AGU Members Research Articles

Outstanding student paper awards

The following AGU members received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2010 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. See also “Outstanding Student Paper Awards” published previously (Eos, 92(18), 155; 92(19), 165; 92(20), 173) and in future issues of Eos.

Outstanding student paper awards

The following AGU members received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2010 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. See also “Outstanding Student Paper Awards” published previously (Eos, 92(18), 155;92(19), 165) and in future issues of Eos

AGU Selects Two Congressional Science Fellows

AGU will sponsor Rebecca French and Ian Lloyd as Congressional Science Fellows for the 2011–2012 term. French and Lloyd will each work for a year in the office of a senator, representative, or congressional committee, and they will join 30 other Fellows selected by other scientific societies to contribute their scientific knowledge to the policy‐making process. French and Lloyd were selected in March by a panel of AGU members who have served as past Congressional Science Fellows after a competitive review process. Their term will mark the 34th year that AGU has sponsored a Fellow and the second year that AGU has sponsored two Fellows concurrently.

Outstanding Student Paper Awards

The following AGU members received Outstanding Student Paper Awards at the 2010 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. See also “Outstanding Student Paper Awards” published previously (Eos, 92(18), 155) and in future issues of Eos.

AGU Members Press for Continued Federal Support for Basic Research on Capitol Hill

While the debate over funding the federal government in 2011 is over, budget battles for 2012 and following years are now heating up. To demonstrate the importance of basic research funding, AGU collaborated with 28 other scientific and engineering societies to host 250 scientists at the sixteenth annual Science‐Engineering‐Technology Congressional Visits Day (SET‐CVD). Twenty‐four Earth and space scientists, from space physicists to hydrologists, came to Washington, D. C., on 6–7 April. Their mission was to remind lawmakers that federally supported science research drives America's economic engine; protects lives, property, and the environment; and helps keep America competitive by training the next generation of scientists, engineers, and science educators.

Whose Foot in the Door?

Many professional societies in the geosciences, including AGU, have made it their practice to accept for presentation almost every abstract submitted for professional meetings, including meetings of national and international stature. Unfortunately, it is becoming clear that this generous policy can have serious and unintended consequences. As some readers will know, a tiny minority of AGU members are concerned with furthering a religiously motivated creationist agenda and (in all good faith, presumably) completely misrepresent science to that end. For most scientists this is a trivial matter. We know that an AGU abstract, for example, is just an abstract. It does not have the status of a peer‐reviewed scientific contribution, although the research reported will often provide the basis for one. We know that radioactive decay rates depend on basic physical constants and the laws of quantum mechanics. We also know, from the fact that we can understand the structure of the oldest rocks or the spectra of the most distant galaxies, that these things have not changed for billions of years. If an abstract makes claims to the contrary, we might attribute this to human error, or to instrumental limitations, or even to some real and interesting confounding phenomenon, such as the presence of bacterial contamination in an unexpected location. In any case, we are unlikely to be misled, and we might even learn something. So, seemingly, no great harm is done.

Exploration Station 2010 Brings Science to the Public

Exploration Station is a public outreach event held prior to the AGU Fall Meeting each year and is a joint venture between AGU and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The event features hands‐on science activities for the public. This year's event was held in conjunction with the AGU public lecture given by SDO lead project scientist, Dean Pesnell. Many members of the general public attended, including families with children. They were joined by many AGU members, who also enjoyed the exhibits and explored the possible education and outreach activities available within the AGU community. Educators from across AGU were involved, but space physics and planetary sciences were especially well represented.

Evolution of the AGU Fall Meeting

The Fall Meeting is AGU's flagship meeting and is the largest Earth and space sciences meeting in the world. The high quality of this meeting is due to the joint efforts of the Fall Meeting Program Committee, the professional AGU meetings staff, AGU members who serve as session chairs, and AGU members who submit abstracts and attend the meeting. The Fall Meeting in 2010 was attended by more than 19,000, including 31% from outside the United States. Attendance at the Fall Meeting has been growing at a steady rate of approximately 6–8% per year over the past decade.

Outreach and Communications Highlights at the AGU Fall Meeting

Did you know that there is more to the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco than just scientific sessions? AGU also is offering a wide variety of outreach and communications workshops, career opportunity events, informative workshops for teachers, and film screenings at this year's Fall Meeting on 13–17 December and on Sunday, 12 December, just prior to the meeting.As part of its new strategic plan, AGU is committed to engaging its members, shaping policy, and informing society about the excitement of Earth and space science and its role in developing solutions for the sustainability of the planet. Outreach and communications events are critical to accomplishing these goals. AGU members can become involved in public outreach, public policy, or media‐related activities by participating in these events at the Fall Meeting. Here are highlights of outreach and communications events at the Fall Meeting:

Further Comment on “AGU Statement: Investigation of Scientists and Officials in L'Aquila, Italy, Is Unfounded”

The AGU statement on the investigation of Italian scientists and officials in regard to the L'Aquila earthquake (Eos, 91(28), 248, 13 July 2010) appears to be a noble attempt to protect not only these individuals but also those AGU members who are involved in similar hazard and risk assessments. But in the long run this statement not only damages AGU by misleading its membership as to the responsibilities of the indicted individuals but also sends the wrong message to the Italian scientific communities about their social responsibilities.The AGU statement assumes that the indicted individuals are innocent because it is not possible for scientists to predict earthquakes, but it neglects to explain what their scientific responsibilities are and why these individuals may be also guilty of failing to properly exercise their social responsibility. If one accepts public funds, has the responsibility of deciding how to manage those funds, and is playing the double role of a scientist and a politician, one is also responsible for both the scientific and social consequences of one's actions. Because some of the indicted individuals are also responsible for drafting and promoting the unreliable Vesuvius Evacuation Plan (http://www.westnet.com/~dobran), they should also be accountable for the consequences in the Vesuvius area.

AGU Members Visit Capitol Hill to Promote Earth and Space Sciences

Climate change, earthquake preparedness, rare earth elements, hydraulic fracking, and America's global competitiveness in science are among the science topics in policy headlines today. For legislators to create good policy on these and other topics related to the Earth and space sciences, they need access to good science, which is why AGU encourages its members to participate in Congressional Visits Days.On 21–22 September, 55 Earth and space scientists from 24 states brought their expertise to the U.S. Congress, in Washington, D.C., for the third annual Geosciences Congressional Visits Day (Geo‐CVD). AGU partnered with four other geosciences societies to bring a large scientific presence to Capitol Hill.

AGU Scientists “Rock” Capitol Hill for Congressional Visits Day

Although Earth and space sciences may not always make national headlines, they are woven into a multitude of national policies that affect people in the United States and around the world. Issues such as energy, environment, hazards, and climate consistently are on the legislative docket of the U.S. Congress, and as a result, policy makers need to hear from Earth and space scientists who can offer their expertise. Twenty‐nine AGU members from 16 states did just that during the fifteenth annual Science‐Engineering‐Technology Congressional Visits Day (SET‐CVD) event on 28–29 April. AGU joined forces with dozens of other scientific and engineering societies, bringing nearly 300 scientists and engineers from across the country to Capitol Hill.

Congratulations to AGU's 50‐ and 25‐Year Members in 2010

Please join us in congratulating 889 AGU members who achieved milestones of 50 and 25 consecutive years of membership in 2010. As a token of our appreciation and to honor their dedication and support of our organization, gold (50‐year) or silver (25‐year) lapel pins with AGU's logo recently were sent from AGU president Tim Grove to the members listed below. Grove stated, “Through the commitment of members like you, AGU has become one of the leading scientific societies in the world.” —April Orr, Director, Marketing and Membership, AGU

2010 Election Results

On 3 February 2010, AGU members completed voting for Union and section officers and for directors for the newly approved Board of Directors. Access to voting was provided over the Internet for a period of 31 days. Paper ballots were available upon request. Voting results and analysis were prepared by AGU staff, with results certified by AGU's Tellers Committee on 4 February 2010. Voting was widespread throughout the global base of AGU members. The overall participation rate was 19.2%.

Reply to “One in Five AGU Members Votes for Governance Changes”

Of the 56,670 AGU members eligible to vote for the recent governance changes, 11,614 cast usable ballots. This is a 20.5% participation rate; Cyril Galvin is correct in saying that one out of five AGU members voted. It is also correct to say that the recent vote on governance changes had a record turnout.The total number of ballots cast in the governance vote—and the percentage of members voting—exceeds that of the previous four elections. For the officers elected to serve terms in 2008–2010, about 9700 ballots were cast (19.1%); for 2006–2008, about 8400 ballots were cast (19.0%). The elections held for terms in 2004–2006 and in 2002–2004 each had much lower turnouts of roughly 6600 (around 16.5%).

One in Five AGU Members Votes for Governance Changes

At the top of the front page of the 24 November 2009 issue of Eos is a red headline that reads, “Overwhelming Approval for AGU Governance Change.” Three pages farther, the AGU president opens his discussion with, “Over the past month, AGU members have made their voices heard, overwhelmingly supporting the Council‐endorsed governance changes….”The plain English meaning of those words in Eos—contrasted against the data provided—suggests that a more accurate statement of the facts would say, “Despite an energetic program of e‐mail and print advertisement, fewer than one out of five AGU members voted for the governance changes.”

AGU Council to Consider Three Position Statements

Two AGU position statements—on NASA issues and ocean research—are being revised, and one position statement written by the American Meteorological Society (AMS), about geoengineering, is being submitted to the AGU Council for consideration. In December, Council will vote on adopting these three statements as official Union position statements. AGU members have the opportunity to provide comments during the AGU position statement writing process.The position statement panel revising the NASA statement (see box) has been charged with updating it to reflect current policy and budgetary developments of concern to the geophysics community. The statement is meant to reflect the recent condition of NASA's budget and missions and concerns about these matters in the near future. A separate AGU statement is aimed at the more long‐term subject of the role of the U.S. government in supporting Earth and space science research.

Geoscientists Flock to Capitol Hill for Congressional Visits Day

The second annual Geosciences Congressional Visits Day (Geo‐CVD), on 15–16 September 2009, came at a time when the U.S. Congress is considering a number of issues intimately connected to the geosciences, including energy, the environment, and climate. Nearly 60 geoscientists from across the country, including 22 AGU members from 12 states, participated in this year's event by discussing geoscience issues with members of Congress and their staffs. AGU cosponsored the event along with nine other Earth and space science societies that work together on geoscience policy issues as part of the Geopolicy Working Group in Washington, D.C.Geo‐CVD kicked off with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coalition's annual reception on Capitol Hill on 14 September. AGU is a member of the USGS Coalition, which includes several other science societies, and this year AGU organized the reception together with the Seismological Society of America. At the reception, U.S. senators Dianne Feinstein (D‐Calif.) and Lisa Murkowski (R‐Alaska) received the coalition's annual Leadership Award in recognition of their continuing commitment to USGS. Sen. Feinstein chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Issues, which is tasked with allocating funds to USGS; Sen. Murkowski is the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

AGU Members to Vote on Governance Changes

Like all nonprofit organizations, AGU's structure is contained in “formation” documents (articles of incorporation or “charter”) and “governance” documents (bylaws, policies and procedures). At AGU, the bylaws are currently known as the “statutes and bylaws.” Members are required to give a majority affirmative vote on any changes to the statutes and a two‐thirds affirmative vote to amend the articles of incorporation.

AGU International Award Recognizes Outstanding Science in Developing Countries

One of AGU's major programs is its honors program, which includes the Union medals and awards, fellowships, and section and focus group awards. The program seeks to recognize outstanding contributions made by AGU members and other individuals to the advancement of the Earth and space sciences; service to the community; and excellence in education, outreach, and science journalism.The International Award, the most recent addition to the Union's honors program, this year was presented for the third time, and nominations are being sought for the 2010 award. This award for international research cooperation was established to recognize an individual scientist or a small team for making an outstanding contribution to furthering the Earth and space sciences and using science for the benefit of society while laboring under adverse circumstances with limited resources in less favored nations.