Notes and correspondence

JASs Correspondence & Notes

The knowledge of the evolution of the human genome is strictly dependent on the availability of appropriate genetic markers and their relative coverage of genetic variation which refine the phylogenetic reconstruction. While autosomal markers are particularly valuable for recognizing correspondence between genetic and geographic distances, markers on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or Non Recombining...

JASs Correspondence & Notes

A lot of ink has been spilt in Paleoanthro-pology in discussing whether or not Neander-thals possessed complex language (which means " human language in the modern sense " , quoting Arbib, 2005, p. 21, that is, a representational and communicative system with hierarchical and recursive structure), given their phylogenetic closeness to modern humans. Recently, Frayer et al. (2010) (this journal,...

JASs Correspondence & Notes

NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE Global Ocean Meridional Overturning

A decade-mean global ocean circulation is estimated using inverse techniques, incorporating air–sea fluxes of heat and freshwater, recent hydrographic sections, and direct current measurements. This information is used to determine mass, heat, freshwater, and other chemical transports, and to constrain boundary currents and dense overflows. The 18 boxes defined by these sections are divided int...

NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE When is Rain Steady?

By definition, steady rain should have a nearly constant rainfall rate. Thus far, however, the criteria for determining when rain is steady remain qualitative and arbitrary. The authors suggest a definition for steadiness that can be used to quantify the elusive notion of natural variability. In particular, the logical criteria for steadiness imply statistical stationarity and lack of correlati...