bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Introduction to Geomagnetically Trapped Radiation
Authors: Mauk Barry
Published: October 2006

The discovery of the Earth's radiation belts by the first U.S. satellites in the late 1950s was an astonishing surprise. Composed of magnetically trapped populations of charged particles with energies up to hundreds of MeV, these belts are intense enough to kill satellites and astronauts alike if appropriate measures are not taken. More recently, the exploration of the outer solar system by the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft showed that rather than being a peculiar characteristic of the Earth's environment, intense andenergetic radiation belts are common to the space environments of all magnetized planets. Jupiter, for example, a planet that could hardly be more different than Earth, has a radiation environment several orders of magnitude more severe than the Earth's. We can presume from this evidence that hyperacceleration, trapping, and redistribution of intense and energetic charged particles are omnipresent within magnetized astrophysical environments throughout the universe.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Two presentations were named Outstanding Student Papers in the Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Section at the 1995 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Stefanie Brachfeld, who presented “Holocene Paleoclimate Records From Glacial‐Marine Sediments: Rock‐magnetic and Biologic Indicators of Paleoproductivity,” is a Ph.D. student in geophysics in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Minnesota. She earned a B.S. in geology at the University of Rochester, and an M.S. in Earth and planetary sciences at the California Institute of Technology. Her research interests focus on sedimentary records of geomagnetic field behavior. She is examining records of secular variation in Yellowstone Lake and Lewis Lake, and testing the reliability of such records using historic age sediments in Lake Pepin. In addition, Brachfeld is using rock magnetic parameters to study century‐scale variability in the South Polar region.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Two presentations were named Outstanding Student Papers in the Geodesy Section at the 1995 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Don Chambers presented “Basin‐scale, Low‐frequency Variability of the Dynamic Ocean Topography in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.” He is a doctoral student in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, working with Byron Tapley. He received a B.S. in aerospace engineering also from the University of Texas. His dissertation topic is measuring time‐varying sea level variability with satellite altimetry. His research interests are precise satellite orbit determination and observations of the long‐period, long‐wavelength ocean variability from space.
Limiting losses
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

In an attempt to reap more societal benefits from the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program(NEHRP), the U.S. federal government has created a National Earthquake Loss Reduction Program (NEP). As announced May 20 at the AGU Spring Meeting by John Gibbons, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, NEP will focus government research and policy initiatives for mitigation of earthquake damage.
Chart links solar, geophysical events with impacts on space technologies
Authors: Davenport George R.
Published: October 2006

While developing a Space Weather Training Program for Air Force Space Command and the 50th Weather Squadron, both based in Colorado, ARINC Incorporated produced a flowchart that correlates solar and geophysical events with their impacts on Air Force systems.

Personnel from both organizations collaborated in the development of the flowchart and provided many comments and suggestions. The model became the centerpiece of the Space Environment Impacts Reference Pamphlet, as well as the formal Space Weather Training Program. Although it is not a numerical or computer model, the flowchart became known as the “Space Environmental Impacts Model.”
Richter and Harrison receive the Bowen award
Authors: De Paolo Don , Watson Bruce , Harrison, Timothy Mark
Published: October 2006

At the 1995 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., Frank Richter and Timothy Mark Harrison were honored with the 1995 N. L. Bowen Award, which is given to individuals for a single outstanding contribution to volcanology, geochemistry, or petrology made during the preceding 5 years. The award citations and Richter's and Harrison's responses are given here.
Old ice in rock glaciers may provide long‐term climate records
Authors: Clark Douglas H. , Steig Eric J. , Potter Noel , Updike Arika , Fitzpatrick Joan , Clark G. Michael
Published: October 2006

Anyone who spends much time above the treeline has probably seen rock glaciers and paused to wonder about them. Their curious and occasionally spectacular forms (Figure 1) occur in alpine and polar regions throughout the world, yet much remains uncertain about how they develop. A core of ice recently recovered from a rock glacier in the Absaroka Mountains of northwestern Wyoming vividly illustrates several important aspects about rock glaciers. At least some rock glaciers are a form of debris‐covered glacier, and original isotopic stratigraphy may be preserved within their ice. Perhaps most interesting of all, the core of some rock glaciers is composed of layered ice that can be drilled and recovered, and some of this ice is exceptionally old.
Researchers chart course for updating radiation belt models
Authors: Baker D. N. , Lemaire J. F. , Panasyuk M. I.
Published: October 2006

Exciting new results from the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) and Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) missions reveal that some of the energetic electrons and ions trapped in the Van Allen belts come from unexpected sources. This new development and other changing perceptions clearly show that the empirical models of the radiation belts produced by NASA and Russia about 10–15 years ago have been outdated for some time and need to be revised.

At the Radiation Belts: Models and Standards workshop held in Brussels from October 17 to 20, 1995, members of the community reviewed the most recent models of the trapped radiation belts, identified the lesserknown aspects of the radiation environment, and outlined a strategy for updating models and developing new models.
Rocket failure
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

The Cluster mission to study the Earth's magnetosphere ended just 40 seconds after it began on June 4, as flight controllers were forced to destroy the Ariane V rocket carrying the four spacecraft. With the rocket veering from its trajectory and in danger of crashing to Earth, launch officials from the European Space Agency (ESA) blew up the rocket by remote control as it rose just 4,000 meters over its launch site in French Guiana.
Global data sets for land‐atmosphere models available
Authors: Meeson B. W. , Corprew F. E. , McManus J. M. P. , Myers D. M. , Closs J. W. , Sun K.‐J. , Sunday D. J. , Sellers P. J.
Published: October 2006

A 5‐volume CD‐ROM set of temporally and spatially consistent data for global climate studies is now available free of charge from NASA's EOS‐DIS Goddard Distributed Active Archive Center. The set, which was compiled in response to the needs of the land‐atmosphere interaction researceh community, covers vegetation; hydrology and soils; snow, ice, and oceans; radiation and clouds; and near‐surface meteorology.

The data are easy to use and have undergone comprehensive peer review. Modelers, algorithm developers, and field experiment scientists are now using the data sets to drive land‐atmosphere models and support soil moisture modeling, modeling of net primary productivity for the terrestrial component of Earth, and global climate models. They may also be used for a variety of other research and educational purposes.
Mission to planet Earth launches policy debate
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

For the second year in a row, leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives have proposed sizable cuts in NASA's Mission to Planet Earth (MtPE), a program designed to gather comprehensive data sets about Earth's climate and atmosphere. The NASA authorization for 1997 proposed by the House shaves $261 million from the current budget for MtPE, and $373.7 million from Clinton Administration's request of $1,402 billion (House Republicans are offering $1.028 billion, while their Senate counterparts have so far agreed to Clinton's request.)
Burned
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

After three months of investigation, NASA and the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) have concluded in a report that the tether connecting the TSS‐1R satellite to the space shuttle Columbia broke because unexpected electrical arcing severed it. Presenting its findings on June 4, the independent review panel led by Kenneth Szalai of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center noted that something punctured the tether and allowed electrical current to breach the insulation and jump to a nearby electrical ground.
The Periglaciation of Great Britain
Authors: Nesje Atle
Published: October 2006

A book devoted to the periglaciation of Great Britain seems paradoxical at first glance, since the island lies far to the south of the current Arctic permafrost zone, it supports no modern glaciers or ice fields, and is today influenced mainly by a maritime climate. But then few of the Earth's landscapes can be explained by geomorphological processes operating at present.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Nine presentations were named Outstanding Student Papers in the Hydrology Section at the 1995 AGU Fall meeting in San Francisco, California.

Leslie Dillard, who presented “Investigating the Physics of Dissolution of Nonaqueous Phase Liquids in Heterogeneous Porous Media Using Pore Network Modeling,” is a third‐year Ph.D. student in the hydrogeology program at Stanford University. She received her B.S. and M.S. from Stanford and has worked part‐time as a hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park. Dillard is primarily interested in the study of aquifer contamination by nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs), as well as the effect of heterogeneity on subsurface fluid distributions, scale issues, aquifer parameter determination, biodegradation, and groundwater management. Her doctoral work addresses the influence of pore‐ and field‐scale rate limitations on NAPL dissolution.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Ten presentations were named Outstanding Student Papers in the Space Physics and Aeronomy Section at the 1995 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California.

Richard Andrulis presented “Transverse Ion Acceleration by Lower Hybrid Waves.” Andrulis obtained a B.S. in engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. He has been a Ph.D. student at Cornell University for the past six years and plans to defend his doctoral thesis in July 1996. His thesis research has utilized computer simulations to investigate the interaction of lower hybrid wave with quasi‐stationary density depletions and the subsequent effect on transverse acceleration of ionospheric ions.
Friends in need
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

With supplies of food and fuel set to run out within days, scientists at the Russian Antarctic station at Mirny received some welcome relief on June 13. The National Science Foundation's icebreaking vessel, Nathaniel B. Palmer, delivered four tons of emergency food supplies to the 38 researchers wintering over at the station, which has not seen a supply ship in nearly a year.
The case for transient magnetopause reconnection
Authors: Lockwood M.
Published: October 2006

Recent studies indicate that magnetopause reconnection can, at times, occur exclusively as a series of separated, short bursts. Reconnection generates “open” magnetic flux that threads the magnetospheric boundary, the magnetopause, and so connects the magnetosphere with interplanetary space. The rate at which open flux is generated by a line of unit length in the magnetopause is called the reconnection rate. By Faraday's induction law, the reconnection rate is a boundary‐tangential electric field, Et, along that line (called an X‐line).
Presidential panel endorses U.S. role in Antarctica
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

The United States must continue its work in Antarctica for both scientific and strategic reasons, the Clinton Administration's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) asserted in a report issued in May. The challenge, however, will be to find a way to keep the knowledge base growing while the budget is shrinking.
Continental Rifts: Evolution, Structure and Tectonics
Authors: Bally A. W.
Published: October 2006

Twenty one “friends of continental rifts” wrote Continental Rifts: Evolution, Structureand Tectonics. They define the object of their passion as elongate tectonic depressions along which the entire lithosphere has been modified by extension. Strictly speaking, passive margins and highly extended terranes such as the Basin and Range are not included in this definition, but the authors consider them to be related to continental rifts. The authors hail from academia and set as their main goal “an improved understanding of the fundamental lithospheric processes of rifting, with primary focus on deep structures and processes associated with rifting.” Consequently, many well‐known extensional systems, for example, the North Sea grabens, the Suez Basin, onshore and offshore eastern China, and large areas of southeast Asia, are barely considered. Rift aficionados from the petroleum industry will find very little to interest them in this book.
Technical committees fill gaps, foster cooperative research
Authors: White M. Catherine
Published: October 2006

AGU's technical committees focus on important cross‐disciplinary areas of research and play a critical role in fostering communication with the wider scientific community. To focus attention on their subjects of study, the committees organize special sessions forthe Fall and Spring Meetings, produce publications, and get involved in other Union activities. They also maintain relationships with other organizations dedicated to advancing their work.
Aeromagnetic survey over U.S. to advance geomagnetic research
Authors: Hildenbrand Thomas G. , Blakely Richard J. , Hinze William J. , Keller G. Randy , Langel Robert A. , Nabighian Misac , Roest Walter
Published: October 2006

A proposed high‐altitude survey of the United States offers an exciting and cost effective opportunity to collect magnetic‐anomaly data. Lockheed Martin Missile and Space Company is considering funding a reimbursable ER‐2 aircraft (Figure 1) mission to collect synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery at an altitude of about 21 km over the conterminous United States and Alaska. The collection of total and vector magnetic field data would be a secondary objective of the flight. Through this “piggyback approach,” the geomagnetic community would inherit invaluable magnetic data at a nominal cost. These data would provide insight on fundamental tectonic and thermal processes and give a new view of the structural and lithologic framework of the crust and upper mantle.
Filtered Geosat altimetry as a tool for global bathymetric chart development
Authors: Sramek Steve , Johnson Dwight
Published: October 2006

Now that the Geosat altimetry and precise orbit information collected during the 1985–1986 Geodetic mission is declassified, the Naval Oceanographic Office is releasing its chart of Geosat altimetry of the world's oceans (Figure 1). This data set has been used at the Naval Oceanographic Office since 1987.
Reynolds and Small receive Horton research grants
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Curt Reynolds and Eric Small were each presented with a Horton Research Grant during the AGU 1996 Spring Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, held from May 20 to May 24. 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. It is awarded annually. The Horton Research Grant's objective is to foster graduate student research leading to the completion of doctoral dissertations
Sing along with Barney
Authors: Cember Richard P.
Published: October 2006

Many Earth scientists are parents of young children, most of whom are no doubt familiar with the children's television character Barney the Dinosaur and his rendition of the names of the days of the week, sung to the tune of “Clementine.”

Geologist parents should note the following fortuitous occurrences. First, the Paleozoic is divided into seven periods, Cambrian through Permian (the Carboniferous is counted here as two, Mississippian and Pennsylvanian). Second, the Cenozoic is divided into seven epochs, Paleocene through Holocene. Therefore one may sing the “Sunday, Monday…” song substituting for the days of the week the names of the periods and epochs.
Dst is not a pure ring‐current index
Authors: Campbell Wallace H.
Published: October 2006

The Equatorial Dst Ring‐Current Index, Dst, distributed internationally by the World Data Center C2 for Geomagnetism (Faculty of Science, Kyoto University) is widely used in geophysics as an indicator of geomagnetic storm behavior. At the recent Chapman Conference on Magnetic Storms held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., from February 11 to 16, 1996, three of the conference summary speakers formally announced that the Dst index should not be considered to be a simple representation of the ring current of a storm because other sources significantly contribute to that index formulation. This assertion went unchallenged by those in attendance. Such understanding represents a major change from the traditional belief that the index is a direct result of the geomagnetic storm‐time growth and recovery of a Saturnlike ring of particles encircling the Earth. This old model is indeed beautiful, but inherently wrong and inadequate for the many uses to which Dst has been assigned over the years. The paragraphs below describe some of the backgrou nd for this new viewpoint and suggest how the characteristic storm shape may arise.
Aquatic Chemistry, Third Edition
Authors: Schroeder Edward D. , Young Thomas M.
Published: October 2006

Most water scientists and environmental engineers will recognize this classic environmental chemistry text as “Stumm and Morgan” rather than Aquatic Chemistry. Publication of the first edition in 1970 established a standard for books dealing with environmental chemistry in terms of depth and breadth of coverage. Scientists and engineers concerned with issues of water quality are well advised to have Aquatic Chemistry as part of their personal libraries, or at least in their office libraries.
Multi‐Use seismic stations offer strong deterrent to clandestine nuclear weapons testing
Authors: Hennet C. B. , Van der Vink G. E. , Richards P. G. , Adushkin V. V. , Kopnichev Y. F. , Geary R.
Published: October 2006

As the United States and other nations push for the signing of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, representatives are meeting in Geneva this year to develop an International Seismic Monitoring System to verify compliance with the treaty's restrictions. In addition to the official monitoring system, regional networks developed for earthquake studies and basic research can provide a strong deterrent against clandestine testing. The recent release of information by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) on previously unannounced nuclear tests provides an opportunity to assess the ability of multi‐use seismic networks to help monitor nuclear testing across the globe.

Here we look at the extent to which the formerly unannounced tests were recorded and identified on the basis of publicly available seismographic data recorded by five seismic networks. The data were recorded by networks in southern Nevada and northern California at stations less than 1500 km from the Nevada Test Site (NTS), and two networks in the former Soviet Union at stations farther than 1500 km from the NTS.
Clearing the air
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

A group of 1500 delegates to a United Nations conference on climate change—including 80 ministers and representing 150 nations recently implored world leaders to strengthen the international Climate Change Convention (CCC). In particular, ministers urged industrialized nations to commit to legally binding cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases by the year 2020, and to create the legal instruments to enforce those cuts.
The Haskell norm
Authors: Advocate Dev L.
Published: October 2006

The matter of the viscosity of the mantle has started to become serious. In 1935, Norm Haskell estimated the viscosity to be about 1020 poise and there the matter stood for about half a century. For a little while, people worried about excess ellipticity of the Earth and attributed this to a “fossil bulge” that lagged the rotation rate. For this same little while, 1025 poise was thought to be the viscosity of the lower mantle, but then it was discovered that the equator was also out of shape by about the same amount, ruling out the “fossil bulge” idea. To cover their embarrassment, geodynamicists upped the viscosity of the mantle to 1021 by adopting S.I. (Satan's Invention) units. No one noticed for some time since it didn't really matter whether viscosity was given in stokes, poise, or pascal seconds. It was just a large number with a large uncertainty and no one had a feel for it anyway.
Hot air balloons fill gap in atmospheric and sensing platforms
Authors: Watson Steven M. , Price Russ
Published: October 2006

Eric Edgerton was having a problem he could not solve: how to noninvasively collect in situ incinerator plume data. So he called in the Air Force and learned about its Atmospheric and Sensor Test Platform program; its platform is a manned hot air balloon. Many investigators are discovering the advantages of hot air balloons as stable, inexpensive platforms for performing in situ atmospheric measurements. Some are also using remote sensing capabilities on the balloon platforms.
1995 Editors' Citations: Excellence in refereeing
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The reviewers whose names appear below have been cited by editors of AGU journals for excellence in refereeing. The editor's citation recognizes this special service to the Union, and these individuals are to be commended for consistently providing constructive and thoughtful review. They were recognized at the Spring Meeeting in Baltimore, Md.
Ultrahigh Pressure Metamorphism: Cambridge Topics in Petrology
Authors: Evans Bernard W.
Published: October 2006

The field of ultra‐high pressure metamorphism (UHPM) emerged only 12 years ago when microscopic relics of coesite were found in crustal rocks that had been metamorphosed during subduction related to continental collision. Coesite‐bearing metamorphic rocks were soon found elsewhere, and then metamorphic microdiamonds were discovered. Suddenly, the pressure axis for orogenic metamorphism had expanded from 1.5–2.0 to 3.0–4.0 GPa!
New year, old hat
Authors: Carlowicz Michael ,   American Geological Institute,   American Institute of Physics,   American Association for the Advancement of Science
Published: October 2006

It is only August, but October 1 looms large on the calendar. That is the day when the 1997 fiscal year (FY ′97) begins for the U.S. federal government, and like last year, that day might come without a budget.

In a flurry of summer activity, the U.S. Congress has passed several landmark bills on welfare reform, expansion of health coverage for workers between jobs, a raise in the minimum wage, and a Safe Drinking Water Act. The House of Representatives even passed all 13 of its annual appropriations bills before Congress took its August recess.
GPS measurements to constrain geodynamic processes in Fennoscandia
Authors:   BIFROST Project Members
Published: October 2006

Investigators are acquiring and interpreting data from continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) sites (Figures 1, 2) in Fennoscandia as part of project BIFROST (Baseline Inferences for Fennoscandian Rebound Observations, Sea level, and Tectonics). The ultimate goals of BIFROST are to use the GPS determinations of three‐dimensional crustal velocities associated with glacial isostatic adjustment [e.g., James and Lambert, 1993; Mitrovica et al., 1993, 1994b] to estimate the viscosity of the Earth's mantle below Fennoscandia, to constrain the space‐time history of the Late Pleistocene ice load in the region, and to correct the extensive Fennoscandian tide gauge record for the influence of vertical motions. Already, with less than 3 years of continuous GPS data, the determinations of vertical motion are precise enough to observe the broad pattern of postglacial uplift in this region.
Current measurements in the Strait of Otranto reveal unforeseen aspects of its hydrodynamics
Authors: Poulain P.‐M. , Gačcić M. , Vetrano A.
Published: October 2006

The Strait of Otranto is a 75‐km‐wide and ˜300‐m‐deep (on average) inlet that separates the Adriatic and Ionian Seas (Figure 1). It is the southern open boundary of the Adriatic Sea, which is a semi‐enclosed, shallow basin. The forcing through this open boundary plays an important role in driving the general circulation of the Adriatic, which, in turn, affects the biochemical properties in the two adjacent basins. The Strait of Otranto is also a key area for the entire Eastern Mediterranean deep circulation, since the Adriatic Sea presumably produces most of the Mediterranean's bottom water. The monitoring of water mass transport in the strait and the study of the water exchange dynamics are therefore crucial for an understanding of a broad range of oceanographic processes in the Adriatic and in the entire Eastern Mediterranean, as well as for addressing environmental issues, such as pollution that spreads from coastal to deep‐sea areas.
“Magnetic” pole locations on global charts are incorrect
Authors: Campbell Wallace A.
Published: October 2006

For the past 40 years or more an error has appeared on the charts produced by major U.S. mapping organizations. The cartographers routinely mark a position in each hemisphere that they identify as the “Magnetic Pole.” For examples, see pages 73 and 86 of the Today's World: A New World Atlas, published by Rand McNally & Company in 1993, and The Earth's Fractured Surface, a chart published by the National Geographic Society in April 1995. The problem is that the word “magnetic” has become a generic term and the two words together can include at least three types of poles with greatly differing positions, depending upon their derivation. The most used pole position is certainly not the one indicated on the charts. Nor is the generally understood position actually the one that the cartographers are marking.
Do protons or electrons dominate particle acceleration in solar flares?
Authors: Cargill Peter
Published: October 2006

Particles are accelerated in solar flares, and observations indicate that energetic flare particles are present in both the interplanetary medium and the outer solar atmosphere (chromosphere and corona). The controversy addressed in these articles is whether the most important accelerated species in the solar atmosphere are electrons or protons. We will not be concerned with interplanetary particles. Resolution of this controversy should shed light on particle acceleration processes elsewhere in the universe. For many years it was widely believed that electrons constituted the dominant accelerated species. However, in the mid‐1980s, George Simnett expressed the seemingly heretical view that protons may dominate. While Simnett's suggestion has been either ignored, or strongly criticized, a recent observation of Ramaty et al. [1995] may indicate that significant energy resides in accelerated protons.
[Comment on “The case for protons powering solar flares”] The case for electron dominance in solar flare energy transport
Authors: Emslie A. Gordon
Published: October 2006

“Facts are stubborn things,” A. R. Lesage (1668–1747), once said. The accompanying article claims that “the crux of the argument is one of global energetics,” in other words that the existence of an energy content in protons comparable to that in electrons is enough to uproot the time‐honored notion that electrons are the principal mediator of energy transport during solar flares. However, simply having a large enough reservoir of energy in high‐energy particles is not sufficient; one must also make sure that this energy is distributed amongst the high‐energy particles in a manner that accounts for the intense hard X ray bursts that are such a ubiquitous signature of the impulsive phase of flares. Further, the energy must be deposited at the right place to account for a host of other observable signatures, such as the dramatic increase in the amount of 107K plasma that characterizes the main phase of the flare. Only deka‐keV electrons and ˜MeV protons satisfy the energy deposition requirements and, while such electrons naturally account for the impulsive‐phase hard X ray burst, MeV protons do not.
1996 AGU Fellows
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

AGU congratulates the thirty‐two distinguished scientists who were selected by a committee of their peers to be AGU Fellows in 1996. This selection was based on the individuals' attainment of acknowledged eminence in a branch of geophysics.

The number of Fellows selected annually is limited to no more than 0.1% of the AGU membership. The new Fellows are listed below along with citations recognizing their specific achievements.
Council establishes new medal, approves bylaw changes
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

At its May 22,1996, meeting, the AGU Council established a medal for outstanding contributions to the understanding of the Earth's mantle and core. This medal honors Inge Lehmann, the discoverer of the inner core and the only woman (to date) to be awarded AGU's Bowie Medal. The Lehmann Medal may not be awarded more often than biennially. The awarding of the Bucher Medal and the Lehmann Medal is expected to alternate. The Council also approved an award for Excellence in Geophysical Education. Members will be invited to submit nominees for each of these new honors.
Degrees of understanding
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

America's most famous journalism school has teamed up with the Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory to try to improve science communication. This fall, Columbia University combined two of its greatest assets—Lamont‐Doherty and the Columbia School of Journalism—to offer a joint degree program for would‐be writers to specialize in Earth and environmental science.

“Science journalists are translators between those with the knowledge and those with the need to know,” said Kenneth Goldstein, a professor of journalism at Columbia. “The new Earth and environmental sciences journalism program seeks to produce students who are fluently bilingual in the language of Earth science and the language of public debate.”
Comment on “Rain dance”
Authors: Orville Harold D.
Published: October 2006

A recent news brief about cloud seeding work being conducted in Cohuila, Mexico, (“Rain Dance,” Eos, July 23, 1996) contained unfounded, off‐hand remarks that are a disservice to many scientists and professionals in the cloud physics and weather modification community. The news brief stated that “most previous attempts to catalyze rainfall by cloud seeding have produced inconclusive results, and almost none of the experiments have had a sound scientific basis.” The inconclusive results are primarily statistical; many outstanding scientific results have developed from the 50‐year history of research into weather modification.

Also, most of the work that I know about has proceeded on the scientific basis that was developed over the years by the scientific and operational communities, and it is improving with time. It is grossly inaccurate to say that almost none of the experiments have had a sound scientific basis. Improvements in technology are strengthening that scientific basis, and current physical and numerical studies being conducted in many places are improving understanding. (See reviews of the status of weather modification from the American Meteorological Society [1992] and the World Meteorological Organization [1992].)
New methods make volcanology research less hazardous
Authors: Francis Peter , Maciejewski Adam , Oppenheimer Clive , Chaffin Charles
Published: October 2006

Volcanic gases are important to the scientific community for many reasons: the Earth's secondary atmosphere originated through volcanic degassing, and volcanic gases still play a crucial role in the Earth system. Occasional massive eruptions pump such large quantities of acid gas into the stratosphere that the resulting aerosols modify global climate for months or years. Also, volcanic gases escaping from magma bodies act as “messengers” that warn of impending eruptions and convey insight into magma chamber processes.

Volcanologists are interested in both the fluxes and the compositions of exhaled gases, but collecting in situ measurements on active volcanoes is hazardous. Several volcanologists were killed by an unexpected eruption of Galeras volcano in Colombia in January 1993, including our colleague Geoff Brown. This tragedy emphasized the need for remote methods for studying volcanoes. Two approaches are being explored: satellite remote sensing and ground‐based techniques.
JGR—Planets should be ended
Authors: Herrick Robert R.
Published: October 2006

The November 28, 1995, issue of Eos featured a half‐page editorial titled “JGR—Planets Thriving” by the current editor of JGR—Planets, Bruce Jakosky, extolling the virtues of that journal. As a Planetology Section member without a vested interest in the journal, I think there are some key questions that need to be asked with regard to JGR—Planets' continued existence.
Hunger strike for science
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

Lamenting the degenerating working conditions for scientists in Russia, geophysicist Vladimir Strakhov and physicist Igor Naumenko‐Bondarenko of the United Institute of Physics of the Earth (UIPE) at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) have begun a hunger strike. Strakhov is General Director of UIPE, and Naumenko‐Bondarenko is chairman of the Trade Union Committee of UIPE.

In a press statement released on September 30 in Moscow, the geophysicists stated that they are striking to “protest the policy of the Government of the Russian Federation with regard to Russian science in general and to the Russian Academy of Sciences in particular.” They blame governmental neglect and, specifically, “the non‐payment of funds that were in the 1996 budget” for the “virtual collapse of Russian science.”
Magnetic storm investigated as chain of processes from Sun to Earth
Authors: Gonzalez W. D. , Kamide Y. , Tsurutani B. T.
Published: October 2006

Exciting new data returned by the Yohkoh and Ulysses spacecraft on the dynamics of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and how they propagate in the interplanetary medium are just a few of the developments in magnetic storm research discussed in February at a Chapman Conference in Pasadena, Calif. In spite of the importance of magnetic storms to the solar‐terrestrial relationship, this was, surprisingly, the first large‐scale international conference ever held on this topic. More than 100 scientists from 20 countries attended. A press conference was held to alert the public of the most important developments in magnetic storm research.

Although the purpose of the conference was to present the diverse phenomena associated with magnetic storms within the magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere, some preliminary approaches for unified research in these domains were also presented, signaling the emergence of an exciting area of research in the field of solar‐terrestrial relations. Current efforts to forecast magnetic storms and their main ground effects were also discussed.
Policy offers protection from harassment
Authors: McNutt Marcia
Published: October 2006

We face a number of legal and ethical issues in our work as scientists and as AGU members. To uphold the highest ethical standards in our professional activities, the Council has adopted policies on free access to published material, ethics in publishing, and misconduct in science. But what about guidelines to govern the personal behavior that constitutes harassment, sexual or otherwise?

For years the AGU headquarters staff has had a policy that offers protection from harassment and rules for dealing with it, but the membership went without one until 1994. That year the Council adopted a policy that extends to the membership as well as to the staff and the vendors they encounter at meetings. The law only requires a policy to prevent harassment in the workplace, but the Council felt that a harassment policy was particularly important for members because the subtle behavior that can constitute harassment is most likely to occur at events that combine work and social interaction, such as the meetings, conferences, and training seminars that AGU members attend.
Will a continuous GPS array for L.A. help earthquake hazard assessment?
Authors: Prescott William H.
Published: October 2006

The striking landscapes and hospitable climate of Southern California are home to more than 20 million people and vital elements of the nation's economy. Unfortunately, the region is also laced with many active faults that can produce strong earthquakes. Scientists from several institutions are pursuing a new approach to studying earthquake hazards in a high‐risk metropolitan area.

The Southern California Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN) is currently an array of about 40 Global Positioning System (GPS) stations distributed throughout the greater Los Angeles metropolitan region. There have been informal discussions about expanding the array to 250 stations, and formal proposals have been submitted to begin this expansion. To achieve high precision, the sites will be carefully monumented, and all the GPS receivers will operate continuously. The goals of the array are to provide an accurate and detailed velocity field from which to identify the deformation from known faults, test current models of the geologic structure, and make better estimates of the seismic potential in the populous parts of southern California.
Troitskaya honored for crucial role in ULF wave research
Authors: Kivelson Margaret G. , Southwood David J.
Published: October 2006

At the 1996 Spring Meeting in Baltimore, a special session was held to honor Valeria Troitskaya, who virtually invented the field of study of ultralow frequency (ULF) waves. The session drew an international audience of scientists who reported on progress in this field. As Troitskaya had worked on many aspects of ULF waves, it was not surprising that most of the speakers addressed their remarks directly to her, commenting on how she had influenced their careers and their work. Throughout the session, a mixture of admiration for significant research contributions and affection for an exceptional human being were expressed.
No: The L.A. array is not ready for prime time
Authors: Savage J. C.
Published: October 2006

Although much interest will focus upon the temporal behavior of observed deformation, the principal justification for the SCIGN array is that within a 5‐year interval it will provide an accurate and detailed determination of the velocity field in the Los Angeles basin that can be used to identify the active faults and estimate their secular slip rates. Obviously, the accuracy of the measurements will determine the success of the SCIGN array in reaching its objective. Over the past several years, Duncan Agnew, Hadley Johnson, and Frank Wyatt have developed arguments that quantify the accuracy likely to be obtained in the measurements and the accuracy that will be required to resolve slip rates on individual faults. In view of those arguments I do not believe that the SCIGN strategy can accomplish its objective. Instead, a mix of annual and continuous GPS surveys may be a more cost‐effective way to accomplish what actually can be achieved.
“Concrete” Testimony to Milankovitch Cycle in Earth's changing obliquity
Authors: Fong Chao Benjamin
Published: October 2006

The present‐day obliquity of the ecliptic of the Earth is ϵ = 23°26′ 22″ and is decreasing by about 0″.5 a year. This article reports a “concrete” terrestrial testimony to this time variation, which plays a major part in the Milankovitch cycles.

The obliquity is the angle between the equatorial plane, which is determined by Earth's rotation, and the ecliptic plane, defined as Earth's orbital plane around the Sun. It gives rise to the seasons; the two parallels of latitudee, the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere, mark the limits of highest latitudes that the subsolar point reaches at solstices each year.
Panels developing position statements
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Two AGU advocacy panels—one focusing on natural hazards and one on data issues—are working to develop and recommend position statements for adoption by the Union's Council. Operating under the Union's advocacy guidelines, the finished statements will be forwarded to the Council for comment and then a vote. Concurrence of two‐thirds is required for adoption.

The Union adopts positions of advocacy on geophysical science issues based on their intrinsic merits and needs. As a scientific society, AGU does not take or advocate public positions on issues extending beyond the range of available geophysical data or recognized norms of legitimate scientific debate. Public positions adopted by AGU and statements on its behalf must be based on sound scientific issues and must reflect the interests of the Union as a whole.
NRC disposed to site
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

A committee of the National Research Council (NRC) has found the risk of human exposure to radiation from nuclear waste to be minimal at a proposed underground disposal site. In a report on the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico, the NRC committee asserted that the danger of radioactive exposure at the site is unlikely to exceed U.S. and international standards for protection from radiation. Unless the site is breached by humans—most likely those drilling for gas or oil—there is no credible or probable chance of the release of the radioactive waste, the committee said.
Geoscientists unite to develop Earth Reference Model
Authors: McDonough William , Albarede Francis , Staudigel Hubert , White Bill
Published: October 2006

Seventy Earth scientists from Europe, North America, and Australia gathered in Lyon, France, from March 28 to 30, 1996, to make plans for developing an Earth reference model for geochemical budgets and fluxes between different reservoirs in the Earth. The Geochemical Earth Reference Model (GERM) Workshop brought together a diversity of geochemists working on Earth systems, from core to atmosphere. Sessions began with keynote speeches that covered a range of issues related to characterizing various reservoirs and a statement of what we know about element budgets and fluxes. Following the speakers, there were general discussions of issues and brief presentations by other participants. Topics ranged from the deep mantle to mid‐ocean‐ridge budgets to the cycle of carbon and other volatile components.
Mile wide, inch deep?
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

Compared to their counterparts in other nations, American grade school students learn a lot less about a lot more. According to a new report entitled A Splintered Vision: An Investigation of U.S. Science and Mathematics Education, a student in the United States is expected to absorb information about a wide array of topics in a school year, yet he or she is seldom given the opportunity to explore any one topic in depth. The report was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a five‐year project to compare teaching and student achievement in 45 countries.

Before they reach high school, American students will have covered more topics than 75% of the students in other countries; yet in many cases, they will have been taught some of the same topics several years in a row. Researchers also criticized conventional U.S. education standards for being unfocused and aimed at the lowest common denominator. They noted that most American textbooks make minimal demands on students and they represent “a limited notion” of what should be discussed in “basic” texts.
Space shuttle views changing carbon monoxide in lower atmosphere
Authors: Connors Vickie S. , Novelli Paul C. , Reichle Henry G.
Published: October 2006

During April and October 1994, the Space Shuttle Endeavor flew missions expressly to study Earth's surface and atmosphere. Among the instruments aboard the shuttle was the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites (MAPS) Experiment, which measured carbon monoxide in the middle troposphere. While the spacecraft was in orbit, the flight crews photographed the planet with a variety of cameras and films. Concurrent aircraft and ground‐based measurements of CO were made at a number of locations between northern Alaska and the edge of the Antarctic continent.

The combination of the middle tropospheric CO from MAPS and measurements made from the ground and from aircraft provide a unique picture of carbon monoxide in the lower atmosphere. Never before has such extensive knowledge of the CO distribution been obtained.
Russell W. Raitt (1907–1995)
Authors: Fisher Robert L
Published: October 2006

Russell Watson Raitt, pioneering marine field geophysicist, AGU Fellow, and emeritus professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, died March 6, 1995, in La Jolla, Calif., where he had lived for more than 50 years. His passing at age 87 closed a life of scholarship, innovation, and accomplishment that produced much of the observational foundation upon which the field that became plate tectonics is based.

Raitt was born September 30, 1907, in Philadelphia, Pa., the son of a Presbyterian minister. He moved to southern California in 1921 and graduated from South Pasadena High School. In 1925 he entered the nearby California Institute of Technology, from which he graduated with a B.S. in physics in 1929.
Seismological network in China celebrates first 10 years
Authors: Chen Y. T. , Zhou G. W. , Wu Z. L.
Published: October 2006

Located near the boundary of the India, Pacific, and Eurasia plates, the Chinese continent is characterized by complex tectonics and high seismicity. Since the Sino‐U.S. cooperative China Digital Seismograph Network (CDSN) began operating 10 years ago, it has played an active role in studying the seismology of China.

Studies of the lithospheric structure and earthquake sources using digital seismic data are highly important in the study of geodynamics and the reduction of seismic disasters. Using the CDSN data, extensive studies were carried out by seismologists both in China and abroad. The studies investigated the lithospheric structure, seismic anisotropy within the upper mantle, and inversion of regional centroid moment tensors (RCMTs) of moderate to strong earthquakes. Earthquake sources were imaged based on broadband digital waveform analysis. As a result, over 100 papers have been published in China and abroad since 1990.
Bump in road to red planet: Mars 96 fails
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

Just five hours after launch, the Russian space agency's Mars 96 spacecraft plunged through Earth's atmosphere and into the Pacific Ocean. The craft had been scheduled to reach Mars in September 1997, within a day or two of the arrival of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor.