AGU Web Site Research Articles

AGU Board and Council Close Out Productive Year

The AGU Board of Directors and Council both held meetings in San Francisco the weekend before Fall Meeting, wrapping up a very busy and productive year. The Board and Council have a joint work plan (see http://sites.agu.org/leadership/bod/), and meetings are planned to provide a flow of information between the two groups, as well as to staff and other parts of the Union, including committees and task forces, editors, and sections and focus groups. Outcomes from the meetings are posted on AGU's website: Board outcomes can be found at http://sites.agu.org/leadership/bod/board‐outcomes/ and Council outcomes at, http://sites.agu.org/leadership/science‐council/council‐outcomes/.

Outstanding Student Paper Awards

Atmospheric and Space Electricity (ASE)

Updated AGU GeoCalendar Launched

The AGU Geophysical Year Calendar, a longtime column in Eos that lists upcoming events of importance to the geoscience community, received an update with the recent refresh of AGU's website, http://www.agu.org. Now called the AGU GeoCalendar, it features improved search screens and the ability to print results (See AGU GeoCalendar, page 475).

New Look for AGU Website

You will notice some changes when you visit the AGU website this week. AGU.org has a modern look that is consistent with the Fall Meeting and other AGU meeting websites. Content is easier to find because of new features, including the following:

2012 AGU medal, award, and prize recipients

The Honors and Recognition Committee is very pleased to present the 2012 AGU medalists, awardees, and prize recipients. These individuals are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of Earth and space science and for their service to the scientific community. They have distinguished themselves through their extraordinary achievements and are role models for future generations of scientists. We look forward to recognizing the accomplishments of these esteemed colleagues at an honors ceremony to be held on 5 December 2012 at the Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. This year's honorees are also listed on AGU's Web site at http://sites.agu.org/honors.

Influencing the future of AGU

Steve Jobs, visionary cofounder of Apple, Inc., once said, “Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future.” This statement aptly describes AGU at this time as the Board of Directors and the Council continue to influence the future in exciting ways by advancing our strategic plan (http://www.agu.org/about/mission.shtml). Both governing bodies held meetings in San Francisco immediately preceding the 2011 AGU Fall Meeting. The agendas for both meetings, along with the key outcomes, are posted on AGU's Web site (http://www.agu.org/about/governance/).

Working together for AGU and you

The AGU Board of Directors and Council continue to advance AGU's strategic plan and are working together to fulfill AGU's vision to “collaboratively advance and communicate science and its power to ensure a sustainable future.” Both met recently. The key outcomes from both meetings are described below and posted on the AGU Web site ( http://www.agu.org/about/governance/).

Key Outcomes From the Inaugural AGU Board of Directors Meeting

The engagement and enthusiasm of Board members and senior staff were evident as we met for the first Board of Directors meeting on 20–21 September 2010 at AGU headquarters, and much was accomplished over the 1.5 days.The meeting kicked off with a look to the future. Board members and staff had been asked to submit imagined headlines for 2019, the year that AGU will celebrate its 100th anniversary. This was a question raised by Executive Director Chris McEntee as she interacted with AGU leaders over the past several months. Board members and staff replied with a wide variety of headlines that inspired us to think about what is possible for AGU as we move forward as an organization. The headlines are posted on the AGU Web site (http://www.agu.org/about/presidents_msg/), and we encourage you to submit your own headline to agu_execdirector@agu.org.

Editor's Choice Offered as a Service

Editor's Choice is now being offered as a service rather than on a subscription basis.As in the past, articles will be selected by collection editors with assistance from advisory panels. The selected articles will be listed on the AGU Web site (http://www.agu.org/pubs/journals/virtual/editors_choice/); these lists will be accessible to anyone. Those who are interested in reading the articles can access them through a personal or institutional subscription or can purchase them either individually or as part of a Multi‐Choice packet.

Comments requested on Natural Hazards Position Statement

AGU's position statement Meeting the Challenges of Natural Hazards will expire in December 2004 unless reaffirmed by Council. The Committee on Public Affairs seeks comments from the members on the current statement (see below). Please e‐mail your comments to Peter Folger, AGU Public Affairs, pfolger@agu.org, by 7 December 2004. An electronic version of the statement is available on the AGU Web site: http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/positions/naturalhaz. shtml.

Creationism in the Grand Canyon, Texas textbooks

AGU President Bob Dickinson, together with presidents of six other scientific societies, have written to Joseph Alston, Superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park, pointing out that a creationist book, The Grand Canyon: A Different View, is being sold in bookstores within the borders of the park as a scientific explanation about Grand Canyon geologic history President Dickinson's 16 December letter urges that Alston clearly separate The Grand Canyon: A Different View from books and materials that discuss the legitimate scientific understanding of the origin of the Grand Canyon. The letter warns the Park Service against giving the impression that it approves of the anthscience movement known as young‐ Earth creationism, or that it endorses the advancement of religious tenets disguised as science. The text of the letter is on AGU's Web site: http://www.agu.org/scLsoc/policy/ sci_pol.html.

Author fees for online publication

Like the journals themselves, AGU publication fees have been restructured to accommodate the new online, publish‐as‐ready approach. The new fee structure is based on authors' providing electronic files of their text and art in acceptable formats (Word, WordPerfect, and LaTeX for text, and .eps or .tif for digital art). However, if you are unable to supply electronic files, you can opt for a higher‐charge, full‐service route in which AGU will create electronic files from hard copy. All authors for AGU journals are expected to support the journal archive through fees based on number as well as size of article files. The revenue from these fees is set aside for the “Perpetual Care Trust Fund,” which will support the migration of the journal archive to new formats or media as technology changes. For several journals, excess length fees remain in place to encourage submission of concisely written articles. During this first transition year, most author fees are based on the number of print page equivalents (pdf) in an article; in the future, however, charges are expected to be associated with file size. The specific fees for each journal are posted on AGU's Web site under Publications‐Tools for Authors.

AGU adopts position statements on education, government support for geophysical research

At the 2001 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, the AGU Council adopted a new position statement, “Importance of the Earth and Space Sciences in Primary and Secondary Education: An Endorsement of the AAAS Benchmarks and NRC Standards.”The statement endorses recommendations included in two reports issued by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Research Council NRC) both of which highlight the Earth and space sciences, along with the physical and life sciences, as essential elements in education at all grade levels. The statement (see below) is posted on the AGU Web site: http://wwwagu.org/ sci_soc/policy/earthspace_educ.html.

New support line for members

AGU has recently established a new customer “support line”—solutions@agu.org—as the point of contact on AGU's staff for members and other individual constituents who have not been able to resolve issues or get questions answered promptly or to their satisfaction through customary channels.Over the past year, there have been many changes at AGU. Unfortunately—and perhaps as a result of these changes—communication with members and individual constituents has suffered. Some individuals report, for example, that e‐mail messages are not answered to their satisfaction, or in a timely manner. Instructions on AGU's Web site are unclear in some areas. Problems related specifically to the transition to electronic publishing are cropping up.

Council focuses on outreach

The 1996‐1998 Council met for the final time on May 28,1998, in Boston, Mass., USA. At this meeting, the Council adopted three position statements. The first action reaffirms the long‐standing statement opposing the teaching of creationism as science. The second emphasizes the importance of a balanced space program, one in which the Space Station is not the cause of a decline in the key science elements of the U.S. space program. The third succinctlypresents a case for governmental support of the geophysical sciences. These statements have been published in Eos and are available on AGU's Web site (http://www.agu.org, see “Science Policy” under “Science for Everyone.”)

Reply [to “Gentler term proposed for “borrowers’”

The author's basic point is a sound one— that not all inappropriate behavior is misconduct in science. I also appreciate Thomas Peterson's good humor. And perhaps it would be useful to have a word or phrase to help us deal with a sloppiness of scientific habit where there is no intent to mislead. However, just because a problem arises through inattention, misjudgment, or misunderstanding does not mean that the problem should not be taken seriously. AGU takes all such problems seriously, as evidenced by the Union's policy on Misconduct in Science, available at the AGU web site