bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

John W . Harshbarger, founder of the University of Arizona's Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, died October 10, 1991, at age 77. He joined AGU (Hydrology) in 1960.

Harshbarger was regarded as one of Arizona's and the nation's leading experts in the field of water resources. He provided guidance and leadership in the development of water supplies nationally and internationally during a career that spanned nearly 5 decades. At the University of Arizona, Harshbarger served as head of the geology department from 1961 to 1966 and as head of the hydrology department from 1966 to 1967. During his tenure, Harshbarger, with assistance from the U.S. Geological Survey, organized the first academic program in the United States to combine teaching and research in all aspects of hydrology. Under Harshbarger's direction, the hydrology department achieved a national and international reputation for excellence.
Reply [to “Comment on ‘GEWEX: The Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment”] Global water balance uncertainty
Authors: Chahine Moustafa T.
Published: September 2022

The accuracy of the hydrological cycle stated in the article is derived from the accuracy of its components. Globally, precipitation is poorly measured because of its high temporal and spatial variability. Simpson [1989] states “Most of the rain in the tropic falls in regions that are relatively inaccessible to in situ measurements. The quantitative distribution over the tropical oceans is uncertain to a multiplicative factor of about two to three.” In addition, our knowledge of global evaporation is also deficient. Soil moisture, plant evapotranspiration, and the fluxes of moisture from both the oceans and land are very difficult to measure and, on a global scale, are just as poorly known as precipitation. While atmospheric water vapor can be measured globally from space, its accuracy, according to Barnett et al. [1991], is known only to about 10–20% over the geographical oceans and 20–30% over land.
Francis Birch 1903–1992
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Francis Birch, professor emeritus of geology at Harvard University and recipient of AGU's Bowie Medal in 1960, died on January 31 in Cambridge, Mass.

Birch also received the National Medal of Science in 1968 for his work in chemical composition and heat flow characteristics of the inner Earth.
Comment on [“The Greenhouse Debate: Time for action?”] The Greenhouse Debate
Authors: Harvey L. D. Danny
Published: September 2022

The recent exchange between Risbey et al. [1991a, b] and Schlesinger and Jiang [1991b, c] over whether or not our current scientific understanding of climate is sufficient to justify actions limiting greenhouse gas emissions is most welcome. This exchange was prompted by an earlier paper by Schlesinger and Jiang [1991a]. I would like to add the following comments to the debate:
Honors
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

The latest funding ceiling for NASA's Earth Observing System, $8 billion through the year 2000, was set by a Senate panel on July 31. This is $3 billion less than last year's cap, and half of last year's proposal. Such repeated prunings raise the question of how long the program can keep absorbing cuts and remain viable. Could EOS be, as one observer put it, a 1980s project in a 1990s budget climate?
Honors
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

What do we know about granites? That was, in essence, the unifying thread of the 2nd Hutton Symposium on Granites and Related Rocks (or “Hutton Down Under”), held in Canberra, Australia, September 23–28, 1991. Questions considered, and often hotly debated, included how are granitic plutons emplaced?, what is the mechanism of differentiation?, is the mantle a possible source for granitic magmas?, and how closely do granite compositions reflect sources compositions, or are there important anatectic or differentiation modifications?
Recent Ph.D.s
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

What do we know about granites? That was, in essence, the unifying thread of the 2nd Hutton Symposium on Granites and Related Rocks (or “Hutton Down Under”), held in Canberra, Australia, September 23–28, 1991. Questions considered, and often hotly debated, included how are granitic plutons emplaced?, what is the mechanism of differentiation?, is the mantle a possible source for granitic magmas?, and how closely do granite compositions reflect sources compositions, or are there important anatectic or differentiation modifications?
Eclipse Photo Captures Solar Magic Act
Authors: White Oran , Hundhausen Art
Published: September 2022

Of all visual solar effects, the sudden—even mystical—appearance and disappearance of the white light corona at eclipse is the most striking. On November 3, 1994, the High Altitude Observatory eclipse expedition to Putre, Chile, obtained this photograph showing the form of the solar corona late in Solar Cycle 22. This image adds to the long series of drawings and photographs made by many past observers that have recorded the form of the corona at eclipse and thus show coronal variability in the 11‐year solar activity cycle.

Several features in this recent solar image are important to understanding the structure of the corona and its extension through the heliosphere. The striking appearance of bright “streamers” separating dark “polar holes” is characteristic of the corona late in a solar cycle. The very long streamer on the SW limb is a cross section of a much larger coronal arcade covering 270° in solar longitude. The long tip of this streamer was visible to the naked eye out to 3 solar radii. This long structure is the cross section of a current sheet separating solar wind flows along field lines of opposite polarity. In addition, the polar plumes at the Sun's south pole show a structure that requires the polar fields to be ‘patchy’ and not uniformly distributed in the polar coronal hole. Both the streamers and the plumes clearly show the departure of coronal structures from a radial orientation. These observations have important implications for the Ulysses mission because the spacecraft was 3 AU behind the southern solar pole and in the polar solar wind at the time of the eclipse.
Pairing of radar instruments on satellites could provide optimal mapping of sea surface winds
Authors: Wu Jin
Published: September 2022

Scientists pairing two radar instruments with different sensitivities to ripples on the ocean surface may be able to measure the entire range of sea surface wind speeds—vital parameters that affect climate and the ocean environment.

Ocean ripples detected via remote radar sensing are effective tracers of sea surface wind velocity [Woiceshyn et al., 1986; Wu, 1990b]. The scatterometer, which detects the scattering of radar waves by ripples on the sea surface, is deployed on Earth‐orbiting satellites to map wind velocities over the world' oceans. The scatterometer/wind anemometry relationship has been derived from data collected mainly under intermediate wind velocities.
Geosat follow‐on satellite to supply ocean sciences data
Authors: Barry Robert , Finkelstein Jay , Kilgus Charles , Mooers C. N. K. , Needham Bruce , Crawford Mike
Published: September 2022

After successfully completing a critical design review for its Geosat Follow‐On (GFO) radar altimeter satellite, the Navy is giving the green light for an early 1996 launch. GFO is a small (347 kg) highly capable satellite that capitalizes on both Geosat and TOPEX experience. GFO will fly in the exact orbit of Geosat, delivering real‐time data directly to ships at sea and making global observations for shore‐based ocean prediction and scientific research. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will distribute GFO data to the ocean science community.
Asteroid/comet mega‐impacts may have triggered major episodes of crustal evolution
Authors: Glikson Andrew Y.
Published: September 2022

A view of Earth from space reveals a tranquil planet, distinct from the crater‐scarred Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the Galilean satellites. This impression is consistent with models of continuous crustal evolution caused exclusively by endogenic mantle convection and plate tectonics manifested by ocean ridge spreading and arc‐trench subduction. However, the purely endogenic paradigm does not account for the tectonic and thermal effects of the large‐scale extraterrestrial impacts that postdated the late heavy bombardment ˜3.9 Gyr.

Precambrian models that hinge exclusively on mantle dynamics ignore the predicted effects of extraterrestrial impacts and cannot explain the episodicity of major igneous/rifting events. There may be a connection between mega‐impacts and Precambrian rifts, onset of mobile belts, accelerated plate movements indicated by paleomagnetic data, and related igneous activity. Such connections may be consistent with suggested triggering of Phanerozoic volcanic activity by mega‐impacts, that is, possible correlations between the Deccan Traps and the K/T boundary Chicxulub crater.
Hurricane vane
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

The 1995 hurricane season in the Atlantic is likely to be near average, according to William M. Gray of Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Gray forecasts about 6 hurricanes, 10 named storms, 50 named storm days, 25 hurricane days, 2 intense hurricanes, 5 intense hurricane days, and a hurricane destruction potential of 75, which is a measure of a hurricane's potential for wind and storm surge destruction. The 1995 season should be more active that the four previous hurricane seasons, says Gray who presented his findings at the 17th Annual National Hurricane Conference in Atlantic City, N.J. However, Gray downgraded his expectations for a very active Atlantic tropical storm season because of new data on anomalous Atlantic sea surface temperatures and Caribbean sea level pressures.
Fertilized water
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Following the most extensive study of nutrients in the nation's water resources, the U.S. Geological Survey finds that the drinking water standard for nitrate, a nutrient commonly derived from fertilizer, was exceeded in 21% of shallow wells in agricultural areas. The standard was exceeded in only 1% of public supply wells and in very few streams.

The study indicates that nitrate levels in ground and surface waters are higher in agricultural areas, indicating patterns of contamination related to land use. The highest concentrations of nitrate were in shallow ground water, less than 100 feet below the surface. Concentrations were higher in parts of the Northeast, Midwest, and on the West Coast, with generally lower concentrations in the Southeast.
S&E immigration
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Despite an overall decline in immigration to the United States in 1993, the number of scientists and engineers (S&Es) entering the country continued to rise, with women representing 21.3% of the total admitted with permanent resident status. According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 23,534 S&Es were admitted to the United States on permanent visas in 1993, 3.1% more than in 1992. Of that total, 5,020 were women. S&Es made up 2.6% of the total U.S. immigration in 1993. The slight 1993 increase followed a large jump in 1992 of 62% over the previous year.
Science studies up
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Compared with 1982, high school students in the United States are taking more basic and advanced science courses and the level of science achievement has increased, according to “The Condition of Education, 1995,” the annual report of the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. The 518‐page document reports on educational trends since the publication of, “A Nation at Risk,” the 1982 report on the status of education in America. The 1995 report states that over the last 12 years, high school graduates have begun taking more courses over all, particularly academic courses. More students are taking algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus as well as advanced science courses, including chemistry and physics. The proportion of students completing the recommended core courses has increased, as has the percentage of students taking Advanced Placement courses.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Herbert S. Bridge died recently at age 76. He was a fellow supporting member (Space Physics and Aeronomy—Solar and Heliospheric Physics), having joined in 1963.

J. Ernest Flack died recently at age 66. He was a retired life member (Hydrology), having joined AGU in 1958.
NASA's new millenium
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

The first of 3 deep‐space missions to be flown by the year 2000 under the New Millennium technology validation effort will feature a 1998 launch of a small spacecraft destined for a flyby of an asteroid and a comet.

The proposed 200‐pound spacecraft will demonstrate a variety of advanced technologies that will help enable deep‐space and Earth‐orbiting missions envisioned for flight early in the next century. The spacecraft will be the first to rely on solar electric propulsion rather than conventional solid or liquid propellant‐based systems.
Earth info
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

To provide more information on water and Earth resources and hazards at the state level, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is publishing a series of fact sheets for each state. These sheets summarize key USGS investigations and assess resources and hazards and suggest sources for additional information. For each state, the sheets identify specific studies on a wide range of topics, including earthquakes, floods, and other geologic hazards. USGS also has sheets available on specific topics.
Incredible shrinking research dollar
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

The U.S. Congress is using an ax; the private sector is using scissors. Either way, the U.S. research dollar is being pruned, according to a report from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Though U.S. spending on R&D is expected to top $171 billion in 1995—$2 billion more than in 1994—the total represents a 2% drop when weighed against inflation. R&D will account for 2.4% of the U.S. gross domestic product in 1995, down from 2.5% last year and 2.8% in 1991.
Solar wind travel time
Authors: Russell C. T.
Published: September 2022

A useful rule of thumb in solar terrestrial studies is that the solar wind travels 4 Earth radii (RE) per minute. Long‐term studies of solar wind velocity [e.g., Luhmann et al., 1993; 1994] show that the median velocity is about 420 km/s, corresponding to 3.96 RE min−1. The quartiles are about 370 km/s and 495 km/s, corresponding to 3.48 Re min−1 and 4.66 Re min‐1 respectively. This number helps estimate the delays expected when observing a discontinuity at a solar wind monitor; one example is ISEE‐3 when it was at the forward libration point (about 60 min). It is also helpful for estimating how much time passes before the dayside magnetosphere is compressed as denser solar wind flows by (about 2.5 min).
Paying off?
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Americans who study science and engineering in college are very likely to put their major to use in the job market, according to the National Science Foundation's National Survey of College Graduates conducted in 1993. More than 70% of all students who have an undergraduate science degree eventually work in a science‐related job; 28.6% work in the discipline they studied. Among those who earn advanced degrees, roughly 68% hold jobs in science and engineering, 59.3% in their field of study.

Whether they end up in science or not, college graduates with science degrees earn more than their counterparts in other fields. Graduates of science programs take home 17.6% more pay than other bachelor's degree recipients, and 6.1% more than other graduates with advanced degrees.
Filling in the holes
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Remove the CFCs from the atmosphere and you could regenerate the ozone layer in less than a year, according to a Stanford University civil engineer. Using a computer model that accounts for gas and aerosol chemistry, radiation and pollution, and general atmospheric circulation, Mark Jacobson has postulated that if all halogenated, ozone‐depleting compounds were removed from the stratosphere, atmospheric ozone would return to normal levels within 9 months.

To arrive at the rate of regeneration of ozone, Jacobson removed all chlorine compounds and ozone from his model stratosphere, then allowed the program to simulate the processes by which the atmosphere would regenerate ozone naturally. In this extreme model, ozone concentrations rose from 1 DU to 150 DU within 10 days, and up to 200 DU within 27 days.
Golden dish
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico was both shaken and stirred this year, but not by an earthquake or a tropical storm. The world's largest curved radio telescope—which is operated by Cornell University and the National Science Foundation—makes a stellar appearance in the climax of Goldeneye, the latest film in the James Bond series. At 300 m in diameter, 8 hectares (20 acres) in area, and 51 m in depth from lip to trough, the giant radio astronomy dish looms large in the film as a satellite antenna that will be used to cause an electromagnetic pulse over London.

During shooting of the film, actors raced along the antenna's 129 m‐long, 545‐metric ton bridge, which is suspended by 12 cables hanging from reinforced concrete towers.
La Ni˜na Summit
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

Billed as the world's first summit meeting on La Niña, a July 15–17 conference in Boulder, Colo, will examine what is known about this weather anomaly, and its societal and environmental impacts.

La Niña, a cooling of the normal sea‐surface temperatures across the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, often follows on the heels of El Niño. Previous La Niña incidences have been connected to the 1988 drought in the United States' Midwest and to an increased hurricane threat in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
The sprawl crawl
Authors: Showstrack Randy
Published: September 2022

In West Palm Beach, Florida, and in the smaller, neighboring communities to the north and south, the old landscape is quickly disappearing as developers clear the remaining orange groves and gardens for shopping malls and gated communities.

Between 1990 and 1996, the population of metropolitan West Palm Beach increased more than 30% and the urban area expanded by 75%. While the density of population actually dropped by about 25%, the metro area sprawled out into the surrounding open space.
Searching for life out there
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

The University of Washington is about to become the first institution anywhere to offer a doctoral program to search for life outside of the Earth.

An astrobiology program, financed by the National Science Foundation and the university, will recruit about a dozen students to participate in a highly interdisciplinary curriculum beginning in the fall of 1999 that involves 11 degree programs, including astronomy, oceanography, microbiology, and geophysics.
Taking the ocean pledge
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is sponsoring an “ocean ambassadors pledge campaign” to encourage students and others to make a personal, long‐term commitment to caring for the world's oceans.

The pledge campaign, which is part of NOAA's public awareness efforts for the International Year of the Ocean, calls for people to learn what they can about oceans, be considerate to ocean wildlife, conserve water, and implement other simple measures.
Geophysicists
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

The potential for using sclerosponges, marine organisms that secrete a hard calcerous skeleton, as paleoclimatic indicators has attracted the interest of a number of scientists. Sclerosponges are composed mainly of calcium carbonate and they are very long lived. Variations in their skeletal chemistry contain proxy information regarding their environment and that information has the potential to augment, if not supplant, data from scleractinian corals in interpreting past water temperature, salinity, and productivity over periods of 100s to 1000s of years.

Sclerosponges, or calcified demosponges, contain aragonite or calcite and a small amount of siliceous material. Lang et al. [1975] report that these sponges grow within a reef framework, under coral talus in the shallower parts of a reef less than 55 m deep and on steep surfaces of the fore‐reef between 55 and 145 m deep. The largest and most conspicuous of the sclerosponges described by those authors is Ceratoporella nicholsoni (Figure 1), which is reported to attain a diameter in excess of 1 m. These sponges are similar in growth habit to many massive vanities of scleractinian corals, the live sponge inhabiting the upper portion of the skeleton, while the lower portion of the skeleton is essentially dead.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Alvin Seiff died on December 16,2000, at age 78. He had been a member (Atmospheric Sciences) since 1976.
Permeable marine sediments: Overturning an old paradigm
Authors: Boudreau Bernard P. , Huettel Markus , Forster Stefan , Jahnke Richard A. , McLachlan Anton , Middelburg Jack J. , Nielsen Peter , Sansone Frank , Taghon Gary , Van Raaphorst Wim , Webster Ian , Weslawski Jan Marcin , Wiberg Pat , Sundby Bjorn
Published: September 2022

Sandy sediments, which cover about 70% of continental shelves and most beaches, are often thought of as geochemical deserts that harbor no life because they are usually poor in organic matter and other reactive substances. Based on the belief that significant reactions and fluxes and a dynamic ecology require large standing stocks of reactants and organic matter, sandy sediments are neglected.
After two major earthquakes, El Salvador fears more landslides, aftershocks
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

“I was in my house and going to a meeting when the earthquake struck,” said Francisco Flores, about the magnitude 7.6 tremor that shook El Salvador on January 13.

“At first, I was looking for my wife, and the windows started shaking, started making noise. All of a sudden, it became stronger and stronger, and all the windows started popping and breaking. We started running. My wife went to try and find my daughter, and I went to try and find my son.
Symposium on magnetosheath studies honors John Spreiter
Authors: Kaymaz Zerefsan , Nemecek Zdenek
Published: September 2022

Magnetosheaths are intrinsically interesting. Often turbulent and highly structured, they host an enormous variety of phenomena and processes. Our own magnetosheath plays a crucial role in modulating the flow of solar wind mass, energy, and momentum into the Earth's magnetosphere. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of it will be essential to forecasting space weather. Given the nearly bewildering variety of phenomena that occur within magnetosheaths and the wide variety of mechanisms that have been proposed to account for these phenomena, attaining that understanding will not be easy.
Veitzer awarded first nonlinear geophysics research award
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

The first Student Research Award of the AGU Technical Committee on Nonlinear Geophysics was presented to Seth Veitzer of the University of Colorado on December 18, at a ceremony during the 2000 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California. The Student Research Award is given in recognition of significant advances made in a field of research associated with geocomplexity and nonlinear geophysics. It is awarded to a scientist who has earned his or her Ph.D. prior to July 1 of the year in which the award is presented. The awardee must also have published a paper describing the work that is the subject of the award in the peer‐reviewed literature.
New U.S. global change research institute opens
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

Gerald Stokes, director of the new Joint Global Change Research Institute based at the University of Maryland, called it an “auspicious time” to start a new institute to focus on global climate change issues.

Stokes, speaking at a March 12 event to formally open the institute, cited three recent reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the upcoming continuation on global negotiations concerning greenhouse gases, and the ongoing debate about the issue.
Bush reversal of CO2 pledge draws heated reaction
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

Chairing a march 14 hearing of the House of Representatives Science Committee on the science of global warning, U.S. congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R‐N.Y.) commented on President George W. Bush's reversal the previouse day of a campaign pldege to regulate carbon dioxide from electric power generating plants.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Arnold Boris Arons died on February 28, 2001, at age 84. He had been an AGU member (Ocean Sciences) since 1950.

Donald Bower died at age 73. He was a retired life member (Geodesy) who joined AGU in 1966.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Melvin Calvin died at age 90. He was a retired life member and AGU Fellow (Volcanology Geochemistry, Petrology) who joined in 1961.

Jack R. Chitwood died on January 25, 2001, at age 74. He had been an AGU member (Hydrology) since 1972.
The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation
Authors: Briggs Derek E. G.
Published: September 2022

The Cambrian radiation is one of the most exciting and controversial events in the fossil record. It was marked by a sudden abundance of shells, the first steep rise in plots of diversity through time, and the appearance of the fabulous soft‐bodied fossils of the Burgess Shale in British Columbia and elsewhere in the world. The Cambrian radiation was also the subject of Steve Gould's Wonderful Life and Simon Conway Morris's Crucible of Creation.. The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation is a long‐awaited compilation that tackles one of the more impenetrable parts of the story. Interpretations of ecology are, after all, characteristically equivocal in rocks of this age.
U.N. launches global ecosystem assessment
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

One might be excused for thinking that a new Millennium Ecosystem Assessment to map the environmental health of the planet, and provide what is being called “the first comprehensive report card on the global environment,” might be a tad ambitious. “You bet” it's ambitious, said Angela Cropper at the launching of the Millennium Assessment (MA) at the United Nations in New York on June 5.
2000 Editors' Citations for Excellence in Refereeing
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

These reviewers have been cited by Editors of AGU journals for excellence in refereeing. The Editors' citation recognizes this special service to the Union, and the individuals listed are to be commended for consistently providing constructive and thoughtful reviews. They were recognized at the 2001 Spring Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
A Different Approach to Cosmology: From a Static Universe Through the Big Bang Towards Reality
Authors: Southwood David
Published: September 2022

Ask a typical present‐day astrophysicist about Fred Hoyle and a knowing look comes into their eye. Eyebrows are raised and a patronizing remark follows. Hoyle is on the outside, a voice in the wilderness, someone who has failed to accept the canon of a modern cosmology. Nonetheless, Hoyle is a bright man. He caught the public imagination forty years ago and I guess is still a known figure in England.
AGU/AGI Showcase ODP on Capitol Hill
Authors: Folger Peter
Published: September 2022

On Wednesday, June 13, lawmakers and their staffs jammed a Capitol Hill exhibit of research programs supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Sponsored by the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), the exhibit is intended to demonstrate to members of Congress—who often wonder where the money they appropriate goes—the exciting research programs funded by NSF and their results.

AGU joined with the American Geological Institute (AGI) in sponsoring an exhibit highlighting the Ocean Drilling Project (ODP). Frank Rack and Brecht Donoghue of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI) explained to interested legislators and congressional staff members that ODP is an international partnership of scientists and research institutions.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Lloyd Cox died at age 72. He had been an AGU member (Hydrology) since 1974.

Maureen D. Keller died on November 17, 1999, at age 45. She had been an AGU member since 1998.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Henri Baderdied in December 1998, at age 91. He had been a retired life member (Hydrology) who joined AGU in 1946.

Loren W. Crow died this year, at age 85. He had been an AGU member (Atmospheric Sciences) since 1952.
Sky's the limit for summer atmospheric research students
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

It came down to the wire for Zachary Kemp, a 2001 graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, who begins graduate studies in applied mathematics at Texas Tech University in Lubbock this fall.

Kemp finished writing a new Fortran 77 computer program to help relate the speed of tropical cyclones and their associated rainfall just a few nights before his July 26 research presentation, as part of the Goddard/Howard Fellowship in Atmospheric Sciences, or GoHFAS, 2001 research colloquium showcase.
[Comment on “At least Noah had some warning”] To the Editor:
Authors: Semken Steven
Published: September 2022

I greatly appreciated the article on El Chichón by Wendell Duffield in the July 10 issue of Eos. It made an important point about the potential value of indigenous knowledge in regional geoscientific studies.
Pursuing parity for women in science
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

Although women studying in and entering scientific fields have made significant strides in both academia and industry over the past several decades, many of these gains toward parity have stalled, according to a new report, “Balancing the Equation: Where Are Women and Girls in Science, Engineering and Technology?”

The report was issued July 17 by the U.S. National Council for Research on Women (NCRW). The council is an alliance of 95 research centers, policy organizations, and educational coalitions.
Eos Editor stint for Geissman
Authors: Grant Shermonta L.
Published: September 2022

John Geissman, professor of Earth and planetary sciences at the University of New Mexico, began his 3‐year term as an Eos editor, with emphasis on geomagnetism and paleomagnetism.

In an interview, Geissman said, “As editor, I will strive to be as proactive as absolutely possible. I have always felt that Eos is a fantastic forum for science information. As soon as it arrives in my mailbox, the contents are skimmed and much of it is read. How better a way to communicate science, of timely interest, to your colleagues than Eos”
Increased fuel standards among broad range of energy options
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

During simpler times, the mention of the word 'cafe' might have primarily conjured up images of sidewalk coffee and tea bars along Paris' Champs‐Elysees. However, with today's concerns about energy needs, CAFE or Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for automobile fuel efficiency is a hot topic.

On August 2, the U.S. House of Representa tives passed an energy bill rejecting a proposal to substantially increase CAFE standards for increasingly popular sport utility vehicles (SUVs). The proposal, which would have required SUVs to increase their current fleet average of 20.5 miles per gallon (mpg) to 27.5 mpg by 2007, to equal the current passenger car fleet requirement, was shelved for a requirement to more modestly raise mpgs by cutting total SUV gasoline usage by 5 billion gallons over 6 years.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: September 2022

Kerry Kelts died on February 8, 2001, at age 54. He had been an AGU member (Ocean Sciences) since 1982. D. A. Kraijenhoff van de Leur died this year, at age 83. He had been an AGU member (Hydrology) since 1958.
Nominate a great science story for the Sullivan or Perlman award
Authors: Leifert Harvey
Published: September 2022

It is now easier for you to nominate outstanding science journalists for AGU's Sullivan and Perlman Awards. These annual awards recognize outstanding articles or broadcasts that effectively explain new research in the Earth and space sciences to lay audiences through the mass media.
Call for more U.S. renewable energy
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: September 2022

“We must explore ways to better capture the Sun's light, the sky's wind, the land's bounty and the Earth's heat to provide energy security for America's families,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton told attendees at the National Conference on Renewable Energy, held on November 28 in Washington, D.C.

The conference, co‐sponsored by the Interior and Energy departments, focused on the best ways to increase production of renewable energy—wind, solar, and geothermal—on public lands.
Elaiophylin triggers paraptosis and preferentially kills ovarian cancer drug-resistant cells by inducing MAPK hyperactivation
Authors: Li Guan-Nan , Zhao Xue-Jiao , Wang Zhen , Luo Meng-Shi , Shi Shen-Nan , Yan Dan-Mei , Li Hua-Yi , Liu Jia-Hao , Yang Yang , Tan Jia-Hong , Zhang Ze-Yu , Chen Ru-Qi , Lai Hui-Ling , Huang Xiao-Yuan , Zhou Jian-Feng , Ma Ding , Fang Yong , Gao Qing-Lei
Published: September 2022

Finely tuned mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling is important for cancer cell survival. Perturbations that push cells out of the MAPK fitness zone result in cell death. Previously, in a screen of the North China Pharmaceutical Group Corporation’s pure compound library of microbial origin, we identified elaiophylin as an autophagy inhibitor. Here, we demonstrated a new role for elaiophylin in inducing excessive endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, ER-derived cytoplasmic vacuolization, and consequent paraptosis by hyperactivating the MAPK pathway in multiple cancer cells. Genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout library screening identified SHP2, an upstream intermediary of the MAPK pathway, as a critical target in elaiophylin-induced paraptosis. The cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assay further confirmed the direct binding between the SHP2 and elaiophylin. Inhibition of the SHP2/SOS1/MAPK pathway through SHP2 knockdown or pharmacological inhibitors distinctly attenuated elaiophylin-induced paraptosis and autophagy inhibition. Interestingly, elaiophylin markedly increased the already-elevated MAPK levels and preferentially killed drug-resistant cells with enhanced basal MAPK levels. Elaiophylin overcame drug resistance by triggering paraptosis in multiple tumor-bearing mouse models resistant to platinum, taxane, or PARPi, suggesting that elaiophylin might offer a reasonable therapeutic strategy for refractory ovarian cancer.
Identification of suicidality in patients with major depressive disorder via dynamic functional network connectivity signatures and machine learning
Authors: Xu Manxi , Zhang Xiaojing , Li Yanqing , Chen Shengli , Zhang Yingli , Zhou Zhifeng , Lin Shiwei , Dong Tianfa , Hou Gangqiang , Qiu Yingwei
Published: September 2022

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe brain disease associated with a significant risk of suicide. Identification of suicidality is sometimes life-saving for MDD patients. We aimed to explore the use of dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) for suicidality detection in MDD patients. A total of 173 MDD patients, including 48 without suicide risk (NS), 74 with suicide ideation (SI), and 51 having attempted suicide (SA), participated in the present study. Thirty-eight healthy controls were also recruited for comparison. A sliding window approach was used to derive the dFNC, and the K-means clustering method was used to cluster the windowed dFNC. A linear support vector machine was used for classification, and leave-one-out cross-validation was performed for validation. Other machine learning methods were also used for comparison. MDD patients had widespread hypoconnectivity in both the strongly connected states (states 2 and 5) and the weakly connected state (state 4), while the dysfunctional connectivity within the weakly connected state (state 4) was mainly driven by suicidal attempts. Furthermore, dFNC matrices, especially the weakly connected state, could be used to distinguish MDD from healthy controls (area under curve [AUC] = 82), and even to identify suicidality in MDD patients (AUC = 78 for NS vs. SI, AUC = 88 for NS vs. SA, and AUC = 74 for SA vs. SI), with vision-related and default-related inter-network connectivity serving as important features. Thus, the dFNC abnormalities observed in this study might further improve our understanding of the neural substrates of suicidality in MDD patients.
Identifying interpretable gene-biomarker associations with functionally informed kernel-based tests in 190,000 exomes
Authors: Monti Remo , Rautenstrauch Pia , Ghanbari Mahsa , James Alva Rani , Kirchler Matthias , Ohler Uwe , Konigorski Stefan , Lippert Christoph
Published: September 2022

Here we present an exome-wide rare genetic variant association study for 30 blood biomarkers in 191,971 individuals in the UK Biobank. We compare gene-based association tests for separate functional variant categories to increase interpretability and identify 193 significant gene-biomarker associations. Genes associated with biomarkers were ~ 4.5-fold enriched for conferring Mendelian disorders. In addition to performing weighted gene-based variant collapsing tests, we design and apply variant-category-specific kernel-based tests that integrate quantitative functional variant effect predictions for missense variants, splicing and the binding of RNA-binding proteins. For these tests, we present a computationally efficient combination of the likelihood-ratio and score tests that found 36% more associations than the score test alone while also controlling the type-1 error. Kernel-based tests identified 13% more associations than their gene-based collapsing counterparts and had advantages in the presence of gain of function missense variants. We introduce local collapsing by amino acid position for missense variants and use it to interpret associations and identify potential novel gain of function variants inPIEZO1. Our results show the benefits of investigating different functional mechanisms when performing rare-variant association tests, and demonstrate pervasive rare-variant contribution to biomarker variability.
Self-repairing interphase reconstructed in each cycle for highly reversible aqueous zinc batteries
Authors: Zhang Wenyao , Dong Muyao , Jiang Keren , Yang Diling , Tan Xuehai , Zhai Shengli , Feng Renfei , Chen Ning , King Graham , Zhang Hao , Zeng Hongbo , Li Hui , Antonietti Markus , Li Zhi
Published: September 2022

Aqueous zinc (Zn) chemistry features intrinsic safety, but suffers from severe irreversibility, as exemplified by low Coulombic efficiency, sustained water consumption and dendrite growth, which hampers practical applications of rechargeable Zn batteries. Herein, we report a highly reversible aqueous Zn battery in which the graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots additive serves as fast colloid ion carriers and assists the construction of a dynamic & self-repairing protective interphase. This real-time assembled interphase enables an ion-sieving effect and is found actively regenerate in each battery cycle, in effect endowing the system with single Zn2+ conduction and constant conformal integrality, executing timely adaption of Zn deposition, thus retaining sustainable long-term protective effect. In consequence, dendrite-free Zn plating/stripping at ~99.6% Coulombic efficiency for 200 cycles, steady charge-discharge for 1200 h, and impressive cyclability (61.2% retention for 500 cycles in a Zn | |MnO2 full battery, 73.2% retention for 500 cycles in a Zn | |V2O5 full battery and 93.5% retention for 3000 cycles in a Zn | |VOPO4 full battery) are achieved, which defines a general pathway to challenge Lithium in all low-cost, large-scale applications.
Annihilation of exceptional points from different Dirac valleys in a 2D photonic system
Authors: Król M. , Septembre I. , Oliwa P. , Kędziora M. , Łempicka-Mirek K. , Muszyński M. , Mazur R. , Morawiak P. , Piecek W. , Kula P. , Bardyszewski W. , Lagoudakis P. G. , Solnyshkov D. D. , Malpuech G. , Piętka B. , Szczytko J.
Published: September 2022

Topological physics relies on Hamiltonian’s eigenstate singularities carrying topological charges, such as Dirac points, and – in non-Hermitian systems – exceptional points (EPs), lines or surfaces. So far, the reported non-Hermitian topological transitions were related to the creation of a pair of EPs connected by a Fermi arc out of a single Dirac point by increasing non-Hermiticity. Such EPs can annihilate by reducing non-Hermiticity. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that an increase of non-Hermiticity can lead to the annihilation of EPs issued from different Dirac points (valleys). The studied platform is a liquid crystal microcavity with voltage-controlled birefringence and TE-TM photonic spin-orbit-coupling. Non-Hermiticity is provided by polarization-dependent losses. By increasing the non-Hermiticity degree, we control the position of the EPs. After the intervalley annihilation, the system becomes free of any band singularity. Our results open the field of non-Hermitian valley-physics and illustrate connections between Hermitian topology and non-Hermitian phase transitions.
Enzymes and cellular interplay required for flux of fixed nitrogen to ureides in bean nodules
Authors: Voß Luisa , Heinemann Katharina J. , Herde Marco , Medina-Escobar Nieves , Witte Claus-Peter
Published: September 2022

Tropical legumes transport fixed nitrogen in form of ureides (allantoin and allantoate) over long distances from the nodules to the shoot. Ureides are formed in nodules from purine mononucleotides by a partially unknown reaction network that involves bacteroid-infected and uninfected cells. Here, we demonstrate by metabolic analysis of CRISPR mutant nodules of Phaseolus vulgaris defective in either xanthosine monophosphate phosphatase (XMPP), guanosine deaminase (GSDA), the nucleoside hydrolases 1 and 2 (NSH1, NSH2) or xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) that nodule ureide biosynthesis involves these enzymes and requires xanthosine and guanosine but not inosine monophosphate catabolism. Interestingly, promoter reporter analyses revealed that XMPP, GSDA and XDH are expressed in infected cells, whereas NSH1, NSH2 and the promoters of the downstream enzymes urate oxidase (UOX) and allantoinase (ALN) are active in uninfected cells. The data suggest a complex cellular organization of ureide biosynthesis with three transitions between infected and uninfected cells.
Life at high temperature observed in vitro upon laser heating of gold nanoparticles
Authors: Molinaro Céline , Bénéfice Maëlle , Gorlas Aurore , Da Cunha Violette , Robert Hadrien M. L. , Catchpole Ryan , Gallais Laurent , Forterre Patrick , Baffou Guillaume
Published: September 2022

Thermophiles are microorganisms that thrive at high temperature. Studying them can provide valuable information on how life has adapted to extreme conditions. However, high temperature conditions are difficult to achieve on conventional optical microscopes. Some home-made solutions have been proposed, all based on local resistive electric heating, but no simple commercial solution exists. In this article, we introduce the concept of microscale laser heating over the field of view of a microscope to achieve high temperature for the study of thermophiles, while maintaining the user environment in soft conditions. Microscale heating with moderate laser intensities is achieved using a substrate covered with gold nanoparticles, as biocompatible, efficient light absorbers. The influences of possible microscale fluid convection, cell confinement and centrifugal thermophoretic motion are discussed. The method is demonstrated with two species: (i) Geobacillus stearothermophilus, a motile thermophilic bacterium thriving around 65 °C, which we observed to germinate, grow and swim upon microscale heating and (ii) Sulfolobus shibatae, a hyperthermophilic archaeon living at the optimal temperature of 80 °C. This work opens the path toward simple and safe observation of thermophilic microorganisms using current and accessible microscopy tools.
Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, DNA methylation, and risk for coronary artery disease
Authors: Uddin M d Mesbah , Nguyen Ngoc Quynh H. , Yu Bing , Brody Jennifer A. , Pampana Akhil , Nakao Tetsushi , Fornage Myriam , Bressler Jan , Sotoodehnia Nona , Weinstock Joshua S. , Honigberg Michael C. , Nachun Daniel , Bhattacharya Romit , Griffin Gabriel K. , Chander Varuna , Gibbs Richard A. , Rotter Jerome I. , Liu Chunyu , Baccarelli Andrea A. , Chasman Daniel I. , Whitsel Eric A. , Kiel Douglas P. , Murabito Joanne M. , Boerwinkle Eric , Ebert Benjamin L. , Jaiswal Siddhartha , Floyd James S. , Bick Alexander G. , Ballantyne Christie M. , Psaty Bruce M. , Natarajan Pradeep , Conneely Karen N.
Published: September 2022

Age-related changes to the genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) pattern observed in blood are well-documented. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), characterized by the age-related acquisition and expansion of leukemogenic mutations in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), is associated with blood cancer and coronary artery disease (CAD). Epigenetic regulators DNMT3A and TET2 are the two most frequently mutated CHIP genes. Here, we present results from an epigenome-wide association study for CHIP in 582 Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) participants, with replication in 2655 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study participants. We show that DNMT3A and TET2 CHIP have distinct and directionally opposing genome-wide DNAm association patterns consistent with their regulatory roles, albeit both promoting self-renewal of HSCs. Mendelian randomization analyses indicate that a subset of DNAm alterations associated with these two leading CHIP genes may promote the risk for CAD.
Diesel soot photooxidation enhances the heterogeneous formation of H2SO4
Authors: Zhang Peng , Chen Tianzeng , Ma Qingxin , Chu Biwu , Wang Yonghong , Mu Yujing , Yu Yunbo , He Hong
Published: September 2022

Both field observation and experimental simulation have implied that black carbon or soot plays a remarkable role in the catalytic oxidation of SO2for the formation of atmospheric sulfate. However, the catalytic mechanism remains ambiguous, especially that under light irradiation. Here we systematically investigate the heterogeneous conversion of SO2on diesel soot or black carbon (DBC) under light irradiation. The experimental results show that the presence of DBC under light irradiation can significantly promote the heterogeneous conversion of SO2to H2SO4, mainly through the heterogeneous reaction between SO2and photo-induced OH radicals. The detected photo-chemical behaviors on DBC suggest that OH radical formation is closely related to the abstraction and transfer of electrons in DBC and the formation of reactive superoxide radical (•O2−) as an intermediate. Our results extend the known sources of atmospheric H2SO4and provide insight into the internal photochemical oxidation mechanism of SO2on DBC.