We analyzed the submissions， acceptances， reviews and grant awarding of various projects in environmental geosciences in 2020， pointed out the problems we found in the submission and review processes， and summarized the project conclusions the environmental geosciences at the end of 2019， the completion of the projects and the main research progresses made in this direction.

 The current research status of numerical simulations on urban meteorology and boundary layer is reviewed in this paper, including research on urban climate, urban surface energy balance, urban heat island and urban canopy modeling. Based on researchers′ experience, suggestion and discussion are given on some cutting edge problems and opinions. The state-of-art methods used in this field are discussed as well. Recommendations are also suggested in this paper: ①Observations and simulations on urban climate, urban surface energy balance, urban heat island are in great need facing the different climate zone and different cities; ②More and deeper researches on urban observation methods and rules, observation instruments and observation net design are needed; ③Prediction method of urban heat island based on synoptic conditions and urban surface characteristics should be improved; ④Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models can be used as tools to bridge the gap between mesoscale and microscale numerical modeling, and to evaluate and improve current mesoscale urban climate simulations.

Earth's gravity field and its application in geosciences is one of the important contents in the fields of Earth sciences. It plays an irreplaceable role in national basic surveying and mapping， disaster monitoring， resource exploration， surface layer coupling， aerospace and other aspects. In recent years， with the continuous innovation of gravity field observation technology， gravity measurement and the corresponding theory， methods and applications have developed rapidly， and fruitful research results have been achieved. The gravity topics of the annual meeting of Chinese Geoscience Union in 2020 are the concentrated display of these achievements （including 42 oral reports and 10 posters）. Based on the reports on this annual meeting， this paper summarizes the latest research progress in the Earth's gravity field and its geoscience application in China in recent years.

Soil moisture is a key variable influencing a variety of land surface processes. Accurate estimation of spatio-temporally distributed soil moisture is one of the challenging issues in quantitative remote sensing. This paper briefly describes the major algorithms for retrieving soil moisture using optical, passive-microwave and active-microwave remote sensing, or their combinations. The optical algorithms have relatively low accuracy of retrieval, but good spatial and temporal resolutions. The typical algorithms include the Index-based approach and the soil thermal inertia-based approach. The passive-microwave algorithms have relative high accuracy but low spatial resolutions. It can be grouped into the retrieval approaches for soil moisture only and the approaches for relevant parameters in addition to soil moisture. The active-microwave algorithms have generally high accuracy with a high spatial resolution. The algorithms can be divided into three classes: empirical, physical and semi-empirical approaches. In addition, a number of algorithms have been proposed, which combines in particular optical, passivemicrowave, or active-microwave data. Because the algorithms often combine the advantages of the multi-sensors, they can achieve a high accuracy with a good spatial resolution. With the achievement of retrieval techniques, several global soil moisture data sets have been generated. The widely used data sets include the European Remote Sensing satellites/ Meteorological Operational satellite programme (ERS/MetOp) data sets, the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) data sets, and the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) data sets. The ERS/MetOp data sets provides global soil moisture data with a spatial resolution of 25-km so far since July, 1991, retrieved from the TU-Wien approach using C-band microwave data. The AMSR-E data sets provides global soil moisture data with a spatial resolution of 25-km for the period from June, 2002 to September, 2011, retrieved from the Land Parameter Retrieval Model (LPRM) using C-band and X-band microwave data. The SMOS data sets provides global soil moisture data with a spatial resolution of 40-km so far since November, 2009, retrieved from the L-band Microwave Emission of the Biosphere model (LMEB) using L-band microwave data. To improve retrieval accuracy of soil moisture, the new satellite sensors are scheduled to be launched into space, for example, the Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-2 (PALSAR2) in 2013 and the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) in 2014.

       Fluids are aubiquitous transport medium for heat and matter in most geological process. The presence of fluids in rocks may affect the chemical and physical properties, mineral reaction velocity and heat budget of geological systems, Direct sample of geological fluids could be preserved only in fluid inclusions that were trapped during the growth of their host mineral. Fluid inclusions can provide us unique information for the presence and composition of ancient fluids which can not be obtained by other geochemical methods (e.g. the component and evolution of diagenetic fluid; process of fluid-rock interaction; migration of trace elements in fluid). The study of fluid inclusions thus has become one of the “hottest” fields in earth sciences, and plays an important role in studies correlated with geological processes. Starting with a general introduction to the fluid inclusion properties and a summarization about the classification of primary- and secondary-fluid inclusions, this paper reveiws the most recent development in analytical methods in the fluid inclusion research field. We also review the current application of fluid inclusions to various fields in earth sciences (e.g. metamorphic fluid, ore-deposit, petroleum geology and biomarker) in the paper. Finally, we give a short outlook on potential future research topics about fluid inclusion studies.

Permafrost is gradually degraded with climate warming， which seriously affects the stability of engineering construction in permafrost regions. Therefore， real-time and accurate monitoring of permafrost changes is urgent. Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry （InSAR）， as a new type of earth observation technology， can monitor the surface of permafrost regions on a large scale at all times and in all weather， and become an effective monitoring method. This paper aims to introduce the research progress and future development trends of InSAR technology in permafrost regions in the past two decades. Firstly， the basic principle of InSAR technology and SAR system are introduced. Then， based on the development of InSAR technology， the application of D-InSAR and multi-temporal InSAR in permafrost regions is outlined. It also summarizes the currently developed freeze-thaw models and analyzes the influencing factors of surface deformation in permafrost regions. Finally， look forward to the future development trend and main problems of InSAR technology in permafrost monitoring， in order to provide scientific research personnel with a systematic application introduction.

Porphyry copper deposit as the largest source of Cu is one of the most important deposits in the world. Porphyry Copper Deposit not only occured in Circum-Pacific ore-forming region, but also occured in Tethys ore-forming region and Middle-Asian(Paleo-Asian Oceanic) oreforming region. The mineralization materials derived from the deep. Porphyry forms through four stages: “Oceanic Crust-Mantle Lava Flow”,“Original Magma”,“Shallow Ore Magma”,“Crystallization of Magma-Minerali-zation”. In the stage of “Original Magma”, much metallogenic materials and energy gather through the process of “MASH”. Ore-forming fluids are high-grade fliuds of gas-liquid phase, which are of fluid-rich, high temperature, high pressure, high salinity, strong oxidizing, high oxygen fugacity. The characteristics of ore-forming fluids are favorable for metallogenic materials to gather from magmas to fluids in the process of magma-hydrothermal separation. The copper is transported and migrated in form of Cl-complexes. With the ascent of ore-forming fluids, lowering of temperature and pressure is the main factors resulting in copper precipitation. The crystallization of magnetite resulting from lowering temperature and pressure provides much of S^2- and  plays an important role in the formation of porphyry copper ore. From the inner to the outside, the alteration zones,in general,are composed of quartz zone,potassic zone,SCC zone and  argillic zone.The proposed genesis models which are commonly accepted,up to now, include the classical model, the system model and the model of polyphasal overprinting events.

Roughness, reflecting the smooth degree of the surface, is a key factor of many land surface processes. There are various methods of parameterization, but questions still exist since the characterization of land surface system has far from been fully understood. This paper reviews the research progress on land surface roughness characterization from three aspects, including land surface measurement techniques, roughness parameters, and remote sensing researches. So far, pin profiler and laser profiler are still main-stream land surface measurement approaches, while 3D laser scan and photogrammetry techniques have shown their potentials. Parameters defined by statistical methods and fractal theories are quite distinct from each other, but it is hard to describe land surface using either category of parameters due to the the complexity of its multi-scaled feature. As for remote sensing researches, both optical and microwave techniques have broad prospects, and the former needs to do better in match with classical parameterization, while the latter has to make improvement on techniques and methods for next generation remote sensing platform. Many key problems encountered in roughness parameterization study, such as comparison and transformation of parameters between different scales, heterogeneity and anisotropy of land surface, as well as roughness parameterization based on 3D surface data, have also been discussed.

Microbial eukaryotes are quantitatively predominant, highly diverse and functionally important groups of eukaryotes in the deep oceans. Investigations on the microbial eukaryotic diversity provide not only the base for elucidating the structure of deepsea ecosystems but also high support for better understanding the microbial diversity and their geographic distribution. So far, the biodiversity research on microbial eukaryotes obviously lags behind that of prokaryotes. Our knowledge of their morphological diversity mainly comes from groups (e.g. foraminiferans) that need not cultivate and are easily identified with external morphology. The application of molecular methods greatly extended our knowledge of the microbial eukaryotic diversity in deep sea, uncovering a much higher molecular than morphological diversity. More and more undescribed taxa and even novel evolutionary lineages of eukaryotes have been discovered from deep sea. By reviewing and summarizing literature data, the authors present the research progress and existing problems in the biodiversity of microbial eukaryotes in deep sea, and propose possible solutions and key issues for future research.

Discovery of numbers of fractured reservoirs in shale around the world and recent great progress of North American shale gas exploration shows the study of the fractures in shale is quite important. On the basis of the literature research of shale fractures research findings around the world, shale reservoir with strong plasticity has common and specificity, compared with other types of rock, on fractures type and origin, identification method, parameter estimation, and distribution prediction. The shale reservoir fractures can de classified into two groups of fracture according to their origin, structural and non-structural fracture, and 12 sub-classes. Different class of fractures has different characteristics and origin. Structural fractures, including high-angle shear fracture, Tensile and shear fractures and low-angle slip fracture, belong to ductile shear fracture. Non-structural fracture in shale, more developed than other types of lithology, such as shrinkage fractures, stylolites, over-pressured fractures and weathered fracture, resulted from diagenesis, drying crack, over-ressure, mineral phase transformation, recrystallization, and pressure-solution. Then we summarize the methods of fracture identification, parameter estimation, fracture reservoir distribution prediction using geological, seismic, drilling and logging and structural stress, and then propose current problems and trend of study on shale fracture reservoir nowadays.

The U-Pb chronology of detritus zircon is an important method to explore sediment provenance, which is widely used in sedimentology, geotectonics, geomorphology and other fields. This paper reviewed the recent progress of the U-Pb chronology of detrital zircon from three aspects: data acquisition, analysis and comparison. In terms of data acquisition, the sample preparation method, isotope age data selection and test quantity were expounded from the basic principle; In terms of data analysis, the data visualization methods of Probability Density Plot (PDP), Kernel Density Estimate (KDE) and Cumulative Age Distribution (CAD) were compared; In terms of data comparison, the basic algorithm and application advantages of quantitative comparison were analyzed with examples, including (dis)similarity measures based on non-parametric hypothesis tests (K-S test), (dis)similarity measures based on age spectrum comparison (Cross-correlation coefficients) and (dis)similarity measures based on Multi-Dimensional Scali (MDS). Finally, three commonly used software tools were introduced. Suggestions were given in terms of data acquisition, analysis and comparison for future research.

In the vertical， the isothermal layer and mixed layer are two parameters governing the upper ocean structure. High salinity stratification in the surface layer often limits the mixed layer depth and thus results in the interlayer called the barrier layer between the base of mixed layer and the top of the thermocline. The barrier layer acts as a "barrier" for the transfer of heat， monmentum， mass， and nutrient fluxes between the mixed layer and the thermocline， affecting the heat budget of the surface mixed layer and resultant air-sea interaction. Owing to the implementation of global ocean observation programs， scientists have gradually realized the importance of oceanic salinity in ocean circulation and climate change in the past two decades. Thus， the role of barrier layer caused by salinity in heat balance of upper ocean is the present hotspot in physical oceanography field. Focusing on the key scientific issues centered at the barrier layer variations and its climatic impacts， three aspects of it are introduced under the review：Spatial structures and multi-scale variations of barrier layer in the world ocean； roles of oceanic and atmospheric processes in barrier layer variations； key processes and mechanisms of interactions between barrier layer and weather， climate and biology. We mainly emphasize the ocean-atmosphere interactions associated with the barrier layer variations and their cliamtic impacts. Finally， we propose several issues that remian to be solved were proposed.

        A wide range of gaseous and particulate phase pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere by routes like external or internal combustion, evaporation, eolian and others. Once released into the atmosphere, these primary emissions are dispersed, transported and, at the same time, transformed by various chemical processes that determine their ultimate environmental fate. The secondary products of these processes are more important ones concerning their effects on human health and the quality of the environment, which represent the critical property determining the establishment of certain air standards and regulatory policies. 
      The prevalence of tropospheric photooxidants is of international concern because of their adverse effects on human health and environment. A lot of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been emitted from natural and factitious sources, and then transform into secondary photochemical oxidants by the atmospheric oxidation reactions, contributing to atmospheric oxidation capacity and climate change patterns. The formation of secondary photochemical oxidants including ozone (O₃), gaseous nitric acid (HNO₃), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and peroxy acetyl nitrate (PAN) is driven by hydroxyl radical (OH) during the daytime whose main sources are photolysis of O₃and nitrous acid (HONO). At night, the nitrite radical (NO₃) substitutes OH radical and plays the most important role in the nighttime atmospheric chemical processes. 
      However, the more complicated situation is that aerosol particles are ubiquitous in the Earth's atmosphere. As reactive surfaces they can take part in the heterogeneous reactions with secondary photochemical oxidants. It changes the tropospheric composition and the properties of the gaseous reactants, making the atmosphere pollution even more serious. It also alters the properties of aerosols like hygroscopicity and influences the radiation balance by the direct and indirect effects. Thus, many efforts have been made to this subject, which has become one of focuses of the atmospheric chemical research currently. 
      In order to make clear the intricate coupling effect between secondary photochemical oxidants and aerosol particles, laboratory simulation is basic. Aerosol samples produced in the laboratory or collected in the atmosphere are selected and put into the reactor such as flow tube, Knudsen cell or aerosol chamber, which react with the secondary photochemical introduced. The kinetics processes and products can be detected by the equipment involving mass spectrometry (MS), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFTS) and aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS), which are connected to the reactors. Chromatography and surface characterization techniques also can be applied to detect the heterogeneous reaction as the off-line methods. Laboratory researches about heterogeneous kinetic and mechanism are of importance to understand this coupling effect, which could contribute to comprehending the field observed events and provide the basic parameters to model forecast. 
      Research on heterogeneous reactions of secondary photochemical oxidants is challenging. However, there are some aspects that are not clear, and more studies are needed. First, the researches mainly concentrate on the O₃ and HNO₃ heterogeneous reactions, while less about others. The data must be enriched through the future studies. Second, the reaction system often has isolated secondary photochemical oxidant and individual particles, which is not consistent with real atmospheric composition. It leads certain error between the results from laboratory simulation and field observation. Last but not least, no commercial equipment is applicable to this area. Researchers must establish high-precision and sensitive apparatuses to detect the transformation of reactants under atmospheric conditions. 
      In this review, the formation of secondary photochemical oxidants is introducesd and the recent international laboratory researches and state of the art with regard to this area are concluded. In the end the main scientific problems are put forward, and the prospect is made.

CO₂ capture and storage projects must consider the potential possibility ofinjection induced seismicity. Moderate earthquakes and strong earthquakes may endanger human life and property, and even felt earthquakes and microquakes also pose a threat to seal integrity of CO₂ reservoir and increase the risk of leakage. Underground fluid injection induced seismicity usually happens in some geoengineering projects such as waste fluid disposal, EOR and EGS, and it occurs when fluid is injected along the fault. Therefore, it can be studied through stress analysis. The density of supercritical CO₂ is smaller than water, which may develop density flow in the deep strata or water-rock interactions in pre-existing structures, and cause the variation in permeability and pressure to induce a seismic activity. In this paper, we reviewed the mechanism of underground fluid injection induced seismicity with the focus of CCS, combined with fluid injection projects and seismic monitoring analysis in both commercial scale and experimental scale, to investigate its impact on the integrity of the cap rock of the reservoir. Finally, we summarized the appropriate site selection, injection methods and monitoring programs to prevent the occurrence of induced seismicity.

]In recent years, global environmental change has more and more affected the survival of human beings. In order to enhance the observation of the landatmospheric-ocean, the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) have been proposed. Data assimilation, the key connection between observation data and model simulations, also gets rapid development. The most significant signs are the continuous introductions of new mathematical achievements into the data assimilation fields. Under the background of the “National Airborne Remote Sensing System—The Earth Science Data Processing Software System”, we review the development of the data assimilation algorithms so as to determine the technical route and major contents of this project and promote the research on data assimilation theory and the development of the software.

The Metropolitan region is an international model of the spatial organization for the modern Urban Agglomeration. The first part of this paper focuses on the national and international study about analysis conceptions, development tendencies and characteristics of metropolitan region. The development of research and practice about metropolitan region in the world was recognized. Based on the analysis, we made an analysis of the development of the research and the practice about metropolitan region in China. The author summed up the understanding about Metropolitan Region from Chinese scholars and packed up the practices in China in order to further understand the connotation of this conception. Then, we built up the development theory system of Metropolitan Region, including the conception and standards of Metropolitan Region which is seasoned with the situation of our country and the tendencies of development, the nature of metropolitan region which is a development pattern as well as a phenomenon, the spatial structure which circles from inside to outside, the effect, the phase of metropolitan region development and discussed how to manage this region. Lastly, we summed up the content of the metropolitan region development planning. The importance of incorporation and habitation conception for the development of Metropolitan Region was emphasized. As a kind of urban development model, Metropolitan Region is vital for the construction of urban area which has conditions to develop this model and the development of regional economy.

With the deepening of exploration degree, the progress of exploration technology and the increasing demands for oil and gas resources, some deep buried reservoirs with relatively poor physical properties have attracted more and more attention of geologists. After decades of exploration, many high-quality reservoirs with shallow burial and well-preserved primary pores have been widely discovered and put into production. However, deep buried tight reservoirs with secondary dissolved pores as the main reservoir space are increasingly becoming the focus of exploration in mature exploration areas. Therefore, searching for secondary pore development zones and dissolved “sweet” reservoirs will become an important new field for fine exploration in the future. Based on some typical case study and a large number of research results, this paper systematically expounded the modification of reservoirs by dissolution from the following four aspects:① diagenetic stage of dissolution; ②types of dissolution fluids;③main controlling factors of dissolution; ④ effect of dissolution on reservoir modification. In recent years, more and more research achievements have made important progress in dissolution mechanism and reservoir modification effect. The systematic analysis of these mainstream views has some reference value for similar geological conditions in the future.

During the last decades, reanalysis of past meteorological observations using modern data assimilation technique and restructure the long-term and consistent gridded data products have been made great progress. Such datasets provide us the most primary research tools to identify the state and evolution of atmosphere, and understand the climate change and variability at different spatial-temporal scales. In this paper, the current research status and advances in the global reanalysis datasets including some of international global atmosphere reanalysis projects and the corresponding reanalyzed products, the important applications of reanalyzed products in some research fields of the atmospheric science, the validation and evaluation of the reanalysis datasets，and some quality problems represented by the reanalyzed products in climate change studies are systematically reviewed. Moreover，the prospects of the studies on atmospheric reanalysis in the future are also discussed in this paper.

Surface Water-Ground Water (SW-GW) interactions constitute an important link in wetland hydrologic processes, and consequently are of significance for eco-environmental evolution. Thus the interaction has important implications for the effective protection and management of the high environmental values usually attached to wetland habits. This article reviews the current knowledge of the SW-GW interactions and  the mechanisms, impact factors, interfaces effects, analysis methodologies and numerical models are synthesized and exemplified. The key findings are as follow: the SW-GW interactions are controlled by both the basic geological/hydro-geological conditions and the variations of hydrological regimes. However, its responses to the changing world should be emphasized in future due to the high sensitivity. Changes in global climate are expected to have impacts on hydrological and water supply regimes, which will in turn impose additional pressures on wetland. Subsequently the interactions among multi-interfaces integrating physical, chemical and biological processes will be enhanced for better understanding under changing conditions, and it is supposed to be counteractive to the SW-GW system extensively indeed. Concerted efforts from multidisciplinary approaches must be encouraged to elucidate the different interfaces effects, which help to understand the eco-environmental response to SW-GW interactions and provide insight into the research methodologies in return, because the interfaces effects display a function of fingerprinting to the characteristics of the interactions. Finally, the SW-GW interactions models are reviewed, and it is important to note that the models of SW-GW interactions coupling the water quantity and quality should be constructed based upon the understanding of hydrologic characteristics in wetland. To identify the information on different scales, coupling  several mechanisms and verifying  the parameters in the model are the key points in future study. Overall, the SW-GW interactions strongly influence the spatial/ temporal availability of the water resources and the structure/ function of the wetland ecosystem. Therefore, further study will be necessary to help water resources managers to deal with such issues as fiood mitigation, groundwater exploitation, and biodiversity conservation in a more integrated and sustainable manner.

With the development of mesoscale atmospheric model, the next generation mesoscale Weather Research and Forecast Model is widely used at home and abroad, primarily because of its complete openness, easy portability, and fast update. The application of WRF model in China in recent decade is introduced from three aspects: the physical parameterization scheme, real-time simulation and comparison with MM5, which indicates the usefulness and advantage of WRF model in mesoscale simulation. Furthermore, two main prospects of WRF model in the near future are proposed: one is to develop Climate-Weather Research and Forecasting Model(CWRF), aiming to simulate and predict both weather and climate at mesoscale level, and the other is to couple WRF model with regional ocean model and construct a regional coupled model with high resolution. It is hoped that our summary can provide some necessary helps for the users of WRF model.

The traditional heavy mineral analysis is a fundamental and cheap provenance tracing method for clastic sediments. It provides comprehensive provenance information and irreplaceable background data for the single-mineral methods of provenance tracing. There are new progresses in basic theory and technology in recent years， but a systematic summary is still lacking. This paper summarizes the progress and development trend of heavy mineral analysis， which is shown in the following aspects： \mathrm{①} The impact of factors such as weathering， hydraulic sorting， diagenetic modification on heavy minerals during transport， deposition， diagenesis， and exposure； \mathrm{②} Data acquisition processes of heavy mineral analysis （sampling， pre-processing， selection of grain size fraction， counting） and issues that should be paid attention to； \mathrm{③} How to analyze， process and apply heavy mineral data， including calculating commonly used heavy mineral indexes and sediment budgets， and carrying out bias correction； \mathrm{④} The new progress and development trend of theory and technology in the heavy mineral analysis. It is believed that automatic mineral identification by machine and the combination of heavy mineral analysis method and single-mineral method are the development direction of provenance tracing based on heavy mineral analysis.

       The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest continental ice on the earth and its mass budget and stability has an important influence on global climate change and sea level rise. Ice radar, or radio-echo sounding (RES), constitutes the principal means by which glaciologists investigate the subsurface properties of the Antarctic ice sheet. In the past fifty years, ice radar has been widely applied to measure ice sheet thickness, internal structure and subglacial morphology. These parameters are fundamental for the calculation of ice volume and mass balance as well as the reconstruction of past snow accumulation and melting rates, ice dynamics and deposition process. Now, RES has covered most regions in Antarctica and provided significant understanding of the interactions between ice sheet and global system. We briefly introduced ice radar and its technical development firstly and then mainly reviewed the progress of ice radar in investigating and researching Antarctic ice sheet thickness and subglacial topography, internal reflecting horizons, subglacial lakes and water systems, subglacial bedrock roughness and crystal orientation fabrics(COF). Finally, the prospect of ice radar in investigating and researching Antarctic ice sheet in the future and our present situation was proposed.

This paper uses SIR model to back-analyze the parameters of SARS transmission based on the data released by the health authorities of Beijing and Hong Kong, we get the important parameters such as the peak period, the hospitalized cases and the removed parameter. It can be seen that these parameters of the model allow for better understanding of the SARS transmission because the result fits the actual data approximately. As a result, SIR model could be used to fit data, predict trend and simulate process of SARS transmission.

Biochar is an organic material with high carbon content, most aromatic structure and great stability resulting from high temperature thermal conversion (usually < 700 ℃) of organic materials under the completely or in part anoxic condition. Due to its stable chemical properties, biochar has received widely attention as a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, biochar shows great potential in soil improvement and environmental pollution remediation, and provides a comprehensive solution for the global climate change, food crisis and ecological pollution remediation. Biochar is a carbon rich material, in association with porous characteristics and high surface area which are favorable to accumulating soil moisture, to increasing the porosity, to reducing density and bulk density, and to promoting the formation of soil aggregation. All the above soil physical improvement can provide a good environment for the growth of plants. Furthermore, biochar is an ideal acidic soil amendment which can improve the pH of acidic soil. It contains nutrient element which can be directly released into soil, and its surface charge and functional groups are conducive to soil nutrient retention, such as the reduced leaching of NH⁺₄ and NO^-₃, PO^3-₄, therefore improve the efficiency of nutrient elements. However, the effect of biochar amendments highly influenced by raw materials and pyrolysis conditions is of inconsistent and sometimes even contrast results can be concluded. In this paper, we summarize the current status and knowledge gaps about the effect of biochar amendments on soil physical and chemical properties and some suggestions are also strengthened. Finally, some possible negative impacts of biochar application and research suggestions are discussed in order to better use of biochar in agriculture.

Species Distribution Models （SDMs） are numerical tools that combine observations of species occurrence or abundance with environmental variables database. SDMs tend to be used to simulate the potential distribution of species in a larger scale， under the confirming modeling conditions， which can be extrapolated in space and time. SDMs are now widely used in the fields of climate change biology， landscape ecology and conservation biology， and they are one of the most important tools in current biophysics research. This paper systematically discusses the current challenges and future development of species distribution model from two aspects： i.e.， model building and model application. The development status and prospect of species distribution models in China are reviewed. The main viewpoints and conclusions are as follows： In the modeling practice of species distribution model， the rationality and accuracy of model results depend on many factors， including the choice of environmental variables and model algorithms， spatial and temporal scale， the interaction between environmental and geographical factors and the model extrapolation degree. Hence， researchers should understand the theoretical basis of the model， attach importance to the standardization of statistics in the process of modeling， choose and design a reasonable model algorithm. In future research， we need to consider the historical and geographical reasons for the current distribution pattern and the possible impacts of species niche shift， as well as the principles of landscape genetics and phylogeography， which should be effectively incorporated into the model framework. Meanwhile， how to use geoscience big data （remote sensing data） effectively is also one of the challenges for the development of the models.

Precipitation is a fundamental component of the global water cycle. It is a key hydrologic variable of the water cycle in meteorology, climatology and hydrology. Accurate observation of precipitation and its regional, global distributions has long been a challenging scientific goal. With five-decade development of space-borne sensors, the approaches to retrieving precipitation appear mature. This paper briefly describes the principles and the main types of retrieval algorithms of precipitation using visible/infrared (VIS/IR), passive-microwave (PMW), precipitation radar (PR) data, or their combinations. The VIS/IR algorithms generally had relatively low retrieval accuracy, but it could provide better long-term retrieval due to better temporal sampling of geostationary data. The PMW algorithms were more accurate but more complicated than the VIS/IR algorithms in retrieval of instantaneous precipitation, and the PMW data had low spatial and temporal resolution. Among all the PMW algorithms, the Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) is the most widely applied one. The PR algorithm enabled capture of three-dimensional precipitation structure over the ocean and land. While the PR retrievals had accuracy on the order of ground-radar data, it had limited coverage of the Earth’s surface. The deficiencies of a single sensor algorithm were alleviated with the combination use of multi-sensors. A number of algorithms have been proposed with a particular combination of VIS/IR, PMW, and/or PR data. The commonly used algorithms include the Climate Prediction Center Morphing (CMORPH) algorithm, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) algorithm and the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) algorithm. Currently, scientific efforts have been made to compare and evaluate the existing algorithms, for example, the Program to Evaluate High-Resolution Precipitation Products (PEHRPP). With the development of instruments and algorithms of precipitation, there are produced many regional and global data sets dedicated to precipitation monitoring. The widely spread global precipitation datasets include TRMM, GSMaP and Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). Each data set had its unique features in terms of spatial and temporal resolutions, typically in 3-hour and 0.25 degree. For future development, the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission will improve and extend the TRMM measurements to higher latitudes, with a more frequent sampling, and a higher sensitivity to light and heavy rainfalls. Furthermore, combination of observations at different wavelengths and from both low and geostationary-orbit satellites is a promising way to produce global precipitation. The International Precipitation Working Group (IPWG) is providing a focus on the study of satellite-based quantitative precipitation measurements. With the international efforts, we are approaching to a unique retrieval of a consistent global precipitation cross multi-sensors. 