近日，英国南安普敦大学Zoë A. Thomas团队报道了自上次冰川以来，西风转变推动了南半球中纬度泥炭的生长。2025年11月11日，《自然—地球科学》杂志发表了这一成果。
南半球温带地区的泥炭地记录了数千年来气候与环境的详细变迁。它们对于理解中纬度南半球西风（SWW）的演化尤为宝贵，因为该风系在驱动区域温度和降水模式、南极海冰范围及海洋碳通量方面扮演着重要角色。
研究组分析了末次盛冰期（21,000年前）之后，南半球中纬度地区泥炭地形成的时间与驱动因素，并检验了其与SWW历史变化的关联。他们对福克兰群岛的基部泥炭进行了放射性碳定年，并汇编了南纬35°以南各泥炭形成区已发表的基部泥炭放射性碳年龄数据。利用核密度估计模型，研究组发现冰后期泥炭地的形成呈现出明显的纬向阶段性特征，这表明泥炭的生长对SWW位置的变化很敏感，因为后者会影响水分可用性、温度和粉尘沉降。
在南极冷逆转（14,700–12,800年前）期间，南纬52.5°以北地区泥炭生长出现峰值，这表明SWW向赤道方向迁移，而这一时期恰好伴随着大气CO2浓度增长的放缓。鉴于近期SWW的增强和向极地迁移，该研究结果凸显了在持续人为增温背景下，南半球气候和碳通量发生持续变化的潜在可能性。
附：英文原文
Title: Westerly wind shifts drove Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude peat growth since the last glacial
Author: Thomas, Zo A., Cadd, Haidee, Turney, Chris, Becerra-Valdivia, Lorena, Haines, Heather A., Marjo, Chris, Fogwill, Christopher, Carter, Stefanie, Brickle, Paul
Issue&Volume: 2025-11-11
Abstract: Extratropical peatlands in the Southern Hemisphere preserve detailed information on climatic and environmental change going back millennia. They are particularly valuable for understanding the evolution of the mid-latitude southern westerly winds (SWW), which play a major role in driving regional temperature and precipitation patterns, Antarctic sea-ice extent and ocean carbon fluxes. Here we investigate the timing and drivers of peatland initiation across the southern mid-latitudes after the Last Glacial Maximum (21,000years ago) and test how this might relate to past changes in the SWW. We radiocarbon-date basal peats from the Falkland Islands and collate published basal peat radiocarbon ages from peat-forming regions south of 35°S. Using kernel density estimate models, we find distinct latitudinal phases of post-glacial peat initiation that suggest that peat growth is sensitive to variations in SWW position through their influence on moisture availability, temperature and dust deposition. A peak in peat growth in regions north of 52.5°S during the Antarctic Cold Reversal (14,700–12,800years ago) suggests an equatorward migration of the SWW, coinciding with a slowdown in atmospheric CO2 increases. In light of recent SWW intensification and poleward migration, our findings highlight the potential for ongoing changes in the Southern Hemisphere climate and carbon fluxes under continued anthropogenic heating.
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-025-01842-w
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-025-01842-w