bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
AAAS, other science groups issue recommendations to U.S. Government for solving Visa issuance problems
Authors: Jacobs Judy
Published: October 2006

On 12 May, high‐level U.S. science and higher education organizations outlined some practical recommendations for solving the current visa‐processing crisis—by removing unnecessary barriers to multinational discoveries—and urged the federal government to adopt them.

The recommendations are designed to combat “the misperception that the United States does not welcome international students, scholars, and scientists,” according to a joint statement issued by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Association of American Universities (AAU), the American Physical Society, and 22 other organizations.
New center links Earth, space, and information sciences
Authors: Aswathanarayana U.
Published: October 2006

Broad‐based geoscience instruction melding the Earth, space, and information technology sciences has been identified as an effective way to take advantage of the new jobs created by technological innovations in natural resources management [Aswathanarayana, 2004]. Based on this paradigm, the University of Hyderabad in India is developing a Centre of Earth and Space Sciences that will be linked to the university's super‐computing facility. The proposed center will provide the basic science underpinnings for the Earth, space, and information technology sciences; develop new methodologies for the utilization of natural resources, such as water, soils, sediments, minerals, and biota; mitigate the adverse consequences of natural hazards; and design innovative ways of incorporating scientific information into the legislative and administrative processes. For these reasons, the ethos and the innovatively designed management structure of the center would be of particular relevance to the developing countries.
Reply [to “Comment on ‘Impact demagnetization by phase transition on Mars’” by P. Surdas Mohit]
Authors: Rochette Pierre , Hood Lon , Fillion Gérard , Ballou Rafik , Ouladdiaf Bachir
Published: October 2006

We welcome the comment of P.S. Mohit on our recent Eos article as a useful contribution to the understanding of the complex question of impact demagnetization of Mars.

We disagree that the map shown in our Figure 1 was deceptive. It is a simple plot of the magnetic field magnitude at the MGS mapping orbit altitude (360–400 km). Adding additional contours down to 10 nT, for example, does not change the basic character of the map. Our point was that magnetic fields are significantly weaker within several radii of the Hellas and Argyre basins than they are in the adjacent southern highlands. Specifically, fields near the basins are typically of the order of 20 nT or less, while fields in the adjacent highlands are in the range of 40–200 nT.
New task force aimed at improving coordination of Great Lakes restoration
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The Great Lakes Interagency Task Force, established on 18 May by an executive order signed by President George W. Bush, is tasked with better coordinating federal, state, and international efforts in restoration and environmental protection for the lakes, as well as better coordination of federally‐funded scientific research associated with the Great Lakes system.

There are currently 148 federal and 51 state programs that fund environmental restoration activities in the Great Lakes Basin, according to the U.S. General Accounting office. In an April 2003 report, however, the GAO found that there are several disparate regional strategies in use for this purpose, and that “these strategies are not coordinated in a way that ensures effective use of limited resources.”
Linkages between the built urban environment and Earth's Climate System
Authors: Shepherd J. Marshall , Jin Menglin
Published: October 2006

Although only 1.2% of the land area of the Earth is currently considered “urban,” the spatial coverage and density of cities is expected to rapidly increase in the near future. The United Nations estimates that by the year 2025, 60% of the world's population will live in cities. Human activity in urban environments alters atmospheric composition; affects components of the water cycle; and modifies the carbon cycle and ecosystems.

However, our understanding of the effects of urbanization on the total Earth‐climate system is incomplete. The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) strategic plan states that “…in a world that is more populated, urban, and interconnected than ever… A more integrated understanding of the complex interactions of human societies and the Earth System is needed.”
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

James R. Holton, 65, 3 March 2004, AGU Fellow, Atmospheric Sciences, 1966.

Buford K. Meade, 2004, AGU Fellow, Geodesy 1946.
Bush administration, member of Congress propose legislation to strengthen NOAA
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The White House and a key member of Congress have introduced separate legislation to strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through an “organic act” that codifies the agency's establishment and purposes.

Donald Evans, secretary of the Department of Commerce, which includes NOAA, announced the Bush administration's transmittal of legislation to Congress on 10 June. Evans, speaking at the Capitol Hill Oceans Week 2004 conference in Washington, D.C., said the act would be “an important step forward in enhancing NOAAs ability to carry out the research and management objectives entrusted to it.”
ESA Earth Explorer Mission
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced on 3 June that it has decided to develop and launch a constellation of three magnetometry satellites as an “Earth explorer” mission in its Living Planet Program.The constellation, to be known as SWARM, could provide the best‐ever survey of Earth's geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution, according to the agency.

The mission, which would launch in 2009, will take high‐precision and high‐resolution measurements of the magnetic field, and other measurements that could help to study the composition and processes of the Earth's interior. The mission also will analyze the Sun's influence within the Earth system. This knowledge could be useful in areas such as space weather and radiation hazards.
Krajick receives 2004 Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism—Features
Authors: Burke Kathleen , Krajick Kevin
Published: October 2006

Kevin Krajick received the Sullivan Award at the Joint Assembly Honors Ceremony, which was held 19 May 2004, in Montreal, Canada. The award honors “a single article or radio/television report that makes geophysical material accessible and interesting to the general public”
King receives 2004 Edward A. Flinn Award
Authors: Baker Daniel , King Joseph H.
Published: October 2006

Joseph H. King received the Flinn Award at the AGU Joint Assembly Honors Ceremony, which was held on 19 May 2004 in Montreal, Canada. The award honors “individuals who personify the Union's motto ‘unselfish cooperation in research’ through their facilitating, coordinating, and implementing activities“
Council approves scanning all back issues
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

At its last meeting, the 2002–2004 Council, which oversaw the first 2 years of electronic publishing by the Union, authorized funds to scan all back issues of journals, books, and the archival material from Eos and Transactions. In accepting the proposal of the Publications Committee, Council noted that providing the means to deliver all back issues is a fitting conclusion to the transition to electronic publishing. Expenditures of up to $1.1 million were authorized for the scanning project, and for creating searchable abstracts of all back material, and for several other smaller projects. The money comes from the Electronic Publishing Development Fund, which had been built in the 1990s specifically to assure the financial underpinning for the electronic publishing transition. Members should start seeing the fruits of this work in 2006.
Cassini begins close‐up examination of Saturn System
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The international Cassini‐Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan already has returned some initial results which will help to re‐write science textbooks, as well as some astounding images. The spacecraft entered orbit around Saturn on 30 June following a successful 96‐minute engine burn as the spacecraft flew between the planet's F and G rings.

Robert Mitchell, the Cassini program manager with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the spacecraft could have been damaged if it had been hit by a grain of dust the size of a pea while crossing through the ring plane. Prior to the burn, he said flight controllers would “chew their nails” in nervousness as they awaited indication that the Saturn orbit insertion was successful. Mitchell added that the spacecraft did not fly through the rings due to any sort of scientific preference, but rather that the fly‐by was “a combination of getting close enough to make the propellant cost one we could afford, and still be in a region as safe as we could make it.”
Geoscience methods lead to paleo‐anthropological discoveries in Afar Rift, Ethiopia
Authors: WoldeGabriel Giday , Renne Paul R. , Hart William K. , Ambrose Stanley , Asfaw Berhane , White Tim D.
Published: October 2006

With few exceptions, most of the hominid evolutionary record in Africa is closely associated with the East African Rift System. The exceptions are the South African and Chadian hominids collected from the southern and west‐central parts of the continent, respectively Ethiopia's Middle Awash region stands alone as the most prolific paleo‐anthropological area ever discovered (Figure 1). Its paleontological record has yielded over 13,000 vertebrate fossils, including several hominid taxa, ranging in age from 5.8 Ma to the present. The uniqueness of the Middle Awash hominid sites lies in their occurrence within long, > 6 Ma volcanic and sedimentary stratigraphic records.
Tselioudis receives 2004 Charles S. Falkenberg award
Authors: Hansen Jim , Tselioudis George
Published: October 2006

George Tselioudis received the Falkenberg Award at the 2004 Joint Assembly Honors Ceremony, which was held on 19 May 2004 in Montreal, Canada. The award honors “a scientist under 45 years of age who has contributed to the quality of life, economic opportunities, and stewardship of the planet through the use of Earth science information and to the public awareness of the importance of understanding our planet.”
Reply [to “Comment on ‘Communicating with uncertainty: A critical issue with probabilistic seismic hazard analysis’”]
Authors: Wang Zhenming , Kiefer John D. , Shi Baoping , Edward Woolery W.
Published: October 2006

In our Eos article of 18 November 2003, we were trying to address how geoscientists, especially seismologists, fully and understandably communicate their products and the associated uncertainty not only to themselves, but also to laypersons. The Comment by C. H. Cramer on our article seems to miss the point.

We did not criticize probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA), but tried to point out some of its limitations, because these limitations have significant implications. We do not understand why in his comments Cramer is trying to compare PSHA with deterministic seismic hazard analysis (DSHA). Our article did not discuss DSHA at all. Of course, some of the limitations apply equally to DSHA, but not all. Cramer's comments could cause additional confusion.
Seabed AUV offers new platform for high‐resolution imaging
Authors: Singh Hanumant , Can Ali , Eustice Ryan , Lerner Steve , McPhee Neil , Roman Chris
Published: October 2006

A number of marine biological, geological, and archaeological applications share the need for high‐resolution optical and acoustic imaging of the sea floor [Ballard et al., 2002; Greene et al., 2000; Shank et al., 2002]. In particular,there is a compelling need to conduct studies in depths beyond those considered reasonable for divers (∼50 m) down to depths at the shelf edge and continental slope (∼1000–2000 m). Some of the constraints associated with such work include the requirement to work off of small coastal vessels or fishing boats of opportunity,and the requirement for the vehicle components to be air‐shippable to enable inexpensive deployments at far‐flung oceanographic sites of interest.
Comment on “Swedish small satellites investigate the aurora”
Authors: Bryant Duncan A.
Published: October 2006

The model of a double auroral arc presented by Goran Marklund and his colleagues in their recent article (Eos, 20 April 2004; pp. 157, 164–165) appears crucially to disregard the fact that electrostatic equipotentials are closed surfaces. Figure 1 of the article depicts equipotentials as open‐ended lines, and the text reinforces this concept by referring to acceleration by a “U‐shaped potential structure.” The equipotentials of the model are, therefore, not closed even in two dimensions. If the equipotentials were to be closed, it would be obvious immediately that electrons, which in the model experience them as static, will—contrary to the claim made—gain no energy from traversing them. Work done on entering and leaving the potential wells will necessarily exactly cancel.
Array seismology advances research into Earth's interior
Authors: Rost Sebastian , Garnero Edward J.
Published: October 2006

The densification of regional seismic networks, the proliferation of temporary portable seismometer deployments, and the increasing ease with which traditional seismic array data may be obtained all facilitate a new wave of imaging Earth's interior at the shortest‐ever possible scale lengths using array methods. In fact, seismic array techniques are often necessary for retrieval of subtle, yet important, deep Earth seismic structures, particularly those containing fine‐scale features.

While only a handful of investigations over the past few decades have used traditional seismic array processing for imaging Earth's deep interior, the recent data renaissance in our community enables utilization of methods once predominantly devoted to the near surface for peering deep into the planet, from upper mantle discontinuities to the solid inner core, from the earthquake source to near‐surface receiver structure.

Thus, it is anticipated that this branch of seismology will become increasingly important in the pursuit of deciphering Earth structure and the earthquake source in unprecedented detail, especially with the emergence of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)‐funded USArray of the EarthScope initiative (see http://www.earthscope.org).
Comment on “Investigating environmental tectonics in Northern Alpine Foreland of Europe”
Authors: Hinzen Klaus‐G.
Published: October 2006

A recent article in Eos by S. Cloetingh, P Ziegler, T.Cornu, and the ENTEC Working Group (9 September 2003, pp. 349, 356–357) describes research activities and plans of the Environmental Tectonics research network (ENTEC) on lithospheric processes, neotectonics, and surface processes in the northern Alpine foreland.

Three main areas of investigations are the Vienna Basin, the Upper Rhine Graben (URG), and the Lower Rhine Graben (LRG). In Figure 3a of the article, a color‐coded relief map of the topography of the LRG is presented. In addition to the topography, earthquake epicenters are shown, and Tertiary and Quaternary faults are indicated.
Inside politics with AGU's Congressional Science Fellow
Authors: Vranes Kevin
Published: October 2006

One definition of pork is money, jobs, etc. received through pork‐barrel congressional appropriations and used for political patronage. However, pork is only pork if that swine farm is located in somebody else's congressional district. If the project is in your district, rest assured that it is absolutely necessary for the safety and well‐being of your constituents and the vitality of America as a whole. (That $650 million soil ion conductance lab at Southern State College is absolutely essential to the future of the American economy, right?)
Comment on “Coupling semantics and science in earthquake research”
Authors: Lay Thorne , Schwartz Susan Y.
Published: October 2006

Kelin Wang and Timothy Dixon (Eos, 85(18), 4 May 2004, p. 180) thoughtfully advocate paying close attention to semantics in descriptions of fault zone properties and kinematics, an increasingly important issue given the distinct usages of terms such as “coupling” by separate disciplines involved in the multidisciplinary study of earthquake faulting. We are in full accord with their advocacy of unambiguous language, such as the description of a nonsliding fault segment as being “not slipping” rather than “strongly coupled” in the absence of any information about the frictional or stress state of that segment. While several of Wang and Dixon's recommended “simple expressions” have clear merits, we feel that their advocacy of “locked” to equate to “not slipping” is not an improvement, and that their accompanying illustration of dislocation models of subduction zone megathrusts is potentially misleading.
Tree tectonics
Authors: Vogt Peter R.
Published: October 2006

Nature often replicates her processes at different scales of space and time in differing media. Here a tree‐trunk cross section I am preparing for a dendrochronological display at the Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Nature Sanctuary (Calvert County Maryland) dried and cracked in a way that replicates practically all the planform features found along the Mid‐Oceanic Ridge (see Figure l). The leftlateral offset of saw marks, contrasting with the right‐lateral “rift” offset, even illustrates the distinction between transcurrent (strike‐slip) and transform faults, the latter only recognized as a geologic feature, by J. Tuzo Wilson, in 1965 (Nature, 178, 343–347). However, wood cracking is but one of many examples of natural processes that replicate one or several elements of lithospheric plate tectonics. Many of these examples occur in everyday venues and thus make great teaching aids, “teachable” from primary school to university levels.
A First Course on Atmospheric Radiation
Authors: Pincus Robert
Published: October 2006

Textbooks almost never make their authors rich, and Grant Petty already has a day job as an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin,so he must have had something he wanted to say pretty urgently to write A First Course in Atmospheric Radiation. He has certainly taken a different approach than the authors of the half‐dozen tomes that already exist on the subject. His book is aimed directly at beginning students, and it is written in casual language, short on math and long on physical reasoning and applications to real‐world problems. The book may not quite live up to what Petty wants it to be, but it will suit its intended audience much better than anything else available.
Draft U.S. Earth Observation System Plan issued
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The Bush administration released on 8 September a draft Strategic Plan for the U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System. The plan is an element of an international, 10‐year implementation plan for a Global Earth Observation System to improve the ability to monitor, understand, and predict changes to the Earth.

The U.S. plan, coordinated through the cabinet‐level National Science and Technology Council, focuses on key societal concerns that already do, or could, benefit from Earth observation efforts.The areas include improving weather forecasting, reducing loss of life and property from disasters, and understanding climate variability and change.
INSTANT: A new international array to measure the Indonesian Throughflow
Authors: Sprintall Janet , Wijffels Susan , Gordon Arnold L. , Ffield Amy , Molcard Robert , Susanto R. Dwi , Soesilo Indroyono , Sopaheluwakan Jan , Surachman Yusuf , van Aken Hendrik M.
Published: October 2006

The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) is the leakage of western tropical Pacific water into the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean through the Indonesian seas. The ITF is an important pathway for the transfer of climate signals and their anomalies around the world's oceans. While the heat and fresh water carried by the ITF are known to affect the basin budgets of both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the magnitude and vertical distribution of the ITF are not well known, giving little guidance to the initialization and validation of ocean circulation and climate models.

In response to this lack of knowledge, the International Nusantara Stratification and Transport (INSTANT) program was established to directly measure the ITF Scientists from Indonesia, France, Netherlands, United States, and Australia make up the collaborative INSTANT partnership.
Pattern of strange errors plagues solar activity and terrestrial climate data
Authors: Damon Paul E. , Laut Peter
Published: October 2006

The last decade has seen a revival of various hypotheses claiming a strong correlation between solar activity and a number of terrestrial climate parameters. Links have been made between cosmic rays and cloud cover, first total cloud cover and then only low clouds, and between solar cycle lengths and northern hemisphere land temperatures. These hypotheses play an important role in the scientific debate as well as in the public debate about the possibility or reality of a man‐made global climate change.

Analysis of a number of published graphs that have played a major role in these debates and that have been claimed to support solar hypotheses [Laut, 2003; Damon and Peristykh, 1999, 2004] shows that the apparent strong correlations displayed on these graphs have been obtained by incorrect handling of the physical data. The graphs are still widely referred to in the literature, and their misleading character has not yet been generally recognized. Readers are cautioned against drawing any conclusions, based upon these graphs, concerning the possible wisdom or futility of reducing the emissions of man‐made greenhouse gases.
Biological Oceanography
Authors: Dyhman Sonya
Published: October 2006

The ocean is arguably the largest habitat on the planet, and it houses an astounding array of life, from microbes to whales. As a testament to this diversity and its importance, the discipline of biological oceanography spans studies of all levels of biological organization, from that of single genes, to organisms, to their population dynamics. Biological oceanography also includes studies on how organisms interact with, and contribute to, essential global processes. Students of biological oceanography are often as comfortable looking at satellite images as they are electron micrographs.
Andreae is new Editor of Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Authors: Andreae Meinrat O.
Published: October 2006

As the incoming editor of Global Biogeochemical Cycles, I would like to introduce myself and my ideas for the journal to Eos readers and to current and potential GBC authors.

I've had a somewhat “roaming” scientific evolution, coming from “straight” chemistry through hard‐rock geochemistry to chemical oceanography, the field in which I did my Ph.D. I taught marine chemistry at Florida State University for a number of years, and developed an interest in ocean/atmosphere interactions and atmospheric chemistry. In 1987 I took on my present job at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, in Mainz, Germany, and, after leaving the seacoast, my interests shifted to interactions between the terrestrial biosphere and atmosphere, including the role of vegetation fires. My present focus is on the role of biogenic aerosols and biomass smoke in regulating cloud properties and influencing climate.
Are we slighting female colleagues?
Authors: Rudnick Steven
Published: October 2006

There has been considerable discussion in Eos, and elsewhere, concerning gender imbalance in the geosciences. It is unfortunate that in choosing the 2004 AGU Fellows this imbalance was exacerbated by choosing only 7% women, significantly less than the proportion of women in the field. It seems that the “Old Boy Network” is perpetuating itself. If there are few models for women, we will have few women.
Passive Microwave Remote Sensing of the Earth
Authors: Wilson William J.
Published: October 2006

This book provides a general description of many aspects of microwave Earth remote sensing, including a description of many of the basic mathematical techniques used for remote sensing. Also, the book points out the relevance of Earth remote sensing, by describing many remote sensing applications. Many are well‐written and interesting, and each chapter includes a paragraph describing its purpose and what it covers.

Passive Microwave Remote Sensing of the Earth begins with a good discussion of remote sensing and what can be learned from the interaction between electromagnetic waves and the Earth. There is a good comparison of optical, infrared, and microwave remote sensing and what can be learned from each wavelength region. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the description of a number of Russian aircraft and space microwave experiments in this field. These experiments are somewhat dated, 1980–1990, but provide examples of the pioneering techniques and results achieved by Russian scientists.
Understanding seismotectonic aspects of Central and South American subduction zones
Authors: Vargas‐Jimenez Carlos A. , Monsalve‐Jaramillo Hugo , Huérfano Victor
Published: October 2006

The Circum‐Pacific, and particularly the Central and South American, subduction zones are complex structures that are subject to frequent, large‐magnitude earthquakes, volcanic activity tsunamis, and geological hazards. Among these natural hazards, earthquakes produce the most significant social and economic impacts in Latin America, and the subduction zones therefore demand constant vigilance and intensive study The American continent has witnessed several earthquakes that rank among the most destructive in the world. Earthquakes such as the ones that occurred in Colombia‐Ecuador (Mw = 8.9, 1906), Chile (Mw = 9.6, 1960; Mw = 8.9, 1995), Mexico (Mw = 8.1, 1985), and Peru (Mw = 8.0, 2001), as well as a number of destructive events related to crustal fault systems and volcanic eruptions (e.g.,Soufriere, El Ruiz, Galeras, etc.), have produced significant human and economic loss. The latent seismic hazards in the Caribbean, and Central and South America demand from the regional Earth sciences community accurate models to explain the mechanisms of these natural phenomena.
Oceanic Hotspots
Authors: Batiza Rodey
Published: October 2006

The Wilson‐Morgan hypothesis that fixed mantle plumes rising from deep in Earth's mantle give rise to linear island and seamount chains like Hawaii has been a leading idea in planetary geodynamics for many decades. However, the notion that these ascending columns of buoyant mantle material are fixed relative to each other or to a fixed reference frame has been questioned because the mean regional flow of the mantle (the so‐called mantle wind) would be expected to entrain them and waft them about. Lately, even more fundamental questions have been raised regarding the existence of deep mantle conduits. In fact, the subject of plumes has become quite controversial, with important implications for ideas of mantle convection, Earth's differentiation, and planetary magma budgets and cooling.The appearance of Oceanic Hotspots: In trap late Submarine Magmatism and Tectonics is thus timely.
Assessing conceptual models for subsurface reactive transport of inorganic contaminants
Authors: Davis James A. , Yabusaki Steven B. , Steefel Carl I. , Zachara John M. , Curtis Gary P. , Redden George D. , Criscenti Louise J. , Honeyman Bruce D.
Published: October 2006

In many subsurface situations where human health and environmental quality are at risk (e.g., contaminant hydrogeology petroleum extraction, carbon sequestration, etc.),scientists and engineers are being asked by federal agency decision‐makers to predict the fate of chemical species under conditions where both reactions and transport are processes of first‐order importance.

In 2002, a working group (WG) was formed by representatives of the U.S. Geological Survey, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Agriculture, and Army Engineer Research and Development Center to assess the role of reactive transport modeling (RTM) in addressing these situations. Specifically the goals of the WG are to (1) evaluate the state of the art in conceptual model development and parameterization for RTM, as applied to soil,vadose zone, and groundwater systems, and (2) prioritize research directions that would enhance the practical utility of RTM.
Predictions in ungauged basins as a catalyst for multidisciplinary hydrology
Authors: Wagener Thorsten , Sivapalan Murugesu , McDonnell Jeff , Hooper Rick , Lakshmi Venkat , Liang Xu , Kumar Praveen
Published: October 2006

The face of hydrologic science is changing rapidly, on national as well as on international scales.The increasing complexity of the problems hydrology is asked to investigate in research and practice today often requires solutions that can no longer be obtained by a single hydrologist, but require a multidisciplinary team. One consequence of this trend is the establishment of initiatives that help formulate and implement science programs to engage and energize the scientific community toward achieving major advances.

The IAHS Decade on Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB) is an initiative of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) [Sivapalan et al., 2003] to advance our ability to make reliable predictions in ungauged basins. Within PUB, the drainage basin (at various scales) is seen as the element that integrates all aspects of the hydrological cycle within a defined area that can be studied, quantified, and acted upon.
A focus on risk science and sustainable development
Authors: Ismail‐Zadeh Alik
Published: October 2006

The world faces major threats resulting from the expansion of human activities, among them deterioration of the environment; biodiversity loss; depletion of natural resources through excessive consumption; and in certain regions, destabilization of economies and the social order. Long‐term threats to the sustainability of our planet include droughts, degradation of water quality global warming, nuclear waste disposal, nuclear plant side effects, and the manipulation of life itself.These threats are accompanied by the dangers of natural and human‐made disasters at both microscale and macroscale.

How should we intensify our efforts to reduce the number and effects of geophysical, technological, and human‐made disasters and to maintain sustainability over the next decades? A recent workshop on Risk Science, Society, and Sustainability organized by the Commission of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) on Geophysical Risk and Sustainability and the European Association for Promotion of Science and Technology tried to answer the question.
Morphotectonics
Authors: Jayko Angela S.
Published: October 2006

Significant advances have been made in the fields of tectono‐geomorphology and neotectonics in recent years. The development of satellite geodesy and improvements in geophysical tools for dating Quaternary materials combined with the widespread availability of high‐resolution digital topography have improved our ability to resolve the impacts of active tectonics and surface process on sculpting Earth's surface. In recent years, many Earth science departments have shifted emphasis from classical geologic, structural, and tectonic investigations to investigations of neotectonics and landscape evolution, further accelerating our understanding of surface kinematics and the consequent surficial change expressed as the land surface morphology.
Geomagnetic observatory operates at the seafloor in the northwest Pacific Ocean
Authors: Toh Hiroaki , Hamano Yozo , Ichiki Masahiro , Utada Hisashi
Published: October 2006

The need to establish seafloor observatories has been important for decades. Multidisciplinary efforts aimed at establishing such observatories [e.g.,Beranzoli et al., 1998] are now culminating the ongoing Ocean Observatories Initiative [Copley, 2004].

This article reports on how the world's first seafloor geomagnetic observatory NWP (North‐Western Pacific) is producing data that are compatible with those obtained by satellite Ørsted and the existing geomagnetic observatory network. In particular, the article reports on the remarkable agreement between the satellite‐predicted and actual secular variation, which ensures the accuracy of the geomagnetic measurements both in space and at the seafloor.
2004–2005 AGU Congressional Science Fellow
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Biological oceanographer Jana Davis is AGU's Congressional Science Fellow for 2004–2005. She will spend the year in the office of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D‐N.J.), working on ocean and other environment issues. Davis received her Ph.D. in 2000 from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, California, and most recently was with the Maritime Studies Program, Williams College‐Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland. She is AGU's 28th Congressional Science Fellow.
Ancient oak climate proxies from the agricultural heartland
Authors: Guyette Richard P. , Stambaugh Michael C. , Dey Daniel C.
Published: October 2006

Understanding the long‐term variability in climate has important societal implications, particularly for agricultural regions that are suppliers to global food markets such as the central United States. Paleoclimate information from agriculturally important regions of the central United States is limited in length and resolution.

Tree rings provide one of the longest and highest‐resolution paleoclimate records for North America; however, millennium‐length records are primarily from extreme environments (e.g., deserts, cliffs, high elevations) and do not represent climate‐plant responses in the central U.S. agricultural region.
The life cycle of continental rifting as a focus for U.S.‐African scientific collaboration
Authors: Abdelsalam Mohamed G. , Atekwana Estella A. , Keller G. Randy , Klemperer Simon L.
Published: October 2006

The East African Rift System (EARS) provides the unique opportunity found nowhere else on Earth, to investigate extensional processes from incipient rifting in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, to continental breakup and creation of proto‐oceanic basins 3000 km to the north in the Afar Depression in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti.The study of continental rifts is of great interest because they represent the initial stages of continental breakup and passive margin development, they are sites for large‐scale sediment accumulation, and their geomorphology may have controlled human evolution in the past and localizes geologic hazards in the present.

But there is little research that provides insights into the linkage between broad geodynamic processes and the life cycle of continental rifts: We do not know why some rifts evolve into mid‐ocean ridges whereas others abort their evolution to become aulacogens. Numerous studies of the EARS and other continental rifts have significantly increased our understanding of rifting processes, but we particularly lack studies of the embryonic stages of rift creation and the last stages of extension when continental breakup occurs.
Stress maps in a minute: The 2004 world stress map release
Authors: Heidbach Oliver , Barth Andreas , Connolly Peter , Fuchs Karl , Müller Brigit , Tingay Mark , Reinecker John , Spencer Blanka , Wenzel Friedmann
Published: October 2006

The World Stress Map (WSM) project has, since 1986, been compiling a free and public global database of contemporary crustal stress information.The WSM is now a key resource, for scientists and engineers in both academia and industry, that is used for understanding geodynamic processes, seismic hazard assessment, the stability of tunnels, improving hydrocarbon production, safe subsurface disposal of waste and greenhouse gases, and geothermal power production [Fuchs and Müller, 2001]. The WSM 2004 release, issued on 27 May 2004, contains over 13,800 data sets of contemporary crustal stress information, all of which can be downloaded free of charge from the project Web site: http://www. world‐stress‐map. org. The WSM Web site also includes stress maps, software, stress interpretation guidelines, and the fast online database interface “Create a Stress Map Online” (CASMO). CASMO allows WSM users to create high graphic quality stress maps to their own specifications that are delivered to the user via email within a minute.
Global impact of the Panamanian seaway closure
Authors: Schmittner A. , Sarnthein N. , Kinkel H. , Bartoli G. , Bickert T. , Crucifix M. , Crudeli D. , Groeneveld J. , Kösters F. , Mikolajewicz U. , Millo C. , Reumer J. , Schäfer P. , Schmidt D. , Schneider B. , Schulz M. , Steph S. , Tiedemann R. , Weinelt M. , Zuvela M.
Published: October 2006

Closure of the Isthmus of Panama about 3 million years ago (Ma) was accompanied by dramatic changes in Earth's climate and biosphere. The Greenland ice sheet grew to continental extent and the great cycles of ice ages commenced dominating climate variability henceforth. Disruption of water mass exchange between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans led to different evolution of marine species on either side of the land bridge, while land‐based organisms including mammals and other animals took the advantage to colonize an entire subcontinent.

A 2‐day workshop at the University of Kiel (Germany) summarized our current knowledge of this time period and identified areas for new research.
Education and outreach for the International Polar Year
Authors: Pfirman Stephanie , Bell Robin Elizabeth , Turrin Margie , Maru Poonam
Published: October 2006

If the 65 educators, scientists, and media specialists who gathered at the “Bridging the Poles” workshop in Washington, D.C. last June have their way a semitrailer truck labeled “Got Snow?” would traverse the country during the International Polar Year (IPY) of 2007–2009 loaded with polar gear, interactive activities, and a snowmaker.

We would significantly increase the number of Arctic residents—especially indigenous Alaskans—with Ph.D.s. We would build exchange programs between inner city youths and polar residents. Polar exhibitions would open at natural history and art museums and zoos. And polar postage stamps, interactive polar computer games, national polar book‐of‐the‐month recommendations, made‐for‐TV polar documentaries, and a polar youth forum would bring the poles front and center to the public's attention.
Multidisciplinary applications of nanoscale magnetic behavior, particulates, and structures
Authors: Hounslow Mark W. , McEnroe Suzanne , Hirt Ann M. , Evans Ted
Published: October 2006

The detection, fabrication, use, and understanding of fine magnetic particulates and structures provides an interdisciplinary platform which crosses a diverse number of science areas, including geophysics, environmental science, medicine, biology data storage media, and semiconductor devices. Natural and laboratory‐grown magnetic particulates and fabricated structures at the scale of 5‐100 nm have a wide number of applications, including interpreting environmental change and paleomagnetic signatures; disease diagnosis and drug delivery in humans; locating and understanding the production of biomagnets in a variety of organisms; and designing the next generation of data storage devices and nanoscale information technology components.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Michael Gadsden, 69, April 2003, Life Member, Aeronomy 1964.

John H. Hoke, 78, 18 September 2004, Seismology, 1952.
Pleistocene forests preserved in Oregon coast sediments
Authors: Smyth William D. , Hart Roger A. , Reimer Paula J.
Published: October 2006

Erosion on the Oregon coast has exposed several paleosols (ancient soil deposits) containing well‐preserved tree trunks. Some trunks are of Holocene age [Hart and Peterson, 1997], while others are much older. These macrofossil deposits contain clues to tectonic activity, paleovegetation patterns, coastal erosion, and climate evolution.

This article describes a paleosol located near Cape Perpetua, Oregon, containing trunks dated at prior to 50,000 B.P. The forest appears to have been buried during a catastrophic debris flow and preserved due to anoxia.
Sumatran earthquake spawns devastating tsunami
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The devastating tsunami that followed the M9.0 earthquake off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia on 26 December “to our knowledge is the first global tsunami,” according to Eddie Bernard, director of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Bernard, past chairman of the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigat said he received reports on 28 December that the tsunami had been recorded on tide gages as far away as Kamchatka, Russia. He anticipates that it also may have been recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.
Aki receives 2004 William Bowie Medal
Authors: Jordan Thomas H. , Aki Keiiti
Published: October 2006

Keiiti Aki was awarded the 2004 William Bowie Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on 15 December 2004, in San Francisco, California. The medal recognizes “outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research”
Physics of Sedimentology: Textbook and Reference
Authors: Paola Chris
Published: October 2006

From its straightforward title, one would never guess what an idiosyncratic book this is. It includes selected topics in fluid dynamics, sediment transport, and physical chemistry; case studies in sedimentary geology, mostly from the author's own research; and anecdotes from the author's long career in industry and academia. Many of the latter are presented in conversational form.

The book starts and ends well, with compelling, personal appeals for the importance of analytical thinking and creativity in geology. It is erratic in between.
Warren receives 2004 Maurice Ewing medal
Authors: Speer Kevin , Warren Bruce A>
Published: October 2006

Bruce A. Warren received the Ewing Medal at the 2004 Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on 15 December, in San Francisco, California. The medal is given for significant original contributions to the scientific understanding of the processes in the ocean; for the advancement of oceanographic engineering, technology, and instrumentation; and for outstanding service to marine sciences.
Outstanding student paper awards: Atmospheric and space electricity focus group; volcanology, geochemistry, and petrology
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2004 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California. (Winners in other sections and focus groups will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos).
Outstanding student paper awards: Biogeosciences, ocean sciences, seismology
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2004 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California. (Winners in other sections and focus groups will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos).
NASA is big winner in Bush administration science budget
Authors: Showstack Randy , Bierly Eugene , Eden Frank , Keelor Bradley , Lifland Jonathan
Published: October 2006

The Bush Administration's budget request for Fiscal Year 2006, announced on 7 February represents a mixed bag for federal science agencies. While NASA and the National Science Foundation would receive increases, funding for some other agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, would decrease. This article looks at the budgets for NASA and the Department of Energy; other agencies will be examined in forthcoming issues.

NASA's FY 2006 budget request of $16.5 billion is a 2.4% overall. Guided in part by the 2004 presidential directive for expanding space exploration, the administration plans to streamline NASA's structure to 12 themes condensed into four directorates in 2006. With that shift, space science and Earth science will be combined into a broader science category, and biological and physical research and exploration systems will merge to become exploration systems. Aeronautics and education are the other two directorates, while a space operations category continues as a separate entity
Renewal and revitalization of the scientific committee on Antarctic research
Authors: Summerhayes Colin
Published: October 2006

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), a body of the International Council for Science (ICSU), has recently completed a major reform. The reform process began with the formation in April 1999 of an ad hoc Group on SCAR Organisation and Strategy, chaired by Philip M. Smith, to review SCAR's mission, governance, and performance.

The group recommended a number of changes to SCAR in April 2000. Most of these have now been adopted. SCAR has a new constitution; a new structure; a new executive office, headed for the first time by an executive director; a new strategy, mission, and objectives; and a new science plan (for details, see the SCAR Web site, http://www.scar.org)
To see ourselves as others see us
Authors: Spilhaus Fred
Published: October 2006

Earth and space scientists and the 2004 AGU Fall Meeting were the subject of a recent column in The Washington Post Magazine (30 January 2005) by Post writer Joel Achenbach. Eos is taking the unusual step of reprinting the entire article to stimulate discussion of our role in society. Are we doing what we should to inform the public of what we know and don't know about looming natural hazards, resource shortages, and threats to the environment? If not, what more could and should we do within our purview and appropriate role as scientists?

Achenbach is a long‐time observer of AGU. He is the recipient of the 1990 AGU Walter Sullivan Award for journalism, the second writer to be given this award for making geophysical information accessible and interesting to the general public. This Union award is named for the renowned New York Times science writer who was its first recipient in 1989. Achenbach won the award for an article titled “Second Thoughts,” which was reprinted in Eos (vol.71, no.25, 19 June 1990).
“An Earth‐shaking experience”
Authors: Achenbach Joel
Published: October 2006

Last month's annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco drew an estimated 11,000 scientists, teachers, journalists and geophysics groupies. The schedule of talks could be found in a bound volume as thick as a phone book. You never see a geophysicist in ordinary life, but apparently the world is crawling with them.

They came to talk about everything from the ozone layer to the big wad of iron at the center of the Earth. Also about other planets. And magnetic fields. Solar wind. Water on Mars. To be at this convention was to be immersed to the eyebrows in scientific knowledge. It is intellectually fashionable to fetishize the unknown, but at AGU, a person will get the opposite feeling—that science is a voracious, relentless and tireless enterprise, and that soon there may not remain on this Earth an unturned stone.
Terminology of large‐scale waves in the solar atmosphere
Authors: Vršnak Bojan
Published: October 2006

This is the fourth in a series of essays on terms used in solar‐terrestrial physics that are thought to be in need of clarification. Terms are identified and essays are commissioned by a committee chartered by Division II (Sun and Heliosphere) of the International Astronomical Union. Terminology Committee members include Ed Cliver (chair), Jean‐Louis Bougeret, Hilary Cane, Takeo Kosugi, Sara Martin, Rainer Schwenn, and Lidia van Driel‐Gestelyi. Authors are asked to review the origins of terms and their current usage/misusage. The goals are to inform the community and to open a discussion.