bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
[Comment on “Broad‐based programs make the grade”] Broad‐based program has many payoffs
Authors: Platzman George W.
Published: October 2006

“Broad‐Based Geoscience Programs Make the Grade” [Eos, August 30,1994” gives a fair and balanced view. I write to add a supplement to my remarks there, which otherwise could give an impression that bachelor's degrees were a principal result of the merger that created our geoscience department. Apart from the fact that we always primarily emphasized graduate education—after as well as before the merger—I have often expressed the view that perhaps the most important result of the merger was the ability to attract interdisciplinary scientists to our broad‐based department, who in most cases would not have felt comfortable in the traditional geology or meteorology department. This has many obvious payoffs, in research, education, and not least, visibility.
In Brief: South Pole Odyssey
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Ulysses completed its southern polar pass Nov. 5 bringing an end to the first phase of its mission. Already, NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) scientists report some preliminary findings. In the Sun's polar regions, the solar wind flows about twice as fast—at a velocity of about 750 km/s—as the speed at which the solar wind flows at lower latitudes. Cosmic ray intensity is also increased in this high latitude region, but not as much as scientists had predicted. Ulysses has also made some new observations about the Sun's magnetic field. From ground‐based measurements, scientists had concluded that as the Sun rotates, the magnetic poles go around, indicating that the Sun would have a magnetic field with magnetic poles that are different from the Sun's north and south poles.
Chapman Conference on Hydrogeological Processes Promotes Interaction
Authors: Torgersen Thomas
Published: October 2006

An AGU Chapman Conference, “Hydrogeological Processes: Building and Testing Atomistic‐to‐Basin‐Scale Models,” brought together over 70 Earth scientists from diverse fields to assess the state‐of‐the‐art and to discuss the means and mechanisms to build and test process models that produce probabilities rather than just possibilities. It became clear that this cross‐disciplinary group of hydrologists, petrologists, metamorphic petrologists, quantum mechanical chemists, fluid geochemists, acoustic and electrical geophysicists, and rock mechanics researchers shared a large overlap in their intellectual pursuits with a complementary overlap in their approaches and conceptualizations. Given the need to construct integrated and parametrically realistic coupled models of non‐steady state fluid flow, the meeting addressed the critical question of how to integrate the capabilities of individual disciplines.

The conference was convened at the Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, N.H., from June 6 to 9, 1994, amid a minimum of black flies and a maximum of ambiance. The meeting initially organized itself into two philosophically contrasting styles of investigation: some wanted to extract and explore the broad generalities of hydrogeological processes (possible scenarios), while others preferred to examine the specifics of hydrogeologic processes with both theoretical studies and observations.
Lost members
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The following is a list of lost members of the AGU, the date joined, and the section affiliation; if you can update an address for any of these members, please contact Sue Kauffman at AGU (e‐mail skauffman@kosmos.agu.org).
Hydrologists to follow Powell's footsteps
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

About 125 years ago, John Wesley Powell and George M. Wheeler led two separate and competing scientific investigations across the Colorado Plateau. Little did they know that the region would become a major focus of hydrology, geomorphology, sedimentology, and stratigraphy research in the years to come. In fact, the region became the birthplace of many classic concepts in geomorphology, including those which Powell conceived on his first trek down the canyons of the Green and Colorado rivers in 1869. Some of his concepts are still in use.
Hot action at the core‐mantle boundary
Authors: Jeanloz Raymond , Romanowicz Barbara
Published: October 2006

Recent discoveries about the Earth's most prominent internal feature, the core‐mantle boundary, were revealed at a workshop just held at the University of California at Berkeley. The latest seismological evidence points to the interface between the mantle and core being among the most dynamically active regions of the planetary interior.

Though distant, at 2890 km depth, the core‐mantle boundary is significant: the contrasts in properties across this interface exceed even those between air and rock at the Earth's surface. Processes at the core's boundary influence the rotation and magnetic field of our planet and play an important role in the cycle of mantle convection that drives plate tectonics. In the interest of reviewing recent findings and coordinating future research, a workshop on Structure of the Core‐Mantle Boundary and DH Region was held from September 10 to 11. Such workshops are among the activities sponsored by the new Cooperative Studies of the Earth's Deep Interior (CSEDI) initiative at the National Science Foundation.
Solar activity and geomagnetic storms: The first 40 years
Authors: Cliver E. W.
Published: October 2006

This article is the first of a series of three that traces the evolution of our understanding of the relationship between solar and geomagnetic activity from the mid‐19th century to the present era.

The origin of solar‐terrestrial physics is generally traced to Sabine's recognition in 1852 that geomagnetic activity paralleled the recently discovered sunspot cycle. Perhaps less well appreciated is the slow and uneven pace of progress since then in forging definite links between solar and geomagnetic activity. Thus 50 years after the initial excitement attending Sabine's discovery, the role of the Sun as the fundamental cause of magnetic storms was a matter of contention, and nearly a century would pass before statistics were sufficient to make a convincing case for an association between large solar flares and severe storms.
U.S. Geoscience Community gains an absolute gravimeter
Authors: Bilham Roger , Sasagawa Glenn
Published: October 2006

An FG5 absolute gravimeter, which measures the gravitational acceleration of a retroreflector falling freely within an evacuated tube, is now available for use by U.S. university investigators. It will be housed as a National Science Foundation facility at NOAA's Table Mountain Gravity Observatory of the Geosciences Laboratory in Boulder, where similar units are prepared for worldwide deployment.

U.S. investigators are invited to apply the FG5 gravimeter to geophysical investigations of gravitational acceleration that require microgal accuracy and unequivocal long‐term stability. The instrument is expected to be used in more than a dozen projects each year. Funding for geophysical applications of the device will be subject to normal peer review processes; in case of scheduling conflicts, the allocation of time on the gravimeter will be refereed by a user committee.
New software models thermodynamics of magmatic systems
Authors: Ghiorso Mark S. , Hirschmann Marc M. , Sack Richard O.
Published: October 2006

A new software package, MELTS, is now available for modeling crystal‐liquid equilibria in magmatic systems. MELTS is based on experimentally calibrated models for the thermodynamics of solution of magmatic liquids and solids [Ghiorso and Sack, 1994; Hirschmann and Ghiorso, 1994]. The package computes equilibrium phase assemblages—the compositions and proportions of coexisting liquids and solids—by direct minimization of the thermodynamic potential of the system [Ghiorso and Kelemen, 1987]. MELTS has a menu driven, interactive, graphical user interface and may be used to model a range of igneous processes including equilibrium or fractional crystallization of specified bulk compositions, crystallization paths under specified T‐f02, total enthalpy, total entropy, or total volume constraints, and assimilation or magma mixing in evolving magmatic systems.
A new Moon
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Moon may be much less dense and brighter than scientists once thought, according to observations made by the joint Defense Department‐NASA mission Clementine. In fact, there is likely much more space between the dusty particles that make up the Moon's fragile surface than scientists thought. About 95% of the surface is not occupied or about 5% is actually particulate in nature, according to Bonnie J. Buratti, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., who reported the finding last week at AGU's Fall Meeting in San Francisco. Before the mission, scientists generally believed that the surface was more compact, or closer to about 85% unoccupied. But Clementine has changed this perception. The Clementine mission also enabled scientists to view the Moon when it is fully illuminated, which is not possible from ground‐based observations because the Earth itself interferes with the path of light from the Sun to the Moon.
Spacecraft to explore the outer heliosphere
Authors: Axford W. I. , Suess S. T.
Published: October 2006

In explaining and describing the forces that shape the bubble of solar wind surrounding the Sun, space physicists confront a dearth of information. But observations from space should soon alleviate this situation. Three spacecraft moving away from the Sun—Pioneer 10 and Voyagers 1 and 2—are expected to penetrate the boundaries of the heliosphere within the next few years. All three spacecraft first passed close to Jupiter, but now their extended missions have become exploration of the outer heliosphere.
Call for candidate models for IGRF, 1995 revision
Authors: Barton C. E.
Published: October 2006

IAGA Working Group V‐8 (Analysis of the global and regional geomagnetic field and its secular variation) is seeking numerical models of the main‐field and its secular variation as candidates for the 1995 revision of the International Geomagnetic Reference Field. The following spherical harmonic models are required: a definitive main‐field model for epoch 1990.0 (IGRF 1990); an interim main‐field model for epoch 1995.0 (IGRF1995); a secular variation model for the interval 1995.0‐2000.0 (as part of IGRF 1995); and, possibly, a definitive main‐field models at 5‐year epochs from 1900.0 to 1940.0.
High‐altitude flashes mystify scientists
Authors: Wakefield Julie
Published: October 2006

San Francisco—Until a few years ago, the only place mysterious flashes high above thunderstorm clouds received much respect was in the pages of the Handbook of Unusual Natural Phenomena. Although over the course of the past century there were various anecdotal accounts scattered in the scientific literature, most scientists didn't take reports of upward‐shooting lightning seriously.

Nowadays, all that has changed, however. In the very hard‐core atmospheric research arena, the luminous discharges are taking center stage. And scientists no longer think that the elusive flashes are rare or isolated events. In fact, in the past couple of years, scientists from four institutions have put more than 1000 sightings of the so‐called “sprites” in the files.
Earth scientists ponder the Earth's core at 1994 SEDI Symposium
Authors: Crossley David
Published: October 2006

More than 120 specialists on the interior structure and dynamics of the Earth converged at Whistler Mountain, British Columbia on August 7–12 for the Fourth International Study of the Earth's Deep Interior (SEDI) Symposium. The idea of confining geodesists, seismologists, magnetohydrodynamicists, and geochemists to the same session no longer seems as novel as when SEDI began the tradition in 1985. Nonetheless, the biennial SEDI symposia are still the focal point for studies of the Earth's core and core‐mantle boundary regions, as are the various SEDI‐related sessions at popular scientific meetings such as the AGU. The papers will be summarized in detail in the next issue of Deep Earth Dialog, the SEDI newsletter.
Galileo brings new weight to studies of Jupiter System
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

As project scientist Torrence Johnson put it, “The status report on Galileo is both happy and simple. Jupiter now has 17 moons. And Jupiter also put on a little weight…about 350 kilograms.”

The new satellite of Jupiter is NASA's Galileo orbiter, which has successfully inserted itself (with some help from the flight team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory) into orbit around the giant gaseous planet. Jupiter's new heft comes from the Galileo probe, which was incinerated and absorbed into Jupiter's atmosphere after about an hour's worth of work.
Sediment reveals early Holocene climate change in China
Authors: Banerjee Subir K.
Published: October 2006

A major question regarding paleorecords is whether the easy‐to‐acquire oceanic record can be validated by continental proxy records that are available only from the Arctic and Antarctic ice cores. The ice core records may not provide a complete record of the changes that have occurred in the temperate and tropical regions of the continents. Thick (100–300 m) deposits of wind‐borne dust in China are providing new insight into paleoclimate. These deposits vie with the ice cores in providing a record of continuous accumulation over the last 2.6 m.y., but they are poorer in temporal resolution than the ice cores.
Trace contaminants measured in the Atlantic Ocean
Authors: Cutter Gregory A. , Landing William M. , Measures Chris I. , Yeats Philip A.
Published: October 2006

The concentrations and distributions of more than 18 trace metals were recently measured in both deep and surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean by two international sampling efforts. The measurements serve a dual purpose: they are valuable for monitoring elemental concentrations and also have the power to reveal biogeochemical processes that affect trace metals. This information is critically important for predicting the fate of any potential contaminant in the marine environment. Preliminary results from the two surveys show that the major water masses in the Atlantic have characteristic trace metal signatures and that the simultaneous use of multiple tracers to unravel geochemical questions is quite promising.
Scientists, educators prepare for Mars Pathfinder mission
Authors: Edgett Kenneth S. , Rice James W. , Golombek Matthew P.
Published: October 2006

Mars scientists, engineers, and 13 K‐12 educators invaded eastern Washington's Channeled Scabland for a week in September to explore terrain similar to the kind Mars Pathfinder will encounter when it touches down on the red planet on July 4, 1997. Through field trips and workshops, the scientists and engineers reached consensus on a number of issues about Mars history and shared their knowledge and enthusiasm with the public. The teachers, who came from Washington and Idaho, witnessed engineering, scientific investigation, and debate in action, and acquired a great deal of knowledge about Mars that they can bring back to their classrooms and communities.

“We worked side by side with the scientists and engineers as they researched, experimented, problem‐solved and debated different aspects of the Mars Pathfinder mission,” explained high school teacher John Gallagher.
Fallout from U.S. Government shutdown will be long lasting
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

When those American government employees engaged in science research and administration returned to work on January 11, they found mountains of paperwork, hundreds of phone messages, and a laundry list of meetings, panels, and publishing deadlines to reschedule. The furlough of federal workers may be over, but the residual effects of three weeks of lost time will last longer than the snow drifts that piled up in the nation's capital this winter.

From data sets left ungathered to those that may never be, from grant proposals that have not been reviewed to grant awards yet unpaid, a great deal of American scientific research has been crippled, at least temporarily, by the furlough. And the damage is not limited to federal offices; with so much science and the funding for it tied to the government, private institutions and university researchers have suffered indirect but perhaps more potent effects.
Under the sea
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Oceanographers in America's Pacific Northwest hope to be awash soon in real‐time data from volcanoes on the ocean floor. That's because a group of scientists led by John Delaney of the University of Washington and Fred Spiess of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography are planning to establish permanent seafloor volcano observatories in the Pacific Ocean.

Those two observatories will not house scientists; they will shelter an array of monitors and instruments to keep a real‐time watch on undersea ridge systems where volcanoes erupt, superheated water and minerals are spewed from hydrothermal vents, and new seafloor is created. They will also observe the vast microbial communities that thrive in the darkest depths of the ocean near such otherwise toxic vents.
Katsouras to receive Ocean Sciences Award at Meeting
Authors: Fine Rana
Published: October 2006

Mary Hope Katsouros, Director of the National Academy of Sciences, Ocean Studies Board is this year's recipient of the 1996 Ocean Sciences Award, presented by the Ocean Sciences Section of AGU.

The Award is offered for excellence and long‐standing service contributions to the Ocean Sciences. This year's award will be presented to Mary Hope Katsouros for her untiring efforts to enhance the Ocean Sciences, using her extraordinary management and leadership skills to help bridge the gap between scientists and policy makers.
Rethinking Science as a Career
Authors: McFadden Lucy
Published: October 2006

Sheila Tobias, Daryl E. Chubin, and Kevin Aylesworth, The Research Corporation, Tucson, AZ $2.50.

The imbalance between the current supply of Ph.D. scientists in the United States and positions available is alarming. A triumvirate of science policy analysts addresses this issue in a new report, Rethinking Science as a Career. The problem, the authors write, is that society is training scientists who are not finding jobs.
More neighbors
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Just 3 months after the discovery of a planet around the star 51 Pegasus, Geoffrey Marcy and Paul Butler of San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley announced that they have found two Jupiter‐sized planets orbiting stars just 35 light years from Earth. Studying the stars 70 Virginis (in the constellation Virgo) and 47 Ursae Majoris (in the Big Dipper and Ursa Major), Marcy and Butler detected a tell‐tale wobble in the motion of each star. Essentially, the researchers observed slight modulations in the light coming from the star, which are attributed to the gravitational tugs between planets and stars.

The planet around 70 Virginis is believed to have a mass nine times that of Jupiter, an orbital period of 116 days at 0.43 AU from the star, and a temperature of roughly 85°C.
Access NOx and NOy measurements on‐line
Authors: Carroll Mary Anne , Emmons Louise
Published: October 2006

An archive of previously published, but not publicly archived, in situ measurements of NO1, NO2 and NOy (total reactive nitrogen) in the atmosphere is now accessible by anonymous ftp at the University of Michigan. Measurements from the nonurban surface, boundary layer, free troposphere and lower stratosphere, for all seasons over the past 10 years have been included in the archive. Any coincident measurements of other species or parameters, such as temperature or winds, have also been included. These data sets and the climatologies compiled from them will be used in conjunction with model results to assess our level of understanding of tropospheric photochemistry.
International group examines earthquake ruptures in Mongolia
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

Four great and several moderate earthquakes have struck Mongolia and its surrounding area this century, leaving in their wake some of the most spectacular and well‐preserved surface faulting in the world [Baljinnyam et al., 1993]. Last August 22 foreign scientists, hosted by a team of Mongolian scientists, explored the extraordinarily well‐preserved surface ruptures of two major Mongolian earthquakes: the 1967 Mogod earthquake (Mw = 7.0) and the 1957 Gobi‐Altay earthquake (Mw = 8.1). The group studied not only extraordinarily well‐preserved surface ruptures, but also the geomorphology of terrain responding to a cold, dry climate, where erosion is slow and fault ruptures cut pediment surfaces. Mongolia is an excellent laboratory for studying the surface expression of infrequent earthquakes, such as those that occur in the eastern United States.
Highlights of December 1995 Council Meeting
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

One of the most important pieces of business each December is the adoption of the annual budget for the Union. At the Council Forum on the Sunday preceding the Council meeting, the budget was reviewed in detail and a 5‐year financial model was presented and discussed. The following key features of 1996 budget are included: The surplus in operations is approximately $456K, about 2% over expense. The highest level priorities in the AGU Plan have been covered in the 1996 budget. Many lower level priorities can also be achieved within this budget.
Jupiter's atmosphere defies predictions
Authors: Carlowicz Michael
Published: October 2006

A month late in coming, the weather report is finally in from Jupiter, and the skies seem to be hotter, windier, drier, and clearer—but much less electric—than most forecasters predicted. In fact, the preliminary data gathered from the Galileo probe may lead planetary scientists to rethink not just the meteorology of the gaseous planet, but its very origins. The preliminary results were presented on January 22 from NASA's Ames Research Center.

According to measurements made by the probe's atmospheric structure instrument and interpreted by Alvin Sieff, a principal investigator from San Jose State University, the temperature at Jupiter ranged from −144°C at the top of the ammonia‐cloud covered atmosphere to +152°C at 600 km into it. Pressures ranged from 400 millibars to 22 bars over the same descent path, compressing the gases in some places to densities 100 times greater than previously postulated. The extremes of temperature and pressure created a vertical convective motion in the atmosphere, stirring up turbulent east‐ to‐west (or prograde) winds reaching 531 km/hr, more than 50% stronger than most predictions.
Diseases of the Earth's skin
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The German Government's Scientific Advisory Council on Global Climate Change recently diagnosed a score of ailments of the “Earth's skin,” according to the German Research Service. Like numerous viral and bacterial diseases, many of the earthidermal diseases are named for the regions where scientists first discovered them. For some symptoms, the German Council has also recommended therapeutic treatments, such as terracing of slopes near rivers. It remains to be seen whether universities worldwide will start cranking out specialists in Earth dermatology. But judging by the condition of many regions of the world, it appears this field may offer great growth potential for the Earth sciences, which is welcome news in the current tight job market.
Congressional Science Fellow warns— stand and be counted
Authors: Applegate David
Published: October 2006

The House Republicans' Contract with America has served as a political wake‐up call for many geoscientists. If the recommended budget cuts accompanying the Contract are passed, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Bureau of Mines would be eliminated and the Minerals Management Service would be reduced by 50%.

These are just a few of the many cuts being called for by House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich (R‐Ohio). The National Science Foundation (NSF) would see an increase in funding but at a rate fixed below inflation, resulting in an effective decrease in constant dollars. And while the chairman of the newly renamed House Science Committee, Bob Walker (R‐Penn.), has been a vocal supporter of basic research, his committee has warned officials at NSF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency that they should expect less money and more cuts in the coming year.
David Robert Bates (1916–1994)
Authors: Rishbeth Henry , Rees Manfred
Published: October 2006

David Robert Bates, a foremost space researcher whose professional accolades included knighthood by the British Crown for his contributions to science and education, was born in Omagh, Northern Ireland, and graduated in 1937 from Queen's University, Belfast. In 1939 he became a research student at University College, London. Here under the supervision of his mentor, Sir Harrie Massey, the doyen of British Space research, he developed his interest in the theory of atomic processes, which became the basis of his life's work. Like so many scientists of his generation, his talents were harnessed during World War II, his particular contribution being in the techniques of “degaussing” ships to protect them from magnetic mines. It was on his return to UCL that he and Massey carried out the pioneering work that gave a firm underpinning of atomic theory to upper atmosphere science.
Jacobs receives the Fleming Medal
Authors: Merrill Ronald T. , Jacobs John A.
Published: October 2006

John A. Jacobs was awarded the John Adam Fleming Medal at the AGU Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held in Baltimore, May 25, 1994. The Fleming Medal recognizes original research and technical leadership in geomagnetism, atmospheric electricity, aeronomy, and related sciences. The citation and Jacobs response are given here.
Physics of the Earth
Authors: King S. D.
Published: October 2006

Writing an introductory textbook in theoretical geophysics is no doubt a daunting challenge. Frank Stacey's Physics of the Earth, a classic textbook now in its third edition, is a book everyone interested in deep Earth should own, but it is certainly not the only one.

The overall structure and major themes of the third edition are the same as those of the second, but some material has been reorganized, updated, and expanded. For example, the two chapters in the second edition on geomagnetism and paleomagnetism are combined into one chapter with subsections covering the geomagnetic field, paleomagnetics, and an overview tying the two subjects together.
Leading research discussed, recognized at CGU Meeting
Authors: Merriam J. B.
Published: October 2006

A lively presidents' plenary session with a global change theme and several new sessions on porous media‐rock physics, marine geophysics, and global change were just a few of the highlights of the Canadian Geophysical Union's 20th annual meeting, which was held in Banff last May. Adding to the celebratory mood of the occasion, several awards were bestowed for excellence in research.
Nutrient‐enhanced coastal ocean productivity explored in the Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Ortner Peter B. , Dagg J.
Published: October 2006

Nutrient enrichment from anthropogenic sources is one of the major stresses imposed on our coastal ecosystems. This is particularly true in the northern Gulf of Mexico where the nation's largest river discharges into an otherwise oligotrophic subtropical system. To better understand coastal ecosystem response to nutrient enrichment, 30 federal and academic scientists joined forces from 1989 to 1994 in an interdisciplinary investigation of the continental shelf of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Through the Nutrient Enhanced Coastal Ocean Productivity (NECOP) Program of NOAA's Coastal Ocean Program, the researchers conducted a series of closely integrated retrospective analyses, process and monitoring studies, and modeling exercises. The results obtained confirm current and historical linkages between nutrients derived from the extensive Mississippi drainage basin and the coastal ecosystem of the Northern Gulf of Mexico and document its current status. Most of the extensive physical, biological, and chemical data generated are stored in a permanent NECOP data repository and are available on‐line to researchers and environmental managers.
Low‐cost Moon mission picked for Discovery funding
Authors: Wakefield Julie
Published: October 2006

A $59‐million Moon mission known as Lunar Prospector won the first round of NASA's highly coveted Discovery Program competition, NASA officials announced last week. Three other semi‐finalists—missions to study Venus, the Sun, and cometary and interstellar dust—were selected from the original field of 28 contenders to enter another round of competition for a second flight opportunity to be announced sometime this fall.

Although the planetary science community is generally excited that the program is forging ahead, some concern exists about the overall direction of the program, the implications for planetary science, and the message that NASA's choice sends to the community.
Multibranch Antarctic Seismic Data Library facilitates research
Authors: Cooper Alan K.
Published: October 2006

In 1991, investigators from 11 nations involved in Antarctic multichannel seismic (MCS) reflection research sought a way to keep the Antarctic Treaty's promise of open access to data, and in the process to encourage Earth‐science research using seismic data. The Antarctic Seismic Data Library System for Cooperative Research (SDLS) was the solution, and is now a recommendation of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (ATCP). Today—at 12 branches spanning the world—researchers can access over 68,000 km of marine MCS data to use for cooperative research.

More than 150,000 km of MCS data have been accumulated since 1976 by 13 countries on nearly 70 cruises. The majority of data now in the library cover the Ross Sea, Wilkes Land, and Prydz Bay sectors of the Antarctic margin, with smaller amounts from the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula.
New insights in crustal accretion expected from Indian Ocean Spreading Centers
Authors: Sempéré Jean‐Christophe , Klein Emily M.
Published: October 2006

Since a large percentage of the mid‐ocean ridge system remains uncharted and unsampled, studying the diverse processes involved in the generation of new oceanic crust is an ambitious goal that requires international cooperation. The Ridge InterDisciplinary Global Experiment (RIDGE) initiative is doing just that in cooperation with InterRIDGE, an international organization of countries active in mid‐ocean ridge research. The two programs are working to characterize the morphology, structure, composition, biological communities, and energy fluxes of the mid‐ocean ridge system on a global scale. Over the next few years RIDGE will explore the virtually unstudied spreading centers of the Indian Ocean, and InterRIDGE will target the slow‐spreading Southwest Indian Ridge.
Unusually low ozone detected over south‐central U.S.
Authors: Mims Forrest M. , Barnard William F. , Neuendorffer Arthur C. , Labow Gordon J.
Published: October 2006

Unusually low total ozone was observed over the south‐central United States during November 1994. The region of low ozone was associated with a persistent subtropical jet stream over the southeastern United States, which was accompanied by significant above‐normal temperatures over the eastern two‐thirds of the country [NOAA Climate Analysis Center, 1994]. Although the ozone is apparently the lowest reported over the United States since satellite observations were begun, ultraviolet radiation measured in Texas was lower than during October because of the reduced Sun angle during November and, on some days, overcast skies.

The low ozone was observed by two satellite instruments—Meteor‐3 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and the Tiros Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS)—and by ground‐based instruments in Texas (Microprocessor Total Ozone Portable Spectrometers (MicroTOPS)) and in North Carolina, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. (Brewer scanning spectrophotometers).
Integrated Continental Margin Research to benefit ocean and Earth sciences
Authors: Nittrouer Charles A. , Kravitz Joseph H.
Published: October 2006

Operating at the boundary between marine and terrestrial environments, continental‐margin sedimentation is controlled by processes occurring both in the sea and on land. Because continental‐margin deposits have high rates of sediment accumulation and potentials for geological preservation, they provide a high‐resolution record of Earth history. Interpreting this record is difficult because of the diversity and variability of processes that concurrently influence margin sedimentation, such as fluctuations in sea level, sediment supply, tectonic activity, and oceanic processes.
Moon has some pull with daily global temperatures
Authors: Wakefield Julie
Published: October 2006

Legend holds that the Moon influences everything from star‐crossed lovers to hoary werewolves. Now scientists have discovered that moombeams influence the Earth as well as earthlings by subtly raising global average temperatures.

Using a newly available data set of lower tropospheric temperatures obtained from a series of polar‐orbiting satellites, climatologists Robert C. Balling Jr. and Randall S. Cerveny of Arizona State University have demonstrated a link between the lunar phase of the Moon and average daily planetary temperatures during the past 15 years. The temperatures were determined on the basis of measurements of microwave emissions of molecular oxygen. In the past, scientists have shown correlations between lunar phase change and various natural phenomena, including changes in precipitation, thunderstorm frequency, concentration of ice nuclei, pressure changes, and cloudiness.
Looking for patterns in fault populations
Authors: Cowie P. A. , Main I. G. , Knipe R.
Published: October 2006

A special meeting of the United Kingdom Tectonic Studies Group was convened in Edinburgh in October 1994 to discuss the origin and significance of scaling relationships in fault and fracture populations. Scaling relationships are a statistical description of the size‐frequency distributions of fault attributes such as length and displacement, the correlation between the displacement on a fault and its length, and the spatial pattern of faulting. Such relationships have been used in practical applications to extrapolate the relative numbers, the position, and the strain contribution of faults that lie below the resolution limit of a particular observational technique. Scaling techniques represent a potentially powerful tool for interpreting and modeling fault structure in the brittle crust and, ideally, predicting deformation‐controlled permeability.
Probing the foundation of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge
Authors:   ODP Leg 153 Shipboard Scientific Party
Published: October 2006

Leg 153 of the Ocean Drilling Program drilled five sites on the western wall of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (MAR) between 23°20′N and 23°30′N, at distances of 5–35 km south of the Kane Transform (Figure 1). This area—referred to as the MARK—is one of the most extensively studied portions of the mid‐ocean‐ridge system. Core recovered on Leg 153 represents the most continuous sampling to date through a section of sub‐oceanic mantle, as well as temporally and spatially diverse sections of the lower crustal plutonic rocks. Results from postcruise research programs will specifically address models of magma evolution, tectonic activity, and hydrothermal alteration in slow‐spreading oceanic crust.
Short FUSE
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

NASA's plan to restructure the Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) mission—first announced last September— is now a done deal. NASA has accepted a proposal from Johns Hopkins University to fly a downscaled version of the original $254 million mission for far ultraviolet spectroscopy in November of 1998—two years earlier than planned. Like its now defunct Delta‐class predecessor, the smaller, $100 million ultra‐violet science mission will also be headed by H. Warren Moos of Hopkins. It will also study the origin and evolution of the lightest elements—hydrogen and deuterium—created soon after the Big Bang, and the forces and process involved in the evolution of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems. According to Wesley T. Huntress Jr, NASA's associate administrator for space science, “The space physics and astrophysics communities ultimately will benefit because we will be able to start the New Medium Explorer (MIDEX) program and give them more frequent flight opportunities.” Restructuring the Explorer program was designed to accelerate the time‐table of the MIDEX mission, which run in the $70 million range. President Clinton requested $129.2 million for the Explorer Program for fiscal year 1996.
AGU honors outstanding scientists
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

AGU is pleased to announce the recipients of AGU's 1995 medals and the Flinn Award. These individuals are outstanding scientists who have been chosen by committees of their peers for their significant contributions to one or more areas of geophysics. President Marcia Neugebauer will present the honors on May 31 at the Honors Ceremony at AGU's Spring Meeting in Baltimore and on December 13 at the Fall Meeting in San Francisco. The ceremonies will be followed by receptions and banquets where colleagues will have an opportunity to meet and congratulate the recipients.
Oceanography and Acoustics: Predictions and Propagation Models
Authors: Howe Bruce
Published: October 2006

Oceanography and Acoustics: Prediction and Propagation is an easy‐to‐read overview of research progress in the coupling of ocean dynamical and acoustic propagation models. Much of the book emphasizes the capabilities of the Harvard Forecast System (HFS) and the acoustic predictions that can be made using its output.
Venusian vignette
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The atmosphere of Venus continues to recover from an intense shower of sulfuric “acid rain,” according to January 24 images from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) that have given scientists a first‐time look at the planet in the ultraviolet spectrum. The images, taken when Venus was about 113.6 million km from Earth, reveal that the amount of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere has declined by a factor of 10 since 1978 when the Pioneer Venus Orbiter flew.

“If Venus is a twin of the Earth, it's an evil twin,” says Larry W. Esposito, a planetary astronomer at the University of Colorado at Boulder. While the Earth is surrounded by water‐vapor clouds, Venus is enshrouded by clouds of sulfuric acid. In addition, the temperature on Venus is about 427°C.
Cosmical‐terrestrial studies began before 1850
Authors: Silverman S. M.
Published: October 2006

Cliver [1994], in his very interesting and informative article on solar‐terrestrial connections, states that the origin of these studies is generally traced to Sabine's 1852 article relating geomagnetic activity and sunspots. This statement is true as regards the subsequent proliferation of studies in modern times. Proposals of solar‐terrestrial connections, however, can be traced back to much earlier times.
Grant proposals in references
Authors: Spilhaus Fred
Published: October 2006

An observant reader has questioned whether the use of a grant proposal as a reference in a recent article in Eos is appropriate. The answer is “no,” and the editors and staff of Eos are embarrassed about missing this problem.

Grant proposals should not be cited in references because 1) grant proposals are expected to be treated as confidential material; and 2) grant proposals are not publicly available. AGU's “Guidelines to Publication of Geophysical Research” reminds authors that they are not at liberty to use results that they acquire through review of manuscripts or grant proposals without the explicit permission of the investigator concerned. (The Guidelines appear in the AGU Handbook, supplement to Eos, January 31, 1995, p. 20.) With such permission, the material can be attributed in text as based on a personal communication.
Link Found Between Solar Neutrino Flux and Solar Wind
Authors: Julie Wakefield Julie
Published: October 2006

Scientists have long agonized over why they see fewer solar neutrinos at Earth than conventional theory says they should. The quandary has called into question scientists' fundamental understanding of how stars work and what neutrinos—these elementary chargeless particles produced by nuclear fusion reactions in the Sun's core—really are.
Lonely Space Station?
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The space station will be sent through Congress on its own merits as a singular authorization bill, according to House Science Committee chair Robert Walker (R‐Pa.). To be introduced in early May, the bill will ask for $2.1 billion a year for 6 years for a total commitment of $12.6 billion. Walker says the strategy is largely intended to prove to international partners that the American commitment to the station is indeed strong and long‐term. Traditionally, the station has been susceptible to annual budget cycles, as part of the Veterans Administration‐Housing and Urban Development Bill, which includes the bulk of NASA funding.
Educational enrichment emphasized at AGU's Spring Meeting
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

AGU's Spring Meeting in Baltimore, May 30‐June 2, offers a host of educational enrichment activities. Selected meeting sessions, which are demarcated by a single solid triangle, are specifically geared to enhance learning across the geosciences. Undergraduate instructors, high schoolteachers, journalists, graduate students, and geophysicists interested in cross‐disciplinary learning all are welcome to follow this triangular trail through the myriad lectures and poster sessions.
Green receives Bowen Award
Authors: Jeanloz Raymond , Green Harry W.
Published: October 2006

Last December Harry Green was honored with the VGP Section's N. L. Bowen Award, which is bestowed for a single outstanding contribution to volcanology, geochemistry, or petrology made during the preceding 5 years. The award was presented by Raymond Jeanloz at the Fall Meeting in San Francisco.
Taking petrologic pathways toward understanding Rabaul's restless caldera
Authors:   Rabaul Petrology Group
Published: October 2006

Heavy falls of volcanic ash last September from active volcanos in Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea, caused extensive damage to much of Rabaul, a town with a population of approximately 15,000. The ash cover is up to a meter thick in parts of the area. Roofs have fallen in, drains are blocked, power lines have collapsed, and trees are stripped of branches and leaves. Mild eruptions continue, and rehabilitation of the town is likely to take many years. Meanwhile, much of the population and the seat of the local provincial‐government administration have been relocated.

In comparison to many of the area's eruptions in recent geological time, the 1994–1995 Rabaul eruptions are relatively minor, but scientific assessments are being conducted to help plan for the possibility of future major eruptions. One study has looked at the nature of the new andesitic volcanic rocks produced at Rabaul. A range of analytical techniques has been used to determine the composition of the magmas erupted during the activity, revealing subtle geochemical evidence for the incorporation of minerals that have crystallized from basalt.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Geodesy Section presented Outstanding Student Paper Awards to Bingming Shen‐Tu, Jishu Deng, E. Robert Kursinski, and Eric Canuteson at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco last December.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Atmospheric Sciences Section presented Outstanding Student Paper Awards to Martin Köhler, Laura Iraci, Brian Mason, Scott Sewell, A. Scott Denning, and Holger Vömel at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco last December.
Outstanding student papers
Authors: Anonymous
Published: October 2006

The Space Physics and Aeronomy Section presented Outstanding Student Paper Awards to Gregory Osterman, Eftyhia Zesta, Dariusz Orlowski, Hiroaki Hamada, Steve Cummer, Adam Usadi, Heidi Manning, Russ Grall, Monica Coakley, Lin Yin, and Joshua Semeter at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco last December.
Space scientist honored on Norwegian currency
Authors: Potemra Thomas A. , Dessler A. J.
Published: October 2006

The Norwegian government has honored one of its most famous scientists—Kristian Olaf Birkeland—with a $200 kroner bank note (Figure 1) bearing his likeness. Birkeland's pioneering work underlies many of our present ideas concerning the three‐dimensional nature of the Earth's magnetosphere, the workings of polar geomagnetic activity, the aurora, and the connection of the Sun to the magnetosphere.
[Comment on “More evidence indicates link between El Niños and Seismicity”] Link Between El Niños and seismicity is still missing
Authors: Forsyth Donald W. , Scheirer Daniel S. , Hung Shu‐Huei , Macdonald Ken C.
Published: October 2006

In a recent Eos article, Walker [1995] presents evidence for a correlation between extreme lows in the Southern Oscillation Index and episodic seismic activity on the southern East Pacific Rise. He speculates that the causative link between seismicity and El Niños may be direct and indirect thermal effects associated with massive submarine volcanic and hydrothermal activity that may accompany the seismic swarms. In particular, he cites an unusual earthquake swarm at 18°, 116° in 1991/1992 and notes that large numbers of volcanos and young, extensive lava flows have been mapped near the East Pacific Rise from about 15° to 19° [Scheirer et al., 1993].
Bloxham receives Macelwane Medal
Authors: Jeanloz Raymond , Bloxham Jeremy
Published: October 2006

The James B. Macelwane Medal for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability was presented to Jeremy Bloxham at the 1994 AGU Fall Meeting Meeting Honors Ceremony on December 7, 1994, in San Francisco. The award citation and Bloxham's response are given here.
Seismic images and drilling tell the story of fluids in a plate‐boundary fault
Authors:   ODP Leg 156 Shipboard Science Party
Published: October 2006

How do polarity and amplitude variations of seismic images relate to variations in fluid pressure, permeability, and other sediment physical properties? If these questions can be answered, seismic data can be used as a predictor of fluid properties in fault zones. Once applied, these data can be used to study earthquake hazards and hydrocarbon and groundwater migration. Shallowly dipping decollement faults (detachments thrusts) beneath accretionary prisms formed at convergent margins are ideal locations for calibrating seismic reflection images as proxies for fluid processes [Shipley etal, 1994] (Figure 1).
Section concerns addressed at Fall Meeting
Authors: Bales R.
Published: October 2006

To keep on top of current issues and remedy existing problems, Hydrology Section President Steve Burges brought a full agenda to the Executive Committee Meeting held in San Francisco last December. The following highlights are offered to keep you informed about changes shaping the Hydrology Section. To communicate scientific results more effectively to the press at the fall and spring meetings, we need to educate the press well in advance of the meetings. To help achieve this end, a press officer was appointed for each AGU section. Our section stands to benefit particularly; the press is generally not well versed on water issues and there is less press interest in hydrology than in many other areas of geophysics. We are fortunate to have Harry Lins as the hydrology section press officer.