，大兴安岭不同多年冻土区湿地两层泥炭有机碳的矿化状况。结合回归模型，分析大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭有机碳矿化对不同温度和湿度的响应，探讨在气候预案下，大兴安岭多年冻土湿地对气候变化的潜在响应。获得的主要结论如下： （1）大兴安岭多年冻土湿地存在着碳储层，其不同的冻土湿地区由于自然条件、融深等因素的不同，碳储层的厚度也存在着差异。多年冻土湿地含碳量和含氮量都很高，有机碳含量随剖面深度的增加有降低的趋势，泥炭全氮的含量随剖面深度变化复杂，这与湿地土壤形成的气候条件、微地貌和植被类型等有关。大兴安岭连续多年冻土区泥炭，C/N比要高于不连续多年冻土区湿地，并且有机碳含量与全氮含量存在着很好的耦合关系。 （2）大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭有机碳矿化随温度的升高而升高，在培养温度5-20℃下，总的泥炭有机碳矿化量变化范围为18.55~112.91 mg g-1。虽然连续多年冻土区湿地泥炭有机碳矿化率和矿化量都要高于不连续多年冻土区湿地，但经过温度敏感性系数Q10分析，大兴安岭不连续多年冻土区湿地泥炭矿化对温度的响应更显著。从一元动力学方程分析结果来看，大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭有机碳的矿化对15℃响应更显著。 （3）土壤湿度对大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭有机碳矿化产生一定的影响，泥炭总矿化量出现了先随湿度的增加而增加，达到最适宜值后降低的趋势。从本论文的实验设置来看，大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭有机碳矿化的最适宜湿度为60%WHC。利用二元回归模型很好地反映了湿度对大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭矿化的影响，模型推测大兴安岭连续多年冻土区湿地泥炭有机碳矿化的最优湿度为10-20cm层63%WHC，20-30cm层65%WHC；不连续多年冻土区湿地有机碳矿化的最优湿度为10-20cm层65%WHC，20-30cm层59%WHC。 （4）大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭有机碳矿化受温度和湿度的影响显著，其之间的交互作用同样显著。连续多年冻土区湿地有机碳矿化量要高于不连续多年冻土区湿地，这与其含有更高的有机碳和全氮有关。温度和湿度对泥炭有机碳矿化的影响可以用二元二次回归方程很好的表示（P<0.001），通过回归方程和方差分析，结果表明温度和湿度对大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭有机碳矿化都非常重要。 （5）通过培养实验结果显示，虽然温度仍是影响大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭有机碳矿化的主要因子，但随冻融作用处理次数的增加，冻土湿地泥炭有机碳矿化量和温度敏感性系数Q10值有增加的趋势，这意味着冻融作用对大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭矿化产生了不小的影响。虽然冻融作用对大兴安岭多年冻土湿地的影响并不是很大，但大兴安岭处于寒温带，在气候变暖下，冻融过程的频率将加高，冻融作用对大兴安岭多年冻土湿地的影响不容忽视。 （6）大兴安岭地区近30年气候变化趋势分析表明，年均温增长显著，年降水量变化幅度大。在气候变化下，对于不连续多年冻土区，多年冻土不断的退缩及最终的消失，会使冻土湿地萎缩和消失，原有的典型的贫营养的泥炭藓沼泽湿地可能演化为富营养的苔草沼泽湿地或灌丛沼泽湿地，对于大片连续多年冻土区，冻土湿地的变化更加复杂，出现的湿地类型会更多。通过线性气候预案下的大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭有机碳矿化分析，结果显示大兴安岭多年冻土湿地对气候变化响应显著，特别是对于变湿的环境。气候变化下，大兴安岭多年冻土湿地泥炭存在着潜在的分解，多年冻土湿地与气候变化之间存在着正反馈机制。 目前研究表明，大兴安岭地区对气候变化特别敏感，对大兴安岭冻土湿地的研究既填补了国内研究的空白，又对全球的碳循环研究提供了数据支持，并且加深了对冻土湿地生态过程的了解。

东北多年冻土对气候变化的响应

近地表面多年冻土对寒区生态系统的植被覆盖、水文条件、土地利用和工程建设具有重要影响，随着气候变化研究的广泛开展，区域冻土环境的变化也成为学者关心的重要议题。中国东北的多年冻土处于欧亚大陆多年冻土带的南缘，多年冻土不如以北地区发育，是十分脆弱的多年冻土。然而，多年冻土在东北寒区生态系统中却起着重要的作用。若东北多年冻土发生退缩，则有可能加速落叶松北移和湿地退缩的过程，也会对C的释放产生重要影响。因而探明现实气候条件下东北区域多年冻土的影响因子和发育状况以及未来气候条件下多年冻土的退缩趋势，将有助于促进东北寒区生态系统的冻土和其它学科研究，同时也可为寒区开发建设提供有意义的参考。 本研究从分析东北多年冻土的主要影响因子——气候、地形和土壤条件等入手，准确地掌握了多年冻土的发育状况，并以此为根据进行了景观尺度上多年冻土分布信息的提取和融深信息的研究。同时，在区域尺度上对多年冻土的现实分布和未来气候条件下多年冻土的可能分布状况进行了探讨。最终得到以下重要结论： （1）冻结数对东北多年冻土分布具有重要的指示作用 冻结数模型具有明确的物理意义，可以指示多年冻土的发生状况。研究中，利用地形、纬度等因子，结合气温和降水数据模拟了现实气候条件下东北地区的冻结数值；并依据冻结数模型的区划标准对东北多年冻土进行分区。结果表明，冻结数在指示多年冻土分布时具有重要作用。 （2）土壤含水量、地形坡度和群落因子对多年冻土具有重要影响 以大兴安岭呼中国家级自然保护区为例，调查了该区多年冻土活动层厚度，并利用多重对比分析和相关分析的统计方法，对多年冻土活动层的影响因子进行了分析。结果表明，多年冻土活动层厚度与多个环境因子之间存在着复杂的关系。其中，土壤表层含水量与活动层厚度具有极显著的负相关关系（P<0.001），其相关系数在0.90以上，说明含水量越高，活动层厚度越浅。地形坡度和活动层厚度的相关性也达到显著水平（相关系数为0.321，P=0.006），表明坡度越陡，活动层厚度越大。几乎每个样带的海拔与活动层厚度都有显著的相关性，但在整体研究区域内海拔与活动层厚度不存在相关性。这说明活动层厚度的变异仅在本研究的样带尺度上具有规律性，而在稍大尺度上这种规律性就消失了。对于不同的群落活动层厚度的多重对比分析表明，群落的差异对活动层厚度也有明显的影响，其中狭叶杜香-泥炭藓群落（Larix gmelini-Ledum palustre var. anqustum-sphagnum magellanicum）更有利于多年冻土的保存。 （3）景观尺度上的多年冻土分布状况 在景观尺度上，以呼中国家级自然保护区为研究区，应用神经网络方法，同时以土地覆盖、等效纬度、坡向和土壤湿度多种影响因子为数据源，对多年冻土分布信息进行提取。结果表明，考虑土地覆盖、等效纬度和土壤湿度的数据源组合可以获得高精度最高的多年冻土分布信息，分类精度可以达到89.0%，多年冻土面积占研究区面积百分比达到46.71%，为780.1 km2。 （4）景观尺度上多年冻土的融深状况 研究考虑了包括植被和等效纬度两个影响活动层厚度的重要因子，并将Stefan公式进行变形，简化为包含热量条件的等效纬度因子和植被条件的C因子的函数关系。最后应用该函数关系模拟了呼中自然保护区活动层厚度空间分布，模拟结果的精度为87.25%。在模拟结果中，面积和所占比例最大的活动层厚度为70-80 cm间的活动层厚度，所占面积达到341.4 km2 ，占整个研究区面积的20.43%。而面积最小的活动层厚度为30-40 cm间的活动层厚度，面积为0.02 km2 。通过群落与活动层厚度的空间分布对比发现，呼中自然保护区占最大比例的活动层（70-80 cm）所对应的植物群落主要为落叶松-丛桦-笃斯-藓类群落（Larix gmelini-Betula ovalifolia-Vaccini uliginosum-moss）。说明呼中自然保护区冻土湿地植被主要以该群落类型为主，演替处于中间阶段。 （5）区域尺度上多年冻土的分布状况 利用证据权重法，以可能影响多年冻土分布的气候、地形和土壤等因子作为数据源，对研究区在现实气候条件下的多年冻土分布进行预测，获得了多年冻土在现实气候条件下的分布概率等信息。结果表明，当分布概率大于0.17时，划分出的多年冻土的精度最高，为78.71 %。此时，多年冻土面积为2.03×104 km2 ，约占研究区总面积的1.76%。 （6）东北多年冻土分布对气候变化的响应 利用空间代时间的方法和Kappa指数，对证据权重法在预测未来气候变化条件下多年冻土分布的准确性进行了验证，结果表明，证据权重法预测气候变化条件下多年冻土的分布状况是可行的。 在CGCM3模拟的三种气候模式下，多年冻土在2050年和2100年都将发生明显的退缩。2050年，SRES A1、SRES A2和SRES B1三种气候情景下多年冻土的面积分别为786.38 km2，705.94 km2和1 028.81 km2。与现实气候下多年冻土的面积2.03×104 km2相比，多年冻土分别退缩了96.13%，96.53%和94.94%。而2100年的模拟结果表明，三种气候情景模式下，多年冻土已经全部退化。 （7）气候变化条件下东北多年冻土的分区变化 研究将冻结数等值图与2000年中国东北冻土分区图进行叠加，计算了不同多年冻土亚区的边界对应的冻结数值，建立了利用冻结数进行中国东北多年冻土分区的标准。根据冻结数指标确定的新的中国东北冻土分区与原中国东北冻土分区进行Kappa指数认证。结果表明，冻结数分区标准更适用于中国东北多年冻土的区划。 利用新的冻结数分区标准对CGCM3模拟的三种气候情景模式下的气候变化数据进行区划表明，三种气候模式下东北多年冻土区在21世纪都会有非常明显的退缩。2050年时冻土区缩减了37.7%-42.6%，2100年时缩减了62.5%-74.0%。同时，研究结果显示，东北多年冻土区域的退缩不仅发生在多年冻土区的南界，同时多年冻土的中心退缩也较为明显，即大片连续多年冻土亚区和大片连续—岛状多年冻土亚区的退缩最为剧烈。2050年时，三种气候情景下，大片连续多年冻土亚区将退缩88.8%以上；2100年时，SRES A2模式下，大片连续多年冻土亚区将完全消失。

东南极格罗夫山地区的土壤特征及其环境研究

The Grove Mountains, including 64 nunataks, is situated on an area about 3200km2 in the inland ice cap of east Antarctica in Princess Elizabeth land (72o20'-73°101S, 73°50'-75o40'E), between Zhongshan station and Dome A, about 450km away from Zhongshan station (69°22'S, 76°22'E). Many workers thought there was no pedogenesis in the areas because of the less precipitation and extreme lower temperature. However, during the austral summer in 1999-2000, the Chinaer 16 Antarctic expedition teams entered the inland East Antarctica and found three soil spots in the Southern Mount Harding, Grove Mountains, East Antarctica. It is the first case that soils are discovered in the inland in East Antarctica. Interestingly, the soils in this area show clay fraction migration, which is different from other cold desert soils. In addition, several moraine banks are discovered around the Mount Harding. The soil properties are discussed as below. Desert pavement commonly occurs on the three soil site surfaces, which is composed of pebbles and fragments formed slowly in typical desert zone. Many pebbles are subround and variegated. These pebbles are formed by abrasion caused by not only wind and wind selective transportation, but also salt weathering and thaw-freezing action on rocks. The wind blows the boulders and bedrocks with snow grains and small sands. This results in rock disintegration, paved on the soil surface, forming desert pavement, which protects the underground soil from wind-blow. The desert pavement is the typical feature in ice free zone in Antarctica. There developed desert varnish and ventifacts in this area. Rubification is a dominant process in cold desert Antarctic soils. In cold desert soils, rubification results in relatively high concentrations of Fed in soil profile. Stained depth increases progressively with time. The content of Fed is increasing up to surface in each profile. The reddish thin film is observed around the margin of mafic minerals such as biotite, hornblende, and magnetite in parent materials with the microscope analyzing on some soil profiles. So the Fed originates from the weathering of mafic minerals in soils. Accumulations of water-soluble salts, either as discrete horizons or dispersed within the soil, occur in the soil profiles, and the salt encrustations accumulate just beneath surface stones in this area. The results of X-ray diffraction analyses show that the crystalline salts consist of pentahydrite (MgSO4-5H2O), hexahydrite (MgSO4-6H2O), hurlbutite (CaBe2(PO4)2), bloedite (Na2Mg(S04)2-4H2O), et al., being mainly sulfate. The dominant cations in 1:5 soil-water extracts are Mg2+ and Na+, as well as Ca2+ and K+, while the dominant anion is SO42-, then NO3-, Cl- and HCO3-. There are white and yellowish sponge materials covered the stone underside surface, of which the main compounds are quartz (SiO2, 40.75%), rozenite (FeSOKkO, 37.39%), guyanaite (Cr2O3-1.5H2O, 9.30%), and starkeyite (MgSO4-4H2O, 12.56%). 4) The distribution of the clay fraction is related to the maximum content of moisture and salts. Clay fraction migration occurs in the soils, which is different from that of other cold desert soils. X-ray diffraction analyses show that the main clay minerals are illite, smectite, then illite-smectite, little kaolinite and veirniculite. Mica was changed to illite, even to vermiculite by hydration. Illite formed in the initial stage of weathering. The appearance of smectite suggests that it enriched in magnesium, but no strong eluviation, which belongs to cold and arid acid environment. 5) Three soil sites have different moisture. The effect moisture is in the form of little ice in site 1. There is no ice in site 2, and ice-cement horizon is 12 cm below the soil surface in site 3. Salt horizon is 5-10 cm up to the surface in Site 1 and Site 2, while about 26cm in site 3. The differentiation of the active layer and the permafrost are not distinct because of arid climate. The depth of active layer is about 10 cm in this area. Soils and Environment: On the basis of the characteristics of surface rocks, soil colors, horizon differentiation, salt in soils and soil depth, the soils age of the Grove Mountains is 0.5-3.5Ma. No remnants of glaciations are found on the soil sites of Mount Harding, which suggests that the Antarctic glaciations have not reached the soil sites since at least 0.5Ma, and the ice cap was not much higher than present, even during the Last Glacial Maximum. The average altitude of the contact line of level of blue ice and outcrop is 2050m, and the altitude of soil area is 2160m. The relative height deviation is about 110m, so the soils have developed and preserved until today. The parental material of the soils originated from alluvial sedimentary of baserocks nearby. Sporepollen were extracted from the soils, arbor pollen grains are dominant by Pinus and Betula, as well as a small amount Quercus, Juglans, Tilia and Artemisia etc. Judging from the shape and colour, the sporepollen group is likely attributed to Neogene or Pliocene in age. This indicates that there had been a warm period during the Neogene in the Grove Mountains, East Antarctica.

东南极格罗夫山土壤研究与古环境分析

Three soil spots were found in Grove Mountains, east Antarctica during 1999-2000, when the Chinare 16th Antarctic expedition teams entered the inland Antarctica. The characteristics of soils in Grove Mountains are desert pavement coating the surface, abundant water soluble salt, negligible organ matter, and severe rubification and salinization, scarces of liquid water, partly with dry permafrost, corresponding with the soils of McMurdo, Transantarctic. The soils age of Grove Mountains is 0.5-3.5Ma. Podzolization and redoximorphism are the main features in coastal Wilks region, in addition, there is strong enrichment of organic matter in many soils of this region. The main soil processes of Fildes Peninsula of King George Island include the intense physical weathering, decalcification and weakly biochemical processes. Peat accumulation is the main processes in Arctic because of humid and cold environment.Based on synthesis of heavy minerals, particle size, quartz grain surface textures, as well as pollen in soils, the soils parent materials of Grove Mountains derived from alluvial sediment of the weathering bedrocks around soils, and formed during the warm period of Pliocene. The detailed information is followed .l)The results of heavy minerals particle size showed the parent minerals derived form the weathering bedrocks around soils. 2)The quartz sand surface textures include glacial crushing and abrasion such as abrasive conchoidal fractures and grain edges, abrasive subparallel linear fractures and angularity, subaqueous environments produce V-shaped and irregular impact pits, polished surface, and chemical textures, such as beehive solution pits, which showed the water is the main force during the sediment of the soil parent minerals. 3)The pollen consist of 40 plant species, of which at least 5 species including Ranunculaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Artemisia, Gramineae, Podocarpus belong to the Neogene vegetation except the species from the old continent. Compared with Neogene vegetation of Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctic, we concluded that they grow in warm Pliocene.

Is observed variability in the long-term results of the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey a response to climate change?

In the more than 50 years that the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey has operated on a regular monthly basis in the north-east Atlantic and North Sea, large changes have been witnessed in the planktonic ecosystem. These changes have taken the form of long-term trends in abundance for certain species or stepwise changes for others, and in many cases are correlated with a mode of climatic variability in the North Atlantic, either: (1) the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), a basin-scale atmospheric alteration of the pressure field between the Azores high pressure cell and the Icelandic Low; or (2) the Gulf Stream Index (GSI), which measures the latitudinal position of the north wall of the Gulf Stream. Recent work has shown that the changes in the GSI are coupled with the NAO and Pacific Southern Oscillation with a 2 year lag. The plankton variability is also possibly linked to changes observed in the distribution and flux of water masses in the surface, intermediate and deep waters of the North Atlantic. For example, in the last two decades, the extent and location of the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water, Labrador Sea Intermediate Water and Norwegian Sea intermediate and upper-layer water has altered considerably. This paper discusses the extent to which observed changes in plankton abundance and distribution may be linked to this basin-scale variability in hydrodynamics. The results are also placed within the context of global climate warming and the possible effects of the observed melting of Arctic permafrost and sea ice on the subpolar North Atlantic.

Impacts of the Oceans on Climate Change

The oceans play a key role in climate regulation especially in part buffering (neutralising) the effects of increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and rising global temperatures. This chapter examines how the regulatory processes performed by the oceans alter as a response to climate change and assesses the extent to which positive feedbacks from the ocean may exacerbate climate change. There is clear evidence for rapid change in the oceans. As the main heat store for the world there has been an accelerating change in sea temperatures over the last few decades, which has contributed to rising sea‐level. The oceans are also the main store of carbon dioxide (CO2), and are estimated to have taken up ∼40% of anthropogenic-sourced CO2 from the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial revolution. A proportion of the carbon uptake is exported via the four ocean ‘carbon pumps’ (Solubility, Biological, Continental Shelf and Carbonate Counter) to the deep ocean reservoir. Increases in sea temperature and changing planktonic systems and ocean currents may lead to a reduction in the uptake of CO2 by the ocean; some evidence suggests a suppression of parts of the marine carbon sink is already underway. While the oceans have buffered climate change through the uptake of CO2 produced by fossil fuel burning this has already had an impact on ocean chemistry through ocean acidification and will continue to do so. Feedbacks to climate change from acidification may result from expected impacts on marine organisms (especially corals and calcareous plankton), ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. The polar regions of the world are showing the most rapid responses to climate change. As a result of a strong ice–ocean influence, small changes in temperature, salinity and ice cover may trigger large and sudden changes in regional climate with potential downstream feedbacks to the climate of the rest of the world. A warming Arctic Ocean may lead to further releases of the potent greenhouse gas methane from hydrates and permafrost. The Southern Ocean plays a critical role in driving, modifying and regulating global climate change via the carbon cycle and through its impact on adjacent Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula has shown some of the most rapid rises in atmospheric and oceanic temperature in the world, with an associated retreat of the majority of glaciers. Parts of the West Antarctic ice sheet are deflating rapidly, very likely due to a change in the flux of oceanic heat to the undersides of the floating ice shelves. The final section on modelling feedbacks from the ocean to climate change identifies limitations and priorities for model development and associated observations. Considering the importance of the oceans to climate change and our limited understanding of climate-related ocean processes, our ability to measure the changes that are taking place are conspicuously inadequate. The chapter highlights the need for a comprehensive, adequately funded and globally extensive ocean observing system to be implemented and sustained as a high priority. Unless feedbacks from the oceans to climate change are adequately included in climate change models, it is possible that the mitigation actions needed to stabilise CO2 and limit temperature rise over the next century will be underestimated.

The Klondike goldfields and Pleistocene environments of Beringia

The Klondike goldfields of Yukon, Canada, contain a key record of Pleistocene Beringia, the region of Alaska, Siberia, and Yukon that remained largely unglaciated during the late Cenozoic. A concentration of mining exposures, with relict permafrost that is locally more than 700,000 years old, provides exceptional preservation of paleoenvironmental archives and a new perspective on the nature of paleoenvironments during the Pleistocene. A critical feature is the stratigraphic association of distal tephra beds with these paleoenvironmental archives, which facilitates their regional correlation and, in many cases, provides independent ages for the paleoenvironmental assemblages. Paleoenvironmental analyses of fossil arctic ground-squirrel middens and buried vegetation indicate the presence of cryoxerophilous ("steppe-tundra") vegetation growing on well-drained substrates with deep active layers (seasonal thaw depths) during cold intervals of the Pleistocene. Studies of full-glacial paleosols and cryostratigraphic relations of associated ground ice indicate the importance of active loess deposition and surface vegetation cover in maintaining the functionally distinct mammoth-steppe biome, which supported grazing mega-fauna populations, including mammoth, horse, and bison.

A late-Middle Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stage 6) vegetated surface buried by Old Crow tephra at the Palisades, interior Alaska

A 40 cm thick primary bed of Old Crow tephra (131 ± 11 ka), an important stratigraphic marker in eastern Beringia, directly overlies a vegetated surface at Palisades West, on the Yukon River in central Alaska. Analyses of insect, bryophyte, and vascular plant macrofossils from the buried surface and underlying organic-rich silt suggest the local presence of an aquatic environment and mesic shrub-tundra at the time of tephra deposition. Autochthonous plant and insect macrofossils from peat directly overlying Old Crow tephra suggest similar aquatic habitats and hydric to mesic tundra environments, though pollen counts indicate a substantial herbaceous component to the regional tundra vegetation. Trace amounts of arboreal pollen in sediments associated with the tephra probably reflect reworking from older deposits, rather than the local presence of trees. The revised glass fission-track age for Old Crow tephra places its deposition closer to the time of the last interglaciation than earlier age determinations, but stratigraphy and paleoecology of sites with Old Crow tephra indicate a late Marine Isotope Stage 6 age. Regional permafrost degradation and associated thaw slumping are responsible for the close stratigraphic and paleoecological relations between Old Crow tephra and last interglacial deposits at some sites in eastern Beringia. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd.

Identification of last interglacial deposits in eastern Beringia: a cautionary note from the Palisades, interior Alaska

Last interglacial sediments in unglaciated Alaska and Yukon (eastern Beringia) are commonly identified by palaeoecological indicators and stratigraphic position ~2-5m above the regionally prominent Old Crow tephra (124±10ka). We demonstrate that this approach can yield erroneous age assignments using data from a new exposure at the Palisades, a site in interior Alaska with numerous exposures of last interglacial sediments. Tephrochronology, stratigraphy, plant macrofossils, pollen and fossil insects from a prominent wood-rich organic silt unit are all consistent with a last interglacial age assignment. However, six 14C dates on plant and insect macrofossils from the organic silt range from non-finite to 4.0 14C ka BP, indicating that the organic silt instead represents a Holocene deposit with a mixed-age assemblage of organic material. In contrast, wood samples from presumed last interglacial organic-rich sediments elsewhere at the Palisades, in a similar stratigraphic position with respect to Old Crow tephra, yield non-finite 14C ages. Given that local permafrost thaw since the last interglaciation may facilitate reworking of older sediments into new stratigraphic positions, minimum constraining ages based on 14C dating or other methods should supplement age assignments for last interglacial sediments in eastern Beringia that are based on palaeoecology and stratigraphic association with Old Crow tephra.

Climate-related changes in peatland carbon accumulation during the last millennium

Peatlands are a major terrestrial carbon store and a persistent natural carbon sink during the Holocene, but there is considerable uncertainty over the fate of peatland carbon in a changing climate. It is generally assumed that higher temperatures will increase peat decay, causing a positive feedback to climate warming and contributing to the global positive carbon cycle feedback. Here we use a new extensive database of peat profiles across northern high latitudes to examine spatial and temporal patterns of carbon accumulation over the past millennium. Opposite to expectations, our results indicate a small negative carbon cycle feedback from past changes in the long-term accumulation rates of northern peatlands. Total carbon accumulated over the last 1000 yr is linearly related to contemporary growing season length and photosynthetically active radiation, suggesting that variability in net primary productivity is more important than decomposition in determining long-term carbon accumulation. Furthermore, northern peatland carbon sequestration rate declined over the climate transition from the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) to the Little Ice Age (LIA), probably because of lower LIA temperatures combined with increased cloudiness suppressing net primary productivity. Other factors including changing moisture status, peatland distribution, fire, nitrogen deposition, permafrost thaw and methane emissions will also influence future peatland carbon cycle feedbacks, but our data suggest that the carbon sequestration rate could increase over many areas of northern peatlands in a warmer future.

Late Pleistocene climate change and landscape dynamics in the Eastern Alps: the inner-alpine Unterangerberg record (Austria)

Drill cores from the inner-alpine valley terrace of Unterangerberg, located in the Eastern Alps of Austria, offer first insights into a Pleistocene sedimentary record that was not accessible so far. The succession comprises diamict, gravel, sand, lignite and thick, fine grained sediments. Additionally, cataclastic deposits originating from two paleo-landslide events are present. Multi-proxy analyses including sedimentological and palynological investigations as well as radiocarbon and luminescence data record the onset of the last glacial period (Wurmian) at Unterangerberg at similar to 120-110 ka. This first time period, correlated to the MIS 5d, was characterised by strong fluvial aggradation under cold climatic conditions, with only sparse vegetation cover. Furthermore, two large and quasi-synchronous landslide events occurred during this time interval. No record of the first Early Wiirmian interstadial (MIS 5c) is preserved. During the second Early Wiirmian interstadial (MIS 5a), the local vegetation was characterised by a boreal forest dominated by Picea, with few thermophilous elements. The subsequent collapse of the vegetation is recorded by sediments dated to similar to 70-60 ka (i.e. MIS 4), with very low pollen concentrations and the potential presence of permafrost. Climatic conditions improved again between similar to 55 and 45 ka (MIS 3) and cold-adapted trees re-appeared during interstadials, forming an open forest vegetation. MIS 3 stadials were shorter and less severe than the MIS 4 at Unterangerberg, and vegetation during these cold phases was mainly composed of shrubs, herbs and grasses, similar to what is known from today's alpine timberline. The Unterangerberg record ended at similar to 45 ka and/or was truncated by ice during the Last Glacial Maximum. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A stacked Late Quaternary fluvio-periglacial sequence from the Axe valley, southern England with implications for landscape evolution and Palaeolithic archaeology

The current model of mid-latitude late Quaternary terrace sequences, is that they are uplift-driven but climatically controlled terrace staircases, relating to both regional-scale crustal and tectonic factors, and palaeohydrological variations forced by quasi-cyclic climatic conditions in the 100 K world (post Mid Pleistocene Transition). This model appears to hold for the majority of the river valleys draining into the English Channel which exhibit 8–15 terrace levels over approximately 60–100 m of altitudinal elevation. However, one valley, the Axe, has only one major morphological terrace and has long-been regarded as anomalous. This paper uses both conventional and novel stratigraphical methods (digital granulometry and terrestrial laser scanning) to show that this terrace is a stacked sedimentary sequence of 20–30 m thickness with a quasi-continuous (i.e. with hiatuses) pulsed, record of fluvial and periglacial sedimentation over at least the last 300–400 K yrs as determined principally by OSL dating of the upper two thirds of the sequence. Since uplift has been regional, there is no evidence of anomalous neotectonics, and climatic history must be comparable to the adjacent catchments (both of which have staircase sequences) a catchment-specific mechanism is required. The Axe is the only valley in North West Europe incised entirely into the near-horizontally bedded chert (crypto-crystalline quartz) and sand-rich Lower Cretaceous rocks creating a buried valley. Mapping of the valley slopes has identified many large landslide scars associated with past and present springs. It is proposed that these are thaw-slump scars and represent large hill-slope failures caused by Vauclausian water pressures and hydraulic fracturing of the chert during rapid permafrost melting. A simple 1D model of this thermokarstic process is used to explore this mechanism, and it is proposed that the resultant anomalously high input of chert and sand into the valley during terminations caused pulsed aggradation until the last termination. It is also proposed that interglacial and interstadial incision may have been prevented by the over-sized and interlocking nature of the sub-angular chert clasts until the Lateglacial when confinement of the river overcame this immobility threshold. One result of this hydrogeologically mediated valley evolution was to provide a sequence of proximal Palaeolithic archaeology over two MIS cycles. This study demonstrates that uplift tectonics and climate alone do not fully determine Quaternary valley evolution and that lithological and hydrogeological conditions are a fundamental cause of variation in terrestrial Quaternary records and landform evolution.