bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Karst Waters Institute
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Karst Waters Institute (KWI) is a U.S. research organization that was formed to combine the skills of academic, governmental, and private sector specialists to solve existing karst water problems and anticipate future problems. KWI has been incorporated as a not‐for‐profit corporation in West Virginia to provide the human expertise and database needed to assist the nation in the preservation and utilization of its water resources.

KWI plans to develop a core of resident and visiting scientists from across the nation and overseas, technicians, support staff, and graduate students. Its mission is to conduct research to improve our understanding of karst phenomena, to develop techniques to prevent environmental problems from occurring in karst areas, to assist in rectifying existing environmental problems, and to provide education and training for professionals and the general public on the risks and benefits of karst areas.
Arctic ozone loss declines
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

NASA scientists have found that the degree of Arctic ozone depletion over parts of the United States, Canada, Europe, and Russia was lower than expected this past winter, despite record levels of chlorine monoxide, the dominant form of active chlorine that destroys ozone, and other ozone‐depleting chemicals measured in the stratosphere. The findings were presented at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 30.

Ozone depletion does however remain a threat in the future, said Joe Waters of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., because chlorine sources are long‐lived in the stratosphere. “With so much chlorine in the stratosphere, a slight temperature difference can make an enormous difference in the potential for ozone depletion,” he said.
Solar system research plan underway
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX) of the National Research Council's Space Studies Board (SSB) provides advice to the U.S. federal government on solar system research. Over the past 20 years, COMPLEX has developed scientific strategies for the investigation of the inner solar system, the outer solar system, primitive bodies, and other solar systems.

COMPLEX has been asked by the SSB to establish overall priorities for the exploration of the solar system throughout the next decade. COMPLEX will subdivide solar system science into five disciplines: solid bodies, atmospheres, rings and dust, and origins including meteorites, extra‐solar planetary systems, and theoretical modeling. In these areas, and across solar system science as a whole, we will summarize our current understanding, pose the most significant questions yet to be answered, and establish priorities for research.
1992 AGU Fellows
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

AGU congratulates the twenty‐eight distinguished scientists who were selected by a committee of their peers to be AGU Fellows in 1992. This selection was based on the individual attaining acknowledged eminence in a branch of geophysics.

The number of Fellows selected annually is limited to no more than 0.1% of the AGU membership. The new Fellows are listed below along with citations recognizing their specific achievements.
NOAA's OAR program funding down
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

Proposed funding for NOAA's Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) is down for most programs in fiscal year 1993. NOAA's three primary programs funded through OAR are Climate and Air Quality, Climate and Global Change ($1.14 million or 59% of OAR), Atmospheric Research, Modernization of NOAA's Atmospheric Services ($4.08 million or 21% of OAR), and Ocean and Great Lakes Programs, Coastal Ocean Program ($3.87 million or 20%).

OAR conducts research in marine and atmospheric sciences through its own laboratories and offices, as well as through a network of university‐based systems across the United States. OAR also provides the scientific basis for national policy formulation, such as climate and global change, the Clean Air Act, and ozone depletion. OAR is NOAA's primary contact for universities.
Hydrology and the Management of Watersheds
Authors: Gifford Gerald F.
Published: October 2006

As the title indicates, this book deals with hydrology, which is the science of water, and watershed management, which is the process of guiding and organizing land and other resource use on a topographically delineated area drained by a stream system to provide desired goods and services without adversely affecting soil and water resources. The book's contents have been divided into four parts. Part I deals with hydrologic processes and land use. Individual chapters cover precipitation and interception; evapotranspiration and soil water storage; infiltration, runoff, and streamflow; and groundwater. This structure provides a basic introduction to components of the hydrologic cycle.
Student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Seven student papers were deemed outstanding from the 70 presented in the Solar‐Planetary Relationships Section at the AGU 1991 Fall Meeting. William C. Burgess was honored for his paper, ”On the Role of Ducted Whistlers in Lightning‐Induced Electron Precipitation.” He graduated from Punahou High School in Honolulu (1981), and received his bachelor's (1985) and masters (1987) degrees from Stanford University. While Burgess' bachelor's and masters research focused on computer systems, his PhD involves radio science, applying computing to his interests in Earth sensing and experimental radio.
Permeability of crystalline rocks
Authors: Clauser Christoph
Published: October 2006

In contrast to most other petrophysical parameters, intrinsic permeability for any single rock type varies by the decade rather than by the factor (see, for example, Bear [1972]). Both the type of measurement and its characteristic scale (that is, the rock volume over which an individual permeability value is integrated) are responsible for this. Brace [1980, 1984] compiled permeabilities of sedimentary (porous) and crystalline (fractured) rocks and pointed out that both types of rock exhibit a “scale effect”: the larger the experiment's scale, or characteristic volume, the greater the permeability. One other transport parameter, dispersion length or dispersivity, which is closely related to permeability, behaves similarly. There are both data compilations for dispersivity documenting this scale effect [Beims, 1983; Gelhar et al., 1985] and theoretical studies (such as Neumann [1990]) discussing possible scaling rules. An interesting conclusion by Neumann [1990], which is in good agreement with Brace's results, is that "porous and fractured media appear to follow the same idealized scaling rule for both flow and transport, raising a question about the validity of many distinctions commonly drawn between such media."
Magmatic contributions to hydrothermal systems
Authors: Muffler L. J. Patrick , Hedenquist Jeffrey W. , Kesler Stephen E. , Izawa Eiji
Published: October 2006

Although there is agreement that many hydrothermal systems in the upper crust derive their thermal energy from magmas, debate continues over the extent to which magmas contribute water, metals, and sulfur to hydrothermal systems. A multidisciplinary seminar was held November 10–16, 1991, in Ebino and Kagoshima, Japan, to establish current understanding about this topic and to explore the major unanswered questions and the most promising research directions. The thirty‐eight participants were from Japan (eighteen), the U.S. (thirteen), Canada and New Zealand (two each), and England, the Philippines, and Russia (one each). Disciplines represented were volcanology, geochemistry (volcanic‐gas, water, isotopes, experimental, and modeling), igneous petrology, geothermal geology, economic geology, fluid‐inclusion study, geophysics, and physical modeling.
Climate change policy uncertainties addressed
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

Acknowledging that decision makers and scientists have different questions concerning climate change policy, the report “Joint Climate Project to Address Decision Makers' Uncertainties” attempts to bridge the communication gap between the two groups. Science and Policy Associates, Inc., Washington, D.C., undertook a project to reach a consensus on the questions that need to be asked and released their 86‐page report on May 12.
Space competitiveness bill stirs controversy
Authors: DeVito M. Catherine
Published: October 2006

On April 9, a controversial bill that calls for commercializing NASA sounding rocket launch services was approved by the House Subcommittee on Space. Space scientists fear the bill will reduce the amount of research conducted and jeopardize a successful program.

HR 3848, the Commercial Space Competitiveness Act of 1991, is sponsored by Rep. Ralph M. Hall (D‐Tex.) and was first referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on November 21, 1991. Its purpose is “to encourage the growth and development of commercial space activities in the United States.” The bill now awaits action by the full committee. A vote is expected in early summer.
Assisting science in the Former Soviet Union
Authors: Leath Audrey T.
Published: October 2006

The turmoil and economic hardships in the former Soviet Union have not bypassed its scientific community. Governments and scientists around the world bemoan the collapse of the Soviet science infrastructure and the potential loss of Soviet weapons scientists to untrustworthy nations. In joint research collaborations, many see both the chance to assist science in the former Soviet Union and a wellspring of potentially commercial technology.

The biggest effort to date is a joint agreement among Russia, the European Community, Japan, and the United States to set up an International Science and Technology Center in Moscow. The center will act as a clearinghouse for proposals from the former Soviet Union to fund research for former weapons scientists. The member nations could support proposals either singularly or jointly. Although all the details have yet to be worked out, the United States has pledged $25 million to this effort so far.
The Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer
Authors: Carlson Charles W.
Published: October 2006

The auroral zone provides a natural laboratory for studies of plasma phenomena. In this laboratory, waves and nonlinear electrostatic and electromagnetic structures are produced and ions and electrons are accelerated and heated. The primary scientific objective of the Fast Auroral SnapshoT (FAST) Explorer is to study the microphysics of the low‐altitude auroral acceleration region with extremely high time‐resolution.

A wide variety of auroral plasma phenomena have been discovered by recent experiments, but are not yet understood in detail. These include electrostatic shocks, small‐scale double layers, electrostatic and electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves, the fine structure of auroral kilometric radiation, counterstreaming field‐aligned electron beams, and upward‐flowing field‐aligned ion beams. In most of these experiments, temporal resolution was limited to the spin period of the spacecraft and ultimately constrained by the capacity of the data systems. Recent sounding‐rocket investigations have found that the plasma of the auroral zone possesses much finer temporal and spatial structures than have been resolved by satellites.
[comment on “Changing “Lifestyles” without graduates”] Geophysics in developing countries
Authors: Robertson James Orr
Published: October 2006

As a water resources engineer/planner in developing countries from 1948 to 1989, I agree with Cinna Lomnitz regarding the effects of the brain drain (Eos, Aug. 6, 1991, p. 339).

Let us face reality. Many of those students who decide to return and are fortunate enough to secure responsible government and consultancy posts spend a lot of their time looking over their shoulders to see who may jump the queue and “bag” their own jobs, especially if they are not well‐in with the politicians. So, although they're aware of what needs to be done, by the time they've attended endless meetings, looked after the day‐to‐day issues and associated paperwork, there's not much time left for “modifying their lifestyles.”
Discovery Mission Workshop planned
Authors: Huntress Wesley T.
Published: October 2006

At the request of NASA's Solar System Exploration Division, the San Juan Capistrano Research Institute in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., will hold a workshop to evaluate concepts for low‐cost planetary missions. This Discovery Mission Workshop will be held November 17–20, 1992.

The missions to be discussed will be part of a new program of low‐cost planetary missions called the Discovery Program. Analogous to the Explorer Program in astrophysics and space physics, the goals of the Discovery Program include an increase in flight rate and launch schedule certainty, a more continuous stream of planetary data, and broadened participation by universities and industry in division programs.
DOE funding approved by House
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

On June 17, the House of Representatives approved the $21.8 billion Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill, which funds many Department of Energy programs.

The biggest surprise came from the 232 to 181 vote against the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC).
Nier receives 1992 Bowie medal
Authors: Anderson Don L. , Nier Alfred O. C.
Published: October 2006

Alfred O.C. Nier was awarded the 1992 William Bowie Medal for outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and unselfish cooperation in research. The Bowie Medal, AGU's most distinguished honor, was presented to Nier on May 13 at the annual Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The award citation, delivered by Don L. Anderson, and Nier's response are presented below.
Workshop on precollege science education
Authors: Lopez Ramon E.
Published: October 2006

Precollege science education is an issue with profound import for the future of our country. An effective program requires the active participation of the scientific community. Thirty‐one scientists and engineers from 14 states representing a number of disciplines and institutions (government laboratories, industry, and universities) met on the Caltech campus March 7–13 for a working conference on this issue. The workshop was sponsored by the National Science Resources Center (NSRC) and hosted by Jerome Pine and Jim Bower of Caltech.
a serious look at geoengineering
Authors: Keith David W. , Dowlatabadi Hadi
Published: October 2006

Possible responses to the problem of anthropogenic climate change fall into three broad categories: abatement of human impacts by reducing the climate forcings, adaptation to reduce the impact of altered climate on human systems, and deliberate intervention in the climate system to change the effects of anthropogenic forcing—geoengineering. Recent reports from the National Academy of Sciences [1991] and the Office of Technology Assessment [1991] aimed to provide a comprehensive look at possible responses to climate change. While they included geoengineering options, they failed to consider them systematically. We present the beginnings of a more systematic analysis and urge a balanced research program on geoengineering.
Forum for continental scientific drilling
Authors: Eichelberger John
Published: October 2006

The Second Forum for Continental Scientific Drilling was held in San Francisco on December 8, 1991, before the AGU Fall Meeting. The annual forum was established by the Interagency Coordinating Group for Continental Scientific Drilling to provide an opportunity for open discussion of ideas for scientific drilling. The group is comprised of geoscience program managers from the Despending partment of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
A new era in magnetospheric research
Authors: Akasofu S.‐I , Stenbaek‐Nielsen H. C. , Hallinan T. J. , Rostoker G. , Baker D. N.
Published: October 2006

The time has come to study the magnetosphere as a vast three‐dimensional object, by integrating single‐point “direct” observations of satellites and two‐dimensional “remote sensing” observations of ground‐based networks. Both a computer simulation method and efficient data collection from a groundbased observatory network are crucial forsuch integration. An experiment is being conducted to assemble ground‐based data and display it on a real‐time basis at Poker Flat Research Range. Figure 1 shows the Geospace Environmental Data Display System (GEDDS) at Poker Flat Research Range, which will play a vital role in forthcoming international efforts to study the magnetosphere.
[Comment on “The Greenhouse Debate: Time for action?”] Urgency of CO2 emission control
Authors: Oeschger Hans , Joos Fortunat , Siegenthaler Ulrich
Published: October 2006

In recent articles under the heading “The Greenhouse Debate: Time for Action?” (Eos, Vol. 72, No. 53, p. 593), M. E. Schlesinger and X. Jiang (S&J), and J. S. Risbey, M.D. Handel, and P.H. Stone (Risbey et al.) argue about the urgency of greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Based on the results of climate model calculations for different greenhouse‐gas emission scenarios, Schlesinger and Jiang state that the penalty for a 10‐year delay in CO2 emission control is small. Risbey et al. challenge these conclusions, especially by pointing at non‐linearities and possible abrupt changes in the complex climate system, and at model studies that indicate large differences in regional and local impacts for small differences in global response. Further, they emphasize that changes in the socio‐industrial practices aiming at reducing greenhouse gas emissions would also help to ease other environmental problems such as ozone depletion and acid rain.
[Comments on] The Greenhouse Debate: Part 2
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

A four‐part series of articles published in the December 31, 1991, issue of Eos under the title “The Greenhouse Debate: Time For Action?” analyzed the proposition that a 10‐year delay in initiating reductions of greenhouse‐gas emissions would have only a small effect on long‐term climate change. We have received several responses to the series, most of which take issue with the proposition originally presented by Michael E. Schlesinger and Xingjian Jiang in their 1991 Nature paper. Three of those comments are presented below followed by a reply from Schlesinger.
Volcanism not shocking enough for K/T stresses, study says
Authors: Blue Charles
Published: October 2006

Recent discoveries have supported the theory that a massive asteroid hit the Earth some 65 m.y.a. at the time of the Cretaceous‐Tertiary (K/T) boundary. Many scientists contend, however, that the geologic evidence could also be the result of explosive volcanic eruptions.

New laboratory studies, presented in the July 6 issue of Geophysical Research Letters, contest that claim and reveal that volcanic eruptions are not powerful enough to produce the geologic features associated with the K/T boundary.
CCD digital camera maps the East Pacific Rise
Authors: Edwards Margo H. , Smith Milton O. , Fornari Daniel J.
Published: October 2006

Since the pioneering work of Ewing et al. [1946] and Edgerton [1963] on the development of modern deep‐sea camera systems, photographs of the deep seabed have been fundamental to marine geological investigations, portraying deep‐sea fauna and permitting study of seafloor morphology at scales ranging from centimeters to meters [e.g., Heezen and Hollister, 1971; Spiess and Tyce, 1973; Grassle et al., 1979; Ballard and Moore, 1977; Lonsdale and Spiess, 1980; Fox et al., 1988]. Deep‐sea photography has advanced from single‐frame bounce cameras to sophisticated remotely operated vehicles (ROV) containing a complement of optical and acoustical data sensors and altitude‐recording devices. Recent advances in camera technology, notably the development of digital camera systems [e.g., Harris et al., 1987], are rapidly increasing the information content of deep‐sea photographs. Digital photographs are superior to their analog counterparts because they can be computer enhanced to extract features that are difficult to resolve due to poor lighting, for example. They also lend themselves to quantitative analysis, facilitating numerical comparisons between acoustic backscatter data and optical imagery of various seafloor terrains.
Global geosciences transects available
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Global Geoscience Transects Project (GGT) is an ambitious international effort that draws together geoscientists in a variety of disciplines to produce the best possible portrayal of the composition and structure of the Earth's crust. Since its inception in 1985, GGT has encouraged geoscientists in all countries of the world to compile cross‐sections of the Earth up to a few thousands of kilometers in length and drawn to the base of the crust using all available geological, geophysical, and geochemical information. Transects are drawn to common scales and formats so that the Earth's crust in different parts of the world can be directly compared.
Pamela Rothwell Martelli, 1926–1991
Authors: Anderson K. A. , Christiansen P. , Evans D. S. , Gadsden M. , McDonald F. , McIlwain C. E.
Published: October 2006

Pamela Rothwell Martelli, who made important contributions to many areas of atmospheric and space sciences research, died in Brighton, Sussex, U.K., on March 28, 1991, at the age of 64. Her intrepid spirit, vitality, and deep interest in science characterized a productive research career that spanned almost 4 decades of an exciting period in space research and upper atmospheric studies. During all this time, she snowed a keen interest in the research of her many colleagues, as well as in their families and their views of life in general. Her boundless generosity benefitted many young people just beginning their research careers. She introduced them to the foremost researchers in their fields and encouraged them to present their results at scientific meetings. Her view was that new ideas would come from the younger researchers and that it was important for them to move quickly into the mainstream of the research efforts.
NASA delays EOSDIS
Authors: Simarski Lynn Teo
Published: October 2006

While NASA's Earth Observing System has an ambitious, even visionary quality, its data system—EOSDIS—seems more often than not cloaked in an air of unreality. “Does anybody really know what the system is?” asked one scientist close to the project. Undoubtedly, a major reason for this impression has been the drawn‐out, 2‐year deliberation over a contractor for the $3 billion data system—a decision that has just been put off again.
Initial results from Giotto comet flyby
Authors: Cole Stephen
Published: October 2006

The European Space Agency's Giotto spacecraft became the first probe to fly by two comets on July 10 when it flew to within 200 km of the nucleus of Comet Grigg‐Skjellerup. Giotto's previous comet encounter passed to within 600 km of Comet Halley in March 1986.

Eight of the 11 instruments onboard were operating during the encounter and returned data. At a distance of 600,000 km from the nucleus, the first presence of cometary ions was detected by the Johnstone Plasma Analyser (JPA). The JPA and the Reme Plasma Analyser detected a bow shock or a bow wave that was much more distinct than had been predicted for such a weak comet.
Workshop on the global magnetosphere
Authors: Stern David P.
Published: October 2006

The Third Goddard Workshop on the Modeling and Physics of the Global Magnetosphere was held at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) June 3–5, 1992. About twenty scientists discussed recent progress and ongoing work involving global field models and areas where such models were used.
Gravity atlas of the southern ocean available
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

High‐resolution gravity fields for the Southern Ocean compiled exclusively from GEOSAT satellite radar altimeter, both Exact Repeat Mission (ERM) data, and the recently declassified U.S. Navy's Geodetic Mission (GM) data, are presented in this color atlas. The circum‐Antarctic region between 60°S and 72°S is divided into six geographic regions each spanning 60° longitude. For each of these regions three high‐quality color images are provided that include ascending and descending deflections of the vertical, as well as computed gravity anomalies. Also provided for each region are plots of the GEOSAT ground track coverage (both ERM and GM) and ETOPO5 seafloor bathymetry.
Essene receives 1992 Bowen Award
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

AGU Fellow Eric J. Essene of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor received the 1992 N. L. Bowen Award of the Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology section for outstanding contributions to tectonics and to our understanding of the Earth. The award was presented by W. S. Fyfe during the AGU 1992 Spring Meeting in Montreal, which was held in May.
Spring 1992 Meeting outstanding student paper award
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Planetology Committee has presented Dorothy Koch with the Outstanding Student Paper Award for a presentation given at the Spring Meeting in Montreal, Canada, held in May. Her paper was titled, “A Spreading Drop Model for Generation of the Venus Highlands.” Koch is a doctoral student at Yale University. She is currently studying the effect of lateral viscosity variations on mantle convection, as well as numerical and theoretical solutions for the spreading of a viscous drop below a fluid surface, with applications to plume‐related features on Venus.
Global ocean data program underway
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

A global ocean monitoring system may at last be on its way to becoming a reality, as the framework for a Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) is being established. Oceanographers have been debating the necessity of a global ocean data system for the last several years and feel a strong need for integration of the ocean's data to help predictions of global warming and El Niño. One of the organizers of the program, Jim O'Brien of Florida State University in Tallahassee, is confident that the GOOS program will develop. “In the year 2000, there will be a GOOS,” he declared.
Pinatubo activity continues
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Periods of increased seismicity and decreased gas emission at Mt. Pinatubo have prompted an official warning of possible renewed explosive activity, but none had occurred at press time. Rain‐induced lahars and secondary explosions from the pyroclastic‐flow deposits continued with the ongoing rainy season.
Andrew spares Florida Coast
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

When geologists heard of the intensity of Hurricane Andrew, which struck the Florida coast on August 25 and then moved on to southern Louisiana, they were expecting the same kinds of coastal damage that Hurricane Hugo brought to the Caribbean and Carolina shores in 1989. Both storms were category 4 hurricanes, having winds of 131–155 mph and surges of 13–18 feet. However, the coastal damage never materialized, leaving geologists to analyze the factors that lessened the impact of the storm. “For minimum coastal damage, you couldn't have designed a better storm,” said Orrin Pilkey, director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines (PSDS) in Durham, N.C. This was due in part to the nature of the storm itself and where it hit land, and in part to the regional geology, said Rob Thieler of PSDS. Despite the huge amounts of damage to buildings, there was virtually no evidence of coastal process destruction, he said.
Clues to causes of deformation features in coastal sea ice
Authors: Kozo Thomas L. , Farmer L. Dennis , Fett Robert W. , Sodhi Devinder S.
Published: October 2006

Finding clues to the physical processes responsible for interesting sea‐ice features in the Robeson Channel and Lincoln Sea and developing methods to extract this evidence provide stimulating challenges to the Arctic remote‐sensing community.

The normal [open season] for ice drift through Robeson Channel (Figure 1), which divides the land masses, is June–December. The channel ice drift is normally to the south due to a combination of prevailing northerly winds and semidiurnal tidal currents that are stronger on flood tide than on ebb tide [Keys et al., 1974].
Preliminary results of Canary‐Bahamas geotransect project
Authors: Maschenkov Sergei , Pogrebitsky Yulian
Published: October 2006

Since 1980, affiliates of the Russian Geological Committee (formerly part of the USSR Ministry of Geology) operating under the auspices of the Russian Ocean Geotransect Program have been performing geological and geophysical investigations over wide swaths of typical oceanic crust in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. A primary objective is to produce, rapidly and economically, an accurate digital data base to further our understanding of the oceanic lithosphere's origin and structure and to develop regional assessments of mineral and hydrocarbon potentials.

Over the next 15 years, the Russian Ocean Geotransect Program is projected to complete the mapping of a total of eleven transoceanic swaths that characterize practically all tectonic regimes and typical morphostructures of the world ocean (Figure 1). Located in key regions, these profiles represent new opportunities for crustal and lithospheric mapping; many of the locations relate to completed and planned JOIDES (Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling) drilling sites.
Flux transfer event and reconnection at the magnetopause: A comment
Authors: Rijnbeek R. P. , Farrugia C. J. , Biernat H. K.
Published: October 2006

Gonzalez [1991] has recently highlighted some confusion about the relationship between flux transfer events (FTEs) and the theoretical concepts of steady‐state and large‐scale reconnection. He has also pointed out the necessity for a model that can reconcile both the in situ observations at the magnetopause and the polar‐cap measurements indicating, at least on average, that reconnection occurs along a longitudinally extended band covering a substantial fraction of the magnetopause circumference. We would like to point out that there is no contradiction between the observations at the magnetopause and large‐scale reconnection, as implied by measurements of the potential difference across the polar cap. The various phenomena observed at the magnetopause can be explained as aspects of the same process, and the reconnection model (as recently reviewed by Semenov et al., “1992”) synthesizes the magnetopause, ionospheric, and ground‐based observations.
Second Latin American conference on space geophysics
Authors: de Tejada H. Pérez
Published: October 2006

The Second Latin American Conference on Space Geophysics was organized under the auspices of the National University of Mexico (UNAM), with financial support from the Mexican Council for Science and Technology, the Pan‐American Institute for Geography and History, and the Latin American School of Physics. It was held in Cuernavaca, Mexico July 8–12, 1991.
Rapid scientific response to Landers quake
Authors: Mori J. , Hudnut K. , Jones L. , Hauksson E. , Hutton K.
Published: October 2006

Early on the morning of June 28, 1992, millions of people in southern California were awakened by the largest earthquake (Ms 7.5, Mw 7.4) in the western U.S. in the past 40 years. The quake initiated near the town of Landers, Calif., at 11:57 (GMT) and ruptured to the north and then the northwest along a 70‐km stretch of the Mojave Shear Zone. Fortunately, the strongest shaking occurred in uninhabited regions of the Mojave desert, but one child was killed in Yucca Valley and 400 people were injured in the surrounding area. The communities of Landers, Yucca Valley, and Joshua Tree in San Bernardino County sustained significant ($100 million) damage to buildings and roads. Damage to water and power lines also caused problems in many of the desert areas.
TOPEX/Poseidon enters verification phase
Authors: Fu Lee‐Lueng
Published: October 2006

The TOPEX/Poseidon satellite, a joint U.S./France space mission to study the global ocean circulation (see Eos, August 27, 1991, page 369), entered its operational orbit on September 21. In this near‐circular orbit, which has an equatorial altitude of 1336 km, the satellite makes 12.8 revolutions a day and lays its ground track in a pattern that repeats every 10 days. The ground‐track spacing is 315 km at the equator.
NSF commission holds first meeting
Authors: Jones Richard M.
Published: October 2006

There has been considerable discussion in Washington science policy circles over the past few weeks about the newly established National Science Board Commission on the Future of the National Science Foundation. The commission, chaired by William Danforth, chancellor of Washington University, and Robert Galvin, former chief executive officer of Motorola, held its first meeting on September 17. Unfortunately, this meeting offered few indications of what changes might result from this exercise.
Advice sought on Antarctic ship
Authors: Simarski Lynn Teo
Published: October 2006

Antarctic researchers have a chance to direct how the National Science Foundation's new icebreaker vessel, the Nathaniel B. Palmer, will be used in the Antarctic. NSF invites comments on the research ship's schedule and management, especially to guide its use in “big or small” oceanography, said Bernhard Lettau, NSF program manager for polar ocean and climatic sciences, at the U.S. Antarctic Program's annual orientation September 14–16.
New strength at headquarters
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

“The new departmental structure at headquarters focuses the talent of four senior professionals on the major program areas critical to the membership. I am delighted that Pat Setser, Mary Ann Emely, and Gene Bierly have joined Judy Holoviak and me,” said Executive Director Fred Spilhaus on the completion of a staff restructuring at AGU. The new structure will provide a base for the Union's future growth as the needs of the geophysical sciences grow and their importance to society is more broadly recognized, he added.

The most recent addition is Eugene W. Bierly, who heads the Education and Research Programs directorate. He came to AGU on September 21 from the National Science Foundation's Division of Atmospheric Sciences, where he was director since 1974.
History of solar coronal expansion studies
Authors: Alexander Peter
Published: October 2006

The solar corona is the outer shell of the Sun's atmosphere and traditionally, has been observed at the time of solar eclipse. The plasma in this zone is so hot (1–2×106K) that even the Sun's enormous gravity cannot retain it, and a continuous outflow of mass, the “solar wind,” fills the interplanetary region. Electrons and protons are the major constituents of this fluid. A few centuries ago, some of the rare and unpredictable phenomena related to the solar coronal expansion, such as comet tails and aurorae, were considered to be forecasts of the world's destruction. Recent studies of the subject, however, have contributed to our knowledge in such diverse fields as plasma theory, astrophysics, and geomagnetism.
Flat budgets for NSF, NASA in ‘93
Authors: Simarski Lynn Teo
Published: October 2006

Congress has finalized the budgets of the National Science Foundation and NASA for fiscal year 1993. NSF received a 6.3% increase over last year—$2,733 billion, compared to the $3,027 billion request. Research has been cut by $13 million below the 1992 level, to $1,859 billion, with Congress advising NSF to plunder its new headquarters fund to make up the difference.

Funding for NSF's education programs will increase by $222 million over this year, to $487 million. Instrumentation and facilities rises from $33 to $50 million.
[Comment on “GEWEX: The Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment”] More global water balance uncertainty
Authors: Rodda John C.
Published: October 2006

I concur strongly with Chahine's January 14, 1992, Eos article on GEWEX and support his response to Dincer's letter (Eos, June 16, 1992) emphasizing that “our quantitative knowledge of the hydrological cycle remains surprisingly poor.” This is despite the magnificent report on the world water balance to which Dincer refers and his allusion that the existence of a low residual in closing the water balance indicates low errors of measurement of the global budget components.
The Ocean Sciences section: Who are we?
Authors: Spiess Fred Noel
Published: October 2006

During the past 2‐year cycle of AGU governance, some of us began discussing whether the Ocean Sciences Section was providing adequate representation for its heterogeneous membership. From these discussions emerged a proposal to organize the section into subdivisions to emphasize our diversity, to stimulate a full range of special sessions, and to assure that we will interact with the Union and outside organizations in ways compatible with the diverse interests of our members.

As these discussions progressed, it became clear that those involved were working with a variety of assumptions about the composition and interests of our membership, but there were no data to support any particular view. We therefore decided to devise a simple questionnaire to find the distributions of our members' fields of activity and their interests in AGU meetings and publications.
NASA announces Mars Lander Opportunity
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

he NASA Solar System Exploration Division will soon announce the pportunity to propose scientific investigations for the Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) Pathfinder mission. The MESUR Pathfinder mission is the first in the Discovery class of low‐cost missions and is envisaged to provide a demonstration of the flight system required for the MESUR Network mission, while acquiring scientific and exploration data on the Martian surface.
Initial results of U.S.‐Soviet paleoclimate study of Lake Baikal
Authors:   Lake Baikal Paleoclimate Project Members
Published: October 2006

Lake Baikal, a Miocene‐age rift lake in southeastern Siberia, is an especially promising site for paleoclimate studies. Its high‐latitude location (52°–56°N) makes it particularly sensitive to changes in solar insolation due to long‐period variations in the Earth's orbital parameters. These variations are widely believed to be the main forcing functions of climate change in the Quaternary [Hays et al., 1976; Imbrie et al., 1984. The extreme continentality of the climate in southeastern Siberia makes Baikal an ideal location to study temporal changes in seasonality. Baikal is also one of the few high‐latitude lakes that has not been glaciated during the last 1–2 million years [Grosswald, 1980], although a record of glaciation in its drainage basin is preserved in the lake sediments. Finally, Lake Baikal is the largest (23,000 km3), the deepest (1640 m), and one of the oldest extant lake systems in the world. The sedimentary section in the Baikal depression is more than 7 km thick and probably spans more than 15 million years [Hutchinson et al., 1992]. Accordingly, Lake Baikal sediments represent one of the longest and most complete continental climate records available anywhere in the world.
Birch remembered at Fall Union Session
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

Francis Birch, geophysicist, 1960 Bowie medalist, AGU Fellow, and past‐president of the Tectonophysics Section (1953–1956) passed away on January 30. AGU is honoring his contributions to geophysics with the session “Francis Birch and the Solid Earth: A Memorial Retrospective,” at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco.

The full‐day Union session will feature both oral and poster presentations and will cover the many topics of Birch's studies of the Earth's mantle, crust, and core.
Comments pour in to NSF Commission
Authors: Jones Richard M.
Published: October 2006

The National Science Board Commission on the Future of NSF held its second meeting on October 16. This meeting, and the meetings of NSF's Physics Advisory Committee, present a clearer picture of the commission's upcoming report.

The commission has been overwhelmed by mail from the scientific community. Hundreds of letters have been received, and they are still pouring in. Mail is from individuals, governors, NSF staff, industry, and numerous professional organizations. Commission members are reading this mail and reacting favorably to it. They agreed to continue accepting comments past last week's deadline, although they will not necessarily read all late correspondence.
AGU's position on the future of NSF
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

At the request of the director of the National Science Foundation, AGU has prepared a Union position statement on the future direction of NSF and forwarded the statement to the special commission studying the issue. The position was drafted from comments by the Committee on Public Affairs, AGU officers, and members, and approved by the Executive Committee. The following is the complete text of AGU's statement.
“Earth & Sky” Series receives NSF Support
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

“Earth & Sky,” the new Earth and space science radio series produced in association with AGU, has received a major 3‐year grant from the National Science Foundation. Through this grant, “Earth & Sky” is now offered free to any radio station upon request.

During the grant period, “Earth & Sky” will encourage businesses and scientific organizations to sponsor the program on their local radio station. By becoming local sponsors, organizations will have the opportunity to be recognized in their communities and to participate in science education for relatively low cost.
10th World Earthquake Engineering Conference
Authors: Ranguelov Boyko , Housner George
Published: October 2006

The 10th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (10WCEE) took place from July 19 to 24 in Madrid, Spain. More than 1500 participants from 51 countries attended the conference. All aspects of earthquake engineering were covered and a worldwide update of modern research and practice, as well as future directions in the field, was provided through reports, papers, posters, two keynote lectures, ten state‐ofthe‐art reports, and eleven special theme sessions.
Instrument upgrades planned for ALVIN
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

At a recent Deep Submergence Science meeting held from Oct 13 to 14 in Arlington, Va., a need for improvements to existing ALVIN equipment was identified as a high priority by a spectrum of interested scientists in the biological, chemical, and geological deep ocean sciences. The equipment upgrades suggested for ALVIN included improved imaging systems (both optical and digital electronic), lighting, manipulators, datalogging and data management, water properties analysis, navigation display, altitude detection, and sonar imaging. In addition, given the recent development of sophisticated remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and the great potential which these vehicles have for efficiently exploring large areas of seafloor, it was suggested that new ALVIN instrumentation be modularly compatible with the new class of ROVs being developed.
Sobering future for physics at NSF
Authors: Jones Richard M.
Published: October 2006

The 13‐person NSF Advisory Committee for Physics met in Washington the week of October 19 to discuss, among other topics, the future of the Foundation, the physics budget for this year, and new guidelines for proposals. Robert A. Eisenstein, the new director of NSF's Division of Physics, discussed problems facing the United States and the perception that science and technology are the solution to these problems. Amajor challenge is convincing Congress that NSF can contribute to the solution of these problems, but not solve them entirely on its own.
Mini‐Sosie High‐Resolution Seismic Method aids hazards studies
Authors: Stephenson W. J. , Odum J. , Shedlock K. M. , Pratt T. L. , Williams R. A.
Published: October 2006

A dramatic example of just how catastrophic earthquake damage can be occurred in 1989, when a nationally televised World Series game in San Francisco was preempted by the M 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake. The surprising amount and distribution of damage reinforce the importance of seismic‐hazard studies in urban areas, where potential for damage and loss of life is greatest. Unfortunately, many large urban centers developed before the advent of seismic‐hazard microzonation mapping, ground‐response building codes, and standardized air‐photo reconnaissance. Decades of building, paving, and utility installation have modified the land surface to the extent that surficial geologic expression of faults and evidence of prehistoric earthquakes are either inaccessible or totally obliterated.
Goldin explains New NASA Goals
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

Many in the space science community are wondering why NASA administrator Daniel S. Goldin announced a sudden restructuring of the agency on October 15 (Eos, October 27). The shake‐up saw a split in the Office of Space Science and Applications into the office of Mission to Planetary Earth, which will include all the Earth sciences, and the Office of Planetary Science and Astrophysics.

The restructuring, he said, is an attempt to align the agency with the new goals, which he outlined in an address to the Space Science and Applications Advisory Board (SSAAC) on November 5. Claiming that NASA's role has never been stated to the public and that Congress does not understand the agency's role, Goldin sought to clarify future directions for the agency.
Energy Bill addresses global change issues
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

Some energy implications of global warming were targeted in Title XVI of the Comprehensive National Energy Policy Act (HR776), which President Bush signed into law on October 24. Versions of the bill have undergone much debate and revision in both the House and Senate over the past several months.

The bill calls for the establishment of an Interagency Coordinating Council, which will oversee reports dictated by the bill. For example, the council will compare alternative policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (emission caps, efficiency standards, and emissions trading). The council will be made up of the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Interior, and representatives of other appropriate federal agencies.
Volatile elements in magmatic systems
Authors: Baker Don R. , Stix John
Published: October 2006

At four sessions on volatile elements in magmatic systems, held at the AGU 1992 Spring Meeting in Montreal, a diverse group of researchers discussed the various roles of volatiles in igneous systems, from the solution of volatiles into silicate crystals and melts to the quantitative modeling of volatile exsolution resulting in volcanic eruptions or formation of magmatic ore deposits. Each session concentrated on one or two topics and began with invited presentations by established experts.
Andrew shortens lifetime of Louisiana Barrier Islands
Authors: Bush Susan
Published: October 2006

Because the Isles Dernieres, a series of four barrier islands off the coast of Louisiana, have one of the most rapidly eroding shorelines in the world, geologists at the U.S. Geological Survey and the Louisiana Geological Survey have been monitoring erosion activity over the last several years, said Jeff Williams of the USGS in Reston, Va. Hurricane Andrew, which struck the state on August 26, caused severe erosional damage to these islands that has shortened their lifetimes.

Before Andrew struck, geologists projected that Raccoon Island would disappear below sea level by the year 2001 and that Whiskey Island would disappear by 2016. Now, due to the severe erosion from Hurricane Andrew, the scientists claim that the islands may disappear before the turn of the century, and the other islands in the Dernieres chain are expected to follow suit within 2 decades. Raccoon, Whiskey, Trinity, and East islands make up the Isles Dernieres, which existed as one island, known as the Isle Derniere, before an 1856 hurricane and subsequent erosion.