当前国际第四纪研究概述

RECENT ADVANCES IN PALAEOCLIMATIC STUDIES OF QUATERNARY

第四纪时期万年尺度的气候振荡是由地球轨道要素（偏心率、地轴倾斜、岁差，简称EPT）变化所导致．然而，最近几年在极地冰岩芯及北大西洋深海沉积中发现了一序列轨道尺度以下的气候振荡，这些百年或千年尺度的气候回动显然不能用米兰柯维奇的地球轨道理论加以解释，也由此传统的第四纪古气候理论面临新的挑战．

Since the classic 'Alps Glacial Theory' was queshoned by the advances in marine oxy-gen isotope records and in palaeornagnetic studies of deep sea sediments, scientists havetried to accept that the long -term clhatic oscil1ations were controlled by the orbital(EPT) vchations- Nevertheless, the most recent studies on the Greenland ice cores anddeep sea deposits of N0rth Ahantic oceaIl show that the frequent periodical climatic nuc-tuations were shorter than the orbital '-scale variations- These short climatic oscil1ationson century or ndllenniai sca1e can not be exp1ained by the Mi1ankovitch Theory. A c1imahcoscillation of about 10℃ could occur within several decades t which was revea1ed by thestudies on the Greenland ice cores. By comparison ，the ptocess of global greenhou6e effectis relatively slow because the global mean air temperature has gone up for about 1. 5℃within the several decades since the Industrial Recolution- Thus l a new chal1enge lies a-head of the Quaternary climatic researchers, such as how did the sudden clirnatic eventsrecorded by the Greenland ice cores occur? Can we find such records from other regions ofthe world? How big were the differences of air temperature fluctuations from different re-gions? To solve these problems is allficult at present and needs a coordination of multipledisciplines and new technology.