摘要:

A set of hearings was held a few weeks ago by the House Science and Technology Committee, Don Fuqua, chairman, during which White House science advisor George A. Keyworth II ‘reiterated the Reagan Administration's wisdom of the marketplace philosophy’ (Chemical and Engineering News, Dec. 14, 1981). National Academy of Sciences President Frank Press responded to Keyworth's continuing statements on the ‘hard choices’ ahead with a proposed ‘compact’ among the public, private and academic research sectors. Representatives of the science R&D community are hanging on every word released from the White House, hoping to find some solace from the picture of disastrous budget cuts that appears to be emerging in all sectors. The budget cuts, cumulative for fiscal years 1982 and 1983, do not, in notable examples, leave room for hard choices; dismantling of entire programs appears to be expected. Two examples are the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planetary scientific program and the programs of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). When NASA's program was recently described as ‘planetary science in extremis,’ the meaning intended was ‘near death,’ not ‘in the extreme’ (Science, Dec. 18, 1981). In the same light, Douglas M. Castle, former EPA director, defined ‘EPA under siege:’ ‘It's hard to find a rational explanation for [the 1983 fiscal year budget proposed by OMB] except that [the current EPA administrators]are, in fact, a wrecking crew’ (Environmental Science and Technology, December 1981). Meanwhile, the so‐called ‘research universities’ in the United States are turning to more practical and applied avenues to secure funds for their R&D budgets. According to science policy analyst, Wil Lepkowski, ‘The practical goals of technology are fast swallowing academic science, and nothing seems likely to be the same a

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO063i001p00001-01

年代:1982

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

At the end of the austral winter, the Southern Ocean sea ice covers over 20 million square kilometers of ocean, an area larger than Antarctica. In November the ice begins to melt rapidly, retreating to only 20% of winter value by February. The basis of our understanding of the complex Southern Ocean is data obtained during the ice‐free period; yet, it is in the ice‐covered state, where the data base is essentially zero, that many significant events are believed to take place. Direct observations within the ice cover are limited to ships inadvertently locked in the ice, notably the Weddell Sea experience of the Deutschland in 1912, to coastal observations at Antarctic stations, and to a few year‐long bottom‐moored current meter deployments below the winter ice: in total, a very small data set that is restricted to a few types of measurements. It is likely that the extensive winter ice cover surrounding Antarctica represents the largest segment of the world ocean without a fundamental d

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO063i001p00002-01

年代:1982

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Four of the 19 persons selected as prize fellows by the John D. and Catherine MacArthur Foundation specialize in the earth, ocean, or space sciences. The four are John P. Holdren, Robert W. Kates, Paul G. Richards, and Joseph H. Taylor.The awards, ranging from $24,000 to $60,000 annually for 5 years, are unrestricted; the recipients may pursue any field of endeavor and are not required to publish a paper or to meet similar requirements. The exact amount of the award is dependent on the recipient's age; older prize fellows receive larger awards than do younger ones.

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO063i001p00003

年代:1982

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The American Geophysical Union began its life in 1919 as the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics and continued in this role until 1972 when it split off from the National Academy of Sciences and became independent. It has grown from a small group that held its annual meetings in the Academy building to a very large group that strains convention facilities at multiple meetings each year.AGU has always served a broad community concerned with the solid earth, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the ionosphere, and the solar system and has always had strong international interests. It is the principal scientific organization representing basic research in geophysics in the United States and, in the view of many, the world.

ISSN:0002-8606    

DOI:10.1029/EO063i001p00006

年代:1982

数据来源: WILEY