bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation
Authors: Brooks Paul D.
Published: October 2006

Many current definitions of wetlands arise out of the regulatory need for rapid and accurate wetland delineation. These definitions focus on quickly observable characteristics that often lead to the perception that these are static environments that can be understood or re‐created through attempts to reproduce these observable characteristics, rather than the processes responsible for them.
Air‐Sea Interaction Laws and Mechanisms
Authors: Renfrew Ian
Published: October 2006

There has been a realization over the past decade or two that to understand and model the Earth's climate system, one needs to understand and model the coupled atmosphereocean system. Prominent modes of variability of the coupled system, such as the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation, have hammered this point home both for researchers and the educated public at large. But how do the atmosphere and the ocean actually talk to each other? What are the geophysical processes that allow an interaction? In Air‐Sea Interaction. Laws and Mechanisms, the author tackles these questions and more.
Budget increases for U.S. science agencies
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The majority of the appropriations bills for the U.S. federal budget for fiscal year 2002 have been signed by President George W. Bush, and the overall outlook for science looks good. A number of science agencies received healthy increases that are above the figures proposed by the Bush administration earlier this year.

The appropriations bill for Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies (H.R. 2620) is one of the most important, as it funds both NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Signed into law by the president on November 26, the “VA‐HUD” bill provides NASA with a budget of $14.8 billion. This is an increase of $540 million, or 3.8%, above FY01 levels, and 1.9% above the administration's request of $14.51 billion. The increment for NSF's $4.79‐billion budget for FY02 is $372.5 million, an increase of 8.4% above the previous year's funding. This amount is $319 million more than the agency requested. The Bush administration requested an increase of only 1.3%.
Exploring oceans on Earth–and elsewere
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

During a briefing and several sessions held at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, on 10–14 December 2001, oceanographers and planetary scientists met to review and examine recent advances in understanding oceans on the Earth, and potential bodies of water that may exist elsewhere in the Solar System. They also discussed new efforts to monitor Earth ocean processes and how a better understanding of our own planet could help with exploring other planets and moons for oceans and the possibility of life. Addressing this joint audience, John Delaney professor of oceanography at the University of Washington in Seattle, noted, “These two groups almost never interact with each other.”
New triumvirate to guide JGR‐Space Physics
Authors: Grant Shermonta L.
Published: October 2006

On 1 January 2002, Arthur Richmond, Shadia Habbal,and Lou‐Chuang Lee assumed the editorial duties for the Space Physics section of the Journal of Geophysical Research. Located around the globe, the trio will offer a blend of scientific interests covering the entire spectrum of the journal.

Richmond told Eos, “JGR‐Space Physics is the premier journal in the field of space physics, and we must strive to maintain its excellence.” He added that in his view, the biggest challenge for the new team is to ensure that the accepted manuscripts are “interesting and useful to the scientific community.”
Comment [on “At least Noah had some warning” by Wendell Duffield]
Authors: Smith David Lee
Published: October 2006

The article, “At Least Noah Had Some Warning,” by Wendell Duffield (Eos, July 10, 2001) provides a fascinating story, but suffers from a malady common to many publications dealing with historic events. The terms “Anno Domini” or the abbreviation A.D.,and the corresponding “Before Christ” or B.C., refer to a calendar in common use across global cultures, but these particular terms specifically reflect events that are only of significance to Christian cultures. The “Domini” in “A.D.” may be the author's lord, but it is not mine, and it certainly was not Tlachoc's either.There is a parallel usage, which lacks the specific religious connotation of A.D. and B.C. .The terms Common Era and Before the Common Era, and the abbreviations CE and BCE, refer to the adoption of the Julian/Gregorian calendar's zero year as a common benchmark in history rather than to its religious connotations. (This is actually a simplification. For a more detailed discussion, go to http://serendipity.magnet.cn/hermetic/cal_stud/cal_art.htm#Astronomical).
Solar‐Heliospheric Group “SHINE” Sheds light on murky problems
Authors: Crooker Nancy
Published: October 2006

Like a flashlight beam in muddy water, attention focused on murky science issues scatters a great deal, but reveals broad features of fundamental importance for future progress. The value of this approach was apparent at a recent meeting of the Solar Heliospheric Interplanetary Environment (SHINE) community. SHINE held its third annual workshop this summer simultaneously with those of its sister organizations, Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) and Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR). All three meetings were held in close proximity and were sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Wind Stress Over the Ocean
Authors: Kraus Eric B.
Published: October 2006

Wind stress transfers momentum between the atmosphere and the ocean. It raises waves, generates the turbulence that mixes the near surface layers of both media, and governs the transport of heat, gas, and pollutants across their interface. Controlling the low‐level, cross‐isobaric flow of moist air, wind stress determines the strength of hurricanes and other atmospheric perturbations. As the ocean is a far less efficient heat engine than the atmosphere, the major sea currents that transport heat from low to high latitudes are almost entirely driven by winds. Investigation and modeling of all of these processes requires a comprehensive parameterization of the wind stress. Though this requirement is recognized explicitly as a crucial issue in its preface, Wind Stress over the Ocean deals with the separate physical processes that can influence the wind stress locally rather than with their integrated effect.
AGU needs your help
Authors: Dickinson Robert
Published: October 2006

Later this year, the U.S.Air Force will launch the Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI). SMEI is an instrument that will detect and measure coronal mass ejections (CMEs) which can cause large geomagnetic storms, a major component of space weather. CMEs are very large structures containing plasma and magnetic fields that are expelled from the Sun into the heliosphere at speeds of several hundred to over 1000 km s−1. CMEs often drive interplanetary shock waves which, upon arrival at Earth, can cause geomagnetic disturbances. There is currently no reliable way to accurately predict arrival of these disturbances at Earth or to study them in the inner heliosphere. SMEI is designed to fill this gap by detecting and tracking CMEs in interplanetary space before they reach Earth. SMEI data will be complementary to many other satellite missions and national programs, such as the current National Space Weather and International Solar Terrestrial Programs.
California Earthquakes: Science, Risks, and the Politics of Hazard Mitigation
Authors: Shedlock Kaye M.
Published: October 2006

“Politics” should be the lead word in the sub‐title of this engrossing study of the emergence and growth of the California and federal earthquake hazard reduction infrastructures. Beginning primarily with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, scientists, engineers, and other professionals cooperated and clashed with state and federal officials, the business community, “ boosters,” and the general public to create programs, agencies, and commissions to support earthquake research and hazards mitigation. Moreover, they created a “regulatory‐state” apparatus that governs human behavior without sustained public support for its creation. The public readily accepts that earthquake research and mitigation are government responsibilities. The government employs or funds the scientists, engineers, emergency response personnel, safety officials, building inspectors, and others who are instrumental in reducing earthquake hazards. This book clearly illustrates how, and why all of this came to pass.
Helioseismologists release new findings about the solar subsurface
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Helioseismologists, using an instrument onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite, have found that there is something new under the Sun, or at least beneath the Sun's surface.

Two teams of scientists working with SOHO's Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) presented their findings on the formation and growth of active regions of solar activity and on spinning sunspots at the AGU Fall Meeting in December in San Francisco, California. The findings help to better understand solar activity that can result in solar flares and coronal mass ejections that disrupt communication and energy systems on Earth.
New concerns raised about thinning glaciers
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Several large glaciers in the West Antarctic are thinning at a dramatic rate and one of them could disappear in as little as 150 years if the current trend continues, according to new findings announced at a briefing at the AGU Fall Meeting in December in San Francisco. California

Using satellite radar altimetry and satellite radar interferometry, Andrew Shepherd, a research fellow at the Centre for Polar Observation and Modeling at University College London, studied the Pine Island,Thwaites, and Smith glaciers, which are the principal ice drainage channels for the Amundsen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Ocean surface layer drift revealed by satellite data
Authors: Liu Anthony K. , Zhao Yunhe , Esaias Wayne E. , Campbell Janet W. , Moore Timothy S.
Published: October 2006

Historically ocean surface feature tracking analyses have been based on data from a single orbital sensor collected over the revisit interval of a lone low‐Earth orbital satellite. Today ocean surface layer currents are being derived by performing feature tracking using data from a number of sensors on different satellites. Satellite ocean color data provide important insight into the marine biosphere by quantifying certain fundamental properties—for example, phytoplankton pigment concentration and marine primary production—on a global scale. In addition, satellite ocean color data can also be used as a tracer for measuring ocean surface layer currents, because the ocean color signal comprises information from a deeper water depth, from 10 to 30 m, than surface signatures such as sea surface temperature.
New “Editor's choice”: Online journals debut
Authors: Cole Stephen
Published: October 2006

With all AGU journal articles now published online in advance of the printed journal, AGU members have new options, in terms of how they access the latest research results. An innovative option for those with specific research interests that are covered in several journals is the “ Editor's Choice” virtual journal. The first two “Editor's Choice” journals—Biogeosciences and Atmospheric Electricity— debuted in January and are, for a limited time, freely accessible to members on the AGU Web site.

An “Editor's Choice” virtual journal is a collection of electronic articles recently published by AGU that have been specially selected for their relevance to a particular topic area. Everett Shock of Washington University St. Louis, is serving as the Collection Editor for “Editor's Choice: Biogeosciences.” The “Editor's Choice: Atmospheric Electricity” Collection Editor is Richard E. Orville of Texas A&M University College Station, who is being assisted by advisors David Sentman, University of Alaska, and Vladimir Rakov, University of Florida.
Kerry Kelts (1947–2001)
Authors: Johnson Thomas C. , Talbot Michael R. , Myrbo Amy
Published: October 2006

Kerry Kelts died on 8 February 2001 at the age of 54 from Hodgkin's disease. A professor in the department of geology and geophysics at the University of Minnesota, he was also director of that university's Limnological Research Center from 1990 to 2000. Kerry had been a member of AGU since 1982 (Ocean Sciences).

Kerry was a leader in establishing the utility of lake sedimentary records as archives, not only of past climate, but of past biogeochemical, tectonic, and anthropogenic processes. He educated us on the daunting complexity and individuality of lake systems, and demonstrated that lacustrine sequences can be interpreted as profitably as marine sequences. Kerry believed that terrestrial paleoclimate records are an essential complement to those from the ocean: while the ocean plays a substantial role in driving climate, lakes respond to actual conditions on the continents.
AGU elects 2002 Fellows
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Congratulations to the forty‐one distinguished scientists selected to be AGU Fellows for 2002. AGU members who are selected as Fellows have attainment an 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.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Atmospheric Sciences Section presented three outstanding student paper awards at the 2001 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
New U.S. icebreaker to advance Arctic Marine Science
Authors: Swift Jim , Clough Lisa , Berkson Jonathan , DuPree George , Falkner Kelly
Published: October 2006

The decades‐long planning for a U.S. icebreaking vessel dedicated to Arctic marine science reached its goal with the entry into service of the UGCGC Healy, a polar research vessel operated by the U.S. Coast Guard for the U.S. science community. The ship is named for Captain Michael A. Healy, a legendary figure of Alaskan history who served as commanding officer of the U.S. Revenue Cutters Corwin (1884–1885) and Bear (1886–1895).

Healy is 128 m long, 25 m wide, displaces 14,900 metric tons, and traverses up to 1.4 m ice at 1.65 m s−1, propelled by two 11.1‐MW AC synchronous motors fed from DC diesel electric engines through cycloconverters. Thus, Healy is more powerful and somewhat larger than the German polar research vessel Polarstern or the Canadian icebreaker Louis S. St‐Laurent. Healy's power system responds quickly to the load changes common in icebreaking. The ship has a conventional icebreaker bow. The hull provides a sea‐kindly ride and more stable work conditions in open water than do the U.S. Coast Guard Polar‐class icebreakers. The ship is designed to work in any Arctic season.
Proposed transfer of Sea Grant Program a controversial issue in NOAA, NSF budget requests
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The Bush administration's fiscal year 2003 budgets for two leading U.S. federal science agencies—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF)—proposes the transfer of the National Sea Grant College Program from NOAA to NSF. Informed sources told Eos the transfer is worrisome, though unlikely to survive Congressional action.

Nevertheless, the transfer clouds the budget picture for the NSF Geosciences Directorate and particularly, its Ocean Sciences Division. The proposal also raises questions about how much of the current Sea Grant program could effectively continue under NSR since the two agencies have different modes of operation.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Ocean Sciences Section presented twelve outstanding student paper awards at the 2001 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology Section presented five outstanding student paper awards at the 2001 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
Anderson receives 2001 Bowen Award
Authors: Bacon Charles R. , Anderson Alfred T.
Published: October 2006

Alfred T. Anderson, Jr. received the Bowen Award, presented by the Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology Section at the 2001 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Hydrology Section presented ten outstanding student paper awards at the 2001 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
No major increase for NASA under Bush budget plan
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The Bush Administration's proposed 15.1‐ billion budget for NASA for fiscal year 2003 represents an increase of just .7% ($98 million) above the current 2002 budget level. While the budget proposal reflects an effort by the administration to encourage improvements in the agency's financial management and other performance metrics, scientists have questioned how changes in the budget would affect several programs.

These changes include NASA's proposal to halt funding for the New Horizons Pluto‐Kuiper Belt Mission (see Eos, 5 March 2002) and a temporary moratorium on significant new Earth science mission starts.
Earl G. Droessler (1920–2001)
Authors: Malone Thomas F.
Published: October 2006

When Earl Droessler died peacefully on 30 December 2001, it marked the close of an illustrious and productive career in which, as an imaginative agent of change, he contributed substantially to the growth of the geosciences in the United States, as well as to the growth of AGU. Droessler was one of the “midwives” who opened new avenues of cooperation between the federal government and the university community thereby elevating geophysics to its current pre‐eminence in the scientific community. A recipient of the Waldo E.Smith Medal in 1992, he had been a member of the Atmospheric Sciences Section since 1947.

Earl Droessler's footprints are evident at every step in the elevation of geophysics in the United States over the past 40 years; and in the transformation of AGU, from a committee in the National Research Council, to a leading scientific society with an impressive array of publications, outstanding meetings, and a magnificent headquarters building in Washington, D.C. His extraordinary services are summarized in the citation for the Smith Medal, which read, in part:“With consummate wisdom, unfettered imagination, boundless enthusiasm, and gentle persuasion, Earl Droessler has been one of the prime movers in the elevation of geophysics to prominence in the scientific community during the second half of the twentieth century.”
The Impact of Geology on the United States: A Reference Guide to Benefits and Hazards
Authors: Roquemore Glenn
Published: October 2006

Environmental geology is arguably an important component of undergraduate geology coursework. The topic of natural hazards, typically contained in chapters of most environmental geology texts, has grown in the last few years to become a separate subject. It is now common to see undergraduate courses offered in natural hazards with excellent supporting, stand‐alone textbooks. Finding solutions to environmental problems and the evaluation and mitigation of natural hazards continues to be an important focus of most engineering geology firms, thus making study in these subject areas important to geology majors. As these geologic disciplines evolve with new research findings, there is a need for continual improvements in textbooks and reference materials.
Bush administration proposes criteria for basic research programs
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Concerns about a tight economy, an increasing number of Congressional earmarks for research and development, and a desire to better justify the spending of taxpayer dollars on research has led the Bush administration to propose preliminary criteria for federal basic research programs.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) presented the proposal with its three broad principles—quality, relevance, and performance—at an overflow meeting at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on 27 February.
Earthscope—An NSF priority that needs congressional support
Authors: Henyey Tom
Published: October 2006

EarthScope is a proposed multidisciplinary observing system designed to study how the North American continent is deforming in response to ongoing plate tectonics. Arrays of seismometers will move across the contiguous 48 states and Alaska over a 10‐year period to image features that make up the internal structure of the continent and underlying mantle (from “crust to core”). Simultaneously networks of Global Positioning System receivers and strainmeters will measure the rates at which plate tectonic forces are changing the continent, and how geological structures respond to these forces. Space‐based Synthetic Aperture Radar will map changes in the Earth's surface before, during, and after major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, while a four‐kilometer‐deep observatory bored directly into the San Andreas fault will explore the physical conditions that control earthquake nucleation and fault rupture.
Land‐surface simulations improve atmospheric modeling
Authors: Henderson‐Sellers A. , Pitman A. J. , Irannejad P. , McGuffie K.
Published: October 2006

Because weather and climate near the land surface influence most of our social and economic activities, realistic simulation of continental near‐surface climate is important for day‐to‐day decision‐making and for policy development relating to—for example—climate change.The need for correct and validated land‐surface processes in atmospheric simulations, acknowledged by many scientists in the past few decades, has prompted the development of a large number of land‐surface parameterization schemes with varying degrees of complexity designed to improve the prediction of near‐surface climate in global atmospheric models. The Project for Intercomparison of Land‐Surface Parameterization Schemes (PUPS) offers a methodology for intercomparing and analyzing land‐surface simulations that benefits the atmospheric modeling community worldwide.
Fairbanks receives 2001 Maurice Ewing Medal
Authors: Eisenberger Peter , Fairbanks Richard G.
Published: October 2006

Richard G. Fairbanks was awarded the Maurice Ewing Medal at the 2001 Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on 12 December, in San Francisco, California. The medal is given for significant original contributions to understanding physical, geophysical, and geological processes in the ocean; to scientific ocean engineering, technology, and instrumentation; and outstanding service to marine sciences.
New Perspectives on the Old Red Sandstone
Authors: Miall Andrew D.
Published: October 2006

The Old Red Sandstone is amongst the most distinctive and well‐known stratigraphic units in the British Isles. It is mainly of Devonian age; in fact, its lower boundary was used to define the base of the Devonian until relatively recently and it was called “Old” back in the nineteenth century to distinguish it from a superficially similar succession of Triassic age named the New Red Sandstone. The Old Red Sandstone has long been known to be a non‐marine syntectonic to post‐tectonic deposit associated with the Caledonian Orogeny One of the most famous outcrops of the red sandstone is at Siccar Point in northeast England at one of several outcrops named “Hutton's unconformity” where it lies, with marked angularity on Silurian lithic sandstones and shales. It was at these outcrops, toward the end of the eigthteenth century that James Hutton first came to understand the meaning of angular unconformities as structures representing vast amounts of missing time during which major upheavals of the Earth's crust occurred.
El Niño Helps Spread Bartonellosis Epidemics in Peru
Authors: Zhou Jiayu , Lau William K.‐M. , Masuoka Fenny M. , Andre Richard G. , Chamberlin Judith , Lawyer Phillip , Laughlin Larry W.
Published: October 2006

The consequences of climate variability on human health, especially for poor and medically underserved populations, have received much attention in recent years. Some of the most severe health hazards induced by climate variability are epidemics of vector‐borne infectious diseases. Entomologic studies have shown that insect vectors that transmit diseases, such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue, etc., are sensitive to temperature, humidity wind, and rainfall patterns, and therefore, their abundance is potentially influenced by climate variability. Because of its geographical location, the climate of tropical South America is strongly influenced by El Niño. The episodic outbreaks of various diseases in this region have been linked to the El Niño cycles. Yet, according to a report of the World Health Organization [1999], early results from South American epidemiological studies, which were based on the aggregated national disease data irrespective of the regional meteorological impacts, found no consistent correlation between the El Niño effect with the epidemics of malaria and yellow fever.
GRACE Mission Promises improved maps of Earth gravity
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Twin satellites, each the size of a sub‐compact car, flying in formation around the Earth 16 times each day in a polar orbit, are set to revolutionize our knowledge about gravity on the planet.

Launched on 17 March from Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) promises to produce 60 gravity maps of the Earth, one each month for 5 years. Scientists estimate the maps will be 100–1,000 times more accurate than those currently used. In addition to providing basic gravity information, the mapping information will be used to study oceanography hydrology glaciology and other fields.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Space Physics & Aeronomy Section presented fifteen outstanding student paper awards at the 2001 Fall Meeting last December, in San Francisco, California.
John I. Ewing (1924–2001)
Authors: Purdy G. M.
Published: October 2006

John I. Ewing died on 15 November 2001, in Falmouth, Massachusetts. An AGU Fellow and a recipient of the Maurice Ewing Medal (1982), he had been a member since 1958 (Seismology). He contributed significantly to key developments in marine seismology for more than two decades.

Near the entrance to the Houston Area Research Center (HARC), where John Ewing worked for many years in the 1980s and 1990s, there is a statue of Isaac Newton that bears his familiar quotation: “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Federal science funding priorities, anti‐terrorism debated at AAAS Colloquium
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

John Marburger, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has said that some federal science agencies not slated to receive big increases in the administration's proposed fiscal year 2003 budget could do better in upcoming years.

In remarks on 11 April at a colloquium on science and technology policy, Marburger defended the Bush administration's push for increasing research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other administration priorities, and he cautioned that tough budget decisions have to be made in light of the current tight economic climate and the large number of potential scientific opportunities. But he also said that funding levels for some agencies and science areas could increase at a later date during the administration's tenure.
Comment [on “Deep‐penetration heat flow probes raise questions about interpretations from shorter probes” by Géli et al.]
Authors: Fisher A. T. , Villinger H. , Pfender M. , Müller M. , Grevemeyer I. , Kaul N. , Harris R. N. , Von Herzen R. P. , Wheat C. G.
Published: October 2006

Géli et al. [2001] (Eos, 17 July 2001, p.317) present sub‐sea floor thermal profiles collected with temperature sensors and data loggers attached to 18‐m‐long sediment cores. Some of these thermal profiles include significant non‐linearities, particularly within the shallowest 5 m below sea floor (mbsf). Géli et al. [2001] assert that thermal data collected with data loggers attached to long core barrels provide a more precise means of interpreting marine heat‐flow data than do thermal data collected with shorter, conventional heat flow probes. This assertion is not supported by the data presented.

Géli et al. [2001] also suggest that the observed non‐linearities are indicative of perturbations to steady‐state, conductive conditions within sea‐floor sediments resulting from recent changes in bottom water temperature (BWT) or pore fluid flow. We contend that the data shown by Géli et al. [2001] are more likely explained by sampling artifacts or errors in interpretation's described below. Each of these possibilities must be confidently eliminated before one can interpret the data to indicate bottom‐water temperature changes or fluid flow. We also urge taking a more balanced view of the strengths and weaknesses of sea‐floor, heat‐flow data collected with different tools, and caution against dismissing data collected with conventional probes as being generally less reliable than those collected with long piston cores.
Reply [to “Comments on “Deep‐Penetration Heat Flow Probes Raise Questions About Interpretations From Shorter Probes’”]
Authors: Géli Louis , Francheteau Jean , Labails Cinthia
Published: October 2006

We welcome the comments by Fisher et al. and Davis et al., which provide a useful opportunity to discuss further the reliability of oceanic heat‐flow measurements, especially from short probes, in greater detail than was possible in our first presentation. A problem with our presentation actually resides in its provocative headline: our results only raise questions about the interpretations of old, isolated measurements that were obtained using short penetration probes, mainly Bullard‐type probes made with three sensors disposed along a 2‐m‐long lance. Particularly, where underground water circulation is suspected, there is no question that only a large number of closely‐spaced (by a few tens to a few hundreds of meters) measurements allow the determination of the heat‐flow local variability.
Gaur receives 2001 Edward A. Flinn III Award
Authors: Molnar Peter , Gaur Vinod K.
Published: October 2006

Vinod K. Gaur received the Edward A. Flinn III Award at the 2001 Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on 12 December in San Francisco, California. The award is for individuals who personify the Union's motto, “unselfish cooperation in research” through their facilitating, coordinating, and implementing activities.
Ocean sciences after September 11
Authors: McPhaden Michael J.
Published: October 2006

The terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001 shocked the world with their audacity and destruction. Shortly thereafter, bioterrorists struck through the U.S. postal system. Virtually overnight, major policy shifts took place in the United States that catapulted national security and homeland defense to the top of the political agenda. The consequences were unimaginable just a few months before: an international coalition at war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, major increases in U.S. defense spending, tightened security measures at airports, government facilities, and research laboratories, and a new sense of vulnerability in the post‐cold war era. AGU itself was directly affected: three of its members perished in the hijacked planes, or on the ground in New York City.
Tapley receives 2001 Charles, A. Whitten Medal
Authors: Shum C. K. , Tapley Byron D.
Published: October 2006

Byron D. Tapley received the Charles A. Whitten Medal at the 2001 Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on 12 December in San Francisco, California. The medal recognizes outstanding achievements in research on the form and dynamics of the Earth and planets.
IMAGE results illustrate Earth's active role in space storms
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

New findings from a NASA satellite provide a global picture of the active role that Earth's ionosphere plays in providing energetic particles in solar storms, a team of scientists announced at a 9 May news briefing at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The habitability of Europa: A cautionary note
Authors: Soare Richard J. , Green David M.
Published: October 2006

Despite the lack of empirical evidence, the hypothesized existence of a liquid water ocean beneath the icy surface of Europa is supported by enough indirect data—photographic, spectroscopic, magnetic, and gravitometric—to make the proposal plausible [Gaidos and Nimmo, 2000; Greenberg, 2002; Kivelson et al., 2000; Prockter and Pappalardo, 2000]. A number of planetary scientists have suggested that were a Europan ocean to exist, it could be inhabited, if only by primitive microbial organisms [Chyba and Phillips, 2002; Gaidos and Nimmo, 2000; Greenberg, 2002; Kargel et al., 2000; McKollom, 1999]. We argue that speculation concerning potential habitability, unlike the Europan ocean hypothesis, is data‐deficient. Engaging as this speculation may seem, a greater measure of caution should be exercised when elaborating a supportive framework of arguments.
Kinder receives 2002 Ocean Sciences Award
Authors: Elgar Steve , Brink Ken H. , Allen John S. , Guza Bob , Kinder Thomas
Published: October 2006

Thomas Kinder received the Ocean Sciences Award at the Awards Program on 11 February, in Honolulu, Hawaii, “for outstanding and longstanding service to the ocean sciences”
McCartney receives 2002 Albatross Award
Authors: Dickson Bob
Published: October 2006

It's my very great privilege to act as citationist for the second of today's presentation: the award of what oceanography simply calls ‘the Bird’ or ‘the Albatross’ to Mike McCartney of Woods Hole.

I'd like to do it in three parts: first a few words about the origins of the award itself, then a little from personal experience on the trials and tribulations of being awarded ‘the Bird,’ and finally a few words on the many sterling qualities that have made Mike the unsuspecting and next recipient.
Tally of Jupiter's moons increases
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

With the International Astronomical Union's formal announcement on 16 May of 11 newly‐discovered moons orbiting Jupiter, the number of known moons around that planet now totals 39. This is the largest number orbiting any planet in the solar system, and nine more

Each of the newly‐found Jovian moons measures 2 to 4 kilometers in diameter, and they are irregular satellites with large, elongated, and inclined orbits.
[Comment on] Marketing Earth science education
Authors: Wantland Kenneth F. , Baie Lyle F. , Gallagher John J.
Published: October 2006

Marketing the Earth sciences to prospective students is a challenge to all university faculties today as well as a critical element in the personnel planning for many organizations. Roel Snieder and Chris Spiers (Eos, 19 March 2002, p. 131) reported that they uncovered a fundamental disconnect between the reasons faculty members assume that students are attracted to the Earth sciences, and the reasons students actually gave based on survey data. By confronting these survey results, and accepting them, the departments and faculty have found some new and better ways to recruit new students.
Comment [on “Evidence suggests slab melting in arc magmas” by Defant and Kepezhinskas]
Authors: Conrey Richard
Published: October 2006

The recent summary of the adakite hypothesis by M. Defant and P. Kepezhinskas (Eos, 5 February 2001, p. 65) addresses several important issues that have arisen in regard to interpreting arc rocks during the past decade. Defant and Kepezhinskas imply that slab melting is a common process and that many arc volcanoes are composed dominantly of adakite that has interacted with the mantle wedge on its way to the surface. The interactions are further interpreted as the cause of much compositional (metasomatic) variation in wedge peridotite. I regard many of the statements made by Defant and Kepezhinskas as controversial. The main problems of the adakite model follow: 1) The definition is too broad and ambiguous and does not uniquely identify slab melts. For example, high‐Mg andesite made by simple basalt‐rhyolite mixing can easily be mistaken for adakite. And Defant and Kepezhinskas regard any silicic melt that is derived from a garnet‐bearing source as an adakite. They offer no means of distinguishing slab melts from melts of garnet‐bearing lower crust. Defant and Kepezhinskas do not reference geophysical data in their definition, but such data provide a way to discriminate between the two possibilities. In areas where geophysical interpretation strongly suggests lower crustal temperatures high enough for melt production, there is no compelling reason to maintain the adakite hypothesis.
Reply [to “Comment on ‘Evidence suggests slab melting in arc magmas’”]
Authors: Defant Marc J. , Kepezhinskas Pavel
Published: October 2006

We are grateful for this opportunity to elaborate upon our ideas. R. Conrey has conveniently numbered his thoughts, and therefore, we will address them using his order. But first a few remarks about his general comments.

We have never implied that slab melting is a “common process” and that many arc volcanoes are composed “dominantly of adakite.” In fact, we emphasized that Drummond and Defant [1990] were correct in their interpretation that adakite production has vastly decreased since the Archean because less young crust subducts today. Although there are about 10–15 current adakite‐producing regions, this is certainly not a great deal compared with the extent of “regular” arc volcanism on the planet.
Pressure for backing Kyoto Protocol grows
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The European Union and its 15 member states simultaneously ratified the Kyoto Protocol on climate change on 31 May; Japan followed suit on 4 June; and pressure is building for other countries to approve the treaty so that it can come into force in time for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa late this year. The summit runs from 26 August through 4 September.
Importance of the Earth and space sciences in primary and secondary education: An endorsement of the AAAS benchmarks and NRC standards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Citizens require a solid understanding of the Earth and space sciences to address responsibly many of the issues confronting society, such as climate change, natural hazards, and resource availability. In the U.S., the only opportunity for most people to learn science in a formal setting occurs in grades K‐12 (kindergarten through high school). In addition, a positive K‐12 science experience may inspire young people to pursue the further study of science. As a community dedicated to advancing the understanding of Earth and space, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) is committed to effective science education in the primary and secondary grades.
The role of U.S. Government in supporting Earth and space science research
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Throughout its history, the United States has called upon Earth and space scientists to address challenges facing society The nation has come to expect geophysical data and analyses to help improve national security and protect lives and property—whether the goal is mitigation of risk from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and floods; defense against attack through the air, by land, or by water; development of resources; or better understanding of environmental issues and climate. Earth and space science research have been crucial to both public and private enterprises.
Pub Matters @ AGU: Color in AGU journals
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

A major advantage of electronic publication is that it costs no more to deliver a color figure online than a black‐and‐white one. Printing color is, however, still a costly proposition. When publishing each article as soon as it is ready another significant advantage of electronic publication, the placement of the color pages within the subsequent printed version of the journal can no longer be controlled.

For a variety of reasons, articles in the printed version of AGU journals appear in the order in which they were published. Economical reproduction of printed color requires grouping the color in as few signatures as possible. (A signature is a group of 16 or 32 pages that is printed at the same time on a single sheet.)
In Memoriam
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

John C. Butler died in November 2001, at age 60. He had been an AGU member (Volcanology Geochemistry & Petrology) since 2000.

Robert P. Cook died this year, at age 85. He was a retired life member (Hydrology) who joined AGU in 1944.
State estimation improves prospects for ocean research
Authors: Stammer Detlef , Wunsch C. , Fukumori I. , Marshall J.
Published: October 2006

Rigorous global ocean state estimation methods can now be used to produce dynamically consistent time‐varying model/data syntheses, the results of which are being used to study a variety of important scientific problems. Figure 1 shows a schematic of a complete ocean observing and synthesis system that includes global observations and state‐of‐the‐art ocean general circulation models (OGCM) run on modern computer platforms. A global observing system is described in detail in Smith and Koblinsky [2001],and the present status of ocean modeling and anticipated improvements are addressed by Griffies et al. [2001]. Here, the focus is on the third component of state estimation: the synthesis of the observations and a model into a unified, dynamically consistent estimate.
Mantle Convection in the Earth and Planets
Authors: Manga Michael
Published: October 2006

“How were the continents formed?” “Did layered mantle convection ever occur?” “Has the Earth always had a geodynamo?” These are some of the 159 questions that Schubert, Turcotte, and Olson use to provide a framework for their overview of convection related processes that affect Earth and other planets. Some of these questions have been answered; some continue to be the subject of active research and even heated debates after 3 decades of study; and others may be unanswerable. The authors return to their questions at the end of the book to summarize what is known and to identify the key unanswered questions in mantle convection. While this is not the most subtle way to guide readers through a book, I appreciate the structure and clarity provided by these questions. Moreover, I found it helpful to have a concise statement of the reasons for studying various aspects of mantle convection.
Distant Wanderers
Authors: McKay Christopher P.
Published: October 2006

Gaze out into the night sky and wonder: Are we alone? Are there stars like our Sun, with planets like Earth, with life—with complex, and even intelligent, life? We've known for many decades now that there are stars like our Sun. Indeed, we orbit an unremarkable star. But now we have begun to push the question one step further; we know now that there are planets around other stars. Within the past decade, astronomers have discovered large planets orbiting close to Sun‐like stars. This is arguably the most exciting result in astronomy for the past twenty years and could herald the beginning of an age of planetary discovery leading to the ultimate prize: the detection of Earth‐size planets orbiting in the habitable zone of Sun‐like stars.
The Seismic Wavefield Volume I: Introduction and Theoretical Development
Authors: Tromp Jeroen
Published: October 2006

Five years ago, there were just a few high‐level seismology textbooks. This situation has changed dramatically; the many books available today cover the entire scope of the subject. Kennett's new two‐volume text, The Seismic Wavefield, is a valuable addition to this collection. Volume I: Introduction and Theoretical Development is divided into two parts, 16 chapters, and an appendix. The introduction is aimed at developing an appreciation for the scope of seismic signals. There are examples of regional, teleseismic, strong motion, and oil industry time series, and the nature of the seismic noise spectrum is used to motivate the design of instrumentation. Part I focuses on seismic observations and the structure of the Earth. The discussion in this part is always motivated by the data. Many excellent illustrations depict basic seismological concepts such as P and S waves, surface waves, source mechanisms, and teleseismic phase nomenclature. Emphasis in Part I is placed on developing intuition rather than the underlying theory which is relegated to Part II.
CUAHSI supports workshops on the future of hydrologic science
Authors: Potter Kenneth W.
Published: October 2006

With support from the National Science Foundation, the Consortium for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) was formed in 2001 to develop a broad‐based research and education agenda for hydrologic science in U.S. universities, and to facilitate the acquisition of the resources needed to implement this agenda. At the time of this article, 60 universities had become members. Early in 2002, CUAHSI conducted a series of six regional workshops, in Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Boston, to introduce the hydrologic research community to CUAHSI, solicit input to the CUAHSI committees developing infrastructure and science plans, and foster a sense of community among hydrologic scholars. CUAHSI also encouraged member universities to conduct local workshops patterned after the regional ones; to date, such workshops have been held at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Colorado, and the University of California at Riverside. Summaries of the activities at each of these workshops are posted on the CUAHSI Web site (www.cuahsi.org).
Thomas Vincent McEvilly (1934–2002)
Authors: Bolt Bruce A.
Published: October 2006

On 22 February 2002, the seismological community lost one of its most engaging and distinguished members, Thomas McEvilly (or Tom as he was known to all), professor emeritus of geophysics at the University of California, Berkeley He was undergoing treatment at St. Anthony's Medical Center in St. Louis, the city of his birth. McEvilly was an AGU Fellow, and a member of the Seismology Section (1957).

His contributions to geophysics ranged widely particularly in seismology. His many publications investigated, among other topics, seismic crustal profiling, earthquake source properties, test‐ban treaty verification methods, earthquake prediction, and seismographic instrumentation. He was also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an honorary member of the Seismological Society of America. McEvilly served on many scientific advisory committees for government, university and professional organizations, including UNESCO, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of Energy he also held the notable position of chairman of the Committee of Seismology of the National Academy of Science/National Research Council from 1981 to 1983.
Parlange receives 2002 Robert E. Horton Medal
Authors: Brutsaert Wilfried H. , Parlange Jean‐Yves
Published: October 2006

Jean‐Yves Parlange was awarded the Robert E. Horton Medal at the AGU Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on 29 May 2002, in Washington, D.C. The medal recognizes outstanding contributions to hydrology.