bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Exaggerated claims about earthquake predictions
Authors: Kafka Alan L. , Ebel John E. 
Published: April 2007

The perennial promise of successful earthquake prediction captures the imagination of a public hungry for certainty in an uncertain world. Yet, given the lack of any reliable method of predicting earthquakes [e.g.,Geller, 1997;Kagan and Jackson, 1996; Evans, 1997], seismologists regularly have to explain news stories of a supposedly successful earthquake prediction when it is far from clear just how successful that prediction actually was. When journalists and public relations offices report the latest ‘great discovery’ regarding the prediction of earthquakes, seismologists are left with the much less glamorous task of explaining to the public the gap between the claimed success and the sober reality that there is no scientifically proven method of predicting earthquakes.A striking example of this situation occurred when NASA posted a feature article on its Web site in 2004 in which an earthquake prediction project it funded was heralded as an “amazing success” (see http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/0930_earthquake.html). Because this kind of hyperbole is a constant source of frustration for scientists at Weston Observatory (Boston College, Weston, Mass.), where seismologists try to accurately report the state of the art of research on earthquake prediction to the public, we decided to test just how amazing this particular success was.
Taiwan shaken by an uncommon earthquake
Authors: Chao Benjamin F. 
Published: April 2007

Exactly 2 years to the date after the great Sumatra earthquake, the island of Taiwan was shaken by an uncommon magnitude 7.1 earthquake and a series of aftershocks centered just off her southwestern coast on the continental shelf. The event is the largest in a century in that particular area, technically controlled by the subduction of the Eurasia plate under the Philippine plate, a rare and peculiar case of a lighter continental plate subducting under a heavier oceanic plate.The main shock, at 1226 UT, 26 December 2006, had a moment magnitude of 7.1 as determined by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC/USGS), followed by a 7.0 aftershock 8 minutes later, and three more subsequent aftershocks above magnitude 5 within a day. Relatively minor damage was reported on land, while underwater communication cables were severed at as many as seven locations at different times. A nearby nuclear power plant experienced a g‐force as large as 0.16g. A tsunami warning was issued in Vietnam and the Philippines but was later called off. The Broadband Array in Taiwan for Seismology (BATS) put the main shock depth at somewhat over 20 kilometers and deeper for the large aftershocks. The water depth at the epicenter region is no more than 600 meters.
Electronic spin transition of iron in the Earth's deep mantle
Authors: Lin Jung‐Fu , Jacobsen Steven D. , Wentzcovitch Renata M. 
Published: April 2007

Electronic spin is a quantum property of every electron, associated with its intrinsic angular momentum. Though there are no suitable physical analogies to describe the spin quantum number, there are two possibilities, called spin ‘up’ and spin ‘down.’ The electronic structure of iron in minerals is generally such that valence electrons will more abundantly occupy different spatial orbitals and maintain the same spin than occupy the same spatial orbital and assume opposite spin, called ‘spin‐paired.’To the astonishment of mineral physicists, pressure‐induced electronic spin‐pairing transitions of iron that were predicted nearly 50 years ago recently have been detected in major mantle‐forming oxides and silicates in ultrahigh‐pressure experiments at lower‐mantle pressures [e.g., Badro et al., 2003, 2004; Lin et al., 2005]. If such a spin transition is occurring in the Earth's lower mantle, there may be profound geophysical implications.
Twenty years of nonlinear dynamics in geosciences
Authors: Elsner James B. , Gupta Vijay K. , Lovejoy Shaun , Lucarini Valerio , Murray A. Brad , Sharma A. Surjalal , Tebbens Sarah , Tsonis Anastasios A. , Vassiliadis Dimitris 
Published: April 2007

Twenty years ago, the basic ideas of what is now known as ‘nonlinear geophysics’ had matured to the point that they were generating great excitement, motivating the first workshops on the theme. The ideas instigated new approaches to addressing problems of geophysics covering different disciplines, and they led to the publication of several important papers.A conference entitled ‘20 Years of Nonlinear Dynamics in Geosciences’ was held in Rhodes, Greece, from 11 to 16 June 2006 to mark this progress. The aim of the conference was to bring together scientists from all areas of geosciences to discuss problems, review advances, and look toward the future. About 80 scientists from around the world participated in the meeting. This article provides a brief review of the key historical developments that laid the foundations for nonlinear geophysics and gives an overall summary of the meeting.
Marine heat flow measurements in hard ground offshore Sumatra
Authors: Delisle Georg , Zeibig Michael 
Published: April 2007

The hydrocarbon potential of the fore arc basins between the Siberut, Nias, and Simeulue islands and Sumatra was investigated in 2006 by the German Federal Geological Survey (BGR) with marinegeophysical and marine‐geological techniques (cruises SO‐189‐1 and SO‐189‐2). The basin sediments are relatively coarse grained (in part, of volcanic origin). In most locations, they are too hard for the use of conventional heat flow probes, which penetrate only muddy to soft seafloor sediments.To overcome this restriction and to measure in situ heat flow in hard‐ground terrain of these fore arc basins, a new ‘hard‐ground heat flow probe’ was developed and successfully employed at 10 stations during the SO‐189 cruises. A conventional heat flow probe was operated at six additional stations. The development of the new probe initially was motivated by the observation of widespread ‘hard ground’ along the outer‐arc high of the accretionary prism at the southern coast of Java in 1999 (marine cruise GINCO, leg SO‐139‐2 of BGR).
Southwestern U.S. drought maps from pinyon tree‐ring carbon isotopes
Authors: Leavitt Steven W. , Chase Thomas N. , Rajagopalan Balaji , Lee Eungul , Lawrence Peter J. , Woodhouse Connie A. 
Published: April 2007

Tree‐ring widths have long been a useful North American drought proxy [e.g., Cook et al., 1999, 2004]. A potentially rich, new tree‐ring proxy associated with the tree's leaf‐level moisture status is stable‐carbon isotope composition (δ13C = [13C/12Csample ÷ 13C/12Cstandard − 1[ × 1000), which is determined by both the rate of carbon assimilation and the rate of gas conductance through leaf stomata [Farquhar et al., 1982]. In the U.S. Southwest, where evaporation exceeds precipitation, drought may be the dominant influence on plant δ>13C [Warren et al., 2001], so measurements of tree‐ring δ13C in a network of southwestern sites has allowed for spatially mapping this ecophysiological indicator back to A.D. 1600.Stomatal portals are the primary avenues of water loss and carbon gain in plants, providing carbon dioxide (CO2) for photosynthesis, which tends to discriminate against fixation of 13CO2 in favor of 12CO2. In principle, under conditions of water stress the stomata close down and the reservoir of CO2 available for continued photosynthesis is reduced, proportionally more 13CO2 is fixed, and the 13C/12C ratio of sugars eventually incorporated into tree rings increases (i.e., δ13C increases), and vice versa during moist conditions.
Hazards from hydrothermally sealed volcanic conduits
Authors: Christenson Bruce W. , Werner Cynthia A. , Reyes Agnes G. , Sherburn Steve , Scott Bradley J. , Miller Craig , Rosenburg Michael J. , Hurst Anthony W. , Britten Karen A. 
Published: April 2007

The 17 March 2006 eruption from Raoul Island (Kermadec arc, north of New Zealand) is interpreted as a magmatic‐hydrothermal event triggered by shaking associated with a swarm of local earthquakes. The eruption, which tragically claimed the life of New Zealand Department of Conservation Ranger Mark Kearney, occurred without significant volcanic seismicity or any of the precursory responses the volcanic hydrothermal system exhibited prior to a similarly sized eruption in 1964.Preliminary evidence suggests that the absence of precursory behavior is probably the consequence of hydrothermal sealing of the volcanic conduit since the 1964 eruption, and points to potential hazards associated with quiescent oceanic island volcanoes.
A unified database of large European earthquakes
Authors: Grünthal Gottfried , Wahlström Rutger 
Published: April 2007

Understanding the potential for large earthquake disasters in the Euro‐Mediterranean region, including effects from tsunamis, is a high priority in the European seismological community. Accurate locations and magnitudes are of utmost importance in order to determine various parameters needed for seismic hazard assessment.Data from local earthquake catalogues for all of Europe and the near surroundings have now been compiled and homogenized in historical as well as instrumental time. This new database concentrates on large earthquakes (Mw≥6). Studies of this new database conclude that the earthquake locations concentrate around main tectonic features with less scatter than has been provided by existing databases from international seismological agencies and other previous compilations.
Coordinating Earth Observing System land validation
Authors: Nickeson Jaime E. , Morisette Jeffrey T , Privette Jeffery L. , Justice Christopher O. , Wickland Diane E. 
Published: April 2007

NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land product validation project, initiated prior to the launch of the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra platform in late 1999, provides data, instrument, and information resources for the validation of products that quantify land surface characteristics from MODIS and other satellite sensors. Land products derived from MODIS and other moderate‐resolution sensors include, among others, land cover, snow cover extent, surface temperature, leaf area index, fire occurrence, and vegetation productivity.The land validation project infrastructure, developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), involves an integration of NASA‐funded researchers, international collaborators, and science data networks. These resources facilitate determination of product uncertainty, which is the definition of validation, through best practice methods. Key to the project is the set of EOS Land Validation Core Sites, a global network of 33 sites (including six added in 2006), which serve as a focus for validation activities. The initial infrastructure and activities were described in Morisette et al. [1999], Justice et al. [2000], and Morisette et al. [2002].
Wahr receives 2006 Charles A. Whitten medal
Authors: Wahr John M. 
Published: April 2007

It is a pleasure and an honor to present the citation to John M. Wahr for the Charles A. Whitten Medal, which is an award for outstanding achievement in research on the form and dynamics of the Earth. John has made fundamental advances in many areas of dynamics, including time‐variable gravity, Earth rotation, Earth and ocean tides, interaction of the atmosphere and ocean with the Earth, postglacial deformation, and nutation. He has published papers in geodesy, geodynamics, seismology, geomagnetism, hydrology, cryospheric sciences, oceanography, atmospheric sciences, planetary sciences, and even general relativity.John is a major intellectual leader in much of geophysics with a heavy emphasis on global‐scale problems involving the fluid envelope. John broke new ground with his work in the application of geodetic data to geophysical problems, including global tides, barometric response of the oceans, and Earth rotation. His unique contributions came from developing the theory, and modeling Earth tides, nutations, and various other types of rotational and deformational motion. Both the Earth tide model and the nutation model served as the adopted international standards for almost 20 years. His cutting‐edge work on time‐variable gravity has enabled him to blaze a new trail for interdisciplinary geodesy.
Cashman receives 2006 N. L. Bowen Award
Authors: Lange Rebecca , Cashman Katharine 
Published: April 2007

Katharine Cashman received the N. L. Bowen Award at the 2006 AGU Fall Meeting. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to volcanology, geochemistry, or petrology.It is a privilege and an honor to present the N. L. Bowen citation for Kathy Cashman. She is richly deserving of this recognition owing to her unique and original contributions to the field of volcanology.
Legislators urge carbon emissions cuts
Authors: Kumar Mohi 
Published: April 2007

Legislators from the world's largest carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emitting countries met on 14–15 February in Washington, D.C., to discuss the future of the global climate and strategies to mitigate temperature increases resulting from global warming.The world faces a “double challenge— how to reduce damaging carbon emissions while still meeting the energy demand that the world's poor need to escape poverty,” said World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz during a keynote talk.
Reply to Comment on Snowball Earth
Authors: Allen Philip A. 
Published: April 2007

I welcome the signs of a dialectical engagement in the evaluation of the Snowball Earth hypothesis.Paul Hoffman proposes that on the basis of Kirschvink's two‐page chapter [Kirschvink, 1992], there are five main pillars in support of the Snowball Earth hypothesis. I cannot agree that the five pillars mentioned by Hoffman can be discerned in Kirschvink's original piece. A pillar must be a line of argument and supporting data that the protagonist views as being strongly and uniquely supportive of the hypothesis. Using the architectural metaphor, a pillar is solid, supportive, and unchanging. There are no such pillars in Kirschvink's article. He admits that his hypothesis is “speculative” (p. 51) or, more precisely, involves an alternate “equally speculative mechanism” to that of high obliquity to explain apparently low‐latitude glaciation. Kirschvink suggested that there were several implications of his global snowball model, but no compelling evidence was presented.
Reconstruction of past Mediterranean climate
Authors: García‐Herrera Ricardo , Luterbacher Jürg , Lionello Piero , González‐Rouco Fidel , Ribera Pedro , Rodó Xavier , Kull Christoph , Zerefos Christos 
Published: April 2007

Mediterranean Climate Variability and Predictability (MEDCLIVAR; http://www.medclivar.eu) is a program that coordinates and promotes research on different aspects of Mediterranean climate. The main MEDCLIVAR goals include the reconstruction of past climate, describing patterns and mechanisms characterizing climate space‐time variability, extremes at different time and space scales, coupled climate model/empirical reconstruction comparisons, seasonal forecasting, and the identification of the forcings responsible for the observed changes. The program has been endorsed by CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability project) and is funded by the European Science Foundation.The main purpose of this first MEDCLIVAR workshop was to identify sources of early instrumental data and natural and documentary climate proxies that had not been previously explored and/or identified and that could be relevant for the reconstruction of the Mediterranean climate or weather extremes covering the past millennia. A key focus was on weather and climate information with high temporal (annual or higher) and spatial resolution as well as the potential to resolve past climate variability based on low‐resolution proxies covering the past tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years.
Sea level rise in Tampa Bay
Authors: Cronin Thomas , Edgar N.Terence , Brooks Gregg , Hastings David , Larson Rebekka , Hine Albert , Locker Stanley , Suthard Beau , Flower Benjamin , Hollander David , Wehmiller John , Willard Debra , Smith Shannon 
Published: April 2007

Understanding relative sea level (RSL) rise during periods of rapid climatic change is critical for evaluating modern sea level rise given the vulnerability of Antarctic ice shelves to collapse [Hodgson et al, 2006], the retreat of the world's glaciers [Oerlemans, 2005], and mass balance trends of the Greenland ice sheet [Rignot and Kanagaratnam, 2006]. The first‐order pattern of global sea level rise following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ∼21,000 years ago) is well established from coral [Fairbanks, 1989], continental shelf [Hanebuth et al, 2000], and other records [Pirazzoli, 2000] and has been integrated into a global ICE‐5G model of glacio‐isostatic adjustment (GIA) [Peltier, 2004]. However, uncertainty introduced by paleo water depth of sea level indicators, radiocarbon chronology (i.e., reservoir corrections for marine shell dates), postglacial isostatic adjustment, and other processes affecting vertical position of former shorelines produces scatter in RSL curves, limiting our knowledge of sea level rise during periods of rapid glacial decay.One example of this limitation is the Gulf of Mexico/Florida region where, despite decades of study, RSL curves produce two conflicting patterns: those showing progressive submergence with a decelerating rate during the past 5000 years [Scholl et al, 1969] and those showing high sea level during the middle of the Holocene [Blum et al, 2001; Balsillie and Donoghue, 2004], where the Holocene represents a geologic epoch that extends from about 10,000 years ago to present times. This discrepancy is emblematic of the uncertainty surrounding Holocene sea level and ice volume history in general.
[Comment on “A turning point in auroral physics”] An apparent controversy in auroral physics
Authors: Haerendel Gerhard 
Published: April 2007

In his article “A turning point in auroral physics,” Bryant [2006] argued against what he called the ‘standard’ theory of auroral acceleration, according to which the electrons “gain their energy from static electric fields,” and offered wave acceleration as an alternative. Because of the importance of the process, not only for the aurora borealis but also for other cosmic plasmas, a clarification of this apparent controversy seems to b e in place.Indeed, theoretical descriptions of the acceleration process often use an electrostatic approach. One postulates or derives a quasi‐Ohm's Law for the relation between current density and potential drop along the magnetic field and attributes the energy gain of the electrons to the ‘fall’ through this potential drop. Strong confirmation comes from the findings that a ‘potential,’ derived from integrating the transverse electric field measured by a satellite crossing above an auroral arc, agrees well with the energy gain of ions accelerated below the spacecraft [e.g., McFadden et al., 1999]. The solution of the problem lies in the word ‘nearly’ In the height range of several thousand kilometers, where auroral acceleration is concentrated, the electric field is nearly electrostatic. In reality, it is applied by an electromagnetic Alfvén wave launched in the outskirts of the magnetosphere. When it reaches the stiff magnetic field near Earth, where its phase speed is close to the velocity of light, it traverses the acceleration region so fast that a nearelectrostatic description of the field is permissible. However, above the low magnetosphere the field continues as an induction field. In other words, auroral field lines are not equipotentials. In conclusion, Bryant is right in principle but wrong in discarding auroral acceleration by nearly electrostatic fields.
Rapid climate change and the role of the ocean circulation
Authors: Srokosz Meric , Wolff Eric , Byfield Valborg 
Published: April 2007

The role of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in possible future rapid climate changes is much debated. The U.K. Natural Environment Research Council initiated a program called Rapid Climate Change (RAPID) to investigate this issue, working with international partners. The recent Rapid Climate Change International Science Conference reviewed progress and discussed the scientific challenges in this area, bringing together results from paleoclimatology, modeling, and observational studies.About 8000 years ago, a sharp drop in temperatures occurred when an outburst from a North American ice‐dammed lake (Lake Agassiz) flooded the North Atlantic with freshwater. The event is a possible analogue for potential effects of future North Atlantic freshening from increased precipitation and ice melt. Speakers presented evidence suggesting that the nature of the event is becoming clearer, including the first clear evidence of its impact on the MOC. However, the relationship between the timing of various changes and the lake's outburst needs further investigation.
Early endosomes associated with dynamic F-actin structures are required for late trafficking of H. pylori VacA toxin
Authors: Gauthier Nils C. , Monzo Pascale , Gonzalez Teresa , Doye Anne , Oldani Amanda , Gounon Pierre , Ricci Vittorio , Cormont Mireille , Boquet Patrice 
Published: April 2007

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) are endocytosed by a clathrin- independent pathway into vesicles named GPI-AP–enriched early endosomal compartments (GEECs). We recently showed that the vacuolating toxin VacA secreted by Helicobacter pylori is endocytosed into the GEECs (Gauthier, N.C., P. Monzo, V. Kaddai, A. Doye, V. Ricci, and P. Boquet. 2005. Mol. Biol. Cell. 16:4852–4866). Unlike GPI-APs that are mostly recycled back to the plasma membrane, VacA reaches early endosomes (EEs) and then late endosomes (LEs), where vacuolation occurs.
In this study, we used VacA to study the trafficking pathway between GEECs and LEs. We found that VacA routing from GEECs to LEs required polymerized actin. During this trafficking, VacA was transferred from GEECs to EEs associated with polymerized actin structures. The CD2-associated protein (CD2AP), a docking protein implicated in intracellular trafficking, bridged the filamentous actin (F-actin) structures with EEs containing VacA. CD2AP regulated those F-actin structures and was required to transfer VacA from GEECs to LEs. These results demonstrate that sorting from GEECs to LEs requires dynamic F-actin structures on EEs.
Unusual Delayed Presentation of a Nail Gun Injury Through the Skull Base
Authors: Lee Alice D. , Oh Young S. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractPublished reports of nail gun injuries to the face are uncommon. We describe an unusual delayed presentation with injury through the infratemporal fossa and a literature review. A 55‐year‐old patient presented 2 weeks after an unrecognized injury with complaints of a headache. Imaging revealed a nail traversing the infratemporal fossa with intracranial extension. The nail was removed through a preauricular approach without sequelae. Nail gun missiles to the face are uncommon, dramatic, but often nonfatal because of their relative low velocity. Patients are usually diagnosed at the time of injury, evaluated with computed tomography and angiography, and treated with surgery.