bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North American Arctic
Authors: Hotz Robert Lee
Published: October 2006

I have carried a copy of Barren Lands by Kevin Krajick with me longer than any reviewer with a sense of decency should. It has traveled with me through hasty household moves to New Haven, then to Los Angeles, and finally to New York. I have read it three times now; each time I buried myself in its text, I discovered a different, richly rewarding book.

The first of the stories the book tells, as its subtitle promises, is a historical epic on the search for diamonds in the Arctic that details the 450‐year history of diamond exploration in North America. Krajick also touches on discoveries in Brazil, India, and South Africa. This account is rich in archival gems. Who, for instance, knew that doctors treated Pope Clement VII in 1534 by dosing the ailing pontiff with 40,000 ducats worth of ground‐up diamonds and other gems? Or that alchemists believed that diamonds could be cultivated, like flowers, by watering them with May dew?
National earthquake program comes under scrutiny
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The lead agency managing the U.S. National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) came under heavy scrutiny during an 8 May hearing on the program's re‐authorization, held by a science subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Funding levels for NEHRP, which have significantly decreased in real dollars since the 1970s, also were criticized during the hearing.

Still, the earthquake program itself generally was praised during the hearing as being a successful and valuable, but underfunded national asset at a time when earthquake hazards are increasing.
Researchers discuss abrupt climate change: Ice sheets and oceans in action
Authors: Dokken Trond , Andrews John , Hemming Sidney , Stokes Chris , Jansen Eystein
Published: October 2006

Large temperature variations on land, in the air, and at the ocean surface, and highly variable flux of ice‐rafted debris (IRD) delivered to the North Atlantic Ocean show that rapid climate fluctuations took place during the last glacial period. These quasi‐periodic, high‐amplitude climate variations followed a sequence of events recognized as a rapid warming, followed by a phase of gradual cooling, and terminating with more rapid cooling and increased flux of IRD to the North Atlantic Ocean.

Each cycle lasted ˜1500 years, and was followed by an almost identical sequence. These cycles are referred to as Dansgaard/Oechger cycles (D/O cycles), and approximately every fourth cycle culminated in a more pronounced cooling with a massive discharge of IRD into the North Atlantic Ocean over an interval of ˜500 years. These massive discharges of IRD are known as Heinrich layers. “Heinrich events” are thus characterized as a rapid transfer of IRD from a “source,” the bed of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS), to a “sink,” the North Atlantic.
Data on bottom water in Prydz Bay, Antarctica, revised
Authors: Bindoff Nathaniel L. , Forbes Andrew , Wong Annie P. S.
Published: October 2006

We report on salinity biases in conductivity‐temperature‐depth (CTD) data collected offshore Prydz Bay that affect conclusions about possible bottom water formation. The role of the Prydz Bay region (68–81°E) in bottom water production around Antarctica is an important unresolved issue [Smith and Treguer, 1994; Nunes Vaz and Lennon, 1996; Whitworth et al., 1998]. Wong, Bindoff, and Forbes [1998] identified a new, dense water type over the abyssal plain northwest of the Prydz Bay Channel at ˜72.5°E. Its spatial pattern was such that the highest sea floor salinities, ˜0.03 psu above historical measurements, were observed nearest the channel and decreased westward, away from Prydz Bay

Examination of the calibrated CTD data bottle data analyzed in Wong et al. [1998] shows a systematic bias in salinities off the continental shelf, most strongly in the stations to the west of Prydz Bay. The bias appears directly attributable to an undetected deterioration in conductivity cell performance toward the end of the observation program. The change in cell behavior is consistent with a cracked conductivity cell. This deterioration introduced an artificial curvature into the salinity profiles at depths exceeding 2000 m and a wider spread of the bottom salinity values to the west and north of Prydz Bay.
Processes and Consequences of Deep Subduction
Authors: Lowman Julian
Published: October 2006

Oceanic lithosphere subduction is the phenomenon responsible for some of the most spectacular and powerful expressions of the ceaseless motion of the Earth's tectonic plates. Subduction is manifested at the Earth's surface by a global system of oceanic trenches, the deep abyssal scars in the ocean floor that extend over tens of thousands of kilometers and cut up to 4 km deep into the planet's surface. Subduction zones are also associated with regional gravity anomalies, island arc formation, and a large portion of the world's earthquakes and volcanoes, including the deepest and most energetic earthquakes, which have been observed at depths of 660—700 km.

In addition to these dramatic surficial features, the process of subduction affects mineral physics, geochemistry, petrology structural geology, and rock mechanics. The conditions associated with subduction provide a unique natural laboratory in which the entrainment of water and sediment with anomalously cold slabs of subducted oceanic lithosphere creates a dynamic and volatile environment as plates sink and encounter hot ambient mantle, mineralogical phase boundaries, and rheological transitions. Part of the difficulty in unravelling the complexity of these systems lies in understanding the feedback that occurs between phenomena operating at macroscopic and microscopic scales. For example, phase transformation rates affect buoyancy, and therefore subduction rates. This affects the regional thermal structure and thereby the phase transformations. Slab rheology and morphology may similarly be affected by mineral transformations and their kinetics.
Can slow variations in solar luminosity provide missing link between the Sun and climate?
Authors: Foukal Peter
Published: October 2006

Recent evidence from ocean and ice cores suggests that a significant fraction of the variability in northern hemisphere climate since the last Ice Age correlates with solar activity [Bond et al., 2001]. This finding extends previous evidence connecting solar activity and climate during the past millennium [Eddy, 1976, Lean et al., 1995]. The simplest mechanism relies on increases of wavelength‐integrated output of solar heat and light (total irradiance, S) accompanying increases in solar activity. But recent findings cast doubt on earlier evidence for a sufficiently large variation of S. At the same time, advances in instrumentation give promise of answering this question, to support timely decisions on global warming. In this article, we assess the status of the topic and suggest some new initiatives.
Wetlands loss in Louisiana
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

One third of coastal Louisiana could sink beneath the Gulf of Mexico by 2050, if no new restoration efforts take place, the U.S. Geological Survey announced on 20 May.

The state could lose about 1800 square km of coastal land on top of its earlier losses. Louisiana already has lost about 4920 square km of coastal land, mostly marshland, during the 20th century. The state has the distinction of being the location of about 90% of total coastal marshland that has been lost to date in the continental U.S.
Muddy Coast Dynamics and Resource Management
Authors: Kjerfve Björn
Published: October 2006

Muddy coasts are land‐sea transitional environments common along low‐energy shorelines around the world. They exist in climatic settings and tidal regimes ranging from microtidal to macro‐tidal. Climatic warming and relative sea level rise are likely to have a greater impact on low‐lying muddy coasts and deltas than most other coastal environments. This was the working hypothesis of the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) Working Group 106, “Relative Sea Level and Muddy Coasts of the World,” which concluded its deliberations in the late 1990s.
Sky and Ocean Joined: The U.S. Naval Observatory, 1830–2000
Authors: Carter Bill
Published: October 2006

Today, the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) is best known to most Americans as the location of the vice president's residence. Asked to search their memories, a few may recall that USNO maintains the nation's master clock, and is in some way responsible for introducing a “leap second” on New Year's Eve every few years. Even in the scientific community, the USNO is best known and most highly regarded for its service as the nation's timekeeper.

In Sky and Ocean Joined: The U.S. Naval Observatory, 1830–2000, Steven Dick points out that the history of the development of ever‐more accurate clocks and the dissemination of time closely parallels the general advance of science and technology. In addition, he takes the reader inside USNO to meet some of the more fascinating individuals that drove the events and scientific achievements associated with the work of maintaining the nation's master clock.
Geodynamics of the Lithosphere
Authors: McCaig Andrew M.
Published: October 2006

It is bad luck for Kurt Stuwe that Geodynamics of the Lithosphere, an excellent book, has been published in the same year as the long‐awaited second edition of Geodynamics by D.H. Turcotte and G. Schubert. It is doubly bad luck that by publishing in paperback, the latter have undercut him by almost $25. Nevertheless, a comparison of the two books shows that they are, in many ways, complimentary and readers who are more geologically oriented will probably find Stuwe's book more readable and more easily accessible.

In scope, Geodynamics of the Lithosphere is an interesting combination of breadth and focus. Not many textbooks include all three applications of the diffusion equation to heat flow, sediment transport, and chemical equilibration!
Deep seismic experiments investigate crustal development at continental margin
Authors: Morewood Nigel C. , Shannon Patrick M. , Mackenzie Graeme D. , O'Reilly Brian M. , Jacob A. W. Brian , Makris JannisJannis
Published: October 2006

Important advances have been made in recent years regarding our understanding of the processes involved during continental break‐up. Much of this knowledge has arisen from deep seismic profiles of the Atlantic margins. The continent‐ocean transition (COT) at many locations along the North Atlantic margin consists of a zone of ‘transitional’ crust that lies between thinned continental crust and unequivocal oceanic crust. The origin of this transitional crust is poorly understood, and yet it is likely to provide key information regarding the break‐up process.
Pew commission defends oceans report
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Several fisheries groups and others have charged that a 4 June report by the Few Oceans Commission presents recommendations for reform of U.S. ocean govenance that are illfounded or unworkable.

However, Christophe Tulou, executive director of the independent commission, defended the report for using the best science available, and for presenting solutions to serious problems facing the oceans.
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are aspects of same event
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Sun are intertwined aspects of the same event, rather than two separate events, it was announced at an 18 June news briefing. The briefing was held as part of a meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Solar Physics Division.

The finding resolves “a chicken‐and‐egg type of problem as to which came first,” according to Peter Gallagher, solar physicist with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He said that the problem had been debated for several decades. Gallagher is research scientist for two of the three spacecraft involved with the findings: NASA's Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI), and NASA's Transition Region and Coronal Explorer, (TRACE). The third spacecraft is the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft (SOHO), which is a cooperative effort of NASA and the European Space Agency.
Opening doors for geophysics in soil sciences
Authors: Müller Martin
Published: October 2006

Urban soils are subject to strong variations in environmental conditions such as water flow, solute transport, and heat budget. For soil scientists, the effects of the temporal and spatial dynamics of soil moisture distribution on the sorption and release of contaminants is crucial for understanding soil processes.

The INTERURBAN research project was formed in 2001 in Berlin, Germany, to study the dynamics of water and materials at urban locations while giving special consideration to spatial heterogeneity organic soil substance, and soil‐biological transformation processes. The project is the cooperative effort of six departments of the Technical University of Berlin and the Free University of Berlin; namely, the departments of soil sciences, water quality control, environmental chemistry microbiology soil zoology, and applied geophysics.
Notice of nominees for 2004 election of officers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The nominees listed below constitute the slate approved by the AGU Council for the upcoming election of officers for 2004–2006. Additional nominations may be made by membership petition until 15 August 2003.
Council Meeting highlights
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Council held a very productive meeting on 17 June using telephone conferencing and a Web‐based system for sharing documents. Although the Executive Committee and many other committees have long conducted their business telephonically this was a first for Council. The early date of the Joint Assembly in Nice, which incorporated AGU's 2003 Spring Meeting, meant that the critical item for Council, approval of the slate of candidates for the next election, would not be ready for action at that time. Thus, the meeting was scheduled for June in conjunction with the Planning Committee.
Global Environmental Change: Modelling and Monitoring
Authors: Edwards Christopher
Published: October 2006

Stimulating work in many areas of environmental science has led to a growing awareness of and concern for the global environment. The subject of global change itself can be expressed narrowly, in terms of anthropogenic impacts on climate, or offered in the broadest sense, to include all changes occurring in the Earth‐ocean‐atmosphere system, either naturally, or as a result of human‐induced interactions. Global Environmental Change: Modelling and Monitoring chooses the latter expression, and the authors ambitiously propose a unified global modeling system to study and monitor all such changes and provide real‐time assessments to assist policymakers.

Although the text is divided into 11 chapters, it conceptually splits into four sections. The introduction frames the need for a centralized, international monitoring organization by predicting the catastrophic trajectory of unsustainable development of the present Earth system based on a range of environmental and societal indicators; for example, enhanced atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, tropical forest destruction, unchecked fossil fuel consumption, and increases in human disease. The second section presents an overall structure of a system designed to chart this trajectory: a global observational data base linked to a vast model—or really a collection of interconnected modeling units—spanning ocean, atmospheric and terrestrial hydrodynamics, chemistry, and biology. The third section, which represents the bulk of the text, considers specific applications of the model as explored by the authors. The final two chapters describe some recent developments in microwave remote sensing capabilities and some theory into hypothesis testing and decision‐making.
Meteors in the Earth's Atmosphere: Meteoroids and Cosmic Dust and Their Interactions With the Earth's Upper Atmosphere
Authors: ReVelle Douglas O.
Published: October 2006

This good book about very small meteors in the Earth's atmosphere was written mostly by aeronomers who study in situ dust, ionization, lidar interactions with meteor trails and stratified atmospheric layers, and flow chemistry Four of the 13 chapters were written by meteor/meteorite specialists whose wide‐ranging contributions include meteor astronomy, classical meteor radar, interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), and meteorites and their connection with meteors. Meteors in the Earth's Atmosphere concludes with a look toward the future and a brief glossary and subject index.

Other than chapters by R. Hawkes, however, which is on CCD (Charge‐coupled device) observations of meteors, and one by F. Rietmeijer on IDPs and meteorites, no one has referenced the recent, very extensive, and excellent review chapter in Space Science Reviews by Ceplecha et al. [1998] that covers almost all aspects of both large and small meteors, including many of the topics in the present book.
Carbon sequestration efforts receive international boost
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

More than a dozen nations have signed a charter to support international cooperation in the research and development of non‐biological sequestration of carbon that otherwise would be emitted into the atmosphere.

The 25 June agreement promises to facilitate technological advances as well as commercial viability for capture and storage of carbon in geological formations such as oil and gas reservoirs, unmineable coal seams, and deep saline reservoirs. Some experts also are examining the possibility of storing carbon in the world's oceans.
On past temperatures and anomalous late‐20th‐century warmth
Authors: Mann Michael , Amman Caspar , Bradley Ray , Briffa Keith , Jones Philip , Osborn Tim , Crowley Tom , Hughes Malcolm , Oppenheimer Michael , Overpeck Jonathan , Rutherford Scott , Trenberth Kevin , Wigley Tom
Published: October 2006

Evidence from paleoclimatic sources and modeling studies support AGU's official position statement on climate change and greenhouse gases; namely that there is a compelling basis for concern over future climate changes, including increases in global‐mean surface temperatures, due to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, primarily from fossil fuel burning.

More specifically a number of reconstructions of large‐scale temperature changes over the past millennium support the conclusion that late‐20th century warmth was unprecedented over at least the past millennium. Modeling and statistical studies indicate that such anomalous warmth cannot be fully explained by natural factors, but instead, require a significant anthropogenic forcing of climate that emerged during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Hydrology Section received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the AGU 2002 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California. (Winners in other sections will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos.)
Hill receives 2003 F.L. Scarf Award
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Matthew Hill was awarded the F.L. Scarf Award for his thesis titled Transport phenomena of anomalous cosmic rays during the recovery phase of solar cycle 22. He will be formally presented the award during the AGU 2003 Fall Meeting, which will be held 8–12 December in San Francisco, California. The award is given annually to a recent Ph.D. recipient for outstanding dissertation research that contributes directly to solar‐planetary science.

Matthew received his B.S. in physics, with high honors, from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1996. He was then granted a Distinguished Research Fellowship for graduate studies in the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland, College Park. Supervised by Douglas C. Hamilton, Matthew earned his M.S. in 1998 and his Ph.D. in physics in 2001.
Chapman and Alfvén: A rigorous mathematical physicist versus an inspirational experimental physicis
Authors: Akasofu Syun
Published: October 2006

Modern magnetospheric physics owes its initial development to two great pioneers: Sydney Chapman and Hannes Alfvén (Figure 1), who took very different and contrasting approaches to their research activities. This caused one of the most memorable controversies in space physics during the 20th century.

The controversy was initiated formally by Alfvén [1951] when he criticized a paper by D.F. Martyn entitled, “The Theory of Magnetic Storms and Auroras,” published in Nature in 1951. Alfvén stated: “Dr. Martyns treatment is founded on Chapman‐Ferraro's theory of magnetic storms. It is not my intention to review here the objections to this theory, objections which I believe to be fatal—nor is it worthwhile to discuss the curious super structure which Dr. Martyn tried to erect on this weak ground.” Alfven's objections will be described after briefly providing the background on which the Chapman‐Ferraro theory was constructed. It may be mentioned at the outset that Chapman, together with T. G. Cowling, was well recognized by his publication of a classical treatise, “The Mathematical Theory of Non‐Uniform Gases” in 1953; and also, with J. Bartels, of “Geomagnetism” in 1940, while Alfv´en established himself by the publication of an inspirational book,“Cosmical Electrodynamics” in 1950.
Panel established to revise position statement on climate change
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

President Robert Dickinson has appointed a panel to review the current AGU position statement on climate change and greenhouse gases, and to consider revising the statement to reflect scientific progress over the last four years. Marvin Geller of the State University of New York‐Stonybrook chairs the panel.

Other panel members include: Andre Berger, George Lemaître Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium; Anny Cazenave, Observatoire Midi‐Pyrénées, Toulouse, France; John Christy, University of Alabama, Huntsville; Ellen Druffel, University of California, Irvine; Jack Fellows, University Consortium for Atmospheric Research, Boulder; Hiroshi Kanzawa, Nagoya University, Japan; William Schlesinger, Duke University, Durham; William (Jim) Shuttleworth, University of Arizona; Eric Sundquist, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole; Richard Turco, University of California, Los Angeles; Ilana Wainer, Universidade Cidade Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Comments on “Anonymous reviewers” [“Anonymous reviews: Self‐serving, counterproductive, and unacceptable”]
Authors: Robinove Charles J.
Published: October 2006

Mryl Beck's Forum article denouncing anonymous reviews (Eos, 1 July 2003) is right on the money. Perhaps he read my letter in Applied Physics in 1990 also denouncing anonymous reviews.

Some years ago, I received an anonymous review of a paper I had submitted for journal publication. The reviewer raised such interesting questions that I wanted to discuss them with him. I phoned the editor of the journal and asked if he would tell me the name of the reviewer. He politely declined, but when I told him I thought I recognized the handwriting of the reviewer and named him, he relented and said I was correct! I called the reviewer and he was generous enough to spend a wonderful hour on the phone with me discussing the paper. The paper was published with great consideration given to his ideas, much to its betterment. Now that's a reviewer whose interest is in improving the paper and helping the author, not just showing how smart he is or slapping down a junior colleague. The AGU motto,“unselfish cooperation in research,” can be well exemplified by those who wish to help rather than to tear down.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Ocean Sciences and Planetary Sciences Sections received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2002 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California. (Winners in other sections will be announced in subsequent issues of Eos.}
National center for airborne laser mapping proposed
Authors: Carter Bill , Shrestha Ramesh L. , Dietrich Bill
Published: October 2006

Researchers from universities, U.S. government agencies, U.S. national laboratories, and private industry met in the spring to learn about the current capabilities of Airborne Laser Swath Mapping (ALSM), share their experiences in using the technology for a wide variety of research applications, outline research that would be made possible by research‐grade ALSM data, and discuss the proposed operation and management of the brand new National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM).

The workshop successfully identified a community of researchers with common interests in the advancement and use of ALSM—a community which strongly supports the immediate establishment of the NCALM.
Summit pushes efforts toward integrated Earth observation system
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The development of an integrated, comprehensive, and sustained Earth observation system received an important boost when representatives of more than 30 nations and 22 multilateral agencies gathered for a summit on the issue on 31 July in Washington, D.C.
Reply [to “Comment on ‘Discussions of ODP Leg 205 and drilling of Middle America seismogenic zone’”]
Authors: von Huene Roland
Published: October 2006

J.N. Murdock' comments regarding our International Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) proposal to penetrate the seismogenic zone in Costa Rica seem to state the following? The plate interface along the Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP) drilling transect off Guatemala must be a blind thrust fault; plate convergence may be only 2–3 km in the past 1 m.y.; and our proposed drilling fails to address the most important current scientific issues.
A Peculiar River: Geology, Geomorphology, and Hydrology of the Deschutes River, Oregon
Authors: Lifland Jonathan
Published: October 2006

Eos:Why write a book about this particular river?

Grant: We really didn't know how unusual the Deschutes was when we set out to study it. Its peculiarities emerged in the course of our investigations, which were initially directed at understanding how several large hydropower dams that were being relicensed might have affected the structure of the downstream channel. From studies on other rivers, we expected that we would find clear signals of physical changes to channel morphology, such as channel incision or a textural coarsening of the riverbed, which we could attribute to the dams. But what we found during the course of our studies was that the Deschutes was not like other rivers and that the classic, expected responses were not in evidence. We learned that our own preconceptions of how rivers work—how they respond to disturbances such as dams—needed rethinking.
Great Plains Workshop held to prepare for USArray deployment
Authors: Hubbard Mary S. , Gao Stephen S. , Liu Kelly H. , Nicolaysen Kirsten E. , Oviatt Charles G.
Published: October 2006

Relative to most parts of North America, the Great Plains region, which is bordered by the Rocky Mountain Front on the west and the Mississippi River on the east, has been understudied in terms of the structure, formation, and evolution of the underlying crust, mantle, and core. The anticipated arrival of the USArray portable seismic stations, which will cover the entire United States regardless of surface geology and tectonic activities, and the deployment of the accompanying flexible array stations and the permanent seismic stations in this area, will fill this gap and address numerous problems related to the structure and dynamics of the Earth. Detailed information about USArraycan be found at http://www.earthscope.org/usarray/.

To maximize the effectiveness of the upcoming USArray, formulate cooperative studies, and identify geologic targets for detailed studies using the flexible array stations of USArray, a pre‐EarthScope Great Plains workshop was recently hosted by Kansas State University's Department of Geology The workshop brought together about 40 geoscientists with interests ranging from surface processes to mantle dynamics, from about 25 institutions. Participants discussed scientific objectives related to USArray's Great Plains coverage, with an emphasis on future collaborations to maximize our understanding of the geology of the Great Plains region, from the Earth's surface to the core‐mantle boundary. This will lead to a better understanding of the geologic development of cratonic regions, and provide valuable data for integrated studies of continental lithosphere and deep Earth structure over a wide range of scales.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Seismology and Volcanology Geochemistry & Petrology Sections received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2002 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California.
Academy report encourages NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The U.S. National Science Foundation should move ahead with plans and funding for its Ocean Observatories Initiative, a committee of the U.S. National Research Council recommended in a 21 July report. The committee chair and the NSF program director of ocean technologies and interdisciplinary coordination said the report amounts to an endorsement of the initiative.

The Ocean Observatories Initiative is envisioned as a program to help the U.S. ocean science research community make sustained, in‐situ observations and measurements in the oceans and on the sea floor. The research‐driven initiative is one of a number of national and international efforts to establish a global ocean observing system; these efforts also include a proposed U.S. Integrated and Sustained Ocean Observing System, an operational observing system.
Developing perturbations for Climate Change Impact Assessments
Authors: Hewitson Bruce
Published: October 2006

Following the 2001 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Assessment Report [TAR; IPCC, 2001], and the paucity of climate change impact assessments from developing nations, there has been a significant growth in activities to redress this shortcoming. However, undertaking impact assessments (in relation to malaria, crop stress, regional water supply, etc.) is contingent on available climate‐scale scenarios at time and space scales of relevance to the regional issues of importance. These scales are commonly far finer than even the native resolution of the Global Climate Models (GCMs) (the principal tools for climate change research), let alone the skillful resolution (scales of aggregation at which GCM observational error is acceptable for a given application) of GCMs.

Consequently, there is a growing demand for regional‐scale scenarios, which in turn are reliant on techniques to downscale from GCMs, such as empirical downscaling or nested Regional Climate Models (RCMs). These methods require significant skill, experiential knowledge, and computational infrastructure in order to derive credible regional‐scale scenarios. In contrast, it is often the case that impact assessment researchers in developing nations have inadequate resources with limited access to scientists in the broader international scientific community who have the time and expertise to assist. However, where developing effective downscaled scenarios is problematic, it is possible that much useful information can still be obtained for impact assessments by examining the system sensitivity to largerscale climate perturbations. Consequently, one may argue that the early phase of assessing sensitivity and vulnerability should first be characterized by evaluation of the first‐order impacts, rather than immediately addressing the finer, secondary factors that are dependant on scenarios derived through downscaling.
New U.S. weather forecasting system approved
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has signed an agreement with several other U.S. agencies to develop a new and improved U.S. Weather Research and Forecasting system, the agency announced on 19 August.

The system, which is now in the testing phase, is expected to produce high‐resolution forecasts far more detailed than current operational models, according to NOAA. The system also could prompt closer ties between the research and operational forecasting communities, the agency indicated.
Exploring ocean waves from asteroid impacts
Authors: Asphaug Erik , Korycansky Donald , Ward Steven
Published: October 2006

An asteroid the size of the Roman Coliseum crashes into the ocean somewhere on Earth, producing a transient cavity miles across. The spectacular collapse launches tsunamis in all directions, casting the asteroid's impact energy far and wide. Everyone living on these shores may be in for a bad day.

Based partly on the assumption that relatively minor asteroid impacts spawn dangerous tsunamis, the National Research Council has recommended that NASA and the National Science Foundation design and build a Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) to image the entire sky every 7 days and detect thousands of asteroids to the 24th magnitude, especially those down to 300‐m diameter on near‐Earth orbits. The LSST will have many astronomical uses apart from asteroid hunting; nevertheless, before $100 million to $200 million gets spent, one must examine the justifications. Are sub‐kilometer asteroids really a significant threat? If not, then existing survey telescopes are adequate to catalog −98% of the 1100±100 near‐Earth asteroids larger than 1 km diameter in the next few decades. Of these, half have been detected so far, and most of the rest have orbits that are harder to discover from Earth. Perhaps the LSST money should instead be dedicated to a space‐borne observatory for bagging “holdouts” larger than a kilometer, those capable of causing global catastrophe.
Interaction of Strong Turbulence With Free Surfaces
Authors: Dalrymple Robert A.
Published: October 2006

Spray from a nozzle, spilling breakers, and “rooster tails” from speeding boats are all examples of a turbulent flow with a free surface. In many cases like these, the free surface is difficult to discern as the volume of air in the fluid can exceed that of the water.

In traditional studies, the free surface is simply defined as a continuous surface separating the fluid from air. The pressure at the surface is assumed to be atmospheric pressure and the fluid comprising the surface moves with the surface. While these conditions are sufficient for non‐turbulent flows, such as nonbreaking water waves, and lead to the (albeit non‐linear) dynamic and kinematic free surface boundary conditions that serve to provide sufficient conditions to determine the surface, they are not valid descriptions for a bubbly free surface in a highly turbulent regime, such as the roller in front of a spilling breaker or the propeller wash behind a ship.
Ecohydrology: Darwinian Expression of Vegetation Form and Function
Authors: Jacobs Jennifer M.
Published: October 2006

Interactions among available energy, water dynamics, and nutrients are clearly critical to defining ecosystem function. The linkage between water and carbon dioxide exchanges in the plant and atmosphere continuum is at the heart of this dynamic. In forested systems, a strong relationship between carbon uptake and transpiration is understood to be a function of available energy and aerodynamic and canopy conductances. Holistically linking ecosystem properties to stand development and selection of community composition has long been a topic of theoretical discussion. However, few mechanistic means exist to assess these relationships. This, in turn, challenges the ability to characterize forest response to anthropogenic or natural variability, as such analyses require robust quantitative models.
Space infrared telescope could provide new insights into some solar system objects
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility, which launched on 25 August, promises to open windows about objects within our own solar system, as well as provide a better understanding about galactic and intergalactic objects and phenomena and the early universe.

The infrared observatory offers new capabilities to explore and characterize aspects of the solar system which cannot be observed from the ground, including some Kuiper Belt objects, distant planets and satellites, asteroids and comets, and interplanetary dust, according to SIRTF solar system observations scientist Victoria Meadows. The observatory could provide new insights into specific targets through the enhanced observational sensitivity and new measurement capabilities it offers at the 3–180 micron wavelengths.
Scientific Method in Practice
Authors: Fryer Gerard
Published: October 2006

What is science? How does it work? Scientists seldom consider such questions, preferring to leave these abstractions to philosophers or historians. But many scientists might ask a question only slightly less abstract: “How can I be more effective as a scientist?” No answer is possible without understanding what science is.

Enter Hugh Gauch with Scientific Method in Practice. His goals are to help scientists become better at their work and to provide a perspective on science.
The predictability of the magnetosphere and space weather
Authors: Li X. , Baker D. N. , Larson Davin , Temerin M. , Reeves Geoff , Kanekal S. G.
Published: October 2006

Yogi Berra once observed, apparently paraphrasing Niels Bohr, “Prediction is difficult, especially about the future.”

Berra's and Bohr's backgrounds, respectively, in baseball and quantum mechanics, probably prejudiced them, since recent studies show that, at least in geophysics, not everything is as difficult to predict as the path of a knuckle ball or an electron through a double slit. Large‐scale magnetospheric activity we believe, is quite predictable, given solar wind conditions. For example, in Figure 1 we show the long‐term variation of radiation belt electrons and the Dst index for approximately the last solar cycle. The long‐term variation of radiation belt electrons and the Dst index provides evidence that radiation belt electrons and geomagnetic activity on average, have a systematic response to the solar wind.
[Comment on] “Bottom line” takes the cake!
Authors: Edwards M. A.
Published: October 2006

Here at the Structural Processes Group of the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Vienna we have a number of eager (German mother‐tongue) students who enthusiastically browse through the various international journals and newsletters of the geosciences. Eos, as a weekly sheet, is certainly of interest, and although based in the United States, it typically has a somewhat international flavour. Although the individual members of the Structural Processes Group all have good English usage skills, Eos (like many) occasionally falls prey, however, to the use of various, U.S.‐particular colloquialisms or otherwise baffling cultural expressions in English, creating a bit of non‐clarity and frequently some humour. As one of the native English speakers (British) of the group, I find myself frequently translating (or occasionally unable to translate!) for my colleagues the English language colloquialisms that surface in the literature from time to time.
Paleohydrology: Understanding Global Change
Authors: Gardner Leonard R.
Published: October 2006

Raymond Bradley's masterful Paleoclimatology, published in 1999, would be a hard act for anyone to follow, so perhaps it was a bit unfair of me to have had such high expectations for Paleohydrology. The book suffers in comparison for two reasons. First, the book is basically a report of the INQUA Commission on Global Continental Paleohydrology (GLOCOPH),and thus largely serves as a vehicle for members of the Commission to describe their activities and findings for the period 1991–2002. As a result, it does not have the clarity of focus and organization, nor breadth of coverage, found in Paleoclimatology.
[Comment on “Anonymous reviews: Self‐serving, counterproductive, and unacceptable”] An Editor's view of anonymous reviews
Authors: Goff John A.
Published: October 2006

I have read with great interest the recent Forum commentaries in Eos by Myrl Beck, Charles Robinove, Robert Criss, and Anne Hofmeister regarding anonymous reviews. I heartily support their position that anonymous reviews should be avoided. I have not written an anonymous review in ages (and regret the few that I did), and have always appreciated and respected greatly anyone who signs a critical review of one of my own papers. However, I would like to add some perspective from the editorial standpoint. I have served as JGR associate editor for 3 years (never anonymously!), and as Eos editor for seismology and tectonophysics for 4.
[Comment on “Anonymous reviews: Self‐serving, counterproductive, and unacceptable”] Anecdotal information is insufficient to claim
Authors: Walder Joseph S.
Published: October 2006

I have read the recent Forum commentaries describing disgruntlement with particular anonymous reviews (1 July 2003 and 29 July 2003 issues), and nodded sympathetically. After all, who among us has not felt, at one time or another, that a reviewer badly misunderstood our contribution to the scientific literature or our grant proposal? But each of these recent Forum contributors in fact committed the elementary logical error of invoking anecdotal evidence to prove a point. I doubt that any of these correspondents would accept scientific claims based on anecdotes. Yet somehow they believe that anecdotes form a sufficient basis for claiming that anonymous reviewing is inherently a nasty business. These correspondents further employed the dubious rhetorical device of contrasting their own self‐defined, high ethical standards with those of their adversaries, whom they variously described as rude, hostile, vindictive, lazy, cowardly, selfish, bigoted against women and minorities, and attired in “the costume of crooks.” The parallel with the discourse of political argument is hard to miss.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following members in the Tectonophysics Section received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2003 EGS‐AGU‐EUG Joint Assembly in April, in Nice, France.
Naoshi Fukushima (1925–2003)
Authors: Kamide Y. , Nishida A.
Published: October 2006

On 25 June 2003, the geomagnetism and solar‐terrestrial physics community lost a pioneer and a leader in the study of the current system in the near‐Earth environment. We all were saddened to learn of the passing of Naoshi Fukushima in Tokyo at the age of 78. The 1990 recipient of AGU's Waldo E. Smith Medal, Fukushima was a life member of AGU who joined in 1960.

Fukushima was born on 19 January 1925. He was educated at the Imperial University of Tokyo, soon to become the University of Tokyo, where he received his bachelor's degree in geophysics in 1947. In 1953, he obtained a doctorate degree from the graduate school of the University of Tokyo. His doctoral thesis, titled “Polar Magnetic Storms and Geomagnetic Bays,” was highly influential for years to come. From 1951, he was an academic staff member, reaching the position of full professor in 1965 at the Geophysical Institute and Geophysics Research Laboratory (GRL) of the University of Tokyo. He had been the director of the GRL since 1973. During his tenure at the University of Tokyo, Fukushima was also a visiting fellow at a number of institutions around the world, including the University of Göttingen,the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and the University of Oslo
Students' field research extends knowledge of origin of a UNESCO World Heritage site in Germany
Authors: Jacoby Wolf , Wallner Herbert , Mertz Dieter F.
Published: October 2006

In 1992, as part of field‐based course work with the Earth science department of the Universität Minz, students began to investigate the structures of oil shale basins located in the Sprendlinger Horst, a horst‐type block forming the northeastern shoulder of the Tertiary Upper Rhine Graben in southwestern Germany (figure 1). The Sprendlinger Horst is mainly built up by Hercynian or pre‐Hercynian basement, Permian sediments, and volcanic rocks, as well as by several Tertiary alkali basalts and rare Cretaceous trachytes. In 1992, it was unknown whether the oil shale basins were of tectonic, volcanic, or even of impact origin.
U.S. announces one‐year delay for visa waiver program change
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The U.S. State Department has announced that it is delaying by one year a new rule affecting citizens from visa waiver program countries. The new rule, which was scheduled to go into effect on 1 October 2003, requires visitors from these countries to obtain non‐immigrant visas to enter the United States if they do not have machine‐readable passports. The announced delay means that this rule will now go into effect 26 October 2004 instead.

The delay does not apply to five visa waiver countries—Andorra, Brunei, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Slovenia—because most of the citizens of these nations already carry passports that are machine‐readable.
Bill would allow platforms as artificial reefs
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

A 17 September U.S. congressional hearing on environmental aspects of oil and gas development focused primarily on potentially beneficial, alternative usages of thousands of decommissioned offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere. These platforms and associated rigs would be permitted to be used as artificial reefs for corals and fish populations, mariculture sites, and scientific research stations, under the Rigs to Reef Act, House Resolution 2654. The bill, introduced by Rep. David Vitter (R‐Louisiana), is in referral in the Resources and in the Ways and Means committees of the House of Representatives.
Montreal Protocol benefits cited
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer has succeeded in eliminating the emission of millions of tons of ozone‐depleting chemicals per year, according to a report issued by the World Bank on 16 September.

The “Montreal Protocol Status Report” notes that annual global consumption of chlorofluoro‐carbons (CFCs) plummeted from 1.1 million to 150,000 tons between 1986 and 1999. Without the protocol, CFC consumption would have reached 3 million tons in 2010 and 8 million tons in 2060, according to the report.
Comments on “Anonymous reviews”
Authors: Fisher David
Published: October 2006

I'd like to suggest that the recent letters complaining about reviewers' anonymity are on the wrong track. What we need is more anonymity, not less: we need double‐blind mandatory anonymity. The main argument proposed so far is the unfairness of not being able to confront the reviewers' criticisms. But you don't need to know who someone is to be able to argue against their ideas. Reviewers' reports are spelled out clearly and can be rebutted without getting into personalities.
Comments on “Anonymous reviews”
Authors: Savov Eugene P.
Published: October 2006

I came upon the observations and experiences of Myrl Beck, Charles Robinove, Robert Criss and Anne Hofmeister in the July issues of the Eos Forum. I can say that their experiences are similar to those of my colleagues and friends, some working in different scientific fields. A colleague of mine has shown me an article that has generated mutually excluding comments by its reviewers. There also reviews 90% of whose content is dedicated to the qualifications of the reviewer, and for the rest, one or two sentences simply reject the paper, completely unaware of the presented findings.