Taiwan Island Research Articles

Using detrital zircon U[sbnd]Pb geochronology to track the provenance of Miocene sediments in the northern Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea

The Late Cenozoic provenance study of the Pearl River Mouth Basin (PRMB) holds significant implications for understanding the tectonic-climatic interactions, drainage evolution, and oceanic circulation in the northern South China Sea. However, the Miocene sediment routing system remains poorly understood due to the paucity of zircon geochronological data and the effects of sediment mixing and homogenization. This study reconstructs the ancient source-to-sink system by means of detrital zircon analyses from the northern PRMB and zircon age-based mixture modeling of well-defined provenance end-members. The results disclose varied and complex source-to-sink scenarios since the Early Miocene, involving three primary contributors: the Pearl River drainage system, coastal SE China, and Taiwan Island. In combination with seismic facies and climatic proxies, the intensive addition of Precambrian zircons suggests that, during the Middle and Late Miocene, progressive drainage expansion within the Yangtze Block likely contributed to the increasing sediment supply from the western Pearl River drainage system. Furthermore, the provenance shift in the northern PRMB, as indicated by the Mesozoic ages, may reflect a response to the activation of oceanic circulation and intensification of the East Asian monsoon. Additionally, though less significant, contributions from the Hainan and Luzon Island are also observed, indicating the input of the branch of the Kuroshio Current during the Late Miocene.

Long-term variability of the Kuroshio since 1788 based on coral records

The Kuroshio transports warm water poleward from low- to mid-high latitude regions and strongly affects ocean-atmosphere-land interactions. Previous studies have shown that the Kuroshio has strengthened at its origin during recent decades. However, changes in the Kuroshio on a centennial timescale are unclear due to the lack of observations before the Industrial Revolution. In this study, a precisely dated and monthly resolved Porites coral Sr/Ca record from south of Taiwan island, where coral growth is influenced by the Kuroshio, was used to generate a continuous reconstruction of Kuroshio transport (KT) during the period from 1788 to 2013. The data show a consistent decline in KT since 1788, with the rate of decline increasing since the 1950s, probably due to rapid oceanic warming. The southward shift of the bifurcation latitude of the North Equatorial Current, which is related to accelerated global oceanic warming, might have led to the decrease in KT. Natural variability in the phase transition of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and El Niño-Southern Oscillation might also influence the long-term changes in KT, particularly before the 1950s.

Quantitative analysis of the fluvial geomorphology and erosion on Hainan island: implications for the source-to-sink system in the NW South China Sea

The sediment delivery from Hainan island into the NW South China Sea during the Quaternary is less well-defined. An investigation into the uplift, exhumation and fluvial geomorphology of the Hainan island is crucial for improving our understanding on the source-to-sink system in this region. In this study, we employed the digital elevation analysis, the stream power incision model and the cosmogenic nuclide isotope analysis to unravel how and why the Hainan island provide sediment to the NW South China Sea. The results show that the average HI values of the main catchments on the Hainan island are below 0.35, which indicates that the rivers on the Hainan island tend to be stable. After mapping the channel steepness index of the Hainan island, a high channel steepness index is constrained in the central and western Hainan island. The χ analysis shows minor variations in χ values across the Hainan island, except of the watershed between the Wanquanhe and Nandujiang rivers, as well as that between the Changhuajiang and Nandujiang rivers, which indicates the potential migration of the river watersheds here. In addition, we carried out the cosmogenic nuclide 10Be analysis on the river sand from the Hainan island. The spatial distribution of 10Be concentrations is identified to be high in the west and low in the east. The catchment-averaged erosion rates are quantified to be 35 m/Myr, 42.5 m/Myr and 69.9 m/Myr for the Changhuajiang, Wanquanhe and Lingshuihe catchments, respectively. We also estimated the sediment deliveries from the Changhuajiang, Wanquanhe and Lingshuihe catchments to the Qiongdongnan and Yinggehai Basins to be 0.46 Mt/yr, 0.45 Mt/yr and 0.21 Mt/yr, respectively. We compared our results of the fluvial geomorphology analysis and erosion rate estimates of the Hainan island with those of the Taiwan island. We concluded that the difference of the erosion pattern and river evolution of the Hainan and Taiwan islands may be associated with the variation of the tectonics. Our investigation on the evolution of the Hainan island will improve our understanding on the source-to-sink systems in the NW South China Sea.

Trough‐Scale Slope Countercurrent Over the East China Sea Continental Slope Driven by Upwelling Divergence

AbstractObservations have revealed the existence of persistent slope countercurrents (SCCs) that flow southwestward beneath the Kuroshio Current at several locations over the East China Sea (ECS) continental slope. It was not clear whether these flows are localized circulation features or segments of a trough‐scale circulation system in the Okinawa Trough (OT). We demonstrate that there indeed exists a potentially continuous trough‐scale SCC along the ECS slope that is associated with an OT‐wide cyclonic circulation using high‐resolution model simulations and physical interpretations. The detailed features of the deep OT circulation are illustrated by the trajectories of the Lagrangian drifters and the time‐varying distributions of passive tracers. The SCC in the ECS is characterized by its weak yet persistent nature, typically located in narrow sloping regions at the isopycnal layer of 26.6–27.3 kg m−3. It exhibits a characteristic speed of approximately O‐(1) cm s−1. Analyses and experiments suggest that the divergence of upwelling in the SCC layer (26.6–27.3 σθ surface) gives rise to lateral potential vorticity transport, ultimately driving the deep cyclonic circulation. Furthermore, the SCC also displays a substantial connection with the onshore intrusion of the Kuroshio Current, particularly to the northeast of Taiwan Island. The SCC may potentially play a crucial role in the transport of heat and nutrients, as well as in regulating sediment distributions within the deep OT. This mechanism offers fresh insights into explaining the presence of undercurrents in semi‐enclosed marginal seas.

Transitions across borders: Migration aspirations of young people from Kinmen, Taiwan

AbstractThis paper examines the migration aspirations of young people from the remote border area of Kinmen, Taiwan and their migratory trajectories—internal migration to the main island of Taiwan and cross‐border migration to China. Located between Taiwan and China, Kinmen is an offshore island with a long history of migration. Based on multi‐site ethnographic data from 30 young people, this paper explores their migratory trajectories and aspirations concerning the instability of socio‐political context and the growing social and cultural inequalities of today's globalised world, China's rise in particular. It contributes to the population geography literature by using migration aspiration as a critical lens to analyse how young people negotiate their borderland identity through mobility under the changing cross‐strait political economy. The paper emphasises the importance of considering the transformation of regional economy and culture when analysing youth migration experiences. In recognising the socially grounded aspects of migration aspiration, it highlights the fluid and transformative nature of migration to enrich our knowledge of how marginalised youth form subjectivities and negotiate complex identities through migration. The distinctive experiences of peripheral youth shed new light on the conceptualisation of border crossing, place and desires under the sway of globalisation.

Global earthquakes in the first half of 2024 according to the GS RAS

Description of the Earth seismicity at the level of mb (MS)≥6.0 in the first half of 2024 is pro-vided. А total of 60 earthquakes are included in the list with such magnitudes. Also information on 77 earthquakes felt on the territory of the Russian Federation according to the Alert Service of the Geophysical Survey RAS is given. For the eight strongest events, information messages were published within one to two days after their occurrence, and parameters of their focal mecha-nisms were calculated. During the period under review, the strongest global earthquake with MS=7.7 (Mw=7.3) occurred on April 2 on the northeast coast of Taiwan Island. As a result, twelve people died and about a thousand were injured. The greatest human casualties and materi-al damage were caused by the catastrophic earthquake on January 1 with MS=7.3 (Mw=7.3) on the west coast of Honshu Island, Japan, which caused 240 deaths and 1,036 injuries. On the terri-tory of Russia, the most noticeable (intensity Ii=5 in the nearest settlements) were two earth-quakes: on January 15 with mb=5.5 (Mw=5.2) in the area of Lake Baikal in Buryatia and on May 6 with MS=5.0 (Mw=5.3) in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The seismic energy released on the globe for the first half of 2024 (sum(E0.5)=1.29≥∙1017 J) increased compared to that in the 2023 second half, but remained below the average semi-annual value for the period of 2010–2023 (sum(E0.5)=2.24≥∙1017 J).

Miltochrista taiwania, a new species from Taiwan Island (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini)

A new species of the genus Miltochrista Hübner, [1819], Miltochrista taiwania sp. n. is described from the island of Taiwan. The diagnostic comparison is made with the recently described Miltochrista tenuiprocessa Volynkin, Černý, S.-Y. Huang & Saldaitis, 2023 widely distributed from Northeast India to Northern Vietnam and the island of Hainan. Adults, as well as male and female genitalia of the new and similar species are illustrated.

Statistical seasonal forecasting of tropical cyclone landfalls on Taiwan Island

Forecasting tropical cyclone (TC) activities has been a topic of great interest and research. Taiwan Island (TW) is one of the key regions that is highly exposed to TCs originated from the western North Pacific. Here, the authors utilize two mainstream reanalysis datasets for the period 1979–2013 and propose an effective statistical seasonal forecasting model—namely, the Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) Model—for predicting the number of TC landfalls on TW based on the environmental factors in the preseason. The comprehensive predictor sampling and multiple linear regression show that the 850-hPa meridional wind over the west of the Antarctic Peninsula in January, the 300-hPa specific humidity over the open ocean southwest of Australia in January, the 300-hPa relative vorticity over the west of the Sea of Okhotsk in March, and the sea surface temperature in the South Indian Ocean in April, are the most significant predictors. The correlation coefficient between the modeled results and observations reaches 0.87. The model is validated by the leave-one-out and nine-fold cross-validation methods, and recent 9-yr observations (2014–2022). The Antarctic Oscillation, variabilities of the western Pacific subtropical high, Asian summer monsoon, and oceanic tunnel are the possible physical linkages or mechanisms behind the model result. The SYSU Model exhibits a 98% hit rate in 1979–2022 (43 out of 44), suggesting an operational potential in the seasonal forecasting of TC landfalls on TW.摘要本文利用1979–2013年的两个主流再分析数据集, 提出了一个中山大学 (SYSU) 热带气旋统计季节预报模型, 基于4个季前环境因子对登陆台湾岛的热带气旋数量进行预报. 模型通过了留一法, 九折交叉验证法和近9年观测数据 (2014–2022) 的验证, 模型结果与实际观测的相关系数达0.87. 南极涛动, 西太平洋副热带高压变化, 亚洲夏季风和海洋通道是模型潜在的物理联系或机制. SYSU模型在1979–2022年期间的预报准确率为98%, 表现出其业务应用价值.

The Publication and Historical Significance of Modern Chinese Medical Reports.

Unlike Western medical journals such as The Lancet which focused on Western-centric medical cases, Medical Reports analyzed medical and sanitary issues in East Asia, including China, Korea, and Japan and sought solutions to these problems. Medical Reports, a medical project initiated by the Chinese Maritime Customs Service (CMCS) in 1871, aimed to compile reference materials on the health conditions and diseases in ports. It was launched by the British Inspector General Robert Hart, who appointed the British Shanghai Customs Surgeon R. Alexander Jameson as the editor. Beginning in the 1860s, the British-led CMCS began expanding its reach from major cities to border areas, western regions, Taiwan Island, and Hainan Island, as well as territories beyond Qing Dynasty, such as Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Hong Kong, and Macau. This expansion required multinational cooperation, leading to the participation of Customs Surgeons, medical missionaries, and military doctors from ten countries, including the UK, the United States, France, China, Germany, Canada, Portugal, Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia, in the Medical Reports project. The Medical Reports were directly tied to the medical and sanitary initiatives in that community. They were authored by Customs Surgeons from a country with substantial regional influence. An analysis of the authors' nationalities, primary research focuses, and the relationship between the customs regions they covered revealed a statistically significant correlation. Even after Robert Koch discovered bacteria in the late nineteenth century, the miasma theory remained dominant, and most British doctors in India did not acknowledge the possibility that diseases could be caused by parasites. Despite this conservative historical context, the Medical Reports featured progressive research, including studies on leprosy based on germ theory and studies that actively embraced the emerging theory that parasites could be the cause of certain illnesses. In this process, the relatively unknown young physician named Patrick Manson, while working at the CMCS for 13 years, significantly advanced his medical knowledge by publishing numerous studies on filaria in the Medical Reports. His work led to the groundbreaking discovery that mosquitoes transmit infectious diseases. These research achievements pioneered the field of tropical medicine, a discipline that had not been established even in the extensive colonial holdings of France and Britain in tropical regions. Manson's work for the Medical Reports significantly advanced human efforts to prevent and respond to infectious diseases.

A revision of Chinese endemic Neptis hesione Leech, 1890 with a new species described from Hainan Island (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae)

The taxonomic status of subspecies belonging to Neptis hesione Leech, 1890 is reviewed. The population from Taiwan Island, once regarded as a subspecies of N. hesione, is treated as an independent species based on morphological and genetic distinctions, i.e., N. podarces Nire, 1920 stat. rev. Accordingly, these two species from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan Island are categorized as one species group, termed N. hesione-group. In addition, a new population of this group from Hainan Island was reported for the first time and described as a new species by external, genital, and molecular divergences, namely N. kejiaae Li & Liu sp. nov. The habitus, distributional map, and molecular phylogeny of N. hesione-group are provided.

Sea level and East Asian winter monsoon-controlled periodic transition of sinks in fine-grained sediments in the East China sea over the past 200 kyr

The study of critical geological processes of sediments from source to sink in the East China Sea (ECS) is of great significance for further understanding the surface processes, material cycling, and sedimentary evolution in the East Asian continental margin. Based on the high-resolution clay mineralogy and REEs in fine-grained sediments of Core CSHC-15, this study has analyzed the periodic transition mechanism of sinks in fine-grained sediments in the ECS from a source-to-sink perspective. The clay mineral provenances of Core CSHC-15 exhibited distinct periodic abrupt shifts between the Changjiang and Taiwan island over the past 200 kyr, indicating the periodic transitions of sinks in fine-grained sediments between the inner shelf of the ECS and the Okinawa Trough. When the sea level rose or fell to a critical depth (around −25 m or −50 m), the changes in the accommodation space of the continental shelf and the shelf fronts were the direct factors leading to the periodic transitions of sinks in fine-grained sediments in the ECS. The intense eccentricity cycles (100-kyr) of the clay mineral parameters of Core CSHC-15 reflected the impacts of the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM). This study confirms that long-term (eccentricity and longer cycles) climate signals of the source areas can be extracted from the clastic sedimentary records of the ECS. The new finding highlights the periodic transition mechanism of sedimentary sinks in the ECS that will promote the progress of sedimentary geology since the Late Quaternary.

Emergency Medical Retrieval Services in Remote Indigenous Islands: Experiences in Lanyu, Taiwan

Abstract: Emergency medical retrieval services (EMRS) in remote Indigenous islands is rarely investigated. We analyzed the characteristics of patients who underwent EMRS in Lanyu, an offshore island of Taiwan, from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2021. The need for EMRS for Lanyu Indigenous residents (N=132, 3.83‰) was almost 1.5-fold and 100-fold for non-Indigenous residents (N=16, 2.64‰) and tourists (N=40, 0.04‰), respectively. The resident group had a longer hospitalization (12.0 ± 12.9 vs. 5.9 ± 11.7 days, p=.007). The tourist group had more near-drowning or decompression sickness (44.0% vs. 3.0%, p<.001) and secondary transfers (20.0% vs. 5.4%, p=.003). All the patients (N=12) that required multiple retrievals were Lanyu Indigenous residents. The Lanyu Indigenous residents, compared with the non-Indigenous residents, had fewer admissions to intensive care units (47.7% vs. 80.0%) and more in-hospital mortalities (10.6% vs. 0.0%). Multifaceted approaches should be initiated to improve the health care system in remote Indigenous islands.

Correction to: Morphology-based genetic diversity analysis reveals introgressive hybridizations obscure species boundaries of three wild roses endemic to Taiwan Island

Correction to: Morphology-based genetic diversity analysis reveals introgressive hybridizations obscure species boundaries of three wild roses endemic to Taiwan Island

Responses of cold eddies to Typhoon Soulik (2013) off northeastern Taiwan Island

By using multisource reanalysis datasets, satellite data, etc., the influences of Typhoon Soulik on the upper ocean of two cold eddies off northeastern Taiwan Island (hereafter referred to as the P-Cold Eddy and D-Cold Eddy), which are distributed around Pengjia Islet and northeastern Diaoyu Island, respectively, were investigated. The results showed that the P-Cold Eddy was strengthened, and the D-Cold Eddy, which was previously invisible in the surface layer, began to appear. The seawater temperatures in the upper mixed layer of the two cold eddies decreased the most on 13 July, with the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) decreasing by 1.16 °C and 0.97 °C and the mixed layer temperatures decreasing by 1.23 °C and 1.06 °C, respectively. The upper ocean cooling of the P-Cold Eddy was mainly caused by upwelling, whose formation was related to the climb of more Kuroshio subsurface cold water northward forced by the typhoon. The upwelling of the D-Cold Eddy was weak, and the warming effect of the heat pump could be observed at the bottom of its mixed layer. The process of cooling and increasing salinity in the mixed layer of the D-Cold Eddy was mainly associated with the inflow of the upper cooler and saltier seawater from the P-Cold Eddy. The air–sea exchange term was not the main factor in the cooling of the seawater in the mixed layer during the forced stage, but it became dominant during the relaxation stage, and the latent heat flux (QLH) contributed significantly to its change.

THE EMERGING THREAT OF CHINESE ORGANIZED CRIME IN ITALY AND EUROPE

The mafias, opening up from their territories of origin, have opened up to profound global transformations, also rethinking their own hierarchies of values, their own purposes and their own rules. In particular, in this paper the author deals with the Chinese mafia and its presence on Italian and European territory. In a transnational dimension, the Chinese underworld operates, with the native and foreign criminal cliques present in the territories, in carrying out illicit business and does this with a "mafia-style" methodology.Triad is the name given in the West to a secret society, founded in China in the 17th century and which has today become a dangerous mafia criminal organisation. It has its bases in Hong Kong and the island of Taiwan, but today it is increasingly widespread not only in the United States of America, but also in Italy and Europe.

Distribution of the mysterious Chevron Crickets Melanabropsis Wang & Liu, 2020, with a remarkable new species from Hainan, China (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae: Anabropsini)

Melanabropsis is a rare genus of Chevron Crickets from East Asia. In this study, Melanabropsis nightfury sp. nov. is described from Hainan Island in China. The new species is the first macropterous species belonging to the genus Melanabropsis, distinctly different from other species of the genus, which are all micropterous. Based on the data of the new species and records on iNaturalist, a suitability distribution map of the genus is generated using the Maxent model. The results indicate that this genus is primarily distributed in islands and mountains with small temperature differences and high precipitation. Taiwan Island in China shows high potential for distribution. Type specimens are deposited in the Museum of Biology, East China Normal University.

Morphology-based genetic diversity analysis reveals introgressive hybridizations obscure species boundaries of three wild roses endemic to Taiwan Island

Morphology-based genetic diversity analysis reveals introgressive hybridizations obscure species boundaries of three wild roses endemic to Taiwan Island

Geographical pattern of the deviation between taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity and its implications for the conservation of Chinese orchids

Orchidaceae stands as one of the “flagship” groups in global biodiversity conservation, attracting significant attention from researchers in China. Previous studies have focused on taxonomic diversity, neglecting the integration of phylogeny and functional aspects. Here, we have leveraged a large dataset of distributions, evolutionary relationships, and functional traits of orchids in China to analyze geographic patterns of species richness (SR), weighted endemism (WE), phylogenetic diversity (PD), phylogenetic endemism (PE), functional diversity (FD), and functional endemism (FE). Furthermore, we analyzed the deviations between PD (or FD) and SR (PDdev, and FDdev), as well as between PE (or FE) and WE (PEdev, and FEdev), taking into account climatic and environmental variables. We also delineated the priority protection and survey areas of orchid plants in China. Our results revealed that the geographic patterns of SR, WE, PD, PE, FD, and FE for orchids generally exhibited similar trends. However, there were notable inconsistencies in the geographical patterns of PDdev, FDdev, PEdev, and FEdev, which might be related to the different environmental responses of these four diversity deviation metrics. We have pinpointed six priority conservation areas for orchids in China, i.e., southeasterrn Xizang, western Yunnan, central Yunan, the Karst area at the border of Guizhou and Guangxi, the border of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Taiwan Island. In addition, we have also identified certain priority survey areas for orchids, encompassing southeastern Xizang and other crucial locales. These findings will guide future conservation and research efforts aimed at safeguarding the rich biodiversity of orchids in China.

First Evidence of Thalassochory in the Ficus Genus: Seed Dispersal Using the Kuroshio Oceanic Current.

Plants distributed between southern Taiwan and the north of the Philippines are spread among numerous small islands in an area crossed by the powerful Kuroshio current. Oceanic currents can be effective seed-dispersal agents for coastal plant species. Moreover, the Luzon Strait is an area prone to tropical cyclones. The aim of this study is to look at the dispersal capability of an endangered coastal plant species, the Mearns fig (Ficus pedunculosa var. mearnsii), using both experimental and population genetics methods. Southern Taiwan, the Philippines, and the islands between Luzon and Taiwan Island. This study combined two types of analysis, i.e., buoyancy experiments on syconia and double digest restriction-associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD), to analyze the population genetics of the Mearns fig. We first discovered that mature Mearns fig syconia could float in seawater. They have a mean float duration of 10 days to a maximum of 21 days. Germination rates varied significantly between Mearns fig seeds that had undergone different durations of flotation treatment. Population genetic analysis shows a high degree of inbreeding among various Mearns fig populations. Moreover, no isolation by distance was found between the populations and individuals. From our analysis of the genetic structure of the Mearns fig populations, we can clearly highlight the effect of the Kuroshio oceanic current on the seed dispersal of this fig tree. Comprehensive analysis has shown that Mearns fig seeds are still viable before the mature syconium sinks into the seawater, and so they could use the Kuroshio Current to float to the current population locations in Taiwan.

Reconstruction of long-term hydrologic change and typhoon-induced flood events over the entire island of Taiwan

Study regionThe island of Taiwan. Study focusThis study presents long-term and high-resolution modeling of flood occurrence, interdecadal patterns of river-floodplain dynamics, and analysis of flooding during two typhoon events—Nari and Morakot over Taiwan. The modeling system combines a hydrological model (HiGW-MAT) and a river hydrodynamics model (CaMa-Flood), simulating hydrologic-hydrodynamic processes at ∼ 5 km resolution with flood occurrences downscaled to ∼ 90 m. New hydrological insights for the regionAs the first investigation to conduct spatially comprehensive and temporally continuous modeling in Taiwan, this study presents important advances on the application of large-scale hydrological-hydrodynamic models in settings like that of Taiwan with important implications on flood prediction under climate change. The assessment of interdecadal changes in streamflow indicates no consistent trends over the past four decades; however, the variabilities in monthly-scale streamflow are significant and regionally diverse across Taiwan. Decadal changes in flood occurrence are also minimal at the island-scale, but the changes vary substantially across different regions and exhibit an increased variability over time. Furthermore, the simulated flood patterns in response to Typhoons Nari and Morakot suggest that the modeling framework can be used to reproduce the spatial dynamics and temporal progression of flooding under extreme events in relatively small regions like Taiwan.