bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
AAAS Colloquium
Authors: Jones Richard
Published: October 2011

In a American Association for the Advancement of Science colloquium held recently in Washington, D.C., D. Allan Bromley, Director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, asked the scientific community for its support in upcoming budget battles. He also described the Bush Administration's policy‐making apparatus for science matters and discussed the inadequate financial support for small science. Also at the meeting, Sandra D. Toye, Controller for the National Science Foundation, provided information that should be of interest to NSF grant recipients.
1991 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The National Science Foundation offers support for highly talented beginning graduate students through the Graduate Fellowships Program, Minority Graduate Fellowships Program, and Graduate Fellowships for Women in Engineering Program. These programs are designed to address a matter of mounting national concern: the dwindling number of U.S. citizens who plan to enter graduate school in preparation for careers in science or engineering.
Business grants
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Twelve small businesses who are developing equipment and computer programs for geophysics have won Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants from the National Science Foundation for their 1989 proposals. The SBIR program was set up to encourage the private sector to undertake costly, advanced experimental work that has potential for great benefit.

The geophysical research projects are a long‐path intracavity laser spectrometer for measuring atmospheric trace gases, optimizing a local weather forecast model, a new platform for high‐altitude atmospheric science, an advanced density logging tool, a deep‐Earth sampling system, superconducting seismometers, a phased‐array Doppler current profiler, monitoring mesoscale surface features of the ocean through automated analysis, krypton‐81 dating in polar ice samples, discrete stochastic modeling of thunderstorm winds, a layered soil‐synthetic liner base system to isolate buildings from earthquakes, and a low‐cost continuous on‐line organic‐content monitor for water‐quality determination.
Young investigators
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Eleven of 211 Presidential Young Investigators for 1990 are scientists in geophysical fields. The awards, administered by the National Science Foundation, are to help universities attract and retain outstanding young faculty members who might otherwise pursue nonteaching careers.

The geophysical research of the young investigators includes fluid dynamics, glaciology, ice mechanics, neotectonics, earthquake engineering, geodynamics, planetary science, plasma wave observation, and sedimentation.
AGU position on the FY 1991 federal budget
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

AGU has conducted a review of the President's FY 1991 Budget Request with emphasis on the proposed support of those scientific areas that concern AGU members. These areas include all branches of the geosciences. For this review, consideration has been limited to the budgets of four science funding agencies, namely the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Geological Survey, which play major roles in the support of the geosciences.
Council creates new planetary journal
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

At the AGU Spring meeting held in Baltimore, Md., May 29–June I, AGU's governing Council voted to establish a new section of the Journal of Geophysical Research devoted to the planetary sciences. The Council also selected the site for the Spring 1993 meeting, reaffirmed AGU's position on creationism, and approved a change in AGU bylaws.

The new journal, JGR Planets, will draw together papers on planets other than Earth that now appear in the other JGR sections. Proponents of the new journal believe it will also draw papers from planetary scientists currently publishing in other journals. The plan for phasing in this new section of the journal will be made as soon as an editor is appointed. Authors will be able to select which section they would like to publish in.
AWG has funds for lectures
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Association for Women Geoscientists announces that funding is available for the second year of the Phillips‐AWG Distinguished Lectures. Phillips Petroleum has given the AWG Foundation a $9000 grant over 3 years to underwrite travel for women geoscientists participating as speakers.

Grants of up to $300 for direct travel costs will be available on a first come, first serve basis to nonprofit, nongovernment institutions or organizations seeking speakers from the AWG Speakers Bureau. The Bureau provides a list of 120 nationally recognized women geoscientists who cover a wide range of topics.
AGU Council assumes duties July 1
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The newly elected members of the AGU Council, the governing body of the Union, assumed their offices on July 1, 1990. The Council has full authority for all AGU affairs and is the official representative of the Union in its external affairs. Composed of the six member Executive Committee and officers of the 10 sections, the Council meets twice a year at the Spring and Fall meetings. The Executive Committee meets two additional times between the annual meetings.

The current members of the Council serve two‐year terms through June 30, 1992. Each new section President‐Elect serves 2 years in that capacity and then 2 years as section President. The current Council was elected by AGU members in December 1989 and announced earlier this year.
Radiocarbon dating accuracy improved
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Scientists have extended the accuracy of carbon‐14 (14C) dating by correlating dates older than 8,000 years with uranium‐thorium dates that span from 8,000 to 30,000 years before present (ybp, present = 1950). Edouard Bard, Bruno Hamelin, Richard Fairbanks and Alan Zindler, working at Columbia University's Lamont‐Doherty Geological Observatory, dated corals from reefs off Barbados using both 14C and uranium‐234/thorium‐230 by thermal ionization mass spectrometry techniques. They found that the two age data sets deviated in a regular way, allowing the scientists to correlate the two sets of ages. The 14C dates were consistently younger than those determined by uranium‐thorium, and the discrepancy increased to about 3,500 years at 20,000 ybp.
Iran quake biggest since 1978
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The magnitude 7.7 earthquake that devastated parts of northern Iran on June 21 was the biggest since 1978 and is another in the history of deadly earthquakes that have been rocking the country for hundreds of years.

Gerald F. Wieczorek, Office of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Engineering Geology, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va., noted that seismicity in Iran during at least the last 13 centuries has been associated with several large tectonic zones cutting across the nation. During the past 30 years alone, he added, there have been 54 significant earthquakes in Iran. He defined significant as one with a magnitude of at least 6.5, as well as smaller ones that caused greater numbers of casualties or significant damage.
Increased funds for LITHOPROBE
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Increased funding for LITHOPROBE, the largest multidisciplinary study of the Earth's crust ever undertaken in Canada, was recently announced by William Winegard, Minister for Science, and Jake Epp, Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. LITHOPROBE is one of the most scientifically successful Earth studies ever conducted in Canada. The project is revealing important new information about the dynamic interior forces that formed the Earth's surface and that are the source of earthquakes and Canada's mineral and petroleum wealth. The project involves field experiments in different regions of Canada and uses the latest in high‐technology geophysical equipment to probe up to 80 km beneath the Earth's surface.
Acoustic imaging of biological and physical processes within Gulf Stream Meanders
Authors: Arnone Robert A. , Nero Redwood W. , Jech J. Michael , De Palma Irene
Published: October 2011

The western edge of the Gulf Stream has long interested oceanographers because of the dynamic biological and physical nature of its associated frontal region. Not only does the Gulf Stream meander as it flows northeast, but the physical and biological characteristics of the frontal region change within meanders. The dynamics associated with these meanders control the transition between the warmer, more oligotrophic Sargasso Sea water and the colder, seasonally nutrient‐rich Slope Water. Rossby et al. [1985] and Levine et al. [1986] used isopycnal floats to track water motion along constant density surfaces and have shown upwelling in anticyclonic/divergent regions of meanders and downwelling in cyclonic/convergent regions.
Venus mapping delayed by Magellan problem
Authors: Cole Steven
Published: October 2011

The start of full‐scale radar mapping of Venus by NASA's Magellan spacecraft has been delayed until at least September 15 while a task force of mission personnel investigates the cause of two communication losses with the spacecraft during its first week in orbit.

The task force, headed by Frank McKinney of the Martin‐Marietta spacecraft operations division, convened August 28 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to review possible causes of the signal losses experienced by Magellan. “The investigation group is looking at all possible causes, including both software and hardware,” said JPL spokesman Jim Doyle.
Modeling of oceanic vortices
Authors: Cushman‐Roisin B.
Published: October 2011

Following on a tradition of biannual meetings, the 5th Colloquium on the Modeling of Oceanic Vortices was held May 21–23, 1990, at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. The colloquium series, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, is intended to gather oceanographers who contribute to our understanding of oceanic mesoscale vortices via analytical, numerical and experimental modeling techniques.
National water summary available
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

In response to a Congressional Directive of 1977, the U.S. Geological Survey has been compiling reports discussing source, use, and disposition of surface water and groundwater in the United States. The latest, “National Water Summary 1987—Hydrologic Events and Water Supply and Use,” published as USGS Water Supply Paper 2350, by Jerry E. Carr, Edith B. Chase, Richard W. Paulson, and David W. Moody (compilers) is immediately available from local USGS Publications Offices or from the Books and Open‐file Reports Section, U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Box 25425, Denver, CO 80225; cost is $31.
NASA deadlines announced
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a January 7, 1991, deadline for proposals to the Origins of Solar Systems Research Program, and October 30, 1990, as the deadline for the Space Astronomy Ultraviolet Detector Development Program proposals.

Proposals to the Solar Systems Research Program will be evaluated by peer review in May 1991. Primary goals of the program are to complement and extend ongoing efforts in Solar Systems research, in addition to those already sponsored by several divisions within the Office of Space Science and Applications, and to foster effective communications among researchers actively working on this topic. Proposals are encouraged that involve joint research efforts by investigators from different scientific disciplines. Some examples of research appropriate for support under this program are theoretical and observational studies of interstellar clouds, protostars, and comets and of interstellar and nebular chemistry; models of the solar nebula and of star formation; analysis of meteorites and primitive bodies; studies of plasma‐dust interactions and nebular MHD phenomena; research on the processes of planetary accumulation and evolution; and studies to understand the origin of life.
1990 Horton Research Grant recipients
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The AGU Hydrology Section has awarded the 1990 Horton Research Grants to Barbara Gruver of Indiana University and Deborah S. Loewenherz of the University of California at Berkeley. The grants were established in 1982 to foster graduate student research in hydrology and water resources leading to the completion of doctoral dissertations. Funded by income from the Robert E. Horton Fund for Hydrologic Research, the grant is awarded annually to Ph.D. candidates in institutions of higher learning. Since 1989 two grants have been awarded annually.
Particle acceleration in solar flares
Authors: Klecker Berndt , Cliver Ed , Kahler Steve , Cane Hilary
Published: October 2011

Particle acceleration in solar flares was the topic of a workshop held at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia, January 24–26, 1990. The workshop was held in conjunction with the 21st International Cosmic Ray Conference in Adelaide, South Australia, January 6–19, 1990. Forty‐six scientists participated in the workshop, which was organized by Hilary Cane and John Humble of the University of Tasmania; Marc Duldig, Australian Antarctic Division, University of Tasmania; Ed Cliver, Geophysics Laboratory, U.S. Air Force Systems Command; and Steve Kahler, Boston College, Mass.
1990 Bacon‐Bercey Scholarship Awarded to Klinedinst
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Peggy L. Klinedinst, a graduate student at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (UNL), has been selected as the recipient of the 1990 June Bacon‐Bercey Scholarship for Women in Atmospheric Sciences. The scholarship, which is administered by AGU, is provided through a gift from noted meteorologist June Bacon‐Bercey.

Klinedinst graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in meteorology from Millersville University of Pennsylvania in December 1987 and went to work on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research ship.
IHP publications released
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The following publications, sponsored under the International Hydrological Program, have been released recently by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco). The publications are available free of charge from the Division of Water Sciences, Unesco, B.P. 3.07, 75700 Paris, France.

Water Erosion, Abridged Proceedings of the International IHP/MAB Symposium on Water Erosion, Varna, Bulgaria, 19–24 September 1988, edited by K. Ivanov and D. Pechinov (Bulgaria) (IHP‐III Project 2.6) 142 pp., Unesco, 1989, English. Publication results from the International Symposium on Water Erosion, organized by the National Committee of Bulgaria for the International Hydrological Program and the Program “Man and the Biosphere” in cooperation with Unesco as a contribution to IHP and MAB.
Well‐being and excellence in the Earth sciences
Authors: Drake Charles L.
Published: October 2011

In the symposium on Earth Sciences and Society at the Spring AGU Meeting May 29–June 1, Baltimore, Md.), I was assigned to speak on the maintenance of excellence and national well‐being in the Earth sciences. I developed serious writer's block every time I approached the topic until I remembered a paragraph at the beginning of Doug Adams' great text, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe [Adams, 1982]. It tells how [A race of highly intelligent pan‐dimensional beings once built themselves a gigantic supercomputer called Deep Thought to calculate once and for all the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, Universe and Everything. For seven and a half million years, Deep Thought computed and calculated, and in the end announced that the answer was in fact Forty‐two—and so another, even bigger, computer had to be built to find out what the actual question was. And this computer, which was called the Earth, was so large that it was frequently mistaken for a planet‐especially by the strange apelike beings who roamed its surface, totally unaware that they were simply part of a gigantic computer program. And this is very odd, because without that fairly simple and obvious piece of knowledge, nothing that ever happened on the Earth could possibly make the slightest bit of sense.]
Salt, Seeps and Symbiosis in the Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Brooks James M , Wiesenburg Denis A , Roberts Harry , Carney Robert S. , MacDonald Ian R. , Fisher Charles R , Guinasso Norman L. , Sager William W. , McDonald Susanne J. , Burke Roger A , Aharon Paul , Bright Thomas J.
Published: October 2011

Seafloor oil seepage on the continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico drives a number of distinct biological, chemical and geological processes. Macroseepage of oil and gas controls the extent and distribution of chemosynthetic “oil seep” communities, the seafloor configuration, sediment character and sediment geochemistry [Kennicutt et al., 1985; Brooks et al., 1986, 1987; MacDonald et al., 1989, 1990; Roberts et al., 1987]. Besides providing substrates for chemosynthetic communities, these macroseeps charge the sediments with gas and oil resulting in acoustic wipe‐out zones [MacDonald et al., 1989], the formation of gas hydrates [Brooks et al., 1986]. massive carbonate formation [Roberts et al., 1987] and in extreme cases, create mud volcanos with blow‐out craters [Prior et al., 1989]. Besides gas and oil, brine is also seeping upward into and out of Gulf of Mexico continental slope sediments. In many areas the gas and salt migrate together, forming seabottom salt pools charged with methane and hydrogen sulfide, which support chemosynthetic organisms [MacDonald et al., 1990].
New Geophysics Chair for University of Alaska
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Eleven Japanese corporations will establish an academic chair at the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska‐Fairbanks, in honor of Japanese geophysicist Kyoo Wadati. The chair funds will support two professors whose work is related to the global environment. Wadati is noted for discovering earthquakes at depths greater than 300 kilometers, thus making a pioneering contribution to the concept of plate tectonics. The belt of such deep‐focus earthquakes is called the Wadati‐Benioff zone.
Groundwater workshops
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Interstate Conference on Water Policy has released an Executive Report of the 1989 Ground Water Information Management Workshops. The report summarizes workgroup findings and recommendations for action as identified at the four workshops conducted in the winter and spring of 1989 in Little Rock, Ark.; Sacramento, Calif.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and Omaha, Nebr. The workshops, cosponsored by ICWP and the U.S. Geological Survey, attracted over 200 participants from local, state, and federal government, academia, and the private sector.

The two primary objectives of the workshop series were to provide participants with information about groundwater data management initiatives at all levels of government, and to elicit information and ideas from participants about improving data management and exchange. The report states that although the individual workshops reflected regional concerns and experiences, collectively they provide a solid foundation for developing a national perspective on groundwater information management needs.
New lecture series honors Ackermann
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Illinois State Water Survey's new distinguished lecture series honors the achievements of the late William C. Ackermann, a nationally known hydrologist. The annual Ackermann Lecture “will extend the scholarship Bill Ackermann championed, highlight new developments and accomplishments in the field, and provide a focal point for water resources professionals,” according to Richard G. Semonin, chief of the survey. The first lecture, held October 3 at the University of Illinois, Urbana‐Champaign, featured Leo R. Beard, former civil engineering professor at the University of Texas, Austin and director of the Center for Research in Water Resources.

“Many of us involved in water resource issues and professions across the nation and especially in Illinois owe a great deal to the work and dedication” of Ackermann, commented Semonin. “A distinguished lecture series in his name seems most appropriate in that it will give something to all of us, just as he did.”
The Sun and the Earth
Authors: Cheng Andrew F.
Published: October 2011

The Sun's action on the Earth is fundamentally responsible for maintaining the physical conditions that support life on the land, in the oceans, and in the atmosphere, and a comprehensive understanding of this action should be a central concern of scientific endeavor. The Sun's influence goes beyond providing energy to the biosphere and maintaining the Earth's climate and weather; it strongly affects the Earth's upper atmosphere and ionosphere as well as the magnetosphere, the region of space permeated by the terrestrial magnetic field and occupied by ionized gases. Flares and other solar disturbances can produce strong reactions in the Earth's ionosphere, magnetic field, and space plasma environment, often within 20 minutes of onset. As human activity extends into space, and to the Moon and planets, scientific understanding of solar‐terrestrial interactions and, more generally, of the space environment's physics will assume increasing importance.
CRAF science cut; Cassini teams selected
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

In mid‐November the National Aeronautics and Space Administration selected the principal investigators and science teams for the Cassini mission to Saturn and “de‐selected” two instruments on the Comet Rendezvous'Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) mission. The cancellation of the instruments—the penetrator and the scanning electron microscope and particle analyzer—was made to keep the costs of the joint CRAF/Cassini project within the $1.6 billion limit mandated by Congress. CRAF's costs had become a concern earlier this year due in part to increased cost estimates for the penetrator and the spacecraft's radioisotope thermoelectric generators and a decrease in funding for the spacecraft propulsion module, which is being provided by Germany. After a cost review of the program by NASA's Qffice of Space Science and Applications and recommendations by the National Research Council's Space Science Board, NASA decided that both the penetrator and the scanning electron microscope would have to be cut to keep CRAF within its budget.
House Science subcommittee members
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The following is a list of the House Science Subcommittee members for the 103rd Congress. Asterisks indicate freshmen members.

Committee on Science, Space and Technology: George E. Brown, Jr. (D‐Calif.), chairman; Robert S. Walker (R‐Pa.), Ranking Republican. Rayburn Office Bldg., Rm. 2321, Washington, DC 20515‐6301; tel. 202‐225‐1067.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

James R. Stahmann, 70, died on October 3. He had been a member of AGU (Atmospheric Sciences) since 1970.

David George Doran died recently at age 49. He joined AGU (Hydrology) in 1975.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Erick O. Schonstedt died on March 20 at age 76. He joined AGU (Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism) in 1947 and was an AGU benefactor. He was a member of the 75th Anniversary Committee at the time of his death. Schonstedt had also served on the Membership (1968–1972), Budget and Finance (1972–1974), and Steering (1984–1986) committees and chaired the Subcommittee on Corporate Supporting Membership (1984–1986).

Schonstedt began his career in geomagnetics in the 1940s and was the inventor and project engineer for the development of the airborne magnetometer, which measures the complete magnetic vector of the Earth's field from an airplane.
χαρoν
Authors: Manton William I.
Published: October 2011

While going through my recent copies of Eos this weekend, I was astonished to read Alan Stern's statement in his article “The Pluto Reconnaissance Fly by Mission” (February 16, p. 73) that Charon, the name given to Pluto's satellite, is usually pronounced “Sharon.” This pronunciation can only be true in Stern's immediate circle, which must also take shristmas vacations and speak of shaos, shasms, and sharacter, for the Ch in Charon is the same Greek chi as occurs in those words. It is, however, not the mispronounciation that upsets me. Not all English words containing ch derived from Greek are pronounced with the h mute and the c hard.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Leon Lassen died recently at age 91. He had been a member of AGU (Hydrology) since 1938.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Delbert M. Utile died on September 6, 1991, at age 95. He had been a member of AGU (Atmospheric Sciences) since 1935.

AGU Fellow Vincent J. Schaefer, 87, died on July 25. He joined AGU (Space Physics and Aeronomy) in 1946.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Regional Advisory Committee member Jim Ansell died on July 28 at age 51. He had been a member of AGU (Seismology) since 1974.

Judith B. Moody died in March at age 51. She joined AGU (Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology) in 1974.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Kate Kranck died recently at age 56. She joined AGU (Ocean Sciences) in 1991.

R. C. Emmons, 95, died on September 4. He had been a member of AGU (Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology) since 1942.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Three presentations were named Outstanding Student Papers in the Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Section at the 1993 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Jeff TenPas, who was honored for “Reinterpretation of Paleoclimate from Magnetic Susceptibility on the Chinese Loess Plateau,” is a master's student in soil sciences at the University of California, Davis. His research focuses mmmm on differentiating total soil magnetism into two parts, that due to the parent material and that imparted by soil‐forming processes.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Two presentations were named Outstanding Student Papers in the Geodesy Section at the 1993 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Susan Owen was honored for her presentation “1990–1993 Surface Displacements on Kilauea Volcano Determined by GPS.” She is a Ph.D. student in the Geophysics department at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. She received a B.A. in Physics from Harvard‐Radcliffe College. Owen's research involves working with GPS data from Kilauea Volcano. She is also interested in active tectonic, crustal deformation, and the earthquake process.
Changes at Bay
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Two new studies tell of San Francisco Bay trends. First, the bay is becoming saltier each year, and second, pollution of the bay likely surged in the early 1950s, according to findings reported last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Pacific Division Meeting. Bay salinity has probably been spiked both by man‐made water diversions from the nearby river delta that reduced the springtime inflow of fresh water and by a natural 40‐year climate trend toward earlier runoff, USGS scientists report. For one, large scale changes in atmospheric circulation have reduced the mid‐elevation snow pack, USGS explained.
Desert oasis
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

About 7.5 million acres of California's Mojave, Sonoran, and Great Basin desert areas are well on the road to preservation. After more than 25 years of public discussion, the House voted last week to expand wilderness laws to encompass about one‐third of California's deserts. In April, the Senate passed its version of the bill, which if signed into law would establish a wilderness area in the United States second in size only to Alaska lands protected by a 1980 law.
Peerless review?
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The practice of peer review in the United States for awarding federal funds to many researchers stands as the “best available method for allocating research funds,” according to a new report by the General Accounting Office (GAO). The report found the system, which largely bases grant awards on the substantive merit of the proposals, works “reasonably well.” However, the system is not without its loopholes. The GAO report, which mainly focused on the National Science Foundation, National Institutes for Health, and National Endowment for the Humanities, noted that defining objectivity is extremely difficult. For starters, GAO found that researchers who are established in a given field do have an easier time securing grants than those who are just entering a field.
Space debate
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The space station is alive and well. Yet so are many of its critics. Despite a new General Accounting Office report's assertions that including Russia in the space station may add $2 billion to the project's price tag, the Senate voted last week by a 64 to 36 margin to continue the project. The vote follows the station's surprisingly big 278‐155 victory in the House on June 29. Before the votes, the American Astronomical Society and the Planetary Society reportedly gave up their opposition to the station.
Radar rift
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A series of record‐setting weather‐related disasters has brought the issue of modernizing the U.S. National Weather System (NWS) once again to the fore. The modernization, which includes implementing 160 Doppler weather surveillance radars, or the Next Generation of Weather Radar (NEXRAD), hundreds of Automated Surface Observing Systems, next generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, and supercomputers, has proceeded more slowly than planned. To date, about half of the NEXRAD units have been installed, and only 12 of these 80 are operational. Concern remains about local limitations of the system, especially now that the Defense Department and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be sharing facilities under a new administration initiative. At a recent space subcommittee hearing, Rep. Bud Cramer (D‐Ala.) said he plans to introduce legislation to allow geographic areas, such as northern Alabama and the Tenessee Valley, that fall between the range of the new radars to request a scientific evaluation as to whether the NWS plan will meet the community's needs.
Clementine revisited
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

NASA administrator Daniel S. Goldin is pushing for a sequel to Clementine, the joint Defense Department‐NASA probe that successfully produced the most detailed topographic map of Moon ever filmed earlier this year. While a smash with scientists, the first Clementine mission was also a hit at the box office with its thrifty $80 million price tag. Clementine 2 would also come in under $100 million. The destination of Clementine 2 is under discussion. A top candidate is a Moon landing, which may help settle the question whether there is ice in the Moon's craters. Filming an asteroid and filming the Earth are the other leading options, according to Stewart Nozette, deputy program manager, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. Although the second portion of Clementine's mission to map the asteroid Geographos failed, Clementine 2 would have the benefit of the lessons learned from number one, which is now in “cold storage” in an orbit around the Sun.
Research aground
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A federally funded mission to study a variety of oceanographic questions in Key West has been postponed indefinitely. The reason? The University of Miami oceanographic Research Vessel Columbus Iselin ran aground off the Florida Keys, while it was maneuvering to deploy a bathythermographic device. Fortunately, none of the 34 scientists and crew members aboard the vessel was injured. However, the incident as well as environmental impact of the grounding are now under investigation.
Scientific survival
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The International Science Foundation has launched a program to help nonprofit donor organizations support noncommercial scholarly research and education programs in the former Soviet Union and Baltic countries. ISF has granted more than $80 million in support to researchers in these countries and is now making its infrastructure available to other donor organizations that contribute to the survival of science there as well.
Fast growing tubeworms
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Since 1977 when deep‐sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems were first discovered, scientists have theorized that they may be centers of life with extremely rapid rates of biological processes. But direct evidence of accelerated growth, reproductive, and adaptive processes was scant. Now a team of scientists report in last week's Nature that indeed the fastest‐growing marine invertebrates on record live in the warm, nutrient‐rich surroundings of 2500‐m deep volcanos. In a series of dives over a 3‐year period with Alvin to a colony on the East Pacific Rise, a team led by Richard Lutz of Rutgers University found that a species of giant tubeworms, Riftia pachyptila grows at a rate of 85 cm a year and can reach up to 1.5 m in length.
Earth science books
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Many countries in the developing world lack basic texts and publications on seismology and related Earth sciences. To help swell their library shelves, the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI) has started a clearinghouse to transfer publications. It is their hope that by routing book transfers through the IASPEI Secretariat, duplication will be prevented. Libraries with specific needs may make requests to the IASPEI Secretariat.
International GPS Service
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

International Association of Geodesy (IAG) launched the International GPS Service for Geodynamics (IGS), a service to support the use of data from the Global Positioning System (GPS) at the beginning of 1994. IGS data is obtained from approximately 40 globally distributed GPS tracking sites, three global data centers, five operation or regional data centers, seven analysis centers, and a central bureau. IGS provides high‐quality orbits for all GPS satellites; Earth rotation parameters; contributions to the determination of the tracking site; coordinates in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame; and phase pseudorange observations in daily RINEX files for each IGS tracking site. Tracking data are available at various data centers, with the individual orbits determined by analysis centers at the global data centers, and the combined official IGS orbits at the Central Bureau and the global data centers.
New NASA office
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Alan Ladwig has been tapped to be the associate administrator of NASA's new Office of Policy and Plans, which will oversee analysis, formulation, and implementation of NASA policies and longrange planning. Ladwig served on the Clinton‐Gore transition team and has been a senior policy advisor at NASA headquarters since October of 1993.
In Brief: Scale model
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Here's one for Guinness or maybe Ripley: The Worlds's largest scale model of the solar system begins at a museum in Peoria, Ill., and extends geographically as far away as Ecuador and the South Pole. In the model, which was developed by the museum's deputy director Sheldon Schafer, 42 feet equal about 1 million miles. The Sun, which is 36‐feet wide, is painted on the dome of the Lakeview Museum's planetarium in Peoria. Mercury, which is 1.5 inches across, can be found at a nearby store; Venus sits in a local bank lobby; Earth is lodged at a gas station; and Mars at a radio station. “The idea is that people will encounter a little bit of astronomy in the walks of their daily lives,” Schafer says.
Space flight
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Wayne Littles will take over the job of Associate Administrator for Space Flight at NASA from Maj.Gen. Jeremiah W. Pearson, who has resigned from the post. Littles, now NASA's Chief Engineer, was formerly deputy director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Fox in the chicken coop
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

While there is a push to transfer Earth‐observing data to the commercial sector, such initiatives do not include the illegal sale of restricted information from the U.S. Department of Defense. Unfortunately Andrew N. Fox, a former Cornell University graduate student, had to learn this distinction the hard way. Fox has pleaded guilty to using such data for a profitmaking scheme. Fox reportedly was part of a team of professors and students in Cornell's geological sciences department that was using Defense Mapping Agency data to study the topography of various regions.
Star struck
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Closer to home, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope recently took a close‐up photograph of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, providing astronomers with their first direct look at the surface of a star besides the Sun.

Andrea Dupree of the Harvard‐Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Ronald Gilliland of the Space Telescope Science Institute presented pictures of Betelgeuse revealing an extended atmosphere and a surface marked by a bright spot more than 10 Earths wide and as much as 2000 K warmer than the rest of the surface.
Thinking big
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

They say things are bigger in Texas, and it seems that astronomers in that state want to do their part to add to the mythology.

Imagine an optical telescope with a primary mirror more than 5 times the diameter of the legendary 5.1‐m Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory and 8 times the mirror area of the Keck Telescope, currently the largest in operation. Frank Bash, director of the McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas at Austin, already has. At the winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Bash proposed the development of an Extremely Large Telescope, which will use 169 hexagonal mirror segments to create the equivalent of a primary mirror that is 29 m in diameter.
Stating its case
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Add the National Science Board to the list of scientists and science institutions calling for the protection of science funding in the U.S. federal budget. In a statement adopted on December 15, 1995, and announced on January 25, 1996, the governing body of the National Science Foundation joined several other groups—including the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (Eos, Oct. 24, 1995), the National Academy of Sciences (Eos, Dec. 19, 1995), and NSF Director Neal Lane (Eos, January 30, 1996)—in warning the government of the real cost of cutting science resources.

“The challenge confronting the nation today is not only to reduce federal spending, necessary as that is,” the board wrote. “It is also to undergird the strength of those industries in which we are still world leaders, likes computers, telecommunications, chemicals, aerospace, and biotechnology, and to assure our readiness to capitalize on new scientific discoveries, innovative processes, and emerging technologies. These industries and oth‐ ers like them are the foundation of our national prosperity.”
Shaken up
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2011

The Kobe earthquake of January 16, 1995 may have been the most publicized and the deadliest temblor of the year, but it was hardly the most powerful. In fact, it was not even among the U.S. Geological Survey's top 25. In 1995, there were at least four “great” earthquakes—those registering higher than 8.0 on the Richter scale—though only one occurred onshore. (An 8.1 magnitude quake shook Chile on July 30 and produced a westward‐heading tsunami.)
HOV on the information highway
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2011

Sick of rush‐hour traffic jams? Tired of bottlenecks that keep you from getting where you want to go? Frustrated by sluggish drivers who tie you up on your way to work? The National Science Foundation (NSF) is hoping to put scientists back in the fast lane—of the Internet, that is.

The recent boom in the popularity of the Internet has brought traffic on some parts of the information highway to a crawl. Since all packets of information sent across the Internet are treated equally, e‐mail love letters and playful web browsing can interfere with scientific data transfers and high‐performance on‐line experiments and conferences.
Data deluxe
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2011

Several new web pages from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will allow scientists and nonscientists alike to view graphic displays of weather and space weather data from around the world. Users can select a region of the Earth and a time period to see plots and data sets of everything from severe storms to aurorae.

The National Climate Data Center has made available weather data from 8000 stations around the world, 160 satellite images of hurricanes from the GOES satellites, and technical reports about weather events such as the East Coast blizzard of 1996. The web address is http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov.
Lifetime achievement
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2011

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is accepting nominations for the 1996 Philip Hauge Abelson Prize. The prize is awarded annually to either a public servant who has made sustained contributions to the advancement of science or to scientists who have distinguished themselves for both the quality of their work and their leadership in the scientific community.
White washed
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2011

Io has gotten a makeover, according to the latest photos returned from NASA's Galileo spacecraft. In just 17 years since the twin Voyager spacecraft flew by Jupiter's innermost moon, Io's blotchy orange and white complexion has changed significantly.

“The changes we are seeing on Io are dramatic,” said Michael Belton, project scientist for the camera on Galileo. “The colors of material on the ground and their distribution have changed substantially since the Voyager flybysof 1979.”
Underwater boom box
Authors: White M. Catherine
Published: October 2011

So far, there is no evidence that humpback whales are negatively affected by noise emitted from underwater speakers that may one day be used to measure warming in the oceans. A group of independent biologists from Cornell University monitored the behavior of the whales before, during, and after a scaled‐down version of the controversial Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) experiment off the coast of Hawaii. In 84 trials from February through March, they “saw no overt response from the whales.” Previous observations of similar sound transmissions at California's Pioneer Seamount, the other site planned for the experiment, also found no sign of disturbance among marine mammals, including elephant seals and several whale species. More observations are needed, however, before the experiment can be deemed safe, the Cornell biologists advised.
Elemental evidence
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2011

He set out to prove that ocean sediments contain elevated levels of the rare element iridium because of the natural weathering of the continents. Instead, what Ariel Anbar found was new evidence that a meteorite may have had a role in the mass extinctions that marked the end of the Cretaceous era.

By studying the geochemical properties of iridium, Anbar, a professor of earth and environmental sciences and chemistry at the University of Rochester, found that the residence time—a measure of the rate at which an element settles out of water into sediments—of iridium in ocean water is 2000 to 20,000 years. That finding suggests that a large deposit of iridium could have lingered in the world's oceans long enough to explain the thickness of the iridium‐rich sediment layers at the K‐T boundary.
Land of the Rising Funds
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Japan continues to move ahead with its new 5‐year plan to increase spending on science and technology research by 50% (up to $170 billion U.S.). In submitting its budget request for the next fiscal year—which begins April 1—Japan's Ministry of Trade and Industry asked for a 16.9% increase in its budget, while the Science and Technology Agency sought a 10.7% boost.

Ambitious programs in brain research and in the analysis of protein structure make up large portions of the budget requests; and in fact, research in all the life sciences could get a 27% boost. But Japanese science leaders are also hoping to increase funding for research on global climate change by 35%; for oceanographic science, up 20%; and for public safety and disaster mitigation by 24%.
Reply [to “Comment on ‘JGR—Planets thriving” JGR—Planets should be ended”]
Authors: Jakosky Bruce
Published: October 2011

Let me first state that I welcome this discussion. JGR—Planets must be a journal that represents the best interests of the planetary science community, as determined by its members. The journal should continue to evolve in format and composition to best serve those needs, and constructive discussion is an important part of the process. However, I believe that the needs of the planetary science community are best filled at present by a broad, interdisciplinary journal that can serve as the centerpiece or focal point for the entire spectrum of planetary science.
Green money
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2011

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently requesting proposals for its first round of science research grants for 1997. The program is designed to promote interdisciplinary research in ecosystem indicators; exploratory research; complex exposures and human variability in risk assessment; endocrine disrupters; ambient air quality; health effects of particulate matter; and drinking water and contaminated sediments. Application dates vary by topic between January 15 and February 15, 1997. Further information about the grants program can be obtained on the EPA web page at http://www.epa.gov/ncerqa, or by calling the EPA grants and fellowship hotline at 1‐800‐490‐9194.
Geophysicists
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Hillslope hydrologists have long assumed that the downslope movement of water and solutes can best be described by surface topography since gravitational potential largely dominates hydraulic gradients in steep terrain. Hence with the increased availability of Digital Terrain Maps (DTMs), surface topography is driving many popular hydrological models and is being used to estimate flow pathways in hydrological and geochemical models. This method may suffice at the catchment scale, but at the hillslope scale, flow pathways are not always determined by surface topography.

It is at this critical scale (100–10,000 m2) that water flux and the chemical composition of soil water and groundwater can be measured as they move downslope. The complex interactions between water and solutes along hillslope subsurface flow paths have not been well documented. New evidence suggests that for steep hillslopes with thin soils, the fundamental control on hillslope flow paths is the bedrock surface.
Career building
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2011

In order to encourage young scientists to integrate their research into teaching and their innovative teaching ideas into formal research, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is offering Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grants. Awarded to junior‐level faculty at $200,000 to $500,000 for 4–5 years, CAREER grants are designed to allow scientists and engineers to simultaneously develop prowess in research and education early in their careers. NSF made 346 CAREER grants (including six for Earth sciences) totaling $40 million in 1996.