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Evaporation from global oceans is an important moisture source for glaciers and headwaters of major Asian rivers in the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Although the accelerated global hydrological cycle, the altered sea–land thermal contrast and the amplified warming rate over the TP during the past several decades are known to have profound effects on the regional water balance, the spatial distribution of oceanic moisture contributions to the vast TP remains unclear. This hinders the accurate quantification of regional water budgets and the reasonable interpretation of water isotope records from observations and paleo archives. Based on historical data and moisture tracking, this study systematically quantifies the absolute and relative contributions of oceanic moisture to long-term precipitation in the TP. Results show that the seasonal absolute and relative oceanic contributions are generally out of phase, revealing the previously underestimated oceanic moisture contributions brought by the westerlies in winter and the overestimated moisture contributions from the Indian Ocean in summer. Quantitatively, the relative contribution of moisture from the Indian Ocean is only ∼30 % in the south TP and further decreases to below 10 % in the northernmost TP. The absolute oceanic contribution exhibits a spatial pattern consistent with the dipole pattern of long-term precipitation trends across the Brahmaputra Canyon region and the central-northern TP. In comparison, relative oceanic contributions show strong seasonal patterns associated with the seasonality of precipitation isotopes across the TP.

Precipitation changes in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) play a critical role in the operation and regulation of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) and the protection of residents and properties. The potential impacts of the TGD on local and regional circulation patterns, especially the precipitation patterns, have received considerable attention since its construction. However, how the moisture transport affects precipitation changes in the TGRR spatially and temporally remains obscure. In this study, we investigate the long-term moisture sources of precipitation and their contributions to precipitation changes over the TGRR using an atmospheric moisture tracking model. Results suggest that although there is seasonal variation, the moisture contributing to the TGRR precipitation primarily originates from the areas southwest of the TGRR dominated by the Indian summer monsoon. In particular, the sources with the highest annual moisture contribution are the southwestern part of the Yangtze River basin and the southeastern tip of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). On average, 41 %, 56 %, and 3 % of the TGRR precipitation originates from ocean, land, and local recycling, respectively. In addition, the decreased precipitation over the TGRR during 1979–2015 is mainly attributed to the significantly decreased moisture contribution from the source regions southwest of the TGRR (especially around the southeastern tip of the TP). Compared to dry years, the higher precipitation in the TGRR during wet years is contributed by the extra moisture from the southwestern source regions that is delivered by the intensified southwesterly monsoon winds.

Evaporation from global oceans is an important moisture source of glaciers and headwaters of major Asia rivers in the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Although recent accelerated global hydrological cycle, altered sea-land thermal contrast, and amplified warming rate over the TP are known to have profound effects on the regional water balance, the contribution of oceanic evaporation, in particular its spatial variability over the vast TP, remains unclear. The lack of such knowledge hinders an accurate quantification of regional water budgets and the reasonable interpretation of water isotope records from observations and paleo archives. Based on historical data and moisture tracking, this study systematically quantifies the absolute and relative contributions of oceanic moisture to the long-term TP precipitation. Results show that seasonal absolute and relative oceanic contributions are generally out of phase, revealing previously overlooked oceanic moisture contributions to the TP in winter as dominated by the westerlies and overestimated moisture contribution from the Indian Ocean in summer. Especially, the relative contribution of moisture from Indian Ocean is only ~30 % in the southern TP and further decreases to below 10 % in the northern TP. Absolute oceanic contributions explain the dipole pattern of long-term precipitation trends across the southern slope of the Himalayas and the central-northern TP. In comparison, the seasonality of relative oceanic contribution is associated with that of precipitation isotopes across the TP.

Nitrogen pollution caused serious environmental problems in reservoir ecosystems. Reducing nitrogen pollution by enhancing nitrogen removal in river sediments deserved intensive research. Distributions of nitrogen contents in sediment-water interface were characterized along the Xiangxi bay (XXB), a eutrophic tributary in Three Gorges Reservoir, China. More than 47% of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and 67% of total organic nitrogen (TON) were degraded during burial. Higher TN, TON and NH

With the on-going boom in the construction of dam reservoirs all over the world, the sources and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in fluvial networks are expected to be altered. Considering the importance of DOM as a key biogeochemical component in inland waters, this might bring important ecological and environmental influences. However, limited information is available on the molecular composition of DOM in dam reservoirs. In this study, the spatial characteristics of DOM composition were investigated in Xiangxi tributary and mainstream of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), the largest freshwater reservoir in the world. The concentration alteration of conservative cations revealed the water intrusion from mainstream into Xiangxi tributary, which mainly controlled the hydrological gradient. One tyrosine-like (C4), one tryptophan-like (C2), and two humic-like (C1 and C3) fluorescent components were identified in fluorescent DOM (FDOM) by parallel factor analysis (PAFACAC), potentially indicating algal, anthropogenic, and terrestrial inputs, respectively. Decreasing trends of C1, C3 and C4 components and an increasing trend of C2 component were observed from Xiangxi tributary to mainstream, indicating higher terrestrial and algal inputs but lower anthropogenic inputs in Xiangxi tributary compared to mainstream. The Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) characterization further revealed substantial heterogeneity of DOM at the molecular level. Interestingly, S-containing compounds related to synthetic surfactants were consistently detected, and their relative abundances showed an increasing trend from Xiangxi tributary to mainstream, in agreement with the distribution of the anthropogenic derived C2 component. Meanwhile, numerous lignin-like S-containing compounds were identified, likely the result of the incorporation of sulfide ions to lignin-like CHO compounds. This study represents the first molecular level characterization of DOM in the TGR system, which should aid the design and implementation of more detailed future studies.

A field campaign was carried out to investigate continuous diel methane (CH4) flux from a subtropical eutrophic pond in November 2016. The diffusive methane flux of a single measurement had a range from 2.68 × 10−5 to 0.028 mmol·m−2·h−1 with an average of 0.011 ± 0.005 mmol·m−2·h−1. The diffusive methane flux of measurements from 9:00 to 10:30 and from 21:00 to 22:30 were very close to the average diffusive flux of all measurements. The bubble methane flux at different time measurements had much more variability than the diffusive methane flux. The bubble methane flux of a single measurement had a range from 0 to 0.312 mmol·m−2·h−1 with an average of 0.024 ± 0.054 mmol·m−2·h−1. For the eutrophic pond, the average bubble and diffusive CH4 flux were 0.56 ± 0.18 and 0.26 ± 0.04 mmol·m−2·day−1, respectively, and the CH4 ebullition flux accounted for 68.23% of the total flux. The maximum of the bubble CH4 flux was about 4.6 times of the minimum CH4 ebullition. The maximum of diffusive CH4 flux was ~ 1.7 times of the corresponding minimum. The diffusive methane fluxes in daytime and nighttime were almost equal. However, the bubble methane flux in daytime was 0.029 mmol·m−2·h−1, which was 1.6 times of that at night. Wind speed, the surface water temperature, and DO dominate methane effluxes from the pond, and the latter is in nature subjected to the metabolism of algae in the pond. However, key environmental factors which dominate gas flux processes vary with different weather conditions. Wind speed is unimportant when it is extremely low.

Precipitation change in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) plays a critical role in the operation and regulation of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) as well as the protection of residents and properties. The potential impacts of the TGD on local and regional circulation patterns, especially the precipitation patterns, have received considerable attention since its construction. However, how the moisture transport affects the precipitation change in the TGRR spatially and temporally remains obscure. In this study, we investigate the long-term moisture sources of precipitation as well as their contributions to the precipitation change over the TGRR using an atmospheric moisture tracking model. Results suggest that although with seasonal variation, the moisture contributing to the TGRR precipitation primarily originate from the areas southwest of the TGRR dominated by the Indian summer monsoon. In particular, the sources with the highest annual moisture contribution are the southwestern part of the Yangtze River Basin and the southeastern tip of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). On average, 41 %, 56 %, and 3 % of the TGRR precipitation originate from ocean, land, and local recycling, respectively. In addition, the decreased precipitation over the TGRR during 1979–2015 is mainly attributed to the significantly decreased moisture contribution from the source regions southwest of the TGRR (especially around the southeastern tip of the TP). Compared to dry years, the higher precipitation in the TGRR during wet years is contributed by the extra moisture from the southwestern source regions delivered by the intensified southwesterly monsoon winds.

Ponds play a critical role in biogeochemical carbon cycling and have been identified as hot spots of methane (CH4) emission. Yet, most existing studies focused on ponds in the boreal zone and current estimates of the relevance of ponds in global CH4 budgets as well as knowledge of the environmental factors regulating their emissions are poorly constrained. Both nutrient concentration and temperature can potentially alter CH4 dynamics in shallow ponds, but there are still few investigations into the response of CH4 emission to nutrient enrichment and rising temperatures. Here we studied the magnitude and regulation of two CH4 pathways (diffusion and ebullition) from a shallow and eutrophic pond located in the subtropical zone in Central China. Ebullitive fluxes were on average 96.4 mg CH4 m−2 d−1 and contributed 88.6 % to the total (diffusive + ebullition) CH4 emissions. Daily CH4 fluxes were related to daily mean water temperature, with ebullition having a stronger temperature dependence than diffusion (Q10 of 5.52 vs. 2.05). Relationships between temperature and CH4 emission were affected by seasonal variation of the concentration of total phosphorus. The temperature dependence of both ebullitive and diffusive fluxes increased with increasing phosphorous concentration. Our study highlights that increasing eutrophication by anthropogenic impacts and climate warming will increase CH4 emissions from ponds, thus representing a positive feedback mechanism to global warming.

Background Seasonal variations of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in river water can be used to indicate hydrological processes and the water cycle in the river basin. This study presents a high-resolution time series of stable oxygen isotopic record (δ18O) in the lower Changjiang (Yangtze) River mainstream and aims to investigate the regional water cycle concerning natural climate changes and anthropogenic activities. Results The river water δ18O shows apparent seasonal variations, which is overall higher during the dry season and lower during the flood season. This basin-scale seasonal variation of δ18O in precipitation over the Changjiang catchment is calculated based on the long-term meteorological and hydrological data. The seasonal variation of δ18O in the lower Changjiang river water is largely constrained by monsoon-induced precipitation, but is more directly controlled by the mixing of waters from the upper reaches and the tributary lakes in the middle valley. Conclusions The relative contributions of waters from the upstream and tributary lakes to the lower Changjiang mainstream have been considerably altered by the construction of Three Gorges Dam via the regulation of river discharges. A comparison of river water isotopic records with water discharges from the lakes suggests that it takes about 2 weeks (~ 17 days) for the Changjiang river water to circumvent the mid-lower reaches of the catchment before traveling to the sea. This study suggests that the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes can be harnessed as sensitive indicators for water cycling within a large catchment that is driven primarily by natural forcing though subject to substantial human impacts.

Biogenic methane (CH4) emissions from inland waters contribute substantially to global warming. In aquatic systems, CH4 dissolved in freshwater lakes and reservoirs is highly heterogeneous both in space and time. To better understand the biological and physical processes that affect sources and sinks of CH4 in lakes and reservoirs, dissolved CH4 needs to be measured with a highest temporal resolution. To achieve this goal, we developed the Fast-Response Automated Gas Equilibrator (FaRAGE) for real-time in situ measurement of dissolved CH4 concentration at the water surface and in the water column. FaRAGE can achieve an exceptionally short response time (t95 % = 12 s when including the response time of the gas analyzer) while retaining an equilibration ratio of 63 % and a measurement accuracy of 0.5 %. An equilibration ratio as high as 91.8 % can be reached at the cost of a slightly increased response time (16 s). The FaRAGE is capable of continuously measuring dissolved CH4 concentrations in the nM-to-mM (10−9–10−3 mol L−1) range with a detection limit of sub-nM (10−10 mol L−1), when coupled with a cavity ring-down greenhouse gas analyzer (Picarro GasScouter). It enables the possibility of mapping dissolved CH4 concentration in a quasi three-dimensional manner in lakes. The FaRAGE is simple to operate, inexpensive, and suitable for continuous monitoring with a strong tolerance to suspended particles. The easy adaptability to other gas analyzers such as Ultra-portable Los Gatos and stable isotopic gas analyzer (Picarro G2132-i) also provides the potential for many further applications, e.g. measuring dissolved 13δC-CH4 and CO2.

Methane (CH4) emissions from freshwater aquatic systems such as rivers and reservoirs are an important component of the global methane budget. However, the estimation can be largely affected by the spatial and temporal resolutions of measurements. Especially, the lack of high-resolution studies in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), one of the largest reservoirs in the world, has led to a longstanding debate on its CH4 emissions. In this study, the spatial distribution and seasonal variations of dissolved CH4 concentrations were measured using a fast-response automated gas equilibrator in the TGR. We observed large spatiotemporal variations of dissolved CH4 (mean ± SD: 0.26 ± 0.19 μM in summer and 0.24 ± 0.17 μM in winter). Higher concentrations with stronger variations were found in the upstream than in the section close to the Three Gorges Dam. The dissolved CH4 concentration in the TGR was mainly influenced by sewage discharge, sedimentation, topographical conditions, tributaries, and spatial and seasonal variations in hydrodynamics. Regression analyses suggest that the concentration can be characterized by sewage discharge, water depth, and electrical conductivity to a certain extent. Mean diffusive CH4 fluxes from the TGR in summer and winter were 16.2 mg m−2 d−1 and 3.1 mg m−2 d−1, respectively. Downsampling simulations show that scaling dissolved CH4 in the TGR from one site likely involves large errors, and at least ∼38 sites and ∼52–58 sites are needed to achieve an accurate estimate in summer and winter, respectively. Due to the large spatial and temporal heterogeneity, high-resolution measurements are key to improving the reliability of CH4 estimates and assessing the contribution of the TGR to regional and global CH4 budgets.

As one of the most dynamic and reactive compound pools, DOM plays a crucial part in various biochemical processes such as element cycling and nutrient export. Although the reservoir DOM has been investigated extensively, the variation of DOM between reservoir area and non-reservoir area induced by reservoir construction is not comprehensively assessed. By the combination of a series of complementary techniques including stable carbon isotope, optical spectroscopy, and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry, here we show that hydrological alterations induced by Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) construction were responsible for the variation in DOM molecular composition between reservoir area and non-reservoir area in Xiangxi tributary. With water intrusion from mainstream induced by reservoir construction and operation, reservoir area had relatively higher terrestrial input and more recalcitrant DOM than those in the non-reservoir area with limited influence of reservoir operation, whereas, relatively more autochthonous source and higher molecular lability of DOM were observed in the non-reservoir area. The water intrusion from mainstream to tributaries induced by reservoir construction is likely the main factor controlling DOM variation between reservoir area and non-reservoir area, and might devote to the organic carbon burial in the reservoir. This research provides new insight into spatial variations of riverine DOM composition induced by reservoir construction, underlining the important role of the reservoir in DOM cycling.

A multiproxy approach including bulk organic carbon, δ13C, lignin phenols, and lipid biomarker analyses were applied to characterize the source and composition of sedimentary organic matter in the head part of Three Gorges Reservoir. OM consisted of both natural (autochthonous and allochthonous) and anthropogenic inputs. The natural OM included input from vascular plants, especially non-woody angiosperms. The allochthonous input included plankton and microbial production, likely due to localized eutrophication. Anthropogenic inputs likely derived from petroleum input and/or urban activities. Other anthropogenic inputs were untreated sewage waste. These influences were concluded to be regionally specific point sources of pollution based on relative distributions and on the fact that molecular characteristics of sedimentary OM were not distributed smoothly along a gradient.

Background Seasonal variations of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in river water can be used to indicate hydrological processes and the water cycle in the river basin. This study presents a high-resolution time series of stable oxygen isotopic record (δ 18 O) in the lower Changjiang (Yangtze) River mainstream and aims to investigate the regional water cycle concerning natural climate changes and anthropogenic activities.Results The river water δ 18 O shows apparent seasonal variations, which in overall higher during the dry season and lower during the flood season. This basin-scale seasonal variation of δ 18 O in precipitation over the Changjiang catchment is calculated based on the long-term meteorological and hydrological data. The seasonal variation of δ 18 O in the lower Changjiang river water is largely constrained by monsoon-induced precipitation, but are more directly controlled by the mixing of waters from the upper reaches and the tributary lakes in the middle valley.Conclusions The relative contributions of waters from the upstream and tributary lakes to the lower Changjiang mainstream have been considerably altered by the construction of Three Gorges Dam via the regulation of river discharges. A comparison of river water isotopic records with water discharges from the lakes suggests that it takes about two weeks (~17 days) for the Changjiang river water to circumvent the mid-lower reaches of the catchment before traveling to the sea. This study suggests that the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes can be harnessed as sensitive indicators for water cycling within a large catchment that is driven primarily by natural forcing though subject to substantial human impacts.

Precipitation simulation and projection in global climate models (GCMs) play an important role in regional water resource management. Since multiple climate simulations from CMIP6 are already available, we evaluated the precipitation performance over the Yangtze River basin (YRB) from 18 models against observations during 1961–2014, before using the relevant simulations for scientific investigation and policy making. Our results suggest that CMIP6 models generally capture the increasing pattern of precipitation from the source region to the lower reaches of the YRB. However, most models overestimate precipitation (wet bias), by about 28.6% for multi-model ensemble mean (MEM). Spatially, the most significant wet bias could reach 70.1% in the source region. Seasonally, the wet bias is more pronounced in the cold season (56.2% in winter and 45.1% in spring). For precipitation change during 1961–2014, most models reproduce the observed increasing trend in the most northwest YRB, but they display large spatial discrepancies in the other regions. In CMIP6 projections (2015–2099), the precipitation over the YRB keep a consistently increasing trend under both scenarios SSP1-2.6 (14.76 mm/10a) and SSP5-8.5 (22.47 mm/10a). From near term (2015–2060) to long term (2061–2099), this wetting trend slows down under SSP1-2.6, but it accelerates under SSP5-8.5.

Aquatic systems are sources of greenhouse gases on different scales, however the uncertainty of gas fluxes estimated using popular methods are not well defined. Here we show that greenhouse gas fluxes across the air-water interface of seas and inland waters are significantly underestimated by the currently used static floating chamber (SFC) method. We found that the SFC CH4 flux calculated with the popular linear regression (LR) on changes of gas concentration over time only accounts for 54.75% and 35.77% of the corresponding real gas flux when the monitoring periods are 30 and 60 min respectively based on the theoretical model and experimental measurements. Our results do manifest that nonlinear regression models can improve gas flux estimations, while the exponential regression (ER) model can give the best estimations which are close to true values when compared to LR. However, the quadratic regression model is proved to be inappropriate for long time measurements and those aquatic systems with high gas emission rate. The greenhouse gases effluxes emitted from aquatic systems may be much more than those reported previously, and models on future scenarios of global climate changes should be adjusted accordingly.

Reservoirs are well known as a far-reaching human modification on the functions of natural river networks. However, changes in the chemistry and reactivity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) responding to hydrological management for water retention structures, and its influence on the river carbon cycle, remain poorly understood. Here we show that hydrological management does shape the molecular composition of DOM in the world's largest Three Gorges Reservoir, as revealed by optical spectroscopy and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry. Relatively higher terrestrial input, molecular complexity, isomeric complexity, and environmental stability of DOM were observed during the storage period, whereas the inverse occurred during the drainage period. The results demonstrate that the hydrodynamic processes, which are mainly controlled by water intrusion from mainstream to tributaries, are likely the underlying mechanism controlling DOM chemistry. Integrated with observations from worldwide river reservoirs, the DOM degradation experiments suggest that reservoir hydrological management would enhance DOM mineralization, thereby increase CO2 emission and change the river carbon cycle.

The Lancang River and Nu River are parallel rivers located in southwestern China; while the Lancang River has several dams, the Nu River has none. To explore the impacts of cascade reservoirs on the grain size and mineral composition of fine sediments, 9 fine sediment samples from the Nu River and 29 samples from the Lancang River were collected and tested. The results indicate that in the free-flowing reaches (FFRs) of the Lancang River, the sediment grain sizes fined systematically and the mineral compositions varied slightly, and these results were similar to those of the Nu River without dams along the whole mainstream. In the regulated reaches (RRs) of the Lancang River, the sediment grain sizes and mineral compositions indicated discontinuous fluctuations due to the dams trapping. In the reservoir head areas, the sediments were composed of fine silt or medium silt with 50% clay minerals, but the sediments immediately downstream of the dams were fine sand or medium sand with 71% quartz and feldspar. The relative abundance of each mineral was altered differently by passing through the RRs: quartz, chlorite, and illite increased by 13%, 33% and 20%, respectively, while feldspar and calcite decreased by 26% and 80%, respectively, and dolomite and pyrite were completely trapped in the cascade reservoirs. All these common minerals may be replenished except pyrite, which originates from mining areas in the Lancang subbasin.

The amounts and forms of phosphorus (P) in sediments, orthophosphate (Pi) concentrations as well as Pi release fluxes across the sediment-water interface were investigated from five sampling sites in the Three-Gorges Reservoir (TGR). The Total P (TP) contents of surface sediments (0-2 cm) ranged from 415.5 to 1047.9 mg/kg, and the predominant fraction was HCl-P (Ca-bound P). The main rank order of P-fractions was HCl-P > Res-P (Residual-P) > NaOH-P (Al-adsorbed P) > BD-P (Redox sensitive P) > NH4Cl-P (Labile P), and ranged from 164.5 to 687.2 mg/kg, 96.0 to 140.8 mg/kg, 75.8 to 111.5 mg/kg, 34.0 to 104.8 mg/kg, and 5.9 to 15.9 mg/kg, respectively. The pH values ranged from 6.4 to 8.2 across sediment-water interface and sediment pH values were lower than those of the corresponding overlying water. The average Pi concentrations of pore water were higher than those of the open water and overlying water. Based on calculations using the Fick's first law, sediment in Xiangxi River (XX03) functioned as a P sink, with Pi flux of -0.003 mg/m^2/d, while sediments from Modaoxi03 (MDX03), Daning02 (DN02), Caotanghe (CTH) and Changjiang Badong (CJBD), had Pi fluxes of 0.013 mg/m^2/d, 0.009 mg/m^2/d, 0.004 mg/m^2/d and 0.007 mg/m^2/d, respectively, and served as an internal P source in summer.

Two diel field campaigns under different weather patterns were carried out in the summer and autumn of 2013 to measure CO 2 and CH 4 fluxes and to probe the rates of gas exchange across the air–water interface in a subtropical eutrophic pond in China. Bubble emissions of CH 4 accounted for 99.7 and 91.67% of the total CH 4 emission measured at two sites in the summer; however, no bubble was observed in the autumn. The pond was supersaturated with CO 2 and CH 4 during the monitoring period, and the saturation ratios (i.e. observed concentration/equilibrium concentration) of CH 4 were much higher than that of CO 2 . Although the concentration of dissolved CO 2 in the surface water collected in the autumn was 1.24 times of that in the summer, the mean diffusive CO 2 flux across the water–air interface measured in the summer is almost twice compared with that in the autumn. The mean concentration of dissolved CH 4 in the surface water in the autumn was around half of that in the summer, but the mean diffusive CH 4 flux in the summer is 4–5 times of that in the autumn. Our data showed that the variation in gas exchange rate was dominated by differences in weather patterns and primary production. Averaged k 600 -CO 2 and k 600 -CH 4 (the gas transfer velocity normalised to a Schmidt number of 600) were 0.65 and 0.55 cm/h in the autumn, and 2.83 and 1.64 cm/h in the summer, respectively. No statistically significant correlation was found between k 600 and U 10 (wind speed at 10 m height) in the summer at low wind speeds in clear weather. Diffusive gas fluxes increased during the nights, which resulted from the nighttime cooling effect of water surface and stronger turbulent mixing in the water column. The chemical enhancements for CO 2 were estimated up to 1.94-fold in the hot and clear summer with low wind speeds, which might have been resulted from the increasing hydration reactions in water due to the high water temperature and active metabolism in planktonic algae. However, both the air and surface water temperatures decreased continually, and relatively lower temperature and overcast weather with occasionally light rain dominated the second campaign in the autumn. The concentration of dissolved oxygen in the surface water and U 10 controlled gas transfer velocities of CO 2 and CH 4 , respectively, in the cool autumn. When the surface water temperature was higher than the air temperature, higher CO 2 flux was observed because the water body was unstable and overturned quickly, inducing quick CO 2 emitted from plankton algae in surface water to the atmosphere. Keywords: gas transfer velocity, the chemical enhancement, convective cooling, wind speed, pond, subtropical, primary productivity (Published: 9 December 2014) Citation: Tellus B 2014, 66 , 23795, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v66.23795

Visibility impairment has become an important environmental issue receiving great attention from both the scientific community and the public. Long-term meteorological data from Baoji, China, were collected to investigate the trend in visibility change from 1980 to 2012. The 33-year average visual range is 12.0 km. The best 20% of the visibility observations in a calendar year shows a general decreasing trend from 1994 onwards, while the worst 20% exhibits a slight increasing trend from 1997 onwards. These results suggest the progressive degradation of air quality in Baoji in recent years. Intensive PM 2.5 measurements were conducted from March 2012 to February 2013 to determine the causes of visibility impairment. An analysis based on IMPROVE equation reveals that PM 2.5 organic matter (OM) contributes to 34.2% of the light extinction coefficient ( b ext ) on an annual basis, followed by (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 (30.0%), NH 4 NO 3 (20.1%), elemental carbon (9.2%) and soil dust (6.5%). The largest contributor to b ext for the Worst 20% group is (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , and the contribution of NH 4 NO 3 for the Worst 20% group increases by a factor of ~ 3 compared with the Best 20% group. Source apportionment using a positive matrix factorization receptor model indicates that secondary sulfate is the main source of PM 2.5 (23.0%), followed by fugitive dust (20.5%), coal combustion (19.9%), secondary nitrate (15.5%), biomass burning (14.3%) and motor vehicle emissions (6.8%). These quantitative results could be useful for policy makers to take effective measures to control the haze pollution in Baoji. Further, the results also are likely to be relevant for other mid-sized cities in China.

Harmful algal blooms, which frequently occur in different tributaries, have become a serious water quality problem of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) since its initial filling. A three-year monitoring campaign from 2008 to 2010 was conducted to identify the controlling factors of algal blooms and effective preventive measures. The following results were obtained: 1) Layered and bidirectional currents, called intrusive density currents, dominate the tributary bays of the TGR year round; 2) continuously increasing water level can make the intruding density current shift from the middle to the surface, and surface intrusive water can reduce the surface water temperature and break the stable stratification of the tributary; 3) the appearing or fading away of algal blooms is closely associated with fluctuations in the TGR water level. Thus, the water level fluctuation patterns of different “tide-types” may prevent the occurrence of algal blooms in the spring and summer, and the “stair-type” tides may control autumn blooms during the impounding period. These methods were feasible and effective throughout the actual TGR’s operation in 2009–2011. These patterns formed an eco-environmentally friendly operation (EEFO) to mitigate algal blooms. As an in situ treatment with easier operation and less negative impact and loss, compared with chemical and filter-feeding fish methods, the EEFO is currently considered as the most feasible remedial measure to remit the eco-environmental problems at the Three Gorges Dam (TGD).

The water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) rose to 172.5 m in two stages from September to November, 2008. The hydrodynamic parameters and water quality parameters (e.g. flow velocity, temperature, turbidity and nutrient content) had been continuously monitored to reveal the influence of the impounding process of the TGR on the water eutrophication in the Xiangxi Bay (XXB). The maximal daily rise of the water level of the TGR was about 2.38 m. The water exchange between the mainstream (the Changjiang River) and the XXB of the TGR was enhanced by density current, and its main characteristics were a density-stratified flow in different directions. The water exchange reduced the differences of the water quality parameters (for example, temperature, turbidity, nutrient level, pH, etc.) between the mainstream and the XXB during the impounding process. Meanwhile, the water stability index in the mainstream remained small but it was lowered in the XXB. The main causes included the dilution by water of lower concentration of the chlorophyll a (Chl. a) entering from the mainstream, the decline of the water stability, and the increase of suspended silt, which induced the Chl.a to decrease in the XXB during the impounding process. The grade of the water eutrophication changed from middle eutrophic level to mesotrophic state in the process. However, as available nutrients were imported into the XXB from the mainstream during the impounding process the risk of water eutrophication increases in the XXB in the future.

The chemical index of alteration has been used widely for reconstruction of the palaeoclimate. However, the mechanisms and environmental factors controlling the chemical index of alteration of sediments are not yet fully understood. In this study, autocorrelations of the chemical index of alteration in nine sedimentary profiles, from both the land and the sea, spanning different geological times, are discussed. The sediments of these profiles have different origins (dust, fluvial or ocean sediments) and are from various climate situations and sedimentary environments. Autocorrelations of chemical index of alteration series are ubiquitously evident in all profiles. It is suggested here that autocorrelations may be caused by post-depositional changes such as persistent weathering and diagenesis. As a result, the chemical index of alteration may not reflect climatic conditions during the time of sediment deposition. This study strongly recommends the confirmation of the reliability and veracity of the chemical index of alteration before it is adopted to evaluate the weathering degree of parent rocks and to reconstruct the past climate. Significant autocorrelations in loess profiles were specifically observed, suggesting that the existing understanding of loess deposition in terms of climate conditions requires re-examination, and that previous reconstructions of rapid climate changes (for example, in centennial-millennial scales) should be treated with caution.

Oxygen and carbon isotopes from the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer, trace element contents, calcium carbonate, biogenic silica, grain size, and abundances of diatoms, radiolarians and foraminifera in a deep-sea core from the southwestern South China Sea were analysed to investigate the response of various marine ecological communities to environmental changes over the last 200 ka. The synthesised results show that the quality of the palaeoecological environment for biological growth is primarily affected by nutrient Supply and terrigenous disturbance. Ba and P are important nutrient elements for the growth of diatoms, radiolarians and planktonic foraminifera. Together with dissolved silica and calcium carbonate in sea water, these elements may control microbiotic development. However, variations in Fe content appear to affect diatom and radiolarian abundance. Optimal biotic growth Occurs when nutrients are abundant and when there is minimal terrigenous disturbance. Biotic growth decreases when sea water is highly oligotrophic and terrigenous input is high. Maximum biological growth occurred in the mid Holocene, but deteriorated soon afterwards owing to increased terrigenous input, causing a decrease of biological abundance and productivity in the late Holocene. The results also indicate how the Toba volcanic eruption ca. 74 ka ago contributed to changing the ecological environment in the southern South China Sea. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Samples of two cores, Cores M5-5 and M7-4 in the Bohai Sea were analyzed in isotopes, grain size, heavy minerals, chemical compositions, and 14 C dating to reconstruct the sedimentation during the Holocene. Abrupt change in carbon and oxygen stable isotopes was recognized at Core M5-5 at about 6400 a BP, which was likely due to the intrusion of the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) extension into the Bohai Sea. At Core M7-4, sediments between 5900 and 6600 a BP (150-260 cm depth) became coarse-grained, containing rich garnet, high manganese content, and nil autogenic pyrite, indicating a very dynamic sedimentary event during which the ambience was transformed from reductive to oxidative, and sedimentation boosted. Meanwhile, the YSWC had invaded into the Bohai Sea indicated by rich planktonic foraminifera in this event. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numerous cores and dating show the Yangtze River has accumulated about 1.16 x 10(12) t sediment in its delta plain and proximal subaqueous delta during Holocene. High-resolution seismic profiling and coring in the southern East China Sea during 2003 and 2004 cruises has revealed an elongated (similar to 800 km) distal subaqueous mud wedge extending from the Yangtze River mouth southward off the Zhejiang and Fujian coasts into the Taiwan Strait. Overlying what appears to be a transgressive sand layer, this distal clinoform thins offshore, from similar to 40 in thickness between the 20 and 30 m water depth to < 1-2 in between 60 and 90 m water depth, corresponding to an across shelf distance of less than 100 km. Total volume of this distal mud wedge is about 4.5 x 10(11) m(3), equivalent to similar to 5.4 x 10(11) t of sediment. Most of the sediment in this mud wedge comes from the Yangtze River, with some input presumably coming from local smaller rivers. Thus, the total Yangtze-derived sediments accumulated in its deltaic system and East China Sea inner shelf have amounted to about 1.7 x 10(12) t. Preliminary analyses suggest this longshore and across-shelf transported clinoform mainly formed in the past 7000 yrs after postglacial sea level reached its mid-Holocene highstand, and after re-intensification of the Chinese longshore current system. Sedimentation accumulation apparently increased around 2000 yrs BP, reflecting the evolution of the Yangtze estuary and increased land erosion due to human activities, such as fanning and deforestation. The southward-flowing China Coastal Current, the northward-flowing Taiwan Warm Current, and the Kuroshio Current appear to have played critical roles in transporting and trapping most of Yangtze-derived materials in the inner shelf, and hence preventing the sediment escape into the deep ocean. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

AMS(14)C dating and grain-size analysis for Core PC-6, located in the middle of a mud area on the inner shelf of the East China Sea (ECS), were used to rebuild the Holocene history of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM). The 7.5-m core recorded the history of environmental changes during the postglacial transgression. The core's mud section (the upper 450 cm) has been formed mainly by suspended sediment delivered from the Yangtze River mouth by the ECS Winter Coastal Current (ECSWCC) since 7.6 kyr BP. Using a mathematical method called "grain size vs. standard deviatioW', we can divide the Core PC-6's grain-size distribution into two populations at about 28 mu m. The fine population (< 28 mu m) is considered to be transported by the ECSWCC as suspended loads. Content of the fine population changes little and represents a stable sedimentary environment in accord with the present situation. Thus, variation of mean grain-size from the fine population would reflect the strength of ECSWCC, which is mainly controlled by the East Asian winter monsoon. Abrupt increasing mean grain size in the mud section is inferred to be transported by sudden strengthened ECSWCC, which was caused by the strengthened EAWM. Thus, the high resolution mean grain-size variation might serve as a proxy for reconstruction of the EAWM. A good correlation between sunspot change and the mean grain-size of suspended fine population suggests that one of the primary controls on centennial- to decadal-scale changes of the EAWM in the past 8 ka is the variations of sun irradiance, i.e., the EAWM will increase in intensity when the number of sunspots decreases. Spectral analyses of the mean grain-size time series of Core PC-6 show statistically significant periodicities centering on 2463, 1368, 128, 106, 100, 88-91, 7678, and 70-72 years. The EAWM and the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) agree with each other well on these cycles, and the East Asian Monsoon (EAM) and the Indian Monsoon also share in concurrent cycles in Holocene, which are in accord with the changes of the sun irradiance. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmentally sensitive grain-size component (ESGSC) extracted from grain-size data of a sediment core B2, which were retrieved from mud area southwest off Cheju Island (MACI), East China Sea (ECS), can be used to indicate the variations of East Asia Winter Monsoon (EAWM), with high (low) content/mean-size of ESGCS denote to strong (weak) EAWM. Combined with AMS(14)C datings core B2 provides a continuous high-resolution record of EAWM changes over the past 2300 years, with an average resolution of 13 years. The results show that the variations of EAWM are consistent with temperature changes inferred from historical documents in eastern China over the past 2300 years, from which four climate stages may be identified. In stages before 1900 aBP (50 AD) and 1450-780 aBP (50-1170 AD) the EAWM were comparatively weak, corresponding to warm climate periods in eastern China, respectively. And in stages of 1900-1450 aB P (50 - 500 AD) and 780 - 219 aB P (1170 - 1731 AD) the EAWM we re strongly developed, which correspond well to climate changes of two cold periods in eastern China. It is also shown from this study that the stage at 780-219 aBP (1170-1731 AD) was the coldest climate period during the last 2300 years and could be, therefore, related to the Little Ice Age (LIA). Climatic fluctuations appeared obviously in all the four stages, and two climate events of abrupt changes from warm to cold occurred at around 1900 aBP (50 AD) and 780 aBP (1170 AD), of which the latter is probably related to globe-scale changes of atmospheric circulation at that time.

AXIS(14)C dating and grain-size analysis for Core DD2, located at the north of the Yangtze River-derived mud off the Zhejiang-Fujian coasts in the inner shelf of the East China Sea, provide us a high-resolution grain-size distribution curve varying with depth and time. Data in the upper mud layer of Core DD2 indicate that there are at least 9 abrupt grain-size increasing in recent 2000 years, with each corresponding very well with the low-temperature events in Chinese history, which might result from the periodical strengthening of the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM), including the first-revealed maximum temperature lowering event at around 990 a BP. At the same time, the finer grain size section in Core DD2 agrees well with the Sui-Tang Warming Period (600-1000 a AD) defined previously by Zhu Kezhen, during which the climate had a warm, cold and warm fluctuation, with a dominated cooling period of 750-850 a AD. The Little Ice Age (LIA) can also be identified in the core. It starts around 1450 a AD and was followed by a subsequent cooling events at 1510, 1670 and 1840 a AD. Timing of these cold events revealed here still needs to be further verified owing to some current uncertainty of dating we used in this study.