bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New developments in ecological hydrology expand research opportunities
Authors: Post D. A. , Grant G. E. , Jones J. A.
Published: October 2006

Interdisciplinary research efforts to integrate the ecological aspects of water with its physical and societal roles have a long history as well as some interesting new developments. Small, paired, experimental watersheds, with their long‐term monitoring systems for data collection and their integrated ecosystem approach to analysis, have been at the center of recent advances.

A study now under way at such watersheds could provide a common analytic framework in ecological hydrology. The study, funded by the National Science Foundation through the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network [Swanson and Franklin, 1988], is identifying interactions among vegetation, climate, and streamflow at sites that have been studied individually for decades (Figure 1). Work so far has concentrated on seasonal variations at Andrews, Coweeta, Hubbard Brook, Luquillo, and Casper Creek, which reflect a range of precipitation amounts, types, and timing, as well as a range of forest vegetation types (Figure 2). Initial results are available on the project's Web site at www.fsl.orst.edu/~post/hydro.
Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus (1911–1998)
Authors: Knauss John
Published: October 2006

Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus, who died on March 30 at the age of 86, lived a full and varied life. His obituary in the New York Times gave prominence to his world famous collection of some 3000 antique children's toys. The Economist referred to him as the “inventor of aliens,” noting that it was the remains of one of his instrumented balloons found scattered in the sands of Roswell, New Mexico, in June 1947 that triggered the cult of believers in visitors from outer space. Robert Abel noted in a funeral eulogy that as a meteorological observer in China's Yenan Province during World War II, Spilhaus came to know and respect Mao Zedong many years before Chairman Mao came to power.
Steps proposed to resolve potential research conflicts at deep‐sea hydrothermal vents
Authors: Mullineaux Lauren , Juniper S. Kim , Desbruyeres Daniel , Cannat Mathilde
Published: October 2006

Biological researchers studying deep‐sea hydrothermal vents occasionally find themselves at odds with their colleagues. The main issue is the incompatibility of two types of investigations—some are aimed at understanding how vent systems function by monitoring them in an undisturbed state and others study processes by manipulating the system or collecting parts of it, or both. The research community could resolve this conflict, we believe, by embracing the concept of deep‐sea hydrothermal vent reserves and by adopting a fair and equitable process for establishing reserves and disseminating information about them. At the same time those who need to manipulate the system or collect specimens could work at nearby sites and share data and samples.
Lectures on Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
Authors: Samelson Roger M.
Published: October 2006

The fluid kaleidoscope of the Earth's ocean and atmosphere churns and sparkles with jets, gyres, eddies, waves, streams, and cyclones. These vast circulations, essential elements of the physical environment that support human life, are given a special character by the Earth's rotation and by their confinement to a shallow surficial layer, thin relative to the solid Earth in roughly the same proportion as an apple skin is to an apple. Geophysical fluid dynamics exploits this special character to develop a unified theoretical approach to the physics of the ocean and atmosphere.

With Lectures on Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Rick Salmon has added an insightful and provocative volume to the handful of authoritative texts currently available on the subject. The book is intended for first‐year graduate students, but advanced students and researchers also will find it useful. It is divided into seven chapters, the first four of these adapted from course lectures. The book is well written and presents a fresh and stimulating perspective that complements existing texts. It would serve equally well either as the main text for a core graduate curriculum or as a supplementary resource for students and teachers seeking new approaches to both classical and contemporary problems. A lively set of footnotes contains many references to very recent work. The printing is attractive, the binding is of high quality, and typographical errors are few.
David Breed Beard (1922–1998)
Authors: Armstrong Thomas P. , Bird Michael K. , Engle Irene M.
Published: October 2006

David Breed Beard, known for his pioneering work in planetary magnetospheres and other space physics topics, died on January 21,1998, in Portland, Maine, after a weeklong bout with pneumonia. A longtime member and fellow of AGU and the American Physical Society, David Beard served as chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, from 1964 through 1977. Following his long tenure as chairman, David Beard served as a University Distinguished Professor of Physics until his retirement in 1987. He would have been 76 years old on February 1.
Atmospheric Thermodynamics
Authors: Hornstein John
Published: October 2006

Thermodynamics is the source of indispensable results that are used daily in the atmospheric sciences. The approximate conservation of potential temperature is only one example. But thermodynamics also has the reputation for being dry, abstract, and difficult, a tool that only a few adepts can wield except by recipe. In Atmospheric Thermodynamics, Craig Bohren and Bruce Albrecht set about to demolish the subject's forbidding reputation and present it instead as an accessible tool, a ready source of physical insight, useful for understanding everyday phenomena as for research and applications, and a living subject with open problems and a sometimes surprising history.
Ten Outstanding Student Papers Awards Given at the 6th International Conference on Paleoceanography
Authors: Abrantes Fatima
Published: October 2006

To recognize student participation and promote excellence in the field of paleoceanography, the 6th International Conference on Paleoceanography (ICP6) Scientific Committee, with the support of the IMAGES project, gave awards to the best presentations by students at the recent conference held in Lisbon, Portugal, August 23–28,1998. The student papers, like almost all of the presentations at ICP6 and typical for these conferences, were presented in poster format. Student posters, and the associated printed abstracts, were evaluated by the Scientific Committee members, the poster session chairs, and the chairs of the affiliated oral sessions. The selected students each received a signed award certificate, an EXP0′98 trophy, and 1‐year complimentary subscriptions to Nature and Paleoceanography through the generosity of Nature and AGU, respectively. In light of the high‐quality work presented, ten outstanding student papers were selected.
More AGU Fall Meeting highlights
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The AGU Fall Meeting features a number of oral and poster sessions in multidisciplinary union category, and in each of AGU's geoscience sections. Some sessions are organized around themes of educational enrichment; climate and global change, including El Niño; deep Earth processes and structures; natural hazards; human impacts on the environment; mineral and rock physics; and polar processes.

While recent Eos news articles have focused on some upcoming sessions, here is a quick look at several more.
The Electrical Nature of Storms
Authors: Orville Richard E.
Published: October 2006

I am a biased reviewer. Last spring, I purchased nine copies of The Electrical Nature of Storms, five for my research group and four for our department library. In August, AGU sent me my 10th copy to review and said that I could keep it. So I have 1 % of the initial printing and invite you to acquire the remaining 99%.

This book developed from the authors' two decades of experience divided between the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma, and the meteorology and physics departments at the University of Oklahoma. The result is a modern, up‐to‐date, graduate‐level textbook on the electrical processes of storms. A fundamental understanding of meteorology and physics is sufficient to comprehend most of the text.
Imagers view comet Hale‐Bopp's sodium tail
Authors: Kupperman D. G. , Paxton L. J. , Carbary J. , Romick G. J. , Feldman P. D.
Published: October 2006

Ultraviolet, visible, and spectrographic imagers (UVISI) aboard the MSX satellite observed the sodium tail of comet Hale‐Bopp last year and successfully modeled it using a point source at the nucleus, or inner coma. UVISI also observed the comet's dust and ion tails (Figure 1).

The derived abundance of sodium is much lower than cosmic abundances, suggesting detection of only a fraction of the sodium in the comet [Kupperman et al., 1998; Cremonese et al., 1997]. The additional sodium may remain in the nucleus, in molecular species, or in the dust grains.
The Van method of earthquake prediction
Authors: Presnall Dean C.
Published: October 2006

In 1981, P. Varotsos, K. Alexopoulos, andK. Nomicos (known as VAN) proposed that certain changes in geoelectric potential are useful in the prediction of earthquakes. Their claim has caused a continuing and very contentious debate. In an effort to shed more light on the issues involved and to broaden awareness of this interesting controversy, a contribution was solicited from each side. The manuscripts were exchanged back and forth until both sides were satisfied and made no further revisions.
Conference peeks into the past and future of ocean science
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

During the past 50 fifty years, oceanographic research in the United States has birthed many landmark discoveries and programs that have changed our perception of the seas, how they work, and how mankind interacts with them. During these decades, ocean science also drifted through the Cold War as a frequent and strategic partner with the military, and then largely was weaned away from that source of funding as the National Science Foundation (NSF) became perhaps the principle supporter for the science.

Speakers at a NSF conference held in Washington, D.C. in October reviewed some of these achievements, as well as anecdotal remembrances of programs, priorities, and personalities that have shaped ocean sciences over the past five decades, since NSF was founded in 1950. Speakers also peeked into the future of oceanography and significant affects it has on climate, coastal processes, human health, and other societal concerns.
NASA plans to return to Mars with launch of pair of spacecraft
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

NASA hopes to land a one‐two punch in gleaning more information about Mars with the launch of the Mars Climate Orbiter to the red planet in December 1998 and sending the Mars Polar Lander in January 1999. As follow‐up missions to the Mars Global Surveyor and Pathfinder, the new duo will focus on mapping the planet's surface, profiling its atmosphere, and discerning details about the planet's climate and water and geological resources. These sensors could help to determine the possibility of whether living organisms have ever existed on the planet.

The Mars Climate Orbiter will start circling Mars in September 1999. When the Lander arrives that December, the Orbiter will serve as a radio relay system, beaming data to Earth. After the completion of the Lander mission, (expected to last about 60–90 Martian days through the planet's southern summer, until seasonal polar frosts may disrupt the craft's operation), the Orbiter will monitor the atmosphere, surface, and polar caps for a complete Martian year of 687 days.
Report calls for better information that could help with disaster efforts
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

The U.S. federal government should continue laying plans for an integrated disaster information network that would link disaster managers with hundreds of government, university, and private databases, recommends a new report, “Reducing Disaster Losses Through Better Information,” issued by the National Research Council's Board on Natural Disasters in November.

The report says the network could be an important tool in saving lives and minimizing losses in the United States, and that it could be expanded to include other countries once the effectiveness is tested.
Record year for losses from natural disasters
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

1998 set a new record for economic losses from weather‐related disasters, according to the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, D.C.‐based think tank. At the end of November, global losses already had totaled at least $89 billion, an amount 48% more than the previous record loss of $60 billion during 1996.

The disasters—including floods, hurricanes, droughts, and fires—also have claimed about 32,000 lives and displaced more than 300 million people, according to the group.
Space studies board issues study on NASA's Research and Data Analysis Programs
Authors: Whitney Pamela
Published: October 2006

Critical science questions must form the basis of research and data analysis (R&DA) programs at NASA, a recently published report by the Space Studies Board of the National Research Council (NRC) emphasizes. The report also warns that NASA is expecting more from its programs without assurances of adequate funding.

Called “Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis,” the report makes a number of recommendations, including the suggestion that NASA's science offices improve the link between R&DA programs and strategic plans. For example, it says the agency should link NASA Research Announcements (NRAs) to science questions in the plans and evaluate the balance between the programs' common subelements. These subelements include theoretical investigations, new instrument development, groundbased research, and data management.
New findings about auroras confirm importance of ionosphere in space weather
Authors: Newell Patrick T.
Published: October 2006

A series of recent findings about the aurora has made it clear that the ionosphere is not merely a passive recipient of magnetospheric dynamics, or space weather, but plays an important—at times even controlling—role in shaping the unfolding of those dynamics. Although some researchers have been stressing the coupling between the ionosphere and the magnetosphere for many years [see, e.g., Atkinson, 1970], the only aspect of this coupling which seems to be widely accepted is the role of the ionosphere in supplying plasma to the magnetosphere.

Eight recent statistical studies have now amply demonstrated that background ionospheric conductivity is a crucial determinant of whether intense auroral arcs form. In retrospect, this probably should not have been surprising—a fluorescent light will not fluoresce if a highly conducting alternate path such as a piece of copper wire exists. However, the results reviewed here did surprise the space physics community, and there are clear implications forsubstorm development and other magnetospheric processes which have not yet been thought through.
Oil company mergers raise concern among some geoscientists
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

With the blessings of the antitrust regulatory agencies and the ghost of John D. Rockefeller, the proposed marriage between Exxon and Mobil would create the world's largest energy company and corporation of any type. This merger also would reunite the two biggest pieces of Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company, which the U.S. Supreme Court ordered dismantled in 1911 in an antitrust case.

Exxon, Mobil, and financial analysts say the merger is driven by the need to operate more efficiently in a tough, competitive environment. The price of oil, after all, recently has been scraping near bottom of the barrel at about $11 per barrel, and companies often need to muster significant capital resources to develop more remote reservoirs.
Crucial measurement issues discussed at Geodynamics Meeting
Authors: Bonneville Alain , Pearlman Michael R.
Published: October 2006

Standardization of reference frames is a fundamental issue for comparison and integration of analysis results by different groups. Participants at the Second International Meeting of the Asia‐Pacific Space Geodynamics (APSG) program not only agreed on this point but felt that such standardization could be provided within their own measurement technique panels. APSG has five such panels, covering radio positioning techniques, gravity, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), satellite laser ranging (SLR), and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). Participants also agreed that they need to establish a reference network, or a network of fixed stations shared among all of the measurement activities, to get position and velocity measurements that can be related from one experiment to another and from one geographic area to another. The lack of such standardization has plagued other programs and made such comparisons very difficult.
Permafrost Digital Databases now available
Authors: Brown Jerry , Haggerty Chris
Published: October 2006

Two global cryospheric data products are now available in digital form: the Circum‐Arctic Map of Permafrost and Ground‐ice Conditions and the Circumpolar Active Layer System (CAPS) CD‐ROM.

Both products are the result of multinational projects of the International Permafrost Association (IPA), a program supported at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) over the past 5 years with a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. The digital data should prove useful for global climate change models and polar and mountain research and contribute to the assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
AGU Council revises procedures for endorsing policy initiatives
Authors: Folger Peter
Published: October 2006

On December 9 in San Francisco, California, the AGU Council approved revised procedures for endorsing policy statements and letters originating from other scientific societies. Several times throughout a typical year, AGU is asked to back initiatives concerning public policy related to science. Initiatives usually fall within two categories: 1) Position statements that express a consensus opinion on a science issue, such as the role of the U.S. government in funding scientific research, and 2) letters to legislators or Executive branch officials urging action on a specific topic, such as a letter signed by AGU President John Knauss last summer along with the heads of 32 other organizations urging rapid confirmation of the new Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Important findings expected from Europe's largest seismic array
Authors: Gregersen Søren , Pedersen L. B. , Roberts R. G. , Shomali H. , Berthelsen A. , Thybo H. , Mosegaard K. , Pedersen T. , Voss P. , Kind R. , Bock G. , Gossler J. , Wylegala K. , Rabbel W. , Woelbern I. , Budweg M. , Busche H. , Korn M. , Hock S. , Guterch A. , Grad M. , Wilde‐Piorko M. , Zuchniak M. , Plomerova J. , Ansorge J. , Kissling E. , Arlitt R. , Waldhauser F. , Ziegler P. , Achauer U. , Pedersen H. , Cotte N. , Paulssen H. , Engdahl E. R.
Published: October 2006

An international, interdisciplinary project, which 2 years ago deployed the largest dense seismic antenna ever in Europe, expects in the next 2 years to present important findings on the lithosphere and asthenosphere of a portion of the Trans‐European Suture Zone (TESZ). Final processing is currently under way of the data from the array of 120 seismographs along a 900‐km‐long by 100‐km‐wide strip from Gottingen, Germany, in the south, through Denmark, to Stockholm, Sweden in the north, across the northwestern part of the TESZ (Figure 1).

Project Tor is a teleseismic tomography experiment with interdisciplinary data exploitation. It extends across the broad TESZ boundary between two markedly different lithospheric domains.These are (1) Proterozoic Europe, with Precambrian crust in Sweden and eastern Europe, and (2) Phanerozoic central Europe, with most of the crust influenced by the Caledonian and Variscan orogenies and only small areas of relic Precambrian crust. The project is designed to investigate the deep lithosphere traces of the broad‐scale geology of the TESZ area, including the Tornquist Zone, from which Project Tor has its name. It is part of EUROPROBE, a major Earth science program of the European Science Foundation, which is run by a regional committee of the International Lithosphere Program.
A Potomac perspective on the growing global greenhouse
Authors: Doe Bruce R.
Published: October 2006

Large‐scale climatic patterns, rather than a growing “heat island” effect, are the overriding influence on weather in the Potomac River area, and temperature data in the area can therefore be validly compared to global trends. At least temporarily, however, the area, which includes Washington, D.C., has lost its coupling with global temperature trends.

Short‐term regional anomalies in the Potomac River area's weather, especially high summer temperatures, may promote legislative action in the U.S. Congress on long‐term global climate research. However, the current benign weather conditions in the political center of the United States tend to divert attention away from global climate research, diminishing the likelihood of significant expansion of research funding and greenhouse gas legislation.
Advanced Composition Explorer provides new insights into particle sources
Authors: Mewaldt R. A.
Published: October 2006

The January 15th issue of Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) includes a special section on results from Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE). ACE was launched in August 1997, and is now in orbit around the L1 Lagrangian point. ACE is instrumented to measure the elemental, isotopic, and ionic charge state composition of the heavy nuclei in the solar wind, solar energetic particles, and galactic cosmic rays.

As reported in the special section of GRL, a large solar particle event occurred on November 6, 1997. The energetic particle composition, as measured by ACE, was surprising with significant effects due to mass‐dependent fractionation. The isotopic abundance ratios of 13C/12C, 22Ne/20Ne, and 26Mg/24Mg were about twice as large as typical solar system values, implying charge‐to‐mass dependent acceleration. Data from ACE and the Solar, Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) show the ionic charge states of Mg, Si, and Fe increased with increasing energy for this event. This indicates that the higher energy nuclei may have come from a source millions of degrees hotter than typical coronal temperatures (∼ 1 million degrees). Several papers in the special section conclude that more than one acceleration process may have been present during the November 6 event.
Sleeping under the stars
Authors: Zirkel Jack
Published: October 2006

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. As they lay down for the night, Holmes said, “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”

Watson:“! see millions and millions of stars.”
Seismic survey probes urban earthquake hazards in Pacific Northwest
Authors: Fisher M. A. , Brocher T. M. , Hyndman R. D. , Trehu A. M. , Weaver C. S. , Creager K. C. , Crosson R. S. , Parsons T. , Cooper A. K. , Mosher D. , Spence G. , Zelt B. C. , Hammer P. T. , ten Brink U. , Pratt T. L. , Miller K. C. , Childs J. R. , Cochrane G. R. , Chopra S. , Walia R.
Published: October 2006

A multidisciplinary seismic survey earlier this year in the Pacific Northwest is expected to reveal much new information about the earthquake threat to U.S. and Canadian urban areas there. A disastrous earthquake is a very real possibility in the region.

The survey, known as the Seismic Hazards Investigation in Puget Sound (SHIPS), engendered close cooperation among geologists, biologists, environmental groups, and government agencies. It also succeeded in striking a fine balance between the need to prepare for a great earthquake and the requirement to protect a coveted marine environment while operating a large airgun array.
Sleep receives Walter H. Bucher medal
Authors: Kaula William M. , Sleep Norman
Published: October 2006

Norman H. Sleep was awarded the Walter H. Bucher Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony which was held on December 8, 1998, in San Francisco, California. The medal recognizes original contributions to the basic knowledge of the Earth's crust.
Antarctic feature named for John F. Noxon
Authors: Solomon Susan
Published: October 2006

John F. Noxon's landmark contributions to stratospheric chemistry were recently recognized through the naming of a geographical feature in Antarctica: the Noxon Cliff.

Noxon,a quintessential scientific explorer, was an international leader in the study of atmospheric chemistry and aeronomy and a member of AGU. He began his career in the 1960s as a pioneer in measurements of the airglow and aurora, research which took him to icy Greenland. In the mid‐1970s, he was among the pioneers of the technique of visible spectroscopy for measuring stratospheric trace gases, particularly nitrogen dioxide.
Field Hydrology in Tropical Countries: A Practical Introduction
Authors: Galarraga‐Sanchez Remigio H.
Published: October 2006

Hydrology is not only a highly mathematical science but also, and mainly, a practical science of measurement of main elements needed to address questions such as water balance in a basin. It is also a matter of commitment for those involved in the everyday task of taking data from instruments and providing that data to national meteorological and hydrological services. It is a highly skillful science for those who aim to understand the water cycle and its contribution to sustainable development of the environment.

Having served in a national meteorology and hydrology service in a tropical country, and having experienced the difficulties that observers go through in the field, far away from the central office, I find very familiar much of what Henry Gunston says in his book Field Hydrology in Tropical Countries: A Practical Introduction.The author himself has spent a great deal of time in the field and has a good understanding of the difficult situations that observers in tropical countries go through every day Field hydrology in many places, the tropics included, is a very difficult task because of both the lack of economic support and the lack of prepared people in the country to do the job. Most of the observers do their job because the enjoy it, hoping the next field team may bring them not only payment but also new logs to record the data and good news from the city.
Kuiper Belt may yield strange new worlds
Authors: Stansberry John
Published: October 2006

In 1992, a new member of our solar system was discovered by D.Jewitt and J.Luu. This body, 1992QB1, follows a slightly elliptical, low‐inclination orbit approximately 14 astronomical units (AUs), or about 2 billion km, beyond the orbit of Neptune. It and approximately 80 others subsequently discovered in trans‐Neptunian orbits are the tip of an iceberg representing a potential scientific bonanza for scientists interested in the origins of our solar system—the Kuiper belt.

A workshop last summer,“Exploration of the Kuiper belt: Where do we go from here?,” focused on defining the most interesting questions regarding the Kuiper belt. A report summarizing these questions and outlining strategies for answering them is to be published.
Ernie Kanasewich (1931–1998)
Authors: Schmitt Douglas R. , Sherif Helmy , Burianyk Michael
Published: October 2006

Ernest R. Kanasewich, a pioneer in the development of active source seismology as a tool in the exploration both of hydrocarbon resources and of the Earth's crust and upper‐most mantle, died in Edmonton, Alberta, on June 19, 1998, at the age of 67.

Born in rural Saskatchewan, Ernie received his B.Sc. in physics at the University of Alberta in 1952. He was introduced to geophysics when hired as a seismologist at Geophysical Services Incorporated, a subsidiary of Texas Instruments. He worked in both Canada and the Middle East for 6 formative years, during which he gained considerable practical knowledge of the capabilities of seismic methods. He returned to the University of Alberta to complete an M.Sc. in physics in 1960 on gravity methods in the nascent geophysics program begun under George Garland. He obtained his Ph.D.with R.Don Russell in 1962 on newly developed methods of isotopic lead age dating. He took a record 2 years for his Ph.D. research, and the work even resulted in publications with implications for cosmology Ernie returned to the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta in 1963 as an assistant professor rising to full professor of physics in 1971. Aside from a 1‐year sabbatical as a research associate professor at the Seismological Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, he remained at the University of Alberta until his retirement in 1996. Despite a severe pulmonary illness, Ernie continued his research and writing until the end. He was scheduled to present a scientific paper at the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists the day before his passing. He was heavily involved in the department, having served as the associate chair from 1967 to 1973 and as acting chair from 1973 to 1974. He served as chair over the very difficult period of severe funding cutbacks from 1991 to 1996. He was also director of the Institute of Geophysics, Meteorology, and Space Physics from 1991 to 1993.
Foundations of Geomagnetism
Authors: Jackson Andy
Published: October 2006

The study of the magnetic field of the Earth, or geomagnetism, is one of the oldest lines of scientific enquiry. Indeed, it has often been said that William Gilbert's De Magnete, published in 1600 and predating Isaac Newton's Principia by 87 years, can claim to be the first true scientific textbook; his study was essentially the first of academic rather than practical interest.

What then, we may ask, has been accomplished in the nearly 400 intervening years up to the publication of Foundations of Geomagnetism? In short, a wealth of observational evidence, considerable physical understanding, and a great deal of mathematical apparatus have accrued, placing the subject on a much surer footing.The latter two categories are described in considerable detail, and with attendant rigor, in this book. The sphericity of the Earth means that a frequent theme in the book is the solution of the partial differential equations of electrodynamics in a spherical geometry.
Reactive Transport in Porous Media
Authors: Salvage Karen M.
Published: October 2006

Reactive Transport in Porous Media was prepared in conjunction with a Mineralogical Society of America short course. The objective of the course and this companion text was to provide an expansive, multidisciplinary treatment of reactive transport in porous media. This work focuses on developing an improved quantitative and qualitative understanding of the individual physical and biogeochemical processes involved and the complexity of their combined effects through numerical modeling of these systems. Although the focus is on modeling, the editors and authors provide an excellent presentation of the relevant physics, geology, geochemistry, microbiology and hydrology as well as the mathematical and numerical representation of these systems.
Dunlop receives European Geophysical Society's Néel Medal
Authors: Tauxe Lisa
Published: October 2006

David J. Dunlop of the Physics Department and Erindale College at the University of Toronto has been awarded the 1999 Louis Néel Medal of the European Geophysical Society (EGS) for “authoritative contributions to rock magnetism, setting the standards for future decades.” The medal will be presented to Dunlop in April in a special ceremony at the Nederlands Congresbebouw in The Hague, The Netherlands, during the 24th General Assembly of the EGS.

The Néel Medal is awarded by the Solid Earth Geophysics section of EGS in recognition of the scientific achievements of Louis Néel, who shared the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics for his fundamental discoveries in magnetism.The medal is awarded “for outstanding achievements in the fertilization of the Earth Sciences by the transfer and application of fundamental theory and/or experimental techniques of solid state physics, defined in its broadest sense.”
Taking a clear look at cloud‐covered oceanic islands on a seasonal basis
Authors: Garvin James B. , Mahmood Ahmed , Giguere Christine
Published: October 2006

All‐weather spaceborne imaging of isolated oceanic islands is opening the door to some new, previously unfeasible studies of global environmental change.The first orbital synthetic aperture radar (SAR) views of some relatively small,yet important islands have provided icecover and other data that until recently have been impossible to gather.These islands, whose geologic histories are dominated by the interactions of volcanism, glacier dynamics, and marine erosion, are often cloud enshrouded but can be monitored by SAR regardless of cloud cover or solar illumination.

Oceanic islands are often overlooked components of the global Earth system. Yet their landscapes and ecosystems provide natural laboratories for investigating the effects of various natural and anthropogenic forcing factors in an essentially closed, controlled environment.
Position statement
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have substantially increased as a consequence of fossil fuel combustion and other human activities. These elevated concentrations of greenhouse gases are predicted to persist in the atmosphere for times ranging to thousands of years. Increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases affect the Earth‐atmosphere energy balance, enhancing the natural greenhouse effect and thereby exerting a warming influence at the Earth's surface. Although greenhouse gas concentrations and their climatic influences are projected to increase, the detailed response of the system is uncertain. Principal sources of this uncertainty are the climate system's inherent complexity and natural variability The increase in global mean surface temperatures over the past 150 years appears to be unusual in the context of the last few centuries, but it is not clearly outside the range of climate variability of the last few thousand years.The geologic record of the more distant past provides evidence of larger climate variations associated with changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide. These changes appear to be consistent with present understanding of the radiative properties of carbon dioxide and the influence of climate on the carbon cycle.There is no known geologic precedent for the transfer of carbon from the Earth's crust to atmospheric carbon dioxide, in quantities comparable to the burning of fossil fuels, without simultaneous changes in other parts of the carbon cycle and climate system.This close coupling between atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate suggests that a change in one would in all likelihood be accompanied by a change in the other.
Macquarie Island mapping reveals three tectonic phases
Authors: Goscombe B. D. , Everard J. L.
Published: October 2006

The first detailed mapping of Macquarie Island, perhaps the world's quintessential ophiolite has revealed three tectonic phases—extension, transtension, and transpression. Nearly all of the crust and most deformational structures formed during the first phase (D1), which involved extension along the paleo‐Macquarie seafloor spreading axis. Magmatism, block tilting, and large‐scale differential block uplift were synchronous, resulting in juxtaposition of disparate rock associations characteristic of different crustal levels. As D1 waned, the second phase (D2) developed. Involving transtension with a north‐south extension axis, it produced minor late‐stage dolerite dikes and seafloor volcanic centers.The third phase (D3), still in progresses dextral transpression. Its initiation along the Australia‐Pacific plate boundary terminated igneous activity and extension on the island.The D3 shortening axis trends east‐west to northeast‐southwest.
Report emphasizes connections between oceans and human health
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Although the oceans cover 70% of the Earth's surface, scientists and the public are just beginning to understand this vast realm's role in human health. And oceanic influences reach far beyond pollution and food supply.

A new report by the Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council attempts to pull together an overview of many of the positive and negative influences of ocean phenomena on human health—aside from pollution, which the board said was beyond its scope and has been handled in many other reports.
Earth Under Siege: From Air Pollution to Global Change
Authors: Friend James P.
Published: October 2006

Lucky indeed are the students taking Richard Turco's course and using his book, Earth Under Siege: From Air Pollution to Global Change. They have an enthusiastic and communicative lecturer who is a true authority in his field and who passionately devotes his efforts to enlightening his students.The passion is evident in the text, but it never interferes with the rigor of the material presented.

Earth Under Siege is based on lectures given by Turco in a popular course for undergraduate students of all stripes at the University of California at Los Angeles. Student knowledge that is provided by a high school college preparatory curriculum is assumed.The style is engagingly informal and the book is a delight to read. Sprinkled throughout are pithy comments, many humorous, that are designed to heighten student understanding and interest. They also reveal Turco's personal opinions about issues of air pollution. However, despite the title, it is clear that Turco is not an environmental zealot. He is scientifically accurate and thorough in presenting vital information about air pollution on all scales, local through global. He is also clear‐eyed and nondoctrinaire in presenting social, political, and economic aspects of air pollution. His devotion is to the education of individuals who can become informed members of an environmentally aware society.
Principles and Applications of Imaging Radar, Manual of Remote Sensing, 3rd Edition, Volume 2
Authors: Moran M. Susan
Published: October 2006

Aerial photographs and digital images from orbiting optical scanners are a daily source of information for the general public through newspapers, television, magazines, and posters. Such images are just as prevalent in scientific journal literature. In the last 6 months, more than half of the weekly issues of Eos published an image acquired by a remote digital sensor. As a result, most geoscientists are familiar with the characteristics and even the acronyms of the current satellites and their optical sensors, common detector filters, and image presentation. In many cases, this familiarity has bred contempt. This is so because the limitations of optical sensors (imaging in the visible and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum) can be quite formidable. Images of the surface cannot be acquired through clouds, and image quality is impaired with low‐light conditions (such as at polar regions), atmospheric scattering and absorption, and variations in sun/sensor/surface geometry.
Ocean site survey reveals anatomy of a hotspot track
Authors: Flueh E. R. , Grevemeyer I. , Reichert C.
Published: October 2006

Seismological field work at a future International Ocean Network (ION) seafloor observatory has provided a unique three‐dimensional seismic image of Ninetyeast Ridge (Figure 1), a 5000‐km‐long hotspot track in the Indian Ocean. Preliminary results indicate that crust within the adjacent ocean basins is typically oceanic, with a mean crustal thickness of about 7 km. Approaching Ninetyeast Ridge, crust thickens to 25 km. Sedimentary cover varies considerably on the volcanic edifice and newly identified small volcanoes resisted erosion near the wave base before lithospheric cooling generated 2000 m of subsidence.
Government Panel recommends methods for measuring applied and basic research
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

While applied research that is geared to specific outcomes may readily lend itself to measurement and evaluation, some scientists question whether such benchmarks also can pertain to basic research—where all of the outcomes and future applications seldom are known in advance—without stunting such general, and often very significant, searches for knowledge.

Now, a new report by a U.S. government panel cautiously but firmly recommends that both types of research can and should be measured, in order to meet the goals of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, or GPRA.
Women, minorities make advances in science and engineering higher education
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

While the number of U.S. women and underrepresented minority group members earning baccalaureate to doctoral degrees in science and engineering (S&E) fields rose significantly from 1985 to 1995, the representation of these groups still remains below their representation in the U.S. population of 18‐to 30‐year‐olds, according to a recent data brief issued by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Science Resources Studies. In the study, “underrepresented” minorities include African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans.

The number of women receiving S&E bachelor's degrees increased by 36% (from 129,000 to 176,000) to equal 46% of all S&E bachelor's degrees awarded. During that same time period, the number of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority recipients of S&E bachelor's degrees increased by 62% (from 32,000 to 52,000), and accounted for 13.5% of all S&E bachelor's degrees awarded.
Holocene Antarctic's coastal environment, ice sheet, and sea levels explored
Authors: Goodwin I. , Berkman P. , Hjort C. , Hirakawa K.
Published: October 2006

Efforts are in the works to resolve a several‐decade‐long debate over the size and extent of the Antarctic ice sheet and its role in sea levels during the last glacial cycle. Researchers also want to find out more about the nature of environmental changes around the Antarctic coast throughout the Holocene, the sensitivity of the ice sheet to warm periods, and the significance of pre‐Holocene marine fossils there.

Scientists concerned with these issues presented their research priorities last fall at an Antarctic ice margin evolution (ANTIME) workshop, “Circum‐Antarctic Coastal Environmental Variability and Sea Level History During the Late Quaternary.” These workshop participants included coastal and glacial geomorphologists, geochemists, and paleoecologists.
Book about Earth's magnetotail wins award
Authors: White Catherine
Published: October 2006

A book published by AGU in 1998 has received the Association of American Publishers/Scholarly Publishing Division's award for best book in the physics and astronomy category. The book, New Perspectives on the Earth's Magnetotail, records the great achievements in magnetotail physics over the past decade.The book was judged on both its scientific merits and relevance to society.

The award‐winning volume, which drew much from the new information obtained by the GEOTAIL mission, provides first‐hand information on the generation mechanisms for energetic particles. By revealing many of the basic properties of the plasma that fills the universe from the solar system to distant galaxies, it provides a basis for understanding cosmic processes.
Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography
Authors: Jay David A.
Published: October 2006

Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography fills a real need for a single‐volume summary of such methods suitable for both graduate teaching and research use. It is very successful in meeting its primary objective—to be a practical guide to oceanographic data collection and analysis that provides the reader with a solid understanding of both logistical difficulties and data analysis theory. The writing is clear and succinct. Furthermore, the book's coverage is even broader than the title suggests. The first 158 pages summarize physical oceanographic data collection methods from the obvious to the obscure. Because of its broad scope, it is sometimes less complete than one might wish with regard to new developments. Even when this is true, however, references to a fuller treatment are usually provided.
Comment [on “Norwegians led the way in training wartime weather officers”]
Authors: McPeak William
Published: October 2006

With such a rarity of historical pieces dealing with the atmospheric sciences, Sheldon Levin's article (Eos, December 30, 1997) recalling the wartime weather school at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) was most welcomed. For further perspective's sake, I wish to point out a few discrepancies in the article as well as some background information.

Jacob Bjerknes, Jorgen Holmboe,and Harald Sverdrup were all disciples of Jacob's father's (Vilhelm Bjerknes) seminal dynamic/synoptic meteorology work (the so called Bergen School) in Norway early in the century. Sverdrup was among the first students—followed by Jacob, then Holmboe. Joseph Kaplan of UCLA actively recruited Jacob, whose offer from Berkeley was from the geography department rather than the geology department.
Fewer USGS Streamgaging Stations could pose problems for flood forecasting, Report cautions
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Although the risk of flooding along rivers has not decreased in the United States over the past several decades, the number of stations in the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) streamgaging network has dropped significantly during that same time period, according to a new report by the agency to Congress, “A New Evaluation of the USGS Streamgaging Network.”

The decline in streamgaging stations also is affecting the ability to forecast long‐term changes and determine water quality, the report states.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Tectonophysics Section presented four outstanding student paper awards at the 1998 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
Pangaea theory wins out
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: October 2006

Iliana Jäätmaa may not fully understand how plate tectonics work. But the eighth grader at Walkersville Middle School in Walkersville, Maryland,created an award‐winning desktop model of Pangaea that works by strings, levers, rubber bands, and other basic items.

The “simple elegance” of plywood cutout land masses gliding atop a 32″×20″ board, with the help of 2 C‐size batteries, earned her top honors in the group of 6th to 9th graders in this year's Duracell/National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) scholarship competition. For her creation, “Pangaea, A World in Motion,” she also received a $20,000 U.S.savings bond.
Halliday receives 1998 Norman Bowen Award
Authors: Carlson Richard W. , Halliday Alex
Published: October 2006

Alex Halliday was awarded the Norman Bowen Award in San Francisco, California, in December 1998. The award is given in recognition of an outstanding achievement in volcanology, geochemistry, and petrology during the last 5 years.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Volcanology Geochemistry, and Petrology (VGP) Section presented four outstanding student paper awards at the 1998 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Geodesy Section presented four outstanding student paper awards at the 1998 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.