U-Pb zircon and Sm-Nd model ages of high-grade Moldanubian metasediments,Bohemian Massif,Czechoslovakia

We report single grain U-Pb ion-microprobe as well as conventional bulk size fraction ages for zircons from 3 metasediment samples of the Moldanubian Complex, Bohemian Massif, one of the largest crystalline complexes of the Hercynian foldbelt in Europe. These are complemented by whole-rock Sm-Nd model ages. The metasediments are of upper amphibolite to granulite grade and come from the Bory Massif in Moravia, NW of Brno (sample AA-1) and from the Varied Group (AA-2) and Monotonous Group (AA-3) in the Ceske Budejovice region of SW Bohemia.Ion-microprobe data for detrital zircons yielded ²⁰⁷Pb/ ²⁰⁶Pb ages between ca. 1750 Ma and 2680 Ma and reflect chronologically heterogeneous source terrains. One grain in sample AA-1 of the Bory granulite massif may be as old as 2684±14 Ma, and this constitutes the oldest reported zircon age for the Hercynian belt of central Europe. The single grain data are much less discordant than previously published conventional U-Pb analyses from bulk zircon samples and suggest a significant early Proterozoic crust-formation event between 2 and 2.2 Ga ago. The size fraction data are compatible with the single grain ages and give a fairly precise definition of the Hercynian event between 347 and 367 Ma ago while their upper Concordia intercept ages between 1700 and 2050 Ma represent the mean of the respective grain populations and are probably geohronologically meaningless. The Nd whole-rock model ages between 1.7 and 3.0 Ga confirm mid-Proterozoic to Archaean source terrains for the dated metasediments.     

Metabolic and physiological regulation of Chlorella sp. (Trebouxiophyceae,Chlorophyta) under nitrogen deprivation

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - A freshwater green microalgae Chlorella sp., UMACC344 was shown to produce high lipid content and has the potential to be used as feedstock for biofuel...     

Evaluation of global optimization algorithms for parameter calibration of a computationally intensive hydrologic model

With the popularity of complex hydrologic models, the time taken to run these models is increasing substantially. Comparing and evaluating the efficacy of different optimization algorithms for calibrating computationally intensive hydrologic models is becoming a nontrivial issue. In this study, five global optimization algorithms (genetic algorithms, shuffled complex evolution, particle swarm optimization, differential evolution, and artificial immune system) were tested for automatic parameter calibration of a complex hydrologic model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), in four watersheds. The results show that genetic algorithms (GA) outperform the other four algorithms given model evaluation numbers larger than 2000, while particle swarm optimization (PSO) can obtain better parameter solutions than other algorithms given fewer number of model runs (less than 2000). Given limited computational time, the PSO algorithm is preferred, while GA should be chosen given plenty of computational resources. When applying GA and PSO for parameter optimization of SWAT, small population size should be chosen. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tropical drought patterns and their linkages to large-scale climate variability over Peninsular Malaysia

Ocean–atmosphere modes of climate variability in the Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as monsoons, regulate the regional wet and dry episodes in tropical regions. However, how those modes of climate variability, and their interactions, lead to spatial differences in drought patterns over tropical Asia at seasonal to interannual time scales remains unclear. This study aims to analyse the hydroclimate processes for both short- and long-term spatial drought patterns (3-, 6, 12- and 24-months) over Peninsular Malaysia using the Standardized Precipitation Index, Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, and Palmer Drought Severity Index. Besides that, a generalized least squares regression is used to explore underlying circulation mechanisms of these spatio-temporal drought patterns. The tested drought indices indicate a tendency towards wetter conditions over Peninsular Malaysia. Based on principal component analysis, distinct spatio-temporal drought patterns are revealed, suggesting North–South and East–West gradients in drought distribution. The Pacific El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the South Western Indian Ocean (SWIO) variability, and the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) are significant contributors to the observed spatio-temporal variability in drought. Both the ENSO and the SWIO modulate the North–South gradient in drought conditions over Peninsular Malaysia, while the QBO contributes more to the East–West gradient. Through modulating regional moisture fluxes, the warm phases of the ENSO and the SWIO, and the western phases of the QBO weaken the southwest and northeast monsoon, leading to precipitation deficits and droughts over Peninsular Malaysia. The East–West or North–South gradients in droughts are related to the middle mountains blocking southwest and northeast moisture fluxes towards Peninsular Malaysia. In addition, the ENSO and QBO variations are significantly leading to short-term droughts (less than a year), while the SWIO is significantly associated with longer-duration droughts (2 years or more). Overall, this work demonstrates how spatio-temporal drought patterns in tropical regions are related to monsoons and moisture transports affected by the oscillations over the Pacific and Indian oceans, which is important for national water risk management.     

Towards automated 10–30 m resolution land cover mapping in insular South-East Asia

In this study, we create and critically analyse an automated decision tree classification approach for regional level land cover mapping in insular South-East Asian conditions, using a combination of 10–30 m resolution optical and radar data. The resulting map contains 11 land cover classes and reveals a great deal of contextual information due to high spatial resolution. A limited accuracy assessment indicates 59–97% class wise accuracies. The unprecedented spatial detail of closed canopy oil palm mapping (with user’s accuracy of 90%) is seen as the most promising feature of the mapping approach. The incapability of separating primary forests from other tree cover, and the large variety of different landscapes (e.g. home gardens and tea plantations) classified as shrubland, are considered the main areas for future improvement. Overall, the study demonstrates the great potential of multi-source 10–30 m resolution high data volume land cover mapping approaches in insular South-East Asian conditions.     

Present-day regional climate simulation over Malaysia and western Maritime Continent region using PRECIS forced with ERA40 reanalysis

This study examines the performance of the regional climate model, PRECIS, in reproducing the historical seasonal mean climatology over the Malaysian region. The performance of the model in simulating the seasonal climate pattern of the temperature, precipitation and large-scale circulation was reasonably good. The biases of temperature are less than 2 °C in general, while the seasonal cycles match the observed pattern despite some differences in certain regions. However, the biases for precipitation were greater, particularly over the mountainous areas. These biases could be associated with the deficiencies of the model physics, related to the misrepresentation of the land–surface interaction and convective scheme. Furthermore, the model fails to simulate the mean sea-level pressure over the interior part of Borneo with a significant low-pressure centre. A higher magnitude of the moisture convergence and divergence simulated by the model also contributed to the biases of precipitation over Malaysia.