Union Session Research Articles

Gender and diversity in geosciences related Union session at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna 2019-2021

Gender and diversity in geosciences related Union session at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna 2019-2021

Clinoforms and clinothems: Fundamental elements of basin infill

AbstractThis special issue dealing with the recent advances on modern and ancient clinoform‐stratified sedimentary successions arises from a European Geoscience Union (EGU) session “Clinoform drivers and stratigraphic products in siliciclastic and carbonate successions”, Vienna, April 2018. Clinoforms and clinothems represent a dominant architectural style of strata in many sedimentary environments, including deltaic and nondeltaic shorelines in both marine and lacustrine settings, and are one of the key building blocks of the sedimentary record. This Special Issue in Basin Research aspires to represent a step forward in understanding formation and preservation of these fundamental stratigraphic elements. As this Special Issue documents, a comprehensive understanding of clinoformal strata requires a multidisciplinary and multi‐scale approach. Sixteen papers present case studies from a variety of tectonic settings worldwide, investigated with an array of methods, including seismo‐stratigraphy, well logs, cores, high‐resolution biostratigraphy, outcrop studies and modern bathymetric data. While observations document sedimentary processes and products in sedimentary basins, numerical models are necessary to provide a quantitative basis for the extrapolation of these processes and strata at different temporal and spatial scales. The papers highlight at least five main research avenues that we briefly introduce and discuss below: (a) clinoforms and clinothems as sedimentary archives; (b) the nested nature of clinoformal strata and implications for the trajectory of the rollover point(s); (c) quantitative clinoform parameters and dynamic indices; (d) architecture, growth and sequence stratigraphy of marine versus lacustrine clinoformal strata; and (e) clinoforms and geological time. This introduction also contains brief descriptions of each paper of the Special Issue.

Space Weather and Citizen Science

Citizen science promotes public participation in the discovery of new knowledge. Also known as volunteer monitoring or crowd sourcing, this form of public science has taken hold in astronomy, water-quality monitoring, wildlife surveys, and a host of other endeavors. The American Geophysical Union (AGU) devoted one Union session and two Informatics sessions at the 2014 Fall meeting to citizen science. More than 50 meeting abstracts referred to citizen science. In our own community, partnership between amateur and professional scientists is growing. Four recent reports highlight this trend. Three of these appear in Space Weather; the third was presented at the Fall AGU meeting. Figure 1 shows a word cloud capturing the ideas associated with these reports. Barnard et al. [2014, DOI: 10.1002/2014SW001119] describe the Solar Stormwatch (SSW) System, a coronal mass ejection (CME) catalog developed from 4 years of Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) Heliospheric Imager (HI) observations, with inputs from more than 16,000 citizen scientists (CSs). SSW is a collaboration between the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, the Royal Observatory Greenwich, and Zooniverse at the University of Oxford, and now continues at the University of Reading. Citizen scientists use game mechanics, tailored for the project, to view STEREO-HI movies to identify and characterize CMEs. Averaging the observations of the CSs allowed them to trace the propagation of the ejecta through the HI field of view. Established methods were then used to estimate the CME speeds and directions. More than 140 CMEs during January 2007 to February 2010 were cataloged. SSW also generated a priori forecasts of Earth-directed CME speeds and arrival times from the space weather beacon mode STEREO-HI data. Tucker-Hood et al. [2014, DOI: 10.1002/2014SW001106] investigated the predictive skill of these forecasts. In a project involving ham radio operators, radio amateurs have voluntarily built networks that monitor transionospheric radio links in real time and report these observations back to central servers. These transionospheric radio links are generated by other hams engaging in friendly (and sometimes competitive) two-way transmissions. Frissell et al. [2014, DOI: 10.1002/2014SW001132] show how the Reverse Beacon Network was used to monitor variations in the high-frequency (HF) propagation paths in an interval surrounding the 13 May 2013 X2.9 solar flare. Prior to the flare, radio operators were using over 1100 HF paths between Europe, North America, South America, and Africa on frequencies from 7 to 28 MHz. As the flare peaked, less than 35% of the paths were available. Effects of the sudden ionospheric disturbance on ham operators lasted for multiple tens of minutes. Frissell et al. argue that CS amateur HF networks can be powerful tools for remote sensing of the ionosphere. Aurorasaurus is a citizen science project that uses the public's observations to track aurora. In her presentation at the Fall 2014 AGU meeting (https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm14/meetingapp.cgi#Paper/28083) E. MacDonald discussed how a team of space scientists, educators, and computer scientists are using auroral sightings to improve space weather models. This National Science Foundation sponsored project aims to provide better real-time notifications of the visibility of the aurora to the interested public via the combination of noisy crowd-sourced ground truth and satellite-based predictions. The website http://aurorasaurus.org monitors tweets about the aurora and supports a platform for explaining and appreciating the dynamics and beauty of the northern lights. Site visitors learn where and when the northern lights are likely to be visible. Further, they can judge whether tweets containing phrases associated with auroral phenomena are likely to be factual reports. Mobile apps, a blog, and a network of volunteer scientists also support outreach efforts. These projects are pathfinders for those of us seeking ways to promote the societal relevance of our discipline and engage with a distributed network of citizen collaborators. The Journal looks forward to publishing results from more projects involving Citizen Scientists. Delores J. Knipp is Editor in Chief of Space Weather and Space Weather Quarterly. She is a Research Professor at University of Colorado Boulder, and holds an appointment as Senior Research Associate with the High Altitude Observatory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Email: dknipp@agu.org. Space Weather 10.1002/2015SW001167KNIPP

The 2008 AGU Fall Meeting

The 2008 AGU Fall Meeting, to be held 15–19 December in San Francisco, is likely to be the largest AGU meeting to date. More than 15,800 presentations are scheduled, and more than 11,000 participants registered prior to the early‐bird deadline of 14 November.This year, all oral sessions and the exhibit hall will be in Moscone West, and all poster sessions will be in Moscone North. (The American Society for Cell Biology will be holding its annual meeting in Moscone South.) Meeting attendees will receive general information including an author index, maps, and a list of sessions by discipline, cosponsors, day, time, and location.To reduce the environmental impact of the meeting, hard‐copy programs will no longer contain detailed session information—this is available on the Fall Meeting Web site, and terminals will be available to look up the meeting schedule on‐site. To increase accessibility of meeting highlights to those who cannot attend, approximately one Union session per day will be available as a live webcast (see the Fall Meeting Web site for details). Named lectures at the meeting will also be recorded; webcasts of these lectures will be posted after the talk.

Survey presents broad approach to tsunami studies

The Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami Offshore Survey (SEATOS) investigated the seafloor area near the 26 December 2004 earthquake. An early look at the data suggests that only small ground motions occurred. This raises major questions about how the enormous amount of energy from that earthquake could dissipate over relatively short distances, and whether the ground motion is characteristic of other active margins.SEATOS, which included an international, interdisciplinary team of scientists, conducted a detailed seafloor expedition in the vicinity of the epicenter of the Great Sumatra earthquake, in May 2005. The success of this interdisciplinary effort has led to a follow‐on workshop and a Union session at the upcoming AGU Fall Meeting on 5–6 December in San Francisco.

Where's 'Generation X'?: Labour History: Themes, Comparisons and Directions, University of Wollongong, 30 September - 1 October 1996

'Labour History: Themes, Comparisons and Directions' was a two-day conference held at the University of Wollongong on 30 September 1 October 1996. The conference was organised by the Labour History and Industrial Relations Research Centre at the University of Wollongong, other sponsors included the Asia Pacific Research Centre and the lllawarra Branch of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. The aim of the conference was to assess current and future Comparative and Regional labour history. Just as importantly, the conference-goers also gathered to pay tribute to Robin Gollan and his enormous contribution to Australian labour history. The conference program was neatly divided over two days. On Monday the proceedings addressed The Current State of Australian Labour History'. In the evening the conference dinner was held, celebrating, in some quarters merrily, Bob Gollan's achievements, the main focus being his involvement with labour history. The next morning the spotlight shifted to the related consideration of 'Comparative and Regional Labour History7. The boutique flavour of the conference worked well. Rather than having to make difficult choices from a smorgasbord of sessions, participants were able to relax with a set, but extremely stimulating, menu. The Monday's history began with Stuart Macintyre's keynote speech on current research in labour history. Following this the audience enjoyed sessions on Trade Unions in Labour History7, 'Aborigines in Labour History7 and 'Women in Labour History7. The presence of Mike Dwyer, president of the South Coast Labor Council, as a discussant in the Trade Union session added a touch of Wollongong spice to the proceedings. Both discussants and summarisers in these sessions added their impact, allowing considered response to the main speaker. Throughout the conference question times were lively, and occasionally terse, demonstrating that a gathering of labour history adherents is no guarantee of consensus, or even harmony. Despite self-confessed ennui with his topic Stuart Macintyre spoke clearly and concisely on The Present State of Labour History.7 Macintyre intimated that any assessment of labour history in its international context could not help but note the discipline's current concerns with both its (epistemological) base and its future. These dual concerns are, of course, not distinct, but closely related. Such matters are also undoubtedly a feature of contemporary Australian labour history, as evidenced in Terry living's recent collection and, indeed, at the conference itself. Nor are these questions canvassed solely by academy-based supporters of labour history. Jeff Shaw, New South Wales Attorney General and Minister for Industrial Relations, recently alluded to the question of what (rightly) constitutes the discipline. Launching Glenn Mitchell's book on the Building Workers Industrial Union late in 1996, the Minister strongly argued the importance of that work, and, by implication the work of others whose main focus is union history, to the very essence of labour history. Shaw supported his argument with a reiteration of living's point that '... labour history is 185

Space exploration: The geophysics of new worlds

Spring Meeting Union session U11B, “Space Exploration: The Geophysics of New Worlds,” will give a comprehensive overview of recent planetary research and put into perspective its implications for the solar system. Because the session involves topics ranging from planetary sciences to chemistry to volcanology, it should interest scientists from various disciplines.In “Mercury 20 Years After Mariner 10,” Bruce Hapke will discuss what is and is not known about Mercury, a planet that is difficult to observe because of its proximity to the Sun. Hapke says that ironically, we know less about Mercury than about Triton, a similarly sized body orbiting distant Neptune. He will also raise questions about the planet's core, whether it is solid or molten, and he will discuss several hypotheses about the composition of its crust.

Union session to explore the Mississippi‐Missouri river floods

The causes and effects of the severe Mississippi‐Missouri River floods of 1993 will be the focus of the Fall Meeting Union session U11B. This session should interest geophysical scientists in several disciplines, as it examines the meteorological conditions associated with the floods; their magnitudes and extent; the degree to which the floods represent a statistical extreme; and the role of channel constraints, reservoirs, and reservoir operating policies on flood dynamics and resulting damage. Descriptions of several papers to be presented as part of the session are discussed below.“The Great Midwestern Flood of 1993—A Description and Some Speculation on Causes,” will be presented by Gerald D. Bell, David R. Rodenhuis, and David Miskus of the Climate Analysis Center, Washington, D.C. This paper will examine the persistent circulation pattern that caused a major anomaly in climate conditions covering the upper midwest and north central Great Plains and resulted in the saturation of the Mississippi and lower Missouri rivers. The authors will also investigate hypotheses of global warming, stratospheric aerosols, and El Niño Southern Oscillation as an influence on this weather pattern.

VGP highlights of Spring Meeting

Two special events of interest to Union and VGP section members will take place on Tuesday afternoon, May 25, during AGU's Spring Meeting in Baltimore.R. A. Daly Lecture: Every section of AGU has an established “Bowie Lecture” named after a distinguished scientist associated with the work of the section. These lectures are delivered by special invitation during the annual AGU Spring or Fall meetings and are highlighted in the program. The VGP lecture is named for Reginald A. Daly, but it has never been given. Its inauguration at this year's Spring Meeting celebrates the distinguished career of this famous Harvard professor and author of the seminal Igneous Rocks and the Depths of the Earth (1914, 1933). Most fittingly, the inaugural lecture will be given by David Walker of Columbia University's Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory after a day‐long Union session on discontinuities in the mantle. Dave's lecture, “Errors in Earth Evolution,” will start at 4:45 P.M. We can expect to hear an original and provocative talk that features exciting, new data.

Status of hazard mitigation studies

This year has been one of the most costly years ever recorded for natural disasters. Researchers now studying these events are trying to better understand their evolution and impact to help minimize losses from future disasters.In “Rapid Response to Natural Hazard Mitigation,” a special Union session at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, researchers studying natural hazards will discuss the current status of hazard mitigation and reveal how new technologies are being applied to earthquake, tsunami, and volcanic monitoring programs to reduce future losses.

Birch remembered at Fall Union Session

Francis Birch, geophysicist, 1960 Bowie medalist, AGU Fellow, and past‐president of the Tectonophysics Section (1953–1956) passed away on January 30. AGU is honoring his contributions to geophysics with the session “Francis Birch and the Solid Earth: A Memorial Retrospective,” at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco.The full‐day Union session will feature both oral and poster presentations and will cover the many topics of Birch's studies of the Earth's mantle, crust, and core.

Can the climate be engineered?

As climate research increases our understanding of the atmosphere's chemistry, serious theories are emerging that address the problems associated with engineering climate. New proposals suggest that it may be possible to reverse the trend in global warming and to replenish the diminishing ozone layer.A special Union session titled Global Environmental Engineering, to be held at the Fall AGU Meeting in San Francisco, will bring researchers together to discuss the science and problems associated with engineering climate change. According to Ralph Cicerone, one of the session co‐conveners, “It is not our intention to propose solutions to the problems facing our climate, nor to suggest methods for altering the environment. Rather, we recognize that many people would like to see them critically reviewed to see if some of the concepts in climate engineering have merit.”

1990 Fall Meeting Report

The AGU 1990 Fall Meeting, held in San Francisco December 3–7, continued the steady growth trend for the western meeting set over the last decade. About 5200 members registered for the meeting and 3836 papers were given. The scientific kickoff to the meeting was provided by a Union session on initial results of the current Magellan mission to Venus. The mission was also the focus of a public lecture and short film on highlights of the mission and an extensive Union poster session.

1989 Fall Meeting report and late abstracts

The AGU 1989 Fall Meeting was held December 4–8 in San Francisco with meeting participation continuing the steady growth trend set throughout the decade. More than 4618 members registered at the meeting and 3300 papers were given.West Coast geophysical awareness had been heightened earlier in the fall by the magnitude‐7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake, which occurred October 17 just south of San Francisco. This event provided a topical accent for parts of the week's program. A Monday Union session was devoted to initial results from, and reaction to, the earthquake. The session was concluded by a address by U.S. Representative George E. Brown, Jr. (D‐Calif.), sponsor of the earthquake hazard reduction bill presently funding much of the earthquake hazards reduction program in the U.S.

Gephardt stresses global unity

Congressman Richard A. Gephardt (D‐MO) came to AGU's spring meeting in Baltimore, Md., to talk about global warming and public policy. He stressed global unity to combat the problems of increasing temperatures. His remarks were part of the Union session Earth: A Changing Planet on May 10. Gephardt emphasized the U.S. need to cooperate with Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and other countries where scientists are working to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases.

Frontiers of geophysics

The present and future state of geophysics was the subject of five wide‐ranging talks at “Frontiers of Geophysics,” a Union session held May 18 at the AGU Spring Meeting in Baltimore, Md.Scientists have suspected for many years that solar radiation controls aspects of Earth's climate. An up‐to‐date look at this old scientific problem led off the session. John Imbrie of Brown University (Providence, R.I.) talked about climatic effects of variations in Earth's orbital elements, better known as Milankovitch cycles. Three components of Earth's astronomical motion contribute to the amount of solar energy that reaches Earth: the obliquity or tilt of the rotation axis, its conical wobble or precession, and the eccentricity of Earth's orbit. The periods of these orbital elements vary from 23,000 years for precession to ∼100,000 years for eccentricity. The Milankovitch theory has now been tested against a rapidly growing mountain of climate and paleoclimate data and applied to t h e recurrence of ice ages and other phenomena.

Exchange of ideas for global studies

An all‐day Union session at the upcoming AGU Spring Meeting will provide a forum for discussing the present‐day advances and the new syntheses that may soon be possible through study of the earth as a system. According to session chairman Raymond A. Price of the Geological Survey of Canada (Ottawa), the goal of the session is to bring together speakers from a wide range of disciplines “to share some of the excitement that is being generated [through global studies] and to stimulate some synergism.” The “Earth as a System” session will be held on Tuesday, May 19, at the Baltimore, Md., meeting.

Plans for ocean drilling

The international ocean drilling community plans to meet in July 1987 to decide on some of the scientific goals of the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) for the next 5 years. An all‐day Union session is being held at the AGU Spring Meeting in Baltimore, Md., “to organize and energize the U.S. marine science community” in preparation for that meeting, according to session chairman Garrett Brass, of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami (Miami, Fla.).

Scientists urged to push harder for funding

“Earth scientists have not been eloquent, or even coherent, and certainly have not been effective” in presenting their case for federal funding of vitally important research, according to Don L. Anderson, director of the Seismological Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology and future President‐Elect of AGU. Anderson was one of seven speakers from the research and government communities who addressed the topic “Geophysical Research Funding: Hard Choices, Soft Money,” at a Union session held at the 1986 AGU Spring Meeting in Baltimore, Md.

Some hazards and catastrophes: Recognition and mitigation

Because some hazards to the human race embrace the technical competence of the American Geophysical Union, a Union session entitled “Some Hazards and Catastrophes: Recognition and Mitigation” will be held at the 1986 AGU Spring Meeting in Baltimore, Md, Tuesday morning, May 20.Scientific study of natural hazards has already been shown to be valuable to society and indeed has already been the subject of many AGU sessions. However, most programs of hazard reduction have been underfunded and restricted to only a few parts of the world. It is time to examine all natural hazards in the widest possible context of public affairs and to determine how a bold international effort would benefit the human race.