bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Draft report suggests reclassifying oceanography in research rankings
Authors: Lifland Jonathan 
Published: October 2006

A draft report by the National Research Council (NRC) that proposes a new accounting system for doctoral research programs would group oceanography among other geosciences, and would cease listing it individually.The proposal is a suggestion of a committee charged with revising the methodology used to assess doctoral research programs; their report is the first stage of an effort to rearrange the fields used for ranking and evaluating Ph.D granting programs in U.S. graduate schools. The first decadal report was completed in 1995, and is used, for example, by ranking systems such as the well‐known list published annually by U.S. News and World Report.
Gordon J.F. MacDonald (1929–2002)
Authors: Knopoff Leon , Treitel Sven 
Published: October 2006

Gordon J.F. MacDonald died unexpectedly at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 14 May 2002, following a distinguished career as a scientist, teacher, and public servant. One of the most creative and innovative geoscientists of the 20th century MacDonald was a major force in public policy issues, and his work spanned a number of scientific fields.MacDonald was a scientist of extraordinary diversity having studied and written on problems ranging from the experimental geochemistry of minerals at high pressure and temperature, to planetary science to environmental science and climate change. He was awarded AGU's James B. Macelwane Medal in 1965 for recognition of outstanding young scientists. In 1963, he was the founding editor‐in‐chief of AGU's Reviews of Geophysics.
Report provides roadmap for improving understanding of impacts of ocean noise on marine mammals
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

Several recent U.S. federal courts' injunctions against marine acoustical research have caused some scientists to worry about the very future of this research. They say it provides the most useful and important remote sensing tool available for learning about the geological structure of the seabed and discovering sub‐sea floor oil and gas reserves.In addition, they question why the research community is being targeted by some environmental and other groups who filed for these injunctions in the courts, rather than marine based industries, which are a far greater source of anthropogenic noise in marine environments.
“Moon beyond 2000” Workshop participants discuss next steps in lunar science and exploration
Authors: Lawrence David J. 
Published: October 2006

Lunar science has received a substantial boost as a result of global, integrative analyses of remote sensing and lunar sample data following the recent Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions. Spurred by these results, new missions to explore and characterize the Moon are now being implemented by the Japanese and European space agencies, and are being discussed in detail by several teams of U.S. scientists. A recent survey of scientific opinion conducted by the Space Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences (<http://www.nationala‐cademies.org/ssb/newfrontiersfront.html>) indicates that enthusiasm is high in the United States for a return to the Moon in the near future.To take advantage of this momentum, and to focus attention on the future of lunar science, a workshop titled “The Moon Beyond 2002: Next Steps in Lunar Science and Exploration” was recently held. Two questions were posed to attendees: What key questions should now be addressed to advance lunar science and exploration? And what actions should the planetary science community take to best address these questions?
Committee issues report on Bush Administration's Climate Science Plan
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

The Bush administration's draft strategic plan for the federal government's Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) represents a good start, but it requires substantial improvements to the science, and to the program management, according to a review issued by the U.S. National Research Council on 26 February.CCSP Director James Mahoney promised an improved final plan—likely in April—which incorporates many of the concerns raised by the NRC and by others who have commented on it. The draft, released on 11 November 2002, is a first attempt to chart a course for the CCSP That program incorporates the decade‐long, Congressionally‐mandated U.S. Global Change Research Program, and the administration's Climate Change Research Initiative.
Is it just a rise in the mean sea level?
Authors: Kivioja Lasse 
Published: October 2006

I have a suggestion for those numerous authors who almost invariably say that after a certain amount of land‐supported ice melts, the sea level will rise “so much.” It would be much more correct to say that the oceans will get “so much” deeper.As is well known, there are over a dozen reasons for mean sea level changes. When land‐supported ice melts, the amount of water in oceans increases and all of the oceans get deeper. This will cause an immediate increase in the pressure on every square meter of the ocean floor, which covers approximately 70% of Earth's surface. Due to the isostatic equilibrium between large surface areas, it would not be unreasonable to expect that the ocean floor would start to sink due to the increased pressure, and the rest of the Earth's surface—that is, the continents—will start to rise, especially where the ice melted.
NSF initiates education centers to expand students', public understanding of oceans
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

The National Science Foundation is hoping that a $13‐million initiative to fund seven new Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence COSEE will help to bring together ocean science researchers and educators to dramatically improve the public's awareness of oceans and the role they play in global environmental cycles and processes.Funding for the regional centers and a central coordinating office was announced in December 2002, and the COSEE network held its initial organizational meeting on 3–4 March.
Oil and gas impacts in northern Alaska
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

Efforts by the oil industry and regulatory agencies have reduced, but not eliminated, the adverse environmental effects of oil and gas exploration and production on Alaska's North Slope, according to a 5 March report issued by the U.S. National Research Council. The report found that within the 230,000‐ square‐kilometer North Slope region, there have been substantial improvements in seismic exploration technologies and that operators have been more careful.“The technology used for obtaining seismic data continues to improve, but there is still potential damage to the tundra because of the large camps, the number of vehicles used, and the higher spatial density of [three‐dimensional seismic] trails. The new technology has reduced but not totally eliminated damage to the tundra,” the report said.
Astrophysical particle acceleration in geospace and beyond
Authors: Horwitz J. L. , Gallagher D. L. , Perez J. , Lieu R. , Mlller J.A. , Preece R. 
Published: October 2006

Natural acceleration of charged particles occurs within a variety of physical contexts and through a range of physical processes. “Cosmic” charged particle acceleration can involve particle energies and energy changes from less than one electron Volt (eV),and on through kilovolt (keV) energies,up to 1018 and perhaps 1020 eV These acceleration processes can be in the forms of various types of electric fields directed parallel to the magnetic field lines, which are believed chiefly responsible for the energization of the auroral electrons which bombard the Earth's upper atmospheres at high magnetic latitudes to create auroras.There are also “collisionless” shock layers in our interplanetary space and well beyond, to energize charged particles in solar and stellar winds. And there may be exotic—and somewhat speculative—processes such as the effect of intense radiation beams associated with non‐thermal compact objects, or unipolar electric fields of huge magnitudes near a rotating and accreting black hole. These processes may accelerate particles to even 1020 eV energies. The propagation of such ultra‐high energy particles in time and space may be severely modified by quantum gravity effects, which are no longer negligible in these extreme situations.
AGU continues 2003 journal access for libraries affected by RoweCom bankruptcy
Authors: Lifland Jonathan 
Published: October 2006

Following the default of one of its major journal subscription agents, AGU has committed itself to providing campus‐wide electronic access for 2003 to libraries whose journal orders are affected by the bankruptcy. The company, RoweCom Inc. of Westwood, Massachusetts, filed for Chapter 11 protection on 27 January 2003.RoweCom folded in December with nearly $80 million in unfulfilled orders which were destined to thousands of publishers. Subscription agents consolidate orders from libraries and transmit payments to publishers for journal subscriptions. The bankruptcy could cost AGU up to $700,000 in lost revenue in 2003, approximately 7% of AGU's gross institutional subscriptions.
Carlson receives Ocean Sciences Early Career Award
Authors: Bronk Deborah A. , Carlson Craig 
Published: October 2006

Can you believe they actually pay us to do this?This is a quote from Craig Carlson, spoken as we stood aboard the RVIB Nathaniel Palmer looking out over the stark beauty of Antarctica and watching for the helicopters that would carry us into McMurdo. The quote captures one of Craig's great gifts—he has never lost his sense of awe and honor at being part of the scientific enterprise. It is just one of the reasons I am so pleased to present this citation for Craig, the first recipient of AGU's Ocean Sciences Early Career Award.
Catching the wind: New views of aeolian processes
Authors: Gill Thomas E. , Zobeck Ted M. 
Published: October 2006

A joint meeting of the Fifth International Conference on Aeolian Research (ICAR‐5) and the Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems‐ Soil Erosion Network (GCTE‐SEN) brought together physical and environmental scientists interested in the latest challenges and discoveries in aeolian (wind as a geological process) research.The conference provided an opportunity for researchers focusing on both theoretical modeling and field experimentation aspects of aeolian processes to interact and learn the research needs and findings of their counterparts. Perhaps due to the meeting's location in the heartland of the North American Great Plains, many presentations at ICAR‐5 dealt with wind erosion of agricultural lands in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere. One hundred thirty scientists from 18 nations attended.
Lifting Titan's Veil: Exploring the Giant Moon of Saturn
Authors: Kirk Randolph L. 
Published: October 2006

It is a relatively well‐kept secret among planetary scientists that Saturn's moon Titan is not merely the second largest satellite, but one of the most complex and interesting bodies in our solar system. Its complex organic chemistry, which includes hydrocarbon lakes, rain, and perhaps even rivers, make it in some ways more like Earth. Indeed, Titan has been called “the Mars of the outer solar system,” not so much because of its dense atmosphere, but because of its potential to capture the public's imagination.The secret will be out and the potential for wonder is likely to be realized in full in 2004, when the Cassini spacecraft begins mapping Titan from orbit and drops the Huygens probe into its atmosphere. Lifting Titan's Veil is intended to prepare readers for that adventure; two of its stated goals are to enumerate what is currently known about Titan and to describe Cassini‐Huygens and what it may reveal. The third is to offer a case history of how scientific exploration proceeds, not in a steady upward curve of progress, but in fits and starts as limited and sometimes erroneous data are gathered, interpreted, and re‐interpreted.
Workshop held to discuss population connectivity in marine systems
Authors: Cowen Robert K. , Thorrold Simon , Pineda Jesus , Gawarkiewicz Glen 
Published: October 2006

A central goal of marine ecology is to achieve a mechanistic understanding of the factors regulating the abundance and distribution of marine populations. One critical component of the above goal is to quantify rates of exchange, or connectivity among sub‐populations of marine organisms via larval dispersal. Theoretical studies suggest that these linkages play a fundamental role in local and meta‐population dynamics, community structure, genetic diversity, and the resiliency of populations to human exploitation [Fogarty, 1998].Understanding population connectivity is also key in efforts to develop spatial management methods for marine‐capture fisheries, including the design of networks of marine reserves [Sala et al., 2002]. We have made considerable advances in our understanding of the biology of juvenile and adult life history stages through experimental marine ecology However, there has been no concomitant increase in our knowledge of the biological and physical processes that determine the extent to which marine populations are connected via larval dispersal.
Young member places seventh in noted U.S. student science competition
Authors: Anonymous  
Published: October 2006

A student member of AGU is one of the top 10 winners of a science contest for pre‐college age students which is sponsored annually by Intel Corporation.The contest results were announced on 11 March at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.Carolyn Tewksbury 17, was a finalist in the 2003 Intel Science Talent Search competition. She took seventh place in the contest for her project, titled “Collapse of the Pasom‐mana Tessera Region, Venus: Implications for the Evolution of Crustal Plateaus.”
Bill would extend efforts against harmful algal blooms and hypoxia
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

Legislation to deal with the problems of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in U.S. waters needs to recognize the growing national scope and economic effects of these phenomena, improve monitoring capabilities, and target remedies for them. It should also emphasize research and management in the Great Lakes and other fresh water bodies, as well as in U.S. coastal waters.This, according to a panel of scientists who testified at a 13 March hearing of the Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Clear skies” Proposal draws mixed reactions at Senate Hearing
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

The Bush administration's “Clear Skies Initiative” proposal to reduce atmospheric sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury was described at an 8 April Senate hearing as a good amendment to the Clean Air Act, and alternately, as a delay in attaining a cleaner environment.The hearing, by the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change, and Nuclear Safety, was the first of several anticipated this session on the Clear Skies Act (S.485), which represents the administration's top environmental initiative.
In Brief
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

Everglades restoration critiqued The monitoring and assessment plan for the $7.8‐billion effort to restore the hydrologic regime of the remaining wetlands of Florida's Everglades needs to be strengthened, according to a 2 April study by a committee of the National Academy of Sciences.The evolving monitoring and assessment plan of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is grounded in current scientific theory and practice of adaptive management, according to the report. However, the least‐developed aspects of the management are feedback mechanisms to connect monitoring to planning and management, the report notes.
Undergraduate engineering students investigate inexpensive seismometer design
Authors: Hubenthal Michael , Boyd Tom , Lahr John , Taber John 
Published: October 2006

Using seismometers as a catalyst for learning, the IRIS Consortium has partnered with the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to intensively expose the 2002 CSM freshman engineering class to geophysics instrument design. These students worked to design inexpensive seismic recording systems for use in educational environments as part of the Engineering Practices Introductory Course Sequence (EPICS).Through the EPICS courses, CSM strives to strengthen the ability of first‐year engineering students to resolve open‐ended problems in a team environment and learn skills that are vital to their success as engineers. Students learn AutoCAD, technical drawing/drafting skills, prototyping, analysis skills, and communication skills necessary to present and promote engineering design solutions to the professional community. These engineering skills, introduced through coursework, are applied to an open‐ended engineering challenge throughout the semester. Although the CSM faculty clearly has skills and expertise in engineering, as well as the pedagogy to deliver this information, the program needs exciting, real‐world engineering challenges, technical support to develop the problem, and the human resources and experience to provide students with sufficient content knowledge to attempt the challenge.
Salt marsh hydrology data web site facilitates research
Authors: Gardner L. R. , Reeves H. W. 
Published: October 2006

The interface between maritime forests and inter‐tidal salt marshes along the southeastern coast of the United States is a major ecological boundary characterized by a sequence of botanical zones that typically consist of pine/ oak forest>Iva>Juncus>Salicornia>Spartina. In addition to questions regarding the physical and chemical factors that govern this ecotone, this interface is of interest because of the potential for groundwater flow to transfer nutrients and pollutants from developed uplands to the adjacent marshes. The interface is also of interest because it is presumably migrating upslope as a result of ongoing sea level rise and concomitant aquifer salinization.A new Web site, http://links.baruch.sc.edu/data/GRNDWATER/data/data.htm, contains long‐term and spatially dense measurements of groundwater heads and salinity from a network of nested piezometers that has been installed along three forest‐marsh transects across the Crab Haul Creek finger marsh basin at the North Inlet‐Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Georgetown County South Carolina (Figure 1).
Warnings of aftershocks from 1 May earthquake in eastern Turkey
Authors: Jacobs Judy 
Published: October 2006

Seismologists at the University of Ulster in Belfast have warned that there is a danger of further earthquakes in the area of southeastern Turkey that was struck by a magnitude 6.4 shock on 1 May.John McCloskey one of the members of the University of Ulster Geophysics Research Group, said that preliminary calculations that he and his colleagues have performed since the tremor “…indicate significant increased hazard on the East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) to the southwest of the rupture, toward the city of Elazig, and to the northeast of Bingöl. These results, combined with the faults known to exist in the area, indicate that large aftershocks may occur, with events of magnitude 6 on the Richter scale possible.”
Why did a “no‐ozone‐hole” episode occur in Antarctica?
Authors: Varotsos Costas 
Published: October 2006

Stratospheric observations in the Southern Hemisphere show that the Antarctic ozone hole exhibited unprecedented features in 2002. During the second half of September 2002, the size of the Antarctic ozone hole was around half of that observed in September of the last few years. Apart from its smaller size, the Antarctic ozone hole broke up into two holes on 24–25 September 2002.These unusual events concerning both the size and break‐up of the Antarctic ozone hole in September 2002 have been examined by Varotsos [2002]. Both events have been attributed to the occurrence of a major, sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) in Antarctica, an event that appeared for the first time in that region. In particular, concerning the smaller size of the ozone hole, it was suggested that the major SSW did not allow the heterogeneous chemical reactions, which are substantially active at very low temperatures, to lead to a considerable chemical ozone loss. The early break‐up was attributed to the 2‐month early polar vortex splitting in two. It began 2 days earlier, with the unusual early building of a quasi‐stationary anti‐cyclone, and an opposite, secondary anti‐cyclone later on, due to the major SSW.
Key Senators issue call for “meaningful” climate legislation
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

With the U.S. Senate currently considering national energy legislation, Senators John McCain (R‐Arizona) and Joseph Lieberman (D‐Connecticut) plan to offer a modified version of their bipartisan, proposed Climate Stewardship Act of 2003 (S. 139) as an amendment.The amendment would establish a marketdriven system of greenhouse gas tradeable allowances to reduce emission. It would also provide for a program of scientific research on abrupt climate change in order to identify and understand past instances of abrupt change; and would establish a national greenhouse gas data base.
Evolutionary Catastrophes: The Science of Mass Extinction
Authors: Hames Willis 
Published: October 2006

The stories behind the greatest scientific controversies are more than entertaining. They provide windows into the evolution of scientific thought, scientific method, technological achievements and their research applications, and the influence of individuals and personalities on a community's acceptance of a theory Epic controversies surround the theories for Earth's mass extinction events, and none is more spectacular than the continuing polemic over the Cretaceous‐Tertiary (K/T) mass extinctions and ultimate demise of the dinosaurs.In contrast to other great scientific debates, we tend to view the K/T event in the context of a crime scene, where the spectacularly diverse flora and fauna of a primordial Eden were unwittingly slain by one or more ruthless and efficient killers. A “foreign” suspect has been fingered; an intruder that killed suddenly and randomly has become the principal suspect. The main clues uncovered in the case include a global K/T iridium anomaly; shock‐deformed minerals in K/T boundary sediments; the ˜6 5 m.y‐old Deccan flood‐basalt province, which covered an area roughly the size of France; and the ˜6 5 m.y‐old Chicxulub impact crater in the Yucatan peninsula, which seems to be among the largest to have formed in the inner solar system over the past billion years.
Re‐examining potential for geothermal energy in the United States
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

New technological initiatives, along with potential policy and economic incentives, could help to bring about a resurgence in geothermal energy development in the United States, said several experts at a 22 May forum in Washington, D.C. The forum was sponsored by the House and Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucuses, the Sustainable Energy Coalition, and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.Among these initiatives is an ambitious program of the U.S. Department of Energy to expand existing geothermal energy fields, and potentially create new fields through “enhanced geothermal systems.” In addition, a program of the Bush administration encourages geothermal development on some public lands, and current legislation would provide tax credits and other incentives for geothermal development.