摘要:

The Office of Earth Sciences (OES) and its Advisory Board, Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Research Council, are again anxious to have the assistance of earth scientists in assuring that their responsibilities are fully met. These responsibilities include continued awareness and active concern for the health of the earth sciences, identification of opportunities for the earth sciences in meeting national needs, and fostering awareness of scientific advances that may help resolve national problems. Atmospheric, oceanographic, and solid earth scientists are invited to suggest activities at the national level to the OES and its Advisory Board.In making such suggestions, individual earth scientists have an opportunity to affect science and technology related to national problems. For example, proposals submitted in 1977 covered a variety of topics including geologic processes and climate, physical and chemical properties of geologic materials, resource management for U.S. coastal oceans, disposal of industrial waste on land, new technology for mapping, and weather and climate forecasts with societal implications. These proposals have been incorporated with ongoing studies or are being considered for separate actions. Scientists are encouraged to submit proposals on subjects that may not be receiving sufficient attention at the national level.

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO059i005p00434

年代:1978

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

On increasingly frequent occasions, AGU is asked by various of its members to advocate a particular position before legislators or administration officials or the general public. Most of these positions are scientific in character, but some are political or social. We have tried to be responsive to these requests and as effective as possible without treading too hard on any of the multivariate interests of our 13,000 individual members. The mere selection of issues on which it is appropriate to take an advocacy position is difficult, and the hard part is often arriving at a consensus on what position to take.

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO059i005p00435

年代:1978

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

A variety of different reconstructions of the southern continents have been proposed. This is largely a result of the lack of sufficient geologic and geophysical data to constrain their palaeopositions. Specifically, oceanic magnetic anomalies prior to the Late Cretaceous are of generally poor quality, and there is a lack of exposed geological section on Antarctica. A revised reconstruction of the southern continents, based on the 2000‐m contour, is proposed which includes the salient features of previous reconstructions but also considers data from several critical areas. The Falkland Plateau is included as defined by the 3000‐m contour. To prevent overlap and satisfy geologic constraints, the Antarctic Peninsula is placed to the western side of South America adjoining the Andean province and with Antarctica as a single unit. On the basis of geologic evidence, Madagascar is placed in a southerly position adjacent to Mozambique. The Seychelles are included as a continental fragment. Australia is shifted 250 km to the west with respect to Antarctica to produce a better geologic fit. A palinspastically reconstructed India is adjacent to western Australia and is fitted to a morphologically similar section of Antarctica. The Lord Howe Rise and Campbell Plateau are considered as two separate continental fragments. Although our revised reconstruction is controversial in some respects, it does remove many of the geologic inconsistencies present in earlier mod

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO059i005p00436

年代:1978

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Understanding the role of the ocean in spawning hurricanes may have taken a giant step forward with observations in tropical storm Anita last August.Reporting on measurements made in the storm, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded that the storm may have drawn part of its power from a pool of warm water in the Gulf of Mexico. This 225‐km‐wide eddy had been discovered a month before Anita by a NOAA oceanographic ship. It appears to have started with a break‐off of the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current. Coordinated sea and air measurements during the tropical storm showed that ‘the disturbance intensified steadily to tropical storm strength as it moved toward the center of the warm eddy,’ according to NOAA oceanographer John Proni. ‘Then, about 18 hours later, a deepening trend in central pressure began as the storm passed the western boundary of the eddy. Anita reached hurricane force a short

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO059i005p00450-04

年代:1978

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

A new instrumentation technique used by Edgar S. Etz and Gregory S. Rosasco at the National Bureau of Standards successfully identified the particulates emitted by oil‐fired power plants. Such detailed molecular identification is needed to assess the effect of pollutants on people and the environment. Since previous data on the chemical properties of fly ash are largely limited to the elemental composition of bulk samples of particulates collected in the stack and in the plume of power plants, the NBS molecular identifications are of great interest.The NBS unique laser‐Raman microprobe is designed for spectroscopic analysis of microparticles. Single particles, supported by a suitable substrate, are moved into the focal point of a laser beam (utilizing any one of several ‘excitation’ frequencies in the visible region of the spectrum), and the light scattered by the sample is analyzed for its spectral content. The scattered light contains the Raman spectrum of the particle which is diagnostic of molecular and crystal vibrations in the solid. Particles composed of a broad range of inorganic compounds, organic solids, and polymers show the normal Raman effect and can therefore be identified as to principal molecular const

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO059i005p00451

年代:1978

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Two specimens of meteorites found last December in the Transantarctic Mountains may be the first carbonaceous chrondrites ever found under conditions of minimum terrestrial contamination.Only 25 of the world's supply of some 2000 meteorites are carbonaceous chrondrites, representative of a celestial mix very much like that from which the planets must have been formed. Collected by a U.S.‐Japanese team under National Science Foundation sponsorship, the meteorites arrived in the United States for study sealed in uncontaminated stainless steel lunar canisters locked in lunar transfer case

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO059i005p00452-01

年代:1978

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Two new manuals describing standard techniques for water quality analysis work ‘reflect the nation's growing concern over our many manmade pollutants and their effects on both aquatic life and man himself,’ according to R. J. Pickering of USGS. The manuals reflect the changing needs in water quality analysis, covering such subjects as sampling and measuring radioactive substances and aquatic life in surface and underground water and sediments.The latest in the 34‐volume series Techniques of Water Resources Investigations, the two volumes are the first in a new loose‐leaf format designed for speedy updating. Because of the new format and the automatic distribution of future supplements and revisions, the two new manuals are available only from the Superintendent of Do

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO059i005p00453-01

年代:1978

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Four antarctic researchers have reported finding a correlation between the amount of ‘fixed’ nitrogen in various levels of ice at the south pole and the 11‐year cycle of sunspots, auroral activity, and cosmic ray intensity. The researchers suggested that their finding could provide a new technique to help scientists determine the relationship of past solar activity to global climate.The findings are based on the fact that increased solar activity causes a corresponding increase in auroral activity, which in turn increases nitrate production. The fixed nitrogen levels measured by the antarctic researchers were in the form of nitrates and ammonium. Bruce C. Parker of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI) and Edward J. Zeller of the University of Kansas reported these results in theAntarctic Journal of the United States. The researchers, assisted by Lawrence E. Heiskell and William J. Thompson, graduate students atVPI, obtained their data by analyzing a firn core—snow accumulations that have not yet been compacted into ice—collected near the geographic south pole in Nove

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO059i005p00454-01

年代:1978

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

In the March 1976 issue of EOS we reported on the formation of the A GU Committee on Geomagnetic Reference Fields and on our efforts to influence the decision concerning the 1975 revision of the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) by the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) . Working once again with the Society of Exploration Geophysicists committee on the IGRF, we participated in the 1977 IAGA meeting on the revision of the IGRF. It was fortunate that at the same meeting, views similar to ours were presented by S. P. Srivastava of Canada and R. Whitworth of Australia. The resulting discussion and committee decision on the revision of the IGRF were indeed encouraging.

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO059i005p00471

年代:1978

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

It has been apparent for at least the last decade that the abundance patterns observed for groups of trace elements in igneous rocks contain much potential information about both the source region and the evolutionary history of the rocks. The primary tool used to interpret trace element patterns is the distribution coefficientD, a numerical value specifying the ratio of the concentration of an element in one phase (e.g., plagioclase) to another phase (e.g., magma). At the present time, nearly all of theDvalues used in model calculations come from analyses of phenocryst‐matrix pairs in volcanic rocks. However, the application of phenocryst/matrix partition coefficients to some problems in igneous petrogenesis may be highly inappropriate because of problems of mineral separation, because of disequilibrium between mineral and groundmass, and because such important variables as pressure, temperature, and oxygen partial pressure are not well known for the analyzed sample

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO059i005p00481

年代:1978

数据来源: WILEY