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.     

Rainfall intensity patterns derived from the urban network of Barcelona (NE Spain)

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - An analysis of the normalised rainfall intensity curves in Barcelona (NE Spain) has been undertaken from 41 selected rain rate episodes recorded by an urban...     

A context-sensitive correlated random walk: a new simulation model for movement

Computational Movement Analysis focuses on the characterization of the trajectory of individuals across space and time. Various analytic techniques, including but not limited to random walks, Brownian motion models, and step selection functions have been used for modeling movement. These fall under the rubric of signal models which are divided into deterministic and stochastic models. The difficulty of applying these models to the movement of dynamic objects (e.g. animals, humans, vehicles) is that the spatiotemporal signal produced by their trajectories a complex composite that is influenced by the Geography through which they move (i.e. the network or the physiography of the terrain), their behavioral state (i.e. hungry, going to work, shopping, tourism, etc.), and their interactions with other individuals. This signal reflects multiple scales of behavior from the local choices to the global objectives that drive movement. In this research, we propose a stochastic simulation model that incorporates contextual factors (i.e. environmental conditions) that affect local choices along its movement trajectory. We show how actual global positioning systems observations can be used to parameterize movement and validate movement models and argue that incorporating context is essential in modeling movement.     

Eclogitic metasediments from the Tso Morari area (Ladakh, Himalaya): evidence for continental subduction during India-Asia convergence

Metasediments in the Tso Morari area (Ladakh, Himalaya) provide new insights into the Higher Himalayan metamorphism in the northwestern part of the Himalayan belt. Whole-rock analyses and petrologic observations show that the metasediments correspond to Fe-rich metapelites, Mg-rich metapelites, intermediate metapelites and metagreywackes of the Indian continental margin. Jadeite + chloritoid + paragonite + garnet in the Fe-rich metapelites indicate pressures of 20 ±2 kbar at temperatures of 550 ±50 °C according to major element partitioning thermobarometry, stability fields of minerals and Thermocalc P-T estimates. These results are consistent with P-T estimates on other metasediments and with the occurrence of eclogites. Subsequent retrogression at the eclogite-blueschist facies transition (from 18 to 13 kbar and 540 ±50 °C) was followed by an increase in temperature to 630 ±30 °C at amphibolite facies conditions. The metamorphic evolution is related to subduction of the Indian continental margin beneath the southern Asian margin at the onset of the Indian-Eurasian collision. Received: 17 April 1996 / Accepted: 19 February 1997     

Information infrastructure for Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System

Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS, imos.org.au) is research infrastructure to establish an enduring observing program for Australian oceanic waters and shelf seas. The observations cover physical, biological, and chemical variables to address themes of multi-decadal ocean change, climate variability and weather extremes, boundary currents and inter-basin flows, continental shelf processes and ecosystem responses.IMOS observations are collected by national facilities based on various platform types and operated by partner institutions around the country. In this paper we describe the infrastructure and workflows developed to manage and distribute the data to the public. We highlight the existing standards and open-source software we have adopted, and the contributions we have made. To demonstrate the value of this infrastructure we provide some illustrations of use and uptake.All IMOS data are freely and openly available to the public via the Ocean Portal (https://imos.aodn.org.au). All IMOS-developed software is open-source and accessible at https://github.com/aodn.     

Towards a multi-scale approach for an Earth observation-based assessment of natural resource exploitation in conflict regions

The exploitation of resources, if not properly managed, can lead to spoiling natural habitats as well as to threatening people’s health, livelihoods and security. The paper discusses a multi-scale Earth observation-based approach to provide independent information related to exploitation activities of natural resources for countries which are experiencing armed conflict. The analyses are based on medium to very high spatial resolution optical satellite data. Object-based image analysis is used for information extraction at these different scales. On a subnational level, conflict-related land cover changes as an indication of potential hot spots for exploitation activities are classified. The regional assessment provides information about potential activity areas of resource exploitation, whereas on a local scale, a site-specific assessment of exploitation areas is performed. The study demonstrates the potential of remote sensing for supporting the monitoring and documentation of natural resource exploitation in conflict regions.     

Microstructure measurements in natural waters: Methodology and applications

Modern approaches to microstructure data processing, including wavelet denoising, are discussed. The wavelet procedure is applied to small-scale shear signals before estimating the dissipation rate ε and to the temperature/density profiles used to calculate Thorpe scales. Microstructure data obtained on the Mediterranean shelf of Catalonia are used to illustrate various approaches to the Thorpe displacement calculations. It is suggested that the Weibull probability function is an appropriate model for the Thorpe scale distribution. Microstructure measurements from the upper layer of the Boadella reservoir (Catalonia, Spain) support this finding.A new analytical approximation for the 1D Panchev–Kesich spectrum is deduced and the results of ε computation are compared with spectral fitting by the widely used Nasmyth spectrum. Applying the Kraichnan spectral model to compute ε from temperature spectra in the convective-viscous sub-range is examined as an alternative to the Batchelor spectrum. Microstructure measurements taken in Lake Banyoles (Catalonia, Spain) and in the North Atlantic were used for spectral calculations.Statistical analysis of eddy K_b and thermal K_θ diffusivities measured on a shallow shelf of the Black Sea shows the importance of process-orientated domain averaging of the diffusivities in obtaining good correspondence between K_b and K_θ in active turbulent regions. In weakly turbulent, stratified interior layers, the averaged K_b and K_θ differ significantly, which may point to the inapplicability of isotropic formulae used for ε and temperature dissipation χ_θ estimates, as well as to a dependence of the mixing efficiency γ on the Richardson number or in some cases on regions of fossil turbulence.