Response of Lake Environment to Climatic Changes on The Tibetan Plateau,Western China

The large-scale summer monsoon circulations of south Asia makes a strong impact on precipitation in the area of southwestern China including Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Yun-Gui Plateau.however,the monsoon is both spatially and temporally complex and smaller-scale circulations are forced by a variety of local or regional orographic effects,local or regional land-atmosphere or

Effects of Environmental Factors on NH_4^+ Release in Sediment from Chaohu Lake

[Objective] The aim of the research was to reveal the influence mechanism of sediment-water exchange of nutrients in Chaohu Lake. [Method] The effects of environmental factors (overlying water, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen concentration) on NH_4^+ release in sediment from Chaohu Lake were studied under controlled laboratory conditions. [Results] With the rising of temperature and the decrease of NH_4^+ concentration in overlying water, NH_4^+ released from sediment increased significantly. pH had a great effect on NH_4^+ release with a complicated mechanism. The largest release amount of NH_4^+ under anaerobic condition was about 6 times as much as that under aerobic condition. [Conclusion] This research would provide theoretical support for environmental management of Chaohu Lake in the project of leading water from the Yangtze River to Chaohu Lake.

Study on Environmental Capacity and Sustainable Development Strategy of Scenic Areas ——Taking the Scenic Area of Slender West Lake in Yangzhou for an Example

Taking the scenic area of Slender West Lake in Yangzhou for an example, the quantitative evaluation model of environmental capacity and impact factors limiting sustainable development of scenic area were put forward, and targeted control measures were correspondingly proposed.

Environmental changes during modern period from the record of Gaoyou Lake sediments, Jiangsu

Based on analysis of parameters of cores taken from Gaoyou Lake, including magnetic susceptibility, grain-size characteristics and sedimentary rate, environmental changes during the modern period were examined with the assistance of historical records and Gaoyou Lake water level materials. It is concluded that during the modern period a higher value of magnetic susceptibility and a lower sediment grain size coincided with a wet climate, while a lower value of magnetic susceptibility and a higher grain size were related with a dry climate. The results indicate that the climate in the 123 years period from 1880 to 2003AD can be divided into four stages： two low water level stages （1880-1915AD, 1948-1981AD） and two high water level stages （1915-1948AD, 1981-2003AD）. It appears that the regional climate generally underwent a dry-wet-dry-wet pattern in 30-year cycles. At present, it is at the end of a wet period, so the regional climate is expected to become dry in the near future. This conclusion corresponds with the climate records in the historical literature of the Gaoyou area, and it also matches with the climatic changes in North Jiangsu area.

Variation Characteristics of Water Environmental Capacity in Poyang Lake under the Scheduling of Three Gorges Reservoir

[Objective] The aim was to study the variation characteristics of water environmental capacity in Poyang Lake under the scheduling of Three Gorges Reservoir.[Method] Choosing chemical oxygen demand (COD),total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) as the control indexes of pollutants in Poyang Lake,the variation characteristics of water environmental capacity in Poyang Lake under the scheduling of Three Gorges Reservoir were analyzed based on the water environment mathematical models of organic compounds and nutrients.[Result] After the operation of Three Gorges Project,high water level in Poyang Lake lasted for a long time in flood season when Three Gorges Reservoir increased discharge volume,while water level went down obviously with the accelerating of recession flow when reservoir decreased discharge volume to store water,so Three Gorges Project had obvious effects on the hydrological regime of Poyang Lake.In 2009,when Three Gorges Reservoir stored water,the water environmental capacity of COD,TN and TP in Poyang Lake in October decreased by 14.0%,15.4% and 15.4% compared with those before operation,while they increased by 3.64%,4.88% and 4.88% in August when reservoir discharged water to prevent flood.[Conclusion] The study could provide scientific foundation for the water pollution control and water environment management of lakes.

Effects of environmentally friendly agricultural land protection programs: Evidence from the Lake Seyfe area of Turkey

fully supported by the Turkish Scientific Research Council （TUBITAK in Turkish, 110O747）

Study on Environmental Risk and Economic Benefits of Rotation Systems in Farmland of Erhai Lake Basin

This study was designed to find out an optimised planting system of reducing non-point （source） pollution by analyzing the reasons and the factors of influence non-point pollution in farmland of Erhai Lake basin. The results showed that incomes, residual nitrogen in soil, and the loss of nitrogen in surface water in rice-garlic system were higher than those in rice-fava bean system. There were positive correlations between the nitrogen loss of farmland, nitrogen inputs, residual nitrogen in soil, and incomes of farmland. Economic benefits and environment benefits are both appropriate, if the area of rice-garlic system would be reduced to 53% and the area of rice-fava bean system increased to 36% of total cropping area in the investigated watershed. Adjustment of planting structure and introduction of reasonable rotation systems is considered an effective measure of controlling agricultural non-point pollution in watersheds of Erhai Lake.

Environmental changes during the past 13500 cal. a BP deduced from lacustrine sediment records of Lake Qinghai, China

A 475-cm long sediment core (QH-2005) from Lake Qinghai was used to carry out multi-proxy analysis of δ18O and body length of ostracod valves and redness and grain size of sediments, in order to reconstruct environ-mental changes during the past 13500 cal. a BP. The age model was based on 6 14C dates for bulk orgnic carbon (BOC) and 2 14C dates for lignin. The lignin 14C dates are apparently younger than the corresponding layers' BOC 14C dates, indicating that the reservoir age varied from 728 to 1222 a since the Late Glacial and from 2390 to 2490 a immediately before the pre-bomb era. Hence, the 14C age model for Core QH-2005 was corrected by the changing reservoir age. Ostracod δ18O values were primarily related to dilution and evaporative enrichment of the lake water. The reconstructed salinity based on ostracod body length coincides well with ostracod δ18O values. High redness and mean grain size (MZ) values indicate increased riverine supply to Lake Qinghai associated with increasing monsoon rainfall. Multi-proxy results show that climate during 13500-10900 cal. a BP was relatively cold and dry with fre-quent short-term fluctuations; a warm and wet climate began at about 10900 cal. a BP and culminated around 6500 cal. a BP as a result of monsoon strengthening; the climate became cold and dry afterwards and has remained rela-tively stable since 3400 cal. a BP. Our data also reveal short-term (millennial/centennial timescales) climatic fluctua-tions including: Younger Dryas events, ice-rafting events 8 and 1 (by ～11000 cal. a BP and ～1600 cal. a BP respec-tively), 8200 cal. a BP cold event, Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period.

Analysis on the Influencing Factors and Comprehensive Management of Environmental Problems in Dongping Lake

[Objective]We aimed to study the influencing factors and comprehensive management of environmental problems in Dongping Lake.[Method]Based on field investigation and historical data,environmental problems of Dongping Lake and their influencing factors were analyzed,and seven measures about comprehensive management of environmental issues and ecological protection of Dongping Lake were put forward.[Result]During recent years,the content of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in Dongping Lake showed a decreasing trend,but the water was still in the eutrophic state.The environmental problems of Dongping Lake,like flood,drought and pollution,are closely linked to natural and man-made factors,such as regional seasonal precipitation,industrial and agricultural pollution,etc.In order to control the environmental problems of Dongping Lake,we should strengthen the construction and management of wetland nature reserves,develop ecological agriculture,establish an integral system for environmental monitoring and information management,reinforce propaganda and education to improve residents’ environmental consciousness,etc.[Conclusion]The research could provide scientific references for the comprehensive management of environmental problems in Dongping Lake and its basin.

The alternative saline lake ecosystem states and adaptive environmental management

Our sustainable environmental management must be based on adequate ecological concepts. The question arises: what concept is better to use for understanding and management of ecosystems? To look for an answer, we concentrate our attention on saline lakes. Every ecosystem has several alternative stable states and may demonstrate regime shifts, which are large, abrupt, persistent changes in the structure and function of a system. To understand the dynamics of ecosystems the Concept of Multiplicity of Ecosystem Alternative Stable States as a new ecological paradigm has been developed recently. The author analyzes the emerging paradigm using the case of saline lakes, and discusses how to base our adaptive environmental management on the developing paradigm. Different issues of development of the concept and its application to salinology as a scientific basis of an integrated management of a saline lake and its watershed are discussed. The concept may serve as one of the key theoretical elements of the scientific basis in sustainable environmental management.

R/S Analyses of Some Geochemical Indexes for Tianshuihai Lake Core in West Kunlun Mountain and Their Environmental Implications

With the decrease of global temperature, glacial epoch came over the earth and global climate fluctuated over a great range since the beginning of Quaternary. Paleoclimotologists of various countries have focussed attention to the periodic characteristics and dynamics of climatic fluctuation in the past many years (Berger, 1977; Imbrie and Hays, 1984; Ding Zhongli et al., 1990; Yu Zhiwei et al., 1992; Liu Youmei et al., 1996). Although some of the workers have paid their attention to the nonlinear characteristics of the global Quaternary environmental evolution (Nicolis and Nicolis, 1984; Lu Houyuan et al., 1993), it is worth while to do this kind of work in some special areas in the world, for example the Qinghai\|Tibet Plateau.\; Using R/S analysis, the authors calculated the Hurst indexes H of some geochemical proxies, including organic carbon, FeO, Fe\-2O\-3 and FeO/ Fe\-2O\-3, from the Tianshuihai Lake core in West Kunlun Mountain of the Qinghai\|Tibet Plateau. The proxies satisfy the Hurst law with H\-\{org.carbon\}=0.735, H\-\{Fe\-2O\-3\}=0.757, H\-\{FeO\}=0.848 and H\-\{FeO/Fe\-2O\-3\}=0.646. All the indexes are greater than 0.5, meaning that from 240 to 15 ka B.P., there were some long\|run dependencies\|persistence in the climatic and environmental evolution around the Tianshuihai Lake area. This is in accordance with the climate there from 240 to 15 ka B.P. (Yu Suhua et al., 1996). The paleo\|climate and paleo\|environment evolution around the Tianshuihai Lake area is of persistence as well as of fluctuation and is a combination of these two components. There are some differences between the four Hurst indexes, which probably resulted from the different intensities of persistence of the four proxies, organic carbon, FeO, Fe\-2O\-3 and FeO/ Fe\-2O\-3, or from the change of drainage system around the Tianshuihai Lake area from openness to closeness(Li Bingyuan et al., 1991; Sun Honglie, 1996; Shi Yafeng et al., 1998).\; The Qinghai\|Tibet plateau was the starter and sensor of the climatic and environmental variation of the surrounding areas (Yao Tandong et al., 1991; Feng Song et al., 1998) and some other scientists even regarded it as the driver and amplifier of global climatic variations (Pan Baotian and Li Jijun, 1996). The persistence in which the climate and environment around the Tianshuihai Lake area evolved from 240 to 15 ka B.P. is probably a function of the continuous uplift of the plateau in the same period of time.

Sea level change and environmental evolution of coastal lakes in Vestfold Hills, Antarctica

Ecological and palaeoecological studies were carried out in a series of lakes in the Vestfold Hills (68°38′S, 78°06′E) on eastern Antarctic continent. Dynamics types of the lakes in environmental geomorphology and physic chemistry, as well as features of biological community structures in different lakes were analyzed. Marine macro and micro fossils collected from the terraces and beaches surrounding these lakes and determined in 14 C radiocarbon ages to be the Late Pleistocene, were used as evidences to show the evolutionary processes of the lakes after sea level changes and transgressions since 18000 a B.P.. Basic modals of evolution for the lakes given in the paper could be regarded as not only explaining the history of environmental and ecological changes in VH lakes, and also reflecting of local environmental evolution in Antarctic region and global climate changes from past to present time.

Preparation of Eco-environmental Protection Bricks from Lake Sludge

Eco-environmental protection hollow bricks manufactured from lake sludge collected from North Lake in Wuhan of China were investigated. At first, the recipes of round sam- pies（diameter in 5 cm and thickness in 1 cm） prepared by pressing molding under a pressure of 8 MPa and firing system were optimized, and properties such as bending strength, compressive strength, total shrinkage rate, water adsorption rate, apparent porosity and bulk density of the fired samples were tested. The experimental results showed that water adsorption rate and apparent porosity decreased, while bulk density increased with firing temperature increasing. Addition of additive can result in the improvement of strength of fired samples. At the same time, fly ash and additive may also broaden the firing temperature range and reduce firing temperature. Toxic characteristic leaching procedure （TLCP） tests of samples also show that the metal leaching level is low. The conditions for manufacturing good quality sample include 80% sludge with 10% additive and 10% flyash fired at 1000 ℃ for 60 min. Bending strength and compressive strength of samples prepared under the conditions are 24.64 MPa, 131.95 MPa, respectively,which are far beyond the requirements of clay solid bricks of CNS. Finally, according to the optimized recipe,the eco-environmental protection hollow bricks with the sizes of 40 mm × 38 mm ×25 mm were made and tested by extrusion molding. Compared with the Chinese National Standards （CNS： GB 13545-2003）, compressive strength, water adsorption and bulk denstiy of the hollow bricks are 11.55 MPa ,14.5% and 986 kg/m^3 when they were fired at 1040 ℃, which are far beyond the require of of CNS. Especially, its water adsorption arrives to standard of high-class products（16.0%） and compressive strength is above the hightest class（MU 10.0）.

The significance of lake sediments geochemistry in environmental reconstruction of south Hongshan Lake, northwestern Tibetan Plateau during the past 150 years

A 107cm piston-core (SHC-2) was drilled at the site with water depth of 5m in South Hongshan Lake, northwest Tibet in 1998. Based upon the 0.72cm/a of modern sedimentary rate that was tested by 210Pb method and also calibrated by 137Cs method as well as the 1cm interval sample cutting level, a lake sedimentary record of 150-yr old and with a resolution of 1.4 yrs was obtained. Ratio of geochemistry contents (TOC, TN, CaCO3) and concentrations of trace elements such as B, Sr, Ba, Ca, Mg, K, Na, Al, Ti, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr, V, Pb, etc were analyzed. The values of TOC, TN, C/N, CaCO3, Sr/Ba and Fe/Mn had clear environmental significance and well reflected the environmental changes. Geochemical multi-proxies of lacustrine sediments from SHC-2 core showed that the environmental changes in this area during the past 150 years could be reconstructed as follows: Stage 1 (1850s-1880s) was a cold period; Stage 2 (1880s-1920s) was a warm period. But the variation of lake water volume was stable in the two periods. Stage 3 (1920s-1950s) was a fluctuant and transitional period in temperature, but there were a short cold period in the 1920s and a warm period in the 1930s. Stage 4 (1950s-) showed a warming tendency, though there existed a cold period from the mid 1970s to the end of the 1980s. In the view of general trend in the past 150 years, South Hongshan Lake was shrinking gradually. It showed that, from the comparison with the Guliya ice core and meteorological records of adjacent weather stations, there is difference in the variations of temperature and precipitation among different regions and altitudes in Tibetan Plateau. It is necessary to search multi-scale and high-resolution records for environmental reconstruction and comparison.

A Fresh Look at the Geobiology & Sedimentary Environments of the Hypersaline Great Salt Lake,USA

1 Introduction The Great Salt Lake(GSL)is the defining hydrological feature of the Great Basin,North America’s largest desert--and it is the largest waterbody in the western USA.Despite the early(Eardley,1938)recognition of"bioherms,"algal layers,and mats covering hundreds of square km of lake area,these features have not been the

Water Pollution and Environmental Governance of the Tai and Chao Lake Basins in China in an International Perspective

The Tai and Chao Lake basins are currently facing a serious water pollution crisis associated with the absence of an effective environmental governance system. The water pollution and the water governance system of the two basins will be compared. The reasons for water pollution in both basins are similar, namely the weak current water environmental governance system cannot deal with the consequences of the rapidly growing economy. China’s water governance system is a complicated combination of basin management with both departmental management and regional management. There is an absence of legal support and sound coordination mechanisms, resulting in fragmented management practices in the existing water environmental governance system. A comparison is made for the Tai and Chao Lake basins and Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Based on China’s present central-local governance structure and departmental system, an integrated reform of basin level and water environmental governance in China should learn from international experiences. The reforms could consist of improved governance structures, rebuilding authoritative and powerful agencies for basin management, strengthening the organizational structure of the basin administrations, improving legislation and regulatory systems for basin management and enhancing public participation mechanisms.

Sedimentary Records and Environmental Analysis of the Ximencuo Lake in Northeast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the Past 1,700 Years

Lake sediment is the recorder of historical climate fluctuation and basin environment change. This study collected the Ximencuo Lake sediment in source area of the Yellow River, analyzed organic matters and geochemical elements of the core, obtained nearly environment changes of the past 1,720 years. The results showed the environment evolution process of the 47-cm columnar core can be divided into four stages: below 32 cm(before 900 A.D.), corresponding to the cool and wet climate; 32–20 cm(900 A.D–1300 A.D.), corresponding to the warming temperature and decreasing precipitation; between 20–3.5 cm(1300–1900 A.D.), the stage is more consistent with the Little Ice Age, and precipitation gradually reduced; 3.5–0 cm(since 1900 A.D.), this is the twentieth Century warming period with increasing temperature and reduced precipitation. Phosphorus content increased rapidly in the last 20 years, reflecting the continuously increasing human interventions, but before this period, the P content was low and stable, indicating the natural background of regional phosphorus content.

西藏扎布耶盐湖锂矿开发的环境影响研究

扎布耶盐湖是世界上独一无二的自然结晶碳酸锂的盐湖,是西藏目前规模最大的运用太阳池技术工业生产碳酸锂的盐湖。开展锂矿开发对环境影响的综合研究有利于合理有序开发盐湖资源。利用野外实地调查与遥感卫星技术,对扎布耶盐湖开发的环境影响进行了系统研究。结果表明,环境影响方式主要表现为资源损毁、地质灾害和水土气等方面;影响范围主要分布在道路、生活办公区、盐田、太阳池、采土区、引、排卤渠等地方,影响面积约16 km^(2),仅占矿区面积的5.37%;扎布耶盐湖矿区对环境的破坏是局部的、可控的。提出利用本地植物进行土地复垦、采用土工膜防止渠道渗透和用黏土填补塌陷、修建墙壁隔绝土气的盐碱化、通过增加管道实现南北湖水的有效交换、建立长期监测预警等建议,为扎布耶盐湖的绿色可持续开发提供参考依据。

Ecology features of coastal saline lakes related to environmental evolution in the area of Antarctic continental ice edge

An investigation has been made on the ecology of some saline lakes in the Vestfold Hills (60°38′S, 78°06′E), East Antarctica. The results indicate that changes of natural environment and physico chemical factors, as well as the variation and evolution of biological species do occur in some lakes. This can be attributed to seasonal and local climate changes and geographic differences in this regions. These findings are believed to be indicative to the effects from the processes of globle climate change, ice sheet retreat, and isostatic uplift, are presently occuring, and a study of the chemistry and biology of these Antarctic lakes may be a significant means of monitoring effects of global climate change in the Antarctic.