Tropical-cyclone data and the statistics of tropical-storm casualties and damagesince the 1950s were collected and analyzed. The results show that annual and decadelongvariations are obvious in the annual number of tropical cyclones generated over thewestern North Pacific (including the South China Sea), those making landfall inmainland China, and those that induced disastrous storm surges. It is worthy notingthat these variations are not always in phase. For example, an active year for more cyclonesin the western North Pacific may have fewer landing in China, or vice versa.Also, the tropical cyclones that make landfall do not always cause storm-surge disasters.It sometimes happens that a year with more but weaker tropical cyclones making landfallhas fewer storm-surge events than a year with fewer but more intense storms. In thelong term, the tropical cyclone landfall probability has been gradually increasing sincethe mid 1960s. Over the past twenty years, major storm-surge disasters have occurredmore frequently but there have been fewer overall tropical cyclones. This has beenlinked to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phases, in that fewer but more intensetropical cyclones influence China in the El Niño year.The intensity of disastrous storm-surges is obviously site-specific, strongly related tothe intensity and tracks of tropical cyclones reaching land, local tidal ranges and tidalphase, the standard of coastal region infrastructure and public education regarding offlood dangers. Since global warming can be expected to increase tropical cyclone intensityand storm surges, some countermeasures should be strictly carried out, includingperfecting the tropical cyclone and storm-surge warning services, elevating the standardsof coastal infrastructures, and improving public awareness of disaster defense.

Global warming and rising sea level have been observed to exert great impacts on China’s coast in the past century, includingincreased coastal erosion, degraded coastal ecosystems, exacerbated saltwater intrusion, and enhanced storm surges. The impacts ofclimate change and the adjustments of coastal systems are significantly site specific, resulting from local differences in climate change,coastal physiographic and ecological conditions, and resilience of coastal systems. Anthropogenic activities also exert increasing influenceson coastal systems. Societal vulnerabilities to climate change are greatly influenced by their adaptive capacities and selective adjustment,which are greatly determined by local socioeconomic conditions, so they are also highly localized. Coastal systems do not behavelinearly to climate change. The projected increasing global warming and accelerating sea level rise will undoubtedly impose morethreats to coastal systems. However, it is still difficult to determine the coastal socio-ecological thresholds to climate change without fullunderstandings of coastal physical and biological processes, and adaptation responses of coastal ecosystems and human societies.

新生代长江水系调整、东西贯通时限是国内外学者共同关注的问题。长江发展演化的复杂性在近一个世纪的河流沉积地貌学研究中得到充分的认识，但在贯通时限问题上难以形成共识。河口地层中碎屑独居石的电子探针Th（U）-Pb年龄较好地限定长江东西贯通的时间在2。58 MaBP前后。随着碎屑矿物微区分析技术的发展，锆石、独居石年代学和微区特征将成为研究流域演化、构造运动的主要手段。

崇明岛东滩潮沟系在盐沼带内特别发育，其形成与潮滩围垦工程和盐沼带的宽度密切相关。泥滩上潮沟的发育和演化与盐沼带潮盆大小、潮时（大小潮）和降雨量等相关，潮沟体系规模小，涨潮流不受其控制，退潮时潮沟成为主要泄水通道，未沉降的细悬浮颗粒和浮泥层在重力作用下向潮沟汇集，使潮沟内沉积物比滩面细。崇明岛东滩潮沟体系形成、演化及沉积物分布，完全不同于目前研究非常详细的欧美河口湾/港湾型潮道一潮沟体系，后者潮道以涨潮流占优势，沉积物明显比滩面粗。崇明岛东滩潮沟体系是发育在快速淤长的三角洲类型海岸上，通过与其他类型的对比研究，可以更全面地认识潮道一潮沟体系对泥滩和盐沼发育、演化所起的作用。

海洋沉积物吸附有机质的量和有机质循环周期与粘土矿物类型和吸附方式密切相关，并在全球碳循环中扮演着不同的角色。粘土吸附有机质有物理吸附和化学吸附之分，前者主要存在于粘土的微孔隙中，参与年、十年或百年尺度的循环；后者主要存在于粘土矿物层间和外表面，稳定性较好，有机质易于保存，可参与百万年或更长时间的循环，这种不同时间尺度内的碳循环，将会改写海洋沉积物有机碳“源”、“汇”的关系。不同类型粘土矿物的性质存在差异，决定了吸附有机质量的多寡，蒙脱石的吸附量远大于伊利石的吸附量，这可能是造成全球不同海域中有机碳“源”、“汇”变化的原因。海洋沉积物处于水圈、生物圈和岩石圈的交汇地带，有机碳的差异和变化，都会对全球碳循环及气候变化产生重要的影响。