Geology of the High Grade Proterozoic Terrains of Sri Lanka, and the Assembly of Gondwana: an Update on Recent Developments

Nd model ages determined for the high-grade rocks of Sri Lanka delineate three crustal units, viz., the Highland Complex (HC), the Wanni Complex WC), and the Vijayan Complex (VC). The distribution of these three units differs considerably from the three geological divisions demarcated previously on the basis of geological mapping. The centrally located HC comprises mainly granulite grade charnockitic rocks, and metasediments characterized by older Nd model ages (2.0–3.4 Ga). The Highland sedimentary pile was thickened by intermittent granitoid intrusions, most of which are now charnockitic gneiss, and granulites, and basaltic sills, and dikes. All these metaigneous rocks now occur as conformable bands or layers due to intense polyphase deformation. The HC is bounded on the east by the amphibolite grade VC, composed mainly of granitic gneisses, basic gneisses, and migmatites, and they have ‘younger’ Nd model ages (1.1–1.8 Ga). The isotopic, and geochemical characteristics identify the precursors to the Vijayan rocks as I-type calc-alkaline granitoids originated at an ‘arc’-related tectonic environment. Thus, the earlier interpretation that the Vijayan rocks represent reworked HC was rejected. The granulite inliers within the VC, earlier considered as “resisters” to re-working, are now shown as overthrust klippen or rotated rafts of the HC. The WC, demarcated on the basis of Nd model ages (1.1–1.8 Ga) similar to those of the VC, lies west of the HC. It consists mainly of granitic gneisses, charnockitic gneisses, and migmatites, and the metamorphic grade ranges from amphibolite to granulite.Comprehensive geothermobarometric surveys constrain the P-T evolution of the three crustal units, and indicate that both the HC, and WC underwent near isobaric cooling, followed by a decompression with decreasing temperature. Extensive isotopic studies (U-Pb, Pb-Pb, Sm-Nd, Rb-Sr) have established a new geochronological framework for these high-grade rocks of Sri Lanka. The new framework has bracketed the age of high grade metamorphism in the three crustal units at 550–600 Ma.The recent advances in knowledge of the geology of Sri Lanka favour a strong geological correlation of the HC, and the VC of Sri Lanka, respectively, with the Lutzöw-Holm Complex, and the Yatmato-Belgica Complex in the East Antarctica. The geology of the WC suggests a possible correlation with Madagascar, and East Africa. The amalgamation of the three crustal units of Sri Lanka, is apparently related to the two distinct orogenic events that resulted in the assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent.     

Data-driven topo-climatic mapping with machine learning methods

Automatic environmental monitoring networks enforced by wireless communication technologies provide large and ever increasing volumes of data nowadays. The use of this information in natural hazard research is an important issue. Particularly useful for risk assessment and decision making are the spatial maps of hazard-related parameters produced from point observations and available auxiliary information. The purpose of this article is to present and explore the appropriate tools to process large amounts of available data and produce predictions at fine spatial scales. These are the algorithms of machine learning, which are aimed at non-parametric robust modelling of non-linear dependencies from empirical data. The computational efficiency of the data-driven methods allows producing the prediction maps in real time which makes them superior to physical models for the operational use in risk assessment and mitigation. Particularly, this situation encounters in spatial prediction of climatic variables (topo-climatic mapping). In complex topographies of the mountainous regions, the meteorological processes are highly influenced by the relief. The article shows how these relations, possibly regionalized and non-linear, can be modelled from data using the information from digital elevation models. The particular illustration of the developed methodology concerns the mapping of temperatures (including the situations of Föhn and temperature inversion) given the measurements taken from the Swiss meteorological monitoring network. The range of the methods used in the study includes data-driven feature selection, support vector algorithms and artificial neural networks.     

Predictive modeling for preventive Archaeology: overview and case study

The use of GIS and Spatial Analysis for predictive models is an important topic in preventive archaeology. Both of these tools play an important role in the Support Decision System (SDS) for archaeological research and for providing information useful to reduce archaeological risk. Over the years, a number of predictive models in the GIS environment have been developed and proposed. The existing models substantially differ from each other in methodological approaches and parameters used for performing the analysis. Until now, only few works consider spatial autocorrelation, which can provide more effective results. This paper provides a brief review of the existing predictive models, and then proposes a new methodological approach, applied to the neolithic sites in the Apulian Tavoliere (Southern Italy), that combines traditional techniques with methods that allow us to include spatial autocorrelation analysis to take into account the spatial relationships among the diverse sites.     

Fahien reconsidered: Pleistocene exploitation of wild bananas and Holocene introduction of Musa cultivars to Sri Lanka

A recent publication on the phytolith assemblage at Fahien rockshelter, Sri Lanka (Premathilake and Hunt) is argued to represent: the exploitation of wild Musa acuminata and M. balbisiana during the Late Pleistocene; the introduction of edible diploid cultivars from the Southeast Asia–New Guinea region during the early to mid‐Holocene; the generation and cultivation of triploid banana hybrids on Sri Lanka before 6194–5994 cal bp ; and the subsequent spread of derived triploid cultivars to mainland India and westward to Africa. A careful review of the archaeobotanical research presented by Premathilake and Hunt, in the context of broader multidisciplinary evidence (agronomy, archaeobotany, genetics and linguistics) for the domestication and spread of banana cultivars, indicates that three main aspects of their argument are problematic: the lack of clarity in the characterization of banana domestication in the past; the methods used to discriminate phytoliths into banana taxa; and the promotion of Sri Lanka as a source region rather than a recipient of banana cultivars. Following reconsideration, the Fahien evidence is consistent with previous interpretations for the origins of diploid and significant triploid cultivars outside of Sri Lanka and dispersal to that island. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From registration to visualization of geological data with MO2GEO: applications of the FieldModule,interpolation methods,and computer visualization

The registration and screen visualization of geological data are basic steps in modelling of 3D structures and geoscientific processes. Therefore, a standardized coding of geological field observations is reasonable to enable an independent modelling approach. The field module of MO2GEO provides diverse standards for data coding and was tested in the frame of a mapping project. The visualization of profiles and the construction of cross-sections improve the database for a variety of interpolation methods. The subsequently developed 3D models, constructed with diverse modelling tools, can be visualized and serve as the base for diverse applied scientific projects.     

Reconstruction of the Late Holocene climate and environmental history from North Bolgoda Lake,Sri Lanka,using lipid biomarkers and pollen records

The catastrophic impact and unpredictability of the Indian Ocean Monsoon (IOM) over South Asia are evident from devastating floods, mudslides and droughts in one of the most densely populated regions of the globe. However, our understanding as to how the IOM has varied in the past, as well as its impact on local environments, remains limited. This is particularly the case for Sri Lanka, where erosional landscapes have limited the availability of well-stratified, high-resolution terrestrial archives. Here, we present novel data from an undisturbed sediment core retrieved from the coastal Bolgoda Lake. This includes the presentation of a revised Late Holocene age model as well as an innovative combination of pollen, source-specific biomarkers, and compound-specific stable carbon isotopes of n-alkanes to reconstruct the shifts in precipitation, salinity and vegetation cover. Our record documents variable climate between 3000 years and the present, with arid conditions c. 2334 and 2067 cal a bp. This extreme dry period was preceded and followed by more wet conditions. The high-resolution palaeoenvironmental reconstruction fills a major gap in our knowledge on the ramifications of IOM shifts across South Asia and provides insights during a time of major redistribution of dense human settlements across Sri Lanka.     

Destabilizing the identity–territory nexus: Rights-based discourse in Sri Lanka’s new political geography

This paper describes the changing discourses of territory in Sri Lanka and their utility in conflict relations. The primordial homeland has been at the center of Sri Lanka’s armed struggle, in which both Sinhalese and Tamil nationalisms have used claims of ancient and ethnically determined territories to justify their right to self-determination, territorial sovereignty, and armed struggle. This identity–territory nexus based on historical argument has been destabilized in Sri Lanka, however. Scholarly findings suggest that historical linkages between ethnicity and territory in Sri Lanka are highly problematic and are no longer effectual means for adjudicating territorial desires in Sri Lanka and producing stable homelands. I argue that rights-based territorial discourses have emerged to enhance the old historical justifications for territorial authority. New narratives based upon fulfilling or denying human rights have been put to work linking authority to territory based upon moral fitness and unfitness, political legitimacy and illegitimacy, and ultimately, upon which political actor deserves to rule the territorially bound population under its control. The first part of the paper examines historical narratives linking national homelands to identity as well as scholarly work that deconstructs this linkage. In part two, external sovereignty and political legitimacy are discussed as the starting point for understanding how rights-based discourses justify territorial claims. In part three, accusations related to human rights violations are described as an important vehicle for shaming political adversaries, undermining their legitimacy, and making and unmaking territorial claims in Sri Lanka.     

Locational specificities of fertility transition in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has one of the lowest fertility rates among poor countries of the world. The fertility decline which began in the 1950s has held steady during the last four decades, despite low levels of economic development. Widespread use of contraception is the primary cause of the fertility decline. However, there is no one single homogenous body of people that can be characterized as a ‘modern’ contracepting population through which new methods of family planning have spatially diffused. There is evidence that the overall fertility decline began even before the establishment of the modern family planning program in Sri Lanka. Our analysis showed four broad regional regimes of fertility transition with considerable social and place-to-place differences in method-specific rates of contraception among them. Non-modern ‘traditional techniques’ of contraception which are widely used are an important part of fertility regulation. Sterilization is the most common method of modern contraception in all regions. Less than a tenth of the protected couples use methods such as the pill and the IUD; moreover, these methods are often discontinued after initial use. Traditional methods are an important part of the contraceptive mix in Sri Lanka, and it would be inadvisable to discourage the use of such practices. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Sustainable mineral resources management: from regional mineral resources exploration to spatial contamination risk assessment of mining

Wide-spread environmental contamination associated with historic mining in Europe has triggered social responses to improve related environmental legislation, the environmental assessment and management methods for the mining industry. Mining has some unique features such as natural background contamination associated with mineral deposits, industrial activities and contamination in the three-dimensional subsurface space, problem of long-term remediation after mine closure, problem of secondary contaminated areas around mine sites, land use conflicts and abandoned mines. These problems require special tools to address the complexity of the environmental problems of mining-related contamination. The objective of this paper is to show how regional mineral resources mapping has developed into the spatial contamination risk assessment of mining and how geological knowledge can be transferred to environmental assessment of mines. The paper provides a state-of-the-art review of the spatial mine inventory, hazard, impact and risk assessment and ranking methods developed by national and international efforts in Europe. It is concluded that geological knowledge on mineral resources exploration is essential and should be used for the environmental contamination assessment of mines. Also, sufficient methodological experience, knowledge and documented results are available, but harmonisation of these methods is still required for the efficient spatial environmental assessment of mine contamination.     

基于遥感空间信息的洪水风险识别与动态模拟研究进展

对地观测卫星遥感能够提供广泛可靠的空间信息,是洪水风险识别与动态模拟的重要支撑技术之一。为阐明卫星遥感技术对洪水研究的推动作用,回顾了洪水风险识别与动态模拟研究的发展历程及技术需求,以对地观测卫星遥感三大阶段的发展轨迹为主线,分析了遥感空间信息在洪水研究中的历史性贡献和阶段性效用,讨论总结了危险分区法、水文模型和微波遥感监测等3种洪水研究典型方法的应用进展。提出未来洪水风险识别与动态模拟研究的重点:遥感空间信息与模型算法的深度结合,遥感反演算法与系统的开发及应用,典型洪水研究方法集成系统的开发与应用,大数据方法与手段的应用。以期为提升洪水应急响应能力与灾害风险管理水平提供有效参考。     

Navigating the future of tsunami risk communication: using dimensionality,interactivity and situatedness to interface with society

Two-dimensional paper maps are well-established tsunami risk communication tools in coastal communities. Advances in GIS, geovisualization and spatial interface technologies suggest new opportunities to deliver tsunami risk communication using 3D, interactive and situated risk visualization. This paper introduces a set of geovisual interface constructs—dimensionality–interactivity–situatedness (DIS)—and evaluates their presence, absence and distribution in 129 examples of existing academic and public visual tsunami risk communication. The resulting analyses reveal structural differences in the distributions of DIS found in each of academic and public risk communication literatures, and opportunities for interactive location-aware risk communication. The second half of this paper reports on three new tsunami risk visualization interfaces informed by and developed to demonstrate how we might explore new undeveloped risk communication territory revealed by the DIS cube analysis. We discuss the design, rationale and implications of: EvacMap; ARRO3D; and Tsunamulator. These risk visualization interfaces deliver location-aware, user-centred risk maps, as well as virtual risk maps and tsunami simulations that can be viewed while standing in situ in coastal environments. This work is a first step intended to help the risk communication community systematically engage an emerging territory of interactive and location-aware 3D visualizations. This work aims to facilitate and encourage progress towards developing a new strand of interactive, situated geovisual risk communication research, by establishing these guiding constructs, their relationship to existing works and how they may inform the design of future systems and usability research.     

基于遥感空间信息的洪水风险识别与动态模拟研究进展

对地观测卫星遥感能够提供广泛可靠的空间信息，是洪水风险识别与动态模拟的重要支撑技术之一。为阐明卫星遥感技术对洪水研究的推动作用，回顾了洪水风险识别与动态模拟研究的发展历程及技术需求，以对地观测卫星遥感三大阶段的发展轨迹为主线，分析了遥感空间信息在洪水研究中的历史性贡献和阶段性效用，讨论总结了危险分区法、水文模型和微波遥感监测等3种洪水研究典型方法的应用进展。提出未来洪水风险识别与动态模拟研究的重点：遥感空间信息与模型算法的深度结合，遥感反演算法与系统的开发及应用，典型洪水研究方法集成系统的开发与应用，大数据方法与手段的应用。以期为提升洪水应急响应能力与灾害风险管理水平提供有效参考。     

Sri Lanka - India Intraplate Tectonics - Precambrian to Present

The tectonic history of Sri Lanka - India can be traced from the Precambrian to the present. On the basis of the geological record, plate tectonic processes have operated for example, the Highland Group of Sri Lanka may have represented a Precambrian plate tectonic suture. Tectonic models of these Precambrian events may be presented by spreading, collision, subduction, shearing or in situ jostling. The recent tectonic history of Sri Lanka and India relates to the evolution of the Indian Ocean since at least the Cretaceous. Although Sri Lanka is considered to be a part of the larger Indo - Australian plate, it may have had a local independent history as a block within the larger crustal unit of India. There is evidence that the separation of Sri Lanka from India was in part controlled by Precambrian structures and a history of translational, rotational and vertical adjustments to the Indian Ocean developmental plate tectonic stresses still operating.     

May 2003 Disaster in Sri Lanka and Cyclone 01-B in the Bay of Bengal

Heavy rainfall deluged South-Western Sri Lanka between the 11th and19th of May 2003 and led to its worst disaster in 50 years. Floods andlandslides claimed 260 lives. The World Meteorological Organizationcited it as evidence for the increase of anomalous climatic extremes inrecent years. Here, a meteorological analysis is presented of this disasteras part of a sustained effort to undertake meteorological applications fordisaster management. There were intense low-level westerlies over SriLanka related to cyclone 01-B that made its way across the Bay of Bengalat least 700 km away. The southeastwardly traverse of the cyclone wasstalled for a few days by anomalous north-westerly geostrophic windsver South Asia. Here, it is argued that orographic rainfall induced bythis stalled cyclone and seasonal inter-tropical convergence zone cloudbands over Sri Lanka led to the deluge. The trajectory of the cyclone wasremote from Sri Lanka and this led to no cyclone hazard warnings beingissued. No cyclones have made landfall in Sri Lanka in May in the last100 years. This study shows that one must exercise vigilance not only inthe path of the cyclone but also remotely due to the modulation of thecyclone by other atmospheric phenomenon and topographic features.This flood may have been predicted with contemporary local area weatherprediction models and this example points to the need for the developmentof local area weather prediction models as part of disaster warning systems.This study also demonstrates the use of meteorological diagnostics forpost-event analysis of hydrometeorology of disaster events.     

Probabilistic assessment of the impact of coal seam gas development on groundwater: Surat Basin,Australia

Modelling cumulative impacts of basin-scale coal seam gas (CSG) extraction is challenging due to the long time frames and spatial extent over which impacts occur combined with the need to consider local-scale processes. The computational burden of such models limits the ability to undertake calibration and sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. A framework is presented that integrates recently developed methods and tools to address the computational burdens of an assessment of drawdown impacts associated with rapid CSG development in the Surat Basin, Australia. The null space Monte Carlo method combined with singular value decomposition (SVD)-assisted regularisation was used to analyse the uncertainty of simulated drawdown impacts. The study also describes how the computational burden of assessing local-scale impacts was mitigated by adopting a novel combination of a nested modelling framework which incorporated a model emulator of drawdown in dual-phase flow conditions, and a methodology for representing local faulting. This combination provides a mechanism to support more reliable estimates of regional CSG-related drawdown predictions. The study indicates that uncertainties associated with boundary conditions are reduced significantly when expressing differences between scenarios. The results are analysed and distilled to enable the easy identification of areas where the simulated maximum drawdown impacts could exceed trigger points associated with legislative ‘make good’ requirements; trigger points require that either an adjustment in the development scheme or other measures are implemented to remediate the impact. This report contributes to the currently small body of work that describes modelling and uncertainty analyses of CSG extraction impacts on groundwater.     

Extreme events and disasters: a window of opportunity for change? Analysis of organizational,institutional and political changes,formal and informal responses after mega-disasters

Disaster associated with natural hazards can lead to important changes—positive or negative—in socio-ecological systems. When disasters occur, much attention is given to the direct disaster impacts as well as relief and recovery operations. Although this focus is important, it is noteworthy that there has been little research on the characteristics and progress of change induced by disasters. Change, as distinct from impacts, encompasses formal and informal responses to disaster events and their direct and indirect impacts. While smaller disasters do not often lead to significant changes in societies and organizational structures, major disasters have the potential to change dominant ways of thinking and acting. Against this background, the article presents an analytical framework for distinguishing change from disaster impacts. Drawing from research in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, formal and informal changes after the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 are examined and discussed against the background of the conceptual framework. The changes examined range from the commencement of the peace process in Aceh, Indonesia, to organizational and legal reforms in Sri Lanka. The article concludes that change-making processes after disasters need to be understood more in depth in order to derive important strategic policy and methodological lessons learned for the future, particularly in view of the increasing complexity and uncertainty in decision making due to climate change.     

Integrating publicly available web mapping tools for cartographic visualization of community food insecurity: a prototype

Spatial profiling of community food security data can help the targeting of geographic areas and populations most vulnerable to food insecurity. While multiple poverty mapping systems support spatial profiling, they often lack capabilities to disseminate mapping results to a wide range of audiences and to spatially link qualitative data to quantitative analysis. To address these limitations, this study presents a web mapping framework which integrates a variety of publicly available software tools to enable spatial exploration of both quantitative and qualitative data. Specifically, our framework allows online choropleth mapping and thematic data exploration through a mixture of free mapping Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and open source software tools for spatial data processing and desktop-like user interfaces. The study demonstrates this framework by developing a web prototype for informing food insecurity issues in Bogotá, Colombia. The prototype implementation reveals that the proposed framework facilitates the development of scalable and functionally-extensible mapping systems and the identification of community-specific food insecurity problems (e.g., food kitchens inaccessible from workplaces of low-income residents). This suggests that web-based cartographic visualization using publicly available software tools can be useful for spatial examination of community food insecurity as well as for cost-effective distribution of the resulting map information.     

大数据环境下数字填图数据集成服务技术

应用数字填图技术形成了大量地质填图图幅数据,这些数据空间结构化和非结构化特征并存,如何在网络环境下提供高效的数据服务是急需解决的一个难题。大数据技术的发展为数字填图、数据集成服务提供了一种新的途径。通过对数字填图数据特征的分析,在研究地质调查信息网格大数据处理框架的基础上,提出了结构化和非结构化数据相结合的有序化组织管理、发布与服务方法,并对关键技术进行了研究与试验,取得了良好的效果。     

大数据环境下数字填图数据集成服务技术

应用数字填图技术形成了大量地质填图图幅数据,这些数据空间结构化和非结构化特征并存,如何在网络环境下提供高效的数据服务是急需解决的一个难题。大数据技术的发展为数字填图、数据集成服务提供了一种新的途径。通过对数字填图数据特征的分析,在研究地质调查信息网格大数据处理框架的基础上,提出了结构化和非结构化数据相结合的有序化组织管理、发布与服务方法,并对关键技术进行了研究与试验,取得了良好的效果。     

The geochemistry of beryllium and fluorine in the gem fields of Sri Lanka

A study of the abundance of Be in the gem sediments of Sri Lanka shows that Be is found in the range of 1–13 ppm. Be shows an irregular distribution among sediments. It occurs in the silicate form and due to the proximity to the beryllium bearing rocks, namely granites and pegmatites of the Highland and Southwest Groups of Sri Lanka, very little decomposition of the Be-bearing minerals had taken place. This is further aided by the high resistance to weathering of the beryllium minerals, particularly beryl and chrysoberyl.The beryllian granites and pegmatites of the Precambrian of Sri Lanka are presumed to have been formed due to the magmatic activity associated and related to charnockitic rocks abundant in the main gem bearing areas of Sri Lanka.Fluorine is found in the range of 400–2,000 ppm and the F/Be ratios for all the areas studied show a range of 54–441. The analysis of the averages of these ratios do not show any particular anomaly in any of the areas studied. The narrow ranges of the F/Be ratios indicate the similar conditions under which weathering and geochemical transportation had taken place in the gem fields of Sri Lanka.