bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A geophysicist's problem: Gold on methane
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The origin of petroleum is understood only in the most rudimentary way. Complex reactions involving organic substances are known to be part of the forma‐tional process, but the recent preoccupation of several prominent groups of geophysicists in evaluating possibilities of the abiogenic origin of oil, gas, and even coal points to the surprising fact that there is little well‐documented evidence of the reactions or of the chemical compounds from which petroleum is derived.

As of late 1979, new dimensions of the problem have been revealed, ones that may have practical implications for the geophysicists concerned. The dimensions of space, astrophysical theories of the origin of planets, and a postulate by astronomer Tommy Gold of Cornell that huge deposits of abiogenic methane are stored in the upper mantle are a few of the issues that were focused upon by geophysicists at a series of meetings, consultations, and specially convened sessions this year. Groups from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Department of Energy (DOE) held the meetings, the first of which began near the end of 1978, and they are still going on. This frenzy of high‐level activity appears to have been started by the actions of Tommy Gold and Gordon MacDonald, which resulted in the House Appropriations Committee requesting DOE to study and assess the general concepts. The results of what appears to be a most competent evaluation by DOE were included in a report titled ‘Potential of Abiogenic Methane as a Major Energy Resource.’ This report, while acknowledging the possible existence of methane in the mantle and suggesting that it would be advantageous to research and explore all potential sources of energy, including abiogenic methane, indicated that there was no evidence to support Gold and MacDonald's notion of the existence of very large deposits.
The August California quake
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The strong earthquake that shook the San Francisco Bay region 2 months ago (Richter scale magnitude 5.6 on August 6, 1979) is being studied intensely to extract as much information as possible from the tremor in anticipation of expectable future earthquakes.

A team of geologists and geophysicists from the U.S. Geological Survey continues to conduct field studies of ground cracks and other physical evidence and to study instrument data from hundreds of tiltmeters, magnetometers, and seismographs.
Lightning as source of environmentally important gases
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Laboratory tests conducted at the NASA‐Langley Research Center have shown that an electrical discharge approximately equal to that of lightning can produce trace amounts of carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide.

Although the annual global rates of production owing to lightning appear to be several orders of magnitude below that owing to other sources, the level of nitrous oxide is twice as great and carbon monoxide is increased one hundred fold in the vicinity of the lightning bolt.
Earthquake design provisions analyzed
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A new NBS report analyzes in detail the tentative seismic design provisions developed for NBS by the Applied Technology Council, which is associated with the Structural Engineers Association of California. The report, by two researchers in the NBS Center for Building Technology and a Carnegie‐Mellon University civil engineering professor, is intended to assist standards writers, code officials, and other specialists concerned with efforts to strengthen the earthquake resistance of buildings. It is organized to facilitate effective use of the earlier‐developed provisions.
Geophysical events
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Etna Volcano, Sicily, Italy (37.73°N, 15.00°E). All times are local (GMT + 2 hours). A large eruption of Etna began in early August, after a gradual buildup of activity in July [see SEAN Bulletins, 4(7‐8)]. Large explosions from the SE crater produced significant ashfalls as far as 70 km away, and lava flowed from numerous flank fissures. This eruption ended on August 9.
A Streetcar to Subduction: Excerpted from a field guide to plate tectonic trips by public transport in San Francisco
Authors: Wahrhaftig Clyde
Published: October 2011

The Franciscan formation, the bedrock beneath most of San Francisco, is now recognized as an ocean floor assemblage that was probably scraped off the Farallon Plate and its ancestors as these plates were subducted beneath North America. During subduction, the ocean floor, together with slabs of ultramafic material from deeper sources, now serpentinized, was fragmented and stacked against the western continental margin. Excavations throughout San Francisco and in southern Marin County, and sea cliffs along the Golden Gate, provide superb exposures which exemplify much that marine geologists have learned of modern ocean floor processes, both sedimentary and volcanic. Geophysicists studying the physical properties of small specimens of serpentine in the laboratory should contemplate the homogeneity of serpentine en masse and in situ in the outcroppings on Duboce Street or near Fort Point.
NEH announces second Antarctic fellowship
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The National Endowment for the Humanities is cooperating with the National Science Foundation's U.S. Antarctic Research Program in selecting a scholar in the humanities to spend 1 to 12 months in Antarctica from October 1980 to March 1981.

The Antarctic Fellowship is intended for scholars whose work seems likely to lead to significant contributions to humanistic thought and knowledge. The scope of Endowment support includes all the fields of the humanities and those areas of the social sciences that employ historical or philosophical approaches, such as jurisprudence, international relations, political theory, sociology, and other subjects concerned primarily with questions Of value rather than with quantitative matters. Candidates for degrees and persons seeking support for work leading toward degrees are not eligible, although applicants need not have advanced degrees to qualify. Applicants must be doing or planning to do research relating in whole or in part to Antarctica.
Materials for coal conversion and utilization
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The complete text of eight keynote papers presented at the Fourth Annual Conference on Materials for Coal Conversion and Utilization held at NBS from October 9–11 is now available. This publication also includes extended abstracts and illustrations for 90 recent research projects in areas such as ceramics and metal for coal utilization and conversion in gasification, liquefaction gas turbines, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), and heat exchangers. Sponsored by NBS, the Department of Energy, the Electric Power Research Institute, and the Gas Research Institute, the text of the Fourth Annual Conference on Materials for Coal Conversion and Utilization is available through the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161, for $17.50 (printed copy) or $3.00 (microfiche).
Pioneer Saturn results summarized
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

NASA's Pioneer 11 spacecraft continues to work well after successfully flying past Saturn. The space probe is now heading out of the solar system, after returning the first close‐up pictures of Saturn and making a number of scientific findings, including the discovery of two ‘new’ outer rings and a ‘new’ Saturnian moon. In addition, Pioneer sustained no damage from high‐velocity ring particles, showing that spacecraft can operate safely in the vicinity of the visible rings.

Without a failure, Pioneer can return useful data until the late 1980's, when it reaches the limit of its radio contact with Earth. Major findings about Saturn are: Saturn has an 11 th moon. It was discovered in a photo taken of the outer edge of Saturn's rings and by instrumentation on board the spacecraft. Its estimated diameter is 400 km (250 mi). It has been named 1979S1.
1979–80 Congressional Science Fellow
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Robert J. Barbera has been selected as the 1979–80 AGU Congressional Science Fellow. He will serve 1 year on the staff of Senator Tsongas (D., Mass.) where he will be primarily involved in energy matters.

Barbera has been at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a research engineer in the Energy Laboratory and a lecturer at the Parsons Laboratory of the Department of Civil Engineering.
Symposium on capillary waves and gas exchange
Authors: Hasse Lutz
Published: October 2011

During the last decade, gas exchange between atmosphere and ocean has found increasing interest. Some knowledge of global balances has accumulated for different gases. For an understanding and better prediction of gas exchange under changing conditions, the microphysical and physicochemical processes at the air‐sea interface itself should be known. Progress in understanding such processes has been slow, despite a remarkable increase of knowledge or experimental skill in some areas pertinent to the field. There is some reason for this. The gas exchange at the interface is obviously depedent on processes, which traditionally have been dealt with by different disciplines that otherwise have little in common (such as turbulence, wave dynamics, physicochemistry, structural chemistry, surfactant chemistry, chemical engineering). To bridge the gap, an informal meeting of researchers from different disciplines was held at Trier, Germany, sponsored by the Sonderforschungsbereich Meeresforschung der Universität Hamburg (funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft).
Geophysics and geotechnical engineering
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A number of years ago, M. King Hubbert, then a geophysicist with the Shell Development Corporation, stated that a problem in geophysical modeling always arises in scaling a physical process. He tried to make a case with the example of finite strength of a person's muscle. As the muscle diameter increases, so the example goes, the increase in lifting force lags. The principle is that geophysical dimensions of a process can be scaled directly but the gravitational and time dimensions cannot. In the converse of the muscle example, scaling of a geological process to the dimensions of a laboratory bench meets with large errors.
Mohr on units
Authors: Mohr Paul
Published: October 2011

May we discreetly enquire into the oddball reintroduction into EOS of ye olde British imperial measures? Presumably this anti‐Jeffersonian measure (sorry!) is being made in the name of John Q. (quaint) Citizen to help him understand what geophysics is all about. In fact it merely prolongs his confusion and the agony of facing rational change, change already seen in magazines as disparate as Time and Geotimes.
Solar‐terrestrial physics in the 1980's
Authors: Cauffman D. P.
Published: October 2011

Solar‐terrestrial research has evolved rapidly in the 20 years since Sputnik 1 and Explorer 1 heralded the space age. Accelerating activity in space by many nations has led to considerable observational maturity in all facets of the field—solar, solar wind, magnetospheric, ionospheric, and upper atmospheric research. The directions of research have changed as exploration progressed. Two strong trends currently are evident: (1) more emphasis on the coupling of the various regions of space studied, and (2) more emphasis on physical processes that operate in these regions. Both of these trends represent a movement of solar‐terrestrial research out of phenomenology into quantitative studies. As might be predicted, the trends are accompanied by increased activity in modeling and intensified demand for theoretical work concomitant with more comprehensive experimental observations.
Satellite remote‐sensing facility at Scripps
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

On October 17 of this year, a new facility, designed to serve the satellite remote‐sensing research interests of marine scientists, w a s dedicated at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The essential instruments of the facility are a tracking antenna and computer with image‐processing capability. The installation, called the Satellite Remote‐Sensing Facility, is funded by grants from the Office of Naval Research and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Operating funds for the initial 2‐year period have been provided by the National Science Foundation.
AGU member self‐evaluation test
Authors: Russell C. T.
Published: October 2011

As a service to the membership of the AGU, the Self‐Improvement Committee (Sic) has designed the following self‐evaluation test to help you determine where you are in your career. Please do not be afraid to take it. You cannot fail this test even if your career is a failure. Come now, pull yourself together, pick up a pencil, and circle the number corresponding to the statement that best describes you . Please be honest; we have ways of detecting cheaters. Do not read through the test once first; you must answer the questions the first time you read them. There shall be no deviations from these rules!
Status of the current solar sunspot cycle
Authors: Lincoln J. Virginia
Published: October 2011

The Solar Maximum Year began August 1,1979. This international cooperative scientific program is to continue through February 28,1981, and involves fundamental research on enhanced activity of the sun, such as extensive active regions, large sunspots, and major solar flares, which usually accompany sunspot maximum.

The SMY has created renewed interest in following the present stage of this sunspot cycle—solar cycle 21. The two graphs and the Table can almost speak for themselves. The Table gives the daily record of observed sunspot numbers for the recent 12‐month period. It is of interest to note that the monthly mean numbers have exceeded 150 in January, July, August and September 1979. When active regions have been on the sun, the daily numbers have exceeded 200 for several days in a row in June through September 1979.
Fluorocarbons in lower atmosphere
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Fluorocarbons from spray cans and industrial sources last at least 30 years in the lower atmosphere, according to recent NOAA reports of the Geophysical Monitoring for Climate Change Program in Boulder, Colorado.

The sampling results were applied to a model that computes the lifetimes of the two fluorocarbons that are capable of destroying stratospheric ozone, F‐11 and F‐ 12. Calculations show that the lifetime of F‐11 in the atmosphere is most likely 86 years, while that for F‐12 is 113 years. It was also possible to compute minimum lifetime; 30 years for F‐11 and 33 years for F‐12.
Chatanika Facility
Authors: Baron Murray J.
Published: October 2011

I was pleasantly surprised to see the photograph of our Chatanika radar facilty on the cover of EOS, 60(44) In case any EOS readers write to inquire about the facility, I thought I would provide you with some information.

The Chatanika facility is an incoherent scatter radar used to perform research on the neutral atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere. It was established in 1971 with funds provided by the Defense Nuclear Agency. Currently, it is supported primarily by the National Science Foundation, with a number of other agencies (DNA, AFOSR, NASA) also sponsoring research. SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) manages and operates the facility. Scientists representing 29 organizations from throughout the world have performed experiments at Chatanika or have been provided with data.
Statement of candidates for section presidents‐elect
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

(Statements from all candidates for the office of section president will be published this month. The Oceanography and Seismology sections appeared in the December 4 issue of EOS, and the statements for the Geodesy; Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology, and Solar‐Planetary Relations appeared in the December 11 issue. The statements for Hydrology, Planetology and Tectonophysics appear below.
Ballot changes
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Karl K. Turekian has withdrawn as a candidate for president of the Oceanography Section, noting that there are two other highly qualified candidates for that office.

Timothy D. Steele has been approved as an additional candidate for secretary of the Hydrology Section. His biography and picture appear below.
Page charges and copyright
Authors: Smith Roger E.
Published: October 2011

What the AGU charges authors for publishing their work in its journals is and should be, to a certain extent, self regulating. It would be economically suicidal to charge less than necessary to meet the deficit beyond the income from subscribers, and it would also be self‐defeating to charge more than necessary and therefore discourage potential contributors. Costs are already sufficiently discouraging.

The arguments given by Harrison in the November 6 EOS, 60(45), for the differential in cost between copyrighted and public domain articles, however, concern the equitable sharing of those costs, and I take issue with the validity of the reasoning therein.
U.S.‐Japan earthquake program
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The National Science Foundation has announced plans to provide about $3.0 million over a 5‐year period to support laboratory experimental research on building structures that use large‐scale testing facilities. The program will last from October 1979 through September 1984.

Research projects will be conducted jointly by U.S. and Japanese investigators, using facilities available in the U.S. and in Japan (such as Tsukuba facility of the Japanese Ministry of Construction).
President to make space propulsion decision
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

President Carter is being approached this month by a committee that includes Frank Press and OMB officials whose purpose it is to obtain support for further development of the huge energy‐yielding solar electric propulsion engine (SEP) so that this country can continue its plans for space exploration. The accompanying Figure 1 tells the story. The solid lines show the injected mass versus the available energy of the current IUS (inertial upper stage) engine to be used with shuttle. Only the ‘low‐energy’ missions can be accomplished, even with the most efficient combination of shuttle and IUS (the four‐stage IUS curve), but the major space objectives, including cometary missions and missions to the planets and asteroids, will require more energy than is available from conventional rockets. An article in a recent issue of Aviation Week states that OMB has, on its own, decided to withdraw funding of SEP (sometimes called the ‘ion engine’) development, a move that could greatly hinder further space exploration in the next decade. Unfortunately, the lead time required for these difficult and complicated missions ranges from years to a decade or more, and short‐sighted budgeting could cause the U.S. to lose its advantageous lead in space.
Look before you eat
Authors: von Seggern David
Published: October 2011

Yech! Ptooie! I can still taste it in my mouth. I actually took a bite of one of those putrid English units (BTU) in a recent issue of EOS. Please exercise better quality control and thereby spare me from further unpleasant experiences.
New plate map in Pacific Northwest
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A sea floor and land relief map based on a tectonic ‘plate’ was recently published by the Canadian Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. Geoscientists working in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia and in the adjacent sea areas of the northeast Pacific Ocean are increasingly focusing attention on the Juan de Fuca Plate and its zone of interaction with North America. In practical terms, realization of the tectonic unity and similarity of much of the region has been hampered by the fact that published Canadian and U.S. topographic maps stopped at the border and were of different scales, projections, and styles. Offshore bathymetric maps by National Ocean Survey and other U.S. and Canadian agencies differed again and seldom included land information.
Magnetospheric ion composition
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

We are only beginning to understand the morphology and dynamics of the magnetospheric ion population below 30 keV. Whether the ion population's source was the solar wind or the ionosphere could be shown by examining the amounts of He++ and O+ respectively, and ions from both sources were found over a large portion of the magnetosphere. Upward‐flowing beams of O+ and H+ with typical mean energies of 50 eV and number densities of 10= 3 were commonly found in the plasmasheet and tail lobe regions.

Cold O+ was also observed to be field aligned both inside and outside the plasmasphere. Field‐aligned flow of several ion species (H+, He+, He++, and O+) was found in the boundary layer region, and it was shown that the flow velocities of the species were approximately equal. At higher energies (∼ tens of keV), O+ concentrations were also high, with O+/H+ number and energy density ratios exceeding unity in the inner ring current region and >10% at larger radial distances.
Geophysical events
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Volcanic Activity

Io, a moon of Jupiter. On June 11, 1979, using infrared photometry from the 2.2‐m telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, William Sinton observed what may have been an eruption from lo. Within the region on lo where Sinton believes the eruption may have occurred, a caldera was discovered on Voyager 2 imagery (early July) that was not present on imagery from Voyager 1 (early March). An earlier observation of what may also have been an eruption is described in Witteborn et al. [1979].
Detailed aeromagnetic surveying in Minnesota
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

The Minnesota Geological Survey has initiated a detailed aeromagnetic survey over a five‐county block of northeastern Minnesota that includes the region east of 93°W and north of 46°N. The current survey is being conducted at a mean ground clearance of 150 m with a 400‐m line spacing, and it will include approximately 60,000 line miles of data.

This project, which is entirely funded by the state of Minnesota, represents the first step in a long‐term geophysics program that will involve acquisition of detailed aeromagnetic data over extensive regions of the state. The Minnesota Geological Survey plans to use the aeromagnetic data primarily in geologic mapping of the Precambrian bedrock.
Tests for geophysical microwave cooker
Authors: Bell Peter
Published: October 2011

There is a plan, based on engineering results obtained almost 20 years ago by the Raytheon Corporation, to test an underground microwave technique for in situ petroleum extraction from oil shale. It is estimated now that the petroleum reserves in the Green River shale formation and other geologically similar formations in the western U.S. could exceed 1012 barrels, but a practical method of oil recovery from the shale has not yet been found. In a consortium effort between Raytheon and Texaco, a geophysical analog of the household microwave cooker will be field tested this year as a method of underground retorting.

The underground microwave heating technique is a process with a number of advantages, both economically and from the standpoint of concerns for the environment. Other methods of recovering oil from shale that involve mining and surface processing are costly and produce immense amounts of tailings or waste after the oil is extracted (in addition to the increase in volume from grinding the mineral oil shale to a powder, the mineral content undergoes a 15% volume increase due to chemical changes from the recovery process). The microwave heating method, if it works, will be cost effective and have minimal effect on the environment.
Notes from the AGU session on atmospheric chemistry, Fall Meeting 1979
Authors: Graedel T. E.
Published: October 2011

New measurements and computations reported at this session raised intriguing questions about the sources and chemistry of atmospheric trace gases.

Gregory L. Kok, of Harvey Mudd College, found in his studies of the Los Angeles area that during the day hydrogen peroxide maxima are often 15–20 parts per billion (ppb), far higher than can be explained by present computer models. The findings suggest that some important chemical process is not included.
On Capitol Hill‐Robert Barbera
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

As the 1979–1980 American Geophysical Union Congressional Science Fellow, I have decided to communicate to you early during my stay on the Hill. Former AGU Fellows have waited until their tenure was finished before providing us with their insights, which were based on a wide range of Hill experiences. Nevertheless, the first few weeks on the Hill are incredibly exhilarating, and, as this exhilaration is soon to be replaced by confusion and a sense of unease—on the job training, it is called—I thought I'd better commit to paper my first impressions.

Lunching in the Capitol Building with congressmen and senators, meeting with the staffs of Senate and House committees, attending lectures given by experts on the Hill's operations, all provided undeniable emotional highs for the 26 fellows with whom I've shared this orientation program. More importantly, however, in these initial days, we have been made aware (or at least reminded) that within the Hill's confines many tough decisions affecting the U.S. (and the world) are made. Furthermore, it appears that in these halls scientists and social scientists, if they are hard working, willing to give up depth for breadth, and able to accept the ultimately political nature of all congressional decisions, may at times be able to participate effectively in the process.
High‐pressure research in Japan
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

The field of high‐pressure research in Japan has a long history, dating from early efforts at the beginning of this century to compress gases to an era of broad but intense activity during the past 20 years to study solid state properties of materials. In a recent report released by the U.S. Office of Naval Research located in Tokyo (E. F. Skelton, High‐Pressure Science and Technology in Japan, Rep. ONRTM1,1979), the research being done in 43 Japanese High‐Pressure Laboratories is described in detail. A large proportion of the research is related to solid state physics and chemistry, but an equally large proportion is related to geophysical studies. There are industrial programs in Japan to develop ‘superhard’ materials, such as diamond and cubic boron nitride, although the emphasis is on basic research rather than production.
JPL‐NASA confer on cometary flyby
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

It would appear now that plans for a two‐comet mission to Halle's and Tempel‐2 will be scrapped by NASA as the result of an OMB budget cut. OMB has undertaken a clean sweep by rejecting funds for new starts of projects in fiscal year 1981. At this time, meetings are being held at NASA's Washington headquarters to see if any science can be salvaged from a simple flyby mission of Halle's comet in 1986. The only hope of continuing with the original plans would be if Congress initiated support of the construction of the SEP (solar electric propulsion system) which is required for a comet rendezvous. In recent weeks, President Carter has been approached for his support of the SEP development program, but according to NASA sources, without success.
Hydrocarbons reported off northern California coast
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

The USGS reports finding the first concentrations of hydrocarbons off the northern California coast in a sea floor sample taken about 40 km. east of Eureka. Analyzed aboard RV Sea Sounder, the 1.6‐m gravity core was found to contain anomalously high amounts of natural gases, ranging from methane to butane.

The sample was collected and examined by Michael E. Field, Keith A. Kvenvolden, and Samuel H. Clarke, Jr. It was taken in November from a small pond of sediment near the crest of a knoll about 500 m below the sea surface on the Eel Plateau. The knoll, say the scientists, is a diapir‐like structure similar in some respects to the salt domes in the petroleum regions of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.
IUGG—Canberra
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

One of the best meetings since World War II—that's how one delegate described the General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), held in Canberra, Australia, last December. Overall, delegates indicate that the gathering was a satisfying one from scientific, organizational, and arrangement standpoints.

Persons from 71 countries participated (see Table 1). The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Libyan Arab Republic joined the Union as new members. For the first time, the People's Republic of China played a major part in the assembly. About 50 scientists from that country attended. There was also at least one participant from Taiwan at the sessions.
Land‐use maps
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

A series of land‐use maps is now available for sale over‐the‐counter from USGS. Previously, these maps were available only by request.

The two‐color maps depict residential, agricultural, commercial, and industrial use, and land cover such as forests and wetlands, at a scale of 1:250,000 (1 cm equals about 2.5 km).
Is the Velikovsky Era ended?
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

If the question were ‘Is Velikovsky gone?,’ the answer would be yes. Immanuel Velikovsky died last November; but was that the end of an ‘era’? Picture a scientist, born in the 19th century, who obtained degrees in mathematics, medicine, and law, and who through the practice of these varied fields moved into psychology. He made a final progression toward history and religion that resulted in the creation of a sort of broad synthesis of ideas of the history of the earth and planets. These events may mark an era in themselves, but the era in question and of relevance to geophysics is the one during which Velikovsky's published work ran counter to conventional thought by interjecting events of astronomy, paleontology, and religion to the historical record of man.
Groundwater wasted
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

Waste disposal in the U.S. has grown to serious proportions, and the EPA is now (finally) beginning a broad campaign to slow down, if not eliminate, the threat of industrial hazardous wastes to groundwater. In recent suits brought by the Justice Department and the EPA against the Hooker Chemical and Olin corporations for violations at Niagara Falls, N.Y., over $120 million is being sought. The suit is the largest ever filed for damage to the environment, according to the Justice Department. The areas at Niagara Falls include the now infamous Love Canal, into which chemicals have been dumped for over 30 years, since World War II. This joint action by Justice and EPA is just the beginning of what is planned to be an all out effort to protect fragile groundwater supplies. Two pieces of legislation, the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, are among the most recent of a number of government efforts to establish safeguards. In a recent special report on this legislation, a number of the most serious problems of determining the causes and effects are examined (Environmental Science and Technology, 14, 38–44, 1980). The conclusion of the report is that the key to the problem in the future is prevention. However, whether the regulations are being followed or not cannot be monitored adequately, and what of the cases such as the Love Canal, where the damage is already done? Will it be possible to reverse the hazards of a contaminated zone? Strict enforcement may be the only alternative, even though many features of groundwater and aquifers are not well understood, and the behavior of wastes themselves as solutes is yet to be evaluated in many instances.
Ocean margin drilling slated for 1981 start
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

The first clear outlines of the Ocean Margin Drilling Program have emerged with the recent release of the president's FY 1981 budget.

If Congress cooperates by appropriating the money for the program, the first phase of the 10‐year, $700 million project will begin in 1981. The budget request calls for the government to spend about $10 million during this initial stage, with oil companies contributing a like amount.
Pioneer Saturn data: A challenge for “particles and fields”
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

‘Particles and fields’ is an expression that describes the type of study upon which the scientific part of the U.S. space effort is primarily focused. The observations are, for the most part, made by analyzing information that is carried by a weak radio signal (telemetry) which is transmitted from a spacecraft. The influences of particles and fields of an object in space on the spacecraft, its instruments, and even on the radio signal form the basis of this analysis. The level of sophistication and, indeed, the scientific yield of a ‘particles’ and ‘fields’ study is clearly evident in the recent reports of data analysis of the Pioneer Saturn results (Science, 207 (4429), 400‐453,1980). By analysis of an 8‐watt radio signal at S band (approximately 2.2 MHz), Saturn's rings were observed, imaged, and analyzed. New rings were found, as was a new satellite (possibly one that had been observed before but ‘lost,’ and its existence thus confirmed by Pioneer). The masses of the rings, many of the satellites, and the main body of Saturn were determined. The temperatures, heat fluxes, and gravitational and magnetic fields were measured and, where possible and appropriate, mapped. It was found that the magnetic field of Saturn, which was not really known before the mission, has a value at the equator of 0.2 gauss (G), which corresponds to a magnetic moment of 4.3×1028 G‐cm3. Saturn's magnetic field at the cloud tops is thus slightly smaller than the earth's, even though Saturn's radius is so much larger (by almost a factor of 10; Rs = 60,000 km). The magnetic field has mostly a dipole character, like Jupiter's, in opposite polarity to the earth's, but it was discovered that Saturn's dipole field axis almost coincides with the rotational axis (a tilt of less than 1°, compared with 10° to 20° for the earth and Jupiter). This small tilt angle introduces difficulties in accurately determining Saturn's rotational period.
New dimensions for the universe
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

For dimensional analysis, the universe can be considered the visible picture from earth. The dimensions of the universe are deduced from Hubble's constant, a factor related to the rate at which the universe is expanding. The traditional methods of determining this constant, which is the relationship between the rate at which the galaxies within the universe are receding from each other and their distance, have been updated, according to a recent report (W. Waller, The Universe: Younger Perhaps Than We Thought, Res. Rep. 27, pp. 1–8, Smithsonian Institution, 1979), with the result that the rate of the universe's expansion may be twice as high as previously believed. If this new result is true, the consequences in astronomic theory are far reaching. At twice the rate of expansion, the universe is only half as large and thus only half the currently accepted age. Based on the new data, the new age is placed at only 9 billion years.
Geophysicists
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Joseph V. Smith of the University of Chicago has been named the recipient of the 1980 Murchison Medal, one of the most prestigious geological honors. Smith was given the award by the Geological Society of London ‘in recognition of (his) distinguished contributions to crystallography, mineralogy, and petrology.’ The award was established by Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, a contemporary of Adam Sedgwick and Charles Lysell.
Glomar Explorer: Candidate for deep drilling ship of the '80's
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

With aid of the outline elevations and the specifications listed on the cover figure, one can almost visualize the huge, bow‐thrusted vessel that is slated to be the deep ocean drilling ship of the 1980's. The Glomar Explorer, former CIA ship, is to be converted for core drilling at incredible ocean depths of 2–4 km. The drilling will be ‘state‐of‐the‐art’ in obtaining core under the most modern and safe drilling standards. It stretches the imagination to realize that safeguards such as blowout protectors, risers, and well head controls, which are now frequently employed in conventional offshore drilling, will be standard equipment on Explorer. When Explorer's drill touches bottom, at 4 km, it will penetrate and then extract core from an additional 1500 meters or more into the ocean floor. This heretofore inconceivable ship, platform, and rig is to be the replacement for the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) drill ship Glomar Challenger, which was responsible for the spectacular scientific progress in deep ocean studies during the 1970's.
Crustal stress research: Highlights of the Fall AGU Session
Authors: Haimson Bezalel C.
Published: October 2011

An interpretive map of the orientation of minimum horizontal stress for the contiguous United States, based on in situ stress measurements, geological data, and earthquake focal mechanism solutions, indicated that the state of stress within the plate is not uniform. The tectonically active western United States was shown to possess a complicated stress pattern, but even in the relatively quiet eastern and central parts of the country, several major variations in orientation of stress were apparent.

A new study, based on measurements in North America, Africa, and Australia, revealed that, on the average, maximum sheer stress increases linearly with depth to at least 5 km, with no indication of leveling off.
Committee to study remote sensing for hydrology
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

Officers of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) decided at the December general assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) in Canberra, Australia, that the time was right to set up a formal group to ‘promote, communicate, and coordinate the applications of remote sensing and data transmission to hydrologic problems.’

The result was the International Committee on Remote Sensing and Data Transmission for Hydrology, a formal working group which will have an international membership of researchers involved in all phases of hydrologic study.
Models reflect new information on the compositions of Uranus and Neptune
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

Chemical models of planets of the Jovian group appear to be following a trend in composition toward lighter elements in the mean, resulting in a renewed interest in the geochemistry of hydrogen (plus helium in solar abundance), water, methane, and ammonia on a solar‐system‐wide basis. Recent Pioneer and Voyager data on Jupiter and a turn have now provided the basis for models of their interiors that are composed mostly of light elements.

Hubbard and MacFarlane (J. Geophys. Res., 85, 225–234, 1980) have, in a new theoretical study of the structure and evolution of Uranus and Neptune, focused attention on ‘ices’ as a major mineral constituent. Thus as data from the outer planets become accessible in this decade, the goal of modeling the interior compositions of the major planets will be a realistic challenge.
Federal budget cuts
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

White House delay in announcing the details of about $13 billion in proposed cuts in the FY 1981 budget has left federal agencies wondering which of their programs will have to be sacrificed.

In an exercise initiated by the White House early this month, federal agencies were asked to submit plans to cut their budgets to several different target levels.
Ocean margin drilling: Preliminary program
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

The National Science Foundation has revised engineering planning and budgeting for the Ocean Margin Drilling Program (OMD). The figure shows the schedules. Right now, the request for proposals, which is an extensive and thorough list of specifications, restrictions, etc., is being prepared, to be followed by contract award and the ensuing design and modifications for the Glomar Explorer (see EOS, 67(11), March 11, 1980). What are now deleted from this schedule are two features of great importance to the ocean science community. One is continuation of Glomar Explorer operations; the other being riserless drilling operations for Glomar Explorer prior to completion of construction of the marine riser.
OCS directory
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The U.S. Geological Survey has issued a directory that identifies the federal, state, and local agencies involved with oil and gas recovery from the outer continental shelf. The directory also traces the steps in development of oil or gas wells, from lease sale through exploration and production, and spells out the duties of the agencies.
Climate Advisory Committee appointed
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

The National Climate Program Act of 1978 established a committee to advise the Secretary of Commerce and the Congress on the conduct of the National Climate Program, created under the Act. The National Climate Program is a multiagency effort administered through a program office in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Its purpose is to help the United States understand and respond to both natural and man‐induced climate processes and their implications.
U.S. report to IUGG
Authors: Chovitz Bernard
Published: October 2011

I must take exception to a remark by President Cox in his editorial on the U.S. Report to the IUGG in the November 30, 1979, issue of EOS. After pointing out the responsibility of the AGU for this report, and then stressing the developing of the AGU into an international society, he states ‘So the fact that this Quadrennial Report does not just record U.S. achievements is very much a reflection of the fact that the AGU is no longer just a national organization.’

The authors of the individual contributions to the report received the following charge from the report's editor‐in‐chief: ‘Non‐U.S. work should be mentioned when it defines the context of contributions in the U.S.’ Neither this statement, nor the report itself, justify the implication in the editorial remark. The report, as the heading of the editorial itself plainly affirms, is the U.S. report, not the AGU report.
Antarctic meteorite researchers find promising new field
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

Researchers, supported jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), have found what looks like a promising new meteorite field in the Antarctic.

The meteorite research and retrieval is carried out by university and government researchers, led by William Cassady of the University of Pittsburgh, including members of the Japanese polar research team and members of a group from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston.
Space shuttle given priority in NASA budget
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

At a recent hearing before a House subcommittee which concerns itself with appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and independent agencies, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) head Robert Frosch made it clear that the space shuttle has top priority in the hardpressed FY 198I NASA budget.

The president's budget, as it originally appeared in January, called for the following amounts for the shuttle: $300 million in supplemental funding for FY 1980, $1.87 billion for research and development in FY 1981, and $10.1 million for construction of facilities in FY 1981. ‘These amounts…,’ Frosch said in a prepared statement, ‘are not being reduced in the current reexamination by the president.’
House Committee recommends cuts in NASA, NSF budgets
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

In a draft report that will accompany the first House budget resolution, the House Budget Committee has recommended that relatively small cuts be made in the FY 1981 budgets for the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The committee's action covered ‘budget function 250,’ which encompasses the bulk of NASA's and the NSF's budgets and includes a portion of the Department of Energy (DOE) budget. (For purposes of the budget process, the various federal programs are divided into ‘functions.’)
Ocean margin drilling—The current plan
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

The latest proposal for the Ocean Margin Drilling (OMD) Program calls for drilling 15 holes between 1984 and 1989, according to a draft of a report of a planning meeting held in Houston, March 3–7. Roughly two thirds of the program would be devoted to exploration of the passive margins, with the remaining third split about equally between active margins, paleoenvironment studies, and ocean crust studies (see list below).

The program is thus fleshed out beyond the 6‐hole schedule envisioned when budget cuts early this year eliminated riserless drilling in the Pacific and southern oceans.
Illinois borehole offers rare chance for research
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

An unprecedented engineering project by a power company may give researchers a chance to look deep into the Precambrian basement of northern Illinois.

Commonwealth Edison (Com Ed), a major supplier of electricity in that region, is drilling an exploratory hole near Winslow, in Stephenson County (expected final depth: 1650 m), as part of an effort to determine if it is feasible to build an underground hydroelectric plant. The system will pump water to a surface reservoir at night, then generate power by dropping the water through turbines to an underground reservoir during the day, when demand for electricity is high.
NOAA pollution office created
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A new organizational group, the National Marine Pollution Program Office, has been created within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of Policy and Planning in order to handle the demands of the 1978 Ocean Pollution Research, Development and Monitoring and Planning Act.

In December 1979, the Federal Interagency Committee on Ocean Pollution Research, Development and Monitoring submitted a plan to Congress that set targets in combating marine pollution and recommended methods of coordinating the activities of the 11 federal agencies and departments that must cooperate in an ocean pollution abatement and coastal resource conservation and development effort.
Report from IUGG Assembly: IAGA session on multicomponent natural remanent magnetization
Authors: Halls H. C.
Published: October 2011

Of fundamental importance in paleomagnetism is the recognition of multicomponent behavior in rocks and the formulation of procedures to correctly isolate and identify the various components. Emphasis on multicomponent analysis has only emerged in the last 5–6 years. This is not only because of the increased study of more geologically complex areas, where rocks may have experienced more than one thermochemical event, but also because highly sensitive computercoupled magnetometers are now available, which permit more rapid and precise measurement of magnetization intensity and direction.

An essential element of multicomponent analysis is the examination of the magnetization removed in demagnetization procedures. Through the use of various methods which involve difference vector stereoplots, vector diagrams, and remagnetization circles, the separation and directional estimate of each component may be obtained. Additional information drawn from rock magnetic, petrologic, radiometric, or field relationships may then lead to a reconstruction of the complex magnetic history that many rocks, particularly old ones, have suffered.