This dissertation, "Biomarker Based Holocene Climatic Reconstruction in Northwestern China" by Yuxin, He, 何毓新, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Holocene hydrological changes in regions influenced by the mid-latitude westerly and the tropical/subtropical Asian monsoon differ from each other. The arid/semi-arid northeastern Tibetan Plateau, lying in between, is very sensitive to climatic changes. It thus becomes a climatologically important region to disentangle the interactions between the two circulations. Yet, limited high-quality Holocene paleoclimatic reconstructions are available in this region. This thesis presents multi-biomarker proxy records from lakes in the Qaidam Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau to investigate the nature of Holocene climate variability. Firstly, late-Holocene paired alkenone-based temperature (U_37 DEGREESK'' ) and moisture (%C37:4) records from Lake Gahai and Lake Sugan were reconstructed. Paired temperature and moisture records confirm the warm-dry (e.g. Medieval Warm Period) and cold-wet (e.g. Little Ice Age) periods on the arid northeastern Tibetan Plateau over the late Holocene, opposite to the warm-wet and cold-dry association in Asian monsoonal regions. The records also suggest substantially warmer and drier conditions during the Medieval Warm Period than the current warm period. Further, a possible link between solar forcing and natural climate variability (both temperature and moisture) during the late Holocene is found on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. This thesis also studied the late-Holocene grain size-based dust storm history from Lake Gahai to encode possible mechanism of dust storm interacting with hydrological parameters. Intensified dust storm events were identified in periods of 500 BC to 250 BC, 50 BC to AD 250 and AD 1100 to present. In multi-centennial to millennial scales, dust storm events might be caused by the intensified wind induced by strong westerlies or/and Asian winter monsoon. In multi-decadal to centennial scales, moisture and vegetation coverage might have impacted on the dust storm intensity and frequency. Further, Holocene lake level history of Lake Gahai was reconstructed by multiple n-alkane and alkenone proxies. Combined biomarker results provide unambiguous evidence of relatively low lake level at 7-2 ka, probably lowest at 6 ka. Considering the chronological uncertainty, Holocene lake level changes in this marginal region thus display a different pattern from either of the core regions dominated by the westerlies (anti-phase) and the Asian summer monsoon (out-of-phase). The temperature-induced evaporation in the arid marginal region could significantly affect regional hydrological balance, resulting in the discrepancy with the long-term decreasing trend in precipitation in Asian monsoon-dominated regions. Lastly, n-fatty acid δD variation from Lake Hurleg over the past 10.5 ka was investigated. The C26 δD and C16 δD values can indicate water δD changes in terrestrial and aquatic sources, respectively. The heavier C26 δD values during cold and wet conditions suggest that terrestrial water δD changes might be caused by factors other than temperature and moisture, such as glacial melted water input and vegetation type change. The difference between C16 δD and C26 δD was used as an indicator of evaporation at the lake surface. At millennial timescale, less evaporation occurred during cold-wet periods in this region. DOI: 10.5353/th_b5185924 Subjects: Paleoclimatology - China - Tsaidam Basin Paleoclimatology - Ho

This book is the first of its kind on environmental change research devoted to monsoon-arid environment evolution history and its mechanism involved. Capturing the most prominent features of Asian climate and environmental changes, it gives a comprehensive review of the Asian Monsoon records providing evidence for spatial and temporal climatic and environmental changes across the Asian continent since the Late Cenozoic. The dynamics underlying these changes are explored based on various bio-geological records and in particular based on the evidence of loess, speleothems as well as on mammal fossils. The Asian monsoon-arid climate system which quantifies the controlling mechanisms of climate change and the way it operates in different time scales is described. Attempts to differentiate between natural change and human-induced effects, which will help guide policies and countermeasures designed to support sustainable development on the Chinese Loess Plateau and the arid west.

Volcanic plumes, made up of material that has explosively erupted from a volcano, are of fundamental importance to volcanology because their deposits record the past activity of a volcano. They also pose a wide range of hazards to humans and can have significant environmental effects. This book integrates observation, theory, and experimental studies and contains recent research ideas and results.

How can we understand and rise to the environmental challenges of global change? One clear answer is to understand the science of global change, not solely in terms of the processes that control changes in climate and the composition of the atmosphere, but in how ecosystems and human society interact with these changes. In the last two decades of the twentieth century, a number of such research effortsâ€"supported by computer and satellite technologyâ€"have been launched. Yet many opportunities for integration remain unexploited, and many fundamental questions remain about the earth's capacity to support a growing human population. This volume encourages a renewed commitment to understanding global change and sets a direction for research in the decade ahead. Through case studies the book explores what can be learned from the lessons of the past 20 years and what are the outstanding scientific questions. Highlights include: Research imperatives and strategies for investigators in the areas of atmospheric chemistry, climate, ecosystem studies, and human dimensions of global change. The context of climate change, including lessons to be gleaned from paleoclimatology. Human responses toâ€"and forcing ofâ€"projected global change. This book offers a comprehensive overview of global change research to date and provides a framework for answering urgent questions.

Russia is a huge storehouse of natural resources, including oil, gas, and other energy sources, which she can trade with the rest of the world for advanced technology and wheat. In this book, leading experts evaluate the Soviet potential in major energy and industrial raw materials, giving special attention to implications for the world economy to the end of the twentieth century. The authors examine the mineral and forest resources that the Soviet Union has developed and may yet develop to provide exports during the 1980s. They discuss the regional dimension of these resources, especially in Siberia and the Soviet Far East; individual mineral raw materials, such as petroleum, natural gas, timber, iron ore, manganese, and gold; and finally the role of raw materials in Soviet foreign trade. The authors, representing the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, are primarily geographers, but they include economists, political scientists, and a geologist. Their work is based on primary sources (for most of these reports, current information is no longer being released to researchers) and on interviews with Soviet officials.

"Gallagher, Timothy O'Grady, Glenn Patterson, Patrick McCabe, and many others - offer creative reflections on Healy's work, while literary critics provide a wide-ranging foundation for future Healy scholarship. In total, over forty contributors. Writing the Sky: Observations and Essays on Dermot Healy is a comprehensive collection of critical essays, memoirs, poetry, and other writerly responses devoted to the life and work of the late Dermot Healy (1947-2014). Healy was an accomplished poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and editor, and so these essays and observations address the entire range of his eclectic and exciting oeuvre. While paying due tribute to the memory of the man himself, the collection primarily seeks to establish a series of important critical perspectives through which Healy's writings can be properly viewed and assessed. Contemporary writers and poets - including Colm Tóibín, Neil Jordan, Aidan Higgins, Alannah Hopkin, Kevin Barry, Annie Proulx, Michael Longley, Roddy Doyle, Tessors from more than a dozen countries provide insight into one of Ireland's most powerful and unique literary voices. This collection is absolutely crucial for everyone interested in the work of Dermot Healy and for all devotees of Irish literature" --