bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modelers and geologists join forces at workshop
Authors: Kunatzki Claudia , Claussen Martin
Published: October 2006

The use of geological evidence for climate model evaluation is inevitable. This is clearly reflected by the status of past climatic changes in the latest IPCC Assessment Report (www ipcc.ch/). Earth System Models of Intermediate Complexity (EMICs) [Claussen et al., 2002] are designed to bridge the gap between simple, conceptual climate models and comprehensive General Circulation Models (GCMs). The big advantage of EMICs lies in their computational efficiency, which allows for long‐term climate simulations over several tens of thousands of years. As such, they are reasonable tools for simulating past glacial‐interglacial climatic changes. The large number of processes described in the EMICs, even though in a reduced form, enables the user to investigate interactions and feedbacks within the climate system in a broad range of sensitivity experiments.
Hawaiian Volcanoes wins book award
Authors: Lifland Jonathan
Published: October 2006

An AGU title that describes the first undersea survey around Hawaii's volcanic islands received an award for best book of 2002 in geography and Earth sciences from the Association of American Publishers' Professional/Scholarly Publishing Division on 4 February. Hawaiian Volcanoes: Deep Underwater Perspectives presents research from a series of dives around the Hawaiian Islands in the summers of 1998 and 1999 to explore and map its underwater landscape.The 418‐page monograph also includes a CD‐ROM providing detailed maps of the ocean floor and its gravity and magnetic intensity.
National earthquake hazards program at a crossroads
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The US. National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, which turns 25 years old on 1 October 2003, is passing through two major transitions, which experts said either could weaken or strengthen the program.

On 1 March, a federal government reorganization placed NEHRP's lead agency the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), within the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A number of earthquake scientists and engineers expressed concern that NEHRFP, which already faces budgetary and organizational challenges, and lacks visibility could end up being marginalized in the bureaucratic shuffle. Some experts, though, as well as agency officials, said they hope DHS will recognize synergies between dealing with earthquakes and terrorist attacks.
Comment on [“Seeking explanation affects numerical modeling strategies”] Numerical modeling strategies revisited
Authors: Harry Dennis L.
Published: October 2006

Murray [2002] discussed the utility of numerical modeling as a geophysical research tool. He distinguished between what he termed “exploratory models,” which seek to approximate complex physical and chemical systems with relatively few processes involving simplified boundary conditions and a limited number of free parameters, and numerical simulations, which attempt to describe the complexity of the system in question in the fullest possible terms, often at small scales and with very large numbers of free parameters. Numerical simulations have the advantage of describing heterogeneous media, complicated boundary conditions, and a multitude of processes in great detail, usually with the intention of modeling natural systems in as realistic a way as is computationally feasible. However, as Murray pointed out, understanding the behavior of such models is often difficult, and may be no more illuminating than the direct study of the natural system. The reduction in model complexity utilized in exploratory modeling allows for the role of a few processes, model parameters, and their interactions to be examined in a sufficiently simple setting as to identify and characterize those parameters and processes that are keys to governing behavior of the system. For these reasons, Murray argues that the use of numerical simulation as an explanatory tool is limited, and exploratory modeling is usually better suited for this purpose. This article focuses on the role that numerical simulations play in geophysical research. Following Murray, a distinction is made between exploratory modeling (a numerical model involving an intentional reduction of parameter and/or processes complexity in comparison to the real system) and explanatory use of numerical models (an attempt to understand the physical and/or chemical systems involved).
Reply [to “Numerical modeling strategies revisited”]
Authors: Murray A. Brad
Published: October 2006

I thank D. Harry for bringing further attention to the questions of numerical modeling goals, strategies, and approaches, and for clarifying that simulation models—those designed to reproduce the behavior of specific natural systems as accurately as possible—can serve valuable scientific purposes. I agree with this point and allude to it in Murray [2003], a fuller version of the earlier discussion in Eos.

In the situations Harry describes, we believe we know the main physical and/or chemical interactions that are important in a system. In such cases, simulation models can be useful for addressing more detailed questions, as Harry outlines, to help improve our understanding of particular natural examples in various ways.
Rapid ASTER imaging facilitates timely assessment of glacier hazards and disasters
Authors: Kääb Andy , Wessels Rick , Haeberli Wilfried , Huggel Christian , Kargel Jeffrey S. , Khalsa Siri Jodha Singh
Published: October 2006

Glacier‐ and permafrost‐related hazards increasingly threaten human lives, settlements, and infrastructure in high‐mountain regions. Present atmospheric warming particularly affects terrestrial systems where surface and sub‐surface ice are involved. Changes in glacier and permafrost equilibrium are shifting beyond historical knowledge. Human settlement and activities are extending toward danger zones in the cryospheric system. A number of recent glacier hazards and disasters underscore these trends. Difficult site access and the need for fast data acquisition make satellite remote sensing of crucial importance in high‐mountain hazard management and disaster mapping.
African drought detected
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on 13 March that it has detected harsh drought conditions in parts of the horn of Africa for the fourth year in a row, through examining data from its polar‐orbiting environmental satellites (POES).

The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer on the satellite provides visible, near‐infrared, and infrared measurements of reflected energy, or radiance, which are used to calculate moisture, thermal conditions, and vegetation health.
Comment on review of exploring Space, exploring Earth
Authors: Lowman Paul D.
Published: October 2006

The review of Exploring Space, Exploring Earth in Eos (7 January 2003, p. 6–7 ) included a number of factual errors that should be corrected.

l. The reviewer states that the remote sensing chapter “never discusses the type or resolution of orbital sensors or how they can be used, beyond their application to lineament analysis.”
Impacts in Precambrian Shields
Authors: Pierazzo Elisabetta
Published: October 2006

One of the most fundamental geologic processes that have shaped the surfaces of the solar system's planetary bodies is the impact of solid bodies. It affects the surface of a planetary body not only by creating a visible crater, but also by modifying, locally and temporally, the crater subsurface and a wide area around the excavated crater. In particular, terrestrial impact structures are in the unique position of providing the only ground truth available for investigating the impact cratering process. The establishment of shock metamorphic effects on rocks as reliable criteria for assigning impact origins to terrestrial structures has led to the recognition of over 160 impact structures on Earth over the past 40 years. Investigation of these structures is fundamental for validating theoretical and experimental impact studies.
Call to restore Mesopotamian marshlands
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

When the current military conflict in Iraq has concluded, a rehabilitation of that country should include a full assessment and action plan for restoring the marshlands of Mesopotamia, the United Nations Environment Programme said on 22 March.

The marshlands, also known as the Fertile Crescent, could disappear within three to five years, according to UNEP.UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said the loss of the marshlands “is an environmental catastrophe for this region and underscores the huge pressures facing wetlands and freshwater ecosystems across the world.”
A new generation of global coverage sea surface temperature data
Authors: Donlon Craig
Published: October 2006

The Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) is an international project that has been established to develop global operational ocean analysis and prediction systems. Through the period 2003–2007, GODAE aims to demonstrate the benefits and utility of operational ocean products for a wide variety of applications. GODAE requires high spatial and temporal resolution sea surface temperature (SST) observations, in real time, to properly constrain the upper ocean circulation and thermal structure. No such products exist today for the global domain, and in response, the GODAE high‐resolution sea surface temperature pilot project (GHRSST‐PP) was established to address this need. The GHRSST‐PP will implement a demonstration system that will take advantage of different satellite instruments and in situ SST sensors. For example, satellite microwave SST measurements are unaffected by clouds and now provide daily global coverage of the entire ocean at 25‐km resolution (except in areas of heavy rainfall).
Report calls for improved transition of satellite data from research to operations
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

A 27 March report recommends measures to improve the transition of satellite‐derived research and technologies from NASA into operational services provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Defense.

The report, by the U.S. National Research Council, said that this transition “is often less efficient and slower than it could be, resulting in a loss of return on the research investment.” The report said that “while clear examples of successful transitions currently exist, the transition process in general is largely ad hoc.”
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Harmon Craig died on 14 March 2003, at age 76. He was an AGU Fellow (Volcanology Petrology, Geochemistry) who joined in 1964.

John H. Lincoln died this year. He was a retired life member (Ocean Sciences) who joined AGU in 1951.
Initiative bridges gap among humanities, science, and society
Authors: Frodeman Robert
Published: October 2006

The environmental challenges we face today are inherently cross‐disciplinary in nature. Addressing questions of global climate change, damaged mine lands, or the restoration of urban landscapes requires the integration of scientific information with ethical, historical, and cultural perspectives. But how can society better approach the challenge of usefully combining such values with the insights of science for effective decision‐making?

New Directions in the Earth Sciences and the Humanities focuses on this question. Launched in the spring of 2001 with a $15,000 grant from the Colorado School of Mines, New Directions consists of a series of projects based on the premise that the humanities represent a largely untapped resource for helping the Earth sciences relate more effectively to society.
Some recharged aquifers susceptible to contaminants, study finds
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Injecting treated water into wells to recharge some aquifers could introduce a long‐lasting contaminant that affects future usability of the water, according to a 13 May report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

A test of the quality of water injected into wells in a desert town 130 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles, California, found that certain carcinogenic compounds mixed and lingered in the aquifer, even after extensive pumping to try to remove them.
Jouzel receives 2003 Roger Revelle Medal
Authors: Bard Edouard
Published: October 2006

Jean Jouzel received the Roger Revelle Medal at the EGS‐AGU‐EUG Joint Assembly held in Nice, France, 6–11 April 2003. The medal is given for outstanding contributions toward an understanding of the Earth's atmospheric processes, including its dynamics, chemistry, and radiation; the roles of atmosphere, atmosphere‐ocean coupling; or atmosphereland coupling in determining the climate, biogeo‐chemical cycles, or other key elements of the integrated climate system.
A note on the height of auroras by Leonhard Euler
Authors: Schröder Wllfried
Published: October 2006

In former times, mostly before the end of the 19th century, many speculations were made about the height of the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists also discussed the height of the auroras, which were often observed in middle Europe. Mostly, people thought the auroras were manifestations of the lower Earth's atmosphere, and that they formed a circle inside of it. Only a few speculations were devoted to the exact height and nature of these phenomena. They were thought to be signs from God, until the appearance of the aurora on 17 March 1716 (for detail, see Schröder [2001]).
Antarctic oversnow traverse‐based southern hemisphere climate reconstruction
Authors: Mayewski Paul Andrew
Published: October 2006

On 2 January 2003, the U.S. component of the International Trans Antarctic Scientific Expedition (U.S. ITASE) (Figure 1) arrived at the South Pole after completing more than 5000 km of oversnow traverses that included much of west Antarctica and a portion of east Antarctica (Figure 2). During the traverses, which were performed from 1999 through 2003, U.S. ITASE focused on collecting data that will allow the reconstruction of sub‐annual scale climate variability and changes in the chemistry of the atmosphere over the last 200+ years.

ITASE is a multi‐disciplinary research program supported by 19 nations and endorsed by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Geosphere‐Biosphere Program (IGBP) [Mayewski and Goodwin, 1997]. It is designed to reconstruct the recent climate history of Antarctica through ice coring and related observations along a network of extensive intra‐continental traverses. The U.S. component of ITASE is supported by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation. It includes scientific projects from the following institutions: Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory‐U.S. Army, Desert Research Institute, NASA, Ohio State University, St. Olaf College, the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado, the University of Maine, and the University of Washington. Information concerning climate variability in the middle and high latitudes of the southern hemisphere is obtained by U.S. ITASE, through calibrations developed between US. ITASE ice core records and direct atmospheric observations [Kreutz et al., 2000; Meyerson et al., 2002; Schneider and Steig, 2002].
The last word
Authors: Daglis Ioaanis A.
Published: October 2006

This is the third in a series of essays on terms used in solar‐terrestrial physics that are thought to be in need of clarification. Terms are identified and essays are commissioned by a committee chartered by Division II (Sun and Heliosphere) of the International Astronomical Union. Terminology Committee members include Ed Oliver (chair), Jean‐Louis Bougeret, Hilary Cane, Takeo Kosugi, Sara Martin, Rainer Schwenn, Lidia van Driel‐Gestelyi, and Joe Borovsky.

Writers are asked to review the origins of a term and its current usage/misusage. The main point is to open a discussion and inform the community. We solicit letters to Eos on the following article by Ioannis Daglis on the term “magnetic storm,” which is certainly one of the most venerable names in solar‐terrestrial physics. In addition, we welcome suggestions to any committee member on other terms to address in this forum.
Harmon Craig (1926–2003)
Authors: Weiss Ray
Published: October 2006

Harmon Craig, one of the great pioneers of isotope geochemistry died on 14 March after suffering a massive heart attack at his home in La Jolla, California. He was one day shy of his 77th birthday. Through an academic career of more than fifty years, Craig—or simply “Harmon,” as he was known throughout the world of geochemistry—made a remarkable number of fundamental and far‐reaching contributions in a wide range of important areas concerned with the chemical and physical processes by which the solid Earth, the oceans, the atmosphere, and the solar system interact. While his research was broad in scope, it was also characterized by a strong emphasis on meticulous field and laboratory work, and on original and insightful interpretations of the resulting observations.
Discover our Earth: An Earth Science Information System for undergraduate education
Authors: Seber Dogan , Moore Alexandra , Brindisi Carrie , Danowski Daniel
Published: October 2006

In many scientific disciplines, there are currently several large‐scale efforts to build comprehensive information management systems. Cornell University's Geoscience Information Systems Project (http://atlas.geo.cornell.edu/) is one of the larger efforts designed to build such a system for geoscience research [Seber et al., 1997; Seber et al., 2000]. Utilizing this resource in education activities has great potential for improving the quality of Earth science education. This article summarizes our work on developing education applications, and discusses issues related to building interactive information systems for education purposes.
Mountaintop mining under scrutiny
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Proposed new regulations call for mountaintop surface coal mining in U.S. Appalachian states to reduce “burying” and other adverse impacts on streams and watersheds.

The draft regulations, issued on 29 May by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies, affect a 12‐million‐acre area encompassing parts of Kentucky West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee.
Ocean carbon scientists organize to achieve better coordination, cooperation
Authors: Sabine Christopher L. , Hood Maria
Published: October 2006

Studies of the global carbon cycle and climate change necessarily involve investigations across regional and political boundaries. Recognizing the need to develop an international research framework, various working groups of programs such as the International Geosphere‐Biosphere Programme (IGBP) have developed research strategies for global carbon cycle studies.

Based on recommendations from these programs, several nations are now moving ahead with plans for large‐scale ocean carbon observations. Many of these national and regional studies are similar in focus, and have been designed to complement studies in other countries. However, there is an immediate need for global‐scale coordination of these carbon observations and research efforts. There is also an urgent need to critically assess the overall network of planned observations to ensure that the results, when combined, will meet the requirements of the research community.
Report calls for national commitment to protect oceans
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

A widely‐anticipated report on the ecological health of ocean waters and coastal areas of the United States calls for extensive restoration and improved protection of these resources. The report of the independent, non‐partisan Pew Oceans Commission, released on 4 June, specifically calls for wholesale reforms in ocean governance, in fisheries and coastal management, and in federal laws and regulations pertaining to ocean and coastal pollution. It also calls for a doubling of the amount of money that the federal government spends on ocean‐related research.

The result of 3 years of research on ocean and coastal resources issues, the report declares that “America's oceans are in a crisis” from pollution, unwise use and overuse of some resources, the pressures of human population on coastal areas, and other problems. lt identifies the root cause, however, as “a failure of both perspective and governance,” in which regulation and management are approached with an out‐of‐date and non‐unified set of laws and programs that were made “on a crisis‐by‐crisis, sector‐by‐sector basis.”
Herbert R. Shaw (1930–2002)
Authors: Glen William
Published: October 2006

Herbert Richard Shaw, a highly distinguished Scientist Emeritus with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), succumbed at home on 26 August 2002, at the age of 71, to long‐term complications of congestive heart failure. He had been an AGU member (VGP) since 1968.

Herb was admired for his unstinting generosity of intellect, spirit, and resources, and the ease and frequency with which he dispensed grace, where most others merely practice civility. He shared his own ideas freely and, with an infectious enthusiasm, encouraged the efforts of colleagues and students.
A year as AGU's Congressional Science Fellow
Authors: Wayland Karen
Published: October 2006

When I applied for AGU's Congressional Science Fellowship, I promised that I would be completed with my degree requirements before the fellowship began. Thanks to a flexible advisor, I defended my dissertation on August 28, packed my office on August 29, and drove to Washington the next day to participate in a two‐week orientation for the fellowship. The orientation, organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for incoming Science and Technology Fellows, introduced us to various aspects of the federal government, science policy and life in Washington. During my first week in Washington, I thought my biggest challenge would be finding time to format my dissertation between all the receptions and dinners AAAS scheduled for the Fellows.
Latitude: How American Astronomers Solved the Mystery of Variation
Authors: Ray Richard D.
Published: October 2006

First longitude, now latitude. From Latitude's title we cannot help thinking of Dava Sobel's recent bestseller, Longitude. I suppose it's unlikely to be such a moneymaker, but this delightful new book by Bill and Merri Sue Carter, a father and daughter team, is similar to Sobel's book. Both are physically small, with short chapters, which makes for a quick read. And both have a clear hero: John Harrison and his chronometers for longitude; and Seth Carlo Chandler Jr. and his almucantar for latitude. Both books eschew academic‐style footnoting, although Latitude does list a few useful sources for each chapter and provides a comprehensive list of Chandler's astronomical publications.

Chandler's name is known to most AGU members for its association with the 14‐month wobble of the Earth's pole. He also discovered the slightly smaller annual wobble, and an argument can be made that he was the principal discoverer of polar motion, or latitude variation, in general.
Deformation Mechanisms, Rheology, and Tectonics: Current Status and Future Perspectives
Authors: Pavlis Terry
Published: October 2006

The geosciences have come a long way in the last two decades as geologists, seismologists, numerical modelers, experimentalists, and materials scientists have interacted to dramatically increase our understanding of how the interior of the Earth deforms. It is remarkable to look back at the early days of plate tectonics and realize how little we knew about basic deformational processes at that time. Since then, we've seen dramatic advances in our understanding of how processes at the atomic level contribute to tectonic systems; and ultimately, we can hope that the combination of experimental rock deformation, numerical simulation, and studies of naturally deformed rocks will help us understand the full geodynamics of lithospheric deformation.

From that perspective, it is great to see a book like this published, because it brings into focus many outstanding problems in our understanding of ductile deformational processes in the Earth.Deformation Mechanisms, Rheology, and Tectonics: Current Status and Future Perspectives includes several review papers that provide a good perspective on how far we have come, but the book also points out just how far we have to go in addressing some of these problems. Perhaps most important, the volume has several contributions on what is probably the most overlooked topic in the study of deformational processes: pressure solution. The book is a bit Eurocentric, but people in North America will, in general, benefit most. North Americans tend to focus more on large‐scale tectonic processes and less on the details of how solid‐state flow actually works; while in Europe, the emphasis is generally reversed.
New DEMs may stimulate significant advancements in remote sensing of soil moisture
Authors: Nolan Matt , Fatland Dennis R.
Published: October 2006

From Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo to increasing corn yields in Kansas to greenhouse gas flux in the Arctic, the importance of soil moisture is endemic to world affairs and merits the considerable attention it receives from the scientific community. This importance can hardly be overstated, though it often goes unstated.

Soil moisture is one of the key variables in a variety of broad areas critical to the conduct of societies' economic and political affairs and their well‐being; these include the health of agricultural crops, global climate dynamics, military trafficability planning, and hazards such as flooding and forest fires. Unfortunately the in situ measurement of the spatial distribution of soil moisture on a watershed‐scale is practically impossible. And despite decades of international effort, a satellite remote sensing technique that can reliably measure soil moisture with a spatial resolution of meters has not yet been identified or implemented. Due to the lack of suitable measurement techniques and, until recently digital elevation models (DEMs), our ability to understand and predict soil moisture dynamics through modeling has largely remained crippled from birth [Grayson and Bloschl, 200l].
Mine flooding complicates option to construct underground laboratory
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

A decision by the Toronto‐based Barrick Gold Corporation to turn off the flood pumps at its closed gold mine in Lead, South Dakota on 10 June complicates the potential use of the site as a deep underground laboratory for Earth science and physics studies.

Barrick shut off the pumps due to concerns about liability and mine safety among other issues, even though the U.S. Congress has appropriated $10 million for the company to continue pumping for several years. The company currently is continuing its negotiations with the state of South Dakota to transfer ownership of the mine to the state. That transfer is an important step in the mine's eventual use as an underground laboratory.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Biogeosciences and Geodesy Sections received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2002 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California. (Winners in other sections will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos.)
The trans‐Alabama superbolide of 5 December 1999
Authors: King David T. , Petruny Lucille W.
Published: October 2006

Several dozen very bright superbolides enter Earth's atmosphere each year, usually terminating with an explosion of the incoming meteoritic body Coordinated camera set‐ups have captured images of a very few meteorites, which led to their recovery But most bright meteoritic events are seen by eyewitnesses who are in the right place at the right time, or by security cameras, which are typically not pointed at the sky. The superbolide that is reported on here was seen by many and recorded on such security cameras. Careful collection and analysis of eyewitness data allowed a trajectory to be estimated, which is at odds with data of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) on this event. A few meteoritic events result in an “impossible” effect; that is, they apparently start ground fires. The superbolide that is the subject of this article was one of them.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism and Nonlinear Geophysics Sections received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the AGU 2002 Fall Meeting in San Francisco. (Winners in other sections will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos.)
[Comment on “Anonymous reviews: Self‐serving, counterproductive, and unacceptable”] from R.E. Criss and A.M. Hofmeister
Authors: Criss Robert E. , Hofmeister Anne M.
Published: October 2006

We share many of the experiences and most of the sentiments relayed by Myrl Beck in his 1 July contribution to the Eos Forum, as well as those of a similar nature expressed by Alexander McBirney in his March 2003 commentary in GSA Today. We are in fact delighted that senior scientists are speaking up about the unsatisfactory nature of anonymous reviews. However, we believe they understate the problems, partly because the situation is worsening with time. Moreover, the brunt of such problems is disproportionately felt not by emeritus professors but by young scientists, women, and minorities, and this is the crux of the issue.

This year, we have, like Beck, received rejections based on comments by two anonymous reviewers and an anonymous associate editor. We have also received rejections from anonymous associate editors based on a single constructive review requesting minor revision, along with an anonymous hostile “review” that could have been written about any manuscript on any topic by any author. More common than these are rejections from identified associate editors based on one or two anonymous reviews, which more often than not err on most of the points made, and in two cases dispute work that resulted in Nobel Prizes. We have examples this year of each type where the senior authors are recent Ph.D.s, whose vulnerabilities underscore the reprehensible nature of this “process.”
Seeking nominations for COSPAR awards and medals
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) is seeking candidates to be nominated for COSPAR awards and medals.
Nonlinear Dynamics of the Lithosphere and Earthquake Prediction
Authors: Shcherbakov Robert
Published: October 2006

The study of earthquakes is one of the most interesting and challenging problems in modern geophysics. Understanding dynamics, mechanical properties, chemistry, and other aspects of earthquake phenomena is crucial for both the scientific community and society at large. As a consequence, the development of different prediction techniques is of tremendous significance for many aspects of our life. Nonlinear Dynamics of the Lithosphere and Earthquake Prediction is a review of methods and techniques developed by the group of V.I. Keilis‐Borok concerning intermediate‐term predictions based on premonitory seismicity patterns. The book is well organized, clearly written, and can be used as a reference for many concepts and ideas in the field of mathematical prediction of catastrophic events. It can also serve as a “cookbook” for applying several prediction algorithms developed by the authors.
SCISAT to study ozone depletion
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The Canadian Space Agency's SCISAT satellite began its mission to study the depletion of the ozone layer, following a successful launch on 12 August.

The goal for the atmospheric chemistry experiment, which is SCISAT's mission, is to improve the scientific understanding of the complex chemical changes occurring in the upper atmosphere, particularly in the far north, according to Canada's Minister of Industry, Allan Rock.
Multidisciplinary discussions of convective chemical transport
Authors: Yano J. I. , Donner L. J. , Yin Y. , Lawrence M. J. , Mari C. , Stohl A.
Published: October 2006

The importance of atmospheric chemical transport processes by moist convection has been increasingly recognized in the atmospheric chemistry community in recent years. In turn, the moist convection community has begun to recognize the value of trace gas measurements as a diagnostic tool for studying the detailed physics of convective clouds. This has led to a wide array of theoretical and experimental scientific investigations, and has been emphasized in various field experiments such as PEM (Pacific Exploratory Missions) Tropics A and B, TRACE‐P (TRAnsport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific), EULINOX (European Lightning Nitrogen Oxides Project), INDOEX (INDian Ocean Experiment), and CONTRACE (CONvective transport of TRACe gases into the middle and upper troposphere over Europe).

Moist convection can efficiently transport the chemical species vertically via strong convective updrafts. But at the same time, the scavenging associated with convective precipitation can efficiently remove the soluble species. Contributions of microphysics to chemistry are also critical. Yet, the parameterization of these convective processes, even at the basic thermodynamic level, still remains an overall unresolved problem in global modeling.
New Congressional science fellow
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Kevin Vranes is AGU's Congressional Science Fellow for 2003–2004. Vranes, who finished his Ph.D. in physical oceanography at Columbia University's Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory will spend a year in Washington, D.C. working in the personal office of a senator or representative, or on the staff of a congressional committee.

In September, Vranes will join over 40 other scientists and engineers who can expect to serve as legislative assistants on Capitol Hill, carrying out a range of duties such as organizing congressional hearings, preparing legislation, advising on votes, meeting with lobbyists, writing press releases or speeches, and occasionally answering constituent mail. As they gain the trust of the senator or representative, Congressional Science Fellows could be asked for assistance on the U.S. House or Senate floor during legislative debates. In some cases, Fellows have accepted offers to become permanent staff members following their Fellowships.
Complete PostScript: An archival and exchange format for the sciences?
Authors: Wessel Paul
Published: October 2006

Despite the rapid expansion of the Internet and the promise of easy and fast dissemination of information, much of the results of science are published in a form similar to a paper journal article, albeit online. In particular, it is often very difficult or impossible for readers to check the validity of the author's claims, since the software used and the raw data analyzed are not necessarily available.

Admittedly the Web has made it possible for authors to post links to data sets and pro grams, and many journals allow additional material to be posted in conjunction with the publication of an article. But in reality, it is still difficult to verify author results without expending a considerable amount of effort. The Web has opened up new avenues for interactive presentations of knowledge in which the user can explore new theories or data sets, but only a small group of authors have the technical resources to present their results in such an interesting fashion.
Technologies for utilizing natural resources create new job opportunities in the geosciences in developing countries
Authors: Aswathanarayana U.
Published: October 2006

Water, soils, minerals, and biota constitute a community's most significant natural resources. Innovations in technology are generating new jobs in converting into a resource what was yesterday a non‐resource; in developing process and control technologies to minimize wastes; and in waste recycling.“Resources are not, they become,” in the words of Zimmerman. In the case of the developing countries, the technologies of choice have not only to be ecologically sustainable and economically viable, but more importantly, employment generating. The new kinds of jobs—for example, in poverty alleviation projects via micro‐enterprises based on value‐added processing of natural resources—have a strong environmental relevance and tend to lie at the interface of several traditional scientific disciplines. Geoscience graduates in the developing countries are best placed to take advantage of these new job opportunities involving Earth materials, but only if they are exposed to broad‐based geoscience instruction.
The Early Earth: Physical, Chemical and Biological Development
Authors: Mojzsis Stephen J.
Published: October 2006

The geological record gleaned from scrutinizing ancient rocks is the only direct source of information regarding the physical, chemical, and biological evolution of Earth. Such studies provide information to geophysicists and geochemists who puzzle over planetary heat and structure, and to biologists who seek to place the element of time within their reconstructions of the emergence of phylogenetic diversity The past decade has seen a resurgence of interest in the first 2 billion years of Earth history. Reports emerge with increasing frequency regarding the nature and timing of the formation of the volatile envelopes of the planets, early bombardments and their contribution to the eventual chemical makeup of all planets, chemical evolution of the atmosphere, and the antiquity of the biosphere. Each of these is of intrinsic interest to science, and uncertainties over the details continue to uphold a reputation in the field of Archean studies for active, often strenuous debate.
Digital elevation maps produce sharper image of Earth's topography
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

A newly completed global topographic data set—and an even sharper resolution map planned for completion next year—provide substantive refinements over the previously best available elevation map, according to scientists at NASA and the National Imaging and Mapping Agency.

The two agencies announced the completion of the new map on 22 August, which they produced from data collected by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). SRTM was the major scientific mission on board Space Shuttle 99 in February 2000.
U.S. visa waiver program changes
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The U.S. State Department has just announced a change to a new rule affecting citizens from visa waiver program countries. The rule, scheduled to go into effect on 1 October 2003, requires visitors from these countries to obtain non‐immigrant visas to enter the United States if they do not have machine‐readable passports. The change announced is that a visa waiver country can petition the U.S. government to delay the rule by one year.

The State Department recommends that citizens of visa waiver program countries who are contemplating visiting the United States, and do not have machine‐readable passports, contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate to find out if implementation of the rule has been temporarily waived for their countries.
Comment on “Are noctilucent clouds truly a “Miner's Canary” for Global Change?”
Authors: Schröder Wilfried
Published: October 2006

I noted with interest the article, “Are Noctilucent Clouds Truly a ‘Miner's Canary” for Global Change?” by von Zahn [2003]. I am in agreement with the argument of this article; namely, that the frequency of noctilucent clouds is well controlled by temperature and water vapor in the mesospheric layers.

Von Zahn used short‐term data for 1960–2001 (see his Figure l), but the long‐term observations from Russia [Astapovic, 1961] and Germany [Schröder, 1966, 1975, 1996, 1999] are also of interest. These observations for the years 1885–1996 show no long‐term variability in frequency, but indicate variability in brightness and partial duration of noctilucent clouds (NLC) for different years.
Color of Inland and Coastal Waters
Authors: Boss Emmanuel
Published: October 2006

Analysis of the color of water bodies is concerned with understanding what gives water its color (the “forward” problem), and the use of the remotely observed color to learn about “color producing agents” within the water (the “inverse” problem). Recently the study of water color has been going through a rapid expansion in sensors, coverage area, and algorithms. Similarly, the interest in the derived color‐producing agents (CPA) is growing from both scientific interests and agencies in charge of monitoring water bodies; for example, for harmful algal blooms. Monitoring the color of water bodies remotely has the advantage of unparalleled coverage in space and time. However, this approach is limited by both the inability to operate when conditions are cloudy and the fact that the signal is emanating from only the surface layer of the water and from a different depth at each wavelength.
Studying Saturn's rings at maximum tilt
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

A new set of NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of Saturn and its 274,000‐km‐wide ring system could help provide a better understanding of the dynamics of the planet's atmosphere, according to scientists involved with the research.

A series of images released on 9 September shows the planet at a range of different wavelengths, from ultraviolet to infrared. The images were taken on 7 March 2003 by Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 and using 30 different filters. The images were snapped during the time of Saturn's 29.5‐year orbit around the Sun, when the planet's rings were at their maximum tilt of 26° toward Earth. This allows researchers on Earth to capture a prime view of the planet's south pole and the southern side of its rings.
Holistic approach offers potential to quantify mass fluxes across continental margins
Authors: Kuehl Steven , Carter Lionel , Gomez Basil , Trustrum Noel
Published: October 2006

Most humans live on and utilize the continental margin, the surface of which changes continually in response to environmental perturbations such as weather, climate change, tectonism, earthquakes, volcanism, sea level, and human settlement and land use. Part of the margin is above sea level and the rest is submarine, but these land and seascape components are contiguous, and material transport from source to sink occurs as a seamless cascade. The margin responds to environmental perturbations by changing the nature and magnitude of a variety of important functions, including the distribution of soil formation and erosion; biogeochemical functioning (especially the storage and release of water, limiting nutrients and contaminants); and the form and behavior of geomorphic components from hill slopes and floodplains through the coastal zone to the continental rise. While some areas of the margin are eroding—for example, hill slopes—others accumulate sediment, such as tectonic basins and continental slope and rise. These areas record the history of surface changes.
Candidates for office 2004–2006
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Timothy L. Killeen. AGU member since 1981. Director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR); Senior Scientist, High Altitude Observatory; Adjunct Professor, University of Michigan. Major areas of interest include space physics and aeronomy remote sensing, and interdisciplinary science education. B.S., Physics and Astronomy (first class honors), 1972, University College London; Ph.D., Atomic and Molecular Physics, 1975, University College London. University of Michigan: Researcher and Professor of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, 1978–2000; Director of the Space Physics Research Laboratory 1993–1998; Associate Vice‐President for Research, 1997–2000. Visiting senior scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 1992. Program Committee, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Council Member, American Meteorological Society; Editor‐in‐Chief, Journal of Atmospheric and Solar‐Terrestrial Physics; Chair, Jerome K.Weisner National Policy Symposium on the Integration of Research and Education, 1999. Authored over 140 publications, 57 in AGU journals. Significant publications include: Interaction of low energy positrons with gaseous atoms and molecules, Atomic Physics, 4, 1975; Energetics and dynamics of the thermosphere, Reviews of Geophysics, 1987; The upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere, AGU Geophysical Monograph, 1995, Excellence in Teaching and Research awards, College of Engineering, University of Michigan; recipient of two NASA Achievement Awards; former chair, NASA Space Physics Subcommittee; former chair, National Science Foundation (NSF) Coupling, Energetics and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) program; former member, NSF Advisory Committee for Geosciences, and chair of NSF's Atmospheric Sciences Subcommittee, 1999–2002; member, NASA Earth Science Enterprise Advisory Committee; member of various National Academy of Science/National Research Council Committees; cochair, American Association for the Advancement of Science National Meeting, 2003. AGU service includes: term as associate editor of Journal of Geophysical Research‐Space Physics; chair, Panel on International Space Station; Global Climate Change Panel; Federal Budget Review Committee; member of AGU Program, Public Information, Awards, and Public Affairs committees; Chapman Conference Convener and Monograph editor; Section Secretary and Program Chair, Space and Planetary Relations Section; President of Space Physics and Aeronomy Section; AGU Council Member.
Earth Science in the City: A Reader
Authors: Lifland Jonathan
Published: October 2006

More than half of Earth's population lives in cities today, a figure that is projected to grow to nearly 5 billion in the coming quarter‐century. A new AGU book edited by Grant Heiken, Robert Fakundiny and John Sutter, Earth Science in the City: A Reader, suggests that cities are becoming increasingly coupled with and vulnerable to their environment. The book explores the interrelationship between natural processes and the man‐made urban environment, and reports on research examining the effects on urban residents and their surroundings. Included are papers looking at water use, environmental sustainability, hazard mitigation, and atmospheric sciences that propose integrated solutions to city planning, population growth, and policy decisions. In this issue, Eos talks with lead editor Grant Heiken. Heiken recently retired from the Earth and Environmental Science divisions at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
Photographic observations and successful recovery of the “Neuschwanstein” meteorites
Authors: Oberst J. , Heinlein D. , Kohler U. , Spurny P. , Neukum G.
Published: October 2006

Meteorites are precious extra‐terrestrial samples. The circumstances of any meteorite fall are therefore of great interest to planetary scientists. However, as these events are very rare, the successful observations of a meteorite fall require considerable endurance and patience.

On 6 April 2002, 20h20m17.7s UTC (time of the maximum brightness), a large meteoroid entered Earth's atmosphere over Austria and southern Germany. The fireball associated with the event was visible over wide areas of central Europe, up to distances of approximately 500 km. In the city of Garmisch‐Partenkirchen (80 km SSW of Munich), located practically below the projectile's trajectory the fireball's sonic boom left windows rattling and the ground shaking.