State dependence of climatic instability over the past 720,000 years from Antarctic ice cores and climate modeling.

Climatic variabilities on millennial and longer time scales with a bipolar seesaw pattern have been documented in paleoclimatic records, but their frequencies, relationships with mean climatic state, and mechanisms remain unclear. Understanding the processes and sensitivities that underlie these changes will underpin better understanding of the climate system and projections of its future change. We investigate the long-term characteristics of climatic variability using a new ice-core record from Dome Fuji, East Antarctica, combined with an existing long record from the Dome C ice core. Antarctic warming events over the past 720,000 years are most frequent when the Antarctic temperature is slightly below average on orbital time scales, equivalent to an intermediate climate during glacial periods, whereas interglacial and fully glaciated climates are unfavourable for a millennial-scale bipolar seesaw. Numerical experiments using a fully coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model with freshwater hosing in the northern North Atlantic showed that climate becomes most unstable in intermediate glacial conditions associated with large changes in sea ice and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Model sensitivity experiments suggest that the prerequisite for the most frequent climate instability with bipolar seesaw pattern during the late Pleistocene era is associated with reduced atmospheric CO2 concentration via global cooling and sea ice formation in the North Atlantic, in addition to extended Northern Hemisphere ice sheets.

Formaldehyde reduction with scallop shell powders fired at high temperatures: Identification of the effective ingredient.

The volatile organic compound (VOC) reduction activity of scallop shell powders fired at 300, 600 and 900 degrees C was examined using formaldehyde (HCHO). Raw shells as well as fired shells immediately after firing at several temperatures, except for 600 degrees C, were found to gradually remove HCHO from the air. In the case of shell powders stored for 3 months after firing, the HCHO reduction activity of the powder fired at 900 degrees C was obviously improved, with the HCHO concentrations rapidly reaching zero within 20 min. It has been found by X-ray diffraction measurements that shell powder stored for 3 months after firing at 900 degrees C contains a small amount of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) generated from calcium oxide (CaO). Our results suggest that Ca(OH)2 may be the effective ingredient in the HCHO reduction.