Goddard Institute Of Space Studies Research Articles

Modeling demographic-driven vegetation dynamics and ecosystem biogeochemical cycling in NASA GISS's Earth system model (ModelE-BiomeE v.1.0)

Abstract. We developed a demographic vegetation model, BiomeE, to improve the modeling of vegetation dynamics and ecosystem biogeochemical cycles in the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies' ModelE Earth system model. This model includes the processes of plant growth, mortality, reproduction, vegetation structural dynamics, and soil carbon and nitrogen storage and transformations. The model combines the plant physiological processes of ModelE's original vegetation model, Ent, with the plant demographic and ecosystem nitrogen processes that have been represented in the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's LM3-PPA. We used nine plant functional types to represent global natural vegetation functional diversity, including trees, shrubs, and grasses, and a new phenology model to simulate vegetation seasonal changes with temperature and precipitation fluctuations. Competition for light and soil resources is individual based, which makes the modeling of transient compositional dynamics and vegetation succession possible. Overall, the BiomeE model simulates, with fidelity comparable to other models, the dynamics of vegetation and soil biogeochemistry, including leaf area index, vegetation structure (e.g., height, tree density, size distribution, and crown organization), and ecosystem carbon and nitrogen storage and fluxes. This model allows ModelE to simulate transient and long-term biogeophysical and biogeochemical feedbacks between the climate system and land ecosystems. Furthermore, BiomeE also allows for the eco-evolutionary modeling of community assemblage in response to past and future climate changes with its individual-based competition and demographic processes.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENERGY MANAGEMENT INFORMATIVE SYSTEM

The Industrial Revolution initiates an era of mass production and industrialization of cities that provides all the comforts of modern living, and thus the unconscious pollution of the planet, climate change and global warming. According to the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, the depths in the ozone layer and the increased carbon dioxide emissions in the air are responsible for increasing the surface temperature of the Earth by 1 °C in the last 100 years. As temperature rises on the Earth, we face an increase of sea level levels, a change in precipitation on a regional scale, frequent extremes in temperatures like heat waves, droughts, floods and snowstorms. The warming is felt more on the land surface than in the sea waters, while the most significant is the Arctic, where glaciers are starting to disintegrate, and this can lead to the eradication of some species of flora and fauna. For the human, global warming will lead to the challenge of providing food and leaving populated areas close to flooded areas. Many countries support the climate change onvention and contribute to reducing the impact of GTC with climate engineering, with global warming being stopped before reaching 2 °C compared to the period before industrialization. By implementing a system for managing energy and renewable energy sources, it will contribute to the rational utilization of energy and energy sources and the formation of a sustainable society that will affect in future reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere.

Factors controlling variability in the oxidative capacity of the troposphere since the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract. The oxidative capacity of past atmospheres is highly uncertain. We present here a new climate–biosphere–chemistry modeling framework to determine oxidant levels in the present and past troposphere. We use the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model driven by meteorological fields from the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) ModelE, with land cover and fire emissions from dynamic global vegetation models. We present time-slice simulations for the present day, late preindustrial era (AD 1770), and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 19–23 ka), and we test the sensitivity of model results to uncertainty in lightning and fire emissions. We find that most preindustrial and paleo climate simulations yield reduced oxidant levels relative to the present day. Contrary to prior studies, tropospheric mean OH in our ensemble shows little change at the LGM relative to the preindustrial era (0.5 ± 12 %), despite large reductions in methane concentrations. We find a simple linear relationship between tropospheric mean ozone photolysis rates, water vapor, and total emissions of NOx and reactive carbon that explains 72 % of the variability in global mean OH in 11 different simulations across the last glacial–interglacial time interval and the industrial era. Key parameters controlling the tropospheric oxidative capacity over glacial–interglacial periods include overhead stratospheric ozone, tropospheric water vapor, and lightning NOx emissions. Variability in global mean OH since the LGM is insensitive to fire emissions. Our simulations are broadly consistent with ice-core records of Δ17O in sulfate and nitrate at the LGM, and CO, HCHO, and H2O2 in the preindustrial era. Our results imply that the glacial–interglacial changes in atmospheric methane observed in ice cores are predominantly driven by changes in its sources as opposed to its sink with OH.

Encouraging and Motivating Minority Engineering Students Through Summer Research Initiative


 
 
 The 21st Century ushered in a new era of globalization with accelerated rate of technological developments demanding a work force highly trained in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields. The current US administration has recognized this challenge by making education a priority and focusing particularly on the restoration of America’s leadership in Higher Education with special emphasis on the role played by Community Colleges. We have been charged with preparing a well-trained student population in the STEM fields to meet these challenges and stay competitive in the global markets. Consequently, innovative educational programs must begin at an early stage of students’ education with the theoretical and practical applications needed to become front-runners in this competitive world. There is an imperative to introduce students to a research environment where students can experience career relevance motivating them to continue pursuing these fields. By conducting research through internships with faculty members, students will be empowered to develop skills and will be motivated to succeed within STEM areas. Therefore, the Summer Internship Initiative will narrow the gap between theory and application by making the theory relevant to existing research projects and making the learning process exciting and interactive for students, thus increasing retention in the STEM areas. Hostos Community College of CUNY has partnered with senior colleges in CUNY and the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (“GISS”) in New York City to expand the educational horizon of our students, enabling them to compete and win in global markets. The latter is possible through collaborative research initiatives that develop and improve critical thinking and creativity skills, hands-on, team oriented, and interdisciplinary learning via collaborative research projects.
 
 

Changes in soil organic carbon and climate change – Application of the RothC model in agro-silvo-pastoral Mediterranean systems

Due to the complexity of soil organic carbon (SOC), models have proved very useful in helping to improve our understanding of the soil–plant–atmosphere system. In this study we used the Rothamsted carbon model (RothC), which considers the effect of climate (temperature, rainfall and evaporation), soil texture (clay content) and crop management on the decomposition processes, to predict changes in SOC under different land uses and the different climate that may occur in the future.SOC turnover was evaluated in land uses under different levels of agricultural intensification. The agriculture of the study-area is mainly extensive and markedly agro-silvo-pastoral, and is typical of north-eastern Sardinia (Italy) and similar areas of the Mediterranean basin. The following land uses were considered: vineyards, hay crops, pastures, semi-natural systems (formerly vineyards) and cork oak forests. Since the study-area is characterized by the same soil type (Haplic Endoleptic Cambisols, Dystric) derived from granitic rocks and potential native vegetation (Quercus suber L.), this was considered as the model baseline to study soil organic carbon dynamics. Climate change scenarios for 90yr were generated from the baseline climate with two Global Climate Models: GISS (Goddard Institute of Space Studies, USA), and HadCM3 (Met Office, Hadley Centre, UK), for two of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios (SRES A2 and B2).Land uses at low cropping intensity were more efficient than intensive agricultural systems in terms of SOC storage in the order: hay crop>pasture>cork oak forest>semi-natural systems. Land use change to vineyards decreased the carbon balance significantly between 0.09 and 0.15tCha−1yr−1. However, former vineyards have almost recovered from soil disturbance following the establishment of the vineyards.

지난 130년 간 한반도 근해의 표층 수온 변화 경향

This study examined the change in sea surface temperature (SST) around the Korean peninsula since industrialization at year 1880, and its possible causes using observation based data from the Hadley Center, the Goddard Institute of Space Studies, and National Climate Data Center. Since year 1880, There have been multi-decadal fluctuations with a gradual reduction from 1880 to around 1940, and from 1950-1980. There has then been a marked increase from 1940-1950, and from 1980 to the present. The ocean surface warming is larger during the boreal winter than summer, and greater in the south. The multi-decadal SST fluctuations around the Korean Peninsula are largely consistent with the negative phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which fluctuates with periods of about 20-50 years. Secondly, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), whose long period component moves along with the PDO, appears to influence the SST near the Korean Peninsula, especially in recent decades. Overall, the SST around the Korean Peninsula has warmed since year 1880 by about 1℃, which is about twice the global-mean ocean surface warming. This long-term warming is aligned with an increase in greenhouse gas concentration, as well as local factors such as the PDO.

HANSEN RENEWS PLEA FOR ACTION

TWENTY YEARS AGO, James Hansen brought his concern about global warming to the U.S. Senate, testifying that Earth had entered a long-term warming trend and man-made greenhouse gases were almost certainly the cause. Among his predictions, he said global warming would hit both extremes in the water cycle—severe droughts and forest fires, with heavy rains and floods likely. His testimony was like lightning, igniting all sides of a growing climate-change debate. Last week, on the anniversary of his June 23, 1988, testimony, Hansen, now the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies, returned to Capitol Hill with similar charges but with a greater sense of urgency. Although climate change is much better understood today and fewer doubters remain, Hansen said, little has been accomplished to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and time is running out. In congressional testimony, interviews, and speeches, Hansen urged a “transformational change” in Washington to restrict carbon emissions. Otherwise, he ...

Notes from the Editors, February 2008

» Notes from the EditorsTwenty years ago climatologist James Hansen of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies, widely considered to be the world’s leading authority on global warming, first brought the issue into the public spotlight in testimony before the U.S. Congress. Recently, Hansen published an article entitled “Climate Catastrophe” in the New Scientist (July 28, 2007), http://www.newscientist.com. There he presented evidence suggesting that under “business as usual,” in which greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase unchecked, a rise in sea level by several meters during the present century due to the melting of polar ice sheets is a “near certainty.”This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Effects of future climate change on regional air pollution episodes in the United States

We examine the impact of future climate change on regional air pollution meteorology in the United States by conducting a transient climate change (1950–2052) simulation in a general circulation model (GCM) of the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS). We include in the GCM two tracers of anthropogenic pollution, combustion carbon monoxide (COt) and black carbon (BCt). Sources of both tracers and the loss frequency of COt are held constant in time, while wet deposition of BCt responds to the changing climate. Results show that the severity and duration of summertime regional pollution episodes in the midwestern and northeastern United States increase significantly relative to present. Pollutant concentrations during these episodes increase by 5–10% and the mean episode duration increases from 2 to 3–4 days. These increases appear to be driven by a decline in the frequency of mid‐latitude cyclones tracking across southern Canada. The cold fronts associated with these cyclones are known to provide the main mechanism for ventilation of the midwestern and northeastern United States. Mid‐latitude cyclone frequency is expected to decrease in a warmer climate; such a decrease is already apparent in long‐term observations. Mixing depths over the midwest and northeast increase by 100–240 m in our future‐climate simulation, not enough to compensate for the increased stagnation resulting from reduced cyclone frequency.

Comparison of the Structure of the ITCZ in the West Pacific during the Boreal Summers of 1989–93 Using AMIP Simulations and ECMWF Reanalysis

The dynamic structure and interannual variability of the ITCZ in the western North Pacific and east Asia during the boreal summers of 1989-93 are investigated. European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalyses are used to characterize the dynamical structure of the ITCZ. The ITCZ structure in the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Climate Model 3 (CCM3.6) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA) Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) SI2000 GCM is also explored. The ITCZ axis can be partitioned into three sections in the western North Pacific and east Asia: the continental monsoon trough (CMT) in India, the Bay of Bengal, and Indo-China; the oceanic monsoon trough (OMT) in the Pacific warm pool; and the trade wind trough (TWT) in the central Pacific. The confluence point (CP) is defined as an area where the broad cyclonic flow in OMT changes to the easterly trades of the TWT. East of the CP, both GCMs simulate a weaker easterly trade wind regime with a broader ITCZ due to the dislocation of the Pacific high. To the west of the CP, both GCMs simulate a weaker cross-equatorial flow and OMT. Both models show skill in simulating the interannual variability of the location of the CP; however, for the peak ENSO warm phase years (1992-93), the spread among ensemble members of the CP longitude is comparable to the shift of ensemble mean CP location relative to 1989. That is, the internal variability of each GCM is on the same order as the simulated interannual variability in this region.

Response of the Northern Hemisphere sea ice to greenhouse forcing in a global climate model

AbstractThe Q.-flux Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) global climate model, in which an atmospheric general circulation model is coupled to a mixed-layer ocean with specified horizontal heat transports, is used to simulate the transient and equilibrium climate response to a gradual increase of carbon dioxide (1% per year increase of CO2 to doubled CO2). The results indicate that the current GISS model has a high sensitivity with a global annual warming of about 4°C for doubled CO2 . Enhanced warming is found at higher latitudes near sea-ice margins due to retreat of sea ice in the greenhouse experiment. Surface warming is larger in winter than in summer, in part because of the reductions in ice cover and thickness that insulate the winter atmosphere from the ocean. The annual mean reduction of sea-ice cover due to doubled CO2 is about 30% for the Northern Hemisphere. The CO2 experiment has a 70% reduction of sea-ice area and 55% thinning of ice in August in the Northern Hemisphere. Noticeable reduction of sea-ice cover has been found in both historical records and satellite observations. The largest reduction of simulated sea-ice extent occurs in summer, consistent with observations.

Climate Change Impacts on the Potential Productivity of Corn and Winter Wheat in Their Primary United States Growing Regions

We calculate the impacts of climate effects inferred from three atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs) at three levels of climate change severity associated with change in global mean temperature (GMT) of 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 °C and three levels of atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]) – 365 (no CO2 fertilization effect), 560 and 750 ppm – on the potential production of dryland winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) for the primary (current) U.S. growing regions of each crop. This analysis is a subset of the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM) which has the goal of integrating the linkages and feedbacks among human activities and resulting greenhouse gas emissions, changes in atmospheric composition and resulting climate change, and impacts on terrestrial systems. A set of representative farms was designed for each of the primary production regions studied and the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) was used to simulate crop response to climate change. The GCMs applied were the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS), the United Kingdom Meteorological Transient (UKTR) and the Australian Bureau of Meteorological Research Center (BMRC), each regionalized by means of a scenario generator (SCENGEN). The GISS scenarios have the least impact on corn and wheat production, reducing national potential production for corn by 6% and wheat by 7% at a GMT of 2.5 °C and no CO2 fertilization effect; the UKTR scenario had the most severe impact on wheat, reducing production by 18% under the same conditions; BMRC had the greatest negative impact on corn, reducing production by 20%. A GMT increase of 1.0°C marginally decreased corn and wheat production. Increasing GMT had a detrimental impact on both corn and wheat production, with wheat production suffering the greatest losses. Decreases for wheat production at GMT 5.0 and [CO2] = 365 ppm range from 36% for the GISS to 76% for the UKTR scenario. Increases in atmospheric [CO2] had a positive impact on both corn and wheat production. AT GMT 1.0, an increase in [CO2] to 560 ppm resulted in a net increase in corn and wheat production above baseline levels (from 18 to 29% for wheat and 2 to 5% for corn). Increases in [CO2] help to offset yield reductions at higher GMT levels; in most cases, however, these increases are not sufficient to return crop production to baseline levels.

Simulating the impact of climate change on rice production in Asia and evaluating options for adaptation

The likely effects of climate change caused by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels on rice production in Asia were evaluated using two rice crop simulation models, ORYZA1 and SIMRIW, running under ‘fixed-change’ climate scenarios and scenarios predicted for a doubled-CO 2 (2 × CO 2) atmosphere by the General Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) and the United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO) General Circulation Models. In general, an increase in CO 2 level was found to increase yields while increases in temperature reduced yields. Overall rice production in the region was predicted by the ORYZA1 model to change by +6.5, −4.4 and −5.6% under the GFDL, GISS and UKMO 2×CO 2 scenarios, respectively, while the corresponding changes predicted by the SIMRIW model were +4.2, −10.4 and −12.8%. The average of these estimates would suggest that rice production in the Asian region may decline by −3.8% under the climate of the next century. Declines in yield were predicted under the GISS and UKMO scenarios for Thailand, Bangladesh, southern China and western India, while increases were predicted for Indonesia, Malaysia, and Taiwan and parts of India and China. Modification of sowing dates at high latitudes, where warmer temperatures allowed a longer growing season, permitted a possible transition from single-cropping to double-cropping at some locations, an adaptation that could potentially have a large positive impact on national rice production in some countries. Planting dates could also be adjusted to avoid high temperatures at the time of flowering which can cause severe spikelet sterility in some varieties, although a delay in planting in some cases may prevent a second crop from being obtained because of high temperatures later in the season. Selection for varieties with a higher tolerance of spikelet fertility to temperature was shown to be capable of restoring yield levels to those predicted for current climates. The use of longer-maturing varieties to take advantage of longer growing seasons at higher latitudes may instead result in lower yields, due to the grain formation and ripening periods being pushed to less favorable conditions later in the season. A better strategy might be to select for shorter-maturing varieties to allow a second crop to be grown in these regions.

Simulated climate change effects on ice and snow covers on lakes in a temperate region

A simulation model for ice and snow covers is applied to dimictic and polymictic lakes of the temperate zone to project the effects of possible climate warming on ice and snow covers. The winter cover model is associated with a deterministic, one-dimensional water temperature model. The lake parameters required as model input are surface area ( A S), maximum depth ( H max), summer and Secchi depth as a measure of radiation attenuation and trophic state. The model is driven by daily weather data. The model has been validated with extensive data. Standard errors between simulated and measured values are 0.12 m for ice thicknesses, 0.07 m for snow covers and less than 6 days for ice formation dates. The model is applied to simulate effects of projected climate change on winter ice and snow covers on different types of lakes in Minnesota. Lake depth and latitude are shown to have the strongest influence on freeze-over dates. Lake morphometry causes variations of up to 6 days in the mean value of ice-in dates. The trophic state and shape of a lake have little effect on ice-out date, but latitude is important. The projected climate change due to a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide (2 × CO 2) is obtained from the output of the Canadian Climate Center Global Circulation Model (CCC GCM) and the Goddard Institute of Space Studies at Columbia University (GISS GCM). The 2 × CO 2 climate delays the ice formation by as much as 20 days, reduces maximum ice and snow thicknesses by 50%, and shortens the ice cover period by up to 60 days. These changes would eliminate fish winterkill in most shallow lakes, but would endanger snowmobiles and ice fishermen. To illustrate the effect of projected climate change on winter ice/snow cover characteristics, separate graphs are presented for values simulated with inputs of past climate conditions (1961–1979) and with a projected 2 × CO 2 climate scenario. Independent variables used on these plots are a lake geometry ratio A S 0.25 H max and Secchi depth. The lake geometry ratio measures the susceptibility of a lake to stratification.

A global three‐dimensional model of tropospheric sulfate

A three‐dimensional model is used to simulate the global tropospheric distributions of dimethylsulfide (DMS), SO2, SO42−, and methanesulfonic acid (MSA). The model uses meteorological input from a general circulation model (GCM) developed at the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) with 4° × 5° horizontal resolution, nine layers in the vertical, and a time resolution of 4 hours. Model results are compared with observations from surface sites, ships, and aircraft. The model reproduces generally to within 30% the observed SO2 and SO42− concentrations over the United States and Europe; these concentrations are highly sensitive to the supply of H2O2 as an in‐cloud SO2 oxidant. Sulfate concentrations and wet deposition fluxes observed at remote marine sites can be accounted for using a global DMS source of 22 Tg S yr−1 in the model. However, this source overestimates DMS air concentrations by a factor of 2 unless we assume the presence of another DMS oxidant besides OH and NO3. Inclusion of another DMS oxidant in our model also improves the simulation of the MSA to SO42− concentration ratio in marine air. Simulated SO42− concentrations in the northern hemispheric free troposphere are much lower than in previous global models and are more consistent with the few observations available. The difference reflects in part our accounting of efficient scavenging of SO2 and SO42− in wet convective updrafts. Global mean tropospheric lifetimes computed in our model are 1.0 days for DMS, 1.2 days for SO2, 3.9 days for SO42−, and 6.2 days for MSA. Fossil fuel combustion and industrial activities represent 68% of global non‐sea‐salt sulfur emissions. About 50% of SO2 globally is converted to SO42− aerosol (principally by in‐cloud oxidation) while the remainder is removed by deposition (30% by dry, 20% by wet). In‐cloud oxidation of SO2 represents 85% of the global SO42− source.

Implications of CO2 global warming on great lakes ice cover

Statistical ice cover models were used to project daily mean basin ice cover and annual ice cover duration for Lakes Superior and Erie. Models were applied to a 1951–80 base period and to three 30-year steady double carbon dioxide (2 × CO2) scenarios produced by the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS), and the Oregon State University (OSU) general circulation models. Ice cover estimates were made for the West, Central, and East Basins of Lake Erie and for the West, East, and Whitefish Bay Basins of Lake Superior. Average ice cover duration for the 1951– 80 base period ranged from 13 to 16 weeks for individual lake basins. Reductions in average ice cover duration under the three 2 × CO2 scenarios for individual lake basins ranged from 5 to 12 weeks for the OSU scenario, 8 to 13 weeks for the GISS scenario, and 11 to 13 weeks for GFDL scenario. Winters without ice formation become common for Lake Superior under the GFDL scenario and under all three 2 × CO2 scenarios for the Central and East Basins of Lake Erie. During an average 2 × CO2 winter, ice cover would be limited to the shallow areas of Lakes Erie and Superior. Because of uncertainties in the ice cover models, the results given here represent only a first approximation and are likely to represent an upper limit of the extent and duration of ice cover under the climate change projected by the three 2 × CO2scenarios. Notwithstanding these limitations, ice cover projected by the 2 × CO2 scenarios provides a preliminary assessment of the potential sensitivity of the Great Lakes ice cover to global warming. Potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts of a 2 × CO2 warming include year-round navigation, change in abundance of some fish species in the Great Lakes, discontinuation or reduction of winter recreational activities, and an increase in winter lake evaporation.

Ice-age hurricanes and tropical storms

We compare Pleistocene tropical cyclones with present-day storms in this study through the use of a three-dimensional numerical model simulating hurricane development and processes1. The characteristics of Atlantic ice-age tropical storms are derived from reconstructions of the 18,000 BP climate (the Last Glacial Maximum or LGM) and the GISS (Goddard Institute of Space Studies) General Circulation Model's LGM simulation2,3. The simulation results indicate that although the structure of the ice-age atmosphere was colder and more stable, it had the potential to support development of tropical cyclones. Such storms, however, would be substantially weaker than contemporary storms. This investigation demonstrates the value of integrating numerical models of varying spatial scales in climatic research.

Literature Is Where It's At

California has gone transformational! my English teacher friend announced in tones reserved for coming of Deity or departure of superintendents. She was referring to latest triumph of new English, significant because occupancy of Golden Land clearly promises national conquest. My response was less than enthusiastic, for lately I've begun to feel that English teachers are distracted from their main business by seductive promise that new linguistics alone will deliver them from old English. As if, you see, grammar were our main business and that transforming study of grammar accomplished necessary transformation of English teachers and teaching. I oppose both notions. Our main business as regards can be nothing less than language in action, to use Hayakawa's phrase, and our main business as regards English is to act as if we hear what this particular time is saying to many of our students: Literature is where it's at. Rightly considered, literature has always been where it's at. It rubs against life, brings us to that place crazy priest in F. Scott Fitzgerald's Absolution warns us against, where past glimmering we see the heat and sweat and It is and always has been that way of going beneath our own skin and getting into skin of someone else. It is prime gift of imagination, capacity to make real a life beyond one's individual life. Its larger social utility is that of making appalling experiences of our time shared experiences, an intensely imagined reality which brings many of us up close to awful reality pressing on few. Within setting provided by formal education, literature today may be able to fill some of void being created by a growing disaffection for science and technology. Five years ago, Robert Jastrow of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, expressed fear that high school students regarded modem scientist as gray, colorless and unaware of what's going on around him. At last meeting of tlle American Physical Society, decline of interest in physics was a major subject of discussion. Dr. Harvey Brooks of Harvard observed, 'There seems to be a revulsion against science by whole society, but especially among young people. Although English in university has shown few signs of capturing young minds in search of a commitment, there are good arguments that it should and some encouraging signs that it has that power. Consider position of poetry today. Neither now, nor in any recent time, can it be said to flourish, but surely more poets are writing poems and many more are reading poems to audiences than ever before. Link this with dominance of a popular music which calls forth poetry of a very traditional kind. Little of this is poetry in a high sense, but is very much