bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Polonium halos
Authors: Gentry Robert V.
Published: October 2011

I welcome York's contribution [York, 1979] to the exchange of views concerning the possible existence and potential cosmological implications of polonium halos in Precambrian granites [Damon, 1979; Gentry, 1979], but I must take exception to some omissions from his comments about my results on Po halos.

York seems to regard even the existence of Po halos as only tentative. But notwithstanding the uncertainties, his article leans heavily toward the proposition that Po halos do exist, at least in micas. York's thesis is that Po halos are most probably explainable within the accepted framework because the interlocking nature of various radiometric dating techniques provides powerful evidence that conventional geochronology is correct. York faults me for ignoring this internal consistency. Contrary to his understanding, I do not ignore these data. But neither do I accept the idea that the presumed agreement between techniques is really coercive evidence for the correctness of the uniformitarian assumption which undergirds the present model. There was no discussion of the 238U206Pb ratios [Gentry et al., 1976], which raise significant questions about the accepted geochronological scheme.
NOAA‐B satellite mission unsuccessful
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

The NOAA‐B environmental monitoring satellite, launched from the Western Space and Missile Center in California on May 29, is expected to remain in orbit only about 6 months. Difficulties, developed during the launch, caused the satellite to go into a highly elliptical rather than a planned circular orbit of 470 miles. During the launch one booster engine in the Atlas‐F launch vehicle developed only 75% thrust.

Attempts by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to correct the orbit were unsuccessful. In its elliptical orbit, the spacecraft cannot operate effectively.

A replacement satellite, NOAA‐C, will be launched in about 5 months
Alaska petroleum reserve data
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Five new sets of data on the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska are available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The information was collected by com panies under contract to the U.S. Geological Survey in order to evaluate the petroleum potential of parts of the Petroleum Reserve. The data sets contain new well log data for five wells; velocity surveys for nine wells; palynology and micropaleontologic data for 29 wells; about 2000 line miles of seismic data, both on and offshore; 1195 flight line miles of aerial gamma ray and magnetic information; and several location maps and interpretive reports.
The Robert E. Horton medal: Citation and acceptance
Authors: Roberts W. J.
Published: October 2011

When William C. Ackermann retired as chief of the Illinois State Water Survey last November to become adjunct professor of civil engineering, he had devoted 44 years to hydrology. During that time he had achieved national and international recognition for his expertise and outstanding leadership in research, planning, and management of water resources. Now he is sharing his rich storehouse of knowledge with students at the University of Illinois.

In a field that has produced many giants, Bill Ackermann's achievements stand apart because of his wide diversity of interests. Equipped with his engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin, he spent 19 years in the Water Control Planning Department of the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he was concerned with water resources research, planning, and operations. This was followed by 2 years as head of the Watershed Hydrology Section of the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. During this period, he was responsible for a nationwide program of research in soil and water.
Links between sunspots and magnetic storms
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

‘Bubbles’ and ‘holes’ in the sun's diffuse outer layer apparently can cause as much disturbance in the earth's magnetic field as solar flares. Bubblelike clouds of erupting gas in the sun's tenuous halo, the corona, appear to be associated with the two largest storms reported so far during the present 11‐year sunspot cycle. In addition to these coronal ‘transients,’ there are long‐lived sources of high‐speed particle streams, called coronal ‘holes,’ whose relationship to the sunspot cycle has just been described mathematically by a team of investigators at the Space Environment Laboratory (NOAA) in Boulder.

Solar flares, with their spectacular outbursts of hot gases, have a strong, but often overlooked, rival in the production of magnetic storms, namely, coronal transients. These powerful particle eruptions lack the fiery sendoff typical of solar flares, and they are often marked simply by the sudden disappearance of dark bands or ‘filaments’ of gas that are supported in the corona by strong magnetic fields.
Scholarship established in name of lost geologist
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A scholarship in the name of David A. Johnston has been established at the University of Washington. Johnston was lost in the May 18 eruption of Mount St. Helens while making observations from the Coldwater II U.S. Geological Survey observatory 8.8 km north of the preeruption summit of the volcano.

Johnston received his Ph.D. at the University of Washington. The scholarship will be awarded annually to the Ph.D. student who ‘best displays Dave's rare combination of inventiveness and originality in scientific observation and analysis, and his dedication to the understanding of geologic processes.’
Crustal Research Group efforts
Authors: Greathouse Lee
Published: October 2011

At the meeting of the International Crustal Research Drilling Group (ICRDG) management panel at Orkustofnun (Icelandic National Energy Authority), Reykjavik, Iceland, on May 16, 1980, the following plans for crustal drilling investigations were formally adopted.

An investigation of the Troodos ophiolite complex, Cyprus, in cooperation with the government of Cyprus, is the first target. Two drill holes, each 2 km deep, on the north flank of the complex, will give a complete section of crust of oceanic affinity from the top of the pillow basalts through the sheeted dike complex, plagiogranites, gabbros, and into cumulate gabbros. It is anticipated that nearly complete core recovery, via high‐speed diamond drilling, will allow a complete reference section, yielding lithologic composition, hydrothermal alteration, tectonic state, and physical properties of this example of oceanic crust. A third, 1‐km hole (starting from the base of the Agrokipia copper sulfide deposit) in conjunction with the 2‐km hole through the pillow basalts will allow delineation of the hydrothermal convection system responsible for that ore deposit.
James B. Macelwane Award: Citation and Acceptance of Norman H. Sleep
Authors: Geller Robert , Nur Amos , Thompson George
Published: October 2011

Tonight we are honoring Norm Sleep as one of the outstanding young solid earth geophysicists. However, he is our colleague at Stanford University because of a phenomenon of atmospheric, rather than solid earth, geophysics. This phenomenon is the great Chicago snowstorm of January 1979. Norm, a native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was happily ensconced at Northwestern University, until our letter, inviting him to join us in California, arrived right after the worst Midwest blizzard in 10 years. Norm's career epitomizes the AGU motto, ‘unselfish cooperation in research.’ In addition to his many publications, he has contributed his expertise unstintingly to projects that range from seismology to field geology.
NOAA announces three new undersea programs
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded $1.3 million to three universities for undersea research projects aimed at solving regional and national marine problems.

Recipients and the amounts awarded are: the University of Southern California, Catalina Marine Science Center, $150,000; the University of Hawaii, $550,000; and the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, $600,000.
‘Fast track’ for women in electrical engineering
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Women seeking rapid advancement toward an electrical engineering degree can find support under a ‘Fast Track Late Entry Program’ at the University of Dayton. To qualify, an applicant must hold a bachelor's degree in mathematics, physics, or a related science. Participants earn a certificate which advances them to an academic level equivalent to that of an electrical engineering graduate. Credits earned can be applied toward a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.
USGS expands Alaska activities
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The U.S. Geological Survey has moved its Alaska geology branch headquarters from Menlo Park, California, to Anchorage, Alaska. In addition, it has added three new offices in Anchorage: an Earth Resources Observation Systems field office to serve users of satellite imagery, a National Mapping Division field office, and a regional Conservation Division headquarters with a special focus on oil and gas leasing.
New USGS maps released
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The U.S. Geological Survey has published three new magnetic data maps and a map of the Mount St. Helens area that was devastated by the May 18 eruption.

One of the magnetic data maps shows lines of equal magnetic declination for the 50 states and the locations of the more than 100 stations and observatories at which measurements are made. Magnetic declination, also called compass variation, is the angle between true north and magnetic north. The earth's magnetic field constantly changes, and the USGS replots the U.S. data every 5 years. The latest map is based on measurements through 1979 and is projected by model estimates through January 1980. Designated Map I‐1283, it measures 32 x 40 inches, and displays 48 states on one side (scale of 1:5,000,000) and Alaska and Hawaii on the other (scale of 1:7,500,000).
Geophysical events
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Mount St. Helens Volcano, Cascade Range, southern Washington, U.S.A. (46.20°N, 122.18°W). All times are local (GMT − 7 h). The devastating May 18 eruption of Mount St. Helens was followed by explosions on May 25 and June 12 that were much smaller but produced substantial ashfalls over wide areas of southwest Washington and northwest Oregon. On June 15, U.S. Geological Survey personnel confirmed the presence of an active lava dome at the bottom of the crater. During the next 4 days the dome grew upward about 6 m/d, reaching a height of 65 m on June 19. No additional growth seemed to have occurred when the dome was next visible on June 28. An eruption similar to those of May 25 and June 12 destroyed this dome on July 22. After a slightly smaller eruption on August 7, growth of a new dome began.
Transmitter off on Viking Orbiter 1
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

On Thursday, August 7, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, sent a radio command to NASA's Viking Orbiter 1 that switched off its transmitter and ended the spacecraft's 4‐year mission in orbit around Mars.

Kermit Watkins, Viking project manager, said the orbiter was shut down because its attitude control gas was expected to be depleted before it completed its next orbit of Mars. ‘By sending the turn‐off command,’ Watkins said, ‘instead of allowing it to occur automatically on the spacecraft, we will be sure that the radio transmitter has been shut off.’
Visiting fellowships available
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado offers 1‐year visiting fellowships to scientists for research in environmental chemistry, solid earth geophysics, atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, and climate dynamics. Senior scientists, including those on sabbatical leave, and recent Ph.D. recipients are eligible.

Recipients will pursue their own research programs and participate in CIRES seminars. Stipend is scaled to research experience.
Climate catastrophe and the Berlin warming
Authors: Herman John R.
Published: October 2011

Global climatic catastrophes, such as ice ages, beset the earth at quasi‐periodic intervals. Nothing can be done to prevent them, but, with the recent verification of the Milankovitch [1930] theory, we may be able to predict when the next one might occur. Drastic shifts in climate sometimes occur in restricted regions of the world with devastating effects on the inhabitants. That a climate catastrophe may be building in the Soviet Union is indicated by the recent results of Orlof [1978] and by the ongoing work of Ginzburg and Scharansky [1978].
Midwest water policy examined
Authors: Shore Barbara T.
Published: October 2011

Policies to strengthen water resource development in the midwestern United States are summarized in a two‐volume report by the Northeast‐Midwest Congressional Coalition. ‘Water Resource Priorities for the Midwest’ examines regional implications of hazardous waste disposal, repair of urban water systems, reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, hydroelectric power, and port facilities. Water quality, water supply, and energy and transportation issues are also addressed.

The project study area encompasses water resources in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin and generally conforms to the U.S. Water Resources Council's Great Lakes, Ohio, and Upper Mississippi regions.
Data acquisition continues on Viking
Authors: Snyder Conway W.
Published: October 2011

After more than 4 years of acquiring data from spacecraft on the surface of and in orbit around Mars, the Viking Project terminated at the end of September. Orbiter 1 exhausted its supply of attitude‐control gas on August 7 and was shut down.

During the past year, the orbiter produced a large quantity of excellent data, but only a fraction of it has been examined. From July through October 1977, about 2800 photographs were taken. Resolution was superior to that obtained in the primary mission in 1976. The area covered extends from Syrtis Major Planitia to Chryse Planitia, and over most of its 5000‐km length it is more than 300 km wide. The mission produced the most extensive high‐resolution contiguous coverage ever achieved.
Mosaic shows fine detail
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The southernmost picture in the mosaic containing the 240‐km diameter crater Lowell, has its lower edge at latitude 60°S. Just below the photograph's horizontal center stretches the great rift valley system Valles Marineris. At its left end, the complex canyon system Noctis Labyrinthus is filled with a haze or fog that obscures the canyon bottoms. In the center, Hebes Chasma, resembling a volcano plume, extends northward from the main valley.
Marine Scientists Directory
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The Ocean Sciences Board of the National Academy of Sciences is distributing questionnaires to oceanographers, in preparation for the next edition of the U.S. Directory of Marine Scientists. The questionnaires are being sent to heads of oceanography activities in academia, government, and industry for further distribution to their ocean science staff members. EOS readers in the U.S. who consider themselves marine scientists but who do not receive a questionnaire before October 24 should write directly to Richard C. Vetter, Ocean Sciences Board, National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418.
Flapgate controls water flow
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A specially designed flapgate, scheduled to be completed in January, will control water flow and prevent water stagnation in a 55‐acre sheltered harbor in Florida.

The $600,000 flapgate, developed by Gee & Johnson Engineers‐Architects‐Planners, Inc., in West Palm Beach, creates a natural flushing action that will allow water to flow from the ocean through the sheltered harbor at Sailfish Point near Stuart, Florida, and into the Indian River. Simultaneously, the flapgate will prevent debris‐laden river water from flowing back into the harbor. A continuous water flow will be maintained to prevent stagnation and settlement of debris in the 24‐m harbor.
Candidates on science
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

John Anderson, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan were invited to respond to the questions reproduced in the box below. The comments of Reagan and Carter follow.
Wind power negotiations
Authors: Shore Barbara T.
Published: October 2011

The Department of Energy (DOE) is negotiating a $9 million‐S11 million contract for a 350‐kW wind turbine. Unlike other designs, these turbines will be capable of operating at annual mean wind speeds common to large areas of the United States.

The aim of the project, now managed for DOE by NASA's Lewis Research Center, is to develop low‐cost wind turbines that are capable of providing electricity at less than 6 cents per kilowatt‐hour when at least 100 machines are produced. The test turbine will be located at a utility and will supply power to the local grid.
Volcano still poses threat
Authors: Shore Barbara T.
Published: October 2011

After 6 months of activity, Mount St. Helens still poses potential hazards to the surrounding region, according to a recent report from the U.S. Geological Survey. Among the hazards that remain are explosive lateral and vertical eruptions, flows of hot pyroclastic rock debris, and floods and mudflows triggered by heavy precipitation.

Most explosive eruptions probably will be preceded by several hours of earthquake and other seismic activity, say USGS hazard coordinators Dwight R. Crandell and Donal R. Mullineaux. It is possible, however, for eruptions to begin with little or no warning, they caution. Seismic activity would allow time for issuing some warnings to the surrounding populace.
Lost in Himalayan expedition
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

Thomas ‘Tim’ Mutch, 49, associate administrator of NASA and formerly geology department chairman at Brown University, was reported missing and probably dead after a serious accident during a mountain‐climbing expedition in Kashmir on October 5. Mutch headed the expedition to scale Nun Peak, which has an elevation of 7135 m. This was his third expedition to Kashmir.

Three members of the expedition, including Mutch, Craig Heimark, and Thomas Binet, reached the wind‐ and snowwhipped summit on October 5. Shortly after beginning the descent, Mutch slipped down a precipitous face and lodged on a small ledge exposed to the face of the wind. His two companions, Heimark and Binet, reached him the next day but considered him too badly injured to move. Mutch had evidently suffered several injuries, including head wounds. Heimark and Binet were forced to leave Mutch so as to descend to their lower‐elevation camp to reach help.
Fulbright scholars in U.S.
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Here's a list of the 1980‐1981 Fulbright scholars from abroad who are teaching geology in United States universities or performing research here.

Kpakpo Adotevi‐Akue, an associate professor of geophysics at the University of Benin in Lome, Togo, researched geomagnetic methods at the Oregon State University's School of Oceanography through September. Adotevi‐Akue worked with the U.S. Geological Survey through October.
Timeline for Saturn encounter
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A timeline for Voyager 1's Saturn encounter, from November 6 to 18, has been published for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The 88‐page report details the minute‐by‐minute activity of Voyager. Closest approach to Saturn is scheduled for 3:45 P.M., November 12; the spacecraft will be 124,200 km above the planet's cloudtops. Approximately 90 experiments, including ultraviolet and infrared observations, plasma‐wave observations, radio occultation measurements, and photographs of Saturn and its satellite moons, will be made on the day of closest approach.
Mission update: The International Sun‐Earth Explorer
Authors: Durney Alastair C.
Published: October 2011

The International Sun‐Earth Explorer (Isee) mission is a triple‐spacecraft project that has been undertaken jointly by The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The aim of this project is to make a comprehensive attack on the more obstinate problems of magnetospheric physics. The novelty of this mission is that two of the spacecraft, Isee 1 and Isee 2 (see Figures 1 and 2) circulate a known and controllable distance apart in the magnetosphere. They carry carefully matched payloads and can separate the ambiguities of time and spatial variations which beset measurements taken from a single platform. The apogee of the orbit (23 Re) was chosen so that the maximum number of bow shock and magnetopause crossings would be made during the mission. The third spacecraft, Isee 3 (see Figure 3), is stationed about 235 Re away from the earth on the earth‐sun line. At this point it can observe features of the solar wind as they convect past on their way to produce perturbations at the magnetosphere. The mission is thoroughly integrated, and meaningful measurements rely heavily on simultaneous observations from all three platforms.
The International Halley Watch
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

In early 1985, Comet Halley will cross the orbit of Jupiter, and later that year the accelerating comet will pass the asteroid belt, the orbit of Mars, and arrive again for its once‐in‐a‐human‐lifetime visit to Earth (Figure 1). Obviously, this celestial event will be of enormous public interest: Ever since the ancient Chinese astronomers recorded their observations of Halley in 240 B.C., it has been a source of curiosity, awe, and fear. Swinging past the sun only once every 76 years, the comet has made the best of its brief moments in that vicinity by throwing out enormous amounts of gases and dust before returning to space.

Unlike its last appearance, in 1910, when the comet was easily seen, the 1985–1986 viewing will be unimpressive to the casual observer. The comet will be brightest during the first 3 weeks of February 1986, when it is nearest the sun (closest approach occurs February 9). Unfortunately, the comet will not be visible from the ground then because the earth will be on the other side of the sun. However, to observers, with binoculars, who find a location away from city lighting, Halley will be a rewarding sight in November and December 1985, and it will be at its best in March and early April 1986. Those equipped with a telescope will witness an even more impressive display.
Fuel costs shut polar station
Authors: Shore Barbara T.
Published: October 2011

Increased fuel costs will force one of the United States' four year‐round Antarctic research stations to close in late January, near the end of the austral summer, until the beginning of the following austral summer. Siple Station, the primary U.S. Antarctic facility for upper‐atmosphere research, will assume an intermittent schedule through 1987; the station will be closed for 2 years during this time.

A 114% increase in fuel costs in February prompted the budget tightening, according to Erick Chiang, field projects manager of the National Science Foundation's polar operations section. Closing Siple Station for the 1981 austral winter is only one cut being made by NSF's Antarctic research program. Other costs will be cut by deferring construction projects at McMurdo Station (a year‐round facility) to another year, indefinitely postponing repairs to an LC‐130 supply aircraft, reducing the number of remote field camp projects during fiscal 1981, and reducing cargo delivery flight hours from more than 4000 to 3200.
Thermal migration of formation waters in salt domes
Authors: Martinez Joseph D. , Kumar Madhurendu B.
Published: October 2011

The impermeability, plasticity, high thermal conductivity, and ‘self‐sealing’ properties of rock salt have been cited as favorable characteristics for its potential use in the isolation of radioactive wastes. U.S. Gulf Cost salt domes are therefore one type of salt deposit which is under serious consideration for this purpose. However, despite the advantageous character of the material itself, water does accumulate in at least three of the seven operating salt mines in the Gulf Coast. Three of the others are dry mines, and the remaining one is nearly so. An eighth mine, in the Winnfield dome, was flooded in 1965 and is no longer operating. In that instance, mine seeps had been reported by Hoy etal. [1962], but flooding may have been a result of quarrying of caprock over the mine [Martinez etal., 1976].
OTA update: World oil
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

Predicting the world oil supply is, in the words of a member of the Technology Assessment Board, ‘a risky proposition …a gamble.’ Nonetheless, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) has made a general prediction, resulting from the study ‘World Petroleum Availability: 1980–2000,’ which was prepared in response to a request from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. According to this report, in the future the United States will be unable to expect increased imports over current levels, and furthermore, this country will be facing much stiffer competition for world supplies, at lower import levels.
AFGL magnetometer observations of Mount St. Helens eruption
Authors: Fougere P. F. , Tsacoyeanes C. W.
Published: October 2011

At 1532 UT on May 18, 1980, the major eruption of the Mount St. Helens volcano occurred. Magnetic perturbations were observed subsequently at five of the seven magnetometer stations: Newport, Washington (NEW); Rapid City, South Dakota (RPC); Camp Douglas, Wisconsin (CDS); Mt. Clemens, Michigan (MCL); and Lompoc, California (LOC), all of the U.S. Air Force Geophysics Laboratory (AFGL) magnetometer chain [Knecht et al., 1979]. Perturbations were also observed at the standard magnetic observatories: Sitka, Alaska (SIT); Newport, Washington (NEW); Boulder, Colorado (BOU); Tucson, Arizona (TUC); and Victoria, Canada (VIC).

No perturbations were observed at the more distant stations: Sudbury, Massachusetts (SUB); Tampa, Florida (TPA); Fredericksburg, Virginia (FRB); or Honolulu, Hawaii (HON). Figure 1 shows the location of Mount St. Helens and of the magnetic observatories from which data were available. The farthest station which observed the event was Mt. Clemens, at 3122 km, and the closest station that did not observe the event was Fredericksburg, at 3753 km. Thus the limit of magnetic detectability is about 3400±300 km.
Have earthquakes increased?
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Depending on what yardstick is being used, earthquake activity around the world may be running slightly ahead of average, according to a U.S. Geological Survey scientist. Then again, earthquake activity may be less than average.

Waverly Person, a USGS geophysicist in Golden, Colorado, said that by one count the number of significant earthquakes around the world is slightly ahead of last year and ahead of the long‐term annual average.
Air‐sea response to storms
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Ocean response to major storms will be investigated in a 2‐month field project sponsored by the United States and Canada in the Gulf of Alaska. Dubbed the Storm Transfer and Response Experiment (Strex), the project began in mid‐October. Central to Strex is a newly developed buoy system which, together with ships and aircraft, measures the interplay between air and water during storms.

The buoy system's measurements in the upper levels of the Gulf of Alaska will give scientists their first substantial data on air‐sea interaction during severe storms, according to James C. McWilliams at the National Center of Atmospheric Research's oceanography section.
European Fulbright opportunities
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Ten new Fulbright awards to bring scholars from Western Europe to United States colleges and universities as visiting lecturers are available for 1981–1982, according to the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. In addition, several Fulbright opportunities are available for U.S. scholars to work abroad.

Interested institutions should submit proposals to bring scholars to the U.S. by January 30,1981. Western European countries are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Visiting researchers for NCAR
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Visitor appointments for research in solar physics, solar‐terrestrial physics, and related disciplines are available at the High‐Altitude Observatory, a division of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

One‐year appointments usually begin in October. Appointments for less than 4 months may begin any time, according to Ralph Segman at NCAR.
New research institute at CSU
Authors: Shore Barbara T.
Published: October 2011

The Colorado State University (CSU), in cooperation with NOAA, will create a research institute designed to explore atmospheric problems and their effects. The institute will be called the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) and housed on the Fort Collins campus. CIRA initially will focus on studies of global climate, local weather forecasting, and weather modification by making use of temperature and moisture data gathered by NOAA's latest weather satellite, the GOES 4.

‘CIRA will complement the research activities of NOAA and the university's Department of Atmospheric Science. The institute will concern itself with atmospheric “research themes” or programs upon which special expertise now available at either parent organization can be focused,’ according to NOAA Administrator, Richard A. Frank.
New storm study tool
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A new technique of stereo imaging for hurricane studies uses photos of the top of the same hurricane taken by two different Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) spacecraft, GOES East and GOES West.

The technique, which takes only a few hours, represents a significant improvement over the previous practice of shooting and analyzing aircraft photos, which took several months. Its developers believe it can be readily transferred to operational weather forecasters for routine use.
Earth Radiation Budget Satellite
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

A satellite to measure the earth's radiation budget is to be integrated, tested, and delivered ready for launch on the space shuttle by April 1984. Although there have been Earth radiation budget instruments in NASA's experimental NIMBUS 6 and 7 spacecraft, this will be the first time this factor can be measured on a global basis over a 24‐hour day. The earth absorbs more solar energy in some regions and emits more thermal energy in others. This heating differential sets wind and ocean currents in motion to transfer heat from heated to cooled areas. Hence, the earth's radiation budget, as a driving force for weather, is one of the factors on which comprehensive data are needed for better weather and climate predictions.
Postal cancellation from spaceport
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The John F. Kennedy Space Center, in cooperation with the United States Postal Service, is offering a cancellation service to interested philatelists for the space flight programs at Kennedy.

Philatelists who wish to avail themselves of this service may do so by following the procedures outlined below: Specify the event for which you wish this service. There is a limit of five covers per customer per event.
Environmental pollution, chromosomes, and health
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

In mid‐May, 1980, President Carter declared a state of emergency at the Love Canal area, near Niagara Falls, New York. The reason for this was for the U.S. to underwrite the relocation costs ($3–5 million) of some 2500 residents who, according to a report by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) may have suffered damaged chromosomes. These injuries were apparently caused by contact with toxic wastes that had been dumped in the area in the years prior to development for housing.

That the toxic compounds exist in the Love Canal and Niagara Falls subsurface zones, including public water supplies, appears to be established fact. That the residents of the Love Canal area suffered chromosomal damage may be established fact as well. Whether or not these two findings can be linked to ill health of the residents is another matter. Recently, the EPA report has been described as having ‘close to zero scientific significance,’ and has been ‘discredited’(Science, 208, 123a, 1980). The reasons for this disparity go beyond differences of opinion, beyond possible inadequacies of the EPA study, and even beyond problems that probably will arise from future studies, including those now in the planning stages. The problem is that even if victims have easily recognizable injuries from toxic substances (injury that apparently has not occurred to Love Canal residents), medical science usually cannot show a causal relationship. Even chromosomal damage is, at best, difficult to interpret. In ideal studies of significant populations and control groups, the association of toxic chemical to chromosome damage and to cancer and birth defects is indirect and, up to now, has been shown to have little or no significance to an individual member of the exposed population.
Poster papers
Authors: Schulz Michael
Published: October 2011

In many scientific societies, presentation by poster has become a popular alternative to oral delivery for contributed papers at major meetings. This has not been so in the AGU. My purpose in this 'editorial' is to acquaint the AGU membership with some of the advantages of the poster paper as an occasional alternative to the 10‐minute talk.

The main advantage for the author of a poster paper is the opportunity for interaction with an interested audience for a 3 hour period. Significant feedback from the audience is a bonus that gives the author a better understanding of his own work and how to explain it, both orally and in print. Those of us who have tried poster presentation have found it to be a very positive experience.
NASA to begin construction of aviation‐safety test facility
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

Construction of a $7.5‐million facility to research aviation safety will begin in April at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. Scheduled for completion in 1983, the facility will give scientists their first opportunity to identify and study psychological factors involved in the relationship between pilots, crew members, and modern aircraft.

The center will have two simulators. One will be a replica of a current transport airplane cockpit, complete with flight engineer's station, flight display, and control systems. The second will represent transport aircraft of the future. With advanced technology flight controls, displays, and other flight deck systems to accommodate a flight crew and observer, the advanced simulator will be designed to test human responses to the newest aviation technologies.
Observatory ends scientific investigations
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO‐3), which was instrumental in the discovery of the first suspected black hole, wound up its scientific investigation at the end of 1980. Spacecraft science operations were terminated after 8½ years of operation. Named Copernicus, OAO‐3 performed consistently beyond design specifications and 7½ years beyond project requirements. Its performance profile, according to the NASA‐Goddard engineers and scientists, was ‘astonishing.’

While formal scientific investigations were ended December 31, a series of engineering tests are still being made until February 15. At that time, all contact with the spacecraft will end. Project engineers are uncertain whether Copernicus will orient itself permanently toward the sun, begin a permanent orbital tumbling action, or a variation of both.
Reflections from the Executive Office Building
Authors: Bell Peter M. , Spilhaus A. F.
Published: October 2011

Four years ago, Frank Press came to Washington to take on what amounts to the position of chief scientist for the United States of America. He came to serve a new President as his personal science advisor and to be director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President. As a new administration takes over in Washington, Frank Press has returned to MIT for a brief respite before assuming, on July 1, 1981, the presidency of the National Academy of Sciences for a 6‐year term.

When Frank Press arrived in Washington in early 1977, he was relatively unknown in political circles. He would have to become very well known to the President, to members of the House and Senate committees, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to representatives from industry, and to all departments of the executive branch of government. Frank Press leaves office not only very well known but very well respected as an apolitical human who served effectively among politicians.
Acid precipitation
Authors: Richman Barbara T.
Published: October 2011

Copies of the draft National Acid Precipitation Assessment Plan are available for public comment from the Interagency Task Force on Acid Precipitation. The plan, which outlines a 10‐year national research program, is open for comment until April 3. It supersedes an earlier plan proposed by the former Acid Rain Coordinating Committee (ARCC).

The national assessment program aims to identify the sources, causes, and processes involved with what is commonly known as ‘acid rain,’ i.e., precipitation with a pH less than 5.7. However, the deposition of acidic substances in the atmosphere is not limited to rainy periods; dry deposition also occurs. Major processes for dry deposition are gravitational settling of coarse particles, impaction of particulate aerosols, and the absorption or adsorption of gases.
Are there options for nuclear waste?
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

The problems of storage of nuclear wastes are reaching crisis proportions. Although conceding that a measure of the crises has been caused by the ‘enormous emotion’ of ‘protesting green ecologists,’ (ISR, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 5(4), 1980), the bottom line is that nuclear wastes have been and continue to be dumped into the oceans and scattered in leaking and leakable containers on the surface. There is a fear among members of the nuclear engineering community that the U.S., under recent government restrictions, has placed itself in a compromising position on the development of nuclear power facilities. One area of concern is that of nuclear waste disposal. Other countries are subject to the same problems and fears. For example, in the Federal Republic of Germany the term ‘Enstorgungszentrum’ has been coined to describe the total process of reprocessing and disposal of spent nuclear fuel elements. The concern is that spent fuel continues to accumulate because restrictions and laws have affected efforts to resolve the problems of reprocessing and disposal. Right now the environment is subject to damage from the inadequate storage practices of the past. Geoscientists working on the problem of waste disposal await the answers to questions about the projected quantity of waste to be disposed. The options to be explored depend on the volumes to be handled.
A‐21 Compliance
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

A‐21 is the number designation given to an OMB (Office of Management and Budget) directive on cost accounting to universities and other institutions that receive federal research grants. This circular lays down rules for grants. It requires the accounting of a university researcher's work to be made in terms of actual time spent, or in terms of a vaguely defined percent of effort.

Most university professors realize that accountability is actually measured by a group of their peers—the group that eventually decides whether or not to recommend approval and funding for the next proposal or extension. Thus tangible results establish that a scientist has done his proposed job—not his hours (or ‘% effort’). The OMB accountants want the books to be kept in hours but will accept percent of effort reports.
NASA establishes speakers bureau
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

A Planetary Geology Speakers Bureau has been established to present to universities and other institutions the latest results of solar system exploration and to present colloquia on topics of current interest.

Fifteen lecturers from across the United States comprise the speakers bureau, which was established by NASA's planetary geology program. These speakers can lecture on such topics as Venusian geology, planetary volcanism, lunar geology, the origin of asteroids, Martin geology, Venusian tectonics, comparative planetary geology, the Allende meteorite, comet exploration, the Galilean satellites, and geologic evolution of the terrestrial planets.
Rough seas for ocean drilling
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

Federal funding for the Ocean Margin Drilling Program (OMD) may be in jeopardy in Congress. The original budget request by the Carter administration for fiscal year 1982 was $16 million (Eos, Mar. 24, 1981). The Reagan administration Office of Management and Budget recommended reduction to a level of $12 million, but now the program could be scrubbed altogether. Recent action taken by the House Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology has included cutting the OMD program from the National Science Foundation FY 1982 budget. This action is sponsored by a Democratic House majority.
Little solar impact from planets' alignment
Authors: Bell Peter M.
Published: October 2011

Contrary to some projections, planetary alignments of the type that have begun recently (when the sun, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn move into almost perfect alignment) should have no perceptible effect on solar flare activity. Some researchers have postulated that the increased gravitational attraction exerted on the sun by the aligned planets could produce massive eruptions near sunspots. The radiation and particles directed earthward by the sun, according to this hypothesis, would change the atmosphere in a way that would slow the earth's rotation; and this change in rotation rate would cause the large plates which constitute the earth's crust to grind together more vigorously and cause major earthquakes. Because Jupiter is the largest of the planets, and so exerts the most gravitational attraction, this geophysical domino theory is sometimes referred to as the Jupiter Effect. But, at least at the solar end of this theory, one would not expect much change in solar activity from planetary alignments of this type.
NRC associateship survey
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2011

The National Research Council (NRC) wants to locate its former research associates and visiting scientists research associates to verify official records. The NRC also hopes to assess the effects of the research associateship programs on career development.
Workshop on thermal measurements and geothermal exploration
Authors: Blackwell David D.
Published: October 2011

A workshop for invited participants from government, industry, and academia was held at the Fort Burgwin Research Center of Southern Methodist University at Taos, New Mexico, from April 29 to May 2, 1979. Forty‐five participants and five government observers attended the workshop, which was organized by David D. Blackwell of the Department of Geological Sciences at SMU and funded by the U.S. Geological Survey Extramural Geothermal Research Program. The purpose of the workshop was to acquaint the government participants with the applications of industry and to acquaint the industry participants with the techniques and expertise available in government and academia. Techniques that involved the measurement of the earth's heat flow, both convective and conductive, and the use of these measurements in exploration for geothermal systems were included in the scope of the workshop.
Minerals Bill introduced in House
Authors: Richman Barbara T.
Published: October 2011

A bill that aims to strengthen a national minerals policy and to establish a three‐member White‐House‐level council to coordinate the development of this policy was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 30 by James D. Santini (D‐Nev.). Entitled the National Minerals Security Act (NMSA), the legislation, if passed, also would amend tax laws to assist the mining industry to make capital investments to locate and produce strategic minerals; it would provide the means for the Secretary of the Interior to make withdrawn public lands available for mineral development; and it would create a revolving fund for the sale and purchase of strategic minerals.

Santini estimates that 4 billion tons of minerals are needed annually to sustain the nation's economy. Much of the minerals are supplied by other nations, however; Santini wants to see an end to the United States' dependence on foreign countries, especially those that seem relatively unstable politically. ‘The U.S. has placed its national security in the hands of a few foreign nations,’ Santini said in a recent press conference. ‘We are heavily dependent on the region of southern Africa for 76% of our cobalt, 93% of our platinum, 48% of our chromium, and a host of other strategic and critical minerals. Without these minerals, we cannot build jet aircraft, weapons, or other military hardware vitally important to our national security.’
Hydrology day
Authors: Morel‐Seytoux H. J.
Published: October 2011

Registration for the Hydrology Day sponsored by the Front Range Branch of AGU on April 23 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, totaled 121 participants, of whom 61 were students.

Thirty‐one individuals joined the Front Range Branch. Three students from Colorado State University won the awards for best paper in their category: Thomas W. Anzia (Sr.), ‘A Comprehensive Table of Standard Deviates for Confidence Limits on Extreme Events;’ Victor Nazareth (M.S.), ‘Aquifer Properties from Single‐Hole Aquifer Tests;’ and Roy W. Koch (Ph.D.), ‘A Physically Based Derivation of the Distribution of Excess Precipitation.’ Judges for the awards were Dr. Bittinger, Resource Consultants, Fort Collins; George Leavesley and Daniel Bauer, USGS, Water Resources Division, Denver; Scott Tucker, Executive Director, Denver Urban Drainage and Flood Control District; Charles Brendecke, Department of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder.
Petroleum research grants
Authors: Richman Barbara T.
Published: October 2011

Five earth sciences grants are available through the American Chemical Society's Petroleum Research Fund (PRF). These grants are intended to assist ‘advanced scientific education and fundamental research in the “petroleum field,” which may include any field of pure science which … may afford a basis for subsequent research directly connected with the petroleum field,’ according to Justin W. Collat, PRF program administrator.

The grants are divided into three categories, Collat said. The first, called type AC, generally supports graduate students or postdoctoral fellows. Awards may be up to $15,000 per year for a maximum of 3 years. The second, type B, is for faculty research with undergraduate students in academic departments which do not offer a Ph.D. degree. The maximum award is $6500 annually for 2 years. And last, a special ‘starter’ grant program is available for beginning faculty investigators. These grants consist of $10,000 for 2 years, Collat said, and are limited to faculty members in the first 3 years of their first faculty appointment. These faculty members cannot have any major support of their research, except for that provided by their institution.