bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Blizzard's effects on Appalachian stream chemistry assessed
Authors: Dow Charles L. , DeWalle David R. , Lynch James A. , Sharpe William E.
Published: October 2006

From March 12–14, 1993, up to 1 m of snow fell on the northeast United States, with central Pennsylvania receiving some of the largest accumulations. The rain‐on‐snow events that followed provided a unique opportunity to monitor episodic acidification and fluctuations in dissolved aluminum concentrations during extreme flows in three forested Appalachian Plateau basins in north‐central Pennsylvania. These events produced peak flows 2–5 times greater than previously monitored flows in the basins we studied, and in the Susquehanna River Basin, March discharge was the highest sustained flow on record.

High flows during the event were accompanied by greater streamflow dilution by rain and meltwater and shifts to surface and near‐surface hydrologic flow paths, which reduced contact of water with the soil matrix. In the three basins we monitored, these extreme flows caused little water quality degradation relative to earlier events of lesser magnitude. High flows resulted in stream acidification due to base cation dilution rather than increased acid anion concentrations as found in previously monitored events. Total dissolved aluminum concentrations peaked and then remained nearly constant as flow increased during the event; however, aluminum concentrations were elevated above levels toxic to native trout populations in these streams for an extended period of time.
Broad‐based Geoscience Programs make the grade
Authors: Wakefield J.
Published: October 2006

Trends in geophysical science toward a “holistic” approach seem to be driving the evolution of interdisciplinary science departments at colleges and universities in the United States. Some say it's a boon for research and for graduate students alike. Yet others remain skeptical.

At any rate, the grades are not all in as to how individual disciplines are faring in this transition era.
Free report of interest to ocean scientists available
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

A free report is available from the Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Inc., that addresses issues of dual use of the Navy's Integrated Underwater Surveillance System. It focuses on scientific uses of the system and addresses related matters such as classification and security, the scientific importance of Bermuda and Keflavik SOSUS arrays, and estimates of costs to instrument, extract, and archive data for scientific purposes.
Charles Arthur Whitten (1909–1994)
Authors: Kaula William M.
Published: October 2006

Charles Whitten, the 1980 Bowie Medalist, died on July 12, 1994, at the age of 84. He was one of the nine oldest members of the AGU, having joined in 1934. Favored with excellent health throughout his life, Whitten was stricken by a cancer first detected January of this year. He is survived by his wife, Brena, three sons, and five grandchildren. He will be remembered with affection by a host of friends and colleagues; beside being a distinguished scientist, he was the kindest of men, always attentive and helpful, and never scornful of other's ideas: truly fulfilling the Bowie ideal of “unselfish cooperation.”
Paleomagneticists discover rock trait that may offer clues to seafloor evolution
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Paleomagneticists at Columbia University have discovered a magnetic trait of seafloor rocks that may provide a new “clock” to map changes to the ocean floors on a timescale of several thousand years—which is a much more refined scale than that offered by prevailing methods. Such a tool may elucidate the evolution of mid‐ocean ridges and perhaps even the dynamics of the Earth's field intensity when combined with state‐of‐the‐art uranium calibration techniques.

For decades, scientists have relied on reversals in the magnetic direction of rock found along the Earth's mid‐ocean ridges to reconstruct the history of the creation and movement of the Earth's crustal plates, whose boundaries lie along these ridges.
National medalist
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

President Clinton has chosen eight prominent American scientists to receive the 1994 National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honor. Frank Press, an AGU member and geophysicist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, numbers among the eight science medalists who will receive their medals in October, according to an announcement last week by Jack Gibbons, assistant to the president for science and technology. The president chose the other seven recipients from the fields of structural engineering, organic photochemistry, theoretical physics, biology, computer science, sociology, and biochemistry.
Explorer Program downscaled to keep pace with high flight rate theme
Authors: Wakefield J.
Published: October 2006

The days of the $200 million‐plus or Delta‐class missions of the Explorer program are coming to an end, NASA decided earlier this month. The news may be music to the ears of some space physicists and astrophysicists, who have been calling for more frequent flight opportunities.

Associate Administrator for Space Science Wesley Huntress Jr. announced more than a week ago that NASA is canceling the $250 million Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) mission which was slated to start in fiscal year 1995 and be launched in the year 2000. NASA will go ahead, however, with the planned launch in 1997 of the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), which will become the last Delta‐class mission to fly.
Climatic crystal balls
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

What do anchovy and coffee prices have in common? They both are influenced by weather patterns. And so are a lot of other industries in the world of commodities. A new report from the National Research Council says it's time to protect these economic interests. The report outlines a new 15‐year global research program that would help scientists make better seasonal and interannual climate predictions. Called the Global Ocean‐Atmosphere‐Land System or GOALS, the new program would be an extension of the decade‐long international Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program, which comes to an end this year. Besides studying the climatic effects of tropical phenomena such as the El Niño/Southern Oscillation, the program would expand these types of studies to Earth's higher latitudes and to additional physical processes, such as the effects of changes in upper ocean currents, soil moisture, vegetation, and land, snow, and sea‐ice cover, among others.
In response
Authors: Miller Timothy L. , Smith Steven A. , Owens Jerry K.
Published: October 2006

We wish to clarify the remarks concerning measurements of OH in the atmosphere during ATLAS‐1 by being more specific about what was measured. The instrument ISO (Imaging Spectrometric Observatory) on ATLAS‐1 made the first space‐based measurements of OH density profiles in the mesosphere by observing resonance fluorescence of the OH radical in the dayglow. This also marked the first such measurement of OH in the mesosphere since Anderson's [1971] sounding rocket measurements.

We also wish to acknowledge the long history of excellent work by the Phillips Laboratory group in observations of the pure rotation and vibration‐rotation emissions of the ground electronic state OH in the mesopause region.
Exploring the enigma of solar energetic particles
Authors: Lin R. P.
Published: October 2006

The Sun is the most powerful natural particle accelerator in our solar system, able to accelerate ions to energies of many gigaelectron volts and electrons to hundreds of megaelectron volts. This acceleration occurs as a consequence of transient releases of energy in solar flares and/or coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Solar flares are explosions occurring near sunspots, regions of strong, ∼103 Gauss, magnetic fields.

Traditionally, flares have been detected by ground‐based optical observatories as brightenings in the emission of the hydrogenalpha line. In the largest flares, as much as ∼1032 ergs is released in ∼103s. Energy is thought to be stored in the magnetic field and released through some type of instability. Because the number of sunspots waxes and wanes over an ∼11‐year cycle, the frequency of occurrence of flares also varies with this solar activity cycle; the last solar maximum occurred from 1989 to 1990.
Internal Washington power game adds to earmark controversy
Authors: Wakefield J.
Published: October 2006

In the ongoing controversy over congressional earmarks, some new bones of contention have surfaced. Late last month, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee heard testimony that the dynamics of Washington's so‐called “iron triangle” are adding to the inequities that many claim are caused by the earmarking of funds for scientific research.

Nonetheless, earmarking remains a legitimate part of the appropriations game, and a practice that many still champion. At the hearing, the president of Boston University, John R. Silber, lauded the “excellence” of projects funded by earmarks.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Three presentations were named Outstanding Student Papers in the Atmospheric Science Section at the AGU 1994 Spring Meeting in Baltimore.

Bjorn Stevens presented “Sensitivities of Simulated Marine Stratocumulus Cloud Albedos to Changes in Cloud Condensation Nuclei Concentrations.” Stevens is a doctoral student in atmospheric science at Colorado State University; he received his B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering at Iowa State University, focusing on radio astronomy. Recently, he received a NASA Global Change fellowship. His dissertation research is directed toward increasing the understanding of microphysical and dynamical interactions in cloud‐topped marine boundary layers through an exploration of the solution space of sophisticated numerical models.
Water takes a peculiar turn in the Gulf Stream
Authors: Schubert Amy
Published: October 2006

An unusual phenomenon was spotted in the April and May 1994 sea surface temperature images of the Gulf Stream. A large amount of water left the Gulf Stream between 33°N and 34°N and moved east into the Sargasso Sea (Figures lb and lc). On April 29 this water mass could be seen as far east as 62°W (Figure 2). No similar event is evident in the 10‐year image archive beginning in 1979 at the University of Rhode Island.
Earthquakes and emergence
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Earthquakes and emerging infections may not have a direct cause and effect relationship like tax evasion and jail, but new evidence suggests that there may be a link between the two human health hazards. Various media accounts have cited a massive 1993 earthquake in Maharashtra as a potential catalyst of the recent outbreak of plague in India that has claimed more than 50 lives and alarmed the world. The hypothesis is that the earthquake may have uprooted underground rat populations that carry the fleas infected with the bacterium that causes bubonic plague and can lead to the pneumonic form of the disease that is spread through the air.
Fellowships offer an Entrée to Public Science Policy
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The American Physical Society and the American Institute of Physics are accepting applications for their 1995–1996 Congressional Science Fellowship programs. For one year, fellows serve on the staff of a senator, representative, or congressional committee. They are afforded an opportunity to learn the legislative process and explore science policy issues from the lawmakers' perspective, while at the same time lending scientific and technical expertise to public policy issues.

Applicants should have a Ph.D. in physics or a closely related field, a strong interest in science and technology policy and, ideally, some experience in applying scientific knowledge toward solving societal problems. Fellows must be U.S. citizens and members of AIP or one of its member societies, which include AGU.
Cultural evolution afoot at USGS
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Eos interviews USGS Director Gordon Eaton.

Times are changing at the US Geological Survey. The agency is shifting to a more customer‐oriented focus in response to the changing needs of the nation and the dynamics of the international solid‐earth research community.
Conflict of values necessitates public lands research policy
Authors: Eichelberger John , Sattler Allan
Published: October 2006

What kind of research can be permitted on public lands? For wilderness, a narrow reading of the Wilderness Act would restrict work to observation and limited sampling. This effectively excludes modern geoscience from investigating some of the nation's outstanding geological features. However, the same Act speaks of geological and other scientific values, the continuation of previously established forms of access, and mechanized access for safety and administrative purposes. The latter may well overlap with scientific objectives.
Solar breeze
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

With the assistance of the Moon's gravitational field, NASA will launch the Wind spacecraft November 1 to the forward libration point to study the physics of the solar‐terrestrial system. Eight instruments aboard the 1250‐kg satellite will measure various quantities in the solar wind about 1 hour before it reaches the Earth. The highly quantitative measurements will help scientists predict how changes in solar wind affect the Earth's atmosphere. “Extensive use has been made of ‘intelligent’ instruments, and they are able to operate in a wide variety of modes and productivity will be high,” says Keith Ogilvie, deputy project scientist. “It's pretty modern stuff,” Ogilvie says. Wind is the first of two missions of the Global Geospace Science (GGS) initiative, the U.S. component of the International Solar‐Terrestrial Physics program. The launch of Polar, the second GGS satellite, is slated for late 1995. Polar is designed to measure the flow of plasma within Earth's magnetosphere. Both craft, which together cost about $458 million to develop, are part of a larger project to provide simultaneous, interactive data on key regions of Earth's space environment, from beyond the Earth foreshock region to the magnetosphere to transient gamma ray events.
Analysis of comet Shoemaker‐Levy 9 data just beginning
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

July's cosmic collision between Jupiter and Comet Shoemaker‐Levy 9 has presented many paradoxes and puzzles for astronomers, space physicists, and planetary scientists. For a start, the more that scientists analyze the data, the more that questions arise, and the deeper become the valleys in the debate. Indeed, synthesizing the data from the literally hundreds of thousands of assorted images, observations, and measurements has proven to be a daunting task for the entire space science community. And one that was still getting off the ground at last week's annual American Astronomical Society's (AAS) Division of Planetary Sciences meeting here.

Though some clear ideas about what happened were emerging by the end of last week, the community was still divided over many fundamental questions.
Symposium explores the high‐latitude heliosphere
Authors: Marsden Richard
Published: October 2006

The October 6, 1990, launch of the joint European Space Agency (ESA)‐NASA Ulysses mission marked the start of a new era in the study of the heliosphere. For the first time since the dawn of the space age, in situ observations of heliospheric fields and particles are being made in the Sun's polar regions and over the full range of heliographic latitudes.

Since shortly after launch, Ulysses has returned an unprecendented data set with which to study the properties of the solar wind, the heliospheric magnetic field, locally accelerated and solar energetic particles, and cosmic rays, as well as important interstellar constituents, dust, and neutral helium. The spacecraft also carries instrumentation to detect solar X rays and cosmic gamma rays, and a radio science investigation to probe the solar corona.
Outstanding student paper
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

One presentation was named Outstanding Student Paper in the Geodesy Section at the AGU 1994 Spring Meeting in Baltimore.

Mara Yale was honored for “Along‐Track Resolution of Individual and Stacked ERS‐1, Topex, and Geosat/ERM Profiles.” Yale is currently a graduate student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, working toward a Ph.D. in physics. Her research at Scripps involves geodynamics.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

For the Space Physics and Aeronomy Section, seven presentations were named Outstanding Student Papers at the AGU 1994 Spring Meeting.

Lee Bennett presented “Steady‐State Hybrid Simulations of Quasi‐Parallel Shocks.” Bennett is a doctoral candidate in physics at North Carolina State University, from which he also received his B.S. in physics. His current research interest is simulations of particle acceleration at collisionless, astrophysical shocks.
New Law of the Sea could facilitate marine scientific research
Authors: Knauss John A.
Published: October 2006

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 enters into force November 16, 1994. Most important, because of agreement reached in the United Nations July 29 to a series of amendments to the deep seabed mining part of the treaty, the Convention is now widely agreed upon by the major maritime powers including the United States.

What effect, if any, will its entering into force have on those who do science at sea? I believe the new Convention may ease the difficulties we have had in recent years in gaining access to waters whose resources are controlled by other nations. Improvement in the clearance process will not happen, however, unless our State Department and the foreign offices of other major oceanographic nations take full advantage of all parts of this complicated treaty.
Public information committee generates new initiatives
Authors: Thomas David W.
Published: October 2006

Various ways to increase public and media interest in the geosciences—involving communication vehicles ranging from radio to film to the information highway—were the focus of AGU's Public Information Committee meeting, which was held in September.

To increase the public's interest in the geosciences, each AGU section is being asked to designate a press officer to work with the AGU public information staff.
Planning the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program
Authors: Elders Wilfred A.
Published: October 2006

A new research frontier—continental scientific drilling—has the potential to substantially increase our knowledge of fundamental problems throughout the solid Earth sciences. A consensus of interdisciplinary Earth scientists is growing worldwide supporting the establishment of an International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICSDP) as a logical next step in the development of the Earth sciences. After all, the continents are where most of the Earth's history is recorded, most of our resources are found, and most of the world's population lives.

In the development of all of the sciences there have been thresholds that, when crossed, led to rapid and exciting new advances and the creation of new paradigms. Usually, these thresholds were crossed when new methods were developed that yielded new observations and better testing of old hypotheses. Crossing that threshold in ocean drilling with the development of the Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP) and the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) revolutionized marine geology and geophysics and mademajor contributions to our understanding of fundamental aspects of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. The time has come to cross the threshold of scientific drilling on land.
Mt. Etna lava flows analyzed with remote sensing
Authors: Abrams Michael , Realmuto Vince , Piere David , Buongiomo Fabrizia
Published: October 2006

Remote sensing offers the potential to understand the behavior of active lava flows by providing information on flow shape and morphology, temperature distribution, steepness of the slope, and other terrain parameters. The images of the recent Mt. Etna, Italy, lava flows presented here represent a major step in constraining some of these properties; in the future, images like these may be used to predict the course of a flow. The societal benefits of such predictions for hazard mitigation are obvious.

Current technology, however, has major limitations, such as the high cost and infrequent temporal coverage of satellite data and the unavailability of appropriate instrumentation on aircraft platforms, to name a few. Nevertheless, recent investigations like the one at Mt. Etna have demonstrated the capabilities of remote sensing for volcanological studies.
Producing the solar dynamo
Authors: Hathaway David H.
Published: October 2006

This article is part of a series that investigates topics in space physics and aeronomy. The solar dynamo is the process by which the Sun's magnetic field is generated through the interaction of the field with convection and rotation. In this, it is kin to planetary dynamos and other stellar dynamos. Although the precise mechanism by which the Sun generates its field remains poorly understood despite decades of theoretical and observational work, recent advances suggest that solutions to this solar dynamo problem may be forthcoming.
River Mixing
Authors: Rayej Mohammad
Published: October 2006

River Mixing is a well written book that explains the general processes of mixing in rivers via advection and diffusion. It begins with a good introduction on the subject of mixing phenomenon in rivers, and much of the book goes on to analyze longitudinal, transverse, and vertical mixing in rivers, giving good theoretical insight. The book is also well organized; at the beginning of each chapter, subject matter is followed by practical examples solving dispersion problems.

A particularly good section examines field and lab measurements of dispersion coefficients, which is important in calibrating a transport model. One chapter is devoted to transport models and their applications and limitations in each specific case. The book warns readers, and rightfully so, not to use any model blindly. A good reference list of previous work by researchers is cited throughout the book.
Oregonian shake‐up
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The coastal area in the Pacific Northwest may face a clear and present danger: an earthquake hazard on the par with that facing areas that dot the San Andreas Fault. The hazard is represented in a new set of maps describing the level of seismic hazard throughout Oregon, which were released last month by the Geomatrix Consultants, a San Francisco‐based engineering firm. The conclusion is no great surprise. Scientists have thought for some time that the potential damage from a large earthquake occurring in the Northwest could easily match that of a same‐sized quake occurring in California. However, the threat has not been taken as seriously by the state of Oregon as it has by California. The $300,000 study, known as the Seismic Hazard Mapping Project, may convince Oregon otherwise. At least urban planners will have some better defined numbers to use for bridge and building construction.
Fellows Committee Actions
Authors: Spiess Fred
Published: October 2006

In addition to its activities in selecting Fellows, over the past two years the Committee of Fellows has undertaken an in‐depth review of the entire Union honors program. This review has resulted in significant changes and in recommendations for further changes.

The review included revisiting recommendations of earlier studies, polling of prior medal committee chairs, examining the honors programs of comparable societies, compiling the Fellow selection procedures of the Sections, and generating statistical material from membership data.
Global emissions inventories to aid atmospheric modelers
Authors: Graedel T. E.
Published: October 2006

Computer projections of changes in global atmospheric chemistry could become more accurate and more easily compared with the availability of standard global emissions inventories. Starting in 1994, the Global Emissions Inventory Activity (GEIA) began to finalize gridded global emissions inventories and distribute them to atmospheric scientists. GEIA operates under the auspices of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project, a cooperative effort of several hundred atmospheric scientists from more than 30 countries. The purpose of the IGAC Project is to measure, understand, and predict changes in global atmospheric chemistry, particularly those contributing to global problems such as acid rain, depletion of stratospheric ozone, greenhouse warming, and increased oxidant levels that damage biota.

A 1992 survey by participants in the GEIA project [Graedel et al., 1993] showed that suitable emissions inventories are rarely available. The chlorofluorocarbon inventory, regarded as well quantified, was unavailable in gridded form. Inventories for CO2, CH4, NOx, SO2, reduced sulfur, and radon were regarded as having excess uncertainty, inadequate spatial resolution, or both; inventories for other chemical species were sketchy or nonexistent. Temporal resolution was almost uniformly poor. The survey made it clear that internally consistent, rigorously developed, gridded inventories with adequate spatial and temporal resolution would be valuable.
Global Water Resource Management
Authors: Lund Jay R.
Published: October 2006

The stated intent of Global Water Resource Management is to present the results and background of the International Conference on Water Resources and Environment (ICWE) held in Dublin, Ireland in 1992. In contrast to typical conference proceedings known to academics, this conference report is an attempt to summarize the findings of the conference with related information and place the conference within the context of other high‐visibility international conferences on water and environmental problems. This simple programmatic intent, which is capably fulfilled by the authors, should be of interest to those attending and interested in this conference. Among overviews of global water resource problems and solutions, the book is one of many appearing over a period of several decades. In this field it does not distinguish itself as being particularly insightful, well written, scholarly, practical, comprehensive, or current. The book is another example of the insubstantial scientific and policy results which seem to flow regularly from high‐visibility international conferences.
John Tuzo Wilson (1908–1993)
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Spring 1993 meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Baltimore was to have been treated to a contributed paper by one of the Union's most eminent Past Presidents (1980–1982), a Canadian, John Tuzo Wilson, then in his 85th year. It is an interesting footnote to AGU history that, having elected Wilson to its Presidency and having discovered that this violated its constitution, the Union changed its constitution. At the Baltimore meeting, Wilson's paper, entitled “The Neglect of Migrating Plumes as a Major Weakness in the Earth Sciences”, was to have been read in a session on Tectonophysics. With it, as he had assured me some months before in the tea room of the Geophysics Laboratory at Toronto, he intended to further announce his return to the continuing debates surrounding the mobilist view of the Earth that his own work, three decades before, had played such an important role in establishing. Although the period in Wilson's life from the early 1970s until the late 1980s was devoted to a daunting array of administrative duties, he never lost the deep love for the Earth sciences that had always motivated his research career. To the end of his life, he remained a man of ideas and intellect with an enduring capacity to feel absolute delight in the discovery of new truths about the Earth. He is a person now greatly missed by legions of colleagues and friends internationally, by the University of Toronto, which he served with such distinction from 1946 onward and by his country to which, by the time of his passing, he had become a cultural icon.
AGU authorizes electronic journal, takes other actions
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The AGU Council has authorized publication of an electronic journal to be published jointly with several other scientific societies. At a Council Meeting convened December 8 during AGU's Fall Meeting in San Francisco, the Council unanimously approved the plan presented by the Publications Committee.

The Council also unanimously adopted the 1995 budget at $19.7 million, which includes an allowance of about $225,000 for the first year of the journal development.
Walkering away
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Rep. Robert Walker (R‐Pa.) spent 18 years on Capitol Hill before ascending to the chairmanship of the House Science Committee. Now, after just one term leading the committee, the congressman intends to leave it. In a surprise announcement on December 15, Walker announced that he will vacate his seat at the end of the 104th Congress this year, citing a desire to “move on and, in the process, keep a little bit of history intact.” That history is a tradition in Pennsylvania's 16th district that no representative ever serve more than 20 years in the “Pennsylvania Dutch seat” (Lancaster and Chester counties).
Opdyke to receive Fleming medal
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Neil D. Opdyke of the University of Florida has been selected as the 1996 John Adam Fleming medalist for his original research and technical leadership in paleomagnetism and paleoclimatology. Keith Runcorn, in his nomination, cited Opdyke as “…one of the first young geologists to appreciate the possibilities of the new subject of paleomagnetism—at that time viewed with much scepticism by most geoscientists. … he did research which ranks him as one of the pioneers of this now fundamental discipline.”
Igniting interest in educators and students: Focus on Mars Pathfinder
Authors: Klug Sheri L.
Published: October 2006

High‐tech subjects such as space exploration and spacecraft design seem light years away from student's everyday lives. Lack of resources, lack of technology, and sometimes lack of vision of what the future might hold can be formidable obstacles to overcome when we attempt to expand our student's horizons beyond Earth. As a participant in the Mars Pathfinder Landing Site Workshop, I discovered the incredible benefits that a partnership between scientists, engineers, and educators can reap for our citizens of the future. Last September, in preparation for the July 1997 Pathfinder landing on Mars, I was one of thirteen educators who joined scientists and engineers in eastern Washington's Channeled Scabland.
In from the cold
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Despite the shutdown of much of the federal government, American scientists conducting austral summer research in the Antarctic will be able to eat, stay warm, and finish their work for two more months, according to officials at the National Science Foundation (NSF). In the early weeks of December, several administrators and scientists openly worried about whether the U.S. Antarctic Program would be able to pay its bills and keep the research going. Questions were even raised about the logistics of getting the researchers home.

But financial guidance from the Office of Management and Budget has allowed NSF— the lead institution overseeing U.S. Antarctic research—to pay for the commitments and support services already contracted for the season.
Court rejects challenge to publication of pricing surveys
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

For the second time, the U.S. District Court in New York has upheld the right to publish surveys analyzing the prices of scientific journals. The decision is a significant confirmation of the legal protection given to a form of speech important to the scholarly community.

In 1986 and 1988, the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and The American Physical Society (APS) published the results of surveys that analyzed the comparative prices of physics journals. Journals published by AIP and APS scored near the top of the rankings, and several of Gordon & Breach's (G & B) journals scored at or near the bottom. G&B sued AIP and APS in New York and in Europe, claiming that the publication of the survey results constituted false or misleading advertising.
Comment on [“Plasma Physics: An Introductory Course”] Book Review
Authors: Bryant Duncan A.
Published: October 2006

The review of Plasma Physics: An Introductory Course [Eos 76, p.53, 1995] is marred by a serious inaccuracy and several misleading omissions. The review reports, erroneously, that chapter 9 part 1 states that“…electric fields due to space charge separation play no role in charged particle acceleration at shocks or in the auroral region.” The fact is that the chapter describes and advocates a mechanism (Landau damping) by which acceleration at these locations is caused by electrostatic waves where “the motion of the electrostatic barrier…is essential for energy transfer.”

The statement to which the review refers carries the crucial, and twice explicitly mentioned, qualification that the space‐charge electric field is static, relative to particle transit time, and, therefore, effectively conservative. When properly represented, therefore, the statement is seen to follow directly from one of the basic principles of physics—the conservative nature of fields due to central forces, from which it is clear that it is no more possible for energy to be delivered by unchanging (in the observing frame) electrostatic fields than it is possible for an engine to run on gravity. In citing the simulation literature as offering strong evidence against this “opinion,” as it is described, the review neglects to mention that the chapter challenges such evidence with the prediction that all models claiming to accelerate particles by unchanging electrostatic fields will be found to contain a major flaw, such as equipotentials that are not closed surfaces.
Designing a robotic sampler to collect Moon rocks
Authors: Warren Paul H. , Drake Bret G. , Lofgren Gary E. , Swindle Timothy D.
Published: October 2006

Samples from strategically chosen lunar sites could help resolve some of the most important issues in planetary science [Taylor, 1992] regarding impact processes, the formation of planets and their satellites, and the bombardment history of the Earth‐Moon system. Robotic sampling offers a new, cost‐effective means of sampling rocks and soil from lunar sites not yet probed. The ideal mission would retrieve at least 100, and preferably >500, rocks 0.5g or larger in mass. Considering the peculiar impact‐jumbled, minimally weathered nature of the lunar crust, all but a few exceptionally young terrains can be sampled by a simple, lightweight mechanical probe. It would land, scoop, and sieve a few liters of soil near its landing site and then return to Earth with roughly ¾ kg of sieve‐concentrated small rocks plus ¼ kg of unsieved regolith.
Field of dreams
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

As if mesmerized by the expansiveness of the universe, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) gazed for parts of ten consecutive days in December on a single sliver of sky. What it saw was the most perceptive, detailed view of the universe ever recorded optically.

Training the HST on a patch of sky near the handle of the Big Dipper (and in Ursa Major), a team of astronomers led by Robert Williams of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) captured in four different wavelengths the faintest galaxies ever photographed—down to the thirtieth magnitude, or roughly four billion times fainter than what can be seen by the naked eye. Most of the galaxies photographed in the Hubble Deep Field have never been seen by even the largest earthbound telescopes. Astronomers consider this “keyhole” view of the universe—a speck of sky equivalent to looking at a dime that is 22 meters away—to be representative of the distribution of galaxies in all directions.
Budyko receives Robert E. Horton Medal
Authors: Dooge James C. I. , Budyko M. I.
Published: October 2006

The Robert E. Horton Medal for outstanding contributions to the geophysical aspects of hydrology was presented to Mikhail Ivanovitch Budyko at the 1994 Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony in Baltimore on May 25,1994. The award citation and Budyko's response are presented here.
Italian seismic databank allows on‐line access
Authors: Barba Salvatore , Giovambattista Rita Di , Smriglio Giuseppe
Published: October 2006

Users can interactively query, search, and download parametric information, and digital recordings collected by the Italian Telemetered Seismic Network (ITSN) through the Istituto Nazionale Di Geofisica Seismic Network Databank (ISND). The databank is completely menu‐driven and easy to use.

The ITSN comprises about 80 seismic stations (Figure 1) equipped with several seismometers acting at a critical damping of 70% and characterized by a period of 1 Hz. The seismometers' signals are transmitted over telephone lines or radio relay systems and then demodulated and recorded by an automatic acquisition system developed in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey. Digital data are stored on a magnetic disk and then processed through interactive procedures. The automatic selection of the seismic phases is checked daily and eventually corrected by seismic analysts. New data are available to users within a week.
Atmospheric Radiative Transfer
Authors: Perliski Lori
Published: October 2006

Because radiative transfer cuts across many scientific disciplines with applications including remote sensing, climate, atmospheric chemistry, and photobiology, there is a need for comprehensive books on this subject that can appeal to a wide readership. While Atmospheric Radiative Transfer takes strides toward filling this niche by addressing a broad range of topics, it is dry reading and suffers from lack of detail. The book was based on a graduate‐level course taught at the University of Sciences and Technologies in Lille, France, and indeed, the text reads much like an expanded outline perhaps derived from lecture notes.

Part one deals with general radiative transfer, and part two covers Earth's radiation budget, the climate system, and remote sensing techniques. The radiative transfer equation and solutions for absorbing and scattering atmospheres are discussed as are the details of absorption, such as energy levels, line strengths, line intensities, equivalent widths, and weak‐ and strong‐line limits.
Ulrich Siegenthaler (1941”1994)
Authors: Joos Fortunat , Stocker Thomas , Oeschger Hans
Published: October 2006

Uli Siegenthaler lost his long battle with cancer on July 14,1994. His death is a great loss to both his family and the scientific community. For decades, as one of a select few involved in developing Earth system science, he contributed to a balanced and competent view of the multifaceted aspects of complex climate and environmental issues.

Siegenthaler was born in 1941 in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. After his studies of Physics at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zurich he joined Hans Oeschger's group at the Physics Institute of the University of Bern. In 1971 he completed his doctoral studies there—with summa cum laude—on the application of stable isotopes to the water cycle. He married Ilse, and they raised a family of two children in Bern.
Study of cosmic rays reveals secrets of solar‐terrestrial science
Authors: Jokipii J. R.
Published: October 2006

For many years cosmic rays provided the most important source of energetic particles for studies of subatomic physics. Today, cosmic rays are being studied as a natural phenomenon that can tell us much about both the Earth's environment in space and distant astrophysical processes. Cosmic rays are naturally occurring energetic particles—mainly ions—with kinetic energies extending from just above thermal energies to more than 1020 electron volts (eV). They constantly bombard the Earth from all directions, with more than 1018 particles having energies >1 MeV striking the top of the Earth's atmosphere each second. Figure 1 illustrates the continuous cosmic ray energy spectrum.
Planetary Landscapes
Authors: Strom Robert G.
Published: October 2006

If you are looking for a well‐illustrated book on the qualitative aspects of planetary and satellite landforms, then Planetary Landscapes (2nd Ed.) is for you. However, if you are looking for a textbook or reference volume on planetary geology that discusses the more controversial and most exciting issues in planetary geology with at least some quantitative treatment of geologic processes, look elsewhere.

Like the first edition, Planetary Landscapes contains outstanding black and white images of surface features on the planets and satellites, including excellent examples of various landforms on Earth. The images are well documented so that the reader can easily access the original image, and the book's extensive list of references allows the reader to look up an original paper on a given subject.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Two Outstanding Student Paper Awards were given in the Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Section at the AGU Fall Meeting, which was held last December in San Francisco.

Florence Garnier, who presented “Geomagnetic Field Intensity Over the Last 42,000 Years Obtained From Core SOH‐4, Big Island Hawaii,” received the French equivalent of an M.S. in Geophysics in July 1993 from the University of Paris 7/Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris. In September 1993, she started a Ph.D. program in paleomagnetism at the Centre des Faibles Radioactivit7eacute;s, Laboratoire mixte CEA‐CNRS, located in Gif‐sur‐Yvette, France. Her research focuses on long‐term changes of the geomagnetic field intensity retrieved from lava sequences of Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Mauna Kea volcanoes. In this research, which is a joint project between her laboratory and the University of Hawaii, she uses mainly paleomagnetic methods, but also uses radiometric datings.
Outstanding student paper
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

One Outstanding Student Paper award was given in the Ocean Sciences Section at the AGU Fall Meeting, which was held last December in San Francisco.

Leigh Welling was honored for “Distribution of Polycystine Radiolaria and Their Relation to the Physical Environment During the 1992 El Niño and Following Cold Event.” Welling is a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. Her primary research has entailed identifying and analyzing the radiolarian component of plankton tows, sediment traps, and sediments in the northeast and tropical Pacific. Because these siliceous microfauna leave behind a fossilized record they are frequently used to construct past climate, ocean currents, and ecological environments from the preserved sediment record.
Vidale receives Macelwane Medal
Authors: Mooney Walter , Vidale John E.
Published: October 2006

The James B. Macelwane Medal, which is given for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability, was presented to John E. Vidale at the 1994 Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on December 7, 1994, in San Francisco. The award citation and Vidale's response are given here.

“Scientific discovery most often comes from the creative exploitation of newly available data to address long‐standing problems. John Vidale, who shares the 1994 Macelwane Medal, has excelled in this regard. His contributions in seismological studies of Earth structure and earthquake sources have been an inspiration to geophysicists throughout the world. His numerous publications in the leading journals Nature and Science over the past 4 years already well exceeds the number of papers accepted by these two journals in a typical scientific career. John selects data like ripe fruit waiting to be plucked, and utilizes it wisely.
Mars mosaic
Authors: James Phil
Published: October 2006

Mars is coooler, clearer, and drier than the Red Planet was a couple of decades ago, according to new data released last week, which include this collection of the first Mars opposition images taken since the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was repaired in December 1993. Related spectroscopic studies also reveal that the abundance of ozone in Mars' atmosphere has increased threefold at equatorial levels. “Mars is in a very different climate regime than it was a couple decades ago,” when the Viking spacecraft visited the planet, says Steven Lee of the University of Colorado at Boulder. What's more, the average global temperature has dropped 20 K since the mid‐1970s, largely due to the settling of dust particles, which absorb sunlight and warm the atmosphere. In fact, Mars is about 3 times less dusty than it was during the Viking visit. Lee notes, “We just happened to visit Mars when it was dusty, and now the dust has settled out.” Scientists estimate that Mars' climate has been very stable over the past 1.5 years. Observations of Mars' atmosphere may help shed light on processes at work in Earth's atmosphere, scientists say.
Fred D. White, Jr. (1919”1994)
Authors: Drossler Earl G.
Published: October 2006

Fred D. White, Jr., an internationally admired meteorologist, died peacefully of heart ailments on September 22, 1994, at his vacation home in Dewey Beach, Del. He was 75 years old.
Task group plans upgrade of the U.S. Magnetic‐Anomaly Database
Authors:   U.S. Magnetic‐Anomaly Task Group
Published: October 2006

As it exists, the U.S. magnetic‐anomaly database is inadequate for meeting the nation's societal and scientific needs. The database is a collection of over 1000 individual data sets obtained over 40 years with widely varying survey specifications. Its quality lags behind the databases of many countries including the former Soviet Union, Zimbabwe, and Canada. The poor quality of U.S. magnetic‐anomaly data not only impedes research but leads to misinterpretations. But though the database's problems are formidable, they are surmountable when approached individually.
Budget update: Future is looking gloomier for science
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

As the wheels of the new Republican‐controlled Congress have been turning, it looks like belts are indeed going to be tighter around U.S. research and development budgets. In mid‐March, the House Budget Committee voted to cut $100 billion over the next five years from federal agency budgets and published guidelines for how this could be done. NASA's Earth Observing System and the U.S. Geological Survey were again mentioned as potential targets and so was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If the reduction bill goes the legislative mile, the appropriations committees in each house of Congress will have to figure out where the cuts will fall. Republican and Democratic members of the House Science Committee quickly jumped into the traditional fray with their respective “Views and Estimates” on how science dollars should be doled out for fiscal year 1996. President Clinton has also jumped in the budget‐cutting game with the release last week of a plan to cut $13 billion from four federal agencies over the next 5 years. In the meantime, a rescission bill for FY 1995 has been on the fast track through Congress. Here are some of the latest highlights:
Gulf Stream anomaly seen by defense radar
Authors: Georges T. M. , Harlan J. A.
Published: October 2006

In an October 11 Eos article, Schubert [1994] used satellite infrared images of sea surface temperature to show an unusual interaction between cold‐core rings and the Gulf Stream between March 8 and May 14. Warm Gulf Stream water pulled out by a ring was shown being transported into the Sargasso Sea instead of circulating in the ring as usually happens in such cases. A cold‐core ring forms when a Gulf Stream meander bulges southeastward into a loop, then pinches off, enclosing colder shelf water inside. Coldcore rings can last for months. They usually drift toward the southwest until they are reabsorbed into the stream.