bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Indo‐U.S. Workshop addresses geomagnetism in studies of the Earth's interior
Authors: Rajaram Mita , Heirtzler Jim
Published: October 2006

Exploring possibilities for joint projects in geomagnetism was the focus of an Indo‐U.S. workshop on “Geomagnetism in Studies of the Earth's Interior” held in Pune, India, August 22–26, 1994. The 40 participants included delegates from 14 of India's major centers of geomagnetic research. Participants considered the meeting mutually beneficial and agreed that communication should continue through regular meetings.

T. M. Mahadevan reviewed the deep crustal structure and crustal provinces of the Indian subcontinent. Seismic, gravity, electrical conductivity, and heat flow, as well as magnetic data were used to classify these provinces, which have the greatest Moho depths in the southern shield (45 km) and Himalayan (70 km) areas, and shallowest (20–30 km) along the western continental margin. The major plate tectonic features of the Indo‐Asian region were reviewed by M. N. Qureshy. He pointed out that gravity and magnetic data have revealed some possible suture zones in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, and Pakistan. The Satpura Suture (Narmada‐Son lineament) of Peninsular India block is one of these.
Creating the next generation of Reference Earth Models
Authors: Novrotsky A. , Romanowicz B. , Richards M. , Weidner D. J.
Published: October 2006

Global seismologists produce models of the Earth's interior that mineral physicists and geodynamicists use as reference for constraining compositional and dynamical properties of our planet. The reference seismological models must be reviewed from time to time to reflect state‐of‐the‐art knowledge about the internal structure of the Earth and to provide scientists in other fields with clear and useful information. In turn, the data and concepts of mineral physics and geodynamics provide potential constraints on Earth models.

Geophysicists currently rely on a one‐dimensional seismological reference model, the Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM), published by A. Dziewonski and D. Anderson in 1981. Because seismology and the demands of other fields have evolved vastly since PREM was created, geophysicists have been discussing the need for a next‐generation reference Earth model that incorporates new knowledge and trends in seismology, mineral physics, and geodynamics.
Workshop zeroes in on processes in space plasma transport
Authors: Singh Nagendra
Published: October 2006

One of the outstanding issues in space plasma physics is the role of plasma waves and instabilities in the transport of mass, momentum, and energy mediated by plasma flow in space. The large‐scale plasma flow in space creates conditions that generate plasma waves at relatively small spatial and temporal scales. The spatial scales of the waves are typically from a few centimeters to a few tens of meters and the corresponding temporal scales are from a few microseconds to less than a second. On the other hand, large‐scale plasma flows have scale lengths from a few thousands of kilometers to several Earth radii, and the temporal scales range from about an hour to days. Do the smallscale waves (microprocesses) modify the large‐scale flows? Is the modification significant enough to affect the transport of mass, momentum, and energy? And if it is significant enough, how do we incorporate the microprocesses in theoretical models of space plasma flows?
Orcutt receives Ewing Medal
Authors: Munk Walter H. , Orcutt John A.
Published: October 2006

The 1994 Maurice Ewing Medal was presented to John A. Orcutt at the Fall Meeting in San Francisco last December. The medal recognizes significant contributions to understanding physical, geophysical, and geological processes in the ocean and outstanding service to the marine sciences.
Revision of AGU index set
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

This revision of the AGU Index Set has involved considerable input from the AGU membership. The task force appreciated all the suggestions and comments even though not all have been incorporated into the current revision. The previous revision took place more than 10 years ago and since that time geophysical science has advanced and its terminology has changed. New instrumentation and methods have meant new sets of data and, in many cases, formulation of new concepts. The AGU Index Set now reflects these changes and advances.
“characteristic” earthquakes may not be so characteristic after all
Authors: Wakefield Julie
Published: October 2006

Talk about a missed forecast. Some 20 years ago, it was announced that accurate earthquake prediction was not only possible but right around the bend. Yet in the time since this proclamation was made, scientists have learned instead that the way the Earth moves is much more complex than they ever anticipated. Various quakes in the past year or so from Northridge to the Shikotan quake in the Kuril Islands to Kobe have indeed borne out the complexity of earthquake prediction and hazard assessment.

Consequently, the community has started taking another look at longstanding models and theories about the movement of the Earth. Seismic gap theory, for one, has been widely debated in the Earth science community in recent years. The reigning wisdom holds that long, quiet fault segments—or seismic gaps—are the most likely sites for large earthquakes to occur in future decades along a given boundary zone. On the other hand, faults that have recently experienced a large quake, by the gap model, should rest quietly for many decades or centuries to come. Yet several teams of scientists maintain that there are serious shortcomings to this model.
No more secrets?
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Big Brother is offering the geophysical research community some more help of late: Access to previously classified information. Hundreds of millions—if not billions—of government documents that are 25 years old or older will now be automatically declassified per an executive order issued last week by President Clinton. In addition, the order places a 10‐year limit on the length of time documents remain classified and requires federal employees to justify what they classify.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Tectonophysics Section presented Outstanding Student Paper Awards to Vladimir Benes, Jessica Faust, Erin A. Campbell, Stefan C. Ponko, and Elizabeth Hearn at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco last December.
Changing times call for rationalizing Earth observation
Authors: Wakefield Julie
Published: October 2006

Svante Arrhenius was one of the first scientists to look at human influences on climate change. In the first years of this century, he posed the question whether burning fossil fuels might raise the Earth's surface temperature. Since his first study, however, scientists have only learned the profundity of his query, as well as that of the question's flip side: Does it really matter?

Today, the world is indeed clamoring for better answers on global change. At the same time, the largest component of the U.S. global change research program may face another funding reduction. NASA's multibillion dollar Earth Observing System (EOS) has been mentioned throughout this year's budget talks as a target for savings by the Republican leadership. And last month House Science Committee chair Rep. Robert Walker (R‐Pa.) called for another batch of reviews of EOS by the National Academy of Sciences and NASA. Both sets of reviews are to be completed this summer.
Shen and Zerr receive Mineral and Rock Physics Award
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The 1994 Mineral and Rock Physics Award was given to two exceptional students, Andy Hsi‐Tien Shen and Andrei Zerr. This annual award, given by the AGU Committee on Mineral and Rock Physics, recognizes students who exhibit unusual promise, as indicated by letters of support and their published work. The awards were announced at the 1994 Fall AGU Meeting last December, and they will be presented formally at the upcoming Spring Meeting.
Nuclear non‐proliferation reality check: Role of research community in monitoring shaky
Authors: Wakefield Julie
Published: October 2006

Lop Nor in the western provence of Xin‐jiang, China, felt a 6.1 seismic event last week. Like a shot heard round the world, the tremor was easily picked up by any seismic station that was listening (Figure 1). The seismic signals were not caused by an earthquake. Nor was the source a chemical explosion caused by an industrial mining collapse that occurred in the Urals on January 5 of this year. Instead, the shock waves propagated from an underground nuclear test—estimated to be China's 42nd nuclear test of record. The explosion, which occurred about a kilometer or so down in the Earth's crust, was on par with that of 40 to 150 kilotons of TNT (Figure 2).
Call for petition nominations for 1996–1998 Elections
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The nominees listed below are those of the Union and Section nominating committees and have been approved by the AGU Council.

Additional nominations may be made by membership petition. All nominees must be Members or Fellows of the Union. Each petition must be accompanied by a letter in which the proposed nominee agrees to be a candidate and to serve if elected. There are no age, nationality, residence, or other analogous restrictions on who may serve as an officer. Petitions should be sent to the General Secretary, American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009. They must be received no later than July 21, 1995.
Conference offers fresh perspectives on magnetic storms
Authors: Kamide Y.
Published: October 2006

Through the filters of interplanetary space and the magnetosphere/ionosphere, magnetic storms can be observed on the Earth's surface. These storms—one of the major disturbances that originate at the Sun—occur in the solar wind, the magnetosphere, and the ionosphere. They continue to baffle researchers.

What causes them, how do they differ, and can we predict them? What are their effects on the magnetotail, and how do changes in the ionosphere influence the thermosphere? A group of interdisciplinary scientists gathered to study the physics of magnetic storms from October 6 to 8, 1994, in Rikubetsu, Hokkaido. Ironically, the conference was held 100 km from the epicenter of a M 8.1 earthquake that struck the area the day before. Rikubetsu was chosen as the meeting site to celebrate the anniversary of the appearance of a red aurora during the magnetic storm of October 1989.
[Comment on “Ward Off?”] Ward Valley Report deserves better coverage
Authors: Thompson George A.
Published: October 2006

Eos, Transactions, AGU, which is bannered as “The Newspaper of the Geophysical Sciences,” carried an “In Brief” article in the issue of May 23 that does a serious disservice to the geophysical sciences. It was written in a flip editorial style that questioned the usefulness of the Ward Valley report (Secretary Babbitt found it useful enough to act decisively) and the integrity of the NAS/NRC committee members who wrote it.

The 17 committee members, most of whom are AGU members, studied the issues as a public service at the request of the NAS in response to Babbitt's request. They documented the evidence and conclusions thoroughly in a report of over 200 pages. Surely, scientific input is needed for decisions about complex issues in our society.
Attendees “roasted” at Space Physics and Aeronomy dinner
Authors: Russell C. T.
Published: October 2006

The Space Physics and Aeronomy Section's annual dinner was held during the Fall AGU meeting in December at San Francisco's Wu Kong restaurant. The Planetology section joined the SPA section for this year's event, but that's not why tickets for the dinner sold out so early this year; it was because of the many members hoping to receive one of the prestigious awards presented at the dinner each year.

The first award presented was a serious one. The Fred Scarf award—which recognizes the year's most outstanding Ph.D. thesis—was received by UCLA's Vassilis Angelopoulos, who did his undergraduate work at the University of Thessaloniki in Greece [Angelopoulos, 1993]. SPA President Janet Luhmann also deserves congratulations for being able to pronounce Thessaloniki.
An introduction to the History of Geophysics Committee
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The History of Geophysics Committee (HGC), one of AGU's seven standing technical committees, serves as the focal point for historical matters within the Union. Broadly stated, its charter is to increase awareness and appreciation of the history of geophysics among the AGU membership. A secondary goal is to preserve the history of the Union and the section disciplines through various archival efforts.
Craters, Cosmos, and Chronicles: A New Theory of Earth
Authors: Huffman Alan R.
Published: October 2006

The notion that the Earth might be influenced significantly by external forces has always been a rather disquieting concept for geoscientists who are trained to think in terms of uniformitarianism. The mass extinction debates of the last 15 years and the strong disagreement among advocates of impact and terrestrial extinction mechanisms are classic examples of this issue. A new book by Herbert R. Shaw makes the case that the evolution of the Earth and other planets has been significantly affected by extraterrestrial processes throughout their histories, and these processes are part of a universal system of coupled nonlinear oscillators. Shaw argues that clustered bombardment by extraterrestrial objects—along swaths that are constant over specific time periods—has been a major force for change acting in concert with planetary geodynamic forces to shape the face of our world and the other planets in the solar system.
Kirkham receives Horton Medal
Authors: Nielsen Donald R. , Brutsaert Wilfried , Kirkham Don
Published: October 2006

Don Kirkham received the Robert E. Horton Medal on May 31 at the AGU Spring Meeting in Baltimore. The Horton Medal acknowledges outstanding contributions to the geophysical aspects of hydrology. The award citation and Kirkham's response are given here.
Project combines seismic and magnetotelluric surveying to address the Sierran root question
Authors: Park S. K. , Clayton R. W. , Ducea M. N. , Wernicke B. , Jones C. H. , Ruppert S. D.
Published: October 2006

Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, lies less than 150 km from Death Valley, the nation's lowest point (Figure 1). Despite the nearness of these physiographic features, their geological settings vary markedly. What geologic processes lead to a high mountain range adjacent to a highly extending region? This is the Sierran root question; its answer depends on better understanding of the region's deep structure.

Although the rocks exposed at the Sierra's surface have been well characterized, little is known about the rocks at depth and the tectonic processes that continue to shape Mt. Whitney and Death Valley. To study the region's deep structure, the Southern Sierra Continental Dynamics (SSCD) project was organized. In September 1993 an SSCD multidisciplinary consortium employed both magnetotelluric soundings and closely spaced seismic recorders in the High Sierra for the first time to examine the crustal and upper mantle structure of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent Basin and Range.
Transform tectonics of the West African Margin explored
Authors:   ODP Leg 159 Scientific Party
Published: October 2006

The first detailed record of the sedimentary and structural evolution of a transform passive margin was recently obtained during ODP Leg 159 on the west African margin. Four sites (sites 959–962) were drilled into continental crust along the prominent marginal ridge that defines the continental margin. The record documents the deformational regime that existed during the early active transform phase and the response of the margin to later thermal rejuvenation.
Space physics and astronomy converge in exploration of Jupiter's magnetosphere
Authors: Hill T. W. , Dessler A. J.
Published: October 2006

The space between the planets is filled with a solar wind of plasma that expands supersonically outward from the Sun. Most planets, including Earth and Jupiter, have an intrinsic magnetic field that deflects the solar wind, creating a comet‐shaped cavity called a magnetosphere. Earth's magnetosphere, for example, extends about 10 Earth radii in the upstream, sunward direction and hundreds of Earth radii downstream. Frictional coupling at the magnetopause drives plasma circulation, known as convection, within the magnetosphere, a dynamic process that gives rise, among other things, to visible aurora and planetary radio emissions.
Physical Hydrology
Authors: Tarboton David G.
Published: October 2006

Physical Hydrology is a refreshing addition to the literature on scientific hydrology. It provides a thorough, modern perspective favoring understanding over empiricism and is the only book I know that truly adopts the spirit of hydrologic science set out in 1991 by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences.
Research recognized at CGU Meeting
Authors: Merriam J. B.
Published: October 2006

The CGU met in Banff for its 21st annual meeting from May 22–26, 1995. Regular sessions of the CGU were augmented by new sessions in environmental physics, induced seismicity, and groundwater hydrology, and the hydrology section hosted an international Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment workshop that attracted hydrologists from around the world.

The J. Tuzo Wilson Medal, which is awarded annualy by CGU to recognize outstanding contributions to geophysics in Canada, was awarded to Charlotte Keen for her research on the continental margins and sedimentary basins of the Atlantic. Keen, who is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Canada and AGU, was an early practitioner of large‐scale marine seismic surveys and was involved in the first demonstration of seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle. More recently, she has worked on thermal/mechanical models and their application to the rifted Atlantic continental margins.
AGU Meeting abstract volumes—Important change for 1996
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Beginning next year, abstract volumes for AGU meetings will be sent only to members who order them and who pay the delivery charges. Members can easily place their orders when they renew their dues for 1996. Institutional subscriptions will continue to include the abstract volumes.

It has long been AGU's philosophy to keep dues low so that there is no economic barrier to membership for an interested scientist anywhere in the world. Even the current dues amount of $20 represents as much as a week's salary for some members. As an alternative to raising dues, and thereby excluding some individuals from participation in AGU, the number of products and services that are included in the dues has changed over the years.
Federal Government funded until November 13
Authors: Putnam Scott
Published: October 2006

Congress and the President have agreed to fund federal government agencies for six weeks past the October 1 start of the Fiscal Year 1996, avoiding a shutdown of the government for lack of a budget. This action averts what some have described as a “scheduled train wreck” between Congress and the Administration over spending for FY '96. The threat of a government‐wide shutdown had been seen as the impetus for a compromise between President Clinton and Congress, but the bottleneck of pending legislation forced a continuing resolution to extend funding. The President and Congress agreed to authorize money at reduced levels for Fiscal Year 1996, until all the appropriation bills reach the President' desk.
Advances made in El Niño prediction
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

New research indicates that improvements in computer models and how they employ ocean data can make it possible to predict certain climatic conditions related to El Niño more than a year before the event.

To develop the new approach for predicting El Niño conditions, Antonio Busalacchi of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Dake Chen of the University of Rhode Island, and Stephen Zebiak and Mark Cane of Columbia University's Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory used data from the recently completed 10‐year Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere project, an international research program that studied how Earth's oceans and atmosphere affect one another. The team's paper was published in the September 22 issue of Science.
Rock‐solid information
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The National Science Foundation's Southern California Earthquake Center and the U.S. Geological Survey have collaborated to provide residents of America's most famous earthquake zone with some hard facts about temblors. Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country, a 32‐page handbook on coping with life near the many earthen faults in Southern California, was distributed in October to all public libraries from San Luis Obispo to Tijuana. The book summarizes for lay people what is known about the San Andreas fault and the many others that cris‐cross California. It also offers guidance on how to prevent earthquake damage, how to retrofit a home, and how to assess earthquake hazards.
Flying high
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The most advanced weather satellite the U.S. government has ever flown is now one step closer to helping with daily forecasts. After five months of airborne testing by NASA, the GOES‐9 geostationary satellite has officially been handed over to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service (NWS) for use in atmospheric monitoring.
Millard coffin is appointed Eos Tectonophysics editor
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Millard F. Coffin, of the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), has been named the Tectonophysics Editor of Eos for a term extending through 1998. He succeeds Louise Kellogg of the University of California‐Davis.

Recently, Coffin completed a term as associate editor for the solid Earth section of the Journal of Geophysical Research, and is looking forward to the move from a monthly to a weekly publication. His goal is are to serve the entire tectonophysics community, encompassing marine, terrestrial, and planetary research, through timely and frequent news items, a vigorous idea and results forum, and occasional review articles. He believes that the communication among field workers, experimentalists, and modelers afforded by Eos will benefit tectonophysicists strongly as well as effectively convey tectonophysics results to a broader audience.
Dalgarno receives Fleming Medal
Authors: McElroy Michael B. , Dalgarno Alexander
Published: October 2006

The John Adam Fleming Medal, given for original research and technical leadership in geomagnetism, atmospheric electricity, aeronomy, and related sciences, was presented to Alexander Dalgarno at the AGU Spring Meeting Honor Ceremony on May 31 in Baltimore. The award citation and Dalgarno's response are given here.
Science in the political arena: Taking fire from the right and the left
Authors: Applegate David
Published: October 2006

Science is under assault from both ends of the political spectrum in the form of budget cuts and an increased mistrust of scientists' motives. The title of Vannevar Bush's seminal report “Science: The Endless Frontier” has taken on new meaning as federal science agencies have experienced the frontier justice of steep budget cuts or even elimination. The Bush report, which was published 50 years ago, is the blueprint for U.S. government support of scientific research and development since World War II. Crediting scientific and technological breakthroughs with helping to win the war, Bush portrayed research and development as an engine for promoting national security and prosperity. The national security aspect has not been seriously questioned, but the role of nondefense science is being drastically redrawn by the 104th Congress over President Clinton's protests. At the same time, scientists are facing challenges from partisan politics on the left as environmental groups take confrontational stances toward scientific research, often due to poor communication. Unless these challenges are met, science could lose its unique role as a source of objective information.
New mechanism proposed for glacial cycles
Authors: Newman Alan
Published: October 2006

Were the ice ages triggered by an influx of extraterrestrial dust or meteoroids hitting Earth's upper atmosphere? A controversial and still unproven new theory recently described by Muller and MacDonald [1995] in Nature links the 100,000 year glacial cycle with changes in Earth's orbital inclination relative to the plane of the solar system. And, say the theory developers, the only logical mechanism they can find for the connection is increasing amounts of extraterrestrial material entering the atmosphere whenever Earth's orbit sweeps through the solar plane. Climate researchers are just beginning to test the model's predictions.
Istook amendment would limit lobbying by nonprofits
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

So far, it is the amendment without a bill. But not for lack of trying.

Named for its primary champion, freshman U.S. House Representative Ernest Istook (R‐Okla.), the amendment would further curb lobbying and political advocacy by any group that receives federal grants, including corporations, defense contractors, and nonprofit and tax‐exempt groups. So far, the measure has been brought up for inclusion in at least a half‐dozen bills in the House of Representatives, to no avail. At press time, the Istook amendment was being considered for inclusion in a bill that would require all professional lobbyists to register with the government and disclose their affiliations.
JGR–Planets thriving
Authors: Jakosky Bruce M.
Published: October 2006

I would like to inform the broader AGU community about the status of JGR Planets. JGRP began publication in August 1991 and continues today. Its scope includes the geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and dynamics of planets, planetary satellites, asteroids, rings, comets, meteorites, planetary atmospheres, planetary space physics, extrasolar planets, and planetary exobiology. This includes the Earth to the extent that results are relevant to the solar system.
High‐resolution radiosonde data offer new prospects for research
Authors: Hamilton Kevin , Vincent Robert A.
Published: October 2006

Until recently, the world's various national meteorological services routinely discarded high‐resolution data from their operational balloon soundings, saving only data at the standard levels that are required to be sent over the Global Telecommunication System for use in real‐time weather forecasting. In the last few years this situation has begun to change, and a few countries now archive data at quite high vertical resolution (∼100 m spacing or less). These high‐resolution data provide important information on the dynamics of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, notably in characterizing aspects of the internal gravity wave field in this part of the atmosphere. Given the importance of parameterizing gravity wave effects in numerical climate simulation models [e.g., McFarlane, 1987; Garcia and Bouille, 1994], this is an area of considerable practical significance. In addition, data assimilation and numerical weather forecasting stand to benefit from the availability of high‐resolution data.
Experiment at Duck, N.C., beach explores nearshore processes
Authors: Long C. E. , Sallenger A. H.
Published: October 2006

Last year's first northeaster yielded a few surprises about the physics of nearshore oceanographic processes along a well‐studied patch of the North Carolina coast. The storm winds and incident waves were typical, but nearshore currents and bathymetric response took an unexpected turn. An immense rip channel cut through the nearshore bar. Previous storm observations at this site had suggested that mean currents and bathymetry become uniform in the alongshore direction, but the rip channel challenged this assumption. Mapping after the storm showed that the bar crest in the vicinity of the rip had migrated up to 100 m seaward over an alongshore distance of 200 m.
Comment on “Trip illumines lightning” by R. D. Hill
Authors: Vonnegut B.
Published: October 2006

In his interesting article, “TRIP Illumines Lightning” [Eos, Vol. 67, May 20, 1986], Hill has performed a valuable service by bringing together and discussing over two dozen of the various mechanisms that have been proposed to explain the origin of the electrical energy responsible for lightning. It is worth noting, however, that this article perpetuates some misconceptions that continue to interfere with a satisfactory understanding of thunderstorms. Following Chalmers [1967], Hill divides explanations of electrification into two classes: those that rely on gravitation and those that do not. He mistakenly places theories that transport charge by convection instead of by falling precipitation into the non‐gravitational class. It should be recognized, however, that the mechanisms that carry charge by updrafts and downdrafts depend on gravity just as much as those that carry charge by falling precipitation particles.
The Earth's magnetosphere: A brief beginner's guide
Authors: Cowley Stanley W. H.
Published: October 2006

The Earth's magnetosphere is composed of two essential ingredients. The first is the Earth's magnetic field, generated by currents flowing in the Earth's core. Outside the Earth this field has the same form as that of a bar magnet, aligned approximately with the Earth's spin axis. The second ingredient is the solar wind, a fully ionized hydrogen/helium plasma that streams continuously outward from the Sun into the solar system at speeds of ˜300–800 km s−1. This plasma wind is pervaded by a large‐scale interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), which plays a crucial role in the Earth's interaction with the solar wind. There is also a third ingredient that plays an important role: the Earth's ionosphere. The upper atmosphere is partially ionized by solar far‐ultraviolet and X rays above altitudes of ˜100 km. The ionosphere forms a second source of plasma for the magnetosphere, mainly of protons and singly charged helium and oxygen.
Bowie Medalist Allégre responds
Authors: Allègre C. J.
Published: October 2006

Claude Allègre received the Bowie Medal May 31, 1995, at the Honors Ceremony of AGU's Spring Meeting in Baltimore. The Bowie Medal is given for outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research. His citation was published in the December 26, 1995, issue of Eos; Allègre's resonse follows.
Comment on uses and abuses of house journals
Authors: Brown Robert D.
Published: October 2006

In “Uses and Abuses of House Journals” [Eos, October 3, 1995, p. 395] Raymond Hide lamented that “Meeting abstracts reputedly enjoy a much wider readership and are generally more influential with funding agencies and other bodies than are detailed accounts of scientific work published in fully refereed journals.” His linkage of this perceived reality to a call for the institution of “safeguards against the publication of such potentially damaging material” deserves rebuttal.
Walter S. Sullivan (1918–1996)
Authors: Russell Christopher T.
Published: October 2006

On March 19, 1996, the scientific community lost one of its greatest champions and chroniclers, Walter S. Sullivan. He died in his home in Riverside, Conn.

Sullivan was the first recipient of the American Geophysical Union's Award for Excellence in Science Journalism, which appropriately bears his name. Born on January 18, 1918, he joined The New York Times as a copy boy in 1940. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he became a foreign correspondent for the Times in 1946, only making a definitive switch to science reporting 10 years later, immediately before the International Geophysical Year, whose story he eloquently detailed. He joined AGU in 1957 and remained a member until his death. In 1962, he became the science news editor of the Times and, from 1964 until his retirement in 1987, he was the overall science editor. He continued his science writing into retirement, coming into the office to write an occasional article until shortly before his death.
Satellite‐derived sea surface temperature data available on‐line
Authors: Smith Elizabeth
Published: October 2006

A joint NOAA/NASA data set of sea surface temperature (SST) called “Pathfinder” was compiled in response to the question: What can be done to further global change research? It is now available online for use by the Earth science community at http://podaac‐www.jpl.nasa.gov/.

The project was conceived as part of the U.S. Global Change Research Program activities and is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. It tapped the archives of existing satellite data, reprocessing all of the global coverage data acquired since 1981 by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometers (AVHRR). The result is a data set of high‐resolution, global‐gridded fields of SST, produced using improved AVHRR calibration corrections and community consensus algorithms for the correction of water vapor and clouds.
Comment [on “Science in the political arena: Taking fire from the right and the left”]
Authors: Darzi Mike
Published: October 2006

The points made in “Science in the Political Arena: Taking Fire From the Right and the Left” [Eos, Nov. 21, 1995, p. 480] are well taken. However, I disagree strongly with the implication that assaults on science from the right and left are of equal gravity. While the assault from the left disrupts certain scientific projects, the assault from the right, I believe, risks America's preeminence in science and the development of significant benefits to society. Although environmentalists and animal‐rights activists have certainly impeded research in some cases, their activism has also spurred many other fields of research including global change and biodiversity, and encouraged the development of fresh water supplies and alternative fuel sources.
Fleet of satellites and ground‐based instruments probes the Sun‐Earth System
Authors: Hoffman R. A. , Ogilvie K. W. , Acuña M. H.
Published: October 2006

Space physicists are embarking on a new voyage of discovery of both the inner and outer frontiers of the chain of processes that connects the Sun with the Earth and the other planets. With the successful launch of the POLAR satellite on February 24, 1996, all the elements of the long‐awaited Global Geospace Science (GGS) program are in place. GGS is the first phase of an exciting NASA science initiative called the Solar Connections Program, and it is also the primary contribution of the United States to the International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Program.
1996 AGU Fellows
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Committee of Fellows met in Los Angeles, California, on March 2,1996, to elect the 1996 Fellows. The 32 newly elected Fellows for 1996 are listed below. Roger L. Arnoldy, Michael L. Bender
Revision of International Geomagnetic Reference Field released
Authors:   IAGA Division V, Working Group 8
Published: October 2006

A 1995 revision of the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) was adopted by the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) during the XXI General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics held in Boulder, Colo., in July 1995.
Fresh data on tsunami earthquakes roll in
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

“One of the difficulties of studying ‘tsunami earthquakes’ is that they occur so rarely, and we've had to work with old data,” notes Kenji Satake of the Geological Survey of Japan. “We needed modern data. [Now] such an earthquake has occurred.”

On February 21, 1996, at 12:51 GMT, a tsunami earthquake shook the ground and then stirred the waters along the coast of central Peru, near Chimbote. A tsunami, or seismic sea wave, that was 60 cm high in the Pacific crested at 5 m along the shore. The run‐up destroyed at least 50 houses with a series of waves well out of proportion to the seismic energy released.
Images of crust beneath southern California will aid study of earthquakes and their effects
Authors: Fuis Gary S. , Okaya David A. , Clayton Robert W. , Lutter William J. , Ryberg Trond , Brocher Thomas M. , Henyey Thomas M. , Benthien Mark L. , Davis Paul M. , Mori James , Catchings Rufus D. , ten Brink Uri S. , Kohler Monica D. , Klitgord Kim D. , Bohannon Robert G.
Published: October 2006

The Whittier Narrows earthquake of 1987 and the Northridge earthquake of 1991 highlighted the earthquake hazards associated with buried faults in the Los Angeles region. A more thorough knowledge of the subsurface structure of southern California is needed to reveal these and other buried faults and to aid us in understanding how the earthquake‐producing machinery works in this region.
Researchers study impact of Hurricane Opal on Florida coast
Authors: Stone Gregory W. , Armbruster Charles K. , Xu J. P. , Grymes John M. , Huh Oscar K.
Published: October 2006

On October 4, 1995, over 2000 km of coast‐line stretching from southwest Florida to Louisiana was struck by storm‐generated waves as Hurricane Opal moved northward across the Gulf of Mexico toward landfall east of Pensacola Beach, Florida (Figure 1).

Approximately 12 hours before landfall on October 4, Opal neared category 5 strength (measured on the Saffir/Simpson scale) with sustained wind speeds of over 65 m s−1. Storm surge levels of ∼5 m were estimated across the Northwest Florida shelf by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), resulting in the overwash of most of Santa Rosa Island, the most extensively affected section of coast in the Gulf.
Group updates Gravity Database for central Andes
Authors: Götze H.‐J. ,   MIGRA Group
Published: October 2006

Between 1993 and 1995 a group of scientists from Chile, Argentina, and Germany incorporated some 2000 new gravity observations into a database that covers a remote region of the Central Andes in northern Chile and northwestern Argentina (between 64°–71°W and 20°–29°S). The database can be used to study the structure and evolution of the Andes. About 14,000 gravity values are included in the database, including older, reprocessed data. Researchers at universities or governmental agencies are welcome to use the data for noncommercial purposes.
Researchers focus on Earth's response to hypervelocity impacts
Authors: Cygan Randall T. , Crossey Laura J. , Marin Luis E.
Published: October 2006

Imagine witnessing the impact of a 10 km‐sized comet or asteroid onto a broad expanse of sea just off the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. The bolide, a brilliant fireball traveling at speeds of 15 to 20 km/s, would melt about 20,000 km3 of rock and excavate a crater with a diameter of over 200 km within a few seconds, all due to the release of energy equivalent to 100 mega‐megatons of TNT. Now imagine, at a twelve order‐of‐magnitude smaller spatial scale, a perfectly ordered crystalline quartz lattice and the sudden compression felt by the constituent atoms within a matter of microseconds. The creation of lattice dislocations, electronic defects, shock lamellae, amorphization, and a myriad of other features characteristic of shock metamorphism, 65 million years later, is providing scientists with critical clues for unraveling the mysteries of the now famous Chicxulub impact structure.
U.S., Canadian researchers explore Arctic Ocean
Authors: Aagaard K. , Barrie L. A. , Carmack E. C. , Garrity C. , Jones E. P. , Lubin D. , Macdonald R. W. , Swift J. H. , Tucker W. B. , Wheeler P. A. , Whritner R. H.
Published: October 2006

During July–September 1994, two Canadian and U.S. ice breakers crossed the Arctic Ocean (Figure 1) to investigate the biological, chemical, and physical systems that define the role of the Arctic in global change. The results are changing our perceptions of the Arctic Ocean as a static environment with low biological productivity to a dynamic and productive system. The experiment was called the Arctic Ocean Section (AOS) and the ships were the Canadian Coast Guard ship Louis S. St.‐Laurent and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Sea.
Gas hydrates fuel diverse interests
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

Densely packed into crystals by deep sea pressures and frigid temperatures, gas hydrates hold a tremendous amount of methane—and even more potential. In deposits off of the coasts of Alaska, Washington, California, North Carolina, and South Carolina—as well as Japan, Norway, and the Arctic regions—gas hydrates may store enough carbon‐based fuel to double the world's supply. Perhaps more important, they hold crucial information about the formation and evolution of the continental margins.
Water resources professionals discuss challenges ahead for the 21st century
Authors: Loaiciga Hugo A.
Published: October 2006

Water resources engineers, hydrologists, and attorneys from academia, government, and the private sector engaged in a lively analysis of the state of water resources planning and management and future challenges at a strategic retreat held in Washington, D.C., from March 10 to 11, 1996. A “visioning” break‐out group provided recommendations on how to adjust to the challenges facing water resources professionals as we approach the next millennium.
Geospace Environment Modeling Program flourishes
Authors: Spence Harlan E.
Published: October 2006

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) program is now in its fifth year. Each of its active and planned campaigns is aimed at understanding and describing the physics of a particular region of geospace. They collect and analyze ground‐ and space‐based measurements relevant to their region and develop, test, and refine quantitative physical or empirical models of their respective regions. The campaigns interact with the Geospace General Circulation Model (GGCM) campaign, which is synthesizing the various models into a single global one.
Latest 1997 budget forecast: Still cloudy, but milder
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

In the past three weeks, the U.S. Congress has taken action on three sets of bills that affect funding for science research: a science authorization bill, a 6‐year balanced budget plan, and a set of appropriations bills for the 1997 fiscal year (FY '97). Only one of them, however, is likely to prove relevant to federally supported scientists this year.
New officers assume leadership
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The 1996–1998 AGU officers assumed their leadership roles on July 1, following a May 18–19 Leadership Conference attended by council members and committee chairmen. The primary focus for the conference was for attendees to set priorities and goals and exchange information that helps the leadership contribute effectively during their terms. Participants emphasized the strength of the Union in allowing members to work across disciplinary boundaries and the need for cross‐disciplinary communication to address the problems facing science today. The leaders also discussed how AGU Sections might provide additional input to Union activities and how the structure of the Sections could achieve better coordination with the work of the Union committees. The goal of this discussion was to provide more opportunities for member participation and to maximize the effectiveness of both Sections and committees. Another primary topic was continuing to increase the effectiveness of AGU's electronic communications—both formal electronic publications and informal communication among the leadership and members.
AIP promotes public awareness, strengthens common bonds
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

As a member society in the American Institute of Physics (AIP), the AGU shares with nine other societies of physical scientists an interest in deciphering the laws of nature, and a stake in how the laws of the land affect those studies. At a time when scientists are growing more conscious of their role in promoting scientific awareness, AIP is providing AGU members with more vehicles to gather and disseminate information. As the public and, particularly, lawmakers turn to physicists for guidance in developing science policy, the AIP provides its diverse membership with several ways to spread the good news of science.
Observations suggest Earth's inner core spins faster than the Earth itself
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

The inner core and the rest of the Earth are perpetually racing one another, and it seems the inner core is winning by a stunning distance. This proposition, once wholly abstract and theoretical, now has firm grounding in quantifiable observation.

That the solid inner core of Earth should rotate—and faster than its surroundings—has been suspected, modeled, and postulated for about a decade, but never verified. Now two seismologists from the Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory, Xiaodong Song and Paul Richards, have announced that seismological records provide the evidence geophysicists need to confirm that the inner core is spinning.
Observation of the Earth and Its Environment: Survey of Missions and Sensors, Third Edition
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The proliferation of space and aircraft‐based Earth observation systems makes it difficult for users to navigate the maze of information available about them. Kramer's book has served that role in its first two editions, and is enhanced in its new third edition. His book should be a required document in any serious library supporting remote sensing research and applications.
[Comment on “Federal funding at a time of budget austerity”] Report overlooks National Labs' integral role in research and training
Authors: Toran Laura
Published: October 2006

Should we emphasize universities over national laboratories in times of limited federal science funding? Frank Press raised this question in his March 26, 1996, Eos article on “Federal Funding at a Time of Budget Austerity,” which summarized a report by the committee of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering. Although he states that in the report “The unique and complementary roles of universities and federal laboratories are spelled out clearly,” he goes on to say “the committee proposed that universities be given credit for combining research and training.”
Conductive heat flow measured in unsedimented regions of the seafloor
Authors: Johnson H. Paul , Hutnak Michael
Published: October 2006

Traditional probes designed to measure heat flow in oceanic crust only yield accurate measurements where thick sediment thermally isolates igneous basement rocks from seawater. Since most regions of younger crust lack this sediment cover, measuring crustal heat flow in these areas presents a challenge. A thermal blanket system that simulates this sediment cover and allows measurements to be taken in bare rock areas was recently developed and tested, and the results look promising.
The case for protons powering solar flares
Authors: Simnett George M.
Published: October 2006

Over the last decade or so, there has been increasing interest over the heretical notion that nonthermal ions (of which protons are the dominant constituent) are far more important than nonthermal electrons in global solar flare phenomena. It is easy to get distracted from the main issue here, which is really one of energetics and material supply. The main issue is not the much narrower problem of whether hard X rays are produced from electrons—of course they are, and in the solar flare situation, I have yet to meet anyone, including myself, who believes otherwise.