Paleo-environmental changes in the Yangtze Delta during past8000 years

The Yangtze Delta is one of the economically most developed areas in China. It is located in the eastern China monsoon region. Archaeological excavations and environment-archaeology studies over many years in this region provide exceptional information about climate changes, development of human civilization and also human-environment interactions. Archaeological excavations made in the study region reveal that the development of Neolithic cultures is not continuous, which may be a result of extreme climatic events. The analysis of 14 C-dated buried paleotrees, peat and shell ridges show the rise and fall of human civilization in the study area. The research results presented in this paper confirm that human civilization collapsed six times in the Yangtze Delta, matching six high sea level epoches, peat accumulation and buried paleotrees formation periods respectively. This indicates that human activities in the Yangtze Delta are controlled by local climate changes and changing hydrological conditions. The collapse of the Liangzhu culture (5000 aBP-3800 aBP) in about 4000 aBP, after a tremendous flooding event, followed by a relatively backward Maqiao culture (3800 aBP-3200 aBP) confused researchers and aroused their great interest. The research results in this paper show that the collapse of the Liangzhu culture is a result of several factors, for example war and food shortage, but the flooding event occurred in the late Liangzhu culture epoch is the main factor therein.

Climatic evolution in the Yangtze Delta region in the late Holocene epoch

Neolithic site sections, natural sections and other proxy indicators like paleotrees and peat are collected for further understanding the environmental changes during the past 10,000 years in the Yangtze Delta region. The results indicate that cultural interruption in the Yangtze Delta was the result of water expansion induced by climatic changes like more precipitation. For fi＇agile human mitigation to the natural hazards in the Neolithic cultural period, environmental changes usually exerted tremendous influences on human activities, havocking the human civilization, which is meaningful for human mitigation to natural hazards under the present global warming. At the same time, some uncertainties in reconstruction ofoaleo-environmental changes were discussed in the text.

Analysis of factors influencing carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta region and projections of carbon peak scenarios

Based on the supply-side perspective,the improved STIRPAT model is applied to reveal the mechanisms of supply-side factors such as human,capital,technology,industrial synergy,institutions and economic growth on carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD)through path analysis,and to forecast carbon emissions in the YRD from the baseline scenario,factor regulation scenario and integrated scenario to reach the peak.The results show that:(1)Jiangsu's high carbon emission pattern is the main reason for the YRD hindering the synergistic regulation of carbon emissions.(2)Human factors,institutional factors and economic growth factors can all contribute to carbon emissions in the YRD region,while technological and industrial factors can generally suppress carbon emissions in the YRD region.(3)Under the capital regulation scenario,the YRD region has the highest level of carbon emission synergy,with Jiangsu reaching its peak five years earlier.Under the balanced regulation scenario,the YRD region as a whole,Jiangsu,Zhejiang and Anhui reach the peak as scheduled.

Measurement of Digital Economy Development Level in Yangtze River Delta and Its Influence on Ecological Efficiency

Based on the panel data of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta from 2007 to 2018,this paper empirically tests the impact of digital economy development on urban ecological efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta.The results show that the development level of digital economy in Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is fluctuating and rising;the development of digital economy has a significant positive role in promoting the improvement of urban ecological efficiency;there is significant regional heterogeneity in the promotion of ecological efficiency by digital economy,especially in central cities.

Effects of elevated ozone on growth and yield of field-grown rice in Yangtze River Delta,China

With rapid industrialization and urbanization in the Yangtze Delta, China, the tropospheric ozone concentration has increased to levels that induce crop yield loss. Rice, a widely grown crop in China, was investigated in field-established, open-top chambers. Four treatments were used： charcoal-filtered air （CF）, non-charcoal-filtered air （NF）, and charcoal-filtered air with two levels of additional ozone （O3-1 and O3-2）. The AOT40s （accumulated hourly mean ozone concentration above 40 ppbv） were 0, 0.91, 23.24, and 39.28 ppmv.h for treatment of CE NF, O3-1, and O3-2, respectively. The rice height and biomass were reduced in the elevated ozone concentration. Less organic matter partitioning to roots under the elevated ozone significantly decreased rice root activity. The yield loss was 14.3% and 20.2% under O3-1 and O3-2 exposure, respectively. This was largely caused by a reduction in grain weight per panicle.

Spatiotemporal change of ecological footprint and sustainability analysis for Yangtze Delta Region

In the urbanizing world,the Yangtze Delta Region （YDR） as one of the most developed regions in China,has drawn a lot of the world＇s attention for the remarkable economic development achieved in the past decades.Nevertheless,the rapid economic development was certain to be accompanied by unprecedented consumption and loss of natural resources.Therefore,the analysis of the ecological situation and driving factors of environmental impact was of great significance to serve the local sustainable development decision-making and build a harmonious society.In this paper,the ecological footprint （EF） was taken as the index of the ecological environmental impact.With the help of Geographic Information System （GIS）,we studied the spatiotemporal change of ecological footprint at two scales （region and city） and assessed urban sustainable development ability in YDR.Then we discussed the driving factors that affected the change of ecological footprint by the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population,Affluence,and Technology （STIRPAT） model.The results showed that increasing trends of regional ecological footprint during 1998-2008 （1.70-2.53 ha/cap） were accompanied by decreasing ecological capacity （0.31-0.25 ha/cap） but expanding ecological deficit （1.39-2.28 ha/cap）.The distribution pattern of ecological footprint and the degree of sustainable development varied distinctly from city to city in YDR.In 2008,the highest values of ecological footprint （3.85 ha/cap） and the lowest one of sustainable development index （SDI=1） in YDR were both presented in Shanghai.GDP per capita （A） was the most dominant driving force of EF and the classical EKC hypothesis did not exist between A and EF in 1998-2008.Consequently,increasing in ecological supply and reducing in human demand due to technological advances or other factors were one of the most effective ways to promote sustainable development in YDR.Moreover,importance should be attached to change our definition and measurement of prosperity and success.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF METHANE EMISSIONS FROM RICE PADDY FIELDS IN THE YANGTZE DELTA OF CHINA

A numerical simulation model is presented in this paper,which comprises the processes of crop growth,soil organic carbon decomposition,and methane emissions in agroecosystems. Simulation results show that the model can simulate the main process of methane emissions well, and the correlation coefficient between the simulated values and observed data is 0.79 with 239 samples,which passed a significance test of 0.01.The average error of methane emission simulation in whole growth period is about 15%.Numerical analysis of the model indicates that the average temperature during rice growth period has much impacts on methane emissions,and the basic trend of interannual methane emissions is similar to that of average temperature.The amount of methane emissions reduces about 34.93%,when the fertilizer is used instead of manure in single rice paddy.

Magnetic properties of Holocene core ZK9 in the subaqueous Yangtze delta and their mechanisms and implications

We measured the magnetic properties of core ZK9 from the subaqueous Yangtze delta to examine the mechanisms and possibility of using magnetic proxies for the sedimentary environmental evolution controlled by the Holocene sea level. The results showed that low values of most magnetic parameters occurred and pyrite formed in the estuarine sediments during c. 10.5-8.4 cal ka BE reflecting the predominant early diagenesis in a tidaldominated depositional environment when the sea level rose rapidly. Sharp increases in the values of χARM （susceptibility of Anhysteresis Remanent Magnetisation）, χARM/χ, χARM/SIRM （Saturation Isothermal Remnant Magnetisation） and HIRM （Hard Isothermal Remnant Magnetisation） occurred immediately above the transitional zone from estuarine to deltaic system of c. 8.4--5.9 cal ka BP, which imply accumulation of single-domain magnetite and anti-ferromagnetic minerals. These magnetic properties indicate the enhanced freshwater processes at the core site as a result of the relatively stable sea level and the associated delta progradation since c. 5.9 cal ka BP. Therefore, magnetic proxies Of χARM and HIRM are useful to identify the maximum flooding surface. In addition, the intertidal-subtidal sediment of c. 13.2-10.5 cal ka BP had high values of χ, SIRM and HIRM, reflecting the features of a coastal environment. The sharp decline of the above parameters from c. 10.5 cal ka BP indicates possibly an event of rapid sea level rise.

Multi-proxy evidence of environmental change related to collapse of the Liangzhu Culture in the Yangtze Delta,China

The Liangzhu Culture(5300–4300 cal.a BP)has been regarded as the culmination of the Neolithic Age in the Yangtze Delta and as an archaic state.However,the reason behind the collapse of the Liangzhu Culture remains controversial.Some scholars attributed it to social conflicts or foreign invasions,while others suggested that environmental deterioration,such as cold episodes,inundation and palaeo-typhoon events,disrupted the civilization.Notably,the yellowish silty sediments widely overlying the Liangzhu group sites have been presumed to be one of the vital clues to resolving these issues.The process and cause of their formation are key to understanding the decline in the Liangzhu Culture.In this study,two typical profiles composed of the Liangzhu cultural layer and yellowish silty sediments were collected in Liangzhu Ancient City.Multiple proxies,including pollen,phytoliths and diatoms,along with radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating and synthesized geochemical evidence from different sediments,were applied to reconstruct ecological and hydrological changes and discuss their linkage to cultural collapse.The regional ecology was typical freshwater wetlands during 4800–4400 cal.a BP,which facilitated rice farming and large-scale architectural engineering in Liangzhu Ancient City.Evidence from microfossils and dating of the yellowish silty sediments indicated that Liangzhu Ancient City was significantly affected by seawater after abandonment during 4300–3400 cal.a BP.Furthermore,geochemical evidence,including trace element and Sr-Nd isotopic compositions,suggested that the primary provenance of the yellowish silt was a mixture of sediments from the Qiantang River,East China Sea,Yangtze River and Yellow River,which had been transported to Liangzhu Ancient City by the Yellow Sea Coastal Current and a marine transgression.Therefore,based on evidence from archaeological sites and numerical simulation in the Yangtze Delta,it was supposed that the short-term accelerated relative sea-level rise at approximately 4400 cal.a BP caused a marine transgression around Taihu Lake,formed a large range of yellowish silty sediments,destroyed rice farming production,and ultimately led to the collapse of the Liangzhu Culture.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EVAPOTRANSPIRATION IN THE YANGTZE DELTA REGION FOR PAST 40 YEARS AND MAIN INFLUENCE FACTORS

The Kotoda-Bortan (KB) model (Liu and Kotoda 1998) used for estimating evapotranspiration was modified.The monthly evapotranspiration for various surfaces in the Yangtze Delta (118- 123■,28-33■)was calculated using the modified model,and the annual regional average of evapotranspiration from 1961 to 1998 was obtained using a weighting method.The spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of evapotranspiration were analyzed.It is found that the regional averaged annual evapotranspiration has a decreasing trend over the past 40 years;the value dropped by about 24 mm from 1961 to 1998.The main reason for this tendency is due to the change of land surface condition.Compared with the case of 1980,the current proportions of paddy field,farmland and water surface have decreased by 1.353%,4.42% and 2.597% respectively,while the proportions of urban area and non-agriculture land have increased by 3.345%.These changes clearly result in a decrease of the regional averaged evapotranspiration.

Effects of ground-level ozone (O_3) pollution on the yields of rice and winter wheat in the Yangtze River Delta

Effects of elevated O_3 on the yields of rice and winter wheat were studied by using open-top chambers(OTCs). Results showed that compared to the control treatment, 200 ppb, 100 ppb, 50 ppb treatments caused a 80.4%, 58.6% and 10.5% decrease in grain yields per winter wheat plant and a 49.1%, 26.1% and 8.2% decrease in grain yield per rice plant, respectively. According to the dose-response relation educed from OTCs experiment and the monitor data of O_3 concentrations in spots, it was estimated that the yield losses of rice and winter wheat resulted by O_3 pollution in the Yangtze River Delta region in 1999 were 0.599 million ton and 0.669 million ton, economic losses were 0.539 billion RMB Yuan and 0.936 billion RMB Yuan, respectively.

Impact of urban expansion on regional temperature change in the Yangtze River Delta

Based on non-radiance-calibrated DMSP/OLS nighttime light imagery from 1992 to 2003, urban land area statistical data, meteorological data and land surface temperature data retrieved by MODIS and NOAA/AVHRR data, the influence of urbanization on regional climatic trend cf temperature in the Yangtze River Delta （YRD） was analyzed. Conclusions are as follows： 1） There is a significant urbanization process from 1992 to 2003 in the YRD. Four city clusters of Nanjing-Zhenjiang-Yangzhou, Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou Bay form a zigzag city belt. The increase rate of annual mean air temperature in city-belt is 0.28-0.44℃/10a from 1991 to 2005, which is far larger than that of non-city-belt. 2） The urban heat island （UHI） effect on regional mean air temperature in different seasons is summer〉autumn〉spring〉winter. 3） The UHI intensity and the urban total population logarithm are creditably correlated. 4） The UHI effect made the regional annual mean air temperature increased 0.072℃ from 1961 to 2005, of which 0.047℃ from 1991 to 2005, and the annual maximum air temperature increased 0.162℃, of which 0.083℃ from 1991 to 2005. All these indicating that the urban expansion in the YRD from 1991 to 2005 may be regarded as a serious climate signal.

Impacts of Weather Conditions Modified by Urban Expansion on Surface Ozone: Comparison between the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta Regions

In this paper, the online weather research and forecasting and chemistry （WRF-Chem） model is used to explore the impacts of urban expansion on regional weather conditions and its implication on surface ozone concentrations over the Pearl River Delta（PRD） and Yangtze River Delta（YRD） regions. Two scenarios of urban maps are used in the WRF-Chem to represent the early 1990s （pre-urbanization） and the current urban distribution in the PRD and the YRD. Month-long simulation results using the above land-use scenarios for March 2001 show that urbanization increases both the day- and night-time 2-m temperatures by about 0.6℃and 1.4℃, respectively. Daytime reduction in the wind speed by about 3.0 m s-1 is larger than that for the nighttime （0.5 to 2 m s-1）. The daytime increase in the PBL height （〉 200 m） is also larger than the nighttime （50-100 m）. The meteorological conditions modified by urbanization lead to detectable ozone-concentration changes in the PRD and the YRD. Urbanization increases the nighttime surface-ozone concentrations by about 4.7%-8.5% and by about 2.9%-4.2% for the daytime. In addition to modifying individual meteorological variables, urbanization also enhances the convergence zones, especially in the PRD. More importantly, urbanization has different effects on the surface ozone for the PRD and the YRD, presumably due to their urbanization characteristics and geographical locations. Even though the PRD has a smaller increase in the surface temperature than the YRD, it has （a） weaker surface wind speed, （b） smaller increase in PBL heights, and （c） stronger convergence zones. The latter three factors outweighed the temperature increase and resulted in a larger ozone enhancement in the PRD than the YRD.

Regional accessibility of land traffic network in the Yangtze River Delta

In a given district, the accessibility of any point should be the synthetically evaluation of the internal and external accessibilities. Using MapX component and Delphi, the author presents an information system to calculate and analyze regional accessibility according to the shortest travel time, generating thus a mark diffusing figure. Based on land traffic network, this paper assesses the present and the future regional accessibilities of sixteen major cities in the Yangtze River Delta. The result shows that the regional accessibility of the Yangtze River Delta presents a fan with Shanghai as its core. The top two most accessible cities are Shanghai and Jiaxing, and the bottom two ones are Taizhou （Zhejiang province） and Nantong With the construction of Sutong Bridge, Hangzhouwan Bridge and Zhoushan Bridge, the regional internal accessibility of all cities will be improved. Especially for Shaoxing, Ningbo and Taizhou （Jiangsu province）, the regional internal accessibility will be decreased by one hour, and other cities will be shortened by about 25 minutes averagely. As the construction of Yangkou Harbor in Nantong, the regional external accessibility of the harbor cities in Jiangsu province will be speeded up by about one hour.

Seasonal Variation of Columnar Aerosol Optical Properties in Yangtze River Delta in China

In order to understand the seasonal variation of aerosol optical properties in the Yangtze River Delta,5 years of measurements were conducted during September 2005 to December 2009 at Taihu,China.The monthly averages of aerosol optical depth were commonly 0.6;the maximum seasonal average（0.93） occurred in summer.The magnitude of the Angstr¨om exponent was found to be high throughout the year;the highest values occurred in autumn（1.33） and were the lowest in spring（1.08）.The fine modes of volume size distribution showed the maxima（peaks） at a radius of ～0.15 μm in spring,autumn,and winter;at a radius of ～0.22 μm in summer.The coarse modes showed the maxima（peaks） at a radius of 2.9 μm in spring,summer,and autumn and at a radius of 3.8 μm in winter.The averages of single-scattering albedo were 0.92（spring）,0.92（summer）,0.91（autumn）,and 0.88（winter）.The averages of asymmetry factor were found to be larger in summer than during other seasons;they were taken as 0.66 at 440-1020 nm over Taihu.The real part of the refractive index showed a weak seasonal variation,with averages of 1.48（spring）,1.43（summer）,1.45（autumn）,and 1.48（winter）.The imaginary parts of the refractive index were higher in winter（0.013） than in spring（0.0076）,summer（0.0092）,and autumn（0.0091）,indicating that the atmosphere in the winter had higher absorbtivity.

Impact of Taihu Lake on City Ozone in the Yangtze River Delta

The lake-breeze at Taihu Lake generates a different specific heat capacity between the water body and the surrounding land. Taihu Lake has a significant impact on the atmospheric conditions and the air quality in the Yangtze River Delta. This phenomenon is referred to as the Taihu Lake effect. In this study, two simulations were conducted to determine the impact of the Taihu Lake effect in the reference experiment （R-E） and sensitivity experiments （NO_TH）. The control simulations demonstrated that the meteorological field and the spatial distribution of ozone （03） concentrations over Taihu lake obviously changed once the land-use type of water body was substituted by cropland. The surface temperature of Taihu Lake was reduced under the impact of Taihu Lake, and a huge temperature difference caused a strong lake-breeze effect. The results also showed that the difference in the average concentrations of 03 between the R-E and NO_TH experiments reached 12 ppbv in most areas of Taihu Lake, all day, on 20 May 2014. During daytime （0800-1600 LST, LST=UTC＋8）, the influence of the Taihu Lake effect on 03 in the Suzhou region was not significant. However, the influence of the Taihu Lake effect on 03 in the Suzhou region was obvious during nighttime （1800-2400 LST）. The larger changes in the physical and chemical processes were horizontal and vertical advections under the influence of the Taihu Lake effect in Taihu Lake.

Seasonal Variations of CH_4 Emissions in the Yangtze River Delta Region of China Are Driven by Agricultural Activities

Developed regions of the world represent a major atmospheric methane(CH_4) source,but these regional emissions remain poorly constrained.The Yangtze River Delta(YRD) region of China is densely populated(about 16% of China's total population) and consists of large anthropogenic and natural CH_4 sources.Here,atmospheric CH_4 concentrations measured at a 70-m tall tower in the YRD are combined with a scale factor Bayesian inverse(SFBI) modeling approach to constrain seasonal variations in CH_4 emissions.Results indicate that in 2018 agricultural soils(AGS,rice production) were the main driver of seasonal variability in atmospheric CH_4 concentration.There was an underestimation of emissions from AGS in the a priori inventories(EDGAR—Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research v432 or v50),especially during the growing seasons.Posteriori CH_4 emissions from AGS accounted for 39%(4.58 Tg,EDGAR v432) to 47%(5.21 Tg,EDGAR v50) of the total CH_4 emissions.The posteriori natural emissions(including wetlands and water bodies) were1.21 Tg and 1.06 Tg,accounting for 10.1%(EDGAR v432) and 9.5%(EDGAR v50) of total emissions in the YRD in2018.Results show that the dominant factor for seasonal variations in atmospheric concentration in the YRD was AGS,followed by natural sources.In summer,AGS contributed 42%(EDGAR v432) to 64%(EDGAR v50) of the CH_4 concentration enhancement while natural sources only contributed about 10%(EDGAR v50) to 15%(EDGAR v432).In addition,the newer version of the EDGAR product(EDGAR v50) provided more reasonable seasonal distribution of CH_4 emissions from rice cultivation than the old version(EDGAR v432).

Monthly Variations of Atmospheric Circulations Associated with Haze Pollution in the Yangtze River Delta and North China

Haze pollution in early winter(December and January) in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD) and in North China(NC)are both severe;however, their monthly variations are significantly different. In this study, the dominant large-scale atmospheric circulations and local meteorological conditions were investigated and compared over the YRD and NC in each month. Results showed that the YRD(NC) is dominated by the so-called Scandinavia(East Atlantic/West Russia)pattern in December, and these circulations weaken in January. The East Asian December and January monsoons over the YRD and NC have negative correlations with the number of haze days. The local descending motion facilitates less removal of haze pollution over the YRD, while the local ascending motion facilitates less removal of haze pollution over NC in January, despite a weaker relationship in December. Additionally, the monthly variations of atmospheric circulations showed that adverse meteorological conditions restrict the vertical(horizontal) dispersion of haze pollution in December(January) over the YRD, while the associated local weather conditions are similar in these two months over NC.

A Modified Self-adaptive Method for Mapping Annual 30-m Land Use/Land Cover Using Google Earth Engine:A Case Study of Yangtze River Delta

Annual Land Use/Land Cover(LULC)change information at medium spatial resolution(i.e.,at 30 m)is used in applications ranging from land management to achieving sustainable development goals related to food security.However,obtaining annual LULC information over large areas and long periods is challenging due to limitations on computational capabilities,training data,and workflow design.Using the Google Earth Engine(GEE),which provides a catalog of multi-source data and a cloud-based environment,we developed a novel methodology to generate a high accuracy 30-m LULC cover map collection of the Yangtze River Delta by integrating free and public LULC products with Landsat imagery.Our major contribution is a hybrid approach that includes three major components:1)a high-quality training dataset derived from multi-source LULC products,filtered by k-means clustering analysis;2)a yearly 39-band stack feature space,utilizing all available Landsat data and DEM data;and 3)a self-adaptive Random Forest(RF)method,introduced for LULC classification.Experimental results show that our proposed workflow achieves an average classification accuracy of 86.33%in the entire Delta.The results demonstrate the great potential of integrating multi-source LULC products for producing LULC maps of increased reliability.In addition,as the proposed workflow is based on open source data and the GEE cloud platform,it can be used anywhere by anyone in the world.

Analysis of the Geomorphology and Environmental Geological Problems of Huzhou on the Yangtze River Delta

Geomorphically, Huzhou, which is on the Yangtze River delta is characterized mainly by plains, with small hills. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the environmental geological hazards both natural and those incurred by human activities in different morphologic units. The authors point out that most of the regional environmental geological problems in the natural geologic-morphologic conditions, such as crustal stability, foundation of soft soil, soil waterlogging and soil erosion, have insignificant effects to the society, or related countermeasures of prevention and control have been adopted. But environmental geological problems incurred by human being's economic activities become more and more severe, for example, water and soil pollution and land subsidence in plain areas resulting from overexploitation of groundwater, and landslides, karst collapses and water and soil loss etc. caused by quarrying in hilly areas.