bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Himalaya
Authors: Talwani Pradeep
Published: October 2006

Himalaya! The Abode of Snows! The name conjures visions of the world's tallest mountain range with its celebrated peaks—Mt. Everest, Kanchenchunga, Nanga Parbat,and more. Throughout history the mighty Himalaya have captured the imagination of young and old. How did they get there? What is their history? What secrets do they hide? What do they hold for the future? In this remarkable book, Professor Valdiya shares the answers to these questions and much more.
Rover trials for Mars sample return Mission prove successful
Authors: Arvidson Raymond E. , Squyres Steven , Baumgartner Eric , Dorsky Leonard , Schenker Paul
Published: October 2006

During the Mars Sample Return mission the Athena Rover will acquire remote sensing andin‐situ measurements of surface materials, drill into rocks and collect cores, acquire soil samples, and place the rock and soil samples in an ascent vehicle on the lander. After the ascent vehicle and its sample cache are launched, the rover will conduct an extended mission focused on exploration and discovery. The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) Rover simulates these sampling and exploration activities with a science payload similar to the Athena Rovers. In its initial field trials, FIDO was deployed and controlled remotely for 2 weeks in the Silver Lake area of the Mojave Desert in California. FIDO successfully completed traverses of over 500 m in diverse terrains while acquiring imaging and spectral reflectance data. FIDO also successfully identified, maneuvered to, and cored into rocks. The trials validate the mission operations approach andprovide many lessons that will maximize the science return associated with rover‐based observations and sampling activities.
Roberts receives 1999 John Adam Fleming Medal
Authors: Kono Masaru , Roberts Paul H.
Published: October 2006

Paul H. Roberts was awarded the 1999 John Adam Fleming Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on December 15,1999, in San Francisco, California. The medal recognizes original research and technical leadership in geomagnetism, atmospheric electricity, aeronomy, and related sciences.
Solar‐heliospheric community supports grass roots organization
Authors: Crooker Nancy
Published: October 2006

A long‐standing gap in grass roots organization activity in the solar‐terrestrial physics field has been filled by SHINE, an acronym for Solar Heliospheric INterplanetary Environment. SHINE complements its well‐established sister organizations, GEM (Geospace Environment Modeling) and CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions).Together these groups reflect the interests of the three subsections of AGU s Space Physics and Aeronomy Section: Solar and Heliospheric Physics, Magnetospheric Physics, and Aeronomy, respectively. SHINE held its first stand‐alone workshop, SHINE 99, in Boulder,Colorado, on June 14–17, simultaneously with the CEDAR workshop in Boulder and one week before the GEM workshop in Snowmass, Colorado. Joint sessions between the three groups were held on June 18 and June 19 in Boulder. Like the GEM and CEDAR workshops, SHINE 99 was sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Support for SHINEs members, however, is broadbased, reflecting the fact that it is a community‐wide organization.
Satellite peers through the oceans from space
Authors: Hughes Chris W. , Wunsch Carl , Zlotnicki Victor
Published: October 2006

Satellite remote sensing has led to remarkable strides in oceanography in recent years. All measurements made so far have been of variables that are manifested directly at the sea surface, such as color, temperature, or height. There is, however, one apparent exception to the need to measure a surface property: fluctuations in the strength of the gravity field reflect changes in the distribution of mass in the ocean, atmosphere, and solid Earth, and in the storage of water, snow, and ice on land. As ocean bottom pressure represents a column integral of the weight of atmosphere plus ocean, this raises the tantalizing possibility of effectively measuring ocean bottom pressure changes from space.
Comment [on “New findings about auroras confirm importance of ionosphere in space weather”]
Authors: Hargreaves J. K.
Published: October 2006

In the article, New Findings about Auroras Confirm Importance of Ionosphere in Space Weather (Eos, December 22,1998), the author states that imaging riometers respond mainly to keV electrons. It is more correct to say that they respond mainly to electrons of 10s to 100s keV. The absorption frequently maximizes at about 90 km altitude, and an electron giving maximum production at 90 km must enter the atmosphere with energy about 50 keV. The evidence comes from observations by rocket and by incoherent‐scatter radar, together with direct comparisons between radiowave absorption in the auroral zone and electron spectra measured at geosynchronous orbit.

Yamagishi et al. [1998] are quoted as finding that absorption events are far more common in winter than in summer. I have not been able to find this statement in the Yamagishi paper; moreover, conjugate‐point studies show that near the maximum of the absorption zone the events are almost invariably conjugate that is, they are seen in both hemispheres. They do, however, tend to be more intense in the winter hemisphere. Yamagishi et al.s Table 1 gives the numbers of events that are more intense in one hemisphere or the other, and those results are not inconsistent with the earlier work on this point [Hargreaves and Cowley, 1967; Hargreaves, 1969]. Osepian and Smirnova [1997] argue that the seasonal difference may be explained by seasonal changes in the effective recombination coefficient because of variations in the properties of the neutral air.
Substorm expansion onset mechanism debated
Authors: Lui A. T. Y. , Baumjohann W. , Rostoker G.
Published: October 2006

The Earth is a giant magnet bathed in the solar wind, a continuous and highly variable stream of hot ionized gas that blasts away from the Sun at supersonic speeds. The resulting interaction confines the Earths magnetic field largely to a comet‐shaped volume known as the magnetosphere. When the interaction is strong, the strength of the Earth's magnetic field at the equator can decrease by as much as 1%, marking the period of a magnetic storm that can last for many days. Within a magnetic storm period, intervals of transient activity also occur, with each lasting typically 1–3 hours. These active intervals also occur outside storm periods and are referred to as substorms. The forecasting of these disturbances storms and substorms is a major goal in space weather research.
Reply [to “Comment on ‘Using auroral spectra to detect extraterrestrial life’”]
Authors: Akasofu Syun
Published: October 2006

I very much appreciate the comments made by Frey on my article and agree with his point that emissions from molecular oxygen are better candidates for the detection of life on any extraterrestrial planet.

Indeed, it would be great if auroral science could contribute to the science of searching for extraterrestrial life. I propose that researchers interested in this endeavor form a discussion group.
Brutsaert receives 1999 Horton Medal
Authors: Burges Stephen J. , Brutsaert Wilfried
Published: October 2006

Wilfried H. Brutsaert was awarded the 1999 Horton Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on December 15, 1999, in San Francisco, California. The Horton Medal is given for outstanding contributions to geophysical aspects of hydrology.
Gordon receives 1999 Maurice Ewing Medal
Authors: Fine Rana A. , Gordon Arnold L.
Published: October 2006

Arnold L Gordon was awarded the 1999 Maurice Ewing Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on December 15, 1999, in San Francisco, California. The medal recognizes significant original contributions to understanding physical, geophysical, and geological processes in the ocean; and/or significant original contributions to scientific ocean engineering, technology, and instrumentation; and/or outstanding service to marine sciences. This medal is presented jointly by the U.S. Navy and AGU.
New earthquake catalog reexamines Hawaii's seismic history
Authors: Wright Thomas L. , Klein Fred W.
Published: October 2006

On April 2,1868, an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 occurred beneath the southern part of the island of Hawaii. The quake, which was felt throughout all of the Hawaiian Islands, had a Modified Mercalli (MM) intensity of XII near its source.The destruction caused by a quake that large is nearly complete. A landslide triggered by the quake buried a small village, killing 31 people, and a tsunami that swept over coastal settlements added to the death toll.

We know as much as we do about this and other early earthquakes thanks to detailed records kept by Hawaiian missionaries, including the remarkable diary maintained by the Lyman family that documented every earthquake felt at their home in Hilo between 1833 and 1917 [Wyss et al., 1992].Our analysis of these and other historical records indicates that Hawaii was at least as intensely seismic in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century as in its more recent past, with 26 M ≥6.0 earthquakes occurring from 1823 to 1903 and 20 M ≥6.0 earthquakes from 1904 to 1959. Just five M ≥6.0 earthquakes occurred from 1960 to 1999. The potential damage caused by a repeat of some of the larger historic events could be catastrophic today
Study group assists in global water cycle program
Authors: Hornberger George M.
Published: October 2006

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has appointed a Water Cycle Study Group (WCSG),chaired by George Hornberger of the University of Virginia, to advise the USGCRP agencies on development of a Global Water Cycle Program within the USGCRPThe aim is to define a USGCRP initiative for fiscal years 2001 and beyond. In appointing the group, Robert Corell (then chair of the Subcommittee on Global Change Research) noted that “Deficiencies in our understanding of the global water cycle severely handicap efforts to improve climate prediction and guide water resource planning. Central to this initiative is the establishment of a science community‐based research planning process complemented by an enhanced interagency coordination effort to address the content of this effort for FY 2001 and beyond.”

The charge to the WCSG is to “formulate a research strategy and scientific plan for investigating the global water cycle, its role in climate, and the fundamental processes that govern the availability and the biogeochemistry of water resources, [and to] develop the strategy and science plan for a national program.” The WCSG is assisted by a parallel Interagency Working Group (IWG), which is charged with coordinating agency activities with the development of the WCSG science plan.The IWG is cochaired by Rick Lawford of NOAA's Office of Global Programs and Robert Schiffer of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise.
Eos interviews Charles “Chip” Groat, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

U.S. Geological Survey Director Charles “Chip” Groat sat down with Eos in February for an exclusive and wide‐ranging interview that touched upon the agency's goals, budget request for fiscal year 2001, restructuring, and other issues.
AGU section‐wide electronic connections: A case history from SPA
Authors: Le Guan , Russell C. T. , Luhmann J. G.
Published: October 2006

In the spring of 1994 when the Internet was rapidly expanding and the World Wide Web was still developing,several of us serving in the SPA Section Executive Committee decided to launch an electronic newsletter and section Web site.

The purpose of each was multifold. The newsletter would provide a way to rapidly disseminate items of recent interest, allowing widespread, immediate community response when warranted and a venue for advertising events of specific concern to SPA members and others with space physics connections. It would serve as an effective bulletin board for the exchange of useful information; for example, the launch of a spacecraft, the release of a special data set, or notes on honors bestowed upon SPA members.
Billy M. McCormac (1920–1999)
Authors: Walt Martin
Published: October 2006

Billy M. McCormac died on September 13, 1999, at age 79. His many friends and colleagues will remember him for the legendary International Institutes on Space Science and Aeronomy, which he organized between 1965 and 1975.

Billy was born and raised in Zanesville, Ohio, and graduated from Ohio State University in 1943 in the midst of World War II. He joined the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant and served in Europe and Korea. As a career officer he was sent to graduate school at the University of Virginia, where he received his Ph.D. in nuclear physics in 1957. He held various scientific positions in the Army until his retirement as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1963. His last military position was Chief of Electromagnetics at the Defense Atomic Support Agency, where he was responsible for experiments measuring the effects of the high‐altitude nuclear weapon explosions in the Pacific.
Vulcan's fury: Man against the volcano
Authors: Varekamp Johan C.
Published: October 2006

I read this book on an 11‐hour flight back from a field trip in the Andes, where I got first‐hand insight into how people live with a volcano that now and then explodes. Appropriate reading, I felt, especially as the fascination of the human world with volcanoes and eruptive disasters is indeed long standing. This book is a recent addition to a list of titles in this genre (e.g., the new book by Sigurdsson to be reviewed in Eos shortly). The scope of the book is summarized in the introductory sentence of the preface: “This book is about an unequal contest. It describes human reactions to volcanic eruptions.” This is the perspective of the book's descriptions of 16 large and not‐so‐large eruptions over the last two millennia.
[Comment on “Satellite radar images capture a subglacial volcanic eruption in Iceland”] Comment: Subglacial eruptions and synthetic aperture radar images
Authors: Gudmundsson Magnús T. , Larsen Gudrún , Björnsson Helgi , Sigmundsson Freysteinn
Published: October 2006

In a news piece published in the May 4, 1999, issue of Eos,Garvin et al. present RADARSAT satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the subglacial volcanic eruption in the Gnmsvotn caldera within the Vatnajokull ice cap, Iceland, that occurred December 18–28, 1998. As pointed out in this piece, the images show considerable changes in surface backscatter of the radar signal within the caldera during and after the eruption. The authors suggest that the dark patches with an area of approximately 4 km2, observed within Grímsvötn, are open water. On the basis of the size of the dark patches, Garvin et al. estimate the volume of ice melted to have been about 1 km3 and the energy provided for melting, E = 3 × 1017 J, to have been about 30% of that of the 1996 Gjalp eruption, which occurred 12 km north of the 1998 eruption site [Gudmundsson et al., 1997]. Our groundbased and aerial observations at Gnmsvotn, however,show that this estimate of melting and energy release is far too high.
Council's first approval of bylaw changes
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

At its December 16, 1999, meeting in San Francisco, the AGU Council gave first approval to several changes to the Bylaws of the Union. Bylaw changes require passage at two Council Meetings within one year. Notice of changes must be published prior to the second meeting. Comments on these Bylaw changes may be addressed to the Statutes and Bylaws Committee by e‐mail statbylw@agu.org or mail to the Committee at AGU. The changes approved in December include the addition of a Biogeosciences Section, a provision that will allow members to affiliate with certain committees as well as with sections, and a process that would allow a section secretary to run unopposed in an election under the same terms as the General Secretary and International Secretary of the Union.
Physics of the Space Environment
Authors: Vasyliünas Vytenis M.
Published: October 2006

This book, one in the Cambridge Atmospheric and Space Science Series, joins a growing list of advanced‐level textbooks in a field of study and research known under a variety of names: space plasma physics, solar‐terrestrial or solar‐planetary relations, space weather, or (the official name of the relevant AGU section) space physics and aeronomy. On the basis of graduate courses taught by the author in various departments at the University of Michigan, complete with problems and with appendices of physical constants and mathematical identities, this is indeed a textbook, systematic and severe in its approach.

The book is divided into three parts, in length ratios of roughly 6:4:5. Part I, “Theoretical Description of Gases and Plasmas,” starts by writing down Maxwell's equations and the Lorentz transformation (no nonsense about any introductory material of a descriptive or historical nature) and proceeds through particle orbit theory, kinetics, and plasma physics with fluid and MHD approximations to waves, shocks, and energetic particle transport. Part II, “The Upper Atmosphere,” features chapters on the terrestrial upper atmosphere, airglow and aurora, and the ionosphere. Part III, “Sun‐Earth Connection,” deals with the Sun, the solar wind, cosmic rays, and the terrestrial magnetosphere. The book thus covers, with two exceptions, just about all the topics of interest to Space Physics and Aeronomy scientists, and then some (the chapter on the Sun, for instance, briefly discusses also topics of the solar interior: thermonuclear energy generation, equilibrium structure, energy transfer, with a page or two on each). One exception reflects a strong geocentric bias: there is not one word in the main text on magnetospheres and ionospheres of other planets and their interaction with the solar wind (they are mentioned in a few problems). The other exception: the chapter on the terrestrial magnetosphere lacks a systematic exposition of the theory of magnetosphereionosphere coupling.
JGR‐Planets wins best issue award
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The April 25, 1999, issue of JGR‐Planets was named the Best Single Issue in Science/Technology/Medicine by the Professional/Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers. The award was presented at the Division's annual meeting in February in Washington, D.C.

Featured was a special section on the Mars Pathfinder. The mission resulted in a significant volume of data in several areas, and the papers in the issue were the first detailed treatment of the mission in the literature. JGR‐Planets competed against commercial publishers, including Blackwell's and Elsevier, university presses, including Cambridge University Press and MIT Press, as well as associations, including the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Killeen to head NCAR
Authors: Grant Shermonta L.
Published: October 2006

Timothy Killeen, president of AGU's Space Physics and Aeronomy Section, begins his tenure as director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) on July 5, 2000.

Managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)—a consortium of universities—NCAR's objective is to equip the university research community with the human resources and the computational and observational infrastructure needed to sustain and expand progress in atmospheric and related sciences.
Hawaii‐2 observatory pioneers opportunities for remote instrumentation in ocean studies
Authors: Butler R. , Chave A. D. , Duennebier F. K. , Yoerger D. R. , Petitt R. , Harris D. , Wooding F. B. , Bowen A. D. , Bailey J. , Jolly J. , Hobart E. , Hildebrand J. A. , Dodeman A. H.
Published: October 2006

Beneath 5000 m of water midway between Hawaii and California, the Hawaii‐2 Observatory (H20) rests on the seafloor (Figure 1). Telemetry and power come to this pioneer, deep‐ocean scientific observatory via a retired telephone cable, Hawaii‐2, donated by AT&T to the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Consortium for the benefit of the scientific community. H20 is the first Global Seismographic Network (GSN) station on the seafloor.With a suite of wet‐mateable connectors on a junction box (j‐box), H20 offers marine scientists a new opportunity to deploy and operate remote instrumentation in the middle of the ocean.
Preserving satellite archives
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, presently houses one of the world's largest collections of aerial and satellite images of the Earth's land surface.

Now, the Survey will also archive hundreds of thousands of additional satellite images that complement its Landsat collection and fill in gaps in Landsat coverage of low cloud cover images.
Comment [on “Planetary science, astrobiology, and the role of science and exploration in society”]
Authors: Lanzerotti Louis J.
Published: October 2006

Jakosky and Golombek [2000] have addressed important public policy issues in their recent Forum piece (Eos, February 8, 2000, p. 58). Their analyses should be read carefully in the context of the numerous debates and discussions that have occurred in the last decade on the role of public funding for research. I wish to take this opportunity to comment and elaborate on several of the issues raised in their piece.

The American Geophysical Union has an active and vigorous program in public policy under the auspices of the Committee on Public Affairs (CORA). A full‐time professional AGU staff member with strong policy credentials has guided the Union's activities in public affairs for the last 2 years.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Volcanology, Geochemistry & Petrology (VGP) Section presented six outstanding student papers at the 1999 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December. Jeremy W. Boyce presented a paper titled “Experimental Evidence for the Non‐Retentive Behavior of Ar from Melt Inclusions in Quartz Phenocrysts.” Jeremy completed his B.S. degree in geology at UCLA in 1997, and chose to remain in beautiful,sunny Westwood, California, for graduate work because of the challenging problem offered to him by advisor Mary Reid. After the completion of his M.S. this spring, he plans to continue graduate school. Jeremy's Ph.D. project will involve helium diffusion and applications of the U‐Th/He system.
Radiative Transfer in the Atmosphere and Ocean
Authors: Coakley Jim
Published: October 2006

The Earth's climate reflects the balance between the sunlight absorbed by the Earth atmosphere system and the infrared radiation that the Earth emits to space. Change the composition of the atmosphere and the deposition of absorbed sunlight and the emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere and surface are altered, upsetting existing balances, forcing temperatures to respond and the climate to change.

Understanding the transfer of radiation in the atmosphere is the key to anticipating the changes. In addition, with the recent launch of Terra, the first flagship of NASA's Earth Observing System, observations of reflected sunlight and emitted infrared and microwave radiation are being used increasingly to probe atmospheric and surface processes as well as to monitor the various components and thermodynamic states of the climate system. There is clearly a need for textbooks that introduce newcomers to radiative transfer, given its central role in climate and remote sensing. The landmark references by S. Chandrasekhar [1950] and R.M. Goody [1964] served as introductions to radiative transfer for many of today's practitioners, but they were not meant to be textbooks and have proven unwieldy when pressed into that role. This new book should fulfill this need.
Coastal sedimentary research examines critical issues of national and global priority
Authors: Fletcher Chip , Anderson John , Crook Keith A. W. , Kaminsky George , Larcombe Piers , Murray‐Wallace Colin V. , Sansone Frank , Scott David B. , Riggs Stan , Sallenger Asbury , Shennan Ian , Thieler E. Robert , Wehmiller John F.
Published: October 2006

An international conference was held recently in Honolulu, Hawaii, to examine and plan for coastal sedimentary research in the United States and globally. Participants agreed that sedimentary coastal environments constitute a critical national and global resource that suffers widespread degradation due to human impacts. Moreover, human population growth and inappropriate development in the coastal zone are escalating public asset losses due to coastal hazards and placing large numbers of communities at growing risk (Figure 1).
SeaWiFS provides unique global aerosol optical property data
Authors: Wang Menghua , Bailey Sean , McClain Charles R.
Published: October 2006

Atmospheric aerosols directly influence radiative transfer in the atmosphere and hence change the radiance reflected to space. They also indirectly affect the radiation budget by providing cloud condensation nucleii that lead to cloud formation. Since 1981, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has routinely retrieved the aerosol optical thickness over the ocean with measurements from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) using a single wavelength algorithm [Rao et al., 1989]. Continuous efforts have been made in recent years to collect ground in situ measurements and remotely retrieve aerosol optical properties using air‐and spaceborne sensors [King et al., 1999]. The primary goals of the Sea‐viewing Wide Field‐of‐view Sensor (SeaWiFS) [Hooker et al., 1992], which was successfully launched on August 1, 1997, are to routinely measure global ocean color and generate ocean biooptical property products.
Letter exchange documents 50 years of progress in oceanography
Authors: Leipper Dale F. , Lewis John M.
Published: October 2006

During World War II the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) became involved in the oceanographic training of officers. This, combined with a rekindling of interest in the Pacific Ocean during and after the war, catapulted SIO in the late 1940s to a position of prominence in oceanographic education. The leader of the institution, both administratively and academically, was Harald Sverdrup (Figure 1). When he became director in 1936, only five graduate students were enrolled.
Perturbed silicon cycle discussed
Authors: Ittekkot Venugopalan , Rahm Lars , Swaney Dennis P. , Humborg Christoph
Published: October 2006

Silicon is an abundant element in the minerals and rocks of the Earth's crust. Chemical weathering of these rocks and minerals is the natural source of dissolved silicate in water bodies [Wollast and Mackenzie, 1983], where along with N and P, it is an essential nutrient for diatoms. Diatoms form a major part of the aquatic food chain and play a critical role in marine biogeochemical cycles, especially in the sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via the “biological pump” [Dugdale et al., 1995]. It now appears that silicate fluxes to rivers and the coastal water bodies are being increasingly perturbed by human activities with severe adverse impacts on the quality and structure of aquatic ecosystems [e.g., Humborg et al., 2000].
Groundwater in Geologic Processes
Authors: Person Mark
Published: October 2006

Any student of geology who inspects a sample of galena or fluorite from one of the lead‐zinc mines of the Mississippi Valley Ore district will be immediately struck by the hydrologic processes that were required to concentrate the requisite far‐flung chemical components into a relatively thin layer of limestone. What was the nature and scale of the flow system that formed this ore body? How long did it last? Was it unlike modern flow systems? Until recently, these questions have been the sole domain of economic geologists.
Witze, Hill win AGU Journalism Awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Alexandra Witze, science writer for The Dallas Morning News, and Richard L. Hill, science reporter for The Oregonian, have won the American Geophysical Union's 2000 awards for science journalism.

Witze won the Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Writing—Features for her story, “Paradise Submerged,” which was published on July 12, 1999. The award was established in 1989 in honor of its first recipient, Walter Sullivan, science writer of The New York Times. The “paradise” of the title is the Kerguelen Plateau in the southern Indian Ocean, which was dry land some 100 million years ago, but is now, except for a few small islands, completely submerged. The plateau was explored under the auspices of the Ocean Drilling Program, which formed the basis of Witze's story. It may be seen at http://dallasnews.com/science/70455_witzestory.html.
Fractures, Fluid Flow and Mineralization
Authors: Berger Byron R.
Published: October 2006

How is it that normal loads cause fractures to be closed within a few hundred meters of the Earth's surface, yet delicately banded hydrothermal veins up to meters thick are relatively common in the shallow crust? Why is there a correlation of fracture density and interconnectivity and ore bodies in mineral deposits?

We have learned the inextricable interdependence of heat transfer, chemical transfer, and deformation in fluid flow from the daunting task of securing nuclear waste materials for millennia and trying to develop alternative energy resources such as hot dry rock regimes. With fracture‐controlled flow dominating in magmatic and hydrothermal environments, permeability is a critical parameter. Understanding the causes of it and how it interplays with heat and chemical transfer is fundamental to understanding the behavior of all types of fluid flow in the crust.
Introduction to Seismology
Authors: Sheehan Anne
Published: October 2006

Shearer's Introduction to Seismology is a well‐written textbook designed for a onesemester introductory course in seismology for beginning graduate students or advanced undergraduates. Shearer has a knack for clear explanations and for making otherwise difficult concepts easy to understand, and this book is evidence of that.

The book is truly a textbook and does not try to be an encyclopedia or an exhaustive summary of recent research results in seismology. Each chapter starts with a brief summary of the main point that will be covered in the chapter, proceeds with clear derivations of fundamental concepts, and concludes with problem sets that give students the opportunity to apply what they have just learned. The problem sets are fun and interesting and include frequent computer programming exercises. The students learn to write their own ray tracer, code up a τ‐p inversion, and make their own synthetic seismograms—important skills for practicing seismologists. Shearer helps to make programming difficult problems more manageable by providing an outline or hints for how a program might be constructed. Such outlines help show students that even complicated programs can be broken down into smaller, easier steps.
Alkenone biomakers gain recognition as molecular paleoceanographic proxies
Authors: Eglinton Timothy , Conte Maureen , Eglinton Geoffrey , Hayes John
Published: October 2006

Questions about climate change are commanding societal as well as scientific interest. Climate records embedded in sediment cores from lakes and oceans, in coral reefs, and in polar ice cores are providing information about natural climatic variations and about linkages between the ocean, atmosphere, and cryosphere. Profound changes that occurred on submillennial timescales are superimposed on glacial‐to‐interglacial shifts in climate state. For example, marine sediment records reveal that abrupt oscillations in sea surface temperature (SSl), approaching the magnitude of glacial‐interglacial transitions, occurred repeatedly between 65 and 11 kyr ago (i.e., between marine oxygen isotope stage 3 and the early Holocene). Indeed, the oceans are intimately linked with climate through thermohaline circulation. An entire subdiscipline, paleoceanography, is devoted to gleaning pertinent information from these sedimentary records.
New effort to protect marine areas
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

With his days in office numbered, U.S. President Bill Clinton on May 26 issued an executive order calling for tougher protection for some ocean and coastal resources, and he also called for steps to conserve coral reefs in Hawaii.

The executive order directs the Departments of Commerce and Interior to develop a scientifically based, comprehensive national system of marine protected areas that represent varied U.S. marine ecosystems and natural and cultural resources. The order also calls for strengthening the protection of existing protected areas and establishing new or expanded areas.
Dynamic Earth: Plates, Plumes and Mantle Convection
Authors: King Scott D.
Published: October 2006

One might wonder if there is really a need for another book on plate tectonics. Many books exist on this topic already, and the field has reached a stage of maturity where some good books (i.e., books that I have found useful) are already out of print. This is the concern I had when I sat down with this book; however, I was quickly won over by both the content and structure. Davies attempts to separate well‐established observations and physical principles things known with a reasonable degree of certainty from interpretation and theory, where the application of these principles is less certain. He walks this fine line well, with a few exceptions.
New eyes in the sky measure glaciers and ice sheets
Authors: Kieffer Hugh , Kargel Jeffrey S. , Barry Roger , Bindschadler Robert , Bishop Michael , MacKinnon David , Ohmura Atsumu , Raup Bruce , Antoninetti Massimo , Bamber Jonathan , Braun Matthias , Brown Ian , Cohen Denis , Copland Luke , DueHagen Jon , Engeset Rune V. , Fitzharris Blair , Fujita Koji , Haeberli Wilfried , Hagen Jon Oue , Hall Dorothy , Hoelzle Martin , Johansson Maria , Kaab Andi , Koenig Max , Konovalov Vladimir , Maisch Max , Paul Frank , Rau Frank , Reeh Niels , Rignot Eric , Rivera Andres , De Ruyter de Wildt Martiyn , Scambos Ted , Schaper Jesko , Scharfen Greg , Shroder Jack , Solomina Olga , Thompson David , van der Veen Kees , Wohlleben Trudy , Young Neal
Published: October 2006

The mapping and measurement of glaciers and their changes are useful in predicting sea‐level and regional water supply, studying hazards and climate change [Haeberli et al., 1998],and in the hydropower industry Existing inventories cover only about 67,000 of the world's estimated 160,000 glaciers and are based on data collected over 50 years or more [e.g.,Haeberli et al., 1998]. The data available have proven that small ice bodies are disappearing at an accelerating rate and that the Antarctic ice sheet and its fringing ice shelves are undergoing unexpected, rapid change. According to many glaciologists, much larger fluctuations in land ice—with vast implications for society—are possible in the coming decades and centuries due to natural and anthropogenic climate change [Oppenheimer, 1998].
A flood of concern
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

It's that time of year again. Hurricane season in the United States recently began and continues through November, according to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The U.S. National Weather Service is forecasting an above‐average hurricane season with 7 or more hurricanes, and FEMA is urging people to protect themselves financially from floodwaters and storm surges by purchasing flood insurance policies.
Reply [to “Comment on ‘An atmospheric stochastic trigger for El Niño’”]
Authors: Walker Daniel A.
Published: October 2006

With the foregoing commentary, Hunt has added another possible explanation for apparent correlations between East Pacific Rise (EPR) seismicity and El Niños. Considerations as to whether this particular explanation is more or less probable than other suggestions may be inappropriate at this time. Thus far, none of the suggested mechanisms has been adequately tested, either in theory or in the field. Because of the importance of El Niños, their irregular periodicity and the fact that intense episodes of EPR seismicity have been correlated with that irregular periodicity, it may be irresponsible to assume that the correlations are coincidental and ignore understandings that might be gained through tests of these speculative suggestions.Therefore, individuals, organizations, and government agencies with the interest and financial resources to do so are encouraged to consider such tests.
Implementing a coordinated research program in the hydrologic sciences
Authors: Entekhabi Dara
Published: October 2006

The Committee on Hydrologic Science (COHS), jointly organized by the National Research Council's (NRC) Water Science and Technology Board and Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, is aiming to engage the Earth science community to provide hydrologic science input to U.S. and international programs. The timing is opportune in that there are emergent new demands for applications and scientific partnerships, and enhancements in technical capability that can rapidly transform the discipline.

There have been similar decision points in the past, most notably as recently as just a decade ago. The 1991 NRC report,“Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences,” marked a major shift in the discipline toward framing its role as an Earth science. Expanded horizons in hydrologic science led to intensive cultivation of new research ideas dealing with couplings across the Earth sciences, with the application of new mathematical frameworks for dealing with wide‐scale disparities characteristic of hydrologic processes, and with the use of new data types,such as those resulting from remote sensing.
Joseph F. Dracup (1920–2000)
Authors: Chovitz Bernard
Published: October 2006

Joseph F Dracup, a Life Member (Geodesy, 1973) and Benefactor of the American Geophysical Union, died January 16, 2000, at the age of 79. Joe was recognized as the most outstanding expert in the field of classical (pre‐GPS) geodetic surveying at the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) following the retire‐ments of Charles Whitten and B. K. Meade in the early 1970s.

His career with the Coast and Geodetic Survey and its geodetic offshoot, NGS,spanned almost 40 years, culminating in the position of Chief of the Control Networks Division from 1973 until his own retirement in 1979.
Artificial neural network for algal blooms
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Incorporating factors such as turbulence, water temperature, turbidity, color, and nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, a doctoral candidate at the University of Adelaide in South Australia has developed a computer model to predict outbreaks of blue‐green algae (cyano‐bacteria) in rivers weeks before they occur.

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) used in the computer‐based modeling enable the model to learn key factors that can lead to an algal outbreak, according to Gavin Bowden, a student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering who developed the model. ANNs, according to Bowden, attempt to imitate the complex, non‐linear, and parallel mechanisms involved in the interpretation of information by biological neural networks.
Council approves Biogeosciences Section
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

At its May 31 meeting, the AGU Council voted unanimously to add biogeosciences as a new section. Biogeosciences is AGUs eleventh section and the first new one in over 30 years. The last section created was Solar‐Terrestrial Relationships, later renamed Space Physics and Aeronomy. This section grew out of a combination and redivision of the Planetary Sciences and Geomagnetism and Aeronomy Sections in 1967.

The new Biogeosciences Section brings together AGU scientists studying diverse fields of Earth and planetary sciences that involve biology These include astrobiology the biogeochemistry and biogeophysics of terrestrial and aquatic systems, land‐atmosphere interactions, and planetary ecosystems.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Biogeosciences Committee presented five outstanding student paper awards at the 1999 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
McNutt calls for sharp increase in ocean research spending
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

U.S. government investment in ocean research should at least equal that of the space program, Marcia McNutt told a White House symposium on oceanic and space research on June 12. McNutt is president of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and on July 1 assumes the presidency of AGU. She shared the platform with Neil Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York.

Speaking at the ninth in a series of “Millennium Lectures” hosted by President and Mrs. Clinton, McNutt outlined some of the dramatic discoveries ocean scientists have made in recent years, in particular, the discovery of deep‐ocean life that is not dependent on photosynthesis. She said that dramatic advances in our understanding of the oceans were aided by manned and remotely operated submersible exploration vehicles,and also by satellites.
Carr named AGU's 2000 Mass Media Fellow
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Matthew Carr, an atmospheric science student at the University of Washington, has begun a 10‐week stint at the Dallas Morning News as AGU's 2000 Mass Media Fellow.

Under the program, organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), he is reporting and writing for the paper, which has a strong commitment to science news. In a happy coincidence, Carr's mentor is Alexandra Witze, winner of this year's 2000 Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism—Features. She received her award during Honors Evening at the Spring Meeting.
Reply [to “Comment on ‘Operational oceanography: Shall we dance?’”]
Authors: Mooers Christopher N. K.
Published: October 2006

Richard Spinrad has provided an informative and constructive amplification and clarification of my remarks concerning the U.S. Navy's pioneering role in operational oceanography Consequently, he has made a very articulate and forceful contribution to the needed debate on the full range of requirements for, and approaches to, operational oceanography, including those of the civil sector.

However, he has apparently overlooked the first line of my paragraph that refers to “about 4000 individuals,” for at the end of his second paragraph he refers to “approximately 2800 individuals.” I think we are talking about the same thing and that he should review whether his wording may cause confusion by suggesting that we disagree on this point, though our numbers are somewhat different.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Space Physics & Aeronomy (SPA) Section presented fifteen outstanding student paper awards at the 1999 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
New global change research effort launched in Latin America
Authors: McClain Michael E. , Galarraga Remigio H.
Published: October 2006

Latin America's mountains extend in a nearly unbroken chain from Mexico to Chile and reach elevations above 6000 m.The valleys of these mountains have seen the evolution of diverse and unique ecosystems, as well as the development of several of the region's most celebrated pre‐Columbian civilizations.Today these same valleys contain some of Earth's most rapidly changing landscapes, as urban and agricultural frontiers expand and historical land use changes in response to new pressures from economic globalization.These valleys also face poorly understood threats linked to global climate change.
The Mystery of Mars
Authors: Gaddis Lisa
Published: October 2006

The Mystery of Mars is a beautiful and informative book, aimed at young readers ages 8 to 12. The child in your life (if he or she is any kind of “space cadet”) will enjoy looking at this intelligent, comprehensive, and colorful introduction to Mars. The book wisely capitalizes on two aspects of our human nature: our love of exploration and our inability to resist a mystery Human beings of all ages love to explore, and in spite of the recent setbacks in Mars exploration, the lure of other planetary frontiers has never been stronger.
A year without summer for California, or a harbinger of a climate shift?
Authors: Schwing Frank , Moore Chris
Published: October 2006

Mark Twain once remarked “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”

If residents and visitors along the California coast think the summer of 1999 was even cooler than usual, they are right. Several air temperature records were set (R. Renard, pers. comm., 2000). October 1999 marked a 13‐month run of below‐normal temperatures at Monterey, and the March–July mean was 1.4°C below the long‐term average.
Multiple frontiers in hydrology unite for greater good
Authors: James L. Douglas
Published: October 2006

Water issues are a growing concern worldwide. Negative impacts on water are threatening environmental integrity at scales ranging from global climate change to local waste disposal. The many mission‐oriented agencies spend billions of dollars annually to address water problems. Ultimately, effective response will require research in hydrology that integrates expertise from a wide variety of disciplines to work on theory, methods, and tools.
Outstanding student paper award
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Geomagnetism & Paleomagnetism Section presented an outstanding student paper award to Arlo B. Weil at the 2000 Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C., last June.
Against the Tide: The Battle for America's Beaches
Authors: Gibbs Ann E.
Published: October 2006

Beaches play an important role in America's livelihood and economy. More than one‐half of all Americans live within an hour's drive of the beach, and coastal towns depend on tourist revenue for their survival. Catastrophic events in coastal areas,such as hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis, cost the nation more than $30 billion per year and have serious economic consequences for coastal communities. In addition, all 35 coastal states and the island territories are experiencing coastal erosion. Continued development of the coast, combined with the rise in global sea level, will only increase the problems and the cost of dealing with them.
Mississippi Basin nitrogen flux believed to cause Gulf hypoxia
Authors: Goolsby Donald A.
Published: October 2006

An expanding hypoxic zone develops each spring and summer on the Louisiana‐Texas shelf of the Gulf of Mexico, and nitrogen from the Mississippi River Basin has been implicated as one of the principal causes. Hypoxic conditions, which occur when dissolved oxygen concentrations are less than 2 mg/L, can cause stress or death in bottom‐dwelling organisms that cannot leave the zone.

The mid‐summer extent of the hypoxic zone has more than doubled since it was first systematically mapped in 1985 [Rabalais et al., 1999]. The largest hypoxic zone measured to date occurred in 1999, when it reached ∼20,000 km2, about the size of the state of New Jersey [Rabalais, 1999].
Commission release recommendations for attracting more women, minorities
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

U.S. Air Force Colonel Eileen Collins, the first woman to command a U.S. Space Shuttle mission, tries to encourage and inspire young women and minorities to follow their dreams of becoming scientists, engineers, and technicians.

“I like to tell young women that there have been 12 men who have walked on the Moon, but not yet one woman, and you could be the first,” Collins, who is a member of the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology Development (CAWMSET), said at a July 13 hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Technology reviewing the commission's recommendations. Collins said she tells young women, “No one has walked on Mars, and you could be that person.”