尽管空间、地方、区域、环境是所谓“永恒的地理命题”, 但大部分的人文、环境地理学研究中的“时间”主题都聚焦在研究地方、景观和区域的当前或过去, 却少有研究者对其未来产生兴趣。研究的缺乏可能要归因于对此前社会、文化、政治、经济地理学者所做的相关研究不熟悉, 或者对这些研究所具有的价值和意义估计不足。本文希望通过梳理在不同年代地理学界对未来地理学的研究做过哪些工作, 以及未来还可以在哪些方面做出贡献, 来弥补这一缺陷。20 世纪70 年代早期, 地理学者开始关注当时正在显现的后工业经济、社会的不同特征, 信息和通讯技术的革新, 城市未来, 变化中的社会秩序, 区域和全球尺度上的资源短缺和环境改造等一系列问题。部分未来地理学者从“带有地理色彩”的科幻作家们以及其他各学科的学者那里借鉴了许多观点和概念。这些学者们的代表作品, 在文中列出的书目以及两本主要的跨学科杂志The Futurist(由世界未来学会出版)以及Future Studies中可以看到。未来学家们所使用的预测方法和模型多种多样, 如趋势外推、交叉影响分析、模型模拟、情景假设、德尔菲法等, 这些方法各有其优势和劣势。当前, 对未来的研究已经引起了企业界、教育界、政策研究界等的重视, 这一点可以从学术性刊物、奖项, 以及对2050 年及其以后的世界规划中, 对未来研究的兴趣日益增长得到证明。对未来的研究聚焦于世界南方(发展中国家)、北方(发达国家)、区域经济与人口, 以及全球环境的未来, 不仅需要考虑“确定性”(期待中的世界), 也同样要考虑“不确定性”以及“不愿意看到却又可能出现”的一面。本文给出了当前至2050 年时段地理学者可能需要考虑的29 个重点研究主题, 涉及经济、文化、社会、政治及环境地理领域。同时, 本文还讨论了6 个针对中国经济、文化、政治、环境领域未来发展的研究主题, 包括中国的“绿色化”, 作为崛起的世界性强国的中国, 中国消费者及其伦理观, 作为全球创新领袖的中国, 人口问题和数字鸿沟, 以及未来的宗教/信仰问题。为便于对未来研究的讨论和分析, 文中给出了7 幅富有新意的专题图, 分别描绘了欧洲世界的亚洲化趋势, 未来的城市系统, 重大洲际交通工程, 不同区域的时间文化, 自治区域和新的国家, 以及环境地带迁移等。最后, 本文建议中国地理学界运用德尔菲法, 对中国的未来从经济、社会、环境等方面进行审视。其结果对于区域和国家层面规划制订将是非常具有价值的, 也将使地理学者在推动建设社会、环境美好未来的过程中扮演更为重要的角色。同时, 地理学者也需要与其他学科的学者们紧密合作, 共同研究与国家、区域乃至全球未来相关的“时间”主题。

The "time" focus of most human and environmental geography research is on the present and past with little interest or inclination, unfortunately, in examining place, landscape and regional futures, even though space, place, region and environment are "geographical constants". This reluctance may be attributed to being unfamiliar with previous research conducted by social, cultural, political and economic geographers or an appreciation what such studies have to offer. This article seeks to fill this "gap" by informing the geography communities what geographers have done vis-à-vis the future and what they might contribute. Geographers in the early 1970s began to look at the distinguishing features of emerging postindustrial economies and societies, the advances in information and communication technologies, urban futures, a changing social order, issues of resource scarcity and environmental modification at regional and global scales. Some of these pioneering geographical futurists borrowed ideas and concepts from "geographical" science fiction writers last and this century and also from scholars in a variety of disciplines. Specific examples of these writers and scholars are discussed and listed in the bibliography as well as two major interdisciplinary journals, The Futurist(published by the World Future Society) and Future Studies. A number of forecasting methods and models have been used by futurists; these include trend extrapolation, cross-impact analysis, simulation, scenario writing and the Delphi consensus method. Each has specific advantages and disadvantages when it comes to predicting and projecting likely and alternative futures. Today future studies are gaining respect by those in the corporate, education and policy communities. Evidence is the growing interest in future studies is found in academic journals, awards and planning for worlds at 2050 and beyond. Future studies focusing on the Global South or Global North or regional economic and demographic futures or global environmental futures need to consider not only "certainties" (expected worlds), but also the worlds of "uncertainty" and the worlds of "unintended consequences". I suggest 29 specific research foci about economic, cultural, social, political and environmental topics that geographers might consider between now and 2050. Also I discuss a half-dozen topics specifically about China's economic, cultural, political and environmental futures that would appeal to members of various geographical communities; these include the greening of China, China as an emerging world power, Chinese consumer worlds and ethics, China as a global leader in innovation, demographic issues and digital divides, and emerging religious/spiritual faces and landscapes in China. I also prepared seven innovative maps for discussion and analysis: the Asianization of European worlds, future urban systems, major transcontinental transportation projects, time culture and regions, autonomous regions and new states and shifting environmental zones. I conclude by suggesting the Chinese geography community use the Delphi approach to investigate the country's economic, social and environmental futures. The findings would be invaluable in regional and national planning and provide geographers a strong role in developing and implementing humane social and environmental futures. Geographers are also advised to work with scholars in other disciplines on timely topics about national, regional and global futures.

光释光测年是对沉积物上一次曝光事件年代的测定.自20 世纪80 年代该方法提出以来,得到了越来越广泛的应用.相对于¹⁴C测年,光释光测年虽存在误差偏大的不足（一般5%~10%）,但是具有以下明显优势：① 其测年年限范围比前者大得多;② 测年物质（石英或长石）丰富,这在干旱半干旱区的沙漠和湖泊中尤其重要,因为在这些地区很难找到可用于¹⁴C测年的有机质;③ 是对沉积物的直接定年;④ 测年事件包括曝光、受热（400 ℃以上）、火山、地震和晶体（方解石等）形成等.本文介绍了光释光测年的整个实验过程,包括采样、前处理、等效剂量测定、年剂量测定等,以期让有需要的地学同行了解这一方法,尤其是了解从地层或岩芯等取样的过程中应注意的事项.重点介绍单片再生剂量法(SAR)与标准生长曲线法(SGC)相结合测定等效剂量的实验方法(我们命名为SAR-SGC法).该方法能大大提高仪器的使用效率,可节省仪器时间60%以上.通过氟硅酸溶蚀长石来提取石英的中颗粒(38~63 μm)的前处理过程简便易行,获得的石英纯度高,且可以避免使用危险的氢氟酸.中国科学院青海盐湖研究所释光测年实验室近几年应用SAR-SGC法对黄土、沙漠、湖泊、海洋、冰川、考古点等各种类型沉积物进行光释光测年,都获得了很好的结果.