bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Edward A. Flinn, III, 1931”1989
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Edward A. Flinn, III, 57, died of prostate cancer on August 13, 1989, after a long debilitating illness. He will be well remembered for his contributions to science as well as his human qualities.

Ted Flinn was an internationally renowned Earth scientist, expert particularly in the fields of seismology and space geodesy. Ted's most recent and probably greatest impact on the scientific community was in geodesy. As Chief of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Geodynamics Program, he directed a global research effort using laser‐ranging to satellites and to the Moon, together with radiation from quasars, to detect the motion and deformation of the Earth's crust. Under his leadership, the program expanded to include five other federal agencies and about 24 foreign countries. This spectacularly successful international cooperation is exemplary of Ted Flinn's broad vision and scope.
WHPA Code available
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Wellhead Protection Area (WHPA) code is now available for distribution by the International Ground Water Modeling Center in Indianapolis, Ind. The WHPA code is a modular, semi‐analytical, groundwater flow model developed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Ground Water Protection. It is designed to assist state and local technical staff with the task of WHPA delineation.

The model consists of four independent, semi‐analytical modules that may be used to identify the areal extent of groundwater contribution to one or multiple pumping wells. One module is a general particle tracking program that may be used as a post‐processor for two‐dimensional, numerical models of groundwater flow. One module incorporates a Monte Carlo approach to investigate the effects of uncertain input parameters on capture zones. Multiple pumping and injection wells may be present and barrier or stream boundary conditions may be investigated.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

To recognize student participation in AGU meetings and to encourage additional students to take part, a number of AGU sections select Outstanding Student Papers at AGU National Meetings. Four sections chose to select Outstanding Student Papers at the 1989 Fall Meeting. The Ocean Sciences awardees were carried in the February 6, 1990 issue of Eos. The individuals honored with awards by the Geodesy, Planetology, and Solar‐Planetary Relationship Sections are listed below.
1990 Horton Research Grants
Authors: Burges Stephen
Published: October 2011

Twenty‐three Horton Research Grant proposals were received by AGU and evaluated by the committee (Mary Anderson, University of Wisconsin, Madison; John Bredehoeft, chairman, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, Calif.; and Stephen Burges, University of Washington, Seattle). The proposals were of exceptionally high quality and covered a wide range of research areas.
Methods for estimating constituent loads in rivers
Authors: Cohn Timothy A.
Published: October 2011

The purpose of this session, held at the 1989 Fall AGU meeting in San Francisco, was to discuss recent advances in methods for estimating the loads of dissolved and sediment‐bound constituents transported by streams and rivers. The issue is important because many local, state and regional water authorities require accurate estimates to guide their water‐quality management practices.

The session dealt with two major topics: analysis of existing data sets, and design of efficient sampling procedures for future data collection. The papers were about techniques for small streams as well as large rivers, employing both high and low frequency sampling. Several presentations dealt with case studies and problems that have been encountered in practice. Abstracts of the eleven contributed and invited papers were published in Eos (70, 1105–1106, 1989). About 60 people attended the session, chaired by Timothy A. Cohn of the U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va. The session was sponsored by the AGU Hydrology Section.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Arthur Johnson died at age 86. He had been a member of the Hydrology Section since 1942.

Robert W. Johnson, Jr., died at age 65. He had been a member of the Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology Section since 1959.
1990 Front Range Meeting and Abstracts
Authors: Joselyn Jo Ann , Roble Ray
Published: October 2011

The theme of the 1990 Front Range Branch meeting was Our Changing Environment. This broad topic was intended to encompass a variety of geophysical disciplines over geologic time, but special emphasis was placed on research relating to the Rocky Mountains, the Front Range, and High Plains. In a departure from earlier years, the meeting was held in Boulder, Colo., at a new conference center addition to the historic Hotel Boulderado. Meeting dates were February 5–6.
USGS maps Lake Michigan “forest”
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Sonar mapping and seismic monitoring equipment will be used to map an underwater “forest” of prehistoric tree stumps recently discovered in Lake Michigan off Chicago. The U.S. Geological Survey, Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, and the state geological surveys of Illinois and Indiana began mapping the area May 14. The primary mapping area will be about 2 square miles and is about 15 miles from the Chicago shoreline.

Scientists from the Illinois State Geological Survey and Northeastern Illinois University found that the stumps found so far are oak trees that grew about 8000 years ago; this finding could change previous assumptions about the geologic history of the lake.
Interlaboratory rock properties testing
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Institute for Standards Research (ISR) recently approved a research project submitted by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Technical Committee D18 on Soil and Rock which involves an interlaboratory testing program to establish measures of precision for some of the most important published rock property standard test methods. The precision data generated by this program will ultimately strengthen these tests and several others yet to be determined in a variety of applications such as the design, construction, and monitoring of tunnels and shafts, dam foundations, repositories in rocks for nuclear waste, underground chambers for energy storage, and geotechnical energy recovery.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Joseph D. Eisler died at age 80. He had been a member of the Seismology Section since 1947.

Peter J. Hoose died in December 1989 at age 37. He had been a member of the Tectonophysics Section since 1982.
AGU position on our changing planet: FY 1991 U.S. Global Change Research Program
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Because of its importance to major areas of geophysics, AGU has reviewed the U.S. Global Change Research Program issued with the President's FY 1991 budget. Comparable reviews were conducted of the two Global Change Program documents issued for FY 1990. The FY 1991 plan if enacted will result in major advances in the understanding of Earth. Many of the concerns and suggestions expressed in our earlier reviews have been addressed including the early establishment of a global data base, building the scientific manpower capability, and the role of the Committee on Earth Sciences in international participation.
1990 AGU Walter Sullivan Award: Does anybody really know what time it is?
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

“It is no easy task to take a subject as obscure and technical as the determination of time and present it to the general public in a style which is at once humorous and rigorously correct” stated Alice Babcock of the U.S. Naval Observatory in nominating Joel Achenbach's article “Second Thoughts” for this year's Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Scientific Journalism. “Achenbach's article is the most engaging, in‐depth, and accurate account that I have either read or heard on this subject,” Babcock said.

Achenbach, a staff writer on The Miami Herald, received the Sullivan Award on May 31 at AGU's Spring meeting in Baltimore, Md. The award is given for a single article or radio/television report on geophysics, the study of Earth, or its environment in space. The judging panel included Walter Sullivan, New York Times; Athelstan Spilhaus, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (retired); Janet Luhmann, University of California, Los Angeles; Carl Sagan, Cornell University; Marilyn Suiter, American Geological Institute; and Carl Kisslinger, University of Colorado.
Groundwater report released
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The internationally staffed Task Committee on Artificial Recharge of Ground Water, associated with the Irrigation and Drainage Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers, has completed their first report. Published by ASCE, the 644‐page “Artificial Recharge of Ground Water,” edited by A. I. Johnson and Donald J. Finlayson, presents 63 papers by specialists from eleven countries and nine U.S. states.

The authors report that artificial recharge of groundwater has recently become one of the thrusts for government and local funding in arid parts of the United States as well as in many arid countries. This has been due to problems created by increasing development of irrigation and public water supply from groundwater and consequent lowering of water tables to uneconomically low levels. The use of surplus surface flood waters and treated waste water to recharge the water tables is shown to have been done in many locations for many years and is likely to increase on an exponential scale as industrialized nations grow and developing countries modernize and require more water per capita.
ICRSDT and GEWEX
Authors: Salomonson Vincent V.
Published: October 2011

At the 1987 General Assembly of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences in Vancouver, Canada, the International Committee on Remote Sensing and Data Transmission (ICRSDT) established a Working Group on GEWEX and Global Change. (GEWEX is the Global Energy and Water Experiment.)
NSF, NASA Budget Update
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Despite the $46 million cut from the administration's budget request for the National Science Foundation, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation (H.R. 5158) that would increase NSF's budget for Fiscal Year 1991 by 12%, or $256.4 million above the current budget.
Free access to Japanese Data Bases
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Computer‐searchable Japanese bibliographic data bases in Tokyo may now be accessed by U.S. scientists and engineers at no charge, through a National Science Foundation program. The data bases are compiled and updated by Japan's National Center for Science Information Systems (NACSIS), a component of the Japanese Ministry of Education.
NSF seeks nominations for Waterman Award
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The National Science Foundation is seeking nominations for the 16th annual Alan T. Waterman Award, which recognizes an outstanding young researcher in any field of science, mathematics or engineering and encourages further high‐quality research. The award was established by Congress in 1975 to mark the 25th anniversary of NSF and to honor Waterman, the first director of NSF.
Mercury's “hot poles” mapped
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Using the first radio frequency images of Mercury, astronomers detected and mapped the two “hot poles” of the planet that have been previously predicted by theory but never observed. The team, Jack O. Burns of New Mexico State University, Las Cruces; Michael J. Ledlow of the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; and their colleagues used the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope near Socorro, N. Mex., to observe Mercury.

Existing data on Mercury is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Mariner 10 interplanetary space probe, which flew past the planet three times in 1975. The radio observations are the first to map the temperature structure across the entire disk of the planet, sampling regions of the planet as small as 57 km.
Horton Medal awarded to Witherspoon
Authors: Freeze R. Allan
Published: October 2011

The 1990 Robert E. Horton Medal was presented to Paul A. Witherspoon on May 31, 1990, for outstanding contributions to the geophysical aspects of hydrology. The award citation and Witherspoon's response are presented below.
Luzon earthquake strongest in 90 years
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The magnitude 7.7 Philippine earthquake that took place 2 weeks ago was the strongest recorded on the island of Luzon in nearly 90 years and the strongest in all of the Philippines in nearly 14 years, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake occurred 60 miles north of Manila and was the third strongest recorded on Luzon, exceeded only by an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.8, on December 14, 1901, near Lucena, about 80 miles southeast of Manila, and an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.9 on August 15, 1897, off the northwest coast of Luzon.
Marine Science Funding Guide ready
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A new publication, International Marine Science Funding Guide, by J. Fenwick, D. A. Ross, and C. Schramm, is available free of charge to institutions or programs requesting the publication on their letterhead. This publication is published by the International Marine Science Cooperation Program, a Sea Grant initiative at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Mass. It is intended to assist new researchers in the marine sciences, and to help more established scientists who wish to pursue or develop international aspects of their work.
1987”90 U.S. National Report to be published
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A critical review of the progress of science in the United States from 1987 to 1990 will be published as the U.S. National Committee Report to the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. As the ninth in a continuing series, the report will be published by the American Geophysical Union on behalf of the USNC. Covering all disciplinary sections of AGU, there port will appear as a supplement to Reviews of Geophysics in 1991 and be distributed at the IUGG General Assembly in August 1991. The final product will not only be a progress report of the prior four years but will also point out the directions for future work in the fields covered. The report will serve to unify those involved in all areas of geophysical research.
Highlights of AGU's Spring 1990 Meeting
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Sessions on chaos and fractals, Earth science and society, and a 1‐day short course highlighted AGU's Spring 1990 meeting held in Baltimore from May 29'June 1. The meeting week started on Memorial Day with a short course on Dynamical Systems in Geoscience: Fractals and Chaos, organized by Anastasios Tsonis and Don Turcotte. They presented 5 hours of lectures on basic concepts and applications in atmospheric sciences and solid earth geophysics. The course attracted 170 people.
A barrage of relativistic solar particle events
Authors: Bieber John W. , Evenson Paul , Pomeranz Martin A.
Published: October 2011

During a 4‐month period beginning July 25, 1989, the Sun released an unprecedented barrage of seven relativistic solar particle events detectable with ground‐based instrumentation. These “ground level enhancements” (GLE) are the first to occur in the present sunspot cycle, and they include the largest event observed since 1956. The seven new events bring to 44 the number of GLE observed since systematic observations began 50 years ago. Several events are distinguished by unusual fine structure in their time profiles, and one event exhibits an extraordinary spike‐like feature at event onset.
IHP Intergovernmental Council
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Representatives of 69 countries, five United Nations organizations, and eight international non‐governmental organizations (NGO) met March 19–24, 1990, in Paris, France, at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to evaluate and approve projects for the fourth phase of the International Hydrological Program (IHP‐IV), which will be active during 1990–1995. The International Association of Hydrological Sciences was represented by AGU members and IAHS officers Vit Klemes, President, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada; Henny Colenbrander, Secretary General, TNO, The Hague, The Netherlands; and Ivan Johnson, Honorary President, A. Ivan Johnson, Inc., Arvada, Colo. The International Water Resources Association was represented by AGU member and IWRA Secretary General Glenn Stout, IWRA, Urbana, 111. The U.S. representatives (observer status) were David Rickert, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va., and Glenn Stout.
Earthwatch Grants available
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Earthwatch, a private, nonprofit organization that fosters scholarly research by offering capital, labor and greater visibility to the scientific community, will award over 140 grants of $10,000 to $100,000 in 1991. Funds come primarily from contributions of volunteers selected from Earthwatch's 75,000 members, who want to learn about scientific problems and share in solving them. The Center for Field Research receives, reviews and recommends research proposals for Earthwatch support.
Developing a global model of magnetospheric substorms
Authors: Kan J. R.
Published: October 2011

The magnetospheric substorm is a collective response of the magnetosphere and ionosphere to a set of conditions in the solar wind. The concept of magnetospheric substorm was first proposed a quarter century ago in a classic paper by Akasofu [1964]. The magnetospheric substorm is unquestionably a global phenomenon produced by the solar wind‐magnetosphere‐ionosphere interaction. It is not a phenomenon of the plasma dynamics in the plasma sheet alone, nor is it exclusively a phenomenon of aurora (“northern lights”) in the upper atmosphere.
Particle transport and geochemical impact
Authors: Herm Janet S. , Mills Aaron L. , Hornberger George M.
Published: October 2011

Current research to understand the fate and transport of particulate contaminants in subsurface environments is being conducted from a variety of perspectives. The physical and chemical factors that control microbial movement, the transport of particulate organic material in aquifers, and the mobilization of radionuclides, trace metals, and hydrophobic organic contaminants by colloidal transport are among the many topics being investigated. The transport processes influencing particulates are not limited to physical hydrology; the geochemistry and microbiology of these systems fundamentally influence the transport properties. Because of the recent intense activity in these topics, the special session, “Particle Transport in the Subsurface and its Geochemical Impact,” was convened at the 1990 AGU Spring Meeting held in Baltimore, Md., May 29–June 1.
Advances in water resources technology
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The presentation of technological advances in the field of water resources will be the focus of Advances in Water Resources Technology, a conference to be held in Athens, Greece, March 20–23, 1991. Organized by the European Committee for Water Resources Management, in cooperation with the National Technical University of Athens, the conference will feature state‐of‐the art papers, contributed original research papers, and poster papers. Session subjects will include surface water, groundwater, water resources conservation, water quality and reuse, computer modeling and simulation, real‐time control of water resources systems, and institutions and methods for technology.

The official language of the conference will be English. Special meetings and discussions will be held for investigating methods of effective technology transfer among European countries. For this purpose, a wide representation of research institutions, universities and companies involved in water resources technology will be attempted.
Saturn's 18th Moon located
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The discovery of a new moon orbiting Saturn brings to 18 the number of the planet's moons. Temporarily designated 1981 S13, the moon has a diameter of only 20 km and apparently creates the 320‐km‐wide “Encke's gap” in the planet's “A” ring, its outermost major ring.

The small, bright object was found by Mark Showalter of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., while analyzing images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft during its 1981 flyby of Saturn. Showalter used a computer program he wrote to sort through 30,000 images.
CEDAR proposal deadline
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The deadline for submitting a proposal for the National Science Foundation's Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) initiative is November 1, 1990. This year, according to the CEDAR steering committee, the deadline is firm!

The CEDAR program is a broad‐based community‐initiated program to link the various regions of the upper atmosphere (above about 70 km) in terms of coupling, energetics, and dynamics on regional and global scales.
Minutes of the Hydrology Section Executive Committee Meeting
Authors: Prestegaard Karen L.
Published: October 2011

Meeting called to order on May 29, 1990, at 3:10 P.M.; attending were George Pinder, Don Nielson, Wilfred Brusaert, David Brookshire, Jim Smith, Eric Wood, Karen Prestegaard, and Marshall Moss.

Jim Smith reported that AGU and AMS will cosponsor a joint meeting on Mesoscale Modeling to be held at Texas A&M University, College Station, February 5–9, 1991. The organizing committee consists of three AGU and three AMS members. For more information, contact Jim Smith, Water Resources Program, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544.
U.S./U.S.S.R. Hydrology Conference
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The first U.S./U.S.S.R. Joint Conference on Environmental Hydrology and Hydrogeology was held in Leningrad, U.S.S.R., June 18–21, 1990. The conference was a significant event in the hydrological sciences because it opened communications between the Soviet and American scientific communities.

The meeting brought together 188 American and 200 Soviet scientists, engineers, government officials and policymakers, who exchanged information and discussed major issues in hydrology and hydrogeology. Topics included emerging issues in hydrology and hydrogeology, the human impact on the global hydroenvironment, regional and global groundwater issues, flow and transport modeling, groundwater protection and monitoring, hazardous and radioactive waste disposal, rural and urban contamination, and techniques of investigation and remediation.
Outstanding student papers at the 1990 Spring Meeting
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Three students received awards for outstanding presentations at this year's Spring Meeting. Several AGU sections award such certificates to recognize excellence in content and presentation, and to encourage student participation in AGU's national meetings.

John Stamatakos was selected by the Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Section for his poster presentation, “Strained Remanence in the Mauch Chunk Formation.” Stamatakos received his B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, (1981), and his M.S. (1988) and Ph.D. (September, 1990) from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He currently has a 1‐year postdoctoral position at the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich with William Lowrie and Ann Hirt.
New cosponsor for Radio Science
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

AGU signed an agreement on October 1 with the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) to cosponsor AGU's journal Radio Science. Under the agreement, URSI will provide opportunities at its meetings for AGU to promote the journal, while AGU will retain financial and administrative responsibilities for the publication. AGU's president will also continue to appoint the journal's editor under AGU procedure, and the editor will retain decision‐making responsibility on the journal's substance, although the URSI board will be consulted in the editor search.
U.S.‐Soviet seismology research funds switched to air force
Authors: Simarski Lynn Teo
Published: October 2011

Department of Defense funding for seismology research has seen some changes in both amount and administration. While Congress increased the budget of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) by almost $1.4 billion this year, about 13% over last year (as reported October 30 in the Washington Post), it also rescinded DARPA's authority to manage funding of the Soviet Union program of the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS).
Earth Rotation: Theory and Observation
Authors: Dickey Jean O.
Published: October 2011

The rotation of the solid Earth, as monitored from observatories fixed on the Earth's crust, is not constant. The measurements reveal minute but complicated changes of up to several parts in 108 in the speed of the Earth's rotation, corresponding to several milliseconds in the length of the day (LOD) and even larger variations in polar motion. Earth studies have embarked on a new era with the advent of highly accurate space geodetic techniques and the availability of complementary geophysical data sets. Techniques utilized include laser‐ranging to the Moon and artificial satellites, and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). Comparisons between techniques indicate that Earth rotation is routinely determined at the 0.05–0.10 millisecond level (approximately 2–5 cm at the equator), with higher accuracy in some cases. Geophysically interesting variations are detectable at these levels. The analysis and understanding of these phenomena draw upon and contribute to meteorology, oceanography, astronomy, celestial mechanics, seismology, tectonics, and geodynamics.
Earthquake swarm reported on Reykjanes Ridge
Authors:   Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History
Published: October 2011

An unusual earthquake swarm on October 30–31, followed by a week of lower‐level activity, has been reported on the northern part of the Reykjanes Ridge in the North Atlantic. The first event recorded by seismographs in Iceland occurred at 1021 UT on October 30 and had a magnitude of 3.5. Smaller events occurred at 1052 and 1152, according to Pall Einarsson at the University of Iceland Science Institute. The epicenters could not be located accurately but appear to be near 63°N, about 180 km southwest of Reykjavik.
Mineral Physics Student Award
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

AGU announces the opening of nominations for the second Mineral Physics Student Award to be given at the Spring 1991 Meeting. This cash award is intended to recognize outstanding student research accomplishments and to encourage students to choose mineral physics as a research specialty. Nominations and supporting letters and materials should be sent to William Bassett, Chairman of the Awards Subcommittee, Department of Geological Sciences, Snee Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Eligibility will close March 1.
Timing and duration of Mesozoic‐Tertiary flood‐basalt volcanism
Authors: Baksi Ajoy K.
Published: October 2011

A number of Eos articles [Courtillot and Cisowski, 1987; White, 1989] have addressed the hypothesized genetic link between flood‐basalt volcanism and global faunal extinction events. This topic, and its rival paradigm [Alvarez et al.,1980]—espousing a genetic link between bolide impact and the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary extinction event—have drawn widespread attention, both from Earth scientists and the media. This article evaluates hypotheses linking flood‐basalt volcanism to bolide impacts and global faunal extinction events. Ages cited here have been recalculated to the decay constants and isotopic abundances recommended by Steiger and Jager [1977]; errors in all ages are quoted at the 1 σ level.
Wind‐profiling Doppler radars for tropical atmospheric research
Authors: Gage K. S. , Balsley B. B. , Ecklund W. L. , Woodman R. F. , Avery S. K.
Published: October 2011

The past decade has seen a rapid increase in the use of wind profilers in atmospheric research [Gage, 1990]. Briefly, wind profilers are Doppler radars that observe winds from Doppler shifts of “clear air” atmospheric echoes. The atmospheric echoes arise from backscattering from turbulent irregularities in the radio refractive index of the atmosphere. Wind profilers operate at several VHF and UHF frequencies, notably in the vicinity of 50, 405, and 915 MHz. Since they measure the radial component of the wind, they can be used to monitor vertical as well as horizontal motions by using antennas phased to look sequentially in several directions.
Standards for mapping, remote sensing, and GIS
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Maps, remote‐sensing imagery, and geographic information systems (GIS) have combined to become one of the big “waves of the future.” Due to the proliferation of systems, hardware, software, techniques, interpretations and applications in GIS, mapping and remote sensing, it has become necessary that modern voluntary consensus‐type standard methods, practices, guides, and terminology be developed in order to ensure uniformly high‐quality products.
Honors
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

AGU Past‐President Frank Press, who is stepping down on June 30 as president of the National Academy of Science, has been appointed the Cecil and Ida Green Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Press will join Carnegie in September and will serve in residence at the institution's Geophysical Laboratory and Department of Terrestrial Magnetism in Washington, D.C.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Frank Dietz died recently at age 73. He had been a member of AGU (Seismology) since 1954.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

E. Robert Luccia died recently at age 89. He had been a member of AGU (Hydrology) since 1948.

Ahin G. McNish, 90, died on April 19. He joined AGU (Seismology) in 1934.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

AGU Fellow Brian O'Brien died last year at age 95. He had been a member of AGU (Space Physics and Aeronomy) since 1937.

James F. Rychel died recently at age 37. He joined AGU (Geodesy) in 1984. Woody L. Cowan, 90, died on June 29. He had been a member of AGU (Hydrology) since 1940.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Peter H. Feldhausen, 58, died on May 26. He joined AGU (Hydrology) in 1958.

Butler King Couper died on June 18 at age 87. He had been a member of AGU (Ocean Sciences) since 1948.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

John W . Vanderwilt, 95, died on November 15, 1992. He joined AGU (Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology) in 1947.

Andrew J. Gratz died recently at age 31. He had been a member of AGU (Tectonophysics) since 1983.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Jorge Lomnitz‐Adler died on December 17, 1993, at age 39. He had been a member of AGU (Seismology) since 1989. He was an associate editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research and a director of the Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior. Weeks before his death, he was awarded the Prize for Young Academics from his institution, the National University of Mexico (UNAM). He was cited for his contributions to earthquake prediction, using avalanche and percolation models.
Using the ASCII version of the global paleomagnetic database
Authors: Florindo F. , Sagnotti L. , Scalera G.
Published: October 2011

In August 1991, through the World Data Center A in Boulder, Colo., the first version of the Global Paleomagnetic Database (GPMDB) developed by Lock and McElhinny [1991] was released for general use. Two versions of the GPMDB were developed, the first for the ORACLE Database Management System and the second in ASCII form.

A program that allows remote users to search the “ABASE” version of GPMDB via Internet, selecting data on the basis of geographical coordinates of sampling sites and magnetization ages, was recently presented in Eos [Harbert, 1993].
Oily omen
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A jury found that the Exxon Corp. was indeed reckless in allowing a captain with a track record of alcohol abuse to pilot the Valdez supertanker, which ran aground in March 1989, causing North America's worst oil spill ever. The Alaskan jury also found the captain negligent and reckless for drinking on the job the afternoon of the incident. The jury is yet to decide just how much Exxon should pay in liability in the civil suit, but the figure could easily come out in the billions.
Continental collision
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Many models have been put forward to explain how the on‐going collision between India and Asia has yielded the world's highest mountains and most expansive plateau, the Tibetan plateau. Now scientists from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, writing in the journal Nature, propose a new solution:
Sea law seesaw
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Secretary of State Warren Christopher has announced the United States plans to sign a U.N. treaty governing international waters on July 29. After more than a decade of strong opposition to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, administration officials said the United States has reversed its stance because of new amendments in provisions governing the mining of the seabed, which harbors minerals from copper to cobalt, nickel, and manganese.
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Marvin L. Ehrlich died December 4, 1993, at age 63. He had been a member of AGU (Ocean Sciences) since 1985.

Richard K. Dumbauld died February 8, 1993, at age 62. He had been a member of AGU (Atmospheric Sciences) since 1959.
Catch 22
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Since 1975, the United States has spent increasingly more money on space physics research, but to no apparent avail. Despite a more than 40% growth in constant dollars, the conduct of research has become less effective, and the research community has become increasingly dissatisfied, according to a new report by the National Research Council. The trend that has led to an increasingly dependence on large programs is partly to blame. As are problems with planning, marketing, the funding process and project management, and developing clear priorities and the means to achieve them, the 2‐year NRC study concludes. What's to be done?
Dante's Inferno
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Researchers decided last week to make a second rescue attempt of NASA's Dante II robot from the grips of Alaska's active volcano Mt. Spurr. After completing a successful mission earlier this month to explore depths of the crater where no human would venture, the eight‐legged robot was disabled as it was working its way out of the crater. A first rescue attempt last Wednesday by helicopter failed to recover the $1.7‐million robot. Nonetheless, NASA and Carnegie Mellon researchers, who developed the robot, maintain that Dante IPs trek shows that robots can do research in places—on Earth and in space—that may be too dangerous for human exploration.
Atmospheric lab
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A new $11.3 million Atmospheric Emergency Response Facility is under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Calif. The facility, which will take 18 months to build, will house Livermore's Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) and research components of the Regional Atmospheric Sciences (RAS) division, which have been housed in trailers for the past 17 years. Along with studying the effects of episodic releases of hazardous materials in the atmosphere, the RAS division also is working on developing atmospheric models on a variety of space scales.
On the map
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has developed an airborne mapper of coastal ocean salinity, and it works, NOAA scientist James Zaitzeff reports. A recent test set its accuracy range at about 1.5 parts per thousand salinity of the water surface, which means the system will be useful for coastal biologists and hydrodynamicists interested in studying coastal circulation patterns. Operated from small aircraft, the system can produce salinity maps at the rate of 100 km2 per hour, with 100‐m spatial resolution.
Boon for boondocks
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Defense Department plans to make up to $10 million available to establish an independent nonprofit foundation to assist scientists and engineers in the former Soviet Union, according to Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D‐Calif.). “It is well known that many of the best scientists in the world are working in Russia,” Brown says. Pending approval by DoD reprogrammers, the foundation would be established by the director of the National Science Foundation. Grants would be made for joint projects by U.S. and former Soviet scientists and engineers in an array of disciplines. Although notable private endeavors exist to help science in Russia, official U.S. support had been lacking until this announcement.
Meteorite signature
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Scientists from the second Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP2) may have found the first chemical record of a meteorite's impact in ice. On the basis of preliminary evidence of particulate iridium deposits in two separate ice cores from Greenland's Summit Region that are 4–20 times the background concentrations, Robert Sherrell of Rutgers University and his colleagues believe that they may have identified trace material from the asteroid that exploded in the atmosphere over Siberia's Tunguska River region in 1908. If confirmed, the technique might be used to document other asteroid impacts that date back hundreds of thousands of years. Asteroids of Tunguska‐size are estimated to hit the Earth every few hundred years, but scientists have had no direct evidence of these events. The major advantage of using ice cores is that they have great temporal resolution, allowing relatively short‐term deposits of extraterrestrial material, which is much richer in iridium, to be detected, Sherrell explains.
Ocean data
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is keeping pace with the emerging information society by offering a host of oceanographic information and charts via a new automated fax service. Scientists, fishermen, students, sailors, and mariners will now be able to dial a 24‐hour service—900‐28‐CHART—to obtain 15 different analysis charts that detail sea surface temperatures and surface current speed and direction, for example. The analyses will be available at both high and low resolution for various regions of the coastal United States, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The charge will be $1.50 per minute, with charts taking 2–4 min to transmit. NOAA's Ocean Products Center will also offer technical assistance to interpret the fax charts. A staff oceanographer may be reached by calling 900‐288‐HELP between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. The charge is $3.00 a minute.
In Brief: Metric inches
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

U.S. federal agencies have been making “considerable progress” toward conversion to the metric system, according to Commerce Department reports for the years 1992 and 1993, which were released late last month. But the question remains as to how to motivate industry to voluntarily make the changeover outlined in the Metric Conversion Act of 1975. Even among the federal agencies, which are required under the law to make the transition, there is a “large variation” in progress, the report says. Generally, agencies are “converting their programs to metric units where it is practical to do so.” Yet for industry, the most significant stumbling block is “the inability of industry to respond to the benefits that are beyond business benefits, but that accrue to the nation as a whole,” the report concludes.
It's elemental
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Periodic Table of the elements will now have to be updated. An international team of researchers has added element 110 to the Earth's armory of elements. Though short‐lived—of the order of microseconds, element 110 bottoms out the list as the heaviest known element on the planet. Scientists at the Heavy Ion Research Center in Darmstadt, Germany, made the 110‐proton element by colliding a lead isotope with nickel atoms. The element, which is yet to be named, has an atomic mass of 269.
Everglade Renaissance
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Army Corps of Engineers unveiled a nearly 2000‐page blueprint last month to reinvigorate hydrological conditions in the South Florida Everglades. If the most ambitious of the six recommended options is carried out, the plan would be the largest environmental restoration project ever undertaken. The plan would attempt to restore one of the world's most biologically vital marshes to its glory days, before the arrival of urban sprawl and agricultural industrialization. Although the Corps did not officially sanction any of the six options, the plan would seek to redirect water flow in South Florida.
Old man and the sea
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

An 82‐year‐old man who was unconscious and adrift in the Pacific Ocean recently turned up in an unusual location: the satellite readouts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

After getting smacked by the swinging boom of his sailboat and falling overboard, the man swam back to his boat, climbed aboard, and fell unconscious in the cabin. But his electronic equipment was wide awake. After an extended period with no activity onboard the ship, the emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) activated itself and radioed a distress signal which was picked up by the COSPAS‐SARSAT system. The man was located and retrieved from the Pacific by the U.S. Air Force, 1650 km southwest of San Diego.
Maps on the Web
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has used the latest technology and findings to produce new maps of seismic hazards for the United States. The agency will also rely on the latest technology to improve the maps by making them available for review and comment via the World Wide Web at http://gldage.cr.usgs.gov.

USGS has produced three sets of updated maps—national, California/Nevada, and Central/Eastern U.S.—depicting likely ground, motions and the probability that they will be exceeded in the next 50 years. Now the agency is seeking criticism and comment on the map sets, as well as additional data on fault slip rates and recurrence times.
Holes in the Sun
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

When Mariner 2 kept watch over the Sun from 1962 to 1974, holes developed occasionally in the Sun's corona for just a matter of months. But new data from Ulysses and confirmed by ground and satellite instruments suggests that the solar‐wind producing holes can persist for years.

While making its solar polar pass, Ulysses detected a recurring 26‐day pattern in the flux of energetic particles, a pattern which lasted two years. The spacecraft also detected a corresponding variation in solar wind speed that lasted for a full year.
Hot stepper
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Earth's molten hot spots are hop‐scotching around the interior of the planet, researchers from the University of Rochester and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography believe they have confirmed. Defying the notion that the giant plumes of molten rock beneath the surface are static, the scientists have found that hot spots have moved substantially over the course of history.

John Tarduno of Rochester and Jeff Gee of Scripps studied rocks gathered through the Ocean Drilling Project from l mile beneath the Pacific Ocean floor near Polynesia and the Mid‐Pacific Mountains. They analyzed the magnetization of the rocks and found that during the mid‐Cretaceous period, one hot spot moved at the speedy rate of 30 mm per year.
Proposed amendment to Bylaw 13a
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

According to AGU statutes any change to the bylaws must be considered by the Committee on Statutes and Bylaws and presented to the Council for approval. Proposals that are approved once by Council must be published for the full membership. After publication and an opportunity for members to comment, a proposed amendment must again be acted upon by Council. A second positive vote of Council is required for adoption.

At the December 14, 1995, meeting Council considered and gave first approval to amending bylaw 13a. Members may submit comments on this proposed amendment to the Committee on Statutes and Bylaws care of AGU headquarters.
Finding their way
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The road to tomorrow lies before us, but planetary scientists must decide which way to go. With an eye on planetary exploration for the next two decades, NASA's Office of Space Science is convening a meeting and dedicating an Internet web site to mapping out its “Mission to the Solar System.”

In an recent letter to space scientists, Charles Elachi, director of the Space and Earth Science Programs Directorate, announced that NASA is seeking “ideas and concepts for themes and missions” in our solar system that would be carried out between 2000 and 2012. Scientists, engineers, technologists, and educators are being asked to help define “visionary but affordable” missions—and the technologies needed to achieve them—including a survey of the solar system and planetary mobility, in situ studies, and sample return.
Blast from the past
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2011

Forget dynamite or hydraulic and mechanical drills. Industrial and federal researchers have started boring holes with rocket fuel.

In a cooperative arrangement between Sandia National Laboratory, Global Environmental Solutions, and Universal Tech Corp., scientists and engineers extracted fuel from 200 rocket motors and used it as a mining explosive. In a demonstration completed last fall, researchers used 4950 kg of solid rocket propellant to move more than 22,500 metric tons of rock from the Lone Star Quarry in Prairie, Oklahoma. They found that the fuel improved blast energy and detonation velocity over traditional explosives, and it required fewer drill holes.
Colorful television
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2011

What are the challenges and rewards for American men and women of color who chose to become scientists? The Public Broadcasting Service intends to show us through an upcoming 6‐hour documentary series entitled “Breakthrough: The Changing Face of Science in America.”
Announcing new Chapman Conference procedures
Authors: Torgersen Thomas
Published: October 2011

AGU has convened Chapman Conferences since 1976 as a means of conducting organized, in‐depth exploration of specialized topics in a manner seldom possible at large meetings. During these two decades, however, the face of science has changed significantly. The increased wealth of intellectual and technical talent available within the community, the ever tightening budgetary constraints within the federal funding agencies, and the refocusing of agency missions have significantly affected the way we conduct science. The current times require a fundamental change in the way we develop, propose, and conduct scientific research in this country. To an extent, we must now consider ourselves and our laboratory capabilities as techniques in search of questions and our scientific hypotheses as questions in search of techniques.