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Contributors: Alan Weinstein, Ginny Owen, and Julie Burba
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· NWS's Ron McPherson Selected as Next Executive Director of American Meteorological Society
· FEMA Director Witt Announces Project Impact Alliance with American Meteorological Society
· Revised Online Database on Trace Gases Released by CDIAC
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Dr. Ronald D. McPherson, retired director of the National Weather Service Centers for Environmental Prediction, will be the next executive director of the 12 000-member American Meteorological Society. Announcement of his selection by a search committee of peers was made by Dr. Eugene Rasmusson, president of AMS and senior scientist at the Department of Meteorology at the University of Maryland at College Park, on 26 June. The search committee had been reviewing candidates since last year when the current executive director, Richard E. (Dick) Hallgren, announced he planned to step down in 1999.
McPherson's appointment, which was approved by the AMS Council, will become effective in January 1999. Hallgren, who has been executive director since 1988, will step down but will continue to work part-time for about two years.
In making the announcement, Rasmusson applauded McPherson for his background and experience, saying, "The American Meteorological Society is extremely fortunate to have Ron McPherson as our next executive director. He is both an outstanding scientist and an outstanding leader. He brings to this position all the qualities needed to meet the challenges of our society and our profession as we enter the 21st Century."
McPherson, who held the elected position of president of AMS in 1997, expressed gratitude at having been selected and said he was excited over the opportunity and challenge he faces in his new position.
One of his objectives, he continued, will be to bring together potential users of weather, climate, ocean and water resource predictions...for example, chief operating officers of weather-vulnerable enterprises...with society members who can explain what our professionals can provide. Our predictions, he said, have attained a level of reliability that has been noticed by the public. In this way, he continued, opportunities for our private sector and employment opportunities for our professionals will be enhanced.
As AMS president last year, McPherson initiated a 10-yr vision study to serve as a guide for the evolution of the society over the next decade or more. One of the more important aspects of the study is the appreciation that much of the growth in the atmospheric and related sciences will be in applications of the scientific advances up to now. Many of those applications are expected in the private sector, according to the study.
McPherson has long been active within AMS. He became a member in 1960 and was elected a fellow in 1992. He was a councilor from 1991 to 1994, and a member of the executive committee from 1992 to 1994. He was an at-large member of the publications commission from 1990 to 1996 and chaired an ad hoc committee on meetings from 1993 to 1995. He has been a member of the AMS Executive Committee since 1996.
In addition, McPherson has been extensively involved with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva, Switzerland. He was a U.S. delegate to the WMO, where he served on its Commission on Basic Systems in 1988. He was the principal U.S. delegate in the WMO VI Meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1990; he headed the U.S. delegation to the WMO 11th Session of the WMO Commission for Atmospheric Sciences in 1994, and was a U.S. delegate to the WMO delegate to the WMO Congress XII in 1995.
In his capacity as executive director, McPherson will be the principal active officer of the nonprofit organization, composed of meteorologists, oceanographers, atmospheric and related scientists, as well as technical experts from around the world. AMS has its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and an office in Washington, D.C.
A native of Orange, Texas, where he was born on 4 July 1938, McPherson earned his B.S. degree in meteorology in 1961, his M.S. degree in environmental engineering in 1964, and his Ph.D. degree in atmospheric sciences in 1968, all from the University of Texas at Austin.
He has been associated with NOAA's NWS since 1960 when he joined the federal agency as a staff meteorologist. He was an aviation forecaster in San Antonio in 1967–68; a research meteorologist in the Development Division of the National Meteorological Center (NMC), 1968–86; NMC liaison to Forecast Systems Laboratory, 1986–87; chief, Meteorological Operations Division, NMC, 1987–88; deputy director, NWS, 1988–1990, and the director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction from 1990 until 3 July, when he retired.
McPherson has participated in a number of scientific panels, including Cooperative Institute for Climate Studies (1990–present); Cooperative Institute for Tropical Meteorology (1992–present); review of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (1993); Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (1994); Cooperative Institute Mesoscale Meteorology Studies review (1995), and cochair, Data Assimilation Working Group (1985).
Recently, McPherson provided testimonials to the Senate regarding budget cuts to the National Weather Service. He was written scientific articles which have been published in the Journal of Applied Meteorology, Monthly Weather Review, and Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. He also has written a number of articles on numerical weather prediction.
In his most recent position as director of NWS's Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), McPherson directed the activities of 370 civil service employees plus 75 visiting scientists and contractors distributed over nine centers in five locations. The center provides centralized guidance, forecasts and warnings for a wide range of users, including NWS local offices and River Forecast Centers; aviation and marine interests; the emergency management community; weather-vulnerable economic sectors, as well as the private meteorological community and media.
As NCEP director, he managed a major reduction in personnel from 434 full-time equivalents (FTEs) in May 1994 to 372 in 1997 with a concomitant reduction in financial resources.
He also led the North American Observing System Program, a multinational effort to redesign the observing system supporting weather forecasting over North America for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
During his government career, McPherson won numerous awards, including the Department of Commerce Silver Award (1980) and the Presidential Rank Award (1993).
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Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director James L. Witt announced that the American Meteorological Society has agreed to assist FEMA in disseminating information that can save lives and reduce property damage during disasters.
Witt, speaking at the 27th Conference on Broadcast Meteorology of the AMS in St. Louis, said the information FEMA will provide to AMS for public dissemination is part of Project Impact, a national effort designed to reduce the damage and costs of disasters. Project Impact challenges communities across the country to build local partnerships that assess vulnerabilities to natural hazards and implement actions that protect families, businesses, and communities. The focus of the AMS conference is to provide broadcast meteorologists with the latest information about the science of weather so they, in turn, can provide more accurate and timely weather forecasts and predictions to the public.
"Because broadcast meteorologists are a trusted source of information in communities, this FEMA–AMS alliance will be instrumental in increasing public awareness about how Americans can reduce the damaging effects of disasters," Witt said. "We are asking meteorologists to be Project Impact messengers who educate the public about preventive measures that can be taken before disaster strikes to reduce damage to homes, families, businesses, and communities, rather than picking up the pieces afterward."
AMS President Gene Rasmusson said, "With the voice provided by the nation's meteorologists, AMS hopes that the public will be able to understand the necessity of preventative measures and the necessity of learning about the science of weather."
Based on the progress of seven pilot projects, Witt announced earlier this month that Project Impact communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico that are developing local partnerships to implement Project Impact disaster-resistant activities. FEMA expects to have 500 business partners by October 1998.
"The increasing number and severity of disasters in the past decade demand that we take action to reduce the threat that disasters impose on the economic stability, future, and safety of Americans," Witt said.
Under the alliance, FEMA will provide meteorologists with information on local disaster risks, one-on-one technical assistance, preventive actions, and how localities can become Project Impact communities.
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The Senate and House Appropriations Committees passed funding bills for NSF in June, with final floor action on the bills expected late in July.
NSF total funding —The House would increase NSF funding $268 million, or 7.8%, over the FY98 level for a total of $3.697 billion. The Senate bill would provide a 6.3% increase to $3.644 billion. President Clinton has requested a 10% increase to $3.773 billion.
A breakdown of various accounts shows;
Research and Related Activities—The House bill recommends $2.815 billion, which is $269 million, or 10.6 %, over FY98. This is $90 million more than the Senate bill provides, but $32 million less than requested.
Education and Human Resources—The House bill provides $643 million, $10 million more than FY98. The Senate bill would provide $683 million, as requested.
Major Research Equipment—Major research equipment would be funded at $90 million in the House bill, 17.4% lower than the FY98 funding of $109 million. The request and the Senate bill would provide $94 million. The House would defer funding for the Polar Cap Observatory but provide additional money for the South Pole Station upgrade.
Salaries and Expenses—The House would provide the full request of $144 million, while the Senate would provide $137 million.
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The Senate Appropriations Committee has recommended a $13.615 billion budget for NASA in FY99. That total corresponds to $13.648 billion in FY98 and to $13.465 billion in the FY99 budget estimates.
The House Appropriations Committee has recommended $13.328 billion for the space agency in FY99, $136 million less than requested.
The Senate bill provides $2.300 billion for the International Space Station, an amount $30 million more than requested by the president. The committee recommended $3.241 billion for launch vehicles and payload operations, the same as the president requested. The committee provided $1.306 billion for aeronautics, space transportation, and technology and $4.257 billion for science and technology, the latter being a new account providing appropriations for activities requested for the Office of Space Science, Office of Earth Science, and the Office of Life and Microgravity Science and Application.
The Office of Earth Sciences is provided $1.397 billion in that account, $25 million more than requested by the president. The committee recommended $2.10 billion for space sciences, $50 million short of the president's request.
For program support, the Senate committee recommended $2.491 billion, $15 million more than the president requested, and $20 million for the Office of the Inspector General.
The House bill provides $5.309 billion for human space flight, $202 million less than requested. The FY98 appropriation for this account was $5.508 billion.
For science, aeronautics, and technology, the House recommended $5.541 billion, $84.2 million more than requested but less than the FY98 appropriation of $5.690 billion.
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Congressional bills for DOE's Office of Energy Research received Senate and House markups in June.
The overall total for energy research as marked up by the House was $2.631 billion, and Senate provided $2.634 billion, The request was for $2.710 billion, and the FY98 appropriation was $2.464 billion.
Some category breakdowns are:
| Account | FY98 appro.(dollars in thousands) | FY99 req. | FY99 House | FY99 Senate |
| Biological & environmental research | $405,867 | $392,600 | $405,900 | $407,600 |
| Basic energy sciences | $667,315 | $836,100 | $779,100 | $836,100 |
| Energy research analysis | $1,472 | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| University & science education | - - - | $15,000 | - - - | - - - |
| Total science | $2,235,708 | $2,482,460 | $2,399,500 | $2,634,096 |
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The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its version of the FY99 Commerce, Justice, and State Appropriations Bill on 25 June. Funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is provided in this bill.
The appropriators would provide $68.3 million less for the institute than requested by the administration and $31.2 million less than the FY98 appropriation, according to the AIP's Bulletin of Science Policy News.
NIST's Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS), its core in-house laboratories, would receive $1.0 million less than requested.
Of NIST's extramural programs, the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) would be funded at $67.4 million below the request, and the committee asked for an external evaluation of the program.
Appropriators would provide the amount requested for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and for Construction and Repairs, but also asked for reviews and reports.
A breakdown on the bill shows:
| Program | FY98 appro.(in millions) | FY99 req. | Senate report |
| STRS | $276.9 | $291.6 | $290.6 |
| ATP | $192.5 | $259.9 | $192.5 |
| MEP | $113.5 | $106.8 | $106.8 |
| Construction | $ 95.0 | $ 56.7 | $ 56.7 |
| Total | $677.9 | $715.0 | $646.7 |
In passing the bill, committee members expressed some of the committee's views on NIST programs:
STRS: Appropriators would provide increased funding for new initiatives on disaster mitigation and international trade, but would deny a funding increase for "measurement and standards of climate change." The Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award program would be funded at $5 370 000, and "the committee has included bill language making an additional appropriation of $2 300 000 available for the expansion of the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award upon enactment of authorizing legislation."
ATP: The committee noted that it had been advised by commerce that approximately $23 800 000 from prior-year obligations will carry over from FY98, and the committee members said they expected the money to be used during FY99. Within the total amount available, $41 100 000 shall be used for administrative costs and for the Small Business Innovations Research Program. The committee expects NIST to use a portion of these funds to conduct a comprehensive, outside assessment of the ATP program. Since its inception, $1 195 206 000 has been obligated by the ATP program. The administration is requesting $259 000 000 for this program in FY99, and projected increases are expected in annual increments of approximately $50 000 000 for each year through fiscal year 2003. This program's effectiveness should be assessed before significant increases for new awards are appropriated. The committee expects the assessment to analyze how well this program has reached certain goals established in its authorizing statute, the Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988. In addition, the assessment should benchmark the ATP experience against similar high-risk, cutting-edge precompetitive research that has had limited or no federal support during a comparable period and compare their successes in reaching a widespread commercial application. The report is to be provided the appropriate committees by 1 February.
MEP: In last year's appropriations report, the committee expressed concern about these centers which had exceeded their sixth year of federal funding and whether these centers should now be self supporting. The committee noted that it had asked for a report from the secretary of commerce, who provided the information, concluding that some level of federal support is necessary for the centers to attract funding from state, local, and private sources. The committee also asked for an evaluation of NIST's MEP centers by a panel of knowledgeable and experienced individuals not employed by the agency or involved with any of the MEP centers. A report on the review should be provided the committee by l February, the committee noted.
Construction: The committee is not recommending an advance appropriation of $115 000 000 requested by the agency for fiscal years 2000—2002...The fiscal year 1999 request will permit NIST to continue its planned safety, capacity maintenance and major repairs projects and to begin procurement of an Advanced Meteorology Laboratory (AML). The committee is concerned about NIST's plans to build a clean room at two different locations. These facilities are expensive and rapidly become obsolete. The agency should consider consolidating at one location all programs requiring regular use of a clean room. The committee asked for a review of this question, also, and asked that a report be given the committee by 1 February.
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from Audrey T. Heath, The American Institute of Physics, Bulletin of Science Policy News
The effort to promote doubling of federal civilian research funding got a boost on 25 June, when Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced a new bill, the Federal Research Investment Act (S. 2217.) A 24 June floor amendment to the Senate defense authorization bill would also promote an increase in defense R&D funding.
Eight months after 106 scientific and engineering societies joined forces to urge the federal government to double its investment in research over 10 years, the initiative continues to move forward. Last October, concurrent with the statement by the more-than-100 societies, Senators Phil Gramm (R-TX) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) introduced S. 1305 to authorize this increase for civilian R&D.
Now the science community has been asked for its assistance once more. The Frist bill, slightly modified from the Gramm bill, has the strong backing of Gramm and the other cosponsors of S. 1305. Because of Frist's position as chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space, his bill is thought to have a better chance of passage. At the 25 June press conference for the bill, Frist called on professional societies and the science community to spread the word and encourage support for his legislation. He was flanked by Senators Gramm,
Lieberman, and Conrad Burns (R-MT), who all lauded the bill, as did former APS President and science advisor to President Bush— D. Allan Bromley, Rutgers President Francis Lawrence, and Joan Shields, Chairman of the American Chemical Society's Board of Directors.
Frist's legislation would authorize an annual increase for nondefense R&D of 5.5% (or 2.5% each year above an assumed inflation rate of 3.0% ) If the appropriators are guided by this when they dole out funding, it would effectively result in a doubling of the federal civilian R&D investment over approximately 12 years, instead of the 10 years called for in Gramm's bill. This is felt by many to be a more realistic timetable with a better likelihood of acceptance by the full Senate.
In another departure from the Gramm bill, Frist's legislation sets out policy guidelines for prioritizing research programs, assessing performance, and terminating programs that are unsuccessful. It requires the president, as part of his annual budget request to Congress, to submit a detailed summary of all federal R&D programs. It also directs the administration to commission the National Academy of Sciences to undertake a study of how to evaluate research programs.
Frist's bill encompasses the nondefense R&D programs of the following departments and agencies: the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, NIST, NASA, NOAA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, EPA, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Transportation, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and Education. Currently, the cosponsors of the bill include Frist, Rockefeller, Gramm, Lieberman, Burns, Pete Domenici (R-NM), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), and John Breaux (D-LA). Frist was hopeful that he could get a majority of Senators to sign onto S. 2217, but did not know when he might schedule a markup of the bill. A similar attempt to ensure strong federal support for R&D has been made for defense funding as well. On 24 June, the Senate approved an amendment to the defense authorization bill (S. 2057), directing the secretary of defense to plan for annual increases to DOD science and technology funding of at least 2.0% above inflation for the FY2000– 2008. This would affect DOD's basic and applied research and advanced technology development (6.1, 6.2, and 6.3) categories. The amendment was sponsored by Senators Bingaman, Lieberman, Frist, Rick Santorum (R-PA), Carl Levin (D-MI), and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS).
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NOAA Administrator D. James Baker announced a new plan for restructuring the NOAA Corps. The NOAA Corps is a uniformed service and, as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is responsible for operating NOAA's fleet of ships and aircraft.
The intent of this plan is to ensure that NOAA's fleet operations are cost efficient, effective, and responsive to the changing nature of federal, academic, and industry partnerships. NOAA's streamlining efforts over the past two years have already resulted in significant cost savings by reducing the number of officers nearly 30% since 1994.
The plan will allow NOAA to retain those aspects of the NOAA Corps that meet mission needs while continuing to encourage partnerships with the academic and industry communities.
The key elements of this plan are:
This plan will allow NOAA to benefit from the services provided by the dedicated men and women in the NOAA Corps and build important new relationships with nonfederal partners.
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House Science Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) has written EPA Administrator Carol Browner objecting to an EPA/Justice Department proposed settlement agreement that, he noted, represents an attempt by the Clinton administration to implement the Kyoto Protocol prior to Senate ratification.
The not-yet-finalized settlement between EPA/Justice and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) includes a requirement that EPA analyze carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions that would be achieved through an array of strategies to control such emissions from electric utility steam generating units.
That requirement, Sensenbrenner believes, violates past administration promises "not to undertake actions to implement the Kyoto Protocol before it is ratified and entered into force."
"The agreement," he wrote, "is a step toward such implementation and appears inconsistent with this commitment. It should not be finalized."
Sensenbrenner has been critical of the Kyoto agreement, agreed to by the Clinton administration and more than 160 other nations last December, as a "threat to the vitality of the U.S. economy in the form of drastic energy price increases, job losses in key manufacturing industries and an overall decline in our standard of living."
He reiterated his opposition to the agreement in a speech before the Ninth Annual Energy Efficiency Forum on 10 June. In his remarks, the committee chairman said, "I believe the treaty is seriously flawed—so flawed, in fact, that it cannot be salvaged."
The treaty, he explained, would mandate the United States and other participating countries to cut back their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30% by 2008–2010.
He quoted the Wharton Econometrics Forecasting Associates, Inc., an economic research firm, as saying that implementation of the treaty would "reduce U.S. household income by over $2,700 in the year 2010. Another research institute, Charles River Associates, he said, predicts that reducing U.S. emissions to 7% below 1990 levels, as the treaty calls for, will result in GDP losses of $217 billion in the year 2010 and $241 billion in 2030. He also quoted Charles River Associates as predicting gasoline prices would be one-third higher in 2010 and 43% higher in 2020 than they would be without a global warming treaty.
"Good paying, high-skilled manufacturing jobs in energy-intense industries, such as oil refining, chemicals, steel, paper and aluminum, also will be lost as investment in American plants dries up," he said, "and industries relocate to developing countries like China, India, and Mexico, which are not subject to the treaty."
In addition to the economic problems posed by the Kyoto Protocol, he said, "I also believe that the scientific conclusions found in the U.N.'s International Panel on Climate Change report, which is what the treaty is based on, to be controversial."
"Therefore," he continued, "the question for Congress and the American public is whether or not the scientific basis of the treaty is sufficient to justify its huge costs. Members of Congress were told in Kyoto and in hearings held by the Committee on Science much about the many scientific uncertainties related to the global climate change. Indeed, many well-respected scientists are not even sure a problem even exists."
The facts, he concluded, "indicate scientists still have a long way to go in determining what is happening in the earth's atmosphere. Because the science is unclear, I don't think we should risk harming the American economy and, by extension, the American people, by ratifying the Kyoto treaty."
"I and many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle oppose the Kyoto treaty because it is based on immature science, leaves too many procedural questions unanswered, would post severe economic harm to the United States and is grossly unfair because developing countries are not required to participate."
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House Science Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) has asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to look into allegations made by a number of EPA employees that EPA Administrator Carol Browner and other high level administrators retaliated against agency whistleblowers.
"These allegations are quite serious," Sensenbrenner wrote in a letter to James F. Hinchman, Acting Comptroller General at the GAO," and, if true, would damage EPA's credibility with the American people and the Congress. I therefore request that GAO investigate these statements by interviewing the signers and examining the merits of their charges."
The chairman's request was in response to a 10 June letter in "The Washington Times" signed by EPA employees accusing the EPA of harassing and intimidating whistleblowers who protested illegal or irresponsible behavior by their supervisors. Such crackdowns, they wrote, at times came from the "highest levels of administration—including the offices of regional administrators and the office of Administrator Carol Browner."
The signers also wrote that they "are but a few of the EPA scientists, managers, and affiliated persons protesting fraud or waste in our agency involving hundreds of millions of dollars and alerting the public that EPA regulations and enforcement actions based on poor science stand to harm rather than protect public health and the environment."
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GOES-10, the nation's newest geostationary weather satellite, was scheduled to be in operation in mid-July, replacing a failing GOES-9, according to officials at NOAA.
GOES-10, which was GOES-K before launch, completed on-orbit testing and checkout in storage orbit in June and was to be activated 9 July in its position over the central United States (105° West), officials said. GOES-9, officials explained, was showing signs of near-term failure of its attitude control system.
In replacing GOES-9, GOES-10 will hold the responsibility of overlooking the west coast and out into the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii. The other NOAA geostationary weather satellite, GOES-8, overlooks the east coast of North and South America and well out into the Atlantic Ocean. The geostationary satellites are in orbit 22 300 miles above Earth.
"Both momentum wheels on GOES-9 have exhibited problems," Kathleen Kelly, director of NOAA's Satellite Operations Control Center, said early in July. "Momentum Wheel 2 failed and was turned off in June and now the other is experiencing extremely high current levels. We need at least one wheel in operation to maintain pointing accuracy. Though we expect it to fail at any time, we are doing our best to keep GOES-9 transmitting until GOES-10 becomes fully operational within the next week."
Once activation is started, GOES-10 will provide useful data within 72 hours. The satellite will be repositioned pending consultation with the National Weather Service, officials explained.
"Having a GOES satellite stored in orbit ready to back up the other two GOES satellites turned out to be an excellent idea," said Gerald Dittberner, NOAA's GOES Program Manager. "It's the first time we had ever had a backup satellite in place. Without such a satellite, we would have had to wait as much as 12 to 15 months to get a launch time slot. Now we can have GOES-10 transmitting data within 72 hours...without any loss of continuity."
GOES-8 and GOES-9 had projected lifetimes of three years. GOES-8, launched four years and two months ago, continues to function with no significant changes in the past 18 months. GOES-9, launched in May 1995, had reached its projected planned life. The planned mission life forGOES-10 is five years.
The next satellite in the series, GOES-L, is scheduled for launch in May 1999, and it, too, will be stored in orbit.
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Sea surface height measurements taken by the ocean-observing TOPEX/Poseidon satellite show the equatorial Pacific in a state of flux with the warm, high sea level El Niño-spawned waters in retreat and areas of colder, low sea level waters on the increase, according to NASA officials.
"Sea level is a measure of the heat stored in the ocean," explained Dr. Lee-Lueng Fu, project scientist for the U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. "In the last month or so, the tropical Pacific has been switching from warm to cold. Lower sea level indicates less heat, hence a colder ocean.
"It appears now that the central equatorial Pacific Ocean will stay colder than normal for some time to come because sea level is about 7 inches below normal, creating a deficit in the heat supply to the surface waters. It is not clear yet, however, if this current cooling trend will eventually evolve into a long-lasting La Niña situation."
The El Niño condition begins when steady westward trade winds weaken and even reverse direction, allowing a large mass of warm water normally located near Australia to move eastward along the equator until it reaches the coast of South America.
This displaced pool of unusually warm water affects evaporation, where rain clouds form and, in turn, alters the typical atmospheric jet stream patterns around the world. The change in the wind strength and direction also impacts global weather patterns.
The 1997–98 El Niño has been the strongest ever recorded. The phenomenon was responsible for record rainfall in California, heavy flooding in Peru, drought and wildfires in Indonesia, tornadoes in the southeast United States and loss of life and property damage worldwide.
"It may be too soon to say 'goodbye' to El Niño and 'hello' to La Niña, because the effects of El Niño will remain in the climate system for a long time," said Dr. Bill Patzert, a research oceanographer at JPL. "However, if the Pacific is transitioning to a La Niña, we'd expect to see clear, strong indication of it by late summer or early fall— in approximately August or September—just like we did last year with El Niño. The strongest impacts of a potential La Niña wouldn't be felt in the United States until next winter."
Developed by NASA and the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), TOPEX/Poseidon uses an altimeter to bounce radar signals off the ocean's surface to get precise measurements of the distance between the satellite and the sea surface. These data are combined with measurements from other instruments that pinpoint the satellite's exact location in space.
Every 10 days, scientists produce a complete set of global ocean topography, the barely perceptible hills and valleys found on the sea surface.
Ocean temperatures affect ocean topography, which is why the TOPEX/Poseidon radar altimeter is able to monitor the changing El Niño and La Niña conditions. With detailed knowledge of ocean topography, scientists can then calculate the speed and direction of worldwide ocean currents.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have signed an agreement that enables the agencies to continue collaborating on environmental programs, including environmental satellite programs.
The agreement continues a history of interagency cooperation and reaffirms the need for the specialized technical, scientific, and operational expertise of both agencies to enhance this country's capabilities to forecast environmental conditions and better understand our global environment. It is the third basic agreement that NOAA and NASA have signed since 1964.
NOAA's mission is to describe and predict changes in the earth's environment, and conserve and manage wisely the nation's coastal and marine resources to ensure sustainable economic opportunities. NOAA operates the environmental satellites known as GOES and POES, which are critical for weather forecasting, climate prediction, and other environmental uses.
NASA conducts aeronautical and space research activities, develops new technologies to support NASA's research programs, and facilitates the transition of those technologies to NOAA when appropriate. NASA develops and procures the GOES and POES satellites on behalf of NOAA.
The agreement recognizes each agency's mission and provides a framework for collaboration. Projects to be pursued together are those that are of mutual benefit to NOAA and NASA, result in cost savings to the U.S. government, or better enable the agencies to accomplish program objectives.
The goals of joint projects include improving the knowledge of environmental processes, improving the capabilities of satellite systems, and reducing costs for new satellite systems.
The agreement was signed on 17 June by NOAA Administrator D. James Baker and NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin.
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NASA and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) have agreed to explore joint cooperation on the exploration of Mars, telemedicine, and education.
Daniel S. Goldin, NASA administrator, and Professor Claude Allegre, French minister for National Education, Research, and Technology, met in Washington, D.C., to discuss current and future space cooperation.
Mars exploration is envisioned as an international endeavor involving bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and France and the United States are interested in expanding cooperation in this area.
NASA and CNES have agreed to explore joint cooperation on the exploration of Mars, with focus on the first Mars Sample Return mission, now scheduled for launch in the summer of 2005. Current baseline discussions anticipate French provision of an Ariane-5 launch vehicle and other hardware including the orbiter and science packages. NASA will be responsible for the overall Mars Sample Return mission, including the lander, rover, and other mission elements. As part of this cooperation, French scientists also will participate in various science activities associated with NASA's Mars Surveyor Program, for example, those addressing landing site and sample selection criteria and sample analysis.
NASA and CNES already are cooperating in the 1996 Mars Global Surveyor mission, with CNES providing the Mars Relay communications package and contributing to the scientific payload.
In the field of telemedicine, NASA's Commercial Space Center for Medical Informatics and Technology Applications at Yale University School of Medicine, the Institute of Telemedicine in Toulouse, France, and the Institute de Medecine et de Physiologie Spatiale (MEDES) in Toulouse, France, have agreed to explore potential collaborations. Cooperation between NASA's National Space Biomedical Research Institute and MEDES is also being explored.
In addition, NASA and CNES cooperation in the field of education was initiated with the successful inauguration of a transatlantic computer hookup between French and American students on 13 May 1998, linking the Ecole Nationale de Chimie, Physique, et Biologie, Paris, France, the Brooklyn School for Global Studies, Brooklyn, New York, the American School of Paris, Paris, France, and Kramer Junior High School, Washington, D.C.
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House Science Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. and ranking democrat George F. Brown, Jr. have written President Clinton asking that the administration submit a plan within 30 days detailing how it intends to resolve the problems surrounding the International Space Station.
The two lawmakers revealed they had written the president during a 24 June space station hearing.
"We seek your assistance in ensuring that this program is not allowed to drift into an endless cycle of cost increases, schedule slippage, and deferred capabilities," they wrote.
Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Brown (D-CA) asked the president to intervene personally with Russian President Boris Yeltsin to ensure full Russian compliance with its stated commitments to the space station. They cited a recent independent review of the program that indicated the program would cost more than anticipated and require longer than expected to build.
Despite the demands of the lawmakers, the White House appeared reluctant to being locked into any of the proposed solutions until submitting its NASA budget request for FY2000.
During the hearing, Sensenbrenner was critical of the administration's refusal to develop a realistic funding strategy. Rather, it has ordered NASA to pay for cost overruns with funds from other NASA programs, such as space shuttle and human space flight programs.
Testimony and questioning during the hearing, often turned to Russia's participation in the 16-nation project. The Russian government has failed repeatedly to provide the Russian Space Agency with funds necessary to design and build critical space station components. The Russian delays have forced a number of schedule slippages.
Pessimism over Russia's participation was apparent from one comment by NASA Administrator Dan Goldin. "I no longer make speculations on what the Russians will do...," he said. "We will watch what they do, and not what they say."
Goldin refused to ask for more money until more NASA reviews of the program are completed, expected by the end of the year. Then, the money would be requested in the FY2000 budget, he said.
Goldin admitted, "Given the fiscal environment in Russia...and uncertainty with respect to future budgets, countermeasures may be required by the United States to reduce the impact of further Russian funding shortfalls."
NASA, he explained, is working on possible contingencies in the event of further failures of the Russians to meet their commitments.
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Weather-related launch delays at the Cape Canaveral–Kennedy Space Center complex in Florida and at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California could be reduced by nearly 25% under a revision of rules that detail the conditions under which launches can occur.
In an article in the 29 June–5 July issue of Space News, Bill Harwood wrote that the rule changes are based on the latest scientific research on clouds and atmospheric electricity and input from weather forecasters who must make quick decisions under the pressure of a countdown.
"A lot of the changes had to do with just the structure and wording of the rules, clarifying definitions, clarifying intent," said John Madura, Chief of NASA's weather office at the Kennedy Space Center. "We had strong input from the operational forecasters."
The new rules were used the first time on 18 June at Cape Canaveral for the launch of a Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket carrying an Intelsat communications satellite. Conducting the countdown under the weather conditions at the time violated the old rules on two occasions, but they posed no problems under the new guidelines, according to a NASA spokesman. The new rules will apply to all U.S. rocket launches from the Cape Canaveral Air Station, the Kennedy Space Center, and at Vandenberg. Johnny Weems, a launch weather officer with the 45th Weather Squadron at nearby Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, predicted the new rules will eliminate 25% of the weather delays experienced under the old rules. While the new rules already are in effect for unmanned, expendable launchers, they will be applied to the space shuttle program for the first time in October when Senator John Glenn is scheduled to be a crew member.
The most significant changes involve rules governing rocket launches near or through thick clouds or the so-called anvil clouds associated with thunderstorms. Rockets flying through thick or electrically charged clouds can trigger catastrophic discharges known as rocket-triggered lightning.
The Saturn 5 launched Apollo 12 to the moon in 1969 was struck twice by lightning shortly after liftoff. In that case, the crew was able to recover from a variety of electrical problems and continue the mission. But in March 1987, an Atlas–Centaur rocket carrying a military communications satellite was destroyed by rocket-triggered lightning 43 seconds after liftoff. Following that accident, the launch rules were reviewed and revised, and a major revision in launch rules was completed in 1988. The launch commit criteria were revised again in the early 1990s and for the third time in May.
The latest revision allows rockets to take off within five nautical miles of an anvil cloud if there has been no lightning in the cloud over the previous 30 minutes. The old limit was 10 nautical miles. In addition, the new rules allow rockets to fly through clouds thicker than 4,500 feet, assuming certain temperature conditions are met, if they are optically transparent or lack electrically-conductive activity. In the past, such clouds would have forced delay.
A NASA spokesman said that 26% of the most recent 200 launches at Vandenberg had been delayed by weather, while 18% of the 406 countdowns at Cape Canaveral were interrupted. At Vandenberg, 4.5% of the launches were delayed by lightning or the threat of rocket-triggered discharges, compared to 4.7% at Cape Canaveral.
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With air traffic continuing to grow, the aircraft industry is considering building a larger subsonic fleet of planes by year 2015. The fleet could generate exhaust at 2.3 times the current levels. That raises the concern that the increased exhaust—water vapor, nitrous oxides, carbon dioxide, and aerosols—could have an effect on people's health and living conditions.
Facing that concern, scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City have conducted experiments with water vapor, which is the most interactive effluent and would have a strong impact on atmospheric temperature, to determine the impact of greater amounts of the effluent.
Using aircraft cruise corridors in NASA/GISS computer climate models, microwave maps of the resultant model atmosphere were calculated to get snapshots of the water vapor's impact on atmospheric temperatures. The maps were then compared with real data. If the added water vapor caused changes greater than twice the observed microwave noise, then the water vapor addition was considered significant and detectable.
During the experiment, detectable signals appeared only when extreme, unrealistic amounts of water vapor were added to the climate model. An addition of 15 times the expected 2015 aircraft water vapor or 35 times 1990 aircraft water vapor was needed to create significant changes. Therefore, realistic amounts of water vapor expected from a larger 2015 subsonic fleet does not appear to change climate model temperatures to any notable degree.
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NWS has launched a new service that allows mariners to obtain the latest coastal and offshore weather observations through a telephone service called Dial-A-Buoy. Dial-A-Buoy provides wind and wave measurements taken within the last hour at 65 buoy and 54 Coastal-Marine Automated Network stations located in coastal waters around the United States and in the Great Lakes.
"Dial-A-Buoy is a logical extension to the Internet," said David Gilhousen, a meteorologist with the data buoy center at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. "It allows mariners a way to get the conditions while offshore, at home, or at the marina, even they are not able to access the Internet."
The reports include the latest wind direction, speed, gust, air temperature, water temperature, and sea level pressure. They also provide information on significant wave height, swells, and wind wave heights.
To access Dial-A-Buoy, dial (228) 688-1948 using any touch tone or cellular phone. Enter the five-digit station identifier in response to the prompt to hear the latest buoy or Coastal-Marine Automated Network observation read via computer-generated voice.
Telephone users also have the option to receive a location map by FAX that lists station identifiers. Dial-A-Buoy callers can search an index of stations by geographic area to find the appropriate station identifier—a search requiring the latitude and longitude for the area of interest. A complete list of station identifiers is available on the National Data Buoy Center Web site.
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NASA is considering joining an international effort to study the interaction between the Amazon region and the world's climate, according to officials in Brazil. Europe also is expected to participate in the $200 million effort.
Brazil is planning to launch the Large-Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia this summer, using a variety of sensor platforms, including satellites. The experiment is designed to help researchers better understand the effects of Amazon deforestation and land-use changes on regional and global climate, officials explained. The project also will study the relationship between the region's rivers and atmosphere. Research data would be collected by satellites operated by Brazil, Canada, Europe, and the United States, but also would rely on information collected by airborne and ground-based sensors. Participating nations will pay for their own roles in the study. NASA's proposed role would cost approximately $6 million a year over the life of the project, about $40 million in all, according to NASA officials.
The critical issue for the Amazon and its role in the world's climate is whether the region's biomass is releasing more carbon into the environment than it is absorbing, scientists said. Proponents of the global warming theory argue that carbon is a major contributor to the so-called greenhouse effect in which gases like carbon dioxide and various pollutants are said to trap heat in the atmosphere, causing the earth's temperature to rise. The Amazon forest is a vast store of carbon. When forests are cleared, carbon is released into the atmosphere, either through burning or decomposition of plant material.
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Information on Florida's unusual weather that set the stage for its raging brush and forest fires has been placed on the World Wide Web. The Web site, developed by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, was unveiled recently by Vice President Al Gore when he visited the fire sites. The Web site, titled "Florida Wild Fires and Climate Extremes," explains how Florida's unusual weather led to the fires.
The unusually wet mild winter in Florida promoted abundant growth in the underbrush. That was followed by a severe drought during April, May, and June that rapidly dried out the dense underbrush. The combination of wet and mild in the winter and dry and hot in the spring/summer provided abundant fuel to the wildfires throughout Florida.
Details on recent abnormal weather, including temperature and precipitation as well as drought indices, are available on the Web site. The Web site can be reached at
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/research/1998/fla/florida.html.
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An updated and revised online database from the global ALE/GAGE/AGAGE monitoring network, which provides continuous high-frequency measurements of eight important trace gases, has been released by DOE's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The eight gases are methane (CH40), nitrous oxide (N2O), the chlorofluorocarbons CFC13, CFC12, and CF2CLCFC12, methyl chloroform (CH3CC13), chloroform (CHC13), and carbon tetrachloride (CC14).
These data have been among the "Top Ten" most-requested products, and they support analyses and monitoring related to both the Kyoto Protocol (to control global warming caused by elevated atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases) and the Montreal Protocol (to protect the earth's ozone layer), according to CDIAC.
The data were contributed by R. Prinn, D. Cunnold, P. Fraser, R. Weiss, P. Simmonds, F. Alyea, L. P. Steele, and D. Hartley and were prepared for online distribution by CDIAC's Tom Boden.
The program began in 1978, and data through September 1997 are now available for all five existing sites: Cape Grim, Tasmania; Point Matatula, American Samoa; Ragged Point, Barbados; Mace Head, Ireland, and Trinidad Head, California.
The data are available at: http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/ndps/alegage.html
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National Weather Service Western Region Director Dr. Thomas D. Potter announced his retirement, effective 3 July 1998. Dr. Potter has been the western region director since May 1989. Prior to his position with the National Weather Service, he was the director of the World Meteorological Organization World Weather Watch Program from 1987–89; director of the World Meteorological Organization World Climate Programme from 1982–87; director and deputy director of NOAA Environmental Data and Information Service from 1975–77; member of the St. Louis University faculty from 1974–75; and served the U.S. Air Force Air Weather Service from 1951–74. Dr. Potter has been an active member of AMS since 1954, and has been on the council since 1996.
Tom Potter has received numerous honors and awards, including USAF Commendation Medals, the Meritorious Service Medal, the NOAA Administrators Award, President's Meritorious Executive Award, selection as a Penn State University Alumni Fellow, and the Sequoyah Fellow of American Indian Science and Engineering Society.
Dr. Potter received his B.A. in mathematics, a B.S. in meteorology, and an M.S. in meteorology from the University of Washington in Seattle, and his Ph.D. in meteorology from Penn State University.
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Dr. Joanne Simpson, chief scientist for meteorology in the Earth Sciences Directorate at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, has received NASA's Outstanding Leadership Award for her exceptional leadership in the atmospheric sciences culminating in the successful launching and performance of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), launched from Japan in 1997.
Because of her national and international reputation as an atmospheric scientist, Simpson, who has held numerous AMS positions, including president in 1989, was able to convince the U.S. and Japanese communities that TRMM should be a top priority mission. TRMM is the first mission dedicated to measuring tropical and subtropical rainfall through microwave and visible infrared sensors.
She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1988 and has been listed in "Who's Who of American Women" since 1972 and in "Who's Who in America" since 1980. Among other awards, she has received the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1954, the AMS Meisinger Award in 1962, the Rossby Research Medal in 1983, the C.F. Brooks Award in 1992, the Department of Commerce Gold Medal in 1972, the Professional Achievement Award of the University of Chicago Alumni in 1975 and 1992, and the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award in 1990. She also was awarded the first William Nordberg Memorial Award for Earth Science in 1994.
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Douglas H. Sargeant has retired from NWS where he had served as program manager of Field Operations and Services (AFOS) and director of the Systems Development Office.
Sargeant came to the NWS from NOAA headquarters in August 1979 after nearly 10 years in several roles responsible for organizing, coordinating, and managing U.S. participation in the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) and closely related programs. He came to Washington in January 1970 on detail from the University of Wisconsin to serve as executive scientist of the National Academy of Science's U.S. Committee for GARP.
He joined NOAA in January 1971 as special assistant for GARP and served as director of the U.S. GATE Project Office and as director of the World Weather Watch Program of the World Meteorological Organization.
He received the NOAA Award for Program Management and Administration in 1974 and the Arthur S. Flemming Award as one of the 10 outstanding young men and women in the federal service in 1975.
He has served as an AMS councilor, as associate editor of the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, and on AMS numerous committees.
A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he received his bachelor's degree in physics from Iowa State University in 1960 and his Ph.D. degree in meteorology from the University of Wisconsin in 1965.
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David Evans, currently deputy assistant administrator of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), has been selected new director of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR).
Evans will be replaced by Andy Rosenberg, currently Northeast Regional Administrator of NOAA Fisheries. Both personnel actions are effective 19 July.
Evans has served as deputy assistant administrator for the past year. Prior to that, he was the acting deputy assistant administrator and senior scientist for NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS). Before joining NOAA, he was the program manager for the physical oceanography program at the Office of Naval Research. He also was professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island where he received his Ph.D in physical oceanography.
Rosenberg has extensive experience with fisheries issues, having served NOAA Fisheries since 1995 as one of five regional administrators. Prior to that, he served in a variety of capacities at Fisheries, including acting chief of Fishery Management and Operations in the northeast region, research specialist at headquarters and chief of the coordination section at the Northeast Fisheries Center. Before joining NOAA, he was on the faculty of the Imperial College of Science in London.
A native of Boston, he has an M.S. in oceanography from Oregon State University and a Ph.D. in biology from Dalhousie University.
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Mike Mott, NASA Associate Deputy Administrator (Technical), one of NASA's three top managers, is leaving NASA to join Boeing Space Transportation, Seal Beach, California, as vice president of business development. Mott served the NASA administrator since 1994.
He served in the Marine Corps in numerous positions in the United States and the Pacific. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, he participated in 89 major flight test projects and commanded Marine Aircraft Group 41 at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. He accumulated 3,800 flight hours in 62 types of aircraft and made 210 carrier landings.
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, he received a bachelor of science degree in engineering from Vanderbilt University and a master's degree in science from the University of Southern California.
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Irwin Ted David has been selected as the NWS Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective 20 July.
David comes to his new position from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) where he was deputy chief financial officer. In that position, he and the CFO were responsible for overall financial management of more than 100 000 employees and an operating budget of more than $80 billion.
Prior to joining USDA, he was a senior vice president of Apogee Research, Inc., a management consulting firm in Bethesda, Maryland.
A CPA in Washington, D.C. and in Illinois, he holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and a master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
He is the coauthor of two books, Government Executive Guide to Selecting a Small Computer and How to Evaluate Internal Controls in a Government Unit.
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Kurt J. Schnebele, an oceanographer with extensive experience in field work, data processing, and analysis as well as technical management, has been named deputy director of NOAA's National Oceanographic Data Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The facility is the nation's repository and dissemination center for global oceanographic data. It manages and distributes physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic data collected by organizations in the United States and dozens of other countries.
Schnebele retired from the NOAA Corps in 1997 after having served 26 years. He served aboard several NOAA ships, including Oceanographer and Pierce, and was commanding officer of the Ferrel and R/V Vickers.
On shore, he served with the National Ocean Service and NOAA's Atlantic Marine Center. He also was assistant professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and, most recently, the executive director of NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.
Schnebele holds a B.S. and an M.S. in oceanography from the University of Washington and the Naval Postgraduate School, respectively. His awards include the Navy Commendation Medal, two NOAA Commendation Medals, NOAA Special Achievement Awards, and Unit Citations.
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Henry Rasof, acquisitions editor of The Oryx Press in Louisville, Colorado (near Boulder), is looking for authors for a new series of science reference books aimed at a mix of readers.
In an e-mail note to the AMS Newsletter, Rasof wrote: "I am looking for authors for books on meteorology and on oceanography. Is there a way to reach AMS members with a more detailed announcement to this effect, via journals, job section, discussion group, etc.?"
Interested persons should get in touch with Mr. Rasof. His address is The Oryx Press, Louisville, Colorado.
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Several individuals and organizations have been honored as environmental "heroes" by the Clinton administration for their "tireless efforts to preserve and protect the nation's environment."
The recipients of NOAA's Environmental Hero Awards are among 25 recognized this year for their efforts in environmental protection and preservation. The award recipients include:
Plaques and recognition letters from Vice President Al Gore were presented during a luncheon on 11 June by Katie McGinty, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
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