bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Paradox of Power: Voices of Warning and Reason in the Geosciences
Authors: Thompson Douglas 
Published: October 2006

As a culture, we are faced with a series of increasingly complex environmental problems. As geoscientists, we are often asked to assume the role of technical experts to provide guidance or solutions to these difficult dilemmas. Unfortunately, the political, social, economic, and judicial aspects of environmental management often require geoscientists to advocate choices or provide definitive answers that are in conflict with our training as never‐ending hypothesis testers and unbiased observers of nature.A Paradox of Power: Voices of Warning and Reason in the Geosciences addresses this topic by providing a collection of works that highlights various discrepancies between standard scientific procedures and the public decision‐making process. The book presents a range of views and examples that provides geoscientists with a background on the issues surrounding the use of their expertise and analyses in typical law and policy decisions.
U.S. Antarctic research program reviewed in congressional hearing
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

While it is all too common for major construction projects to exceed their budgets and extend beyond their anticipated deadlines, at least one federally funded project seems to be on target.The Amundsen‐Scott South Pole Station safety and environment upgrade (SPSE) and modernization (SPSM) is proceeding on budget and on schedule, Karl Erb, director of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Office of Polar Programs, told a U.S. House of Representatives science subcommittee during a June 9 hearing.
Data on past climate warmth may lead to better of warm future
Authors: Droxler Andre W. , Poor Richard , Burckle Lloyd 
Published: October 2006

Weather bureaus around the world have accumulated daily historical records of atmospheric conditions for more than a century to help forecast meteorological conditions 3 to 5 days ahead. To gain insight into the impact of possible future climate warming and constrain predictive models for a warm future, climatologists are seeking paleoclimatologic and paleoceanographic records from recent intervals of the late Quaternary, when conditions were demonstrably warmer than today.Results of past research on Brunhes‐age paleoclimate suggest that Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11), an interval between 420 and 360 ka, was the longest and warmest interglacial interval of the past 500 kyr (see the recent review by Howard [1997]). This interval was characterized by warmer seasurface temperatures in high latitudes, strong thermohaline circulation, unusual carbonate plankton blooms in high latitudes, higher than present sea level, coral reef expansion resulting in large accumulation of neritic carbonates, and overall poor pelagic carbonate preservation.
Kushiro receives 1999 Harry H. Hess Medal
Authors: Mysen Bjorn , Kushiro Iko 
Published: October 2006

Ikuo Kushiro was awarded the Harry H. Hess Medal at the AGU Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on June 2, 1999, in Boston, Massachusetts. The medal recognizes outstanding achievements in the research of the constitution and evolution of Earth and its sister planets.Characterization of rock‐forming processes requires laboratory experiments to determine the physicochemical properties of materials or their analog model compounds at high temperatures and high pressures. The experimental data, however, are not particularly useful unless integrated with observational and theoretical information. Ikuo Kushiro, this year's winner of the Harry H. Hess Medal, approaches experiments with this integrated view as his guiding light. He does experimental petrology, geochemistry and geophysics, but always with the understanding that the experimental data provide only a piece of a more complex puzzle. It is perhaps in part because of this attitude that Ikuo and his colleagues have provided the fundamental experimental data on phase equilibria, element partitioning, and equation‐of‐state of molten silicate applicable to most major rock‐forming processes in the Earth. All too often we ask what we can do with our instrumentation and proceed from there. Ikuo first asks the real question and then designs the experiment.
Studying the importance of hurricanes to the northern Gulf of Mexico coast
Authors: Stone Gregory W. , Wang Ping , Pepper David A. , Grymes John M. , Roberts Harry H. , Zhang Xiongping , Hsu S. A. , Huh Oscar K. 
Published: October 2006

A pilot study was recently begun dealing with the impacts and post‐storm adjustment of barrier islands to severe storms along the northern Gulf of Mexico. The study, funded by the National Science Foundation, may lead to a more comprehensive understanding of coastal morphodynamics and longer term evolution of the coast in that area. Study of the recent impacts and post‐storm adjustment of the area to Hurricane Georges is playing a very important role in enhancing our comprehension of the significance of these high‐energy events in coastal dynamics.A few hours before dawn on September 28, 1998, Hurricane Georges made landfall near Biloxi along the Mississippi Gulf Coast (Figure 1) as a strong Category 2 system (as defined by the Saffir/Simpson scale: Simpson, 1974). Waves off the Mississippi/Louisiana coast exceeded 10 m in height and storm surge varied between 2–3 m. The entire stretch of coast from the modern Mississippi delta to the Florida Panhandle, a distance in excess of 200 km, was severely impacted by the hurricane through overwash and breaching of the barrier islands, and erosion of the distal ends of the sub‐deltas and major distributaries comprising the Birdsfoot delta in Louisiana. Near the landfall zone, the Category 2 storm impacted the coastline with estimated sustained winds of over 45 ms−1, and rainfall between 300 and 400 mm in coastal Mississippi. Georges was the sixth storm to impact this stretch of coast since 1995, the most severe being Hurricane Opal, at its strongest a powerful Category 4 system that made landfall east of Pensacola Beach, Florida, as a marginal Category 3 hurricane [see Eos article by Stone et al., 1996; Lawrence et al., 1998]. The cumulative impact of storms during this period of intense hurricane activity has altered significantly the morphology of the Northwest Florida coast. A review of historical photographs dating back to the early 1900's suggests that the entire coast is now in quite probably the most degraded morphological condition of the 20th century.
Seismology and geodesy showcased during Capitol Hill exhibit
Authors: Folger Peter 
Published: October 2006

AGU joined forces with the American Geological Institute (AGI) for a third consecutive year to sponsor a display of earthquake and seismology research during an exhibit in Washington, D.C., on May 19. Associate professor of geophysics and AGU member Rick Aster of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology demonstrated to members of Congress and their staffs technology used to monitor seismic events and display the results in near‐real time.The display featured a computer‐generated map that showed the location of seismic events worldwide and a working seismometer and recording drum that allowed lawmakers and staff to jump up and down and record their own earthquakes. The display proved popular for Capitol Hill regulars, who are accustomed to throwing their weight around.
Leopold Fellows meet
Authors: Hartmann Dennis L. 
Published: October 2006

Communicating the results of environmental science research to nonscientists was the focus of a week‐long meeting of fellows of the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program (ALLP) in June. Participating were 20 mid‐career university facultymembers, the first group of ALLP fellows to be selected.Discussions were held on the role of scientists in society, techniques for effective leadership, improving communications skills, and working productively with news media. The training program considers both print and broadcast media as well as other outreach vehicles. The meeting was held at Kah Nee Ta Resort on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Warm Springs, Oregon, June 15–21, 1999.
Seismic and tsunami hazards in northeast Caribbean addressed at meeting
Authors: Dillon William , Ten Brink Uri , Frankel Arthur , Mueller Charles , Rodriguez Rafael 
Published: October 2006

Significant earthquake and tsunami hazards exist in the northeastern Caribbean, where plate movements are rapid and complex, and population density is high.The tectonic situation at this “corner,” where a small plate is shoved over a larger one, is of considerable scientific significance. Evaluation of the tsunami hazard and earthquake risk in this region of 3.7 million people, which includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, requires understanding the rapid plate motions that occur there.At a workshop this past March sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a group of scientists, engineers, and government and industry representatives set about to determine critical elements that would be required in a comprehensive program of scientific research, management, and publiceducation concerning the tectonic risk in the region. Participants called for work in marine geology and geophysics, paleoseismology and active faults, earthquake seismology, engineering, and tsunami research. In particular, the participants concluded that offshore faults, their level of seismic activity and, if possible, slip rates, must be better identified, and a better historic and prehistoric record of earthquake and tsunami activity on the islands must be established.
Report warns of more natural disasters
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

While two world wars and numerous armed conflicts have framed the humanitarian agenda in the 20th century, natural disasters are a seething and growing problem that affects developing countries and the poor the hardest. Yet, emergency aid funds for dealing with natural disasters have plunged by 40% over the last 5 years, according to a new report on the issue.In addition, 1998 was the worst year on record for natural disasters, which caused more damage than ever before, according to the World Disasters Report 1999, issued by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in June. Last year, natural disasters created 25 million refugees, more than did wars and conflict.
Role of sea ice in global climate change pondered
Authors: Schmidt Gavin A. , Hansen James E. 
Published: October 2006

Large changes in Arctic sea ice cover have occurred in the last few years, though whether they are part of a long‐term natural variability or are related to increased radiative forcing from anthropogenic greenhouse gases is unclear. Knowing how sea ice changes have affected, and will continue to affect, climate (through changes to the surface albedo and through alterations to the ocean‐atmospheric exchange of freshwater and heat) may be crucial for making future climate predictions.Processes in the Arctic that affect climate include melt‐ponds, lead fractions, brine rejection, and ice‐ice interactions. Quite a number more may exist. But, however many, they operate at relatively small scales that cannot be directly incorporated into current climate models. The high latitudes are expected to be the most sensitive regions to possible anthropogenically forced climate changes, yet observations of polar climate and understanding of polar processes have not proceeded as fast as our appreciation of their importance.
Major multidisciplinary ocean project seeks proposals
Authors: Minster Jean‐François 
Published: October 2006

A major multidisciplinary oceanographic program in the North Atlantic is being put together by the French oceanographic community, and scientists who would like to participate are being asked to submit proposals immediately Field work will begin in September 2000. Known as Programme Océanographique Multidisciplinaire Méso‐Echelle (POMME),the Meso‐scale Multidisciplinary Oceanographic Program, it is supported by several French scientific agencies and will take place between the Azores and the Iberian Peninsula.The program will focus on subduction of mode water in the region, its effect on biological production and the carbon budget in the area, and the fate of organic matter after subduction. More detailed information on the program's framework, rationale, and organization can be found on the Web (http://www.insu.cnrs‐dir.fr).
New hotspotting software available
Authors: Wessel Paul 
Published: October 2006

A new software package for use in “hotspotting” has been released and is available without charge to help clarify the method and stimulate plate motion research. Hotspotting was introduced by Wessel and Kroenke [1997a] as a new geometric technique and immediately generated much interest [e.g., Schneider, 1997; Stein, 1997].The method involves drawing crustal flowlines back in time from seamount locations. Because seamount ages are not used, one can include all available seamounts. If hotspots are stationary, if the stage rotations are accurate, and if the seamounts were indeed formed at hotspots, then these flowlines will intersect at the hotspot locations.
Sediment slump likely caused 1998 Papua New Guinea tsunami
Authors: Tappin David R. , Matsumoto Takeshi , Watts Phil , Satake Kenji , McMurtry Gary M. , Matsuyama Masafumi , Lafoy Yves , Tsuji Yoshinobu , Kanamatsu Toshiya , Lus Wilfred , Iwabuchi Yo , Yeh Harry , Matsumotu Yoshihiro , Nakamura Mamoru , Mahoi Mathew , Hill Peter , Crook Keith , Anton Lawrence , Walsh J. P. 
Published: October 2006

Two major marine surveys off northern Papua New Guinea (PNG) earlier this year now suggest, when survivors' reports are taken into account, that last summer's disastrous tsunami there was caused by a sediment slump 25 km offshore. The slump was probably the result of seabed shaking from an earthquake. Not only was a sediment slump, or submarine landslide, responsible for the tsunami, according to the data, but the magnitude and wave‐height distribution of the tsunami along the coast were the result of focusing by local seabed morphology.The conclusions are based on new off‐shore bathymetry, remote operated vehicle (ROV) dive investigations, the time delay between the source earthquake and when the tsunami struck, computer simulation models, and earthquake aftershock distribution. The most critical evidence is in survivors' accounts of the timing of the tsunami relative to the initially felt earthquake and aftershock [see Davies, 1998a].
National Science Foundation appoints new geosciences head
Authors: Anonymous  
Published: October 2006

Oceanographer Margaret Leinen of the University of Rhode Island has been selected to head the National Science Foundation's (NSF) geosciences directorate.She will assume her position of assistant director for geosciences in January 2000 and will be responsible for coordinating environmental science and engineering programs within NSF for environmental cooperation and collaborations between NSF and other Federal agencies, and managing an annual budget of approximately $470 million.
Diplomats try to establish greenhouse gas emissions‐reduction rules
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

Ministers and other senior officials will participate in the next follow‐up to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change when they deliberate on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a November 2–13 meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina.“The Kyoto conference on the Climate Change Convention was a high‐profile event because for the first time industrialized countries adopted emission‐reduction targets that are legally binding,” said Michael Zammit Cutajar, executive secretary of the convention. “In Buenos Aires, governments will try to establish the rules of the game for reaching these targets."”
Pew Center calls for action on climate change
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

A new report by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and its Business Environmental Leadership Council calls for taking steps soon to deal with the threat of global climate change.The report, “Early Action and Global Climate Change,” reviews legal, policy, and technical issues concerning an early action policy; analyzes several current proposals; and outlines the elements of an early action policy.
Outstanding student paper awards
Authors: Anonymous  
Published: October 2006

The Hydrology Section presented the following outstanding student paper awards at the 1997 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., last December.Robert P. Ackert, Jr. presented a poster titled “Late Quaternary Glacial Chronology of the Beardmore Glacier, Antarctica: Evidence for Expansion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during Marine Isotope Stage 2 and 4.” Robert received his B.A. and master degrees in geological sciences from the University of Maine in 1979 and 1990, respectively. His research interests are reconstructing past climate and ice sheet dynamics from glacial geologic records and geomorphology. His primary research area has been Antarctica where he has participated in 12 field seasons. Realizing the potential of surface exposure dating using cosmogenic nuclides for developing glacial chronologies and the advantages of making his own measurements, he has become an isotope geochemist. Robert is finishing his Ph.D. dissertation under Mark Kurz in the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program.
New data sets for climate change and land use studies are on track
Authors: Mutlow Chris T. , Murray M. J. , Smith D. L. , Watts P. D. , North P. 
Published: October 2006

Well‐calibrated IR and visible image data sets, from satellite sensors designed to provide urgently needed information for the debate on climate change and global warming, are now available from the European Space Agency (ESA). These data sets also have application to a wide range of land use and other Earth studies.The data have been collected by Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) instruments on ERS 1 and 2 since the early 1990s. ESA will launch a further ATSR, the Advanced ATSR (AATSR),on its Envisat mission next year. It is expected that the data can also be applied in other fields and, through its synergistic use with information from other sensors, can improve calibration and reduce uncertainties in interpretation of that information.
CFC phase out
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

The latest meeting of governmental parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer took measures to further restrict chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochloro‐fluorocarbons (HCFCs) developed as a replacement for CFCs but also harmful to the stratospheric ozone layer, and other ozone‐depleting chemicals.At the meeting, held in Beijing, China in early December, the parties agreed to provide $440 million in new contributions to the Protocol's Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol (MFMP), which encourages reducing the production and use of ozone‐depleting chemicals and supports adopting ozonefriendly technologies. The fund has spent more than $1 billion since 1991.
Report looks at sequestering CO2 beneath Earth's surface
Authors: Rudnicki J. W. , Wawersik W. R. 
Published: October 2006

Capturing carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuels and injecting it into geologic formations below the Earth's surface is technically feasible, but new scientific challenges are raised by longterm sequestration. The sequestering concept is one proposed strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.Sequestering could be either on land or in the oceans and should be for a minimum of 50–100 years, but 1000 years would be better, the report says. It discusses fundamental geoscience research issues associated with sequestration and is organized around perspectives from geophysics, geohydrology, geochemistry, and geomechanics.
Committee reports: Public policy and the geophysical sciences
Authors: Folger Peter 
Published: October 2006

At the 2000 AGU Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. the Committee on Public Affairs (COPA) will highlight why Earth and space science are important to policy makers and how scientists can become better attuned to the political process.During their October 21–22 meeting at AGU headquarters, COPA planned a session that will explore how science is used in the 2000 presidential campaigns by featuring campaign representatives, congressional staff, and other politically savvy commentators. Earth and space scientists will learn how they can contribute their knowledge to shaping the platforms of the Presidential candidates. To help AGU members communicate with Congress, COPA will convene a workshop at the Spring Meeting that will provide participants with the background and hands‐on skills to competently inform Senators and Representatives about the geophysical sciences. Space will be limited, so look for an announcement in Eos and on the AGU Science and Legislative Alert (ASLA) network at http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/sci_pol.html.
Tropical cyclone images now can be viewed “live” on the Web
Authors: Lee Thomas E. , Hawkins Jeffrey D. , Turk F.J. , Richardson Kim , Sampson Charles , Kent John 
Published: October 2006

Passive microwave images of tropical cyclones worldwide can now be viewed on the Web in near real time. Instant access can be obtained to any “live” tropical cyclone. The images show rainband and eye structure beneath higher cloud decks and can be used to infer intensity and storm position.The images are available on the Web site of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Marine Meteorology Division (http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/projects/sat_products.html, select “tropical cyclones”). Because of the composite nature of the images, users can view unfamiliar Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) images juxtaposed with much more familiar visible and IR images (see Figure 1). This juxtaposition allows a number of interpretations of storm structure that would not be possible using information from a single sensor alone. The ability to detect storm eyes from microwave images, and therefore fix storm position, is significant since cyclone eyes are often obscured by cirrus canopies on visible and IR images. Besides microwave, visible and IR images of tropical cyclones, the Web site also has charts giving official U.S. forecasts of the storm tracks and intensities (example in Figure 2).
Scientists jump on the Santa bandwagon
Authors: Showstack Randy 
Published: October 2006

While many government scientists may have been home with their families during the Christmas holiday, a hardy few—at no cost to taxpayers—apparently helped Santa Claus and tracked him on his rounds.Through its Satellite Command and Data Acquisition Station in Fairbanks, Alaska, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintained a satellite watch of the North Pole for weather conditions and unusual activity Meanwhile, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina, created an online snow report for Santa, which contains maps and tables showing percentage probabilities for various snow depths on Christmas morning.