PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2010, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (11): 1368-1374.doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2010.11.024

• Original Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study on the Change of Dune CO2 Concentration in Summer at Minqin in Tengger Desert

ZHAO Jingbo1,2, SHAO Tianjie1, YU Keke1, LI Enju1, CHENG Aifang1, MENG Jingjing1, DONG Zhibao1,3   

  1. 1. College of Tourism and Environment, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062;
    China;
    2. Institute of Earth Environment, CAS, State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Xi'an 710075, China;
    3. Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, CAS, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • Received:2010-01-01 Revised:2010-07-01 Online:2010-11-25 Published:2010-11-25

Abstract:

We have measured the diurnal changes of dune CO2 concentration under different depth by using the infrared monitoring instruments in Minqin County in 2009, and combined the results with simultaneous temperature data. The results show that the CO2 concentration of -2 m and -4 m always greater than that of -1 m. The diurnal CO2 cumulative concentration from this research can be ranked as fixed dunes > semi-fixed dune > moving dune. The CO2 cumulative concentration is greater at daytime than at nighttime. For fixed, semi-fixed and moving sand dunes, the CO2 concentration has a changing law of“low to high and then to low”from the morning to the next morning, which is basically the same as the change of temperature, but the change of the former is later than that of the latter. There is a significant positive correlation between the CO2 concentration of dunes and atmospheric temperature, and temperature is the main factor determining the changing law of the dune CO2 concentration. In addition, the diurnal concentration of CO2 can be changed due to the difference in soil conditions, such as soil moisture, light and wind speed. So, it is of great significance to conduct research into the cause of global warming and the impacts of destruction of vegetation on atmospheric CO2, which can help to find out the changing law of dune CO2 concentration in 24 hours.

Key words: concentration at different depths, CO2 release, dune CO2 concentration, influencing factors, Tengger Desert, the law of diurnal change