Characteristics of Temperature Change in China over the Last 2000 years and Spatial Patterns of Dryness/Wetness during Cold and Warm Periods

This paper presents new high-resolution proxies and paleoclimatic reconstructions for studying climate changes in China for the past 2000 years. Multi-proxy synthesized reconstructions show that temperature variation in China has exhibited significant 50–70-yr, 100–120-yr, and 200–250-yr cycles. Results also show that the amplitudes of decadal and centennial temperature variation were 1.3℃ and 0.7℃, respectively, with the latter significantly correlated with long-term changes in solar radiation, especially cold periods, which correspond approximately to sunspot minima. The most rapid warming in China occurred over AD 1870–2000, at a rate of 0.56°± 0.42℃（100 yr）^（-1）; however, temperatures recorded in the 20 th century may not be unprecedented for the last 2000 years, as data show records for the periods AD 981–1100 and AD1201–70 are comparable to the present. The ensemble means of dryness/wetness spatial patterns in eastern China across all centennial warm periods illustrate a tripole pattern： dry south of 25°N, wet from 25°–30°N, and dry to the north of 30°N. However, for all centennial cold periods, this spatial pattern also exhibits a meridional distribution. The increase in precipitation over the monsoonal regions of China associated with the 20 th century warming can primarily be attributed to a mega El Nino–Southern Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. In addition, a significant association between increasing numbers of locusts and dry/cold conditions is found in eastern China. Plague intensity also generally increases in concert with wetness in northern China, while more precipitation is likely to have a negative effect in southern China.

Assessing changes in extreme precipitation over Xinjiang using regional climate model of PRECIS

In this paper, an analysis, with the simulation of PRECIS （Providing Regional Climate for Impact Studies）, was made for future precipitation extremes, under SRES （Special Report on Emission Scenarios） A2 and B2 in IPCC （Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change） AR4. The precipitation extremes were calculated and analyzed by ETCCDI （Climate Change Detection and Indices）. The results show that： （1） In Present Scenario （1961 1900）, PRECIS could capture the spatial pattern of precipitation in Xinjiang. （2） The simulated annual precipitation and seasonal precipitation in Xinjiang had a significantly positive trend and its variability had been deeply impacted by terrain. There was a strong association between increasing trend and the extreme precipitation＇s increase in frequency and intensity during 1961-2008. Under SRES A2 and B2, extreme precipitation indicated an increasing tendency at the end of the 21st century. The extreme summer pre- cipitation increased prominently in a year. （3） PREC1S＇s simulation under SRES A2 and B2 indicated increased frequency of heavy precipitation events and also enhancement in their intensity towards the end of the 21 st century. Both A2 and B2 scenarios show similar patterns of projected changes in precipitation extremes towards the end of the 21st century. However, the magnitude of changes in B2 scenario was on the lower side. In case of extreme precipitation, variation between models can exceed both internal variability and variability of different SRES.

Primary energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in China

Climate change is one of the focuses to mitigate greenhouse effect and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.First,the paper summarizes on the carbon dioxide emission factors and methods suitable to the situation in China.Second,it analyzes the primary energy-related carbon dioxide emissions during the period between 1995 and 2005 from different fossil fuels and different zones.The trend of primary energy-related carbon dioxide emissions from 1995 to 2005 is"first decreasing and later increasing."Seven regions-Liaoning,Shanxi,Hebei,Shandong,Henan,and Jiangsu-and most of the provinces(cities or regions)were found to have similar trends regarding total carbon dioxide emissions in China.The annual carbon dioxide emissions and the growth ratio of these seven regions are much higher compared to those of the other 24 provinces(cities or regions).Finally,this paper puts forward some suggestions to reduce carbon dioxide.

Variations of the temperature and solar activity in China

In this paper we analyze daily mean, minimum, and maximum temperature data collected at 119 meteorological stations over five regions of China during the period 1951-2010. The series of minimum, maximum, and mean temperatures from each climatic region have similar signatures, but there are differences among the five regions and the countrywide average. The results indicate that the periods of faster warming were not synchronous across the regions studied： warming in northeast China and Tibet began in 1986, while in central-east, southeast, and northwest China the warming emerged in 1995. Furthermore, central-east and northwest China, and Tibet, have warmed continuously since 2000, but the temperature has decreased during this period in southeast China. We evaluated the evolution of these temperature series using a novel nonlinear filtering technique based on the concept of the lifetime of temperature curves. The decadal to secular evolution of solar activity and temperature variation had similar signatures in the northeast, southeast, and northwest re- gions and the average across the whole country, indicating that solar activity is a significant control on climate change over secular time scales in these regions. In comparison with these regions, the signatures were different in central-east China and Tibet because of regional differences （e.g., landforms and elevation） and indirect effects （e.g., cloud cover influencing the radiation balance, thereby inducing climate change）. Furthermore, the results of wavelet analysis indicated that the El Nino Southem Oscillation （ENSO） has had a significant impact on climate change, but at different times among the regions, and these changes were most probably induced by differing responses of the atmospheric system to solar forcing.

Reconstruction of Sub-Decadal Winter Half-Year Temperature during 1651-2010 for the North China Plain Using Records of Frost Date

We extracted 374 pieces of records of frost date from historical documents. Using these records, we reconstructed winter half-year (October to next April) temperature series, with a resolution of 5-year, for the North China Plain during 1651-2010. The results show that the temperature changes in the North China Plain were divided into four phases. With the reference period of 1951-1980, two cold phases, 1651-1700 and 1781-1900, have cold anomaly of 0.83°C and 0.60°C respectively. However, between the two cold phases, 1701-1780 was a relative warm phase with the cold anomaly of 0.36°C referring to the mean of 1951-1980. After the 1900, the climate came into a warm phase. The mean temperature of 1901-2010 was 0.11°C higher than the mean of 1951-1980. During 1651-2010, the 1996-2000 is the warmest 5-year with the warm anomaly of 1.25°C than that of the reference period of 1951-1980.

Study on the extremely cold winter of 1670 over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

The snow-cover days over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River （MLRYR） in the winter of 1670 were extracted from Chinese historical documents. By these records, the winter temperature anomalies （compared to the mean of 1961-1990） recorded at seven meteorological stations and the regional mean winter temperature were estimated. The results show that： （1） There was an average of about 30 snow-cover days over the MLRYR region in 1670, ranging from 11-20 days in Shanghai and eastern Zhejiang to 5140 days in eastern Hunan Province. The snow-cover days averaged about 40 days in Anqing and Nan- cheng, and ranged from 30 to 40 days in Quzhou, Jingdezhen, and Nanchang; and （2） the regional mean winter temperature in 1670 was estimated to be approximately 4.0 ℃ lower than that of 1961-1990. The maximum negative anomaly of 5.6℃ occurred in Nanchang and the minimum anomaly of-2.8 ℃ was detected in Quzhou. Both of these were lower than that of the coldest winter during the instrumental observation period of 1951-2010. This research could not only provide a method to es- timate historical climate extremes, but also provide a background to understand the recent instrumentally climate extremes.

Unprecedented Warming Revealed from Multi-proxy Reconstruction of Temperature in Southern China for the Past 160 Years

Using the southern limit of snowfall recorded in Chinese documents, chronologies of tree-ring width, and tree-ring stable oxygen isotope（δ^（18）O）, the annual temperature anomaly in southern China during 1850–2009 is reconstructed using the method of signal decomposition and synthesis. The results show that the linear trend was 0.47℃（100 yr）^（-1）over 1871–2009,and the two most rapid warming intervals occurred in 1877–1938 and 1968–2007, at rates of 0.125℃（10 yr）^（-1）and 0.258℃（10 yr）^（-1）, respectively. The decadal variation shows that the temperature in the moderate warm interval of the 1910s–1930s was notably lower than that of the 1980s–2000s, which suggests that the warming since the 1980s was unprecedented for the past 160 years, though a warming hiatus existed in the 2000s. Additionally, there was a rapid cooling starting from the 1860s,followed by a cold interval until the early 1890s, with the coldest years in 1892 and 1893. A slight temperature decline was also found from the 1940s to the late 1960s. This study provides an independent case to validate the global warming for the past 160 years and its hiatus recently, because the proxy data are not affected by urbanization.

The summer standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index(SPEl)dataset for six European regions over the past millennium reconstructed by tree-ring chronologies

Accurate reconstructed series are crucial for studying the differences in regional hydroclimatic variations in Europe over the past millennium.Using hierarchical clustering analysis and stepwise regression methods,we reconstructed yearly time series of the summer standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index(SPEl)for six European regions over the past millennium.Our analysis also revealed prominent regional hydroclimatic differences in multidecadal signals over the past 500 years.For instance,in the 1500s-1570s(from the beginning of the 1500s to the end of the 1570s),drying trends were observed in northern and southeastern Europe,whereas southwestern Europe experienced a wetting trend.Moreover,drying trends were observed in northern and central Europe in the 1640s-1670s.Additionally,wetting trends were observed in western and central Europe during the 1830s-1850s,with drying trends in northern and southeastern Europe.Notably,the hydroclimatic variations in most European regions showed drying trends in the 1920s-1950s,especially in southern Europe.By utilizing large amounts of tree-ring samples and directly comparing regional hydroclimatic variations,our reconstructions provide a consistent and comprehensive dataset for further analysis.The reconstructed dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.07215.

国家自主减排贡献与实现2℃温控目标的差异性分析

2015年12月联合国气候变化框架公约(United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,UNFCCC)第21次缔约方气候变化大会通过了《巴黎协定》ln,将过去自上而下的减排模式,转变为以国家自主贡献为核心的自下而上的减排模式[2],会议召开前后,各国依据自身国情提交了国家自主贡献预案(intended nationally determined contributions,INDCs),并提出了“将本世纪全球平均温度相对于工业革命之前的温升幅度控制在2℃以内,并尽力争取控制在1.5℃以内”的目标,该目标的达成意味着该气候变化水平处于各国政府的可应对范围之内,且能够保证可持续的粮食生产和经济发展[3].

Major advances in studies of the physical geography and living environment of China during the past 70 years and future prospects

The natural environment provides material essentials for human survival and development. The characteristics,processes, regional differentiation and forcing mechanisms of the elements of the natural environment(e.g. geomorphology,climate, hydrology, soil, etc.) are the main objects of research in physical geography. China has a complex natural environment and huge regional differentiation and therefore it provides outstanding reserach opportunities in physical geography. This review summarizes the most important developments and the main contributions of research in the physical geography and human living environment in China during the past 70 years. The major topics addressed are the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the evolution of its cryosphere, the development of fluvial systems, the acidification of the vast arid region of the Asian interior, variations in the monsoon and westerly climate systems on multiple timescales, the development of lakes and wetlands, the watershed system model, soil erosion, past human-environment interactions, biogeography, and physical geographic zonality. After briefly introducing international research developments, we review the history of research in physical geography in China, focusing on the major achievements and major academic debates, and finally we summarize the status of current research and the future prospects. We propose that in the context of the national demand for the construction of an ecological civilization, we should make full use of the research findings of physical geography, and determine the patterns and mechanisms of natural environmental processes in order to continue to promote the continued contribution of physical geography to national development strategies, and to further contribute to the theory of physical geography from a global perspective.

Two centuries of April-July temperature change in southeastern China and its influence on grain productivity

China is a traditional agriculture based country and one main region for crop production is southeastern China where temperature is a dominant climate variable affecting agriculture. Temperature and social disturbances both influence crop production, yet distinguishing their relative impacts is difficult due to a lack of reliable, high-resolution historical climatic records before the very recent period. Here we present the first tree-ring based warm-season temperature reconstruction for southeastern China, a core region of the East Asian monsoon, for the past 227 years. The reconstruction target was April-July mean temperature, and our model explained 60.6% of the observed temperature variance during 1953–2012.Spatial correlation analysis showed that the reconstruction is representative of April-July temperature change over most of eastern China. The reconstructed temperature series agrees well with China-scale(heavily weighted in eastern China) agricultural production index values quite well at decadal timescales.The impacts of social upheavals on food production, such as those in the period 1920–1949, were confirmed after climatic influences were excluded. Our study should help distinguish the influence of social disturbance and warm-season temperature on grain productivity in the core agricultural region of China during the past two centuries.

Plant microremains provide direct evidence for the functions of stone knives from the Lajia site, northwestern China

A large number of stone knives have been recovered from Neolithic archaeological sites in East Asia.However, direct evidence regarding the functions of the stone knives has been scarce, and hence, their functions have remained controversial. In this study, we recovered and analysed ancient starch grains and phytoliths from residues adhering to stone knives excavated from the Lajia site, Qinghai Province, northwest China, thus providing direct evidence for the functions of the knives. Our analyses were based on the following:(1) an assemblage of 278identifiable starch grains, representing grains from the stems of foxtail millet(Setaria italica) and broomcorn millet(Panicum miliaceum)(65.1 % of the total) and the stems of Hordeum and Triticum species(3.6 % of the total), and(2) an assemblage of 361 identifiable phytoliths,the majority of which were from the stems and leaves of plants such as Panicoideae and related taxa(96 % of the total). Our study demonstrates that one of the functions of the stone knives was the harvesting crops. In addition, a few starch grains from food legumes and roots(3.4 % of the total) indicate that the stone knives were also likely used to process, peel and cut some foods.

Observed,Reconstructed,and Simulated Decadal Variability of Summer Precipitation over Eastern China

Based on observations made during recent decades, reconstructed precipitation for the period A.D. 1736-2000, dry-wet index data for A.D. 500-2000, and a 1000-yr control simulation using the Community Earth System Model with fixed pre-industrial external forcing, the decadal variability of summer precipitation over eastem China is stud- ied. Power spectrum analysis shows that the dominant cycles for the decadal variation of summer precipitation are： 22-24 and quasi-70 yr over the North China Plain; 32-36, 44-48, and quasi-70 yr in the Jiang-Huai area; and 32-36 and 4448 yr in the Jiang-Nan area. Bandpass decomposition from observation, reconstruction, and simulation re- veals that the variability of summer precipitation over the North China Plain, Jiang-Huai area, and Jiang-Nan area, at scales of 20-35, 35-50, and 50-80 yr, is not consistent across the entire millennium. We also find that the warm （cold） phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation generally corresponds to dry （wet） conditions over the North China Plain, but wet （dry） conditions in the Jiang-Nan area, from A.D. 1800, when the PDO became strengthened. However, such a correspondence does not exist throughout the entire last millennium. Data-model comparison sug- gests that these decadal oscillations and their temporal evolution over eastem China, including the decadal shifts in the spatial pattem of the precipitation anomaly observed in the late 1970s, early 1990s, and early 2000s, might result from internal variability of the climate system.

Risk Identification of Seismic Landslides by Joint Newmark and RockFall Analyst Models: A Case Study of Roads Affected by the Jiuzhaigou Earthquake

Geological disasters are a great threat to people's lives and property. At present, it is difficult to evaluate quantitatively the cascading effects of regional geological disasters, and the development of new methods for such evaluation is much needed. In this study, the authors have developed a joint procedure that couples the Newmark model and the RockFall Analyst model based on a GIS platform in order to identify the impact of seismic landslides on roads. The new method effectively combines two processes—seismic landslide occurrence probability analysis and mass movement trajectory simulation. The permanent displacement derived from the Newmark model is used to identify potential source areas of landslides.Based on the RockFall Analyst model, the possible impact of mass movement on the roads can be simulated. To verify the reliability of the method, the landslides induced by the 2017 Jiuzhaigou Earthquake were taken as a case study.The results suggest that about 21.37% of the study area is at high risk of seismic landslides, and approximately 3.95 km of road sections are at extremely high risk of large landslides. The simulated area is consistent with the distribution of disasters revealed by post-earthquake remote sensing image interpretation and field investigation in existing studies. This indicates that the procedure, which joins the Newmark and RockFall models, has a high reliability for risk identification and can be applied to seismic landslide risk assessment and prediction in similar areas.

Evaluation of multidecadal and longer-term temperature changes since 850 CE based on Northern Hemisphere proxy-based reconstructions and model simulations

The temperature variability over multidecadal and longer timescales(e.g., the cold epochs in the late 15 th, 17 th, and early 19 th centuries) is significant and dominant in the millennium-long, large-scale reconstructions and model simulations;however, their temporal patterns in the reconstructed and simulated temperature series are not well understood and require a detailed assessment and comparison. Here, we compare the reconstructed and simulated temperature series for the Northern Hemisphere(NH) at multidecadal and longer-term timescales(>30 years) by evaluating their covariance, climate sensitivity and amplitude of temperature changes. We found that covariances between different reconstructions or between reconstructions and simulations are generally high for the whole period of 850–1999 CE, due to their similar long-term temporal patterns. However,covariances between different reconstructions or between reconstructions and simulations steadily decline as time series extends further back in time, becoming particularly small during Medieval times. This is related to the large uncetainties in the reconstructions caused by the decreased number of proxy records and sample duplication during the pre-instrumental periods.Reconstructions based solely on tree-ring data show higher skill than multiproxy reconstructions in capturing the amplitude of volcanic cooling simulated by models. Meanwhile, climate models have a shorter recovery(i.e., lag) in response to the cooling caused by volcanic eruptions and solar activity minima, implying the lack of some important feedback mechanisms between external forcing and internal climate processes in climate models. Amplitudes of temperature variations in the latest published tree-ring reconstructions are comparable to those of the multiproxy reconstructions. We found that the temperature difference between the Medieval Climate Anomaly(950–1250 CE) and the Little Ice Age(1450–1850 CE) is generally larger in proxybased reconstructions than in model simulations, but the reason is unclear.

Gridded reconstruction of the population in the traditional cultivated region of China from 1776 to 1953

Using modern census and environmental factor data,this study first identified the environmental factors that significantly affect the population distribution through Geodetector analysis and then constructed a population spatial distribution model based on the random forest regression algorithm.Finally,with this model and historical population data that were examined and corrected by historians,gridded population distributions with a spatial resolution of 10 km by 10 km in the traditional cultivated region of China(TCRC,hereafter)were reconstructed for six time slices from 1776 to 1953.Using the reconstruction dataset,the spatiotemporal characteristics of the population distribution were depicted.The results showed that(1)the environmental factors that significantly affected the population density differences among counties in the TCRC mainly consisted of elevation,slope,relief amplitude,distances to the nearest prefectural and provincial capitals,distance to the nearest river and the climatology moisture index.(2)Using the census data of 1934 counties in the TCRC in 2000 and the abovementioned environmental factor data,a random forest regression algorithm-based population spatial distribution model was constructed.Its determination coefficient(R^(2))is 0.81.In 88.4%of the counties(districts),the relative errors of the model predictions were less than 50%.(3)From 1776 to 1953,the total population in the study area showed an uptrend.Prior to 1851,the population increased mainly in the Yangtze River Delta.During this period,the number of grid cells in which the population densities were greater than 500 persons per km^(2) increased from 292 to 683.From 1851 to 1953,the population increased extensively across the study area.In the North China Plain and the Pearl River Delta,the number of grid cells in which the population densities were greater than 500 persons per km^(2) increased from 36 to 88 and from 4 to 35,respectively.The spatial clustering pattern of the population distribution varied temporally.The potential reasons included the shifts in economic development hot spots,traditional beliefs,wars,famine,and immigration policies.(4)Between our reconstructions and the HYDE dataset,there are large differences in the data sources,selected environmental factors and modeling methods.As a consequence,in comparison to our reconstructions,there were fewer populations in the eastern area and more populations in the western area from 1776 to 1851 and more populations in urban areas and fewer populations in rural areas after 1851 in the HYDE dataset.