bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Oceanic crust deep seismic survey
Authors: McBride J. H. , White R. S.
Published: October 2006

In September 1991, the British Institutions Reflection Profiling Syndicate (BIRPS) collected 578 km of deep seismic reflection profiles over the oceanic crust beneath the Cape Verde abssyal plain in approximately 4900 m of water (Fig. 1). The survey, under the direction of J. H. McBride, was undertaken in response to a proposal made by R. S. White at the 1990 BIRPS open syndicate meeting in Birmingham, England, and was acquired using GECO‐PRAKLA'S M/V Bin Hai 511. The survey consisted of two strike lines parallel to magnetic sea‐floor lineations and nine orthogonal crossing lines oriented parallel to the spreading direction (Fig. 2). Adjacent lines are spaced at 4 km. For the first time, this provides the ability to map oceanic crust in “3D,” since the line spacing is less than or equal to the Fresnel‐zone diameter for the lower crust.
Intercomparison of land‐surface parameterizations launched
Authors: Henderson‐Sellers A. , Dickinson R. E.
Published: October 2006

One of the crucial tasks for climatic and hydrological scientists over the next several years will be validating land surface process parameterizations used in climate models. There is not, necessarily, a unique set of parameters to be used. Different scientists will want to attempt to capture processes through various methods “for example, Avissar and Verstraete, 1990”. Validation of some aspects of the available (and proposed) schemes' performance is clearly required. It would also be valuable to compare the behavior of the existing schemes [for example, Dickinson et al., 1991; Henderson‐Sellers, 1992a].

The WMO‐CAS Working Group on Numerical Experimentation (WGNE) and the Science Panel of the GEWEX Continental‐Scale International Project (GCIP) [for example, Chahine, 1992] have agreed to launch the joint WGNE/GCIP Project for Intercomparison of Land‐Surface Parameterization Schemes (PILPS). The principal goal of this project is to achieve greater understanding of the capabilities and potential applications of existing and new land‐surface schemes in atmospheric models. It is not anticipated that a single “best” scheme will emerge. Rather, the aim is to explore alternative models in ways compatible with their authors' or exploiters' goals and to increase understanding of the characteristics of these models in the scientific community.
U.S. WOCE office opens in Washington
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The World Ocean Circulation Experiment Interagency Panel (IAP) has established an interagency office for the U.S. WOCE in Washington, D.C., to improve coordination among the federal agencies that fund U.S. contributions to WOCE. These agencies are the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, the Office of Naval Research, and the Department of Energy.
AGU report on volcanism and climate targets media, public
Authors: Simarski Lynn Teo
Published: October 2006

A new AGU initiative to convey current science to the press and public culminated May 18 with a press conference in Washington, D.C., that aired the latest research on volcanoes and climate. AGU released its first special report, “Volcanism and Climate Change,” at the event, and AGU headquarters has been receiving a steady stream of requests for it from the media and others. Both the report and the press conference focused on results of the AGU Chapman Conference on Climate, Volcanism, and Global Change, held March 23–27, 1992, in Hilo, Hawaii.

media was conceived by AGU Public Information Committee member William Graustein last November, and the committee added a press conference as a way to expand the Union's role in delivering accurate scientific information to the public, according to Debra Knopman, committee chair. The committee chose the Hilo conference as a test case because it dealt with global change, a topic of clear public interest. By publicizing an emerging area of research discussed at a recent meeting, the report and press conference would also show the scientific process at work, Knopman said
AGU position on Moon'Mars Plans adopted
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

On May 14, the AGU Council adopted a Union position statement on the Space Exploration Initiative, President Bush' s proposed program of human exploration of the Moon and Mars. The statement was drafted by a panel chaired by Raymond E. Arvidson of Washington University
[Comment on “GEWEX: The Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment”] Global water balance uncertainty
Authors: Dincer Turgot
Published: October 2006

I am surprised by the opening remarks of Moustafa T. Chahine in his article, “GEWEX: The Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment” (Eos, January 14, 1992, p. 9), which stated that “our quantitative knowledge of the global hydrological cycle remains surprisingly poor. Evaporation minus precipitation or, similarly, the net flow of water from land to oceans and the net advection of moisture from the marine atmosphere to the terrestrial atmosphere is known at best to a factor of two to three.” The author here refers to a personal communication made to him in 1991 by J. Shaake.

It seems that the author of this article and his reference are not aware of important advances made in the subject of global water balance during the last decades, particularly during the International Hydrological Decade Program sponsored by UNESCO and carried out successfully with the cooperation of 110 member countries. One of the major outcomes of this program was the establishment of World Water Balance based on a vast amount of meteorological and hydrological data [Korzun, 1978;Budyko, 1980]. A wealth of detailed information about the water balance of continents, oceans, major river basins, and islands, including atmospheric moisture fluxes to and from the continents, is found in the UNESCO publication edited by Korzun [1978], often with residual values of the water balance that are less than 10 and very often less than 5% of the main water balance components. This is in serious contradiction with the statement that these components are known at best to a factor of two to three as suggested in Chahine's article.
[Comment on “Sensitivity of the global climate system to initial conditions” by A. A. Tsonis] Autoagressive models not sensitive to initial conditions
Authors: Gray H. L. , Woodward Wayne A.
Published: October 2006

A well‐known approach to studying the impact of greenhouse gases on climate is computer‐simulated general circulation models (GCMs) that integrate current understanding of the various factors influencing climate through a comprehensive mathematical model. In such models, for example, one can input hypothetical CO2 levels for the next 100 years and examine their effect on temperature. There is much current debate over the degree of validity that can be attributed to the output from a GCM since our understanding of the input factors that affect climate is far from perfect.
The Earth's magnetic field: Which geometry?
Authors: Courtillot Vincent , Valet Jean‐Pierre , Hulot Gauthier , Le Mouël Jean‐Louis
Published: October 2006

Were it not for the presence of a solar wind, the intrinsic magnetic field of the Earth—if observed from far enough out in space—would appear to be almost perfectly dipolar, with the axis of the dipole presently tilted by some 10° with respect to the rotation axis. At the Earth's surface, the axial dipolar term is dominant, which serves among other uses as a basis for both orientation with a compass and plate‐tectonic applications of paleomagnetism. One can ask whether this dipolar dominance would hold were the field observed from just above its source at the core‐mantle boundary. The answer is that indeed it does (Figure 1), although of course the dipolar part is reduced in amplitude relative to the higher‐order (shorter wavelength) terms. These higher‐order terms are compatible with a flat, white‐noise‐like, power spectrum. This implies that there are similar amounts of energy stored in the various harmonic terms (see, for example,Constable and Parker [1988]), although a “pink” spectrum (that is, slightly more power at the longer wavelengths) is as plausible [Hulot et al., 1992]. Terms beyond degree and order 13 (that is, wavelengths shorter than 1500 km) are contaminated by crustal and lithospheric (that is, surficial static) fields.
Meeting on Earth System History
Authors: Barron Eric J.
Published: October 2006

The geologic record preserves the integrated response of the Earth system to many perturbations. The study of Earth system history provides unique information on natural variability, the coupling of the components of the Earth system, the biosphere response to global change, and the global and regional response to abrupt changes. Earth system history also has the potential to supply case studies of past global change which are essential to assess the response of climate models to altered boundary conditions. For these reasons, Earth system history has become a key element of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).
The imperiled future of solar‐terrestrial research in the former Soviet Union
Authors: Roederer Juan G. , Teague Michael
Published: October 2006

From the beginning of solar‐terrestrial research (STR) during the International Geophysical Year 1957/58, the Soviet Union made substantial contributions to this new discipline. In many areas, such as magnetic pulsations, cosmic ray modulation, plasmasphere structure and dynamics, ionospheric modification, theoretical space plasma physics, and planetary ionospheres, Soviet scientists have pioneered and excelled.

Some unique facts call for vigorous participation by the former Soviet Union (FSU) in the Solar‐Terrestrial Energy Program 1990–1997 (STEP) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) Scientific Committee on Solar‐Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP) (see, for instance, Rostoker [1990]). There are the existing brain power in many related disciplines, with particular strength in theoretical physics and analytical methods; the area's geographic importance, especially Russia's vast longitudinal extent at high northern latitudes; the existing magnetic, optical, and ionospheric observatory networks throughout the country, especially in the Arctic and important Antarctic bases; space mission capability with existing and planned satellite missions and a stock of available prototype spacecraft with their launch vehicles; an existing bank of STR data, some of it formerly classified, waiting to be analyzed; and ongoing research on “controversialrdquo; topics such as the search for solar‐terrestrial coupling effects on biological and human systems and the study of earthquake precursor effects in the ionosphere.
NOAA establishes ombudsman function
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

To improve its communications with the nation's academic institutions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has established an ombudsman function. Housed within NOAA's Office of the Chief Scientist, the ombudsman will identify and assist in solving any problems that arise in the course of NOAA‐academic interactions.
Antarctic map from the Geosat Geodetic Mission
Authors: Mantripp D. R. , Ridley J. K. , Rapley C. G.
Published: October 2006

With radar altimeters it is possible to measure Antarctic topography, which is a key to modeling ice sheet and ice shelf dynamics, both through studies of ice sheet slopes and of surface features related to ice flow [Robin, 1966;Brooks et al.,1984;Zwally et al.,1983]. Long‐term monitoring will permit study of the response of the ice sheets and ice shelves to climate change. In this respect, the vast Ross and Ronne‐Filchner ice shelves are of special importance since they are thought to play a critical role in buttressing the west Antarctic ice sheet [Bindschadler,1990]. However, the behavior of smaller ice shelves lying further north is also of interest, since they may respond more rapidly to climate change [Doake and Vaughan,] 1991].
Radar interferometry studies of the Earth's topography
Authors: Evans Diane L. , Farr Tom G. , Zebker Howard A. , van Zyl Jakob J. , Mouginis‐Mark Peter J.
Published: October 2006

Topographic information is required for many geological and geophysical investigations. For example, detailed topographic data alone can be used to map geological structure and thus reveal the effects of tectonic deformation. Additionally, they can be combined with gravity field measurements to constrain models of lithospheric structure and rheology [e.g., Topographic Science Working Group, 1988].
Henry M. Stommel (1920–1992)
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Bowie Medalist Henry Melson Stommel of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution died on January 17 in Boston, Mass. Stommel made fundamental contributions to the field of physical oceanography during his long career at Harvard, MIT, and Woods Hole.
LATEX Program awarded to Texas A&M
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) has awarded a $10.8 million contract to the Texas A&M University system to establish a major new oceanography research program focusing on the Gulf of Mexico.

The Texas A&M program is one of a three‐part, $16.2 million federal initiative called the Louisiana/Texas Physical Oceanography Program (LATEX), which will aid MMS in reducing risks associated with oil and gas operations on the continental shelf along the Texas and Louisiana coasts from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Rio Grande.
Loma Prieta Data Archive Project
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Science Foundation have selected the National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering to serve as the primary clearinghouse for archival materials related to the October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake. Members of all disciplines are invited to contribute data sets, technical reports and articles, slides, photos, and other research material related to the earthquake.

Research data sets will be published on CD‐ROM as part of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act Report to Congress on the Loma Prieta Earthquake.
1992 Spring Meeting breaks record
Authors: Chapman David S.
Published: October 2006

The 1992 Spring Meeting was held in Montreal May 12–16 as a joint meeting of AGU, the Canadian Geophysical Union, and the Mineralogical Society of America. This was the largest AGU Spring Meeting ever held with just over 2,900 members in attendance. The increased size of the program was partly a result of a conscious effort by the program committee to build up the Spring Meeting and provide a better balance between the Spring and Fall meetings. The venue of Montreal and activity of the CGU were also factors that helped make this meeting a success.
Do solar variations change climate?
Authors: Reid George C.
Published: October 2006

Most specialists now agree that the average temperature at the Earth's surface has increased by about half a degree Celsius since the beginning of the 20th century. The cause of this global warming, however, is a matter for intense debate and controversy, ranging from one extreme attributing it all to the increasing greenhouse effect brought about by human activities, to the opposite position attributing the warming to natural climate variability. Some model calculations have shown that the greenhouse effect can account for the size of the observed temperature increase, but the models are still relatively crude and cannot account for the shape of the increase. As a result, most researchers now think that some combination of natural and anthropogenic causes is at work.
951 Gaspra: First pictures of an asteroid
Authors: Veverka J. , Belton M. , Chapman C. ,   Galileo Imaging Team
Published: October 2006

On October 29, 1991, the Galileo spacecraft flew past 951 Gaspra at a distance of 1600 km and obtained the first close‐up views of an asteroid. The best view of an asteroid ever taken (Figure 1) from some 5300 km out, shows detail as fine as 54 m.

Among the more than 5,000 numbered asteroids, 951 Gaspra is a relatively small, highly elongated object with an average radius of about 7 km, orbiting near the inner edge of the main asteroid belt (semimajor axis of 2.21 AU), in the so‐called Flora region. This region is densely populated with small asteroids that are generally thought to be the fragments of one or more larger precursor asteroids smashed by catastrophic collisions.
A new seismic discriminant for earthquakes and explosions
Authors: Woods Bradley B. , Helmberger Donald V.
Published: October 2006

With the spread of nuclear weapons technology, more regions of the world need to be monitored in order to verify nuclear nonproliferation and limited test‐ban treaties. Seismic monitoring is the primary means to remotely sense contained underground explosions “Bolt, 1976; Dahlman and Israelson, 1977”. Both underground explosions and earthquakes generate seismic energy, which propagates through the Earth as elastic waves. The crux of the verification problem is to differentiate between the seismic signatures of explosions and earthquakes. Such identification is most difficult in countries with seismically active areas, where bombs might be detonated to blend in with the region's natural seismicity.
JGR‐Solid Earth to commemorate AGU anniversary
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Journal of Geophysical Research‐Solid Earth is planning to commemorate AGU's 75th anniversary in 1994 with a series of special invited papers dealing with particularly interesting and important frontier areas of solid Earth research. Papers concerning the full sweep of topics published in JGR‐Solid Earth are of interest. The purpose of this note is to solicit topics for these papers and the names of potential authors.

Two manuscripts will be solicited for each topic, which will include such topics as the core/mantle boundary, the occurrence and role of fluids in the Earth, and the nature and origin of the geomagnetic field. We hope that these papers will document the role of AGU and its publications in the advancement of the geophysical sciences. One paper will be a historical overview of the current state of the research and how we arrived there, and the other will take a more future‐looking approach and discuss major problems remaining in the field and how they might be investigated.
SPA dinner, “Dubious Distinction” awards
Authors: Russell C. T.
Published: October 2006

The Annual SPA Dinner was held at the Wu Kong Restaurant in San Francisco, Calif., on December 8, 1992. Over 160 SPA members and their guests attended. Unfortunately, tickets for the event sold out early, and a large number of potential attendees could not attend. The SPA officers and AGU staff promised that a way around this problem would be found for the next dinner.
OTA director to be Clinton's science advisor
Authors: Leath Audrey
Published: October 2006

President Clinton has nominated John H. “Jack” Gibbons to be Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). For over a decade, Gibbons has served as director of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), a bipartisan research arm of Congress.

In nominating Gibbons, Clinton said, “I am delighted to appoint a brilliant scientist and gifted administrator… It is profoundly important that the president have a science advisor who understands science, who understands technology, who understands the practical application of these disciplines to the myriad of problems we face today. And I can tell you that from [Vice‐president] Al Gore on down to every other member of Congress I have discussed John Gibbons with, I have hardly ever received more glowing and more consistent recommendations for anyone.”
1993 Congressional Calendar
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following is the tentative 1993 schedule for Congress. This calendar can be used to plan visits to Washington to meet with members of Congress, or as a guide for scheduling events to which a member will be invited.

When the House is in session, members are typically in Washington from Tuesday morning to Thursday afternoon. Roll call votes are recorded, greatly reducing the probability that a Representative can attend a local function. These days are best for scheduling appointments in Washington. Appointments should be made at least 2 weeks in advance. During district work periods, representatives return to their district offices.
Mapping the Southwest Indian Ridge with Geosat
Authors: Marks K. M. , McAdoo D. C. , Smith W. H. F.
Published: October 2006

Satellite altimetry continues to have an extraordinary impact on the Earth sciences. It is sure to be considered the most important new observing tool for marine geophysics and geology to emerge in recent times. Spacecraft that have used and are currently using radar altimeters to map sea‐surface topography, and thereby marine gravity, include Geos‐3, Seasat, Geosat, ERS‐1, and Topex/Poseidon. To date, however, only Geosat altimeter data have possessed both the accuracy and density of coverage necessary to clearly resolve tectonic details in the marine gravity field on a global basis.
Weddell Sea exploration from ice station
Authors: Gordon Arnold L. ,   Ice Station Weddell Group of Principal Investigators and Chief Scientists
Published: October 2006

On January 18, 1915, the Endurance and Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew were stranded in the ice of the Weddell Sea and began one of the most famous drifts in polar exploration. Shackleton turned a failure into a triumph by leading all of his team to safety [Shackleton, 1919]. The drift track of the Endurance and the ice floe occupied by her stranded crew after the ship was lost on November 21, 1915, at 68°38.5′S and 52°26.5′W, carried the group along the western rim of the Weddell Gyre, representing a rare human presence in this region of perennial sea‐ice cover.

Seventy‐seven years later, in 1992, the first intentional scientific Southern Ocean ice drift station, Ice Station Weddell‐1 (ISW‐1), was established in the western Weddell Sea by a joint effort of the United States and Russia. ISW‐1 followed the track of the Endurance closely (Figure 1) and gathered an impressive array of data in this largely unexplored corner of the Southern Ocean, the western edge of the Weddell Gyre.
O'Leary confirmed as DOE secretary
Authors: Jones Richard M.
Published: October 2006

On January 21, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of Hazel R. O'Leary as the new secretary of energy. This vote came just 2 days after O'Leary appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

O'Leary, 55, has been executive vice president for corporate affairs at the Minnesota‐based Northern States Power Company. During the Carter administration, she worked in a senior position at the Federal Energy Administration.
COARE field work enters second phase
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

The Coupled Ocean‐Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE), the field effort of the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program, recently entered its second phase. Included in this phase of the massive research effort is the addition of two U.S. aircraft from NASA and one aircraft each from Australia and the United Kingdom. NASA's ER‐2, which can fly above 95% of the Earth's atmosphere, is being used to observe the upper regions of giant tropical convective cloud systems about 1500–2000 m above the ocean surface. The four aircraft join eight research vessels that have taken on new crews and scientists and are back in an observing position at sea.
Clinton seeks additional funds for NSF
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

A $207 million fiscal year 1993 supplemental appropriation for the National Science Foundation has been proposed by President Clinton for strategic research and core research programs. The funds would increase the agency's 1993 budget to $2.04 billion, a 14% increase over the fiscal 1992 budget. The request is part of a $16.3 billion supplemental bill awaiting action by Congress that would also create 500,000 new jobs.

On February 23, NSF Director Walter E. Massey testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, HUD, and Independent Agencies to support the supplement. “NSF's activities contribute to improving the nation's productivity by generating new knowledge and investing in the future by training the current and next generation of scientists and engineers,” he said.
TOPEX/Poseidon performance evaluated
Authors: Fu Lee‐Lueng , Christensen Edward J.
Published: October 2006

At the end of the verification phase of the joint U.S./France TOPEX/Poseidon satellite, a workshop to evaluate the mission's performance took place February 22 to 25, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. About 150 scientists and engineers participated. Prior to the workshop, thirteen 10‐day cycles of preliminary data, called the Interim Geophysical Data Records (IGDR), had been distributed to the Science Working Team (SWT) for analysis. Reports presented at the workshop indicate that all the measurement objectives have been met. In fact, many measurements have exceeded performance requirements.
Remote sensing aids in sea‐ice analysis
Authors: Fetterer Florence , Gineris Denise , Johnson Conrad
Published: October 2006

Satellite‐borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is fast becoming an indispensable tool for operational sea‐ice analysis. In anticipation of this, the Naval Research Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration established a data link between the Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) in Fairbanks and the Navy/NOAA Joint Ice Center in Suitland, Md. The Joint Ice Center is the national center for ice analysis and forecasting. At the NRL Remote Sensing Applications Branch, we are working to ensure that SAR and other satellite data are used to best advantage for ice analysis by putting together appropriate software tools for manipulating images, developing algorithms for automated image analysis, and combining sensor data in ways that increase confidence in the final product, usually an ice type and concentration map. This article gives a brief look at some recent work in each of these areas.
Using thermal compression waves to assess latent heating from clouds
Authors: Pielke R. A. , Nicholls M. E. , Bedard A. J.
Published: October 2006

Meteorologists have extensively explored the dynamics of various inertial and gravity wave motions in the atmosphere [Holton, 1992; Haltiner and Williams, 1980]. These motions are assumed to be essentially incompressible, with the influence of sound waves being unimportant. Except for thunder and other propagation of audible sound waves, compression effects in the atmosphere have been generally ignored. Recently, a new theoretical framework has been developed which shows that thermally produced compression waves are critical to our understanding of atmospheric adjustment processes and the total energy budget. The thermally induced waves may provide valuable indicators of convective processes.
Lorenz receives Revelle Medal
Authors: Emanuel Kerry , Lorenz Edward N.
Published: October 2006

The Roger Revelle Medal for outstanding accomplishments toward an understanding of the Earth's atmospheric processes was presented to Edward N. Lorenz at the 1992 AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on December 9, 1992. The meeting was held in San Francisco. The award citation, delivered by Kerry A. Emanuel, as well as Lorenz's response, are presented here.
Insight on the formation of Pacific guyots from ODP Leg 144
Authors:   Ocean Drilling Program Leg 144 Shipboard Scientific Party
Published: October 2006

Guyots are flat‐topped seamounts that are most common on Mesozoic‐age Pacific oceanic crust. Dredging of the Pacific guyots, of which over 300 are known, commonly revealed the existence of mid‐Cretaceous rudist reefs and other shallow‐water carbonate facies, now submerged to depths on the order of 1000‐1500 m, capping volcanic edifices [Lincoln et al., 1993].

The intriguing question of how guyots originate played a major role in the development of concepts of seafloor spreading, hot spots, thermal subsidence and crustal thinning, and superswells [e.g., Hess, 1962; Detrick and Crough, 1978; Menard, 1964, 1984]. However, key questions remain, such as why a tropical carbonate platform would suddenly cease to keep pace with subsidence after constructing a massive carbonate cap up to 1000‐m thick and tens of kilometers in diameter, or why the apparent ages of the underlying volcano and of the shallow‐water carbonate cap as determined from dredge samples appeared to lack the coherent patterns predicted from hot‐spot and subsidence theories.
H2S Hazard on ODP Leg 146
Authors: Francis T. J. G. , Olivas R. E.
Published: October 2006

On the Ocean Drilling Program's Leg 146, extremely high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were encountered in cores acquired from the top 17 m of the sedimentary section at Site 892, in 674‐m water depth off the coast of Oregon. The amount of H2S given off by these cores on the deck of the drill ship was sufficient to create a safety hazard and, if improperly handled, could have administered a lethal dose. The purpose of this article is to warn the scientific community of the dangers of handling this naturally occurring material.

The cores were several orders of magnitude richer in H2S than any previously recovered by DSDP/ODP in 25 years of scientific ocean drilling. Gas hydrates were recovered from the same interval, and it is possible that the H2S may have been stored in a hydrate structure. The cores were split and allowed to degas in the open air before being taken into the ship's laboratory. ODP technical staff handling the cores wore breathing apparatus and used hand‐held H2S detector instruments. Key personnel on the drill ship are regularly trained in the hazards of H2S, which is commonly encountered in oil and gas drilling.
Do you know of an isolated swarm of small earthquakes?
Authors: Crampin Stuart
Published: October 2006

Occasionally in intraplate areas, isolated swarms of small earthquakes occur with hypocenters only a kilometer or two apart, many kilometers away from any other seismic activity [Crampin, 1991]. The Blue Mountain Lake swarm, N.Y., 1972–1973, and the Enola swarm, Ark., 1982–1983, were two such swarms.

The largest events in isolated swarms, which I shall call “typical events,” are usually smaller than magnitude 4 and typically tend to repeat with similar magnitudes and locations every few days or weeks. These typical events have shown precursory phenomena similar to those seen before much larger earthquakes in regions of higher seismicity. Changes in Vp/Vs ratios were observed at Blue Mountain Lake [Aggarwal, 1973] and at Enola [Chiu et al., 1984], and changes in shear‐wave splitting were also observed at Enola [Booth et al., 1990]. Presumably the reason for the sensitivity that allows precursors to be observed before comparatively small events in isolated swarms is that the behavior before small earthquakes can be identified in quiet aseismic areas that would be hidden in the tectonic complexity of more active seismic regions.
Symposium probes materials science approaches in geophysics
Authors: Cooper Reid F. , Fredrick Joanne T. , Green David J. , Kronenberg Andreas K.
Published: October 2006

The mechanisms of fracture and flow in rocks and ceramics are remarkably similar. As a result, studies of the mechanical properties of Earth materials that ultimately govern the behavior of the lithosphere have benefitted from mineral and rock physics approaches resembling those taken in the study of structural ceramics. Laboratory studies of fracture propagation and frictional sliding in rocks have led to advances in our understanding of earthquake mechanics [e.g., Tullis, 1986; Segall, 1991] much as experimental studies of engineering materials have aided in the prediction of failure and wear of critical structural components.

Studies of mineral plasticity and ductile flow of rocks [e.g., Evans and Dresen, 1991] have revealed that nonlinear time‐dependent rheologies, as first described for metals and ceramics, govern mechanical response at high temperatures and pressures with pronounced effects on the scaling and evolution of continental collisions [England et al, 1985; Houseman and England, 1993]. Studies of the mechanical and transport properties of partial melts and glass ceramics [Cooper, 1990] are now providing insights into the delivery of melts to active ridge axes [e.g., Phipps Morgan, 1991]. Investigations of phase transformations in silicate and oxide systems have revealed mechanisms that are both thermally driven and stress‐induced, and experiments designed to examine phase transformations under nonhydrostatic stresses have provided insight into the source mechanisms of deep‐focus earthquakes [Kirby et al., 1991; Green et al., 1992].
Earthquake Hazards Report completed
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

“Applications of Research from the U.S. Geological Survey Program, Assessment of Regional Earthquake Hazards and Risk Along the Wasatch Front, Utah” (USGS Professional Paper 1519) is a report that explains how new information about earthquake hazards was applied in Utah. The report, edited by Paula Gori, is now available.

In 1983, the USGS targeted the Wasatch Front, Utah, for a multiyear program that focused on earthquake research and hazards reduction. An earlier report, “Assessment of Regional Earthquake Hazards and Risk Along the Wasatch Front, Utah” (USGS Professional Paper 1500 A‐J) contained the results of much of the scientific research undertaken from 1983 to 1988. This new report contains the results of research undertaken during the latter phases of the Wasatch Front Program and presents examples of how the research was applied at the local level.
“Precision” parameter: A misnomer
Authors: Gillett Stephen L.
Published: October 2006

The parameter K that describes the concentration of paleomagnetic directions about The parameter K that describes the concentration of paleomagnetic directions about their mean is commonly termed the “precision” parameter, a terminology that goes back toFisher's[1953] original paper. However, it does not measure “precision” as the term is now used in the physical sciences.

“Precision” is a measure of how well a result is experimentally defined ]e.g.,Bevington, 1960], and this definition is drummed into beginning science students, commonly starting at the high‐school level. For paleomagnetic data, however, “precision” in this sense is expressed by a confidence limit, such as a95; thus it depends on N (the number of samples) as well as K. For this reason, more modern treatments of directional statistics instead usually call K the “concentration” parameter, which is a neutral (and natural) geometric description [e.g.,Mardia, 1972, 1975;Fisher et al, 1987].
Proposed NSF name change includes engineering
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

An indication of some of the thinking on Capitol Hill about the nature of federal support for science and technology is reflected in a recent letter from House Science Committee Chairman George Brown (D‐Calif.) and Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D‐Va.) to the American Physical Society. In the August 9 letter, Brown and Boucher request comments on changing the name of the National Science Foundation to the National Science and Engineering Foundation. APS unequivocally opposes the name change.

A portion of the Brown and Boucher letter states, “The authorization of appropriations for the NSF expires at the close of Fiscal Year 1993, and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is now drafting reauthorizing legislation for the next fiscal years. On May 20, the Science Subcommittee held hearings on the reauthorization of the foundation. At those hearings the American Association of Engineering Societies recommended that the name of the NSF be changed to the National Science and Engineering Foundation and the name of the National Science Board be changed to the National Science and Engineering Board.”
Crisis for NSF
Authors: Tullis Terry
Published: October 2006

The Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee that funds the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies, chaired by Barbara Mikulski (D‐Md.), has produced a report (number 103–137) that threatens the existence of the National Science Foundation as we know it.

The report accompanied NSF's appropriations bill, HR2491, for the upcoming 1994 fiscal year. The language of this report is inflammatory and seems designed to hinder cooperation between the committee and the scientific community. It states that if NSF does not redirect a minimum of 60% of its research effort into strategically‐driven science as opposed to curiosity‐driven science, NSF will “diminish into becoming nothing more than a national endowment for science,” and “future R&D budgets should instead be allocated more generously to agencies such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NASA, the national energy labs, or the National Institutes of Health, all of whom seem poised to pursue critical technologies with entrepreneurial vigor and enthusiasm.”
New findings challenge beliefs about solar‐terrestrial physics
Authors: Gosling J. T.
Published: October 2006

Solar flares are intense, short‐lived brightenings that occur near sunspots on the Sun's surface. Large geomagnetic storms, intense auroral displays, large energetic particle events in interplanetary space, and major shock wave disturbances in the solar wind often occur in close association with large solar flares. Over the years, the common association of these events in near‐Earth space with solar flares led to a paradigm of cause and effect in which large solar flares came to be understood as the fundamental cause of these disturbances.

Certain aspects of this paradigm were developed in the early 1930s [e.g., Hale, 1931], and by the early 1960s it had become part of the underlying dogma central to the discipline of solar‐terrestrial physics. This paradigm still dominates the popular perception of the relationship between solar activity and interplanetary and geomagnetic events and continues to provide much of the pragmatic rationale for the study of the solar flare phenomenon.
Greatest barrier is retaining young scientists
Authors: Chandler Mark , Hopper John
Published: October 2006

The National Science Foundation's top priorities as listed by director Neal Lane in Eos (November 9) are to strengthen NSF and its support of scientific research and education, to better articulate to the public why it is so important that support of science and engineering be strengthened, and to continue to lower barriers that discourage young people from choosing careers in science.

While we firmly support the first two priorities, we are concerned about the underlying assumptions and implications of the third. Barriers discouraging women and minorities from considering careers in math and science do exist within our educational system, and there is now abundant statistical evidence showing these groups are under‐represented in most fields of science. However, as stated in the Eos article, solving these problems and leveling the playing field is not the primary goal of the NSF policy.
National science and technology council established
Authors: Mockter Susan Bucci
Published: October 2006

A cabinet‐level National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) was established by President Clinton on November 23, fulfilling a key recommendation of the National Performance Review to strengthen and streamline the White House science and technology policy function. “Investing in science and technology is investing in America's future.… During the campaign and in my first days in office, I committed to reorganize and strengthen the White House science and technology function in order to implement my science and technology agenda,” said the president at the signing of the executive order.

The NSTC will be a single, strengthened science and technology policy council within the White House intended to significantly improve decision making by consolidating and elevating functions previously carried out by interagency councils such as the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET), the National Space Council, and the National Critical Materials Council, the president said.
Deep sea study takes a new approach
Authors: Robigou Véronique , Ballard Robert D.
Published: October 2006

The rapidly evolving technology of remotely operated vehicles (ROV) is revolutionizing the exploration and study of deepwater environments. In 1991, the JASON/MEDEA ROV system exhibited its high‐resolution imaging capabilities in the rugged hydrothermal environment of the Endeavour Segment, northern Juan de Fuca Ridge [Delaney et al., 1991; Sempéré et al., 1991]. In 1992, the Canadian Remotely Operated Platform for Ocean Science (ROPOS) successfully sampled hydrothermal vents along the Juan de Fuca Ridge and recovered data from an Ocean Drilling Program borehole in Middle Valley, northern Juan de Fuca Ridge [Embley and Franklin, 1993]. In 1993, a 21‐day expedition to the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California, Mexico, went a step further, combining ROV and manned‐submersible assets to maximize the effectiveness of both vehicles for scientific use and ultimately demonstrating a completely new approach to deep‐sea research.
Canopy Research Network seeks input
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

In July 1993, the Canopy Research Network was established with a 2‐year planning grant from the National Science Foundation to bring together forest canopy researchers, quantitative scientists, and computer specialists to establish methods for collecting, storing, analyzing, interpreting, and displaying three‐dimensional data that relate to tree crowns and forest canopies.

The CRN is now soliciting input from scientists in other fields who may have developed techniques and software to help obtain answers to questions that concern the complex three‐dimensional structure of tree crowns and forest canopies. Over the next 3 years, the CRN plans to compile an array of research questions and issues requiring information on canopy structure, examine useful information models and software tools already in use in allied fields, and develop conceptual models and recommendations for the types and format of information and analyses necessary to answer research questions posed by canopy researchers.
California quake assessed
Authors: Wuethrich Bernice
Published: October 2006

On January 17, at 4:31 A.M., a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Los Angeles area, crippling much of the local infrastructure and claiming 51 lives.

Members of the Southern California Earthquake Network, a consortium of scientists at universities and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), entered a controlled crisis mode. Network scientists, including David Wald, Susan Hough, Kerry Sieh, and a half dozen others went into the field to gather information on the earthquake, which apparently ruptured an unmapped fault.
1994 AGU Fellows
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

AGU congratulates the thirty‐one distinguished scientists who were selected by a committee of their peers to be AGU Fellows in 1994. This selection was based on the individual attaining acknowledged eminence in a branch of geophysics.

The number of Fellows selected annually is limited to no more than 0.1% of the AGU membership. The new Fellows are listed below.
Global Ocean Observing System gains momentum
Authors: Briscoe Melbourne G. , Cole Muriel
Published: October 2006

The concept of a Global Ocean Observing System, an internationally coordinated, scientifically based program for systematic data collection and exchange, is taking shape and gaining momentum at the national and international level.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization of twenty‐four countries with advanced market economies, is holding a series of Megascience Forums to discuss science projects of an international scale.
Coral bleaching threatens oceans, life
Authors: Montgomery R. S. , Strong A. E.
Published: October 2006

People around the world depend on the resources provided by the ocean to support life. But global‐scale damage to the coral reefs, a large and integral part of the ocean environment that supports a variety of sea life, is a frightening prospect that may unfold in the coming years.

Recently, a phenomenon called coral bleaching has raised concerns about the deteriorating conditions in the world's oceans and the implications for life on our planet.

Coral bleaching occurs as coral tissue expels zooxanthellae, a symbiotic algae that resides in the structure of the coral and is essential to its survival. The widespread nature of the bleaching threatens the state of the environment.
Underwater sound tests meet controversy
Authors: White M. Catherine
Published: October 2006

Researchers for the Acoustic Thermometry Ocean Climate (ATOC) program are meeting negative public reaction to their plan to install powerful underwater loudspeakers at two sites in Hawaii and California, one of which is within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

If the project is approved, the loudspeakers, which are about the size of cylindrical water heaters, will emit acoustic signals to receivers in other parts of the ocean. The ATOC researchers will compute the signals' travel times to accurately measure internal ocean temperatures.
New map for climate change, ecosystems researchers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

A new map of the land cover regions of the conterminous United States and its accompanying digital data set can provide scientists with a new tool for investigating the ecosystem effects of climate change. The map combines satellite imagery, digital elevation, ecoregion, and climate data sets to build a database containing 159 separate land cover regions across the lower 48 states. Each of the map's regions has a unique combination of vegetation and land cover types. Typical vegetation or land cover patterns commonly found in each region are listed in the map's legend.
Atmospheric information available on Gopher
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Atmospheric Sciences Department at the University of Illinois, Urbana‐Champaign, is opening a new full‐scale World Wide Web (WWW) server, The Daily Planet. This environmental information server will continue the work started with the university's Weather Machine and offers new and useful capabilities to the atmospheric sciences community.

The server features current weather information, lists of other weather servers and sources of weather data, atmospheric sciences community information, information about the university's department, plus a look at some online hypermedia instructional modules for atmospheric sciences under development.
Science policy as an alternative career path
Authors: Fellows Jack , Payne Jeff , Horrigan Sarah
Published: October 2006

The article on “alternative” careers (Eos, March 15, 1994) was timely and apt. We would like to make two additional points: 1) research careers may soon become the “alternative” in an era of shrinking research budgets and 2) an area you did not include is science policy. The three of us have found productive, meaningful, and exciting positions in science policy at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Executive Office of the President. We all are AGU members, and have followed a similar path: a congressional fellowship under the auspices of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, leading to OMB, where we believe we are making a difference. In addition, although many fellows choose to return to their former positions, or to move into new positions with government agencies, a fair number remain in the employ of the U.S. Congress.