bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Storm‐time penetration electric fields and their effects
Authors: Huang Chaosong , Sazykin Islav , Spiro Robert , Goldstein Jerry , Crowley Geoff , Ruohoniemi J. Michael
Published: October 2006

The ‘convection’ electric field, set up in the magnetosphere by the interaction of the solar wind plasma flowing around the Earth's magnetic field, projects along magnetic field lines to low altitudes where it drives the high‐latitude ionospheric convection. During active times, ionospheric electric fields are thought to originate from two sources: a disturbed wind dynamo and electric fields that penetrate from high latitudes. In the latter, when the magnetospheric convection is enhanced following a southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), the initial high‐latitude electric field will penetrate to the equatorial latitudes.
Reply [to “Lake Agassiz meltwater”]
Authors: Fisher Thomas V. , Fisher Timothy G.
Published: October 2006

We thank Eric Steig for his thoughtful comments, and we would like to reply to his three points. First, Steig notes that our results may challenge the assumed importance of meltwater in abrupt climate change. Although this may be one possible outcome of our work, the ongoing nature of our work on a Lake Agassiz meltwater source makes us offer that conclusion only tentatively.

Second, Steig wonders if trying to understand the beginning of the Younger Dryas is the best approach to solving the puzzle of abrupt climate change. It may well be that cooling and warming phases of abrupt climate changes are driven by separate mechanisms. If we lack understanding, though, of the processes pushing the climate system into the cold phase, we are unlikely to have proper insight about the global boundary conditions under which the warming takes place. Because drainage rerouting from glacial Lake Agassiz has been a prime suspect for Younger Dryas climate change, it provides an appropriate first test.
Protoplanets mission reinstated
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

NASA announced on 27 March that it will go forward with its Dawn mission to Ceres and Vesta, two protoplanets in the solar system.

Dawn had been put on hold last fall for a three‐month review, and NASA canceled the mission on 2 March.The agency cited a 20 percent cost overrun (from $373 million to $446 million) and technical issues, including problems with the ion propulsion system. All of the science instruments and half of the spacecraft had been built by that time.
Micro‐satellites study Earth's magnetosphere
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

NASA launched on 22 March a constellation of three micro‐satellites to measure the Earth's magnetic field.

The 90‐day Space Technology 5 (ST5) mission is testing technology to study the effect of the Sun on the Earth's magnetosphere—the magnetic field that surrounds the planet and protects it from space radiation—and testing NASA's ability to operate and coordinate a constellation of micro‐satellites
Environmental and water decision‐making in a changing climate
Authors: Jain Shaleen , Pulwarty Roger S. , Melis Theodore S.
Published: October 2006

Understanding and responding to the impacts of climate variability and change on water and environmental systems requires analysis, modeling methodologies, and tools that accommodate incomplete knowledge and uncertainty that themselves evolve over time. The broad scope of this problem necessitates a multidimensional dialogue among research and policy groups that span disciplinary boundaries. Integration of this knowledge is required to develop adaptive capacity (i.e., necessary knowledge, preparedness, and reliable decision‐making capacity to act by all partners in the information chain) and resilience. In this context, resilience can be taken to mean the degree to which the environmental system can absorb both abrupt and gradual changes and build capacity for learning and adaptation.
On quantifying freshwater sustainability through multiscale mapping
Authors: Gordon Wendy , Richter Brian , Kanivetsky Roman , Shmagin Boris
Published: October 2006

We agree with Kanivetsky and Shmagin (Eos, 86(50) 2005) that better accounting of flows comprising the hydrologic cycle is needed and that better quantification of recharge (into groundwater) and discharge (i.e.,streamflow) is important from human and environmental perspectives. However, because these authors promote their approach as being useful in assessing “sustainability” we feel compelled to offer words of caution about its applicability.

The authors suggest that the ratio of renewable water supply to water use by humans and the environment is a “key indicator” of sustainability. We think that these authors got it half right. The ratio described above is a useful indicator because it quantifies how much strain a natural system may be experiencing. However, all ecosystem water is not equivalent. The river science literature strongly indicates the need for the full range of natural intra‐annual and interannual variation of river flows, along with associated characteristics of timing, duration, frequency, and rate of change, to sustain the biotic integrity of aquatic ecosystems [Postel and Richter, 2003]. In this context, only when an adequate assessment of ecosystem needs is performed and compared to net water availability after subtracting human uses will we know if we are truly managing for sustainability.
Outstanding student papers: 2005 Fall Meeting
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2005 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. (Winners in other sections and focus groups will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos).

Jeremy Bassis, University of California, San Diego, New insight into ice shelf rift propagation from geodetic and seismic monitoring.
Satellite maps show Chesapeake Bay urban development
Authors: Goetz Scott J. , Jantz Patrick
Published: October 2006

The extent, density, and configuration of the built environment—such as buildings, roads, parking lots, and other materials constructed for human use—have an impact on a wide range of biogeochemical and hydrological processes. These built areas, which are impervious to water infiltration, modify hydrology through the combined influence of increased peak flows, reduced base flows, flashier stream hydrographs (decreased lag times between storm events and peak discharge), and changes in bank and streambed erosion [Nilsson et al., 2003]. Additionally, increasing impervious cover has long been known to amplify point source pollution discharges into streams, including chemical runoff from parking lots and roads [Schuelen 1994].

Two maps of the built environment, expressed in terms of impervious surface area, have been derived for areas that encompass the 168,000‐square‐kilometer Chesapeake Bay watershed (Figure l), a region that has been highly altered by human land use [Goetz et al., 2004; Jantz et al., 2005]. One map was developed for the region at fine (30‐square‐meter) spatial resolution, and the other covers the extent of the conterminous United States at one‐square‐kilometer resolution [Elvidge et al., 2004].A finer‐resolution regional map was used to assess the quality of the national map, demonstrating the utility the latter map for a range of applications related to monitoring land transformation and assessing watershed impacts.
Monitoring 2005 corn belt yields from space
Authors: Zhang Ping , Anderson Bruce T. , Myneni Ranga
Published: October 2006

The U.S. corn belt, centered on Illinois, suffered extreme drought conditions during the 2005 growing season (Figure l).The April–September rainfall ranked 10th lowest of the past 113 years (see http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/monitoring.html#state). Throughout Illinois, counties were declared agricultural disaster areas and corn yields were predicted to be 30 percent less than the record year of 2004, which had the highest corn yields in the last 50 years [Christian Science Monitor, 2005].

However, the Illinois Agricultural Statistics Service estimated the overall corn yield was 145 bushels per acre, or just seven percent below the previous five‐year average, with “many farmers…surprised by the better than expected yields after the drought conditions” (see http://www.agstats.state.il.us/releases/crop.pdf and http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/field/pcp‐bb/2005/crop 1005.pdf).This better‐than‐expected yield has been attributed to advancements in seed genetics, equipment, and water‐management practices [Barrionuevo and Bradsher, 2005].
NASA issues media rules
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

NASA scientists will be able to speak freely about their work to the media and the public, under a newly revised policy announced 30 March by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin. Earlier in the year, the agency had been widely criticized after allegations were published that scientists had been prevented from speaking about controversial topics, such as climate change (see Eos 97(9) 2006).

The policy is intended to establish a ‘culture of openness,’ in which scientists may communicate the results and conclusions of their scientific research to the public without hindrance. However, NASA scientists will be required to distinguish personal views from those of the agency. The revised policy also outlines the responsibilities of the public affairs staff, who will be prohibited from altering or editing scientific information.
Enigmatic Eastern Laurentide Ice Sheet deglaciation
Authors: Peteet Dorothy , Schaefer Joerg , Stute Martin
Published: October 2006

The retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet at the end of the last ice age represents a dramatic sequence of environmental change that is evident in geological records across North America. The details of when, where, how, and why the Laurentide Ice Sheet collapsed are critical to understanding ocean‐atmosphere‐ice dynamics during this period of significant global climate change.

The retreat sequence along the eastern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet is especially relevant for understanding climate variability. Enormous amounts of freshwater were released into the North Atlantic following deglaciation, and an influx of freshwater into the North Atlantic Deep Water formation zone can potentially trigger abrupt climate changes. Determining the mechanisms and feedbacks involved in climate change at the end of the last ice age therefore requires an understanding of the relationship between the southern margin ice retreat and connected meltwater events to atmospheric and sea surface temperatures, ice‐rafting Heinrich events, sea level rise, and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.
Inventory of U.S. levees planned
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

New legislation to create an inventory of U.S. levees was supported by witnesses at a 6 April hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

The Levee Safety Program Act of 2005, H.R. 4650, would authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to inspect levees constructed or maintained by the Corps or other levees upon a governor's request. The Corps would create and maintain an inventory of levees and issue safety guidelines.
Paleoclimate and human evolution workshop
Authors: Cohen Andrew S. , Ashley Gail M. , Potts Richard , Behrensmeyer Anna K. , Feibel Craig , Quade Jay
Published: October 2006

Over the past two and a half decades, new techniques for studying climate change, applied especially to deep‐sea drill core records, have driven the development of environmental forcing hypotheses of human evolution.These hypotheses link specific climate transitions in the Neogene (23 to 2 million years ago) or changes in Neogene climate variability to events in hominin physical and adaptive evolution and species diversification [e.g., Vrba, 1988; Potts, 1996; Bobe and Behrensmeyer, 2004].

Key developments in hominin evolution, and especially in the human genus Homo with its unique array of behavioral characteristics, may be tied to specific climate ‘events’ or to the increase or decrease in climate variability in particular time intervals. The key forcing factors might include the stepwise aridification of Africa during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene (about 3 to 1.5 million years ago), or changes in the variability of climate (and the food and water resources affected by the new climate regime) driven by changes in the Earth's orbital precession, obliquity, and eccentricity, (Milankovich insolation forcing) or millennial‐scale climate fluctuations.
Outstanding student papers, 2005 Fall Meeting
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2005 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.
Joint Assembly Sessions focus on urbanization
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

The urban environment has grown to encompass not just the downtown area of a city but also the suburbs and rapidly growing exurban areas.This growth can affect a wide range of geological, physical, and biological processes. Several sessions at the 23–26 May 2006 Joint Assembly in Baltimore, Md., will explore this topic.

Two union sessions on the “Impact of Urbanization on Environmental Systems” (U31A and U32A) will take place on Wednesday morning, 24 May at 8:30 AM. and 10:45 A.M.The sessions are designed to be a wide‐ranging exploration of the different, multiple roles that urbanization, and the changes in the environment that accompany urbanization, have on biological and geophysical processes, said session co‐convener Larry Band. Brand is Voit Gilmore distinguished professor and chair of the department of geography at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
High resolution simulations of atmospheric and oceanic circulation
Authors: Hamilton Kent , Ohfuchi Wataru
Published: October 2006

The pursuit of fine spatial representation in models of the atmospheric and oceanic circulation has been a theme running through the development of the field of numerical simulation. For example, in studies of the global ocean circulation, a longstanding concern has been the issue of adequately resolving particularly energetic eddies, such as Gulf Stream rings. In global and regional atmospheric models, a key issue has been resolving mesoscale circulations that organize clouds and convection.

With the recent advent of a new generation of high‐performance computing systems, such as the Japan Agency for Marine‐Earth Science and Technology's (JAMSTEC) Earth Simulator, some notable thresholds in terms of model resolution have been approached or, in some cases, surpassed. For example, the first long integrations with genuine eddy‐resolving global ocean models were reported in 2003. On the atmospheric side, decadal integrations with global models with effective horizontal resolution of approximately 20 kilometers have now become possible, and very short integrations of models that explicitly resolve scales approaching those of individual convective elements were first reported in 2005. These developments in global models have been paralleled by rising research activity with increasingly fine resolution regional atmospheric models for climate and shortrange forecasting applications.
Source of climate change becomes focus of Senate hearing
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

A 26 April Senate subcommittee hearing on the possible effects of climate change developed into a discussion about the extent to which the climate warming can be explained by natural or anthropogenic causes

The hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Global Climate Change and Impacts began with subcommittee chair Sen. David Vitter (R‐La.) acknowledging that the planet is experiencing a warming trend and that understanding the potential changes that may accompany the warming is an important task.“Tor once, we are not here to argue about the causes of observed warming trends,” he said.
Experimental Multi‐University Graduate Class in Volcanology
Authors: Rose William I. , Stix John
Published: October 2006

Graduate students in volcanology need a wide variety of scientific and cultural perspectives to become proficient at understanding volcanoes and their moods. With this in mind, a six‐university consortium in Earth hazards organized an advanced graduate class on supereruptions during the 2006 winter semester.

The Earth Hazards (EHaz) university consortium consists of Michigan Technological University (Houghton, Mich.), the University at Buffalo (N.Y), McGill University (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM; Mexico City), and the Universidad de Colima (Colima, Mexico), and it is funded by the U. S. Department of Education and counterpart agencies in Mexico and Canada as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Bill would expand U.S. drought monitoring
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

The collection and dissemination of drought information would be centralized within the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under a newly proposed bill, which received support at a 4 May hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards.

The economic costs of drought average $6 to $8 billion each year in the United States, according to NOAA. The effects of prolonged drought include extreme wildfire conditions, water restrictions, and reduced crop yields.
Global aspects of magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling
Authors: Goldstein Jerry , Spasojevic Maria , Fuselier Stephen
Published: October 2006

The near‐Earth space environment is a complex, ever‐changing system of magnetized plasmas whose behavior has a profound impact upon our technology‐dependent society. The recent 2006 Yosemite Workshop examined the interaction of these plasmas from a systems‐level perspective, focusing on how the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere are physically coupled together into a single global system.

The most dynamic behavior of the magnetosphere‐ionosphere (MI) system comes ultimately from the Sun. Solar wind pressure confines the Earth's magnetic field to a cometshaped cavity called the magnetosphere. Solar wind energy input initiates a large‐scale convective flow in the magnetosphere, and often triggers geomagnetic storms that dramatically alter the near‐Earth plasma environment.
A natural laboratory to study arsenic geobiocomplexity
Authors: Pichler Thomas , Amend Jan P. , Garey James , Hallock Pamela , Hsia Nancy P. , Karlen David J. , Meyer‐Dombard D'Arcy R. , McCloskey Bryan J. , Price Roy E.
Published: October 2006

Research on seafloor hydrothermal activity has focused primarily on deep‐sea black smoker‐type locations, which are found along volcanically active portions of the mid‐ocean ridges and in deep back‐arc basins. Submarine hydrothermal activity, however, is not confined to deepwater environments. Hydrothermal vents have been documented on the tops of seamounts, on the flanks of volcanic islands, and in other near‐shore environments characterized by high heat flow. Their easy accessibility, relative to deep‐sea hydrothermal systems, makes them excellent natural laboratories to study a wide range of chemical, physical, and biological processes.
Weather satellite launched
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

NASA launched on 24 May the weather satellite GOES‐N, the first of the new N series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. The satellite, which becomes GOES‐13 once it reaches its final orbit, joins the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's collection of weather satellites that provide the agency with data for weather forecasts and warnings.

The GOES‐N series has several improvements over previous GOES satellites. A highly stable pointing platform will allow improved performance from the satellite's sounder—which gathers atmospheric data—and its imager. In addition, the satellite will enable NOAA to improve forecasts and warnings of solar disturbances.
Effects of basement, structure, and stratigraphic heritages on volcano behavior
Authors: Lagmay Alfredo Mahar Francisco A.
Published: October 2006

Effective natural hazard mitigation requires that the science surrounding geophysical events be thoroughly explored. With millions of people living on the flanks of volcanoes, understanding the parameters that effect volcanic behavior is critically important. In particular, basements can influence the occurrence of volcanic eruptions and landslides. This control by the substrate on volcano behavior usually has been considered questionable or less important than the conditions of the deep magma source. However, due to recent findings, this view is changing, specifically with regard to approaches in assessing volcanic hazards.
Education and science connect at sea
Authors: Leckie R. Mark , St. John Kristen , Peart Leslie , Klaus Ann , Slough Scott , Niemitz Matt
Published: October 2006

In the past several decades, the scientific community's collective understanding of Earth's history and the processes that shape this dynamic planet has grown exponentially. Yet communicating the current understanding of Earth systems to the community outside of science (educators and students, policy makers, and the general public) has lagged.

In 1995, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) led the effort to establish National Science Education Standards (http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/),with the goal of helping all students achieve scientific literacy. Earth and space sciences are one of the eight categories of content standards. Clearly the establishment of science education standards alone will not foster a scientifically literate society, as indicated in the NAS report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11463.html). This report, released last fall, warns that without strong steps to improve federal support for science and technology research, and science and technology education, the quality of life in the United States is threatened as the country loses its competitive edge.
Storm‐substorm relations workshop
Authors: Kan Joe
Published: October 2006

Magnetic storms in the magnetosphere can cause damage to communication satellites and large‐scale power outages.The concept that a magnetic storm is a compilation of a series of substorms was proposed by Akasofu [1968]. However, Kamide [1992] showed that substorms are not a necessary condition for the occurrence of a magnetic storm. This controversy initiated a new era of research on the storm‐substorm relation, which was the subject of a recent workshop in Banff, Alberta, Canada.

The main topics discussed during the meeting included a brief overview of what a substorm is, how quasiperiodic substorm events and steady magnetospheric convection (SMC) events without substorms contribute to storms, and how plasma flows enhanced by magnetic reconnection in the plasma sheet contribute to substorms and storms.
On “The congressional fellowship as an ethnographic extravaganza”
Authors: Narasimhan T. N.
Published: October 2006

Josh Trapani's emerging experience as an AGU Congressional Fellow (Eos, 87(7), 76, 2006) is educational. Spectacular developments in the physical sciences tempt us to believe that finer and finer dissection of matter and sophisticated manipulation of molecules will soon enable us to control nature at will. Increasing knowledge, though, about the Earth and its interconnected biological systems makes us skeptical about the enthusiastic vision of physical sciences. Living things, unlike the nonliving things that are the concern of physical sciences, possess the attribute of ‘behavior,’ associated with ‘mind’ and ‘instinct.’ Trapani's ethnographic extravaganza is merely a subset of behavior, which lies beyond the scope of relativity, quantum mechanics, or thermodynamics.
Fellows celebrated at Joint Assembly
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

A highlight of the 2006 Joint Assembly in Baltimore, MD. was the presentation of certificates to the 2006 class of AGU Fellows. At a black tie ceremony held on 25 May, AGU President John Orcutt introduced each Fellow and read a brief statement of the achievements for which he or she had been selected. The presentations were followed by a reception for meeting attendees and a banquet at which family members and close colleagues further feted the honorees.
Johann von Lamont: A pioneer in geomagnetism
Authors: Sofitel Heinrich
Published: October 2006

The 200th birthday of John Lamont (1805–1879, Figure l) , a pioneer in the study of geomagnetism, was marked on 13 December 2005. Lamont founded the Munich Geomagnetic Observatory in 1840 and was a member of the group of scientists including Carl Friedrich Gauss, Alexander von Humboldt, Eduard Sabine, Jonas Angstrøm, Humphret Lloyd, Adolf Kupffer, Karl Kreil,and Adolphe Quetelet who composed the Gottingen Magnetic Union.They organized an international network of geomagnetic observatories [Barraclough et al., 1992].The present knowledge of the geomagnetic field and its secular variation is largely based on the data collected by the global network of geomagnetic observatories during the last 170 years.
Model verification and documentation are needed
Authors: Sasowsky Ira D.
Published: October 2006

Trust, but verify—this is what editors ask for, and what readers expect, from reviewers of technical articles. As a reviewer, I am growing concerned with the level of trust requested by authors of submitted manuscripts, and the frequent lack of verifiable data and methods. Negative reports in the press [e.g., New York Times, 2005] attest to the worst‐case outcomes of such shortcomings.

Certainly novelty and merit must be present in a manuscript, but authors should also include the empirical and theoretical technical bases used to support their findings and conclusions. Where fundamental elements of the scientific analysis are alluded to but are not included either explicitly or by reference, the reviewer should recommend that the article be accepted for publication only after those shortcomings have been remedied.
Monitoring fires in southwestern Amazonia Rain Forests
Authors: Brown I. Foster , Schroeder Wilfrid , Setzer Alberto , De Los Rios Maldonado Monica , Pantoja Nara , Duarte Alejandro , Marengo Jose
Published: October 2006

From mid‐July to mid‐October 2005, an environmental disaster unfolded in the trinational region of Madre de Dios, Peru; Acre, Brazil; and Pando, Bolivia (the MAP region), in southwestern Amazonia. A prolonged dry season and human‐initiated fires resulted in smoke pollution affecting more than 400,000 persons, fire damage to over 300,000 hectares of rain forest, and over US$50 million of direct economic losses. Indicatorrs suggest that anomalous drought conditions could occur again this year.

In May 2005, river levels, were the lowest in 34 years in Rio Branco,Acre, Brazil, signaling that the subsequent dry season would be unusual. Rainfall became virtually absent for several months, not only in eastern Acre but also in the neighboring Bolivian department of Pando and the Peruvian region of Madre de Dios. This enhanced dry season extended over much of western Amazonia with severe societal impact; by October 2005, regional governments had declared states of emergency in Pando, Acre, and Amazonas, an area covering more than a million square kilometers. Whereas previous droughts could be linked to El Niño events [Williams et al., 2005; Marengo, 2004]], J. A. Marengo et al. (The drought of Amazonia in 2005, manuscript in preparation, 2006) suggest that this drought was not related to El Niño but was instead associated with anomalously warm surface water in the tropical North Atlantic, similar to a previous drought in 1963–1964.
Exploring Earth's composition and energetics with geoneutrinos
Authors: Dye Staphen , Stein Seth
Published: October 2006

The production of heat by radioactive decay plays a major role in the evolution of the Earth. Present constraints of the amount of heat production come from conflicting assessments of global surface heat flow, which can be directly measured. A high value of 44 ± 1 terawatts accounts for significant heat flow through the ocean floor by both conduction and hydrothermal convection [Stein, 1995].A low value of 31 ± 1 terawatts assumes only a minor hydrothermal effect [Hofmeister and Criss, 2005].This heat flux is thought to result from heat production and cooling of the planet.
Linking middle‐school teachers to EarthScope
Authors: Butler Robert , Bishop Ellen , Ault Charles , Atwater Brian , Magura Bonnie , Hedeen Chris , Blakely Richard , Wells Ray , Shay Karen , Wagner Rebecca , Southworth‐Neumeyer Travis , Connor Darci
Published: October 2006

EarthScope is a multidisciplinary geophysical investigation of the structure and deformation of the North American continent. Components include a transportable array of digital seismometers (USArray) that will image the continental crust and underlying mantle, and Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and strainmeters (Plate Boundary Observatory, PBO) that will measure tectonic and volcanic deformations

Translating geophysics for kindergarten through 12th grade (K‐12) teachers and their students involves inviting them to explore new understandings of how Earth works. When they construct their understanding of Earth science through geophysical problem solving, these learners can engage in Earth‐Scope, which offers unprecedented public access to data from seismology and geodesy.
Council clarifies responsibilities of authors
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

At its 26 May 2006 meeting, Council approved a new definition for authorship in AGU publications. In recommending the change, the Publications Committee noted that it would provide researchers, particularly junior ones, with clearer guidance on what is expected of individuals who are named as authors. The revised statement, which is reproduced below, addresses questions that had come to the committee and recognizes recent expressions of concern about scientific integrity.

“To protect the integrity of authorship, only individuals who have significantly contributed to the research and preparation of the article should be listed as authors. All of these coauthors share responsibility for submitted articles. While not all coauthors may be familiar with all aspects of the research presented in their article, each should have in place an appropriate process for reviewing the accuracy of the reported results. A deceased person who met the criteria described here may be designated as an author. The corresponding author accepts the responsibility of having included as authors all persons who meet these criteria for authorship and none who do not. Other contributors who do not meet the authorship criteria should be appropriately acknowledged in the article. The corresponding author also attests that all living coauthors have seen the final version of the article, agree with the major conclusions, and have agreed to its submission for publication.”
Climate warmer than in past 400 years, Panel confirms
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

The Earth's climate in the late twentieth century was the warmest in at least the last 400 years and likely the warmest in the last millennium, a U.S. National Research Council (NRC) panel confirmed in a 22 June report.

“The committee finds it plausible that the Northern Hemisphere was warmer during the last few decades of the twentieth century than during any comparable time during the previous millennium,” said panel chair Gerald North, a geoscientist at Texas A&M University, College Station.
Robert Eather receives first Athelstan Spilhaus award
Authors: Carovillano Robert , Siscoe George , Eather Robert H.
Published: October 2006

Robert H. Eather received the Athelstan Spilhaus Award at the Joint Assembly Honors Ceremony, which was held on 25 May 2006 in Baltimore, Md. The award honors individuals who have devoted portions of their lives to expressing the excitement, significance, and beauty of the Earth and space sciences to the general public.
Natural variability of Arctic sea ice over the Holocene
Authors: Fisher David , Dyke Art , Koerner Roy , Bourgeois Jocelyne , Kinnard Christophe , Zdanowicz Christian , de Vernal Anne , Hillaire‐Marcel Claude , Savelle James , Rochon André
Published: October 2006

The area and volume of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is decreasing, with some predicting ice‐free summers by 2100 A.D. [Johannessen et al., 2004]. The implications of these trends for transportation and ecosystems are profound; for example, summer shipping through the Northwest Passage could be possible, while loss of sea ice could cause stress for polar bears. Moreover, global climate may be affected through albedo feedbacks and increased sea ice production and export. With more open water, more new sea ice forms in winter, which melts and/or gets exported out of the Arctic.
On “Avoiding the theory trap when discussing evolution”
Authors: Galvin Cyril
Published: October 2006

David Morrison (Eos 87(9), 2006) points out that the word ‘theory’ means one thing to a scientist and another to a non‐scientist citizen. My comment shows that, historically, the two meanings of theory have been stable for at least the last two and a half centuries, and suggests that, philosophically, well‐established theory becomes provisional fact.

Morrison discusses ‘theory’ in the context of its popular understanding in the phrase ‘theory of evolution,’ pointing out that contemporary U.S. citizens understand the word theory to mean a hunch or an unsubstantiated idea. Morrison considers the need for a new synonym for theory but wisely rejects that option. Instead, he recommends not using the word theory, but using ‘evolution’ rather than ‘theory of evolution,’ in the same way that geologists use ‘plate tectonics’ rather than ‘theory of plate tectonics.’
Understanding sediment transfer from land to ocean
Authors: Kuehl Steven , Alexander Clark , Carter Lionel , Gerald Lila , Gerber Thomas , Harris Courtney , McNinch Jesse , Orpin Alan , Pratson Lincoln , Syvitski James , Walsh J. P.
Published: October 2006

A new research program focusing on sediment dispersal across the active margin of the New Zealand east coast has provided the foundation for a holistic understanding of the transport and fate of terrestrial materials in the coastal ocean. Field studies began in January 2005 with two acoustic mapping and shallow seabed sampling expeditions to the shelf and slope off the Waipaoa River (Figure l), and in February 2006, the specially designed French research vessel (R/V) Marion Dufresne II collected seven long (up to 25 meters) piston cores from the study area for stratigraphic control. Both the 2005 and 2006 expeditions are part of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) MARGINS Source‐to‐Sink (S2S) initiative.
Report addresses future of geographic information science
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

The greatest challenge for the future of geographic information science (GIScience) is producing the large numbers of scientists and technicians that are needed to build on past progress, according to a 27 June report from the U.S. National Research Council of the National Academies.

The report notes that GIScience and related technologies—such as geographic information systems, the global positioning system, and remote sensing—have become crucial to many areas of scientific research. However, the supply of GIScience professionals has not kept pace with the growing need for this type of data.
Developing an event stratigraphy for Australasian climate change
Authors: Shulmeister James , Turney Chris S. M. , Fink David , Newnham Rewi M. , Alloway Brent V.
Published: October 2006

The last glacial‐interglacial transition in the Australasian region has been a focus of intense paleoclimate investigation for the past decade or so. This focus is due to the recognition of the southern midlatitudes as a key region to examine climate connections between the hemispheres during the late Pleistocene. That period, between 30,000 and 8000 years ago, was marked by extreme and rapid climatic change in the North Atlantic region. In particular, the Australasian region may be critical to examining the relative importance of atmospheric energy transfers versus deep ocean circulation effects.

In February 2006, 32 members of the Australasian Integration of Ice, Marine and Terrestrial records (INTIMATE) program attended a two‐day workshop at the University of Auckland, in New Zealand.
Impact cratering in the solar system
Authors: Fishbaugh Kathryn , Pierazzo Elisabetta , Barlow Nadine
Published: October 2006

Given that impact cratering is the most common geological process in the solar system, study of this topic provides an excellent means of interplanetary comparison. One can gain insight into the crustal properties of various solar system bodies, the population of asteroids and comets that potentially could cause impacts, and the varied ways in which impact cratering has influenced the geologic histories of the planets.

The First International Conference on Impact Cratering in the Solar System recently was held at the 40th ESLAB (European Space Laboratory) Symposium at the European Space Agency's European Space Research and Technology Centre, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. About 150 participants from around the world came to discuss the latest understanding of and issues related to impact cratering in the solar system. The uniqueness of this conference lay in its broad scope, covering everything from the late heavy bombardment controversy to impact‐induced mass extinctions. Thus, the conference brought together many scientists of varying expertise who may otherwise have never interacted.
COMET Program receives 2006 Excellence in Geophysical Education Award
Authors: Fellows Jack D. , Spangler Tim
Published: October 2006

The COMET (Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training) received the Excellence in Geophysical Education Award at the 2006 Joint Assembly Honors Ceremony, which was held on 25 May 2006 in Baltimore, Md. The award honors "a sustained commitment to excellence in geophysical education by a team, individual, or group." Tim Spangler, director of the COMET Program, accepted the award.
Ripple effect: Unforeseen applications of sand studies
Authors: Rubin David M.
Published: October 2006

Sand ripples and their deposits are playing a crucial role in unraveling the history of flowing water on Mars, conducting experimental floods to restore beaches in the Grand Canyon, and improving the ability to detect explosive mines buried beneath the seafloor. Even the visionary geologists who discovered the origins of ripples and ripple stratification could never have imagined these future applications of their work.

Sand ripples formed by blowing wind and flowing water have been studied for almost 150 years. This article briefly reviews some key discoveries in understanding ripples, reviews three studies that are currently utilizing ripples, and illustrates how simple fundamental discoveries have unexpected practical applications.
China Digital Seismic Network improves coverage and quality
Authors: Chen Qi‐Fu , Chen Yong , Li Li
Published: October 2006

In less than a decade since the establishment of the China Digital Seismic Network (CSN),the CSN has provided a comprehensive database vital for several key advances in seismological research in China.These advances for the network—which is comprised of the China National Digital Seismograph Network (CNDSN) and a number of regional networks (see Figure 1 for geographical distribution)—include the determination of source parameters and focal mechanism and the study of earthquake rupture processes, Earth structure, and seismic anisotropy.

Since 2003, an ongoing national project has been the upgrading and expansion of the CSN. When complete in 2007, the CSN will consist of more than 1000 permanent stations, including six seismic arrays and six volcano seismic networks. The expanded CSN will provide excellent opportunities for geodynamicists and seismologists to resolve the fine structures and complexity of the lithosphere and deeper mantle, and to quantify the kinematics and characterize the dynamics of faults in seismogenic systems. These are important research areas that can lead to important breakthroughs in the fundamental understanding of continental dynamics and earthquake mechanics.
Recent tsunami highlights need for warning system
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake off the coast of Java, Indonesia, on 17 July triggered a twometer high tsunami that killed at least 339 people, injured 600, and destroyed many structures, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

This destruction highlights the fact that, more than 18 months after the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the region still lacks a comprehensive warning system. However, by 2008 systems could be operational for Indonesia and the rest of the Indian Ocean region.
Karst aquifer investigation using absolute gravity
Authors: Van Camp Michael , Meus Philippe , Quinif Yves , Kaufmann Oliver , van Ruymbeke Michel , Vandiepenbeck Marc , Camelbeeck Thierry
Published: October 2006

Karst aquifers, formed by the dissolution of carbonate rocks such as limestone or dolomite, supply drinking water to 25% of the global population.Their highly variable sizes and heterogeneous hydrogeological characteristics are difficult to characterize and present challenges for modeling of storage capacities. Little is known about the surface and groundwater interconnection, about the connection between the porous formations and the draining cave and conduits, and about the variability of groundwater volume within the system. Usually, an aquifer is considered as a black box, where water fluxes are monitored as input and output. However, water inflow and outflow are highly variable and cannot be measured directly.
Examining Holocene stability of Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves
Authors: Hodgson Dominic A. , Bentley Michael J. , Roberts Stephen J. , Smith James A. , Sugden David E. , Domack Eugene W.
Published: October 2006

Temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula are increasing at a rate of 3.4°C per century, more than five times the global mean. At the same time, the region's ice shelves have retreated and collapsed, with an area of more than 14,000 square kilometers disappearing within the past two decades. Ice shelf retreat has followed the southward migration of the −9°C mean annual isotherm, referred to as the ‘climatic limit of ice shelf stability’ (Figure 1).Thus, present‐day ice shelf retreats on the Antarctic Peninsula have been linked to increased atmospheric temperature [Vaughan et al., 2003].
Myers pledges unbiased research at USGS
Authors: Zielinski Sarah
Published: October 2006

Mark Myers, who has been nominated to be the next director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), pledged to keep the agency's research unbiased and objective, at his 20 July confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Myers has split his career between the petroleum industry and working for the state of Alaska, where he has served as director of the Division of Oil and Gas, and, most recently, discistate geologist and director of the Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.
Concern over NASA mission statement changes
Authors: Zielinki Sarah
Published: October 2006

U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R‐Maine) and Joseph Lieberman (D‐Conn.) expressed concern about a change in NASAs mission statement—which eliminated the phrase “to understand and protect the home planet”—in a 31 July letter to NASA Administrator Michael Griffin.

“At a time in which evidence grows on an almost daily basis of the potentially severe impacts of climate change, we find it inexplicable that NASA apparently no longer views protecting and understanding our home planet as a priority” they wrote.
The impact of climate change in the American cordillera
Authors: Diaz Henry F. , Villalba Ricardo , Greenwood Gregory , Bradley Raymond S.
Published: October 2006

The mountain regions comprising the western American Cordillera (from Alaska to southern Argentina and Chile) are especially vulnerable to changes in climate and to the ensuing changes in snowpack, streamflow, ecosystem functioning, and a host of other impacts on human and nonhuman systems. The effect of elevation on temperature and precipitation induces a compression of the typical meridional climatic gradients, causing changes in life zones—geographic regions or areas defined by their characteristic life forms, e.g., alpine, sub‐alpine, coniferous forests, and so forth—over relatively short distances.

In mountain regions, relatively small perturbations in global processes can operate through the system to produce large local changes. Because mountains provide life‐sustaining water for people living there as well as in adjacent lowland regions, climatic and other environmental changes in the American Cordillera will have a large impact on the future well‐being of an area far larger than the mountain region itself.
Anti‐evolutionists lose in Kansas school board primary
Authors: Zielinki Sarah
Published: October 2006

The Kansas science curriculum could change again next year after two state school board members who favored teaching alternatives to evolution lost primary elections on 1 August.

The Kansas school board earlier this year had approved by a 6‐4 vote a new science curriculum that encouraged students to seek “more adequate explanations of natural phenomena” outside of evolution. However, half of the 10‐member board is up for re‐election this year. Two of the anti‐evolution school board members were defeated in the primary election, including Connie Morris who had described evolution as “an age‐old fairy tale” and “a nice bedtime story.”
Air quality remote sensing from space
Authors: Edwards David P.
Published: October 2006

Recent advances in tropospheric remote sensing have opened the way for measuring, monitoring, and understanding processes that lead to atmospheric pollution. As part of an integrated observing strategy, satellite measurements provide a context for localized observations and help to extend these observations to continental and global scales. The challenge for future space‐borne missions will be directly accessing the local scale and facilitating the use of remotely sensed information for improving local‐ and regional‐scale air quality (AQ) forecasts. Achieving this goal could provide important societal dividends for public health, for policy applications related to managing national AQ, and for assessing the impact of daily human activity on the distributions of important trace gases and aerosols and their short‐timescale variability—known as ‘chemical weather’—as well as on climate.
Engaging today's Students in Earth Science 101
Authors: Zimmerman Andrew R. , Smith Matthew C.
Published: October 2006

It is a sad fact, or perhaps a happy one, that many geoscientists in academia will find themselves in front of a classroom of 100–300 undergraduate nonscience majors, lecturing to them for three hours per week. Whether it is ‘Rocks for Jocks’ or ‘Waves for Babes,’ students often are under the impression that geoscience classes will be the least painful way to fulfill their science credit requirements. The sense of personal anonymity that can accompany large‐enrollment classes often results in a different level of student engagement compared with smaller classes. Thus, if students are physically present at all, instructors often have only their much‐divided attention. How can professors keep 300 students, even the ones in the back of the classroom who are barely visible, awake and engaged?
Vergano receives David Perlman award
Authors: Kelly Sue , Vergano Dan
Published: October 2006

Dan Vergano received the Perlman Award at the Joint Assembly Honors Ceremony, which was held on 25 May 2006 in Baltimore, Md. Vergano was honored for “The Debate's over: Globe is warming,” which describes the linkages between the science of climate change and the complexity of technical and economic decisions facing its mitigation