bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On “Estimating carbon budgets for U.S. ecosystems”
Authors: Turner David P.
Published: October 2006

In a recent Eos article, Potter et al. [2006] describe an approach to developing terrestrial biogenic carbon budgets at regional to continental scales. Their primary scaling tool is the Carnegie‐Ames‐Stanford (CASA) model, and spatially explicit inputs include climate as well as vegetation type and vegetation greenness (from satellite imagery). Net primary production (NPP) is simulated with a light use efficiency approach, and heterotrophic respiration (Rh) is based on turnover rates of several litter and soil carbon pools.

This approach is well‐suited to characterizing the response of net ecosystem production (NEPNPP‐Rh, as in the work by Lovett et al. [2006]) to interannual variation in climate, but it is worth pointing out that it largely misses the effects of forest management on NEE These management effects have a significant influence on the absolute carbon exchange with the atmosphere, and on the kind of carbon accounting needed for carbon dioxide emissions inventories.
Santa Barbara basin study extends global climate record
Authors: Hopkins Sarah , Kennett James , Nicholson Craig , Pak Dorothy , Sorlien Christopher , Behl Richard , Normark William , Sliter Ray , Hill Tessa , Schimmelmann Arndt , Cannariato Kevin
Published: October 2006

A fundamental goal of Earth science is to understand the remarkable instability of late Quaternary global climate prior to the beginning of the Holocene, about 11,000 years ago. This unusual climate behavior was characterized by millennial‐scale climate oscillations on suborbital timescales, and a distinctive ‘sawtooth’ pattern of very abrupt glacial and stadial terminations (within decades) followed by more gradual global cooling [e.g., Dansgaard et al., 1993; Hendy and Kennett, 1999]. The fact that both major (glacial) and minor (stadial) cooling periods in Earth's climate were terminated by similar abrupt warming episodes suggests a common mechanism driving such rapid changes in global climate.

Understanding the causes of this instability is crucial given developing concerns about global warming, yet knowledge about this climate behavior has been essentially confined to the last 150,000 years or so, owing to the absence of available sequences of sufficient age and chronological resolution. The high‐resolution paleoclimate record from the Greenland ice cores is limited to about 110 thousand years ago (ka),and although Antarctic ice cores now extend back to more than 740 ka [European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica, 2004], these latter cores primarily provide information about high‐latitude conditions at much lower resolution than is required to address abrupt climate change.
Paleotsunami research
Authors: Rhodes Brady , Tuttle Martitia , Horton Benjamin , Doner Lisa , Kelsey Harvey , Nelson Alan , Cisternas Marco
Published: October 2006

The Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 shows poignantly that catastrophic tsunamis are too infrequent for their hazard to be characterized by historical records alone. Long‐term geologic records provide opportunities to assess tsunami hazards more fully. Telltale deposits left by tsunamis help assess water depth and velocity of past inundations, estimate source locations, and aid in understanding how tsunamis affect the ecology and geomorphology of coastlines. Dated deposits allow estimates of times and recurrence intervals of past tsunamis. Such information guides mitigation efforts and may reduce losses from future tsunamis.
Problems with weather satellite program raise concerns
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

A major U.S. weather and environmental satellite program has gone over budget and is years behind schedule mostly due to poor management oversight, the U.S. Department of Commerce inspector general testified at an 11 May hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Science Committee.

The National Polar‐orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is a set of six satellites that are intended to replace weather satellites currently used by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).As of March 2005, the program was to be completed for $6.8 billion, and the first satellite launch take place in 2009.
ESA extends solar observatory mission
Authors: Sarah Zielinski
Published: October 2006

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced on 24 May that it would extend the life of its Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) from April 2007 to December 2009.

Since it was launched in December 1995, SOHO has provided scientists with a view of the Sun's interior by recording seismic waves across the Sun's surface. “This mission extension will allow SOHO to cement its position as the most important spacecraft in the history of solar physics,” said SOHO project scientist Bernhard Fleck.
Report on marine mammal stranding
Authors: Kumar Mohi
Published: October 2006

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a report on 27 April indicating that U.S. Navy sonar transmissions may have played a role in the stranding of more than 150 melon‐headed whales on 3 July 2004 off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. At the time of the stranding, which resulted in one whale death, the Navy was preparing to conduct sonar activities as part of a military exercise.

The report notes that six naval surface vessels transiting to the area on the previous night intermittently transmitted mid‐frequency active sonar. That activity is “a plausible, if not likely, contributing factor” to the stranding event. There was no significant weather, natural oceanographic event, or known biological factors that would explain the animals' movement into the bay nor the group's continued presence in the bay, according to report lead author Teri Rowles, NOAA marine mammal veterinarian.
Earth sciences and public schools
Authors: Kitchen Robert
Published: October 2006

More than a year ago (Eos 85(49), 523, 2004), the Eos Forum column featured an article by Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, administrator for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Charles Groat, who at that time was Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, concerning the status of the Earth sciences in the public school curriculum. A very small percentage of high school students take an Earth science course, and that number is dropping every day As a retired high school Earth science teacher and science department chair, I often found myself defending our Earth science requirement to some parents and school committee members.
Hurricanes and the U.S. Gulf Coast: Science and sustainable rebuilding
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The knowledge available among AGU members provides scientific expertise on nearly all of the physical environment of the dynamic Gulf Coast ecosystem complex. Intelligently rebuilding features such as fisheries, oil fields, seaports, farms, and wetlands after hurricanes Katrina and Rita will require ‘a well‐constructed collaborative effort to maximize the role of science in decisions made about the rebuilding,’ wrote Charles Groat, former director of the U.S. Geological Survey, in a news article published in Eos that stimulated an AGU meeting of experts.

As a step toward developing a scientific basis for safer communities along the Florida‐Alabama‐Mississippi‐Louisiana‐Texas coastline, AGU convened an interdisciplinary ‘Conference of Experts’ on 11–12 January 2006 to discuss what we, as Earth and space scientists, know about the present and projected environment in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast areas affected by the hurricanes of 2005. Twenty scientists, all experts in the fields of science relevant to the Gulf Coast, met to consider ideas for a coordinated effort to integrate science into the decision‐making processes necessary for the area's sustainable rebirth. Political, economic, and social issues were intentionally not discussed. Nevertheless, it was recognized that these issues are intertwined with science and are of paramount importance.This report contains a summary of the discussion and is intended to be helpful in providing scientific understanding useful in redevelopment of the affected area.
U.S. scales back plan for weather satellite program
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

A major civilian and military U.S. weather satellite program will be scaled back, resulting in the loss of several satellites and sensors for climate and space weather data, under a new plan for the program, the U.S. Air Force said in a 5 June letter to the U.S. Congress. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) conducted a mandatory review of the program after the National Polar‐orbiting Observational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) exceeded its estimated budget by more than 25 percent. The cost of the proposed set of six satellites had ballooned from $6.8 billion in March 2005 to $13.8 billion in May 2006 (Eos 87(21), 2006).
Extending AGU's digital library
Authors: Collins Curtis , Bougeret Jean‐Louis , Costa John , DeFries Ruth , Freymueller Jeffrey , Penner Joyce , Stein Ross , Suyehiro Kiyoshi , Zeng Xubin
Published: October 2006

AGU has a long and proud history of publishing. The Union's most visible and stalwart publication, the Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR), traces its roots to 1896, when the journal Terrestrial Magnetism first appeared. Since then, AGU's publications have come to include more than a dozen journals, books, maps, and the venerable Eos Transactions, which you are reading now.

By far, the largest amount of AGU's published output has been in the form of printed media. Print communications have served scholars for centuries, and they remain valuable. However, today's investigators expect to conduct research in the digital environment of the Internet, where material can be more easily found, accessed, and utilized. Consequently, it is common for scholarly publishers these days to convert their older, print content so that it is accessible and usable on the Internet, a process often called ‘retrospective digitization.’ AGU is embarking on such a process.
Outstanding student paper awards: 2006 ocean sciences meeting
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following students received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2006 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii

Lynn Abramson, Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook University, N.Y, The protection of particulate organic matter within aggregates in the water column.
New officers assume leadership
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The 2006–2008 AGU officers assumed their leadership roles on 1 July. To prepare for their roles, incoming Council members participated in a Leadership Conference on 20–21 May in Annapolis, Md., just prior to the Joint Assembly in Baltimore, Md.

This year's conference focused on the responsibilities of Council members as directors of a not‐for‐profit corporation, and how these responsibilities shape the direction of AGU policy, programs, and activities. Participants had an opportunity to obtain information and context to help them meet their responsibilities as leaders of AGU, to build common understandings with other Council members and Focus Group and committee chairs, and to contemplate the future directions of the Union and its needs.
Risley prisms: 125 years of new applications
Authors: Carter William E. , Carter Merri Sue
Published: October 2006

Nearly everyone today is familiar with at least one use for optical scanners, the laser bar code scanners found at the checkout counters in virtually every retail store.

What many people may not know is that optical scanners are essential components of many modern scientific instruments. In astronomy, for example, scanning spectrometers have been widely used for many years, and more recently optical scanning technology has been used to build motion compensators for large aperture astronomical telescopes (See for example, http://www.noao.edu/noao/noaonews/dec92/art29.html).
On “Avoiding the theory trap”: A second comment
Authors: Tacker R. Chris
Published: October 2006

I concur with David Morrison's recent forum article ("Avoiding the theory trap when discussing evolution," Eos, 87(9).2006) but disagree wilh the suggestion that we abandon the use of the word 'theory.'

A subtext to Morrison's article was the need to use the vernacular. l agree. Evolution has been the object of a long and focused smear campaign built on lies, half‐truths, and distortions. Scientists have largely failed in countering these lies with the simple truth. The way information is presented to the public needs to be changed.
Further comment on the auroral work by A. Paulsen
Authors: Schroder Wilfried
Published: October 2006

I note with interest the discussion by Jørgensen and Rasmussen [2006] on Adam Paulsen's work in the late nineteenth century To understand why this work was not fully appreciated at the time it was being conducted, it should be realized that the emphasis then was on such topics as the relationship between aurora and solar activity, their geographic distribution, and spectroscopic studies such as those by Hermann Karl Vogel and Johann Karl Friedrich Zollner on the red auroral line. The problem of cathode rays and related matters was also being discussed widely, for example, by Eugen Goldstein and Emil Wiechert.
Interdisciplinary data management in support of the International Polar Year
Authors: Parsons Mark A. , Barry Roger G.
Published: October 2006

The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008 will be the largest and most interdisciplinary polar science project ever. David Carlson, director of the IPY International Programme Office (IPO), reports that some 50,000 investigators from more than 60 countries organized in more than 200 international clusters of projects will endeavor to study nearly every aspect of the poles. The projects cover a broad range of physical, life, and social sciences. The data from these projects will be unprecedented in their breadth and diversity and will be the primary legacy of IPY.
Outstanding student paper awards: 2006 joint assembly
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2006 Joint Assembly in Baltimore, Md. (Winners in other sections and focus groups will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos J
Siegfried receives 2006 Robert C. Cowen award
Authors: Witze Alezandra , Siegfried Tom
Published: October 2006

Tom Siegfried received the 2006 Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement in Science Journalism at the Joint Assembly Honors Ceremony, which was held on 25 May 2006 in Baltimore, Md. The award honors lifetime achievement in science journalism.
An integrated strategy for food security in developing countries
Authors: Aswathanarayana Uppugunduri
Published: October 2006

Under the auspices of the 93rd Indian Science Congress—a broad‐spectrum annual gathering of Indian scientists—and as a part of the event “Science, and the U.N. Millennium Development Goals,” this author organized a panel discussion entitled “Biophysical and socioeconomic dimensions of food security in the developing countries,” which was held on 6 January 2006 at Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, India.

The purpose of the panel discussion was to develop an integrated strategy to make use of the consilience among bio, nano, and information technologies; innovative agricultural and management practices; and administrative policies, in order to achieve the United Nations [U.N.] Millennium Development Goal of halving by 2015 the number of undernourished people in the world, which currently totals about 850 million people. Of these, 221 million live in India, with 142 million in China.
Lake Erie hypoxia prompts Canada‐U.S. study
Authors: Hawley Nathan , Johengen Thomas H. , Rao Yerubandi R. , Ruberg Steven A. , Beletsky Dmitry , Ludsin Stuart A. , Eadie Brian J. , Schwab David J. , Croley Thomas E. , Brandt Stephen B.
Published: October 2006

Because of its size and geometry, the central basin of Lake Erie, one of North America's Great Lakes, is subject to periods in the late summer when dissolved oxygen concentrations are low (hypoxia). An apparent increase in the occurrence of these eutrophic conditions and ‘dead zones’ in recent years has led to increased public concern. The International Field Years for Lake Erie (IFYLE) project of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL, a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) laboratory), was established in 2005 in response to this increase.

This project is investigating the causes and consequences of hypoxia in the lake. As part of the effort, scientists from the United States and Canada conducted an extensive field study in 2005 to gather more information on the duration and extent of the hypoxic zone and its effects on the biota in the lake. This article gives a brief history and description of the problem and presents initial results from the field study.
Argo floats complement biological remote sensing
Authors: Uz B. Mete
Published: October 2006

Within the past decade, satellite observations of ocean color have provided a global view of biology within the ocean's surface layer and revealed how phytoplankton abundance varies in response to various physical forcings ranging from the large scales of seasonal cycles and the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation, to planetary waves, eddies, and coastal filaments at smaller scales. The maturing Argo network of profiling floats now provides a way to put these remote sensing measurements into a vertical context.

The true test of any scientific discipline is prognostic capability. In physical oceanography, the ocean dynamics are fairly well understood, and their prediction hinges on the measurement of key variables at the proper spatial and temporal scales so as to validate and initialize models. Remote sensing coverage of these key parameters, such as sea surface temperature and height anomalies, has been available for 30 and 15 years, respectively. As a result, recent advances in numerical modeling are bringing operational forecasting of ocean circulation within reach.
Field campaign examines hurricane origins
Authors: Kumar Mohi
Published: October 2006

In order to study the genesis of hurricanes, NASA will conduct an extensive field program off the west coast of Africa from 17 August through September. The project, called the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA),will use surface observation networks, aircraft flyovers, and satellite data to characterize tropical low pressure systems and thunderstorms within monsoons as the air moves over western Africa into the eastern Atlantic Ocean. These tropical air masses, called ‘African Easterly Waves,’ can evolve into tropical hurricanes that drench regions surrounding the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and the U.S. eastern seaboard.

“The tropical Atlantic experiences 60 to 70 tropical waves in a given season, but on average only 10% of these become named storms,” explained Jeff Halverson, a meteorology professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a mission scientist for NAMMA.“The overarching goal of the NAMMA experiment is to understand why so few of these tropical waves develop into fullfledged hurricanes,” he said.
Gas hydrate transect across Northern Cascadia Margin
Authors: Riedel Michael , Collett Tim , Malone Mitchell , Akiba Fumio , Blanc‐Valleron Marie , Ellis Michelle , Guerin Gilles , Hashimoto Yoshitaka , Heuer Verena , Higashi Yowsuke , Holland Melanie , Jackson Peter , Kaneko Masanori , Kastner Miriam , Kim Ji‐Hoon , Kitajima Hiroko , Long Phil , Malinverno Alberto , Myers Greg , Palekar Leena , Pohlman John , Schultheiss Peter , Teichert Barbara , Torres Marta , Tréhu Anne , Wang Jiasheng , Wortmann Uli , Yoshioka Hideyoshi
Published: October 2006

Gas hydrate is a solid compound mainly comprised of methane and water that is stable under low temperature and high pressure conditions. Usually found in offshore environments with water depths exceeding about 500 meters and in arctic regions associated with permafrost, gas hydrates form an efficient storage system for natural gas. Hence, they may represent an important future energy resource [e.g., Kvenvolden, 1988]. Gas hydrates also form a natural geo‐hazard, and may play a significant role in global climate change [e.g., Dillon et al., 2001].
Titan mission data now available
Authors: Zielinki Sarah
Published: October 2006

European Space Agency (ESA) has made public the data from four of the six experiments on the Huygens probe, which landed on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan in January 2005.

Data is available from the following instruments: the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument, which measured the physical and electrical properties of the moon's atmosphere; the DopplerWind Experiment, which studied the direction and strength of Titan's winds; the Aerosol Collector and Pyrolyser (ACP), which collected aerosols; and the Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometer, which analyzed data from the ACP and measured the chemical composition of the atmosphere.
Updating the map of Earth's Surface conductance
Authors: Vozár Ján , Semenov Vladimir Y. , Kuvshinov Alexey V. , Manoj Chandrasekharan
Published: October 2006

Studying the Earth's deep conductivity structures, important for developing our understanding of the dynamics of the Earth, is complicated due to effects of the shallow conductive structures on the electromagnetic (EM) responses for periods larger than hours. The results of the deep EM soundings can be heavily distorted by the surface shell conductance, which varies from fractions of Siemens (S) inland to up to tens thousand of Siemens in the oceans. Thus, separating the effects caused by those variations and by deep conductivity structures is an important step during interpretation of the data.

This article reports on efforts to overcome these difficulties by providing high‐resolution, global maps of the Earth's surface shell conductivity structure, from which deep conductivity can be interpolated. Using finescale regional surface schemes of conductance for the shallow structures (S‐maps) overlain and compiled into broader spatial maps, scientists will b e able to use data products from these efforts to accomplish research goals of the currently running USArray (http://www.emscope.org) and for the planned Euro‐Array (http://www.euroarrayorg), projects that aim in part to regionally map the conductivity structures at upper and middle mantle depths by using magnetotelluric (MT) and magnetovariation (MV) methods.
Report highlights climate change risk to oceans
Authors: Zielinki Sarah
Published: October 2006

Human‐induced changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will have severe consequences for oceans, concluded a 31 May report from the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU).

The WGBU wrote the report, which was released in English on 26 July, in order to draw attention to the need to develop climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies and to contribute to the development of a European Union ocean policy.
Satellite data for ocean biology, biogeochemistry, and climate research
Authors: McCain Charles , Hooker Stanford , Feldman Gene , Bontempi Paul
Published: October 2006

Understanding how the effects of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and higher surface temperatures cascade through the ocean's physical and biogeochemical systems is a major theme of NASA's Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program, and this requires decadal time series of accurate global satellite measurements of key marine biological properties, such as phytoplankton chlorophyll a concentration. Such time series have been a primary NASA objective since the mid‐1980s when the results from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS),a proof‐of‐concept program (sparse global coverage with a limited post‐launch validation program), demonstrated that space‐based retrievals of ocean water‐leaving radiances (Lw's) and chlorophyll a concentrations were sufficiently accurate for quantitative research.
SMART‐1 spacecraft to crash into Moon
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

The European Space Agency's (ESA) spacecraft SMART‐1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology) concludes its nearly three‐year mission by crashing into the lunar Lake of Excellence on 2 or 3 September.

The craft has used an innovative electric propulsion engine—which works by expelling xenon gas ions to produce thrust and is powered by solar panels—to orbit first the Earth and then the Moon.With a miniature camera and X‐ray and infrared spectrometers, SMART‐1 has been mapping the moon since March 2005. This is the first spacecraft to detect calcium and magnesium from orbit, which are potential clues to the origin of the Moon.
Digital Acquisition, Analysis, and Visualization in the Earth sciences
Authors: Oldow John S. , Walker J. Douglas , Aiken Carlos L. V. , Xu Xueming
Published: October 2006

Perhaps the greatest obstacle to building an integrated Earth science cyberinfrastructure is the disconnect between the collection of field data and the construction of an associated digital database. This was recognized as a major issue by participants of the Integrated Solid Earth Science Cyberlnfrastructure workshop held at the University of Kansas in 2003, and led to a workshop spanning three days in April 2006, sponsored jointly by the U.S. National Science Foundation and GEON, the Geosciences Network (http://www.geongrid.org).

Twenty‐eight participants with backgrounds in a broad range of disciplines from institutions in the United States were joined by representatives from Canada, the United Kingdom, and China to explore the motivations and issues surrounding digital acquisition, analysis, and visualization through a series of demonstrations, breakout sessions, and plenary discussions.
Hispanic Scientist of the Year
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

Inés Cifuentes, AGU's Education and Career Services Manager, has been named the 2006 National Hispanic Scientist of the Year by the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Fla.

The award recognizes Hispanic scientists “who promote a greater public understanding of science and motivate Hispanic youths' interest in science.” Cifuentes will receive the award at a 28 October 2006 ceremony.
Real‐time underwater sounds from the Southern Ocean
Authors: Boebel Olaf , Kindermann Lars , Klinck Holger , Bornemann Horst , Plötz Joachim , Steinhage Daniel , Riedel Sven , Burkhardt Elke
Published: October 2006

Marine sound, natural or anthropogenic, has long fascinated scientists, mariners, and the general public. The haunting songs of humpback whales and the pings of antisubmarine sonar, among other sounds from the oceans, convey allure and suspense.

Recently, that suspense has moved from television screens to courtrooms, where navies, scientists, and environmentalists have clashed over the effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals [Malakoff, 2002]. Triggered by atypical mass strandings of primarily beaked whales in concordance with naval sonar exercises off Greece in 1996 and the Bahamas in 2000, substantial efforts to obtain baseline data to understand the possible effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals have commenced. Recent advances include dive and vocalization records of beaked whales [Johnson et al., 2004] and detailed observations of the behavioral response of sperm whales on seismic signals [Jochens et al., 2006].
AGU scientists testify at Climate Change Hearing
Authors: Folger Peter
Published: October 2006

AGU recently helped the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform to organize the hearing by suggesting potential witnesses and outlining potential topics to explore, such as the global carbon cycle, rapid climate change, climate feedback processes, and satellite measurements. Climate change falls within the committee's broader interest in the federal government's programs on energy and resources. Four AGU members testified at a 20 July hearing.

In his opening statement, Committee Chair Rep.Tom Davis (R‐Va.) said,“We are here today to acknowledge that too many elected officials have for too long been MIA [missing in action] on this issue. We hope to begin changing that. But first we need to step back and ask some basic but critical questions. Exactly what is climate change, and where are we with the science?”
India bolsters GPS Network for earthquake hazard assessment
Authors: Mohanty Manoranjan
Published: October 2006

Following the great Sumatra earthquake of 26 December 2004, India has strengthened crustal deformation studies in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and adjoining regions by using the global positioning system (GPS).The rupture characteristics of the earthquake in this region are not well resolved through the seismological data.

Although GPS observations in the Andaman and Nicobar region just before and after the earthquake have provided improved estimates of rupture characteristics [Gahalaut et al., 2006], there is still a need for detailed GPS‐aided crustal deformation studies in order to understand the geodynamics of the region.
Scientific drilling for climate‐tectonic research in Southeast Asia
Authors: Clift Peter D. , Soh Wonn , Harrison Mark , Zheng Hongbo
Published: October 2006

The tectonic evolution of the Earth's lithosphere affects the behavior and development of the planet's atmospheric and oceanographic systems, yet the nature of these interactions presently is understood only in outline. The Asian monsoon system, which sustains two‐thirds of humanity, appears to be one of the most dramatic examples of such interactions. However, it is unclear how much of its intensity is controlled by slow, solid Earth dynamics and how much is controlled by short‐term, potentially anthropogenically influenced processes.

Climate models suggest a strong link between Tibetan altitude and the strength of the monsoon. Nevertheless, models that link mountain building and climate change largely are untested, even in this dramatic example. There is little agreement on the ages of either an intensified monsoon or the Tibetan Plateau, although a period eight million years ago (Ma) does appear to have been a time of increased wind strength and drying of Central Asia. Some researchers have suggested that this period also may have been a time of accelerated plateau growth. Moreover, the relative influence of tectonic versus orbital forcing on monsoon intensity is poorly understood.
On “Johann von Lamont: A pioneer in geomagnetism”
Authors: Schröder Wilfried
Published: October 2006

I offer a few brief comments and additional information with regard to the article by H.Soffel (Eos, 87(25), 247,2006) on the work of Johann von Lamont.

In the early years of Lamont's directorship at the Munich Observatory, he was assisted by Georg von Neumayer (1826–1909). Geomagnetism was Neumayer's first and greatest passion, and later in his life he played a leading role in international geomagnetic cooperation and the First International Polar Year (1882–1883).
Data acquisition for volcano monitoring
Authors: Orazi Massimo , Martini Marcello , Peluso Rosario
Published: October 2006

In the past decade, systems and techniques for volcano monitoring activities have improved rapidly. The scientific community focused on the development of new methods and techniques, while the electronic systems for experimental activity and monitoring networks were developed mainly by commercial companies.

However, these commercial systems often do not fit simultaneously all the needs of geophysical research. A new project, led by the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) ‘Osservatorio Vesuviano’ (OV) in Naples is trying to fill this niche with the development of data acquisition systems for multiparametric volcanic monitoring.
Internet mapping tools make scientific applications easy
Authors: Lyon Steve W. , Lembo Arthur J. , Walter M. Todd , Steenhuis Tammo S.
Published: October 2006

Organizing complex information in the form of a map is a powerful and effective way of communication.This is especially true when linking spatially distributed scientific information to [real‐world] applications. However, creating an intuitive and easy‐touse interface between the user and the data requires a large amount of development time for user feedback and programming.

To reduce this development time, it is now possible to couple spatial data with the increasingly popular Google Earth software (http://earth.google.com) package (Figure 1). (The products mentioned in this work do not indicate an endorsement by the authors. Additionally, the authors have no affiliation with the GoogleTM company) This free‐to‐use package allows users to avoid the costs associated with other high‐end geographical information systems (GIS). While other free Internet GIS packages exist, including NASA's World Wind (http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov) and Microsoft's Virtual Earth (http://local.live.com), one significant advantage of Google Earth is the use of Keyhole Markup Language (KML) for managing three‐dimensional geospatial data. KML is an XML‐based markup language that can be used to import and overlay user‐defined data (vector or image form) and control views and zooming.
Impulsive enhancements of oxygen ions during substorms
Authors: Fok Mei‐Ching , Moore Thomas E. , Brandt Pontus C. , Delcourt Dominique C. , Slinker Steven P. , Fedder Joel A.
Published: October 2006

It has been observed that H+ is the dominant ion species in the plasma sheet and the ring current during quiet times. However, the O+/H+ density ratio increases with increasing geomagnetic storm and substorm activity. Energetic neutral atom (ENA) images from Imager for Magnetopause‐to‐Aurora Global Exploration/High Energy Neutral Atom (IMAGE/HENA) reveal the rapid increase of O+ ring current at substorm expansion. Finding the cause of this substorm‐associated O+ enhancement is the main focus of this paper. Two possible sources are suggested: direct injection from the ionosphere and energization of the preexisting oxygen ions in the magnetosphere. We perform numerical simulations to examine these two mechanisms. Millions of O+ are released from the auroral region during a simulated substorm by the Lyon‐Fedder‐Mobarry MHD model. The subsequent trajectories of these outflowing ions are calculated by solving the full equation of particle motion. A few minutes into the substorm expansion phase, an enhancement in O+ pressure is found on the nightside at ∼12 RE. After careful analysis, we conclude that this pressure peak is coming from energization of the preexisting O+ in the plasma sheet. The direct injection mechanism will introduce a significant time lag between strong ionospheric outflow and magnetospheric enhancement, so that it cannot explain the observed O+ bursts. Using the temperature and density established by the test‐particle calculations as boundary conditions to a ring current model, we calculate the O+ fluxes and the corresponding ENA emissions during the model substorm. We are able to reproduce observable features of oxygen ENA enhancements as seen by IMAGE/HENA.
Comparison of model and observational ocean circulation climatologies for the New Zealand region
Authors: Chiswell Stephen M. , Rickard Graham J.
Published: October 2006

Primitive equation three‐dimensional regional models driven by global models can be used to generate climatologies of the ocean circulation. With 1/12° resolution, these model climatologies begin to resolve the coastal circulation and it is appropriate to ask whether they are adequate to replace observational climatologies. We compare circulation climatologies derived from a z coordinate 36 vertical layer model, run with three different diffusivities with an observational climatology (CSIRO Atlas of Regional Seas, CARS), and with surface velocities derived from Lagrangian drifters deployed under the Global Drifter Program (GDP). All the climatologies capture the major features in the mean circulation. South of the Chatham Rise, and east of New Zealand, the model climatologies agree better with GDP than does CARS. North of the Chatham Rise, the models overestimate the strength of the East Cape Eddy. Wave number spectra from the models suggest that instability processes which are important in the mean are captured with diffusion less than 25 m2 s−1. The model with lowest diffusion may be providing the best estimate of the mean circulation, but at the expense of numerical instability.
Word is out on SSC short list
Authors: Maggs William Ward
Published: October 2006

Sites in eight states have been selected by a panel from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as finalists in the selection process for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Superconducting Super Collider (SSC), two Republican Senators announced today. DOE acknowledged that it had received a list from NAS but would not confirm the contents of the list.

According to the Associated Press, Senators Jesse Helms (R‐N.C.) and Phil Gramm (R‐Tex.) were notified about the list by Secretary of Energy John Herrington. In a subsequent news conference, Helms announced that sites in Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Tennessee, New York, Illinois, Michigan, and North Carolina had been placed by the NAS panel on a “short list” and presented to DOE.
$425 million for space station
Authors: Maggs William Ward
Published: October 2006

The Space Station will funded at only about half of the $767 million requested in the 1988 budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and overall the agency will receive $8,856 billion for the current fiscal year (FY) in the deficit‐reduction package passed by Congress in late December. Despite an earlier complaint that reductions in the space station budget would kill the program and an apparent lack of support from the White House, NASA's official reaction was full of good cheer.

NASA will be able to use the $425 million in two installments, $200 million now and $225 million in June. In October, NASA administrator James Fletcher stated in a letter to Senator Jake Garn (R‐Utah) that if the space station received no more than $440 million, he would “recommend termination” of the program. But after the budget was approved, NASA said that the $425 million “reflected the strong commitment of the President and the Congress to proceed with the development of a space station.” A recent request to President Reagan from congressional proponents of the station for a letter of support for the multibillion dollar project was declined.
NSFNET to send data at 1.5 Mbps
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

A new $14 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to upgrade a data communication network for scientific research will improve the speed of the network by more than an order of magnitude. The 5‐year grant has been awarded to MERIT, Inc., a consortium of Michigan universities that will manage the network, which is called NSFNET.

The network now transmits information at 56,000 bits per second (bps). With computer hardware and software contributed by IBM and fiber optics data transfer lines donated by MCI Communications, the upgraded network will be able to send and receive information at 1.5 million bps, the equivalent of about 50 single‐spaced typewritten pages every second.
Mixed layer dynamics: Progress and new directions
Authors: Müller Peter , Garwood Roland W.
Published: October 2006

The dynamics of the oceanic surface mixed layer was the topic of the Fourth ‘Aha Huliko'a Hawaiian Winter Workshop. The meeting was hosted by the University of Hawaii and was held from January 14 to 16, 1987. Some two dozen participants, representing diverse experimental and theoretical interests and viewpoints, were charged with “evaluating the state of the art and offering suggestions for future research.”

The ocean is primarily driven at the sea surface by the atmosphere. The fluxes of momentum, mass, and heat into the ocean are controlled by the oceanic surface mixed layer. Proper understanding of mixed layer dynamics is hence paramount for almost every problem in physical oceanography. This central role is not limited to physical oceanography. Mixed layer dynamics also affect the natural and anthropogenic chemical fluxes between the ocean and the atmosphere and therefore the geochemical cycle of many substances (F. Mackenzie, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.). Similarly, mixed layer dynamics are of crucial importance for the biological productivity of the upper ocean.
Acid lake in N.Y. gets relief
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

A pond in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State has received a second soothing dose of baking soda. The 21 tons of sodium bicarbonate should moderate the pond's acidic conditions, lethal to fish and other forms of life.

Wolf Pond, 25 miles (40 km) north of Saranac Lake, has developed an extremely low pH (4.5) because of acid rain and the runoff of acidic surface water, combined with very little outflow. The pond was first treated with sodium bicarbonate by t h e New York Department of Environmental Conservation in 1984; afterward the pH rose to about 6.2. Fish stocked by local residents have continued to live in the pond, despite the eventual rebound in its acidity.
High‐pressure earth sciences work funded in Canada
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Chris Scarfe (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada) has been awarded a National Scientific and Energy Research Council (NSERC) Major Installation Grant to purchase and operate high‐pressure apparatus for research in geochemistry, geophysics, and materials development. The award, which was supported by Karlis Muehlenbachs and Tom Etsell (also of the University of Alberta), Mike Fleet (University of Western Ontario, London, Canada), H u g h Greenwood (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada), and 15 other coinvestigators across Canada, amounts to approximately $1 million. T h e University of Alberta has contributed $250,000 plus $60,000 for laboratory preparation and installation costs, and NSERC has provided $521,899 in capital costs and $210,000 in operating costs over 3 years.
AGU Chapman Conference on Perovskites
Authors: Hazen Robert M.
Published: October 2006

October 30 to November 2, 1987, an international group of 75 physicists, chemists, geophysicists, and materials scientists met in Bisbee, Ariz., for an AGU Chapman Conference on the interdisciplinary topic Perovskites: A Structure of Great Interest to Geophysics and Materials Science. The meeting, which followed the annual Geological Society of America convention in Phoenix, Ariz., was organized by Alexandra Navrotsky (Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.).
Rare events ion geology
Authors: McLaren Digby J.
Published: October 2006

International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP) Project 199, which was begun in 1984 under the enthusiastic leadership of Kenneth Hsu (Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich), held its second working session in Beijing, March 3–5, 1987. The meeting was held at the invitation of Sun Shu, Director of the Bureau of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Academia Sinica; Xu Dao‐Yi, Institute of Geology, State Seismological Bureau, and Sun Yi‐Ying (Freddie), Institute of Geology, Academia Sinica.

The scientific sessions were followed by a field excursion to the Permian‐Triassic boundary in Changxing area. Throughout the meetings and excursion, the organization and opportunities for interaction were superb. Sixteen foreign delegates from nine countries met with 47 of their Chinese colleagues and learned a great deal from them. All of us had been aware that a lot of research was going on in China on the geology, paleontology, and geochemistry of event stratigraphy, but I believe that few if any of us had realized the scale and variety of research that is currently being advanced in every corner of this vast country and throughout the whole of the Phanerozoic stratigraphic column.
History of British Space Science
Authors: Needell Allan A.
Published: October 2006

On May 13, 1953, as H. S. W. Massey (born Harrie Stewart Wilson Massey) was leaving his office to take part in the annual cricket match between the staff and students of the University College London physics department, he received a fateful telephone call from an official at the Ministry of Supply. According to Massey, the official asked whether he would be interested in using ministry supplied rockets for scientific research. “Without hesitation he said ‘yes’ and this really marked the beginning of the British scientific rocket programme,” (p. 17).

Sir Harrie Massey died on November 27, 1983. In addition to an extraordinary scientific career, and a career as a senior statesman of British science, Massey also left behind an essentially completed manuscript devoted to chronicling the major events and accomplishments of British space science. The book project, according to M. O. Robins (Massey's coauthor and a pioneer in British rocketry and space science in his own right) was conceived in 1978. In 1981 the authors received a commission from the British Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC). The present volume is the result.
IAHS awards International Hydrology Prize
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) awarded its 1987 International Hydrology Prize to Vujica Yevjevich, preseritly Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University (Fort Collins). The award was announced at the IAHS General Assembly final plenary meeting in Vancouver, Canada, on August 21, 1987.

Because Yevjevich was unable to attend the Vancouver meeting, the prize —a beautiful silver medal— was presented to him at George Washington University, Washington, D.C., on September 11 by two IAHS representatives. Ivan Johnson (A. Ivan Johson, Inc., Arvada, Colo.), Honorary President of IAHS, and Marshall Moss (U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Reston, Va.), Chairman of the U.S. National Committee for IAHS, personally handed the medal to Yevjevich. On behalf of the IAHS membership, they offered congratulations on the award and appreciation for Yevjevich's many contributions to the science of hydrology. (See photograph above).
Water resource systems group
Authors: Stedinger Jery R. , Lettenmaier Dennis P.
Published: October 2006

The 11th meeting of the Water Resource Systems Group was held at the University of Washington (Seattle), August 7–8, 1987. These systems group meetings, which are informal gatherings of professionals who have an interest in the educational and research aspects of water resources systems analysis, have usually been held on university campuses. The 30 attendees of the 1987 meeting represented a cross section of university faculty and graduate students, government managers and researchers, and engineering consultants.

The meeting opened with short discussions by Steve Burges (University of Washington), Chuck Howard (CDD Howard and Associates, Victoria, Canada), David Dawdy (consultant, San Francisco, Calif.), and Jon Liebman (University of Illinois, Urbana) outlining their views of current issues in the water resources area. Burges emphasized the limitations and inadequacies of many of the models currently used in hydrology: rainfall runoff models may not adequately capture the physical characteristics of the movement of water into channels, vadose and saturated zone pollutant transport models are incapable of reproducing many of the features observed in the field, and many streamflow forecasting models used for reservoir operations have been constructed to reproduce average conditions but break down under the extreme conditions (floods and droughts) where they are most needed.
It's your history
Authors: Stern David P.
Published: October 2006

The AGU Committee on the History of Geophysics (CHG) has been active since 1982. You have probably noticed our activities: Eos history articles edited by Bill Glen and talks and sessions dealing with history at AGU meetings. Perhaps you have also seen the CHG newsletter produced by Sam Silverman, or the recent volume The History of Hydrology edited by Ed Landa, third in the series History of Geophysics, coordinated and edited by C. Stewart Gillmor. Or you might have attended, in San Francisco (Calif.), the VGP session “Development of the Blueschist Fascies Concept,” chaired by Charles Gilbert, the first history session to be videotaped by AGU.