bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comment on “Communicating with uncertainty: A critical issue with probabilistic seismic hazard analysis”
Authors: Musson R. M. W.
Published: October 2006

With earthquake prediction appearing now as a possibly unrealizable goal, the contribution that seismologists can make to protecting society against the disastrous effects of earthquakes chiefly revolves around making estimates of likely future levels of earthquake activity that engineers and planners can use in the course of implementing mitigation strategies: seismic hazard analysis. One of the key issues in this field is the treatment of irreducible uncertainty in some of the input parameters, which has been found to defeat simple attempts to produce unique deterministic values for maximum ground motion. Seismologists handle this by modeling uncertainty with a probabilistic approach, referred to as probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA).
NASA announces organizational shake‐up affecting Earth and space science programs
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

On 24 June, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration announced major organizational changes that will affect the agency's Earth and space science programs.

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe announced that a “streamlining” of the agency's functions into four mission offices will involve combining the current Earth science and space science enterprises into one all‐encompassing science mission directorate.
Call for balanced research agenda for U.S. water resources
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

A new report from the National Research Council of the National Academies recommends the creation and maintenance of a coordinated, comprehensive, and balanced national water resources research agenda, and also calls for regularly assessing federal agencies research activities as the best way for the U.S. to deal with likely water crises in the twenty‐first century

The report, “Confronting the Nation's Water Problems: The Role of Research,” was released 17 June.
Centennial of a pioneer in meteorology, geophysics
Authors: Schröder Wilfried
Published: October 2006

In 2004 we celebrate the 100th birthday of a great scientist and a leading proponent of our geophysical disciplines, Hans Ertel,who was formerly professor of geophysics and theoretical mechanics at the Humboldt University in Berlin. He was also director of the (German) Institute of Metorology and Geophysics, and vice‐president of the German Academy of Sciences; also in Berlin.

Ertel was the founder of the Alexander von Humboldt Commission. Under his leadership, and in cooperation with other German academies, a comprehensive collection of letters from and to von Humboldt has been assembled and edited.
NASA restructuring draws mixed reactions
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Some scientists are optimistic about what they say will be new opportunities and clout that the Earth and space sciences will have under the organizational restructuring that NASA announced on 24 June, while others are concerned that these sciences may be buried bureaucratically and suffer fiscally.

Under the restructuring, which takes effect on 1 August, Goddard Space Flight Center director Alphonso Diaz will become the Science associate administrator. Associate administrator for space science Edward Weiler will become the new head of Goddard. Associate administrator for Earth Science, Ghassem Asrar, will be science deputy associate administrator and chief scientist for exploration
Radon data from the Roselend experiment in the French Alps
Authors: Garcia‐Vindas J. R.
Published: October 2006

Regarding the article by Provost et al. (Fractured Porous Media under Influence: The Roselend Experiment, Eos, 23 March 2004; pp. 113, 119), I have some comments concerning the interpretation of radon data and the instrumentation used for this purpose. In the first instance, it is obvious that the site presents a great number of advantages for studying the fluid transport phenomena in porous media, and I encourage the authors to continue in this investigation.

My first observation is concerning the radon data shown in the article.The authors show the data obtained in one station, using a Barasol® probe to measure radon in the air. The Barasol® probe was created initially to measure radon concentrations in the soil, and its precision is not the same as a probe like an AlphaGUARD®, for example. Moreover, the authors are aware of this limitation. It will be interesting to compare this data with that obtained with the AlphaGUARD®, or in the instrumented chamber described in the article that is 55 m from the tunnel entrance, named the Inner Room by the authors.
Launch of First IODP Expedition
Authors: Jacobs Judy
Published: October 2006

The scientific team for the first expedition of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) departed Astoria, Oregon on 28 June for the Juan de Fuca Ridge, off the coast of British Columbia.

The team will undertake hydrologic, micro‐biological, seismic, and tracer studies to evaluate fluid flow within the oceanic crust. Andrew Fisher, co‐chief scientist and geologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with Tetsuro Urabe of the University of Tokyo, will lead some 50 scientists and technicians aboard the JOIDES Resolution, a “floating university?” in this leg of IODP's quest to provide information about Earth's history.
Nash receives 2004 David Perlman award for excellence in science writing
Authors: Elmer‐DeWitt Philip , Nash J. Madeleine
Published: October 2006

J. Madeleine Nash received the David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Writing at the AGU Joint Assembly Honors Ceremony, which was held on 19 May 2004, in Montreal, Canada. Nash was honored for “Fireproohng the Forests,” an article that appeared in the 18 August 2003 edition of Time Magazine.
Accuracy and intuition: The mission of a science journalist
Authors: Gramling Carolyn
Published: October 2006

After years of experimenting with how to explain my thesis research to family and friends, I realized two things: (1) just because I was the presumed expert on a topic didn't mean I could easily break it down into absorbable nuggets of information; but (2) trying to do that was an absorbing challenge. It was more than a game; it was a sort of mission. How do I convince my audience that the underlying science isn't too esoteric—that science can be more fun than intimidating?

The AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellowship program seemed like a perfect opportunity to undertake this mission. As a recent Ph.D. in marine geochemistry in the MITAVHOI Joint Program for Oceanography, I had written and presented specialized papers geared toward scientists. However, as a science journalist, I imagined I would be a sort of interpreter, an intermediary between scientists and the general public, translating complicated scientific concepts into readable prose, while maintaining constant vigilance against jargon and assumptions. Something like that.
The Discovery of Global Warming
Authors: MacCracken Michael C.
Published: October 2006

At the beginning of the twentieth century the prospect of “global warming” as a result of human activities was thought to be far off, and in any case, likely to be beneficial. As we begin the twenty‐first century science adviser to the British government, Sir David King, has said that he considers global warming to be the world's most important problem, including terrorism. Yet, dealing with it has become the subject of a contentious international protocol, numerous conferences of international diplomats, and major scientific assessments and research programs.

Spencer Weart, who is director of the Center for History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics, has taken on the challenge of explaining how this came to be. In the tradition of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was established in 1988 to evaluate and assess the state of global warming science, this book is roughly equivalent to the Technical Summary, in terms of its technical level, being quite readable, but with substantive content about the main lines of evidence. Underpinning this relatively concise presentation, there is a well—developed—and still developing—Web site that, like the detailed chapters of the full IPCC assessment reports, provides vastly more information and linkages to a much wider set of reference materials (see http://www.aip.org/history/climate).
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

George H. Davis, 82, 24 May 2004, Hydrology 1965.

Leslie C. Hale, 71, 2004, Retired Life Member, Magnetospheric Physics, 1960.
Forces of Nature: A Scientific Antidote to The Day After Tomorrow
Authors: Folger Peter
Published: October 2006

Do you cringe when watching the latest disaster movie? Not because of the drama, but because the science and the scientists bear little resemblance to the real thing?

Would you rather watch a movie that translates the wonder and excitement of Earth's natural forces onto the silver screen, so that people other than ourselves could see those raw forces for what they are? And perhaps learn a little about why they occur?
Advisability of NOAA as independent agency discussed at hearing
Authors: Jacobs Judy
Published: October 2006

Several top ocean and meteorological scientists testifying before a Congressional subcommittee on 15 July were in agreement that NOAA should become an independent agency However, a representative of the U.S. Department of Commerce, of which NOAA is a part, appeared less enthusiastic about the idea.

The advantages and disadvantages of NOAA acquiring independent status, and the adequacy of its current organizational structure, were only two of the topics discussed in the most recent hearings on the nature of an organic act for the agency (see Eos, 22 June 2004, p. 242). The function of such legislation, currently under consideration by both houses of Congress, would be to clearly define and codify NOAAs status, functions, and scope of responsibilities.
Re‐organization of NSF's Earth sciences
Authors: Jacobs Judy
Published: October 2006

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced 16 July that its Division of Earth Sciences would be re‐organized into two new sections.

The Surface Earth Processes Section (SEP) will consist of the programs in hydrology (HS), education and human resources (EHR), sedimentary geology and paleobiology (SGP), geobiology and environmental geochemistry (GEG), and geomorphology and land use dynamics (GLD). The current budget for the new section is approximately $50 million per year.
Climate modeling with a Linux Cluster
Authors: Renold M. , Beyerle U. , Raible C. C. , Knutti R. , Stocker T. F. , Craig T.
Published: October 2006

Until recently, computationally intensive calculations in many scientific disciplines have been limited to institutions which have access to supercomputing centers. Today, the computing power of PC processors permits the assembly of inexpensive PC clusters that nearly approach the power of supercomputers. Moreover, the combination of inexpensive network cards and Open Source software provides an easy linking of standard computer equipment to enlarge such clusters. Universities and other institutions have taken this opportunity and built their own mini‐supercomputers on site.
Sherwood accepts appointment as secretary of ocean sciences section
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Christopher R .Sherwood was appointed by the Ocean Sciences Executive Committee to fill thevacant position of Secretary, Marine Geology and Geophysics for the term ending on 30 June 2006. Sherwood is with the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The vacancy was created when Claire Waelbroeck of Laboratoire de Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (CNRS) found that she could not accept this position after being elected.
Comment on “Moving beyond the IGY: The Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) Concept”
Authors: Benson Robert F.
Published: October 2006

In their Eos article (16 March 2004), Daniel Baker and his colleagues acknowledged that one of the key achievements of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) was the establishment of data centers. I am sure that the authors are well aware of the importance of these data centers. I am concerned, however, by statements such as: “…researchers can redefine the ‘data center’ concept…” I am also concerned that some readers may interpret the overall proposed concept as one that is moving beyond the need for data centers, i.e., the concept of “…free access to all available data through the Internet and World Wide Web. That is, all data providers and data users will exchange the data directly establishing a worldwide fabric (or grid) of geophysical data.”
Tree rings and climate: Sharpening the focus
Authors: Hughes Malcolm K. , Swetnam Thomas W. , Diaz Henry F.
Published: October 2006

The tree‐ring record has become increasingly important to the understanding of the climate system, as topics such as decadal and longer‐term patterns attract increasing interest, and it is central to the question of whether current climate changes are extraordinary It was in this context that 75 scientists from 10 countries met in Tucson, Arizona, last spring to review the current state of dendroclimatology, its contributions since the First International Workshop on Dendroclimatology, in April 1974, and its future potential. The participants included not only those who generate tree‐ring records of past climate—dendroclimatologists—but also “users” of their results: climatologists, hydrologists, ecologists, and archeologists.
Europa's icy shell: A bridge between its surface and ocean
Authors: Schenk Paul , Nimmo Francis , Prockter Louise
Published: October 2006

Europa,a Moon‐sized, ice‐covered satellite of Jupiter, is second only to Mars in its astrobiological potential. Beneath the icy surface, an ocean up to 150 km deep is thought to exist, providing a potential habitat for life, and a tempting target for future space missions. The Galileo mission to the Jovian system recently ended, but there are already long‐range plans to send much more capable spacecraft, such as the proposed Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO), to take a closer look at Europa and her siblings, Ganymede and Callisto, some time in the next two decades.

Europa's outer icy shell is the only interface between this putative ocean and the surface, but many aspects of this shell are presently poorly understood; in particular, its composition, thickness, deformational history, and mechanical properties.
Outstanding student paper awards: Biogeosciences, hydrology, cryosphere sciences
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Biogeosciences and Hydrology Sections and the Cryosphere Sciences Focus Group received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2004 AGU/CGU Joint Assembly in Montreal, Canada. (Winners in other sections and focus groups will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos.)
Outstanding student paper awards: Planetary sciences, seismology, tectonophysics
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Planetary Sciences, Seismology, and Tectonophysics Sections received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2004 AGU/CGU Joint Assembly in Montreal, Canada. (Winners in other sections and focus groups will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos.)
Carbonate Network forms
Authors: Rafaelsen Bjarne
Published: October 2006

The Carbonate Network is a new Internet‐based international network (www.carbonet.net) for carbonate researchers. The network aims to stimulate an increased exchange of knowledge among carbonate researchers from different geological institutions, and to provide a scientific forum for discussing carbonate‐related issues.

The discussion forum (www.carbonet.net/forum), which is the essence of the Carbonate Network, includes information about meetings, publications, excursions, courses, Internet resources, and specific scientific topics (geophysics, sedimentology, geochemistry, paleontology petrophysics, mineralogy among others).
Global Change and the Earth System
Authors: Pollack Henry N.
Published: October 2006

The Earth system in recent years has come to mean the complex interactions of the atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere, through an intricate network of feedback loops. This system has operated over geologic time, driven principally by processes with long timescales. Over the lifetime of the solar system, the Sun has slowly become more radiant, and the geography of continents and oceans basins has evolved via plate tectonics. This geography has placed a first‐order constraint on the circulation of ocean waters, and thus has strongly influenced regional and global climate. At shorter timescales, the Earth system has been influenced by Milankovitch orbital factors and occasional exogenous events such as bolide impacts.
Editors' Citation for Excellence in Referreing: 2002
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following individuals have been cited by Editors of AGU journals for excellence in refereeing. These reviewers are to be commended for consistently providing constructive and thoughtful reviews. The Editors' citations presented at the AGU Fall Meeting in December 2003 recognize this special service to the Union.
Reply [to “Comment on ‘Error made in reports of main field decay’”]
Authors: Campbell Wallace H.
Published: October 2006

I thank Maus et al. for providing this opportunity to explain spherical harmonic analysis (SHA) methods to our Eos readers. Gauss devised the SHA as a means for separating the external and internal geomagnetic field contributions at an analysis spherical surface. The SHA starts with the selection of an analysis center and axis through that center defining the study coordinates of longitude Φ, latitude θ, and radius r of the analysis sphere. Using Maxwell's equations, the three orthogonal geomagnetic field components at the analysis spherical surface are converted to equivalent potential function values to which two special series of terms are then fitted.
Is global warming injecting randomness into the climate system?
Authors: Tsonis A. A.
Published: October 2006

Data analyses and model simulations have recently indicated that as the planet is warming, the chance for extreme events increases. Karl et al.. [1995] examined precipitation records over the 20th century and showed that the high‐frequency (up to interannual) variability has increased. Subsequently Tsonis [1996] showed that the low‐frequency variability has also increased. These variability trends indicate that the frequency of extremes (more drought events and more heavy precipitation events) has increased whereas the mean has remained approximately the same. Such a tendency is observed with other variables and is consistent with model projections of a warmer planet.
AIP to process AGU renewals for 2005
Authors: Spilhaus Fred
Published: October 2006

AGU is collaborating with the American Institute of Physics (AIP) to provide improved online renewal of your membership and subscription starting with 2005 payments.

The renewal process whether online or via mail will be easy for you. I would like to encourage each of you to renew early using the online form.You will be saving the Union money by cutting down on the cost of paper renewals. As a thank‐you, members who renew within the first weeks will receive 2005 access without charge to the AGU Member Library of online back issues of all journals. At the same time you can help assure that your information has been correctly transferred to the new database. Great care has been taken in the transition; however, a check by you will assure your information is current.
NSF Geosciences Advisory Committee seeks input
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Geosciences Advisory Committee of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting the views and concerns of the geosciences community in advance of the committee's fall meeting scheduled for 27–29 October at NSF Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. At this meeting, the committee will consider current and future geoscience plans and programs; priority areas in cooperation with other NSF directorates; and additional issues of relevance to the community.

The chair and members welcome the views and concerns of the geosciences community so they may better represent their constituencies at upcoming meetings of the committee.
Bement tapped as NSF Director
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Arden Bement, acting director of the U.S. National Science Foundation since 22 February is President Bush's choice to become NSF director, the White House announced on 15 September. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Bement would serve for a 6‐year term expiring on 2 August 2010. Bement will continue to serve as acting NSF director until the full Senate approves his nomination.

In a memorandum to NSF staff, Bement stated, “Although NSF faces significant challenges in the near future due to federal budget issues, I am committed to the policies and operations that have stood the test of time and have helped make NSF an extraordinary agency.”
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Philip H. Abelson, 91, 1 August 2004, Retired Life Member, AGU Fellow, Volcanology Geochemistry, Petrology, 1947.

Arthur E. Burford, 76, 1 August 2004, Tectonophysics, 1973.
Cratering in Marine Environments and on Ice
Authors: Newsom Horton E.
Published: October 2006

Since the discovery of plate tectonics, impact cratering is arguably the most significant geologic process now recognized as an important process on Earth. Impacts into ice, another main topic covered in this book, may be important on other worlds.

Large numbers of impact craters that formed in marine environments on Earth have only been discovered in the last 10 years. Twenty‐five craters that formed in marine environments have been documented, according to the first chapter of this book, although none are known that excavated oceanic crust. The papers in Cratering in Marine Environments and on Ice will whet your appetite for the exciting and ambitious range of topics implied by the title, which stems from a conference in Svalbard, Norway in September 2001. This book provides a flavor of the rapidly advancing and diverse field of impact cratering.
Rheology and Deformation of the Lithosphere at Continental Margins
Authors: Tikofe Basil
Published: October 2006

Rheology and Deformation of the Lithosphere at Continental Margins is a collection of well written and interesting papers that provide a good overview of the current cutting edge in seismically oriented deformation studies. The book is, unfortunately, somewhat misnamed. It really should be titled something akin to “A review of seismogenic behavior in different plate tectonic settings (and some partially molten mantle deformation experiments).” Perhaps it sounds less impressive, but that is really what you get in this book: a series of excellent review papers, most of which focus on our current understanding of seismogenic behavior.
Examining subsurface radionuclide movement: Natural and anthropogenic sources
Authors: Champman Neil A.
Published: October 2006

Radioactively contaminated land and regions of high natural background radioactivity are causes of concern in several parts of the world. Anthropogenic sources are associated with large‐scale, historic uranium mining/processing, with facilities that operated during the earliest years of nuclear power and nuclear weapons programs, and with accidental releases of radioactivity (e.g., Chernobyl, in 1986).

Since 1990, much information has emerged on anthropogenic sources, especially from eastern European and former Soviet Union countries. Multinational projects such as the Swiss National Science Foundation SCOPES 2000 (scientific cooperation between eastern Europe and Switzerland) Russia‐Ukraine‐Switzerland project have assessed specific problem sites. Remediation projects and contaminated sites are being used as case studies to untangle geochemical and hydrogeological processes controlling radionuclide behavior in groundwater systems.
Kyoto Protocol moves forward
Authors: Randy Showstack
Published: October 2006

The Russian cabinet's 30 September endorsement of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) likely clears the way for the treaty's ratification by that country's parliament and for its entry into force.

The protocol enters into force when not less than 55 Parties to the Convention, including industrialized countries (so‐called “Annex I Parties”) which accounted in total for at least 55% of the total carbon dioxide emissions for 1990 from that group, officially have agreed to the treaty.
UNOLS now oversees research aircraft facilities for ocean science
Authors: Bane John M. , Bluth Robert , Flagg Charles , Jonsson Haflidi , Melville W. Kendall , Prince Mike , Riemer Daniel
Published: October 2006

In recognition of the increasing importance and value of aircraft as observational platforms in oceanographic research, the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) has established the Scientific Committee for Oceanographic Aircraft Research (SCOAR). SCOAR aims to establish procedures for research aircraft that follow the present UNOLS practices for research vessel use, with the goal of making it understandable, and easy, and thus desirable, for oceanographic scientists to utilize research aircraft more.

For consistency with the operation of UNOLS ships, this will require UNOLS to designate appropriate research aircraft operating organizations to be National Oceanographic Aircraft Facilities (NOAFs), essentially like institutions that operate one or more UNOLS ships. UNOLS presently has one designated NOAF, the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) at the Naval Postgraduate School, in Monterey, California.
Turbulence and Magnetic Fields in Astrophysics
Authors: Matthaeus W. H.
Published: October 2006

The juxtaposition of “magnetic fields” and “turbulence” arises in plasma dynamics in various contexts—such as the solar corona, the magnetosphere, space physics in general, cosmic ray propagation, and laboratory plasmas of both fusion and nonfusion types. In astrophysics, the impact of turbulence has arrived relatively recently but is rapidly finding importance. The present volume is a written record of topics presented at a conference, Simulations of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in Astrophysics: Recent Achievements and Perspectives, held at the Institut Henri Poincare, in Paris, in July 2001.
Our Affair With El Niño: How We Transformed an Enchanting Peruvian Current into a Global Climate Hazard
Authors: Glantz Michael H.
Published: October 2006

This book by an oceanographer who has researched the El Niño phenomenon for quite some time is a compilation of 19 essays, and is divided into five parts: (1) Who is El Niño? (2) Our Dilemma. (3) Common Ground.
Reply [to Comment on “Are we slighting female colleagues?”]
Authors: Abriola Linda
Published: October 2006

The AGU Fellows Committee takes its role seriously and makes every effort to eliminate any bias in the Fellows selection process. Gender imbalance is an issue that continues to concern the committee.The following information may help put this problem into perspective.

The total number of Fellows selected in any year cannot exceed 0.1% of the membership at the end of the previous year. For 2004 this limit was 41 Fellows. Although women represent 17% of the total AGU membership, the percent of members over the age of 40 that are women is only 11% (most Fellows are over 40 at election). The total number of women nominated was 13 (7% of nominations). The total number of men nominated was 127 (93% of nominations).
Earthquake, windstorm bills approved
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The U.S. House of Representatives on 8 October unanimously approved legislation (H.R. 2608) to mitigate damage from earthquakes and windstorms. President Bush is expected to sign into law this bill which has been negotiated between the House and Senate.

The bill combines language from the original National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) Reauthorization Act of 2003 and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act of 2004. (See Eos, 84, 43, 28 October 2003, p. 458.)
Understanding North Pacific carbon cycle changes
Authors: Sabine Christopher L. , Juranek Laurie , Lee Carrie , Nicholson David , Ver Ana
Published: October 2006

Although increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have been well documented, the response of the ocean to these changes is less understood, particularly on regional space scales. Evidence is accumulating that there is substantial variability in the cycling of carbon and related biogeochemical elements over a wide range of timescales, including inter‐annual and decadal timescales, which have been the focus of studies aimed at identifying a climate change signal. Most of these studies, however, have been limited in time, space, or number of parameters examined, preventing a full appreciation of the scale and magnitude of the changes.

In June 2004, scientists gathered in Seattle, Washington, to synthesize individual studies of the North Pacific into a coherent picture of North Pacific carbon cycle changes, and to identify the requirements for detecting a long‐term climate change signal. The workshop established many new international and interdisciplinary collaborations and helped develop plans for 14 synthesis manuscripts.
Examining tectonic‐climatic interactions in Alaska and the northeastern Pacific
Authors: Gulick Sean , Freymueller Jeff , Koons Peter , Jaeger John , Pavlis Terry , Powell Ross
Published: October 2006

Southeastern Alaska, encompassing the glaciated Chugach‐St. Elias range (Figure 1), is one of the premier locations where tectonics, orogenesis, glacial erosion, landscape modification, and continental margin sedimentation can be studied in unison, allowing for quantitative models to be developed linking this suite of processes [e.g., Jaeger et al, 2001 ]. This area is an exceptional natural laboratory for studying a range of geologic problems (Figures 2 and 3), including the links between orogenic processes and continental accretion, glacial landscape modification, and sedimentation.

Geologic processes operate at rapid rates along the margin, which allows concurrent data collection on tectonic deformation, uplift, erosion, and sedimentation and development of comprehensive geodynamic models connecting these diverse processes.The active processes in southeastern Alaska are comparable or significantly greater than those studied in the Himalayan orogeny, and include extremely high sediment yields, active faults associated with mountains and valley glaciers, and orogeny coinciding with extensive glacial cover.
Renewed unrest at Mount Spurr Volcano, Alaska
Authors: Power John
Published: October 2006

The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO),a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, has detected unrest at Mount Spurr volcano, located about 125 km west of Anchorage, Alaska, at the northeast end of the Aleutian volcanic arc.

This activity consists of increased seismicity melting of the summit ice cap, and substantial rates of C02 and H2S emission.The current unrest is centered beneath the volcano's 3374‐m‐high summit, whose last known eruption was 5000–6000 years ago. Since then, Crater Peak, 2309 m in elevation and 4 km to the south, has been the active vent. Recent eruptions occurred in 1953 and 1992.
2004 Fall Meeting expands to San Francisco Marriott!
Authors: Wesson Rob , Burch Jim , Plescia Jeff
Published: October 2006

After only one year, the AGU Fall Meeting has grown beyond the capacity of Moscone West. Sessions at the upcoming Fall Meeting (13–17 December) will be held in both the Moscone West facility site of last year's meeting, and the San Francisco Marriott Hotel.The Marriott is a 5‐minute walk across the street, a distance not farther than the walk from Moscone North to Moscone South, the facilities in which the meeting was held for several years prior to 2003. The Program Committee has tried to schedule sessions to minimize the inconvenience of the 5‐minute walk between the two locations. Most Union sessions, including the Union tutorials and the Frontiers of Geophysics lecture, along with many other sessions, will be held at the Marriott. In addition, most Section and Focus groups social events and other activities will be held at the Marriott.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Buford L Brauninger, 81, 2004, Planetology 1961.

David C. Chapman, 51, 2004, Physical .
Weather Radar
Authors: Vivekanandan Jothiram
Published: October 2006

Weather radar is an indispensable component for remote sensing of the atmosphere, and the data and products derived from weather radar are routinely used in climate and weather‐related studies to examine trends, structure, and evolution. The need for weather remote sensing is driven by the necessity to understand and explain a specific atmospheric science phenomenon.The importance of remote sensing is especially evident in high‐profile observational programs, such as the WSR‐88D (Weather Surveillance Radar) network, TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission),and ARM (Atmospheric Radiation Measurement). A suite of ground‐based and airborne radar instruments is maintained and deployed for observing wind, clouds, and precipitation.
The Climate in Historical Times
Authors: Mackay Anson
Published: October 2006

The diversity of climate variability studies has grown substantially over the last decade, especially as policy makers now demand less uncertainty in future predictions of climate change. Under this umbrella of research, work has focused mainly on either modeling past climates (e.g., experimenting with quasi‐realistic climate models, such as general circulation models) or reconstructing past climates from proxies in natural archives. Effectively linking these two approaches has become one of the holy grails of recent climate change research, especially with a view to testing models and improving model parameterization. The Climate in Historical Times: Toward A Synthesis of Holocene Proxy Data and Climate Models reports on progress and findings of such an ambitious program.
Joint discussion of sedimentary geochemistry data management systems that cross the waterline
Authors: Cervato Cinzia , Goldstein Steven L. , Grossman Ethan L. , Lehnert Kerstin , McArthur John M.
Published: October 2006

Earth's evolution, its climate history, and the history of life are archived in the chemical and isotopic compositions of marine and terrestrial sediments and fossils found within them. This information provides evidence for crustmantle recycling, bolide impacts, mass extinction events, gas hydrate expulsion, climate cycles, and much more. Much of this geochemical evidence, such as the discoveries of oxygen isotope cycles in Quaternary sediments, enhanced iridium at the Cretaceous/Paleocene boundary and relationships between near‐trench sediments and associated arc volcanics, have overturned paradigms, opened new avenues of inquiry, and helped launch international research programs (e.g., the Deep Sea Drilling Project [DSDP]).

In addition to revealing much about important Earth events and processes, geochemical records preserved in marine and terrestrial sediments are increasingly important for the correlation of global records; indeed, for Precambrian and anoxic sediments, chemical and isotopic methods are indispensable and provide the main basis for correlation.
Return to Petropavlovsk‐Kamchatsky: Subduction in the far north
Authors: Gordeev Evgenii , Kasahara Minoru , Eichelberger John
Published: October 2006

For intensity of volcanic and seismic activity and the excitement of geophysical exploration, few places on Earth can match the Kamchatka‐Aleutian junction, where the torn Pacific slab dives into the asthenosphere, carrying with it the distal end of the Emperor‐Hawaiian Seamount Chain.

Thus, it was fitting that researchers with a focus on North Pacific subduction began, in Petropavlovsk‐Kamchatsky Russia, their second round of biennial meetings that have cycled through that city Sapporo, Japan, and Fairbanks Alaska. The 4th Biennial International Workshop on Japan Kamchatka Aleutian Subduction Processes (JKASP) convened at the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (IVS) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, recently formed through unification of the Institute of Volcanology and the Institute of Volcanic Geology and Geochemistry.
The honors ceremony experiment
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Instead of holding two similar honors ceremonies each year, all new Fellows and awardees are now being honored at the Joint Assembly in the spring, and all new medalists are honored at the Fall Meeting.This change was recommended to improve both honors evenings.

The ceremony at the Fall Meeting was becoming lengthy and, in the eyes of some, the quantity of presentations had begun to detract from the quality of the attention that the honorees deserve. This experimental change to the Honors Program suggested by the Honors and Recognition Committee, was instituted by past president Robert Dickinson in 2004 and will continue through 2005.
The role of natural wetlands in the global methane cycle
Authors: Wania Rita , Prentice Colin , Harrison Sandy , Hornibrook Edward , Gedney Nicola , Christensen Torben , Clymo Richard
Published: October 2006

Methane (CH4) is the most important greenhouse gas after water vapor and carbon dioxide (CO2), and wetlands represent its largest natural source. But the high spatial and temporal variability of CH4 emissions from natural wetlands, combined with patchy and incomplete information on global wetland distribution, makes them especially difficult to quantify CH4 from natural wetlands still has the largest uncertainty of any CH4 source. This is of concern because projections for the future suggest a rise in CH4 emissions and thus a positive feedback in climate change.

We also know from ice cores that atmospheric CH4 concentration has varied by a factor of 2, at orbital and suborbital frequencies, during the past 400,000 years. The causes of these variations are largely unknown, but it is likely that variations in wetland extent and productivity due to changes in glaciation, sea level, atmospheric CO4 concentration, and climate played a part. Other mechanisms, including changes in the oxidation capacity of the atmosphere and pulsed releases from marine and terrestrial gas hydrates, may have contributed as well. None of these mechanisms is adequately quantified.
The role of coastal zones in global biogeochemical cycles
Authors: Siefert Ronald L. , Plattner Gian‐Kasper
Published: October 2006

The unique and dynamic coastal ocean is a significant source and sink of a multitude of atmospheric species of importance to global biogeochemical cycles and climate. The transition zone between land and ocean, including the atmosphere as a medium for the exchange of matter and energy, is characterized by a strong physical‐biogeochemical coupling, resulting in an inherently complex system. Important biogeochemical exchanges occurring in the coastal zone involve water, nutrients (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorous, iron, and silica),salts (e.g., chlorine,bromine,and iodine), carbon (e.g.,dissolved organic carbon (DOC),dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), particulate organic carbon (POC), and carbon dioxide (CO2), reactive organic trace gases (e.g., nitrogenous, halogenated, and sulfurous hydrocarbons), and inorganic trace gases (e.g., nitrous oxide, N2O).

Coastal zones are of particular importance to humans, as they are characterized by high per area productivity and are responsible for the majority of the world's fish catch. In addition, coastal ecosystems play an important role in the global carbon cycle as large fluxes of carbon and carbon‐related tracers move between the land, ocean, and atmosphere in these regions. Most of the world's population lives near coastal zones, and anthropogenic changes and related climate change in these regions can pose serious consequences not only for fisheries but also for global biogeochemical cycles.
Comments requested on Natural Hazards Position Statement
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

AGU's position statement Meeting the Challenges of Natural Hazards will expire in December 2004 unless reaffirmed by Council. The Committee on Public Affairs seeks comments from the members on the current statement (see below). Please e‐mail your comments to Peter Folger, AGU Public Affairs, pfolger@agu.org, by 7 December 2004. An electronic version of the statement is available on the AGU Web site: http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/positions/naturalhaz. shtml.
Sounding the Troposphere From Space: A New Era for Atmospheric Chemistry
Authors: Drummond James R.
Published: October 2006

The troposphere, the lowest portion of the atmosphere, from Earth's surface to about 14 km, is a difficult region to probe from space. It is also an important region scientifically and for the welfare of the human race. So despite the difficulty, tropospheric sounding is a very important activity, and in the last 15 years or so, significant progress has been made. We are now able to derive tropospheric distributions of aerosols, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and some other constituents from satellite data.
Rapid continental breakup and microcontinent formation in the western Indian Ocean
Authors: Collier J. S. , Minshull T. A. , Kendall J.‐M. , Whitmarsh R. B. , Rümpker G. , Joseph P. , Samson P. , Lane C. I. , Sansom V. , Vermeesch P. M. , Hammond J. , Wookey J. , Teanby N. , Ryberg T. , Dean S. M.
Published: October 2006

Two of the main factors that determine the nature of a rifted continental margin are rheology and magmatism during extension. Numerical models of lithospheric extension suggest that both factors vary with extension rate; yet until now extension rates of studied margins, as indicated by the rate of initial seafloor spreading, are mostly less than ‐30 mm/yr on each margin. This article presents the first geophysical results from the Seychelles‐Laxmi Ridge conjugate pair of rifted margins which separated at ‐65 mm/yr.

The Seychelles, with its spectacular exposures of Precambrian granite, was the earliest scientifically recognized microcontinent and arguably remains the classic example of one [Wegener, 1924; Matthews and Davies, 1966]. However, it is still unknown whether microcontinents result from plumes, changes in plate‐boundary forces, lithospheric heterogeneity, or a combination of these factors.
An Introduction to the Environmental Physics of Soil, Water and Watersheds
Authors: Lakshmi Venkat
Published: October 2006

An Introduction to the Environmental Physics of Soil, Water and Watersheds presents an easy approach to understanding physical processes associated with the land surface and subsurface water and energy balance, with a brief treatment of transport.

The book begins with a treatment of soil, its formation and composition, and properties associated with soil strength and characterization with moisture. Next is a description of the properties of liquids wherein concepts such as pressure, energy, buoyancy, and waves are addressed. This is followed by the treatment of evapotranspiration and infiltration. The book then discusses overland flow, erosion and deposition, and transport by rivers. The behavior of flow in the subsurface, namely, saturated and unsaturated flow and contaminant transport, completes the book.
Mineral Resources Management and the Environment
Authors: Schmiermund Ron L.
Published: October 2006

Mining has long been viewed as a pioneer economic engine for developing countries, with trickle‐down economic and social improve ments cited as benefits to local populations, especially in the case of large multinational mining ventures.

However, modern experience is proving that traditional approaches by mining companies to gaining public acceptance and cooperation for these projects, as well as obtaining government permits and license, are no longer adequate. Today the realization of the environmental consequences and costs typically left to the host country and communities in the wake of mining, the unforeseen damage to traditional economies, and the disproportionately small and short‐lived economic benefits to locals have presented very significant, and increasingly insurmountable, obstacles to building a mine.
Hydrological Atlas of Austria
Authors: Lins Harry
Published: October 2006

At a time when we routinely search for dynamically updated maps on the Internet, the publication of a large‐format, coffee‐table‐style atlas may seem anachronistic. Yet, Austria's Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Environment and Water Management has attempted to reconcile past and present publishing practices in its Hydrological Atlas of Austria, with an eye toward meeting the needs of both hard‐copy traditionalists and soft‐copy devotees. In the process, they have provided a reference document that contains a lot more than just maps.

The Hydrological Atlas of Austria depicts the hydrology of Austria in a series of nationalscale thematic maps and related text organized around the components of the hydrological cycle, with sections on mass balance and themes such as water management and water and the environment. The atlas is published as a two‐in‐one product: a conventional printed, loose‐leaf‐style atlas that facilitates easy update and expansion, and a digital, GIS‐based version on CD‐ROM. Both forms are derived from GIS datasets.
Earth's Climate:The Ocean‐Atmosphere Interaction
Authors: Lifland Jonathan
Published: October 2006

A new AGU book, Earth's Climate: The Ocean‐Atmosphere Interaction, edited by Chunzai Wang, Shang‐Ping Xie, and James A. Carton, presents current observations, theories, and models of ocean‐atmosphere interaction that help shape climate and its variations over the global ocean.

The book represents the climate community's first effort to summarize the modern science of ocean‐atmosphere interaction and the roles that the interaction play in climate variability in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans as well as interactions across basins and between the tropics and extratropics. In this issue, Eos talks with lead editor Chunzai Wang. Wang is a research oceanographer at the Physical Oceanography Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, in Miami, Florida.
Thermodynamics of the Atmosphere: A Course in Theoretical Meteorology
Authors: Curry Judith
Published: October 2006

This book is formulated around the derivation of prognostic equations for temperature, and is designed to complement the authors' previous text, Dynamics of the Atmosphere (Cambridge, 2003). Entropy production equations are developed to aid in the treatment of flux terms in the temperature equations. A distinguishing feature of this book is a treatment of the linear theory of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. In the second half of the text, moist thermodynamic processes are introduced using fairly standard treatments, including thermodynamic diagrams, humidity variables, and moist adiabats.

It is useful to compare the text by Zdunkowski and Bott with two other books that have been published in the past 5 years. Atmospheric Thermodynamics, by Bohren and Albrecht (Cambridge, 1999), is written from a physics perspective, and emphasizes a basic physical understanding of thermodynamical principles relevant to atmospheric science. Thermodynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans, by Curry and Webster (Academic, 1999), provides a physical chemistry perspective, and emphasizes applications of relevance to climate and atmospheric and oceanic chemistry.