bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comments on “Anonymous reviews”
Authors: Okal Emille A.
Published: October 2006

I would like to add the triple perspective of a now‐retired editor (GRL, 1993–19997), a reviewer and author to the ongoing debate in Eos about anonymous versus signed reviews.

As an editor, I did not keep precise statistics, but my recollection would be that a little under (perhaps 40%) of the more than 3000 reviews I handled were signed. While some sort of "trend" expectedly existed between glowing reviews and signed ones, the correlation would probably not have passed a statistical test. By and large, my reviewers, whether or not they waived anonymity, were a professional and responsible pool, and the kind of personal and potentially unethical antagonisms described by Myrl Beck was the rare exception, rather than the rule, among anonymous reviews. The careful editor should be able to recognize this attitude in the tone and style of the review, and through comparison with other reviews of the same paper.
Candidates for office 2004–2006
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Electronic polls for elections for 2004–2006 officers will open in early November 2003. In the 23 September issue of Eos, candidates' biographies and statements for Union Office and for four Sections were presented. Election material for candidates for the remaining Sections are presented here. All candidates' biographies and statements are on the Web at: http://www.agu.org/elections.
The Ocean Research Interactive Observatory Networks (ORION) program
Authors: Orcutt John
Published: October 2006

Ships have served oceanographers through the years, ably supporting measurements and sampling using a wide range of disciplines. The use of ships, coupled with the intimate mingling of physics, chemistry geology and biology, have fostered the interdisciplinary growth of oceanography ultimately leading to a major new effort in ocean sciences research.

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), a proposed project of the U.S. National Science Foundation, seeks to establish a permanent presence in the ocean to improve our capacity to measure physical, chemical, biological, and geological parameters on multiple time and spatial scales. This NSF Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MRE‐FC) project will provide the initial investment in infrastructure necessary for this major new approach in oceanography.
Paleoclimate, Global Change, and the Future
Authors: Mann Michael E.
Published: October 2006

Paleoclimate, Global Change, and the Future defines a new discipline that we might call, for lack of a better term,“paleo‐environmentology.” Borrowing from the mantra of the more restricted field of paleoclimatology this volume embraces the viewpoint that documenting past environmental changes is the key to understanding present and future potential changes. The book is a collection of chapters organized into a volume under the auspices of the Past Global Changes (PAGES) project of the International Geosphere Biosphere Program (IGBP), which is charged with investigating the Earth's past climate and environment. The volume documents the various ways in which both empirical paleoenvironmental information and modeling approaches can provide a perspective on modern changes taking place in our environment—in the dynamics and chemistry of the ocean, atmosphere, biosphere, and climate.
Deep submergence synergy: Alvin and ABE explore the Galapagos Rift at 86°W
Authors: Shank T. , Fornari D. , Yoerger D. , Humphris S. , Bradley A. , Hammond S. , Lupton J. , Scheirer D. , Collier R. , Reysenbach A.‐L. , Ding K. , Seyfried W. , Butterfield D. , Olson E. , Lilley M.
Published: October 2006

For over 25 years, hydrothermal vent communities discovered at the Galapagos Rift near 86°W [e.g., Corliss et al., 1979] have provided the foundation of deep‐sea vent biology as their study has led to fundamental discoveries of chemoautorophy and novel symbioses in the deep sea [e.g., Cavanaugh et al., 1981]. Since 1979, numerous physiological and geochemical investigations of the Rose Garden vent community [e.g.,Hessler et al., 1988] have been made possible through routine access to this deep sea floor site, provided by the deep submergence vehicle Alvin. This research revolutionized our understanding of basic biological and chemical processes in the deep ocean [e.g. Johnson et al., 1988; Edmond et al., 1979].

In May–June 2002, a sea floor sampling and near‐bottom mapping program was conducted using R/V Atlantis (AT7–13),the submersible Alvin, and the autonomous underwater vehicle ABE (Autonomous Benthic Explorer) [Yoerger et al., 1998] to explore and study hydrothermal processes along the Galapagos Spreading Center (GSC) between 86°W and 90°W (Figure 1). This 12‐day expedition coincided with the 25th anniversary of the discovery of deep‐sea hydrothermal vents at the Galapagos Rift (http://wwwdivediscover.whoi.edu; Expedition 6). It included a planned revisit of the Rose Garden vent field to conduct multidisciplinary time‐series observations and sampling that would represent a quarter‐century perspective at this longest‐studied, active hydrothermal vent field. The fieldwork resulted in the discovery of important geological, hydrothermal, and biological changes that have occurred at the Rose Garden site. During the first few Alvin dives of the cruise, it was discovered that the well‐developed faunal communities last documented 13 years ago at Rose Garden were apparently buried by fresh basaltic sheet flows. Notable was the absence of 14 sea floor markers used for past experiments and 7 stacks of Alvin dive weights observed on dive 2224.
Crater serves as terrestrial analog for Martian impact structures
Authors: Mahmood Ahmed , Van Der Koou Marco , Giugni Laurent‐Philippe
Published: October 2006

Researchers try to resolve the mysteries of Mars' geomorphological and climatic past by looking for terrestrial analogs and then explaining the processes of their formation. The Haughton impact crater site on Devon Island in Canada's Nunavut Territory has been the focus of Mars analog studies because of the similarity of its geomorphological characteristics to those observed on Mars and its location in a comparable environment [Lee et al., 1998]. The availability of high‐resolution space data of these characteristics is a necessity in such studies.

The most detailed topographic survey on Mars used a non‐imaging laser ranging device called the Mars Observer Laser Altimeter (MOLA) aboard the Mars Global Surveyor Mission [Zuber et al., 1992]. The radar imaging technique selected for this study in the Nunavut Territory spaceborne repeat‐pass Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (INSAR), can render subtle, point‐to‐point details on variations in a coherent, three‐dimensional manner of a seemingly featureless surface for which the traditional optical stereo matching techniques will fail to generate accurate topographic information [Rosen, 2001].
Hearing is prelude to senate showdown on climate change
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Two U.S. senators who are sponsoring legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have indicated that they will loosen the reduction requirements in an effort to attract additional support for the bill. Senators John McCain (R‐Arizona) and Joseph Lieberman (D‐Connecticut) indicated they will offer the amended version in preparation for a Senate showdown on climate change expected later this fall.

The Climate Stewardship Act of 2003 (S.139), originally introduced in January 2003, still would promote climate research, establish a mandatory carbon dioxide reduction program, and require affected industry sectors to reduce greenhouse emissions to year 2000 levels by the year 2010. However, McCain said the bill no longer would require further reductions, by the year 2016, to levels that existed in 1990. The bill also would be far less rigorous than the Kyoto Protocol.
Exploring the Secrets of the Aurora
Authors: Siscoe George
Published: October 2006

Short, professional autobiographies of the founders of space physics have been solicited by AGU's History Committee and published in special sections of Space Physics issues of the Journal of Geophysical Research. Here we have a book‐length professional autobiography by the discoverer of magnetospheric substorms, which is arguably the most intensely researched topic in the field.

Probably the book's most valuable contribution to the history of space physics is precisely the narration of the discovery of substorms. Exploring the Secrets of the Aurora has an epic quality. It starts with Akasofu's insight that the auroral zone—a circumpolar zone that auroras inhabit, with geographic borders established in the previous century—is a fiction. There followed a struggle to replace it with the concept of an expandable auroral oval, which has quite a different shape. The road to final success entailed Akasofu's installing a chain of aurora‐imaging, “all‐sky” cameras stretching the north‐south length of Alaska. These proved the point and set a precedent for north‐south aligned magnetometer chains.
Applied Stochastic Hydrogeology
Authors: Zhang You‐Kuan
Published: October 2006

Stochastic hydrogeology is an area of research that developed considerably over the last 20 years. A large body of knowledge has been accumulated, and many of the ideas, tools, and concepts in this area have reached the stage at which they are ready for use in applications. Stochastic hydrogeology has matured into a distinct branch or discipline within hydrogeology. Although several books have been published on this and related topics, Applied Stochastic Hydrogeology is a general reference book that allows newcomers to the field an easy introduction. Practitioners, researchers, professors, and graduate students in hydrogeology and engineering will find that this book is intuitive, valuable, and applicable.
Comment on “On past temperatures and anomalous late‐20th century warmth”
Authors: Soon Willie , Baliunas Sallie , Legates David
Published: October 2006

We write in response to the Forum article by Mann et al. (Eos, 8 July 2003;“M03”), noting first two points of apparent agreement with our work [Soon and Baliunas, 2003; Soon et al., 2003;“SB03”]:

(1) Studies of climatic and environmental changes (including temperature) on hemispheric or global scales over time periods of millennia based on paleoclimate proxies must contend with significant uncertainties.
From W. Schröder
Authors: Schröder Wilfried
Published: October 2006

I read the recent article by S.‐I.Akasofu (Eos, 22 July, p. 269) with great interest because many years ago I had a discussion with Thomas George Cowling and Hannes Alfvén on the same subject. Sydney Chapman's style was very different than that of Kristian Birkeland. At the beginning of his career, Chapman published short notes on problems of geomagnetic variations and on other topics. In 1918, he commenced work on magnetic storms and, in spite of his reference to Birkeland's work, he does not seem to have been unduly influenced by it. This is connected with their different attitudes. Chapman was a mathematician and only returned to a mathematical approximation when it seemed unavoidable to him. Thus, Birkeland was more interested in the details of geophysical phenomenon, whereas Chapman sought to present a general solution.
Ninth generation international geomagnetic reference field released
Authors: Macmillan S. , Maus S. , Bondar T. , Chambodut A. , Golovkov V. , Holme R. , Langlais B. , Lesur V. , Lowes F. , Lühr H. , Mai W. , Mandea M. , Olsen N. , Rother M. , Sabaka T. , Thomson A. , Wardinski I.
Published: October 2006

The coefficients for the new 9th Generation International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) were finalized at the XXIII General Assembly of the International Union of Geophysics and Geodesy (IUGG), held in Sapporo, Japan, in July 2003. The IGRF is widely used as a mathematical representation for the Earth's magnetic field in studies of the Earth's deep interior, crust, and ionosphere and magnetosphere. It is the product of a collaborative effort between magnetic field modelers and the institutes involved in collecting and disseminating magnetic field data from observatories and surveys around the world and from satellites.
2003 Horton (Hydrology) Research Grant recipients
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The 2003 Horton (Hydrology) Research Grant Committee selected two recipients this year, Shaakeel Hasan and Reuben Heine. The research grant, which is separate from the Horton Award, supports research projects in hydrology and water resources by doctoral candidates at institutions of higher learning. The grant's objective is to foster graduate student research leading to the completion of doctoral dissertations. Both recipients will be formally awarded at the upcoming AGU 2003 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California.
The Sedimentary Record of Sea‐Level Change
Authors: Schimanski Alexander
Published: October 2006

Sediment supply, subsidence, and eustasy are the main factors controlling the geometry of strata that form in a basin that is being filled. The strata formed, called sequences, are interpreted in order to correlate and predict stratigraphy on a regional to global scale and on a range of time scales.

Although the principle of sequence stratigraphy is simple, the numerous degrees of freedom and the many possibilities of interpretation make it difficult to understand for many students and scientists.
Volcanic gas workshop features state‐of‐the‐art measurement techniques
Authors: Wardell L. J. , Delmelle P. , Fischer T. , Lewicki J. L. , Malavassi E. , Stix J. , Strauch W.
Published: October 2006

Volcanic gas emissions can often be interpreted as signals from deep within the Earth. The study of volcanic gases increases our understanding of how magmatic systems behave, and in some cases it can be used as a predictive tool for eruptive activity and associated hazards. Not only are we concerned with the dangers of large eruptions, but if large volumes of gas are released, the gases themselves can pose a hazard to communities surrounding a volcano.The environmental impacts of volcanic gas emissions are observed on local scales, and the significant global contribution to the atmosphere is also an area of current interest, since it relates to global climate change. As we still have much to understand about volcanic eruptions and the environmental impacts of volcanic gas emissions, scientists benefit from working together to improve instrumentation and monitoring techniques.
New analysis reveals representativeness of the AmeriFlux network
Authors: Hargrove William W. , Hoffman Forrest M. , Law Beverly E.
Published: October 2006

The AmeriFlux network of eddy flux covariance towers was established to quantify variation in carbon dioxide and water vapor exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere, and to understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for observed fluxes and carbon pools. The network is primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Science Foundation. Similar regional networks elsewhere in the world—for example, CarboEurope, AsiaFlux, OzFlux, and Fluxnet Canada—participate in synthesis activities across larger geographic areas [Baldocchi et al., 2001; Law et al., 2002].
Light scattering from the spherical‐shell atmosphere: Earth curvature effects measured by SeaWiFS
Authors: Wang, Menghua
Published: October 2006

It is commonly known that the Earth's atmosphere is a spherical‐shell atmosphere (SSA) rather than a plane‐parallel atmosphere (PPA). Thus, the light scattered by the Earth's atmosphere is governed by physics of the radiative transfer equation (RTE) with proper boundary conditions in the SSA system. In satellite and aircraft remote sensing, however, the PPA model is usually assumed to compute the lookup tables and convert the sensor‐measured signals to the desired physical and optical quantities.

The PPA assumption is a simple yet very good approximation for solar and sensor zenith angles < ∼80°. Note that the solar and sensor zenith angles here are defined as a measure at the local surface. In the PPA assumption, however, the solar zenith angles ≥90° is not defined. When the solar zenith angles ≥90° in the PPA system; i.e., when the Sun is below the horizon, there will be no light scattered out to the top of the atmosphere (TOA) or at the bottom of the surface. We would experience complete darkness in this situation.
Innovative Strategies for CO2 Stabilization
Authors: Stokes Gerald M.
Published: October 2006

If the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations is to be achieved, it will come through a fundamental transformation of the global energy system over the next century. This book, edited by Robert Watts, is a collection of papers presented at a 1998 meeting to consider technologies and strategies that might achieve stabilization. Because it is being published 4 years after the meeting, some of the material is dated. Despite this, the book provides a picture of the fundamental aspects of most technologies being considered as part of carbon emission mitigation strategies, conveniently collected with references in one volume.
Ice shelf break‐up and ecosystem loss in the Canadian High Arctic
Authors: Mueller Derek R. , Vincent Warwick F. , Jeffries Martin O.
Published: October 2006

Over the last 3 years, extensive fractures have appeared in the ∼3000‐yr‐old Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (83°N,75°W).The largest fracture, a north‐south‐oriented serpentine feature (Figure l), now forms an obvious dividing line between the west and east sides of the ice shelf. Secondary fractures extending westward from the central fracture have fragmented a large area of the ice shelf into free‐floating ice blocks. The fractures have severely weakened the ice shelf, although for the moment it remains pinned in place by a number of islands and ice rises. An immediate consequence of the fracturing was the catastrophic drainage of a fresh water lake that was dammed behind the ice shelf. This “epishelf” lake represented a rare ecosystem type in the northern hemisphere, which was particularly vulnerable to climate change. In a recent paper in Geophysical Research Letters [Mueller et al., 2003], a recent 30‐year period of accelerated warming, part of a longer 20th‐century warming trend, is implicated as a factor in the fracturing of the ice shelf and the drainage of the epishelf lake.
International ice core community meets to discuss best practices for ice core curation
Authors: Hinkley Todd
Published: October 2006

Several countries now have national ice core laboratories, or substantial ice core facilities, where these proxy archives of the Earth's past climate and atmosphere are safeguarded, processed, and analyzed. Australia, China, Denmark, Japan, Argentina, and the United States have formal, dedicated ice core repositories with laboratories. India's is under construction, in Goa. France, Germany, Russia, and the U.K. have long had substantial ice core holdings and facilities for analysis of ice cores. Brazil, Chile, Italy, and Switzerland have expanding field acquisition and analytical programs that require favorable storage conditions for ice cores.

Representatives of 12 countries gathered in Milan, Italy, in late August for a first meeting, InterICE, of “international ice core establishments,” to compare and discuss ideas about best practices for acquisition, storage, curation, and distribution of the ice cores that have been drilled from the polar and temperate glaciers of the world, representing up to a half‐million years of the Earth's most recent past.
Coasts, Form, Process and Evolution
Authors: Hoekstra Piet
Published: October 2006

The geomorphology of coastal systems varies tremendously from sandy beaches and barriers in temperate climatic regions, to coral reefs in tropical areas. Not only do climatic conditions play a role in the development of coasts, but the boundary conditions do as well, in terms of geology and lithology (type of sediments), the processes operating in the coastal zone, the sea level history, and the degree of human impact. In addition, knowledge about the short‐term process‐response character of coastal systems on a time scale of days to weeks is no guarantee for understanding coastal evolution on time scales of decades, centuries, or even millennia. To write a new handbook on coastal geomorphology with an emphasis on coastal morphodynamics—defined as “the mutual co‐adjustment of coastal form and process”—that covers the complex interaction of all of these aspects, and stands out well, is a major challenge to every author.
Where are the women geoscientist professors?
Authors: Holmes Mary Anne , O'Connell Suzanne
Published: October 2006

Nearly 50 geo‐ and social scientists recently gathered in Washington, D.C., for a workshop on women in the geosciences. The two‐fold purpose was to compile data on the status of women in the geosciences and to arrive at a consensus on strategies to increase the proportion of women and their diversity in the field.

Participants spanned 4 decades of experience, including both genders, and represented many types of academic institutions, from high school to private, bachelors degree‐granting colleges to public and private Research I institutions. Two social scientists who specialize in women‐in‐science issues also participated.
Mesoplates: Resolving a decades‐old controversy
Authors: Pilger Rex H.
Published: October 2006

A new concept unifies several diverse lines of evidence regarding the kinematics of lithospheric plates (“lithoplates”) and the underlying mesosphere. Three “mesoplates”—shallow, kinematically rigid regions of the upper mesosphere of the Earth—are inferred to be the habitat of most hot spots, as well as the source region for the sea floor spreading. The recognition of mesoplates, which range in depth from perhaps 100–300 km+, provides a framework for resolving part of the ongoing hot spot‐plume debate.
Determining long‐term change in the ionosphere
Authors: Ulich Thomas , Clilverd Mark A. , Rishbeth Henry
Published: October 2006

Contemporary studies of long‐term changes in the ionosphere stem mostly from the suggestions by Roble and Dickinson [1989] that “global warming” in the lower atmosphere is accompanied by “global cooling” of the thermosphere, and subsequently, from the suggestion by Rishbeth [1990] that the resulting thermal contraction lowers the height of the ionospheric F2‐peak hmF2. The subject is attractive to study because decades of ionosonde data exist from dozens of stations worldwide, the data are well organized in a consistent format, and the analysis requires no great computing power. However, the trends from different stations are far from consistent and often show interruptions or reversals. There are tantalizing details, such as opposite trends of rising hmF2 at places east of longitude 30°E, falling hmF2 west of 30°E [Bremer, 1998]. We have to ask: Are these real? Indeed, we should ask the more general question: “What is needed to make reported trends “believable”?
Reply [to Comment on “Different views of the Grand Canyon” Comment: On science and pseudo‐science in national parks by Michael W. Asten]
Authors: Elders Wilfred A.
Published: October 2006

I appreciate Michael Asten's thoughtful comments. The aim of my Forum article was not to promote censorship, but rather, to point out that Tom Vail's book, Grand Canyon: A Different View, is a text that propounds religiously based pseudo‐science about a geological icon. As I wrote in that article, in my opinion, the sale of that book within the park is undermining the work of the National Park interpreters who work so hard to educate the public, and I believe that Asten would agree with that view. However, he raises a difficult issue.
International heat flow commission celebrates 40 years
Authors: Cermak Vladimir , Lee William H. K.
Published: October 2006

The outflow of heat from the Earth's interior is, in terms of energy, the most impressive terrestrial phenomenon. Its present rate of about 1021 joules per year is order‐of‐magnitudes greater than the energy dissipation of earthquakes or heat loss from volcanic eruptions. The study of the Earth's internal heat plays an important role in understanding the Earth's origin, internal constitution, and plate tectonics.

The thermal structure of the Earth, generally referred to as the geothermics, or also as the (terrestrial) heat flow, has been studied for a long time. However, modern geothermics, one of the fundamental geophysical disciplines, is relatively young. The International Heat Flow Commission (IHFC), under which the academic geothermal research on the international scale is organized, was created only in 1963. The IHFC, operating under the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI), covers a broad scope of geophysical studies, and links the activities of other associations of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).
Wen, Salvucci, and Cuffey receive 2003 James B. Macelwane medal
Authors: Helmberger George V.
Published: October 2006

Lianxing Wen, Guido D. Salvucci, and Kurt M. Cuffey were awarded the Macelwane Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on 10 December 2003, in San Francisco, California. The medal honors “significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.”
Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence
Authors: Montgomery David C.
Published: October 2006

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence theory is modeled on neutral fluid (Navier‐Stokes) turbulence theory but with some important differences. There have been essentially no repeatable laboratory MHD experiments wherein the boundary conditions could be controlled or varied and a full set of diagnostics implemented. The equations of MHD are convincingly derivable only in the limit of small ratio of collision mean‐free‐paths to macroscopic length scales, an inequality that often goes the other way for magnetofluids of interest. Finally, accurate information on the MHD transport coefficients—and thus, the Reynolds—like numbers that order magnetofluid behavior—is largely lacking; indeed, the algebraic expressions used for such ingredients as the viscous stress tensor are often little more than wishful borrowing from fluid mechanics.
New exploration focus will not diminish Earth science agenda, NASA says
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

A dramatic re‐orientation of NASA to focus on space exploration and manned missions to the Moon and Mars will not diminish the agency's Earth science agenda, according to top NASA officials.

The re‐orientation, which U.S. President George W. Bush and NASA announced on 14 January, calls for a return to the Moon with robotic missions no later than 2008. A manned mission to the lunar surface would follow between 2015 and 2020, “as the launching point for missions beyond,” Bush said.
Updated repeat orbit interferometry package released
Authors: Rosen Paul A. , Hensley Scott , Peltzer Gilles , Simons Mark
Published: October 2006

RO1_PAC V2.3, a Repeat Orbit Interferometry package that allows topographic and surface change researchers to apply Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) methods, is now freely available to the community InSAR is the synthesis of conventional SAR and interferometry techniques that have been developed over several decades in radio astronomy and radar remote sensing. In recent years, it has opened entirely new application areas for radar in the Earth system sciences, including topographic mapping and geodesy.

RO1_PAC, developed primarily to work with European Remote Sensing (ERS) satellite radar data, currently supports ERS‐1, ERS‐2, and Japanese Earth Resources Satellite (JERS) radar data, and is configurable to work with “strip‐mode” data from all existing satellite radar instruments. The first release of RO1_ PAC (V1.0) was made quietly in 2000, and roughly 30 groups in the academic and research community currently use it.
Advancing knowledge of anoxic systems of the World Ocean
Authors: Neretin Lev N. , Jørgensen Bo Barker , Polikarpov Igor G.
Published: October 2006

Life on Earth emerged under anaerobic conditions. Many fundamental biochemical and metabolic pathways evolved before the atmosphere contained oxygen. At present, anaerobic (anoxic) conditions in marine milieu are generally restricted to sediments and to basins isolated from oxygenated deep‐sea circulation. Enhanced oxygen consumption by organic matter decomposition and slow downward mixing and diffusion of dissolved oxygen from the surface waters can lead to oxygen deficiency in the water column in highly productive waters, forming the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ). Bottom waters of coastal upwelling regions are frequently exposed to anaerobic conditions owing to extremely high primary productivity. In the past, such conditions in the water column may have developed more readily; for example, in the mid‐Cretaceous.
Bond receives 2003 Maurice Ewing Medal
Authors: Broecker Wallace S. , Bond Gerald C.
Published: October 2006

Gerard C. Bond was awarded the Ewing Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on 10 December 2003, in San Francisco, California. The medal honors “significant original contributions to the scientific understanding of the processes in the ocean; for the advancement of oceanographic engineering, technology, and instrumentation; and for outstanding service to marine sciences.”
Living on an Active Earth: Perspectives on Earthquake Science
Authors: Lay Thorne ,   Committee On The Science Of Earthquakes, National Research Council
Published: October 2006

The annualized long‐term loss due to earthquakes in the United States is now estimated at $4.4 billion per year. A repeat of the 1923 Kanto earthquake, near Tokyo, could cause direct losses of $2–3 trillion. With such grim numbers, which are guaranteed to make you take its work seriously, the NRC Committee on the Science of Earthquakes begins its overview of the emerging multidisciplinary field of earthquake science. An up‐to‐date and forward‐looking survey of scientific investigation of earthquake phenomena and engineering response to associated hazards is presented at a suitable level for a general educated audience.
Comment on “Academic specialties in U.S. are shifting: Hiring of women geoscientists is stagnating”
Authors: Steinmetz John C.
Published: October 2006

The analysis of hiring trends of women by Holmes et al. (Eos, 28 October 2003, p. 457) is a useful contribution to our understanding of employment practices in the geosciences. While their findings indicate that “state geological surveys hired the lowest proportion of women with Ph.D.s in the geosciences; only 8% of hires in the last 10 years were female,” some explanation for this observation is necessary lest state surveys be seen as less than anxious to hire women. Two‐thirds of state geological surveys are within state agencies (the balance are affiliated with academia),and state government jobs are notoriously lower‐paying. State surveys are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit qualified female geoscientists at all levels because of salary competition from academia and industry. Additionally and since employees tend to remain with state surveys once employed, the prospects for job openings and career advancement are limited for either gender.
About AGU
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Atmospheric & Space Electricity, Geodesy, Geomagnetism & Paleomagnetism, and Planetary Sciences Sections received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2003 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California. (Winners in other sections will be announcedin subsequent issues of Eos.)
Islands of the Arctic
Authors: Overpeck Jonathan
Published: October 2006

Few environments on Earth are changing more dramatically than the Arctic. Sea ice retreat and thinning is unprecedented in the period of the satellite record. Surface air temperatures are the warmest in centuries. The biology of Arctic lakes is changing like never before in millennia. Everything is pointing to the meltdown predicted by climate model simulations for the next 100 years. At the same time, the Arctic remains one of the most pristine and beautiful places on Earth. For both those who know the Arctic and those who want to know it, this book is worth its modest price.
The Dead Sea is unlikely to dry up in 50 years
Authors: Asmar Basel N. , Ergenzinger Peter
Published: October 2006

Since the early 1960s, the water level of the Dead Sea has decreased gradually to a level of 417 m below mean sea level (bmsl). Estimates of the annual rate of decline vary between 0.5 m/yr to 0.95 m/yr. Recently, Asmar [1998] and Asmar and Ergenzinger [2002a] showed that the rate of decline is gradually decreasing.

Two major factors are responsible for the lowering of the Dead Sea: the diversion of almost all water resources away from the Dead Sea, which considerably decreases the water input into it; and industrial development in both Jordan and Israel that uses increasing amounts of Dead Sea water to produce minerals where the former southern Dead Sea has been transformed into industrial evaporation pans.
Bear receives 2003 Excellence in Geophysical Education Award
Authors: Tsang Chin‐Fu , Bear Jacob
Published: October 2006

Jacob Bear received the Excellence in Geophysical Education Award at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on 10 December 2003, in San Francisco, California. The award honors “a sustained commitment to excellence in geophysical education by a team, individual, or group.”
Colwell resigns from NSF
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Rita Colwell, who has served as director of the U.S. National Science Foundation since August 1998, steps down from that position on 21 February. After fulfilling most of her 6‐year term, Colwell will assume the chairmanship of Canon U.S. Life Sciences, Inc., an Arlington,Virginia‐based subsidiary of Canon USA, Inc.

Colwell also will become a faculty member of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, where she will help to develop an international center for the study of infectious diseases, water, and public health. In addition, she will be a distinguished university professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Reply [to “Comment on ‘Abandoned mines, mountain sports, and climate variability: Implications for the Colorado tourism economy’”]
Authors: Todd Andrew , McKnight Diane , Wyatt Lane
Published: October 2006

Our article focused on the complex interactions among climate variability, hydrology, chemical weathering reactions, and stream ecology that influence water resource availability for recreation in watersheds of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. In responding to our article, our colleagues at Hydrosphere Resource Consultants provide additional detailed information about snow‐making approaches at ski resorts. However, they make other assertions that warrant comment and clarification.

We disagree with the statement that the ski industry may not be the appropriate tourism sector for illustrating the impacts of climate variations. The success of the ski industry hinges on a variety of climate‐related variables (for example, temperature, precipitation quantity, precipitation as snow versus rain) that are expected to change in an uncertain climatic future.
The AGU position statement, “Human Impacts on Climate” —Rationale and process
Authors: Geller Marvin A.
Published: October 2006

In December 2002, AGU Council voted to extend the lifetime of AGU's position statement, “Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases,” for one year until a new statement was prepared. A year later, Council voted unanimously to adopt a new statement, “Human Impacts on Climate,” that reflected advances in the relevant science since 1998 when the original statement was adopted (see Eos, 23 December 2003). The purposes of this article are to provide the rationale for this revision, and to explain the process for formulating and approving this new statement. Background material for this new AGU statement can be found in several sources. These include Ledley et al. [1999], IPCC [2001],NRC [2001],and CSSP [2003]. The statement itself is available at http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/climate_change_position.html.
Higgs receives 2003 Edward A. Flinn III Award
Authors: Korgen Ben J. , Higgs Robert H.
Published: October 2006

Robert H. Higgs received the Flinn Award at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on 10 December 2003, in San Francisco, California. The award honors “individuals who personify the Union's motto ‘unselfish cooperation in research’ through their facilitating, coordinating, and implementing activities!”
USGS budget would decrease and face inflationary pressures
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

For fiscal year 2005, the Bush administration's proposed budget for the U.S. Geological Survey would reduce its funding to $919.8 million. That is a 2% dip from the 2004 enacted budget of $937.9 million, and brings the agency nearly back to its 2003 level of $919.3 million.

The proposed budget calls for overall belt‐tightening, and targets some specific areas for larger reductions, including mineral resources and cooperative topographic mapping. But the FY2005 budget does not propose wholesale slashing of the agency's funding, as had earlier budgets.”
Revised climate science plan still lacking in key areas
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

A U.S. National Research Council committee has found that a revised strategic plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) includes elements “that could permit it to effectively guide research on climate and associated global changes over the next decades.”

However, the committee noted that the revision, issued by the CCSF faces major hurdles related to funding, program priorities, management structure, and maintaining political independence.
Researchers converge to improve metadata standards
Authors: Watson Stephanie
Published: October 2006

Metadata are descriptions of data sets that include information such as data quality, keywords, or the spatial or temporal extent of the data set. They provide sufficient information to enable data search, retrieval, transfer, and evaluation. Standardized metadata that can be automatically used by computers without human intervention or interpretation are key components of effective data management, interoperability between distributed data systems, and, most importantly, integrative, interdisciplinary science. Such standardized metadata will reduce the semantic heterogeneity and syntactic incompatibility that currently hinder data management and inter‐operability. Unfortunately, many ocean scientists provide either incomplete metadata to allow for automatic data search, retrieval, transfer, or evaluation, or they provide none at all.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Nonlinear Geophysics Focus Group and the Seismology Section received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2003 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California. (Winners in other sections will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos.)
Valley receives 2003 N.L. Bowen award
Authors: Essene Eric J. , O'Neil James R. , Valley John W.
Published: October 2006

John W. Valley received the Bowen Award, presented by the Volcanology Geochemistry, and Petrology Section at the 2003 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
Comment on “Maxwell, electromagnetism, and fluid flow in resistive media”
Authors: Brown Glenn
Published: October 2006

T. N. Narasimhan's article, “Maxwell, Electromagnetism, and Fluid Flow in Resistive Media” (Eos, 4 November 2003), has raised an interesting “what if” question concerning the history of the theoretical development of flow in porous media. Citing an early work of James Clerk Maxwell's, the author states, “It is hoped that Maxwell's contributions to the foundations of fluids in porous media will receive due attention and that his novel approach will lead to new insights.” Unfortunately, a careful reading of Maxwell and a thorough understanding of the state of the science in the mid‐19th century do not support the claims presented.

Maxwell's publication was not referenced, but the writer believes the author was referring to “On Faraday's Lines of Force,” [Maxwell, 1856]. Review of the manuscript shows two facts. First, Maxwell was a brilliant scientist with a strong mathematical bent. He appears well read in the contemporary theories of electromagnetism and knowledgeable on the experimental data. It also appears that he had a reasonable understanding of both heat transport and fluid mechanics. The paper presents a remarkably clear derivation for the electromagnetic equations in three dimensions with variable resistance. It is a truly great publication. Second, Maxwell did not consider his equations to actually represent fluid flow. Anyone reading the paper would, in fact, be left with the impression that his equations would not be suitable for fluids. He explains electrical fluxes and potentials with the analogy of fluid flow and pressures. However, this was simply a convenience to help the audience focus on his theory instead of the competing theories of the day such as the “two fluid model.” To this point, it is informative to read his words.
Dessler receives First William Kaula Award
Authors: Hornberger George , Dessler Alexander J.
Published: October 2006

The William Kaula Award for Publication Service recognizes unselfish service to the scientific community through extraordinary dedication to, and exceptional efforts on behalf of, the AGU publications program. Individuals may be recognized for such contributions as outstanding reviewing, editorial service beyond expectations, or innovative leadership. Alexander J. Dessler received the award at the 2003 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California.
Fluid inclusion and petrological studies elucidate reconstruction of magma conduits
Authors: Frezzotti Maria Luce , Peccerillo Angelo
Published: October 2006

In the summer of 1982, the Phlegraean Fields, a nested resurgent caldera located in the densely populated Naples area of Italy started to give signals of unrest. However, after about 30 months of soil uplift (up to 5 mm per day) and intense shallow‐depth, swarm‐type seismicity (up to 100 shocks/hr), these phenomena diminished and alert warning for an imminent volcanic eruption ceased. A similar scenario went on at Vulcano, Italy where an increase in the amount of fumarolic output and in gas temperatures (more than 700°) began in the winter of 1992. Also in this case, no eruption occurred, and gas temperatures and emission rates slowly returned to their normal values.
Swedish small satellites investigate the aurora
Authors: Marklund Göran , André Mats , Lundin Rickard
Published: October 2006

The Swedish small satellite program—which began in the mid‐1980s—has been recognized internationally as cost‐efficient and scientifically successful, and the results have contributed significantly to the progress in auroral research.

The program comprises six research satellites to date, five of which were auroral or space plasma missions.Viking and Freja made substantial and sometimes pioneering contributions to the understanding of the aurora. The smaller satellites Astrid, Astrid‐2, and Munin proved powerful both for testing new space technologies and instruments and for providing high‐quality scientific data.
Progress in understanding the Arctic climate system
Authors: Fichefet Thierry , Dick Chad , Flato Greg , Kane Douglas , Moore Jim
Published: October 2006

The Arctic region is where numerical climate models generally predict the largest warming under the influence of increased greenhouse gas concentrations. It is also the area where discrepancies between predictions are greatest. Arctic processes seem to be crucial for maintaining the oceanic meridional overturning circulation (MOC), and some models suggest that global warming might freshen the Arctic Ocean and peripheral seas to the extent that this circulation collapses. Should that happen, parts of the North Atlantic region might cool rather than warm over the next 100 years.
More on anonymous reviews
Authors: Armstrong Adrian
Published: October 2006

Reading the ongoing correspondence in Eos, I would propose that the difficulty lies in the dual nature of the reviewing process. The first stage asks, is the work worth publishing? The second asks, is the paper as submitted worthy of the work done? The dilemma is that the requirements for anonymity are different for the two functions.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Space Physics & Aeronomy Section received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2003 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California. (Winners in other sections will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos.)
Suggestion for proposal reviews
Authors: Genereux David , Sen Gautam
Published: October 2006

The recent letters to Eos concerning whether journal manuscript reviews should be anonymous or not has us thinking about another important and fixable problem concerning peer review: the lack of opportunity to rebut incorrect comments made in the review of proposals. Review comments that are incorrect and overly negative are common (much more so than comments that are incorrect and overly positive) and detrimental to authors, but at least, for journal manuscripts, authors can write point‐by‐point responses to reviewer comments and submit them with a revised manuscript. This can be a very effective means of addressing the problem and having a good paper accepted, in spite of reviews with Incorrect and Overly Negative Statements (IONS).

On the other hand, with proposals to funding agencies, this same opportunity generally does not exist (though we know of a program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture that allows authors to include up to one page of responses to previous review comments when a proposal is re‐submitted). The common occurrence of IONS in review of proposals, and a lack of good opportunity to rebut them, may lead to problems in award decisions. IONS in review can not be eliminated, but their role in award decisions can be reduced.
Comment on “New Global Drifter Data Set available”
Authors: Lutjeharms Johann , Ansorge Isabelle , Grüdlingh Marten , van Ballegooyen Roy , Weeks Scarla , Machu Eric , Boebel Olaf
Published: October 2006

Stephen Pazan and Peter Niiler (Eos, 13 January 2004, p. 17) ably describe the global drifter data set that has now been assembled, its potential value to the oceanographic community and the locations on the Internet where it can be found.This is indeed an extraordinary resource that can be of immense value to a spectrum of oceanographers. In their enthusiasm to propound the usefulness of the data, they may however, have made one serious error.

In illustrating the meandering nature of the Agulhas Return Current with drifter tracks, they state, “New circulation features are also being discovered…In Figure 2 the Agulhas Current can be seen flowing south of the east coast of South Africa; it separates from the coast and meanders northward and southward seven times as it flows to the coast (sic; they mean: to the east). These meanders, which are steadily present from 1979 to 2002, have not been observed before.…”
Reply [to [Comment on] “Comment on “New global drifter data set available’” by Ohann Lutjeharms and Isabelle Ansorge]
Authors: Niiler Peter
Published: October 2006

The Eos article referred to in the letter by Lutjeharms et al. discusses only the time mean drifter velocity data in the Agulhas Return Current region. Because of Eos space limitations, we could not discuss the large amount of research devoted to synoptic meanders and eddies, which are also seen by the individual drifter tracks in our data set while passing through the Agulhas Return Current system.

More than 10 years of drifter data were used in the time mean velocity plot in our Figure 2. Underlying the synoptic variations were seven semi‐permanent meanders of the Agulhas Return Current. In our global drifter data set, no other western boundary current had such an extensive, steady or stable meander pattern. We thought that this indeed was a “discovery” and are pleased that Lutjeharms et al. agree.