published_or_final_version / Applied Geosciences / Master / Master of Science

Two Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) tree-ring width chronologies up to 375 years long were used to reconstruct rainfall from February to early July for the Wu Dangzhao region and from February to mid-July for the La Madong region, Inner Mongolia, China. The predictor variables account for 44.3% and 42.7% of the variance in precipitation, respectively. Both historical records and two other tree-ring based precipitation reconstructions from the environmentally sensitive zone (the northern Helan Mountain range and Baiyinaobao) confirm our results. After applying a 10-year moving average, the trends of four tree-ring based precipitation reconstructions vary synchronously. Periods with below-normal precipitation occurred during the 1720s–1730s, 1740s–1750s, 1790s, early 1810s, late 1830s–1860s, 1880s–1910s, late 1920s–1930s and after the late 1960s–early 1970s. Periods with above-normal precipitation occurred in the 1760s to early 1770s, 1820s to early 1830s, 1870s–1880s, early 1920s, 1940s to early 1960s, and 1990s. The late 1920s period was the most severe drought over a broad area in north China in the last 375 years. In contrast, the wettest period was in the late 1990s.

Master's thesis. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Mongols in Northern China fear the end of a distinct cultural identity. Until the late 19th century, cultural differences between Mongols and Han could be seen through differences in each group's traditional way of life. Mongols were nomadic pastoralists. Han were sedentary farmers. Recent economic development, rapid urbanization, and assimilation policies have threatened Mongolian cultural identity. In response to this cultural identity anxiety, Mongols in Inner Mongolia have looked for ways to express their distinct cultural identity. This dissertation analyzes three case studies derived from material cultural productions that represent Mongolian cultural identity. These include pastoralism, the use of Genghis Khan, and the Mongolian language. The analyses of different material cultural artifacts and the application of cultural and political theory come together in this dissertation to demonstrate how Mongolian cultural identity is reimagined through representation. In this dissertation, I also demonstrate how these reimagined identities construct and maintain ethnic boundaries which prevent the total absorption of a distinct Mongolian identity. / Ph. D.

abstract: The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) is a central issue in ecology, and a number of recent field experimental studies have greatly improved our understanding of this relationship. Spatial heterogeneity is a ubiquitous characterization of ecosystem processes, and has played a significant role in shaping BEF relationships. The first step towards understanding the effects of spatial heterogeneity on the BEF relationships is to quantify spatial heterogeneity characteristics of key variables of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and identify the spatial relationships among these variables. The goal of our research was to address the following research questions based on data collected in 2005 (corresponding to the year when the initial site background information was conducted) and in 2008 (corresponding to the year when removal treatments were conducted) from the Inner Mongolia Grassland Removal Experiment (IMGRE) located in northern China: 1) What are the spatial patterns of soil nutrients, plant biodiversity, and aboveground biomass in a natural grassland community of Inner Mongolia, China? How are they related spatially? and 2) How do removal treatments affect the spatial patterns of soil nutrients, plant biodiversity, and aboveground biomass? Is there any change for their spatial correlations after removal treatments? Our results showed that variables of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the natural grassland community would present different spatial patterns, and they would be spatially correlated to each other closely. Removal treatments had a significant effect on spatial structures and spatial correlations of variables, compared to those prior to the removal treatments. The differences in spatial pattern of plant and soil variables and their correlations before and after the biodiversity manipulation may not imply that the results from BEF experiments like IMGRE are invalid. However, they do suggest that the possible effects of spatial heterogeneity on the BEF relationships should be critically evaluated in future studies. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Biology 2011

No description available.

Er’rentai, or Mongolian dance and song duets, is a genre of folk opera in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. Er’rentai performances can be categorized into two styles—the “western-style” and the “eastern-style.” The aim of this thesis is to explore the acculturation in Chinese-Mongolian er’rentai genre in the following ways. First, I address the historical background of the western-style er’rentai. Then, I draw on fieldwork with Huo Banzhu, a famous er’rentai musician, to introduce contemporary state of er’rentai's development. Finally, I employ musical analysis to demonstrate the borrowings of Mongolian music and culture in the formation and transmission of Chinese-Mongolian er’rentai.

Background: Brucellosis is a common zoonotic disease and remains a major burden in both human and domesticated animal populations worldwide. Few geographic studies of human Brucellosis have been conducted, especially in China. Inner Mongolia of China is considered an appropriate area for the study of human Brucellosis due to its provision of a suitable environment for animals most responsible for human Brucellosis outbreaks. Methods: The aggregated numbers of human Brucellosis cases from 1951 to 2005 at the municipality level, and the yearly numbers and incidence rates of human Brucellosis cases from 2006 to 2010 at the county level were collected. Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS) and ecological niche modeling (ENM) were integrated to study the distribution of human Brucellosis cases over 1951-2010. Results: Results indicate that areas of central and eastern Inner Mongolia provide a long-term suitable environment where human Brucellosis outbreaks have occurred and can be expected to persist. Other areas of northeast China and central Mongolia also contain similar environments. Conclusions: This study is the first to combine advanced spatial statistical analysis with environmental modeling techniques when examining human Brucellosis outbreaks and will help to inform decision-making in the field of public health.

Il est débattue sur le temps closural finale de l'océan paléo-asiatique et la position. Certains géologues ont préconisé la suture "Solonker" marque la zone closural finale du Permien , tandis que d'autres insistent sur le fait Paléozoïque milieu. Nos trois domaines d'étude, le Hongqi , le Ondor Somme et le Mandula ont essentiel et important de résoudre ces controverses. Les unités litho-tectonique reconnus dans le domaine Hongqi-Ondor Sum sont le mélange Belt de Hongqi-Ondor Sum, la Belt de l'arc Bainaimiao, craton du Nord de Chine et les roches sédimentaires post-orogéniques. Le mélange Belt de Hongqi-Ondor Sum connu déformation ductile en deux phases et une phase de la déformation ductile-fragile. D1 est responsable de la S1 foliation, linéation minérale L1, et intrafolial pli F1. Les critères cinématiques indiquent un sens cisaillement de top-to-the-NW. D2 est caractérisée par divers taille de plis asymétriques avec axe presque NE correspondant à la poussée NW cisaillement. D3 formé le cadre régional dans le Hongqi et les zones Ondor Sum. La zone Mandula contient les sédiments olistostrome, les sédiments turbiditiques et roches volcanosédimentaires. Grains de zircons détritiques dans des échantillons sédimentaires indiquent la zone d'étude Mandula reçu des matériaux d'arc Bainaimiao et matières contemporaines de l'éruption volcanique du Permien. Les sédiments et les roches volcaniques dans la région Mandula soumettent un NW-SE ou près de N-S du raccourcissement. Les données géologiques indiquent qu'une subduction et collsion dans Paléozoïque inférieur, et rifting et fermeture rift dans Palezoic supérieur. Les fragments ophiolitiques "Solonker" sont en effet olistostrome. Composants ophiolitiques typiques ne sont pas observés dans la région Mandula. / It is hotly debated about the final closural time and position of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. Some geologists advocated the “Solonker” suture marks the final closural zone in Permian, whereas others insist in middle Paleozoic. Our three study areas, the Hongqi, the Ondor Sum and the Mandula is essential and important to solve those controversies. The litho-tectonic units recognized in the Hongqi-Ondor Sum area include the Hongqi-Ondor Sum mélange belt, the Bainaimiao arc belt, North China Craton and post-orogenic unconformably sedimentary rocks. The Hongqi-Ondor Sum mélange belt experienced two phase ductile deformation and one phase ductile-brittle deformation. D1 is responsible for the regional greenschist foliation S1, elongated mineral lineation L1, and intrafolial fold F1. The kinematic criteria indicates a top-to-the-NW shearing sense. D2 is characterized by various sized of unsymmetrical folds with nearly NE axis corresponding to the NW thrust shearing. D3 formed the regional framework in the Hongqi and the Ondor Sum areas. The Mandula area contains olistostrome sediments, turbiditic sediments and volcano-sedimentary rocks. Detrital zircon grains in sedimentary samples argue the Mandula study area received the southern Bainaimiao arc materials and coeval Permian volcanic erupting materials nearby. The sediments and volcanic rocks in Mandula area subject a nearly NW-SE or N-S compressional shortening. The geological data support that an Early Paleozoic subduction and collsioan, Late Palezoic rifting and rift closure model. The so called “Solonker” ophiolitic fragments indeed are olistostrome. Typical ophiolite components are not observed in the Mandula area.

Le Centre-Est de la Mongolie intérieure, faisant la partie sud-est de la Ceinture Orogénique de l'Asie Centrale (CAOB), est une zone de clé pour étudier l'histoire de l’accrétion-collision entre la Chine du Nord (NCC) et les blocs continentaux du Nord. Les contraintes du cadre tectonique et de la connaissance de l’évolution tectonique sont importantes pour comprendre l’accrétion de la CAOB car il n’y a pas de consensus sur le mode et la période de l'accrétion entre NCC et les blocs du Nord. Par conséquent, des études pluridisciplinaires ont été effectuées sur les roches sédimentaires et magmatiques du Paléozoïque supérieur dans le centre-oriental de la Mongolie Intérieure. Sur la base de nos études sédimentologiques, géochronologiques, géochimiques et paléomagnétiques, et compte tenu des résultats précédents en pétrographie, géochimie et paléontologie, l'évolution sédimentaire et tectonique du Paléozoïque supérieur du Centre-Oriental de la Mongolie Intérieure a été bien établie. Les études détaillées en sédimentologie et géochimie montrent une transition entre les dépôts molassiques du Dévonien à la dénudation du Carbonifère inférieur et les sédiments marins du Carbonifère supérieure vers les dépôts de bassin d'extension au Permien. D’après nos analyses détaillées des faciès sédimentaires, des caractéristiques géochimiques des roches magmatiques et nos données paléomagnétiques, nous proposons un modèle géodynamique de subduction-collision-extension post-orogénique pour le Paléozoïque au Centre-Oriental de la Mongolie Intérieure. / Central-eastern Inner Mongolia, located in the southeastern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), is a key area to study the collisional-accretionary history between the North China Craton (NCC) and the northern continental blocks. The establishment of precise constraints of this tectonic framework and evolutional history are important to understand the accretion of CAOB. However, no any consensus has been achieved about the way and the timing of the accretion between NCC and the northern blocks. Therefore, multidisciplinary studies have been carried out on the Late Paleozoic strata and magmatic rocks in central-eastern Inner Mongolia. Based on our sedimentological analyses, detrital zircon geochronological constraints, geochemical studies and paleomagnetic investigations, integrating the previous results in petrology, geochemistry and paleontology, the Late Paleozoic sedimentary-tectonic evolution of the central-eastern Inner Mongolia has been established. Detailed sedimentological and geochemical studies show a transition from the Devonian molassic deposits to the Early Carboniferous denudation and from the Late Carboniferous inland-sea sediments to the Permian extensional basin deposits. According to the comprehensive analyses on sedimentary facies, geochemical characteristics and paleomagnetic data, we propose a Paleozoic subduction-collision- post-orogenic extension tectonic model for central-eastern Inner Mongolia.