Worldwide impacts of atmospheric vapor pressure deficit on the interannual variability of terrestrial carbon sinks

Interannual variability of the terrestrial ecosystem carbon sink is substantially regulated by various environmental variables and highly dominates the interannual variation of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations. Thus, it is necessary to determine dominating factors affecting the interannual variability of the carbon sink to improve our capability of predicting future terrestrial carbon sinks. Using global datasets derived from machine-learning methods and process-based ecosystem models, this study reveals that the interannual variability of the atmospheric vapor pressure deficit (VPD) was significantly negatively correlated with net ecosystem production (NEP) and substantially impacted the interannual variability of the atmospheric CO₂ growth rate (CGR). Further analyses found widespread constraints of VPD interannual variability on terrestrial gross primary production (GPP), causing VPD to impact NEP and CGR. Partial correlation analysis confirms the persistent and widespread impacts of VPD on terrestrial carbon sinks compared to other environmental variables. Current Earth system models underestimate the interannual variability in VPD and its impacts on GPP and NEP. Our results highlight the importance of VPD for terrestrial carbon sinks in assessing ecosystems’ responses to future climate conditions.     

ENSO and Southeast Asian biomass burning modulate subtropical trans-Pacific ozone transport

Trans-Pacific transport of enhanced ozone plumes has been mainly attributed to fossil fuel combustion in Asia in spring, but less attention has been paid to vegetation fires in Asia. Here we show that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-modulated fires in Southeast Asia, rather than Asian fossil fuel plumes, dominate the interannual variability of springtime trans-Pacific transport of ozone across the entire North Pacific Ocean. During El Niño springs, the intensified fires from both the Indochinese Peninsula and Indonesia, together with large-scale circulation anomalies, result in enhanced ozone plumes that stretch over 15 000 km in both the lower-middle and upper troposphere. This enhancement is also observed in the in situ measurements of ozone concentration, with an almost 10% increase at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, a unique site to monitor the long-distance transport over the North Pacific. This study reports an unexpectedly strong influence of vegetation fires, linked with climate variability, on global tropospheric chemistry and proves once more how complex the interactions in the climate system are.     

Evidence for oxygenation of Fe-Mg oxides at mid-mantle conditions and the rise of deep oxygen

As the reaction product of subducted water and the iron core, FeO₂ with more oxygen than hematite (Fe₂O₃) has been recently recognized as an important component in the D” layer just above the Earth''s core-mantle boundary. Here, we report a new oxygen-excess phase (Mg, Fe)₂O_3+δ (0 < δ < 1, denoted as ‘OE-phase’). It forms at pressures greater than 40 gigapascal when (Mg, Fe)-bearing hydrous materials are heated over 1500 kelvin. The OE-phase is fully recoverable to ambient conditions for ex situ investigation using transmission electron microscopy, which indicates that the OE-phase contains ferric iron (Fe³⁺) as in Fe₂O₃ but holds excess oxygen through interactions between oxygen atoms. The new OE-phase provides strong evidence that H₂O has extraordinary oxidation power at high pressure. Unlike the formation of pyrite-type FeO₂Hx which usually requires saturated water, the OE-phase can be formed with under-saturated water at mid-mantle conditions, and is expected to be more ubiquitous at depths greater than 1000 km in the Earth''s mantle. The emergence of oxygen-excess reservoirs out of primordial or subducted (Mg, Fe)-bearing hydrous materials may revise our view on the deep-mantle redox chemistry.     

中国东部冬季气温和降水的气候变化特征分析

利用中国东部1951年-2007年冬季气温、降水资料及NECP/NCAR再分析资料、NINO3-4区海温资料、欧亚纬向风指数和南方涛动指数,采用气候统计诊断方法,探讨了中国东部3个气候带(热带、副热带和温带)冬季气温和降水的变化特征及与大气环流和海温的关系。结果表明:过去57年间,中国东部热带、副热带和温带冬季平均气温、平均最高和最低气温均有不同程度的增加趋势,其中温带地区增温最为显著而热带地区增温幅度最小。3个气候带冬季降水量的变化趋势都不明显,但≥0.1mm降水日数呈下降趋势。副热带地区≥5.0mm降水日数显著增加,而热带和温带变化趋势不明显。3个气候带冬季平均气温、最高气温和最低气温与西伯利亚高压指数、东亚冬季风强度指数和欧亚纬向风指数显著相关,大气环流和海温与各气候带≥5.0mm降水日数的相关性好于与≥0.1mm降水日数的相关性。     

Mineralogy of the deep lower mantle in the presence of H2O

Understanding the mineralogy of the Earth''s interior is a prerequisite for unravelling the evolution and dynamics of our planet. Here, we conducted high pressure-temperature experiments mimicking the conditions of the deep lower mantle (DLM, 1800–2890 km in depth) and observed surprising mineralogical transformations in the presence of water. Ferropericlase, (Mg, Fe)O, which is the most abundant oxide mineral in Earth, reacts with H₂O to form a previously unknown (Mg, Fe)O₂H_x (x ≤ 1) phase. The (Mg, Fe)O₂H_x has a pyrite structure and it coexists with the dominant silicate phases, bridgmanite and post-perovskite. Depending on Mg content and geotherm temperatures, the transformation may occur at 1800 km for (Mg_0.6Fe_0.4)O or beyond 2300 km for (Mg_0.7Fe_0.3)O. The (Mg, Fe)O₂H_x is an oxygen excess phase that stores an excessive amount of oxygen beyond the charge balance of maximum cation valences (Mg²⁺, Fe³⁺ and H⁺). This important phase has a number of far-reaching implications including extreme redox inhomogeneity, deep-oxygen reservoirs in the DLM and an internal source for modulating oxygen in the atmosphere.     

东亚夏季大气环流模拟的对比分析:CCSM3和CCSM4

利用ERA40再分析资料,评估了参与国际耦合模式比较计划第五阶段的CCSM4模式对东亚夏季不同要素场的气候态和年际变化的模拟能力,并与第三阶段的CCSM3模式进行了对比。结果表明:1CCSM3和CCSM4均能较好地模拟出东亚夏季海平面气压、850hPa风场、500hPa高度场气候态的空间分布特征,总体来说,CCSM4对各要素的模拟效果更好;2虽然模式对东亚地区不同要素年际变率的模拟能力整体偏弱,但相对来说,CCSM4的模拟能力有不同程度的提高;3模式对副高、印度热低压的变化趋势有一定的模拟能力,但CCSM3对副高面积指数,印度热低压及印度热低压槽指数的模拟效果反而表现的更好。对于三种典型的东亚夏季风指数,虽然CCSM4的模拟能力较CCSM3有一定的提高,但也均不能模拟出东亚夏季风的变化特征。     

Linking deep CO2 outgassing to cratonic destruction

Outgassing of carbon dioxide from the Earth''s interior regulates the surface climate through deep time. Here we examine the role of cratonic destruction in mantle CO₂ outgassing via collating and presenting new data for Paleozoic kimberlites, Mesozoic basaltic rocks and their mantle xenoliths from the eastern North China Craton (NCC), which underwent extensive destruction in the early Cretaceous. High Ca/Al and low Ti/Eu and δ²⁶Mg are widely observed in lamprophyres and mantle xenoliths, which demonstrates that the cratonic lithospheric mantle (CLM) was pervasively metasomatized by recycled carbonates. Raman analysis of bubble-bearing melt inclusions shows that redox melting of the C-rich CLM produced carbonated silicate melts with high CO₂ content. The enormous quantities of CO₂ in these magmas, together with substantial CO₂ degassing from the carbonated melt–CLM reaction and crustal heating, indicate that destruction of the eastern NCC resulted in rapid and extensive mantle CO₂ emission, which partly contributed to the early Cretaceous greenhouse climate episode.     

Land–atmosphere–ocean coupling associated with the Tibetan Plateau and its climate impacts

This paper reviews recent advances regarding land–atmosphere–ocean coupling associated with the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and its climatic impacts. Thermal forcing over the TP interacts strongly with that over the Iranian Plateau, forming a coupled heating system that elevates the tropopause, generates a monsoonal meridional circulation over South Asia and creates conditions of large-scale ascent favorable for Asian summer monsoon development. TP heating leads to intensification and westward extension (northward movement) of the South Asian High (Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone), and exerts strong impacts on upstream climate variations from North Atlantic to West Asia. It also affects oceanic circulation and buoyancy fields via atmospheric stationary wave trains and air–sea interaction processes, contributing to formation of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The TP thermal state and atmospheric–oceanic conditions are highly interactive and Asian summer monsoon variability is controlled synergistically by internal TP variability and external forcing factors.     

2013年后中国大气雾霾治理对经济发展的影响分析——以京津冀地区为案例

在大气雾霾治理进程中,认为大气雾霾治理对中国经济发展带来负面影响是当前的一个主导想法,这导致政府对进一步改善大气质量产生为难情绪。文章采用2013—2018年的统计数据和实地调研数据,分析了潜在受影响部门的产量、盈利及新兴产业的发展。并以环保产业作为案例,说明大气雾霾治理对经济发展的作用。研究结果发现：和目前普遍认为的“大气雾霾治理对经济产生负面影响”的结论不一致,近年来大气雾霾治理的重点地区,特别是京津冀地区,在环境质量提升的同时,潜在受负面影响的行业经济也发展良好;此外,先行治理地区的相关环保产业发展良好,并引领全国。该结论对当前进一步深度大气治理仍存疑虑的地区有一定启发。地方政府可以充分利用大气雾霾治理的机会,将环境治理、大气雾霾治理,以及温室气体减排和本地产业发展结合起来,形成良性发展格局,促进本地经济发展。中国也应坚定不移地实现自身的环境根本性变革和CO₂深度减排,这既是人类命运共同体在环境、气候变化领域的体现,也是为中国企业在全球的发展提供的巨大机遇。     

Altered trends in carbon uptake in China's terrestrial ecosystems under the enhanced summer monsoon and warming hiatus

The carbon budgets in terrestrial ecosystems in China are strongly coupled with climate changes. Over the past decade, China has experienced dramatic climate changes characterized by enhanced summer monsoon and decelerated warming. However, the changes in the trends of terrestrial net ecosystem production (NEP) in China under climate changes are not well documented. Here, we used three ecosystem models to simulate the spatiotemporal variations in China''s NEP during 1982–2010 and quantify the contribution of the strengthened summer monsoon and warming hiatus to the NEP variations in four distinct climatic regions of the country. Our results revealed a decadal-scale shift in NEP from a downtrend of –5.95 Tg C/yr² (reduced sink) during 1982–2000 to an uptrend of 14.22 Tg C/yr² (enhanced sink) during 2000–10. This shift was essentially induced by the strengthened summer monsoon, which stimulated carbon uptake, and the warming hiatus, which lessened the decrease in the NEP trend. Compared to the contribution of 56.3% by the climate effect, atmospheric CO₂ concentration and nitrogen deposition had relatively small contributions (8.6 and 11.3%, respectively) to the shift. In conclusion, within the context of the global-warming hiatus, the strengthening of the summer monsoon is a critical climate factor that enhances carbon uptake in China due to the asymmetric response of photosynthesis and respiration. Our study not only revealed the shift in ecosystem carbon sequestration in China in recent decades, but also provides some insight for understanding ecosystem carbon dynamics in other monsoonal areas.     

Iron in the NEEM ice core relative to Asian loess records over the last glacial–interglacial cycle

Mineral dust can indirectly affect the climate by supplying bioavailable iron (Fe) to the ocean. Here, we present the records of dissolved Fe (DFe) and total Fe (TDFe) in North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) ice core over the past 110 kyr BP. The Fe records are significantly negatively correlated with the carbon-dioxide (CO₂) concentrations during cold periods. The results suggest that the changes in Fe fluxes over the past 110 kyr BP in the NEEM ice core are consistent with those in Chinese loess records because the mineral-dust distribution is controlled by the East Asian deserts. Furthermore, the variations in the dust input on a global scale are most likely driven by changes in solar radiation during the last glacial–interglacial cycle in response to Earth''s orbital cycles. In the last glacial–interglacial cycle, the DFe/TDFe ratios were higher during the warm periods (following the post-Industrial Revolution and during the Holocene and last interglacial period) than during the main cold period (i.e. the last glacial maximum (LGM)), indicating that the aeolian input of iron and the iron fertilization effect on the oceans have a non-linear relationship during different periods. Although the burning of biomass aerosols has released large amounts of DFe since the Industrial Revolution, no significant responses are observed in the DFe and TDFe variations during this period, indicating that severe anthropogenic contamination has no significant effect on the DFe (TDFe) release in the NEEM ice core.     

Anthropogenic emission is the main contributor to the rise of atmospheric methane during 1993–2017

Atmospheric methane (CH₄) concentrations have shown a puzzling resumption in growth since 2007 following a period of stabilization from 2000 to 2006. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain the temporal variations in CH₄ growth, and attribute the rise of atmospheric CH₄ either to increases in emissions from fossil fuel activities, agriculture and natural wetlands, or to a decrease in the atmospheric chemical sink. Here, we use a comprehensive ensemble of CH₄ source estimates and isotopic δ¹³C-CH₄ source signature data to show that the resumption of CH₄ growth is most likely due to increased anthropogenic emissions. Our emission scenarios that have the fewest biases with respect to isotopic composition suggest that the agriculture, landfill and waste sectors were responsible for 53 ± 13% of the renewed growth over the period 2007–2017 compared to 2000–2006; industrial fossil fuel sources explained an additional 34 ± 24%, and wetland sources contributed the least at 13 ± 9%. The hypothesis that a large increase in emissions from natural wetlands drove the decrease in atmospheric δ¹³C-CH₄ values cannot be reconciled with current process-based wetland CH₄ models. This finding suggests the need for increased wetland measurements to better understand the contemporary and future role of wetlands in the rise of atmospheric methane and climate feedback. Our findings highlight the predominant role of anthropogenic activities in driving the growth of atmospheric CH₄ concentrations.     

The onset of deep recycling of supracrustal materials at the Paleo-Mesoarchean boundary

The recycling of supracrustal materials, and in particular hydrated rocks, has a profound impact on mantle composition and thus on the formation of continental crust, because water modifies the physical properties of lithological systems and the mechanisms of partial melting and fractional fractionation. On the modern Earth, plate tectonics offers an efficient mechanism for mass transport from the Earth''s surface to its interior, but how far this mechanism dates back in the Earth''s history is still uncertain. Here, we use zircon oxygen (O) isotopes to track recycling of supracrustal materials into the magma sources of early Archean igneous suites from the Kaapvaal Craton, southern Africa. The mean δ¹⁸O values of zircon from TTG (tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite) rocks abruptly increase at the Paleo-Mesoarchean boundary (ca. 3230 million years ago; Ma), from mantle zircon values of 5‰–6‰ to approaching 7.1‰, and this increase occurs in ≤3230 Ma rocks with elevated Dy/Yb ratios. The ¹⁸O enrichment is a unique signature of low-temperature water–rock interaction on the Earth''s surface. Because the later phase was emplaced into the same crustal level as the older one and TTG magmas would derive from melting processes in the garnet stability field (>40 km depth), we suggest that this evident shift in TTG zircon O isotopic compositions records the onset of recycling of the mafic oceanic crust that underwent seawater hydrothermal alteration at low temperature. The onset of the enhanced recycling of supracrustal materials may also have developed elsewhere in other Archean cratons and reflects a significant change in the tectonic realm during craton formation and stabilization, which may be important processes for the operation of plate tectonics on early Earth.     

Pathways of China's PM2.5 air quality 2015–2060 in the context of carbon neutrality

Clean air policies in China have substantially reduced particulate matter (PM_2.5) air pollution in recent years, primarily by curbing end-of-pipe emissions. However, reaching the level of the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines may instead depend upon the air quality co-benefits of ambitious climate action. Here, we assess pathways of Chinese PM_2.5 air quality from 2015 to 2060 under a combination of scenarios that link global and Chinese climate mitigation pathways (i.e. global 2°C- and 1.5°C-pathways, National Determined Contributions (NDC) pledges and carbon neutrality goals) to local clean air policies. We find that China can achieve both its near-term climate goals (peak emissions) and PM_2.5 air quality annual standard (35 μg/m³) by 2030 by fulfilling its NDC pledges and continuing air pollution control policies. However, the benefits of end-of-pipe control reductions are mostly exhausted by 2030, and reducing PM_2.5 exposure of the majority of the Chinese population to below 10 μg/m³ by 2060 will likely require more ambitious climate mitigation efforts such as China''s carbon neutrality goals and global 1.5°C-pathways. Our results thus highlight that China''s carbon neutrality goals will play a critical role in reducing air pollution exposure to the level of the WHO guidelines and protecting public health.     

海洋多尺度和多圈层过程及其相互作用研究——一个应用于厄尔尼诺模拟的成功范例

海洋中存在各种对气候和环境有显著影响的多尺度自然现象,如热带不稳定波和厄尔尼诺-南方涛动(El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation,ENSO)等,它们是海洋中不同时间和空间尺度过程及其与地球系统中其他圈层之间相互作用的综合产物,表现出复杂性、多样性、多变性和相互作用等特点。对海洋的研究要作为一个系统来展开,以考虑多尺度和多圈层过程间的相互作用和反馈;要采用不同方法相结合的综合手段(包括观测、理论和模式等);在认知和表征现象和过程的基础上,进一步构建模式,从而模拟、预测和预估海洋相关现象及其对气候和环境变化的影响。作为地球系统中最强的年际变化信号,ENSO现象是研究年际时间尺度海气相互作用和气候预估的核心内容,本文以ENSO为例,来阐明海洋多尺度和多圈层过程及其相互作用对ENSO的调制影响(如海洋生物引发的加热效应和热带不稳定波等的反馈作用)。     

Transport of Asian surface pollutants to the global stratosphere from the Tibetan Plateau region during the Asian summer monsoon

Due to its surrounding strong and deep Asian summer monsoon (ASM) circulation and active surface pollutant emissions, surface pollutants are transported to the stratosphere from the Tibetan Plateau region, which may have critical impacts on global climate through chemical, microphysical and radiative processes. This article reviews major recent advances in research regarding troposphere–stratosphere transport from the region of the Tibetan Plateau. Since the discovery of the total ozone valley over the Tibetan Plateau in summer from satellite observations in the early 1990s, new satellite-borne instruments have become operational and have provided significant new information on atmospheric composition. In addition, in situ measurements and model simulations are used to investigate deep convection and the ASM anticyclone, surface sources and pathways, atmospheric chemical transformations and the impact on global climate. Also challenges are discussed for further understanding critical questions on microphysics and microchemistry in clouds during the pathway to the global stratosphere over the Tibetan Plateau.     

Local and teleconnected temperature effects of afforestation and vegetation greening in China

Afforestation in China provides carbon sequestration and prevents soil erosion, but its remote impacts on climate in other regions via the coupling of forest energy fluxes with atmospheric circulation are largely unknown. Here, we prescribe inventory-based forest cover change and satellite-observed leaf area index from 1982 to 2011 in a coupled land-atmosphere model to simulate their biophysical climate effects. Both local and global surface air temperatures show a seasonal contrast in response to past vegetation cover expansion over China: a phenomenon we primarily attribute to a variation of seasonality of vegetation greening. A large cooling in spring results in concurrent decreases in geopotential height over China and zonal wind over Mongolia, causing a dipole structure in the upper troposphere over the Arctic. This accounts for ∼58% of simulated spring warming over the Russian Arctic and ∼61% of simulated spring cooling over the Canadian Artic. Our results imply that spring vegetation dynamics in China may affect climate in northern high latitudes.     

“一带一路”上的全球生物多样性与保护

生物多样性与人类生活息息相关,同时赋予人类一些大自然的馈赠,是人类社会赖以生存和发展的物质基础。因此,生物多样性的可持续发展对人类的健康和生命安全至关重要。然而,随着人类社会和经济的发展,人类活动以及气候变化等已经对生物多样性产生深远的影响;甚至开始造成地球上第6次生物大灭绝。随着人口数量和消费速率的增长,生物多样性丧失的速率正在急剧增加,一系列威胁地球上维持生命系统可持续发展的因素正在凸显。目前,中国在发展经济的同时正在采取积极的措施,出台相关的政策等对生物多样性进行保护。中国政府的决心、"一带一路"建设、对基础研究的资助力度加大以及中国科学院海外科教基地对生物多样性研究的布局等,将对全球生物多样性研究与保护作出积极的贡献。     

Equatorial aurora: the aurora-like airglow in the negative magnetic anomaly

The most fantastic optical phenomena in the Earth''s upper atmosphere are the auroras. They are highly informative indicators of solar activity, geomagnetic activity, upper atmospheric structures and dynamics, and magnetospheric energetic particles. An area where the geomagnetic field differs significantly from the expected symmetric dipole, such as at the South Atlantic Anomaly, where the magnetic field intensity is low, gives rise to stronger precipitation of energetic particles into the upper atmosphere. Impact excitation and the subsequent airglow emissions exhibit aurora-like dynamic signatures. Nomenclatures of nonpolar aurora or equatorial auroras are similar to those used with the polar auroras owing to their similar excitation mechanisms. This paper provides an overview of the knowledge and the challenges concerning auroral activity at the South Atlantic Anomaly, or more generally, at the negative magnetic anomaly. We emphasize systematic investigation of the equatorial auroras to reveal the temporal and spatial evolution of the magnetic anomaly and the behaviour of energetic particles in near-Earth space.     

An unexpected large continental source of reactive bromine and chlorine with significant impact on wintertime air quality

Halogen atoms affect the budget of ozone and the fate of pollutants such as hydrocarbons and mercury. Yet their sources and significances in polluted continental regions are poorly understood. Here we report the observation of unprecedented levels (averaging at 60 parts per trillion) of bromine chloride (BrCl) at a mid-latitude site in North China during winter. Widespread coal burning in rural households and a photo-assisted process were the primary source of BrCl and other bromine gases. BrCl contributed about 55% of both bromine and chlorine atoms. The halogen atoms increased the abundance of ‘conventional’ tropospheric oxidants (OH, HO₂ and RO₂) by 26%–73%, and enhanced oxidation of hydrocarbon by nearly a factor of two and the net ozone production by 55%. Our study reveals the significant role of reactive halogen in winter atmospheric chemistry and the deterioration of air quality in continental regions where uncontrolled coal combustion is prevalent.