Editor: Jim Elliott
Contributors: Alan Weinstein and Stephanie Kenitzer
Copy Editor: Anne Siefken
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After considerable wrangling in Congress that threatened deep cuts in the NSF and NASA budgets for FY2000, a bill restoring much of the proposed reductions was passed and President Clinton signed it into law on 20 October.
The bill increases NSF's budget an additional $45 million, or 6.5%, to $3.912 billion. NASA’s budget is $13.652 billion. Although the space agency took cuts in some areas, the total was more than the administration’s request. During early stages of Congressional debate, a House subcommittee had recommended a $1.4 billion cut in NASA funding, much of that in Earth Sciences.
Of the $3.912 million NSF appropriation, $2.966 million is for research and related activities, $696 million for education and human resources, $95 million for major research equipment, $149 million for salaries and expenses, and $5.45 million for Office of the Inspector General.
With the NASA appropriation, Human Space Flight (which includes space station and space shuttle) received $5.515 million; Science, Aeronautics and Technology received $5.6 million; Mission Support received $2.5 million, and the Office of Inspector General received $20 milion. Those appropriations were part of the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies bill that provides $69.4 billion to the various agencies, an increase of $2.8 billion over FY99. The final NSF bill included $126 million for the Information Technology Initiative (IT2), now known as Information Technology Research.
At the signing ceremony, attended by NSF Director Rita Colwell and NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, President Clinton said, "This bill looks into the future. It gives NASA the resources it needs to probe the mysteries of space and provides the National Science Foundation with the extra resources it needs to fund research on the frontiers of information technology. This is a little noticed, I think, but profoundly important part of this bill, which I predict will have a big impact on our future for years to come." The President also noted, "If we want to maintain our current economic prosperity, it is essential that we sustain our investment in long-term research across all the scientific and engineering disciplines.”
The President also signed the FY2000 DOE appropriations bill. On signing the bill, the President said he was "disappointed that the Congress has not included full funding for my request for the Spellation Neutron Source..." The bill provides little more than half the $214.0 million requested for the project.
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Ghassem Asrar, NASA's Associate Administrator for Earth Science, says NASA's Earth Science Enterprise is making a transition from a "data-poor research effort to a data-rich one.” The program is moving from using crude pictures of ocean winds and rainfall, of atmospheric aerosols and tropospheric chemistry, of ice-sheet topography and of land cover and biomass "to detailed, dynamic panoramas."
In a presentation recently at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, Asrar provided a "portrait" of the enterprise in dimensions of content and time. The content element, he explained, has four major elements: 1) research; 2) applications; 3) commercialization and education, demonstrating the value of our research in the economy and in society; and 4) mission implementation and operations, which includes satellite and information systems development; and technology.
Funding breakdown for these elements are research, 25%; applications, commercialization and education, 10%; implementation and operations, 55%, and technology, 10%. "We are working to increase the portion of investment in research to 25% of the Enterprise budget," he said. In the near-term, he explained, "we are launching the EOS first series. Our priority is to safely and successfully launch 22 instruments and spacecraft during that time period.
"Some of these are multi-instrument satellites like Terra and PM-1; others are single instruments provided for launch on foreign platforms, like SAGE III and SeaWinds. Our second priority is to implement a data and information system that is capable of operating these missions and receiving, processing, archiving, and distributing their data."
For the midterm, from 2003–10, "we have begun to define a set of national mission concepts of three types. One is a set of systematic measurements that will carry on those EOS measurements that are required to build a dataset useful for global-change studies...A second set are exploratory missions similar to the Earth System Science Pathfinders that are already underway. These missions will explore Earth system processes that are not well understood and, as such, employ innovative technical approaches.
"The third set are prototype operational missions that satisfy requirements of other agencies or are cosponsored by them.… For the long term, beyond 2010, our intent is that NPOESS and related operational systems will assume the responsibility for long-term climate observations. Meanwhile, NASA will move on to conceive a new generation of remote-sensing tools which will enable the environmental prediction systems of the future."
Asrar told the audience, "The current suite of operational weather satellites allows a five-day forecast of regional weather. Over the next 20 years, we would like to push that out to 14 days. The benefits to such industries as agriculture and construction, not to mention vacation planning, would be enormous." To accomplish that, he said, we need improved observations, such as better accuracy in tropospheric wind measurements, soil moisture measurements, and a greater revisit schedule of satellites; fundamental research, and improved modeling and data analysis capabilities.
"It is my hope, and my expectation," he concluded, "that the Civil Service and contractor science and engineering community will embrace this vision as its own and work to see it fulfilled. We must rise to the challenge of making good on our current promises to deliver quality datasets to the climate-change community and demonstrate practical applications of these data."
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Newt Gingrich says the highest priority in Washington should be to double the federal budget for scientific research. In an Op-Ed article in The Washington Post,18 October, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, wrote, "No other federal expenditure would create more jobs and wealth or do more to strengthen our world leadership, protect the environment, and promote better health and education for all Americans. For the security of our future, we must make this investment now."
He noted that during the time he was House Speaker he had met with research vice presidents of all the major pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. "Even though they were overwhelmingly ideologically conservative, pro-free market, and profit oriented," he wrote, "they unanimously agreed that the engine that was driving new medicines, new jobs, and new profits was federal investment in basic scientific research and that American entrepreneurs would run out of new products and new services without that basic research... "After four years of interviewing scientists, entrepreneurs, academicians, and business leaders, I am now even more convinced that we need a broad-front approach to funding basic research and that our goal should be to double scientific research throughout the federal government in the next five years."
He suggested doubling the budget of NIH would be a "good start" because of its potential to benefit all Americans directly. And, he continued, many of the most important breakthroughs have come from NSF, the Centers for Disease Control, and the laboratories of DOE and from DARPA.
He cited breakthroughs in computer chips, improving from chips with 800 transistors in 1955 to a billion transistors in 2000 and one trillion within 15–20 years; in nanotechnology where tools and machines as small as one molecule have been developed; the human genome revolution; public health research in preventing and eliminating diseases such as polio and smallpox and a declining death rate among AIDS victims, and improvements in instrumentation.
Those advancements "only scratch the surface of the potential for greater wealth, more jobs, a higher quality of life, greater national security, and a future of unlimited opportunity," he predicted. "...in this age of scientific revolutions, many of the really big changes that will transform our lives will come from unpredictable breakthroughs—as they have in similar eras of our history.
"If this case is so self-evident, why is it so hard to get Washington to double the budget for federal scientific research? The answer is not logic but politics. I have found scientists and investors to be among the least effective lobbyists and have watched more focused special interests receive more money than they deserve while the future was starved of resources.”
He predicted there would be a "grand agreement between the Republican Congress and the Clinton administration this fall." In that agreement, he noted, the budget caps will be broken. "At that time, Congress and the president should agree that a substantial increase in all funding for scientific research should be part of the deal. In light of our budgetary surplus, the American people will support the broken budget caps for a combination of saving Social Security and Medicare, cutting taxes and strengthening vital government spending.
"Science research is vital to America's future and therefore is clearly vital government spending. Out of our sense of patriotism and our own enlightened self-interest, we should lobby our representatives and senators and insist that federal investment in scientific research be doubled over the next five years. "The down payment of the first 20% increase in all areas of scientific research should be made this month or next. Anything less will weaken the future for all of us."
Gingrich now is at the American Enterprise Institute.
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On 21 October the House of Representatives passed an amendment that would require states to develop standards and testing requirements for science. The amendment, offered by Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers (R-Michigan) and Congressman Tom Petri (R-Wisconsin) is attached to H.R. 2, the Student Results Act. H.R. 2 renews Title I, the largest federal program to help educate disadvantaged children, as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Math and reading already have the same requirements.
Ehlers believes more schools need to teach science and teach it well. Adding science to the Title I requirements will boost science offerings in classrooms across the country and help secure the future economic well being of our country, according to Ehlers. At this time, there are no standards or assessments for science in at least 20 states, and some teach little science.
"This amendment places the proper emphasis on science education," said Ehlers. "Our nation's future economic strength is directly linked to the science and technology knowledge of our workforce because today's workplace requires so much technological ability. This is why it is so important to begin science education as early as we can so that students can meet the demands of tomorrow's jobs."
The requirements take effect in 2005, to allow schools adequate time to meet the requirements. Ehlers is Vice Chairman of the House Science Committee and is also a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, which crafted the Student Results Act. The bill, H.R. 2, now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
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The Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) is seeking comment on a proposed uniform, government-wide definition of research misconduct. Public feedback must be postmarked no late than 13 December 1999. (See story in October 1999 newsletter for further details.)
After four years of consideration, OSTP and the National Science and Technology Council have drafted a single definition of misconduct that will apply to all federally sponsored research, along with guidelines for conducting fair and timely investigations into allegations of misconduct. The proposal was published in the 14 October issue of the Federal Register. Currently, many federal departments and agencies sponsor research, but not all use the same definition of misconduct, nor follow the same procedures when misconduct allegations have been made.
The new policy was developed after extensive consultation with the primary federal R&D agencies and builds upon their current policies. As defined in the proposal, misconduct comprises "fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing or reviewing research or in reporting research results." It is noted that "research misconduct does not include honest error or honest differences of opinion."
Regarding procedures, the proposal notes a finding of research misconduct requires that "there be a significant departure from accepted practices of the scientific community for maintaining the integrity of the research record; the misconduct be committed intentionally, or knowingly, or in reckless disregard of accepted practices; and the allegation be proven by a preponderance of evidence."
The notice describes "Responsibilities of Federal Agencies and Research Institutions" upon an allegation of misconduct, including phases of the investigation and what aspects are to be handled by the federal agency versus the home research institution.
"Guidelines for Fair and Timely Procedures" include safeguards for informants and the subject of the allegation, objectivity and expertise, timeliness and confidentiality. The entire notice and the information from the Federal Register can be found under the Table of Contents, Science and Technology Policy Office, Notices at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a991014c.html
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OMB has issued its final revision of the Circular A-110 requirements regarding public access to government-supported research under the Freedom of Information Act. The controversial issue resulted in OMB receiving more than 12 000 comments since changes were first proposed last February. Congress directed OMB to revise the circular in an effort to resolve statutory ambiguities and to balance the need for public access to research data with protections of the research process.
The revision became effective 9 November and does manage to clarify some of the issues while specifically defining some of the language in the circular. In reporting the revision, OMB noted that it recognizes the importance of ensuring that the circular does not interfere with the traditional scientific process.
"When the federal government changes the requirements that apply to researchers whom it funds, it needs to ensure that the changes do not interfere with cutting-edge science and the benefits that such science provides to the American people," OMB stressed. "During the revision process, many commenters expressed concern that the statute would compel federally funded researchers to work in a 'fishbowl' in which they would be required to reveal the results of their research and their research methods. They argued that this would prevent researchers from operating under the traditional scientific process...Accordingly, in light of this traditional scientific process, we have not construed the statute as requiring scientists to make research data publicly available while the research is still ongoing."
OMB noted that it "decided not to extend the scope of the revisions to agency guidance documents and other issuances that do not have the force and effect of law" or "not to limit the scope of the revisions to agency actions that have an impact in excess of $100 million.” The regulation "is applicable to all recipients, regardless of whether they also receive nonfederal funds" for the research performed. The revision adds a new paragraph to the regulation as follows:
"Intangible property. "(c) The federal government has the right to: (1) Obtain, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the data first produced under an award; and (2) Authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use such data for federal purposes.
"(d) (1) In addition, in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for research data relating to published research findings produced under an award that were used by the federal government in developing an agency action that has the force and effect of law, the federal awarding agency shall request, and the recipient shall provide, within a reasonable time, the research data so that they can be made available to the public through the procedures established under the FOIA.
"If the federal awarding agency obtains the research data solely in response to a FOIA request, the agency may charge the requester a reasonable fee equaling the full incremental cost of obtaining the research data. This fee should reflect costs incurred by the agency, the recipient, and the applicable subrecipients. This fee is in addition to any fees the agency may assess under the FOIA..."
OMB defined research data as the "recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings, but not any of the following: preliminary analysis, drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews, or communications with colleagues.
"This 'recorded' material excludes physical objects (e.g., laboratory samples). Research data also do not include: (A) Trade secrets, commercial information, materials necessary to be held confidential by a researcher until they are published, or similar information which is protected under law; and (B) Personnel and medical information and similar information, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, such as information that could be used to identify a particular person in a research study."
OMB defined "published" as "either when: (A) Research findings are published in a peer-reviewed scientific or technical journal; or (B) A federal agency publicly and officially cites the research findings in support of an agency action that has the force and effect of law."
It defined "used by the federal government in developing an agency action that has the force and effect of law" as "when an agency publicly and officially cites the research findings in support of an agency action that has the force and effect of law."
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Weather Service Finland Ltd. has secured a contract to provide forecasting services for the Finnish national commercial TV network MainosTV and the associated Radio Nova national radio network, following a competitive tendering procedure also involving the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The change will be initiated on 1 January 2000. Weather Service Finland Ltd. is now responsible for about 50% of the general forecasting services in Finland.
Joint research activities between scientists in the United States and Mexico in shared oceanic and coastal areas have been hindered by language and cultural differences, national political boundaries, and a disparity in funding and other resources, according to a new report from a joint committee of the National Research Council and the Academia Mexicana de Ciencias. The report was issued 26 October.
Most significantly, the committee found, support for ocean research in Mexico is insufficient to sustain scientists already working in the field and is inadequate for a binational response to ocean-related environmental problems. The report offers examples of significant research that could be conducted binationally in the Pacific Ocean, the Gulfs of California and Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, if greater support could be obtained. The committee recommended that the Mexican infrastructure be strengthened through more focused attention to ocean science activities, joint research, and personnel exchanges for education and training. Problems to be tackled range from coastal zone management and biological diversity to fisheries management and water quality and quantity issues.
The ocean areas separated by the United States–Mexico border are unified natural systems that are linked by ocean currents, large-scale mixing in each region, and animal migrations. In the shared coastal areas—as well as in the adjacent international waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Pacific Ocean, and Caribbean Sea—actions taken by one nation affect the other, the committee said.
For example, because the Gulf of Mexico is a semienclosed basin, its currents can circulate pollutants and living organisms throughout the entire region. Additionally, the open Pacific Coast and the Gulf of California are physically connected and share many biological and geological features.
The committee made several recommendations that could help foster greater cooperation between the two nations in solving problems related to their shared and adjacent bodies of water. Among these recommendations:
The committee also recommended establishing additional communications links, including Web sites, teleconferencing facilities, and computer databases, to improve the flow of information between United States and Mexican scientists and government officials. The study was funded by the Academia Mexicana de Ciencias in Mexico, and by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, and National Research Council in the United States. The National Research Council is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
Copies of Building Ocean Science Partnerships: The United States and Mexico Working Together are available from the National Academy Press, tel. (202) 334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242. The cost of the report is $45.00 (prepaid) plus shipping charges of $4.50 for the first copy and $.50 for each additional copy.
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The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, recently inaugurated a new WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station on Mount Kenya. The station is one of six new stations.
The GAWs are supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). With more than 400 fully operational stations, including 22 global ones, in 80 countries, GAW provides measurements for long-term accounting of greenhouse gases and aerosols and the complex atmospheric chemical reactions that determine the depletion, transformation, lifetimes, and transport of these gases and particles that contribute to climate change. Observations provided by GAW have served as scientific basis for the assessment of environmental degradation, which contributed to stimulating the convening of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development UNCED in Brazil in 1992 and the adoption of a number of international conventions.
At the inauguration ceremony, WMO Secretary-General Obasi underlined the importance of the new global station describing it as a critical link for the good functioning of the GAW network, which has now become widely accepted, as the world's basic monitoring system for atmospheric chemistry and physics.
As one of the GAW stations closest to the equator straddling the two hemispheres, the Mount Kenya station is expected to make a significant contribution to GAW's system, which also determines global and regional levels and long-term trends of natural and man-made atmospheric constituents and forecasts future state of, and stresses on, the environment.
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NOAA scientists, a Doppler radar and a "hurricane hunter" aircraft have joined an 11-nation research project that is the largest weather research project ever conducted in Europe. The project is designed to gain a better understanding of how the wind flow over the Alps affects the weather and to improve weather and river forecast models for mountainous areas, according to NOAA officials. Known as the "Mesoscale Alpine Project (MAP), the project is divided into "wet-MAP" and "dry-MAP" activities. The "wet-MAP" will study how wind flowing over the mountains affects precipitation and flooding, and the "dry-MAP" will study how mountains produce clear-air turbulence and damaging surface winds.
Researchers expect the data to improve computer weather and climate models that help predict the timing and effects of these events. "We expect NOAA to benefit a great deal from the pooled resources and extensive scope of this massive project, which probably will never be duplicated," said Jim McFadden, P-3 program manager and chief scientists with NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center in Tampa, Florida. "The Alps form a manageable natural research laboratory for the study of wind flow over mountains, and the knowledge we gain from this study will be directly applicable to our own mountain meteorological research effort in this country."
The P-3 is being used in the wet phase of MAP to study precipitation convection and storm areas. NOAA scientists, in cooperation with researchers from the University of Oklahoma and Princeton University, also are directing the use of a portable "Doppler on Wheels" radar unit. The unit, known for its close-up studies of winds within tornadoes, will provide direct measurement of precipitation intensity and winds within several Alpine valleys that are too deep to be well sampled by radar-bearing aircraft flying overhead. The P-3 and the Doppler will be used in conjunction with European ground-based radars.
"While the Alps are half a world away from North America, our involvement in MAP represents a good deal for U.S. taxpayers," said Dave Jorgensen, research meteorologist with the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, and MAP coprincipal investigator. "Our unique contributions in observation of severe weather systems using Doppler radar-equipped aircraft are being leveraged by a great deal of complementary equipment and expertise offered by our colleagues in Europe."
The wet-MAP phase of the project deals with rain events that take place over Italy resulting from the lifting and funneling of warm, moist air that moves northward into the Alps and the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. Localized flash floods resulting in such events cause serious property damage and loss of life, particularly to Italy, and gaining a better understanding of just how and why these episodes occur will lead to an improvement in forecasts.
The dry-MAP deals with downslope windstorms (often referred to as "Foehn" events in Europe), a wind phenomenon that occurs quite frequently in the American Rockies (often referred to as Chinook), as well as in the Alps. It also will help with prediction of clear-air turbulence caused when atmospheric gravity waves, which are formed as air flows across a mountain, break at high altitudes where commercial aircraft are often affected.
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According to experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the coming winter will be influenced by a lingering La Niña climate cycle of cold tropical Pacific waters.
The forecast, released on 26 October, notes that La Niña will alter the strength and pattern of the Pacific jet stream over North America to give us a warm and dry winter in the southern half of the nation, but more snow and rain to the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes. Forecasters expect considerable month-to-month variation in temperature, rainfall and storminess in the central, northern, and eastern states, which means days of warmer than normal temperatures followed by bouts of bitter cold. As with every winter, it's too early to predict just how the jet stream will affect the weather in many north central states and for northern New England.
La Niña years are characterized by a tendency for blocking high-pressure systems to form in the North Pacific Ocean. These blocks tend to persist for a week or two at a time. Depending on the exact location, which is variable, the weather can alternate from very warm to very cold conditions that persist for a while, then change. This causes the large amount of temperature variability in the northern United States, said Louis Uccellini, director of the National Weather Service's National Centers for Environmental Prediction, a NOAA facility headquartered in Camp Springs, Maryland.
NOAA climate experts also point to other factors that pose a particular challenge to forecasters. One such factor that acts independently of a La Niña event is the North Atlantic Oscillation cycle. The oscillation produces a large-scale change in the jet stream that causes weather patterns to fluctuate and temperatures and precipitation to vary widely.
Winter Weather Breakdown by Temperature & Precipitation:
Alaska: colder and drier than normal.
Hawaii: colder and wetter than normal.
Pacific Northwest: above-normal precipitation and increased storminess. Near-normal seasonal temperatures overall.
California: below-normal temperatures near coast. Above-normal precipitation in the north and below-normal precipitation in the south.
Southwest: above-normal temperatures, below-normal precipitation.
Northern Plains: near-normal seasonal temperatures and above-normal precipitation. Significant arctic outbreaks likely.
Rocky Mountain Region: near- to above-normal temperatures, above-normal precipitation in the north to below-normal precipitation in the south.
Midwest: near- to above-normal temperatures as you go from north to south, above- normal precipitation entire region.
New England: warmer than normal in southern New England; jet stream makes prediction uncertain for northern New England.
Southern Tier from Texas through Florida and the Southeast: warmer and drier than normal, with dryness most likely in New Mexico, South and West Texas, and Florida.
Mid-Atlantic States: milder than normal with near-normal precipitation east of the Appalachians.
Ohio and Tennessee River Valleys: Warmer and wetter than normal. Increased number of heavy precipitation events and an increased risk of severe winter weather.
Great Lakes and Northeast: high degree of uncertainty at this time. Considerable variability from week to week with the average of above-normal temperatures in southern areas and closer to normal in the north. Near-normal precipitation south and east of the Appalachians, and above normal elsewhere. Snowfall above normal
Ohio and Tennessee River Valleys: Pacific Northwest, especially higher elevations.
Upper Midwest and northern Great Lakes: snowfall below normal.
For more details on the winter weather outlook and information about La Niña, go to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center Web site at http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov. The Winter Weather Awareness site of NOAA's National Weather Service is found at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/winter. More information about NOAA's National Weather Service and its products and services are found at the agency's main Web site at http://www.nws.noaa.gov. La Niña sea surface temperature animation is available at http://manati.wwb.noaa.gov/orad/sub/sst_anomaly_4m.html.
Still images of La Niña sea surface temperature anomalies are available at http://psbsgi1.nesdis.noaa.gov:8080/PSB/EPS/SST/climo.html.
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An experimental instrument being flown aboard NOAA's P-3 "Hurricane Hunter" aircraft during Hurricane Dennis provided a fertile testing ground for new measurement technology, according to NOAA officials.
NOAA's Hurricane Research Division (HRD) and Aircraft Operations Center successfully transmitted sea-level wind measurements. The measurements were incorporated into HRD's real-time hurricane wind analysis system, combined with conventional winds from buoys, ships, Global Positioning System dropwindsondes, and satellite cloud tracking to determine the storm's wind field.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center then used the wind field as guidance to distribute warnings of gale force winds over coastal North and South Carolina. "What this new set of data provides is continuous measurement of wind speed over a large area," said NOAA hurricane wind field expert Mark Powell. "Based on successful comparison to the observations such as buoys and coastal weather stations, the data from the new instrument was accepted by the HRD analysis system in real time and used by the National Hurricane Center."
The technology in the instrument features a stepped frequency microwave radiometer (SFMR), a sensor built by the University of Massachusetts and Quadrant Engineering in Amherst, Massachusetts. The SFMR measures the signal returned by the ocean surface beneath the aircraft as it is churned up by hurricane winds. The measurements from the instrument provide a critical addition to existing tools for wind speed measurements, Powell explained. Dropwindsondes deployed from aircraft flying through and around a hurricane have been instrumental in providing point observations within a storm, sending information every half second.
Winds measured at flight level (about 10 000 feet) by the U.S. Air Force and NOAA hurricane reconnaissance aircraft are used in atmospheric models to estimate surface winds. Estimating wind speeds from that altitude has resulted in as much as 20% uncertainty. By incorporating the SFMR wind speeds, scientists hope to reduce the uncertainty to provide more accurate forecasts for coastal communities. The HRD is located at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, Florida. It is one of NOAA's 12 environmental research laboratories.
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A new database containing 71 million cloud observations from ships and 311 million from land stations has been released by the DOE's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Titled "Extended Edited Synoptic Cloud Reports from Ships and Land Stations over the Globe, 1952–1996," the data were contributed by Carol Hahn, University of Arizona, and Stephen Warren, University of Washington, and prepared for publication by Dale Kaiser. The database contains surface synoptic weather reports for the entire globe. In addition to the cloud portion of the report, each edited report also includes the associated pressure, present weather, wind, air temperature, and dew point.
Also, CDIAC has updated the "Trends Online" records of carbon dioxide measurements from the Vostok (East Antarctica) ice core to include data extending back 414 085 years. The data were contributed by J.M. Barnola, D. Raynaud, and C. Orius (Laboratoire de Glaciologie de l'Environment, Saint Martin d'Herms Cedex, France) and N.I. Barkov, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia.
The extension of the Vostok CO2 record shows the present-day levels of CO2 are unprecedented during the past 420 000 years.
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With the help of a Canadian satellite named Radarsat, NASA has been able to form the first high-resolution radar map of Antarctica. The satellite data was collected during an 18-day period in 1997 and provides detail to the point of picking out a research bungalow on an iceberg, officials said.
"This map is truly a new window on the Antarctic continent, providing new beginnings in our Earth science studies there," according to Dr. Ghassem Asrar, associate administrator for Earth Science at NASA headquarters. The most amazing features scientists see are twisted patterns of ice draining from the ice sheet into the ocean. "We were surprised to see a complex network of ice streams reaching deep into the heart of East Antarctica," said Kenneth Jezek, a glaciologist from the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University.
Ice streams are vast rivers of ice that flow up to 100 times faster than the ice they channel through, with speeds up to 3000 feet a year. "These are extraordinary ice streams...that extend almost 500 miles...nearly the distance along the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Cairo, Illinois," Jezek said. "We've recently used Radarsat and other satellite data to estimate that one ice stream system sends over 19 cubic miles of ice to the sea every year—an amount equivalent to burying Washington, D.C., in 1700 feet of ice every 12 months," according to Jezek.
Jezek and his colleagues have been working to complete the enormous map since the Canadian Space Agency began the mission with a complex in-orbit rotation of the satellite. Researchers chose Radarsat because its radar collects data day and night, through cloudy weather or clear. The map also used ground measurements collected by scientists of many of the nations that study Antarctica. Radarsat images of Antarctica are available on the Internet at http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/imagewell/antarctica.html
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NWS tests of its satellite and ground-based systems have left officials confident that the agency's weather forecasts and warnings will operate as usual as Y2K begins on 1 January.
The Year 2000 issue is rooted in the way many computer systems handle dates using a two-digit year code. Weather products, such as forecasts, watches and warnings, are unaffected by the Y2K date change because they use only a two-digit day of the month and a four-digit Universal Coordinated Time hour in the header of each product. For example, on the 25th day of any month at 1700 hours, the only date information in the header of the date would be 251700.
"The American public can rest assured the National Weather Service will continue to provide timely weather information as we enter the new millennium," said John J. Kelly Jr., NWS director. NWS has been working since 1996 to ensure that all of its mission critical systems are Y2K ready. Satellites, Doppler radars, automated ground sensors, sophisticated computers, and a network of weather forecast facilities throughout the country were assessed, renovated as necessary, and validated, officials reported.
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NOAA'S climate models indicate that the areas of the nation that already are warm and humid may grow even more so because of global warming. A study published in the October issue of Climatic Change indicates that substantial increases in the Heat Index (a measure of stress placed on humans by elevated atmospheric temperature and moisture levels) may occur in humid regions of the Tropics and subtropics.
The findings suggest that regions such as the southeastern United States, already both warm and humid, will be particularly vulnerable during summer. The study was written by Thomas Delworth, Jerry Mahlman, and Thomas Knutson, all meteorologists at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey. "We found that while summer near-surface air temperature increases are largest over midlatitude continental interiors such as the Great Plains, differences in 'moisture-induced stress' are more clearly linked to coastal and oceanic regions like the southeastern United States," said Delworth.
While the more humid areas have smaller temperature increases, they experience greater heat index effects because of increased moisture in the air. As the moisture content of the air increases, the ability of humans to release heat through perspiration is inhibited, causing discomfort and stress. "That's why when we evaluate the potential impact of future climate change on human health and comfort, the moisture in the air as well as the surface air temperature must be considered," according to Delworth.
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A tsunami alert test buoy off the coast of California reacted to the 16 October earthquake in Southern California providing an unexpected test of the buoy system. NOAA officials reported that the buoy, deployed on 11 May, is one of a series deployed to provide early warning of tsunamis. "Although there was no tsunami produced by the 7.0 earthquake, it did trigger the buoy and gave us an unexpected test of the system," said Eddie Bernard, director of NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Washington. "The buoy system performed as designed."
He said the buoy's seafloor sensor was lifted by seismic waves from the earthquake creating an amplified pressure change. The buoys are part of the Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis program (DART), designed to provide as much warning as possible. The two warning centers, one in Hawaii and another in Alaska, did not receive the data from the test buoy, officials said, as they are in the process of installing the necessary software. "The DART system is essential to provide early warning," Bernard explained. "Hawaii needs three and one-half hours advance notice to evacuate its residents. By the time we can see a large tsunami wave, it is usually too late to warn people."
The last destructive tsunami struck a village in northern Papua, New Guinea, in 1998, killing 2000 people, mostly children home for school holidays.
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After a year-long, around-the-world cruise, NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown has returned to Seattle with discoveries that will bring scientists closer to understanding the natural and human-made forces that help drive the world's climate.
"The scientific success of this voyage was the number of small pieces to the larger climate puzzle that were obtained," said Eddie Bernard, director of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. "The scientists studied areas of open ocean that had not been studied before in such detail, which we hope will give us answers to the many questions we have about how natural and human-made forces affect our climate and, ultimately, the way we live. "During the voyage, we also deployed instruments that will provide real-time data for better weather and tsunami forecasts."
Captain Roger L. Parsons, NOAA Corps, said, "Since its departure from Seattle last year on 12 October, the ship has traveled more than 55 000 nautical miles, successfully supported seven major NOAA and international projects and visited nine countries. We have hosted 250 scientists from more than a dozen nations and 50 scientific organizations. By all accounts, the ship and its crew have been up to the task." Researchers discovered that the Indian Ocean monsoons have effects that are similar to the El Niño events in the tropical Pacific that have had such a tremendous effect on the United States but that monsoons and El Niño are not always linked, as previously believed.
In a different experiment, preliminary findings show that air pollutants dramatically impact the Indian Ocean region (which until now had never been studied). The experiment also found that a brown haze that covered much of the research area from the ocean surface to 1–3 km altitude could indicate large-scale pollution transport that may be occurring in other regions of the earth.
Each project had a different approach to studying the forces that affect climate and climate variability, from the microscopic atmospheric particles that can cool the earth's surface by reflecting sunlight back into space to the interaction of storms with the ocean, which can modify sea surface temperatures and currents.
Much of the data collected was from areas of open ocean where little or no data had been available until now. These data have the potential to significantly improve the computer models that scientists use to make more accurate short- and long-range climate predictions that can help policy-makers make well-informed decisions.
The two-year-old ship, homeported in Charleston, South Carolina, also deployed five real-time observational buoys that provide meteorological and tsunami data from the North Pacific. These data are available on the Web site at http://pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami-hazard/ to supplement weather/climate forecasting and tsunami warnings for the U.S. West Coast.
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A new cable weather channel, WeatherPlus, has announced it plans to begin broadcasting on 4 July 2000.
Described in its publicity literature as "the first totally new cable weather network in nearly 20 years, designed and built from the ground up," it plans to offer a "full service weather network combining world-class national coverage with live local reports every 10 minutes."
The literature promises "3D weather graphics, exclusive content of the world's foremost source of weather data and imagery, Kavouras, a DTN company..., a talk radio style with TV-news style graphics, local weather and traffic conditions, radar imagery..., continuous local coverage of severe weather as it unfolds, state-of-the-art block-by-block storm tracking, knowledgeable 'Climate Jockeys' who know the scene and know the score and tell it like it is, interactive and participatory programming..., feature shorts and frequent recreational reports."
Founder and CEO is Jeffrey P. Price, an entrepreneur who previously has concentrated his activities in the field of telecommunications. WeatherPlus offices are located in Wycombe, Pennsylvania.
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A special report on Hurricane Floyd, including information on rainfall, windspeed, damages, power outages, and satellite images, and a report on the severe drought across the eastern United States this past summer is now available on the Internet.
The report, by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center, contains a side-by-side comparison of Hurricanes Floyd and Andrew, with Floyd measuring more than twice the size of Andrew. For a special report on Floyd, visit http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/extremes/1999/September/extremes0999.html.
Before Hurricane Floyd hit the United States, many eastern states were experiencing a severe drought with high temperatures. The drought brought agricultural losses, over $1 billion in damages; and 256 deaths. A special report on the Eastern drought and heat wave is now available from the climate center at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/research/1999/sum/us_drought.html.
The climate center has also updated its "Billion Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters, 1980–1999," with links to special reports of many of the events, including Floyd and the summer drought. For an updated look at "Billion Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters" visit http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/billionz.html
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NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and the FAA are testing a new buoy-mounted radio-relay system that would enable pilots to have direct, real-time communications with ground controllers over areas of the Gulf of Mexico where aircraft currently lose contact.
Aircraft flying between the United States and Central and South America lose radio contact with control towers as they travel over certain areas of the Gulf of Mexico at the present time. When aircraft are 150 nautical miles or more away from shore, they lose contact with air traffic control systems in the United States and other nations surrounding the Gulf, leaving a large portion of the central Gulf without voice communication.
The buoys will fill this void, making it possible for pilots and control emergency alert systems to maintain contact during the entire flight. The buoy communications system is expected to enhance flight safety in the region and, when combined with new surveillance techniques, will enable an increase in passenger and cargo flights over the Gulf.
The buoy-mounted system communicates with aircraft via standard FAA VHF/AM transceivers operating on air traffic control frequencies and with the FAA Air Route Traffic Control Center in Houston, Texas, via a satellite link, providing direct, real-time communications between aircraft and controllers. Plans call for a network of three 12-meter buoys in the Gulf situated on a line, which runs from about 200 miles west of Fort Myers, Florida, to about 200 miles east of Brownsville, Texas, and spaced approximately 200 miles apart.
In addition to the communications equipment, the buoys will be equipped with a full range of environmental measuring devices that collect real-time information about the temperature, wind, sea state, and other weather observations for the NWS. During the early phase of the test, which began 4 September, more than 60 aircraft have been contacted successfully at ranges up to 225 nautical miles, exceeding the required 168 nautical mile range.
More information about the National Data Buoy Center is available on the Internet at http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov
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NOAA’s Aviation Weather Center (AWC) was recently the recipient of the Edgar S. Gorrell award by the Air Transport Association. Named after the first president of the ATA, the Gorrell award honors “outstanding contributions to the improvement of weather analysis, weather forecasting, or the dispatching of airline aircraft, thereby enhancing the reliability and safety of air transportation.”
A part of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, the AWC works around-the-clock to save lives, protect property, and bolster the economic productivity of America's airspace. As the nation's primary source of national and international en route aviation warnings and forecasts, the AWC uses a national network of radar, satellites, and interactive computers, and communications systems. Data from each is integrated to form a coherent, consistent picture of the atmosphere, and better watches, warnings, and forecasts are the result.
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There is a 70% probability that one or more damaging earthquakes of magnitude 6.7 or larger will strike the San Francisco Bay area during the next 30 years. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake is equivalent to the 1994 Northridge earthquake that killed 57 people and caused $20 billion in damage. That prediction is contained in a report released recently by the USGS and prepared by a group of scientists known as the "working group" or "WG99." The group is composed of more than 70 geologists, seismologists, geophysicists, and statisticians and chaired by Dr. David Schwartz, head of the agency's San Francisco Bay Area Earthquake Hazards Project.
Schwartz pointed out that there is an 80% chance of one or more magnitude 6 or 6.7 earthquakes before 2030. He said that while 6.7 magnitude or greater earthquakes can cause damage throughout the Bay region, smaller quakes centered in an urbanized area also could cause serious damage. The important difference between the new probabilities figures and previous estimates is that the earthquake hazard is spread broadly across the entire Bay region, from the Pacific Coast to the Sacramento Delta, not just restricted to those areas, said Schwartz. "Since much of this broad region is becoming heavily urbanized and many of these faults run right through urban areas, future earthquakes have the potential to cause much more damage than the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake," according to Schwartz.
Coastal area from Half Moon Bay to Monterrey also are included in the new probabilities study, with a 25% chance of one or more earthquakes centered in the nearby San Andreas or San Gregorio faults. Schwartz said the new probability figures were derived by balancing two processes—the motions of the plates that make up the earth's outer shell and the slip on faults, which occurs primarily during earthquakes. He said the development of the Global Positioning System of satellites has allowed geophysicists to make accurate measurements of how the current plate motion distributes strain onto individual faults. Currently, that strain is about 1.5 inches a year.
In calculating the probabilities of earthquakes occurring in the next 30 years, the WG99 team developed a new set of computer models that uses both physics and statistics. In these models, earthquakes are caused by a culmination of constant plate motions and a random process that accounts for variations in earthquake sizes and occurrence, a scenario that closely mimics the occurrence of earthquakes around the world.
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Extensive rains that accompanied Hurricane Floyd may have had a significant impact on the marine food chain along the North Carolina coast, according to NOAA and NASA researchers.
"Following Hurricane Floyd, record-breaking rains continued to soak the area, washing mountains of sediment and waste into the water system,” according to Gene Feldman, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. "Now rivers and tributaries along the Atlantic are choked and major ecological changes are happening. "Periodically, levels of dissolved oxygen in the water have dropped dramatically as organic matter decomposes, and aquatic life has been threatened in dozens of estuaries and peripheral habitats, commonly referred to as 'dead zones.' The current changes in the area may have lasting repercussions for hundreds of thousands of people."
Using data from NASA's Earth-orbiting Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWIFS) and an airborne laser instrument, scientists from NOAA can monitor algae growth over large regions, such as Pamlico Sound between the North Carolina mainland and the Outer Banks.
Pat Tester, a scientist at NOAA's Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, Beaufort, North Carolina, said fertilizer and other nutrients that flowed down the storm-flooded rivers in eastern North Carolina are feeding the algae and phytoplankton in the sounds. Tester's team is coordinating sampling missions from small boats on the waterways with flights by a NOAA Twin-Otter aircraft carrying the NASA laser and observations from the SeaWIFS spacecraft. "This approach is providing a three-tier look at the area from space, air and sea," she said.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking nominations for the National Space Club's newly established David Johnson Award. David Johnson (now retired) was a pioneer in operational meteorological satellites, and was the first assistant administrator for NOAA's satellite and data organization.
The new award is to recognize encouraging professionals who have developed an innovative use for Earth observation satellite data that can be used to assess adn predict atmospheric, oceanic, or terrestrial conditions.
Nominations must be received by 20 December 1999. The award recipient will be selected by a panel of government and nongovernment scientists and program managers. The national space club will present the award on 30 March 2000 at the annual Goddard Memorial Dinner, held near Washington, D.C.
Eligibility criteria and application information is available online at http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/johnsonaward/ or contact Jane D'Aguanno or Donald Nortrup in the Office of the Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services at (301) 457-5113; fax (301) 457-5267; or e-mail Jane.Daguanno@noaa.gov or Donald.Nortrup@noaa.gov.
NOAA has developed a scale similar to the Richter scales to provide early warning of turbulent space weather. The scales characterize the severity and impact of solar storms on public safety and services.
The new space weather scales were unveiled at the news conference at the Commerce Department in Washington on 9 December. The scales will be particularly important for warning satellite operators, power companies, and other users whose operations may be disrupted by such storms, officials said. The scales are even more significant with the advent of the 11-yr solar maximum cycle, when sunspots and solar flares are at their most frequent and intense. Space storms, radiation showers, aurora borealis, and affects on power grids and Global Positioning System navigation and other systems are all expected during Solar Max's 23rd cycle, which is expected to last three years and produce six to 12 major storms.
"When Solar Maximum occurs, the sun bursts at its seams with explosive power, and as it churns, there is potential for electrical power outages, radio problems, including broadcast transmissions and pagers," said Dr. D. James Baker, under secretary for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.
The new space scale will rate the geomagnetic storms from G1 to G5: G5 being the most extreme. Working like the Richter scale with earthquakes, the new space weather scales will describe the intensity of three kinds of solar events: geomagnetic storms, solar radiation storms and radio blackouts.
"The scales are a giant step forward in informing the public about the severity of these events and their expected consequences," explained Dr. Ernie Hildner, director of NOAA's Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colorado. The physical measurements on the scales will help the scientific and operations communities consistently identify the intensity of solar events. Solar storms can vary, with some equivalent to a thunderstorm on Earth, while others may be more severe, with intensity similar to a hurricane or tornado.
John Kappenman, a senior engineer at Metatech in Duluth, Minnesota, said the storms can impact the operational reliability of electrical transmissions worldwide. One of the strongest impacts occurred during the last solar cycle in 1989 when the entire province of Quebec, Canada, went dark because of overloaded power lines.
As more companies use satellites, the vulnerability to power problems increases, and that vulnerability grows incrementally over time, Kappenman explained. "We are weaker today than we were 10 years ago," he said. And he predicted that the current solar cycle is likely to produce one or more of the storm of March 1989. When an incoming storm is detected by NASA and NOAA satellites monitoring the sun, officials will be able to use the scale to alert power companies about the expected severity of the storm within 30–45 minutes of the storm's arrival so they can take action.
David Desrocher, a senior engineer with Aerospace Corporation, said the storms could produce a change in orientation for satellites, give false readings or produce a spark that could damage the surface of a satellite. He said that he was not predicting the satellites would go “belly-up,” but explained the scientists really aren't certain to what extent many of the power systems in space will be affected.
A 1996 panel of NOAA scientists predicted that the millennial solar maximum will not match the tumultuous solar weather of 1958, when more than 200 sunspots were recorded. However, the peak of Cycle 23 likely will be one of the two or three most intense to take place in 130 years. That information was contained in an article in the November issue of the DC-AMS Newsletter.
Additional information on the scales and space weather is available on NOAA’s pace Environment Center Internet site, http://www.spaceweather.noaa.gov.
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The Chinese noticed dark spots on the sun as early as 25 B.C. and Galileo observed them using his telescope in 1611, but they have remained cloaked in mystery over the centuries. Now, researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, have found bright rings around eight sunspots. The presence of these rings sheds light on why sunspots are dark. The research was published in the 14 October issue of Nature.
According to lead author, Mark Rast, the rings’ presence supports the idea that the spots appear dark because their magnetic fields block heat transport. With temperatures of 4000 Kelvin (3700°C), sunspots are both cooler and darker than the surrounding solar disk, or photosphere, which hovers at 6000 K (5700°C) when the sun is quiet. The newly discovered rings are only 1% brighter, or10° hotter, than the quiet photosphere, and they compensate for only 10% of the sunspots’ missing energy. Their contribution to the amount of solar energy reaching the earth is negligible. But evidence of even faint rings suggests that convective heat transport around sunspots is structured and vigorous rather than evenly diffuse, as the models indicate.
Scientists have long believed that sunspots are cross sections of magnetic, rope-like structures whose origins lie deep in the sun’s interior. Their missing heat, they say, should appear on the sun’s surface as a bright ring around the spot. However, the rings have never been conclusively observed. Current models explain their absence as the result of heat dispersal through turbulence in the sun’s interior.
In the past, measurement of the rings has been difficult. With the aid of the recision Solar Photometric Telescope at NCAR’s Mauna Loa Solar Observatory in Hawaii, Rast found rings around eight spots. According to Rast, the bigger the spot, the hotter and brighter the ring. He then analyzed data taken with NCAR’s Advanced Stokes Polarimeter at the National Solar Observatory in New Mexico, which measures the sun’s magnetic field.
"The existence of even such faint rings suggests that either sunspots are shallow phenomena," says Rast, "or convective flows around the spots transport heat to the surface more efficiently than earlier models suggest.” Such flows may play an important role in sunspot birth and growth. Visual images are available at ftp://ftp.ucar.edu/communications.
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The third mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope is now scheduled for launch from the Kennedy Space Center on 6 December. The mission, delayed several times for technical difficulties with the space shuttle, will rocket into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. Launch time is set for 2:37 a.m. EST.
During the mission the astronauts will perform several days of extravehicular activities that will include replacement of all six gyroscopes, a guidance sensor, the spacecraft's computer and the installation of a new transmitter, a spare solid state recorder, and telescope insulation to replace the degraded blanket for controlling the internal temperature on the spacecraft.
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NOAA engineers are reconfiguring three types of its environmental satellites in preparation for the return of the Leonid Meteor event, currently predicted to peak during the early morning of 18 November. To prepare for the event, the engineers are modifying configurations on its GOES and POES satellites and the satellites in the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). The satellites are operated by controllers at NOAA's Suitland, Maryland, facility.
The Leonid meteor display is associated with the earth's passage through the Leonid stream. This stream consists of the debris of Tempel-Tuttle, a comet that orbits the sun about every 33 years. The meteors are produced by the impact on the earth's atmosphere of small dust grains released from comets.
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The director of NOAA's National Weather Service has named long-time NOAA employee Jamison S. Hawkins as director of the Services Division in the NWS Office of Meteorology, to replace Richard Przywarty, who has moved on to become the weather service's Alaska regional director.
Hawkins began his 21-yr career with NOAA as a satellite meteorologist. Recently, he has been serving in NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, involved with meteorological, oceanographic, and solar environment requirements analyses for future satellite systems. He was the codeveloper of the real-time satellite image distribution service of the NOAA Coast Watch Program in 1989. He also received the 1993 NOAA Administrator's Award for leading the development of an innovative computer system to process satellite images for the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), a high-tech interactive weather computer and communications system that allows NWS forecasters the ability to access and integrate information from other tools such as satellite imagery, Doppler radar data, automated weather observations, and computer-generated numerical forecasts, to produce more timely and better forecasts.
The Office of Meteorology's Services Division manages the primary short-term weather forecast and warning products and services provided to the public and the media, and to the aviation, marine, and fire weather customer communities. The office oversees all the critical warning and forecast programs of the NWS regional offices, and works to advance and promote the short-term critical warning and forecast information needed to protect the safety of life and property and to enhance the national economy.
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The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. has honored NOAA Corps Director Admiral Evelyn J. Fields with its prestigious Ralph M. Metcalfe Health, Education and Science Award.
Representative Julian C. Dixon (D-CA) and Rep. Carolyn C. Fitzpatrick (D-MI) presented the award to Fields during the Caucus's Annual Legislative Conference Awards Dinner recently. President and Mrs. Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were present at the event, and the president acknowledged Fields' accomplishments in his remarks.
She also was the recipient of the Award of Excellence from the Black Women's Agenda during the ceremonies. Fields was appointed director of the nation's seventh uniformed service recently. She is the first woman and first African American to hold the position.
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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced that Professor Mario J. Molina of MIT has been named winner of the 1999 Sasakawa Environment Prize for his outstanding global contributions in the field of atmospheric chemistry. The prize, worth $200 000 and considered one of the most prestigious environmental awards in the world, will be presented at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 17 November.
"The prize has been awarded to Professor Molina for his pioneering investigations on the chemistry of the ozone layer, which have led to a better scientific understanding of the effect of human activities on the atmosphere," according to Lord Stanley Clifton-Davis, chairman of the selection committee. "The confidence with which many aspects of the science of ozone destruction is now understood comes directly from Professor Molina's work."
Molina and his colleagues discovered a previously unknown reaction whereby chlorine is activated on the surface of ice cloud particles in the polar atmosphere. Molina also demonstrated a new reaction sequence involving chlorine peroxide, which accounts for most of the ozone destruction in the Antarctic.
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Dr. Edward Stone, director of JPL in Pasadena, California, and vice president and David Morrisroe Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology, has been named winner of the 1999 Carl Sagan Award. The award will be presented jointly by the American Astronautical Society (AAS) and The Planetary Society on 16 November during the annual meeting of the society in Pasadena.
Since 1972, Stone has served as the project scientist for the Voyager Mission, participating in both hardware development and mission operations. Following the launch in 1977 of the twin Voyager spacecraft, he coordinated the efforts of 11 teams of scientists in their studies of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
As recipient, he will present the Carl Sagan Memorial lecture in conjunction with the award. His presentation will address "The Role of Robotic Outposts in Establishing a Permanent Presence in Space."
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Dr. Simon Ramo and retired Air Force General Bernard Schriever have been awarded NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal for their contributions during the early American space program. NASA director Dan Goldin made the presentations during a day-long launch vehicle conference at the AAAS auditorium in Washington on 5 November.
Ramo, as chief scientist and leading civilian in the Air Force program to build the first U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile system, advanced the cooperation between the Air Force and industry necessary to begin America's space program.
Schriever, who pioneered development of the Nation's first ballistic missile, enabled the rocket technology that led to NASA's successes in its early human space flight program.
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The Harold Masursky Meritorious Service Award of the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society for 2000 was awarded posthumously to the former Congressman George E. Brown, who died last July.
Brown, former chairman of the House Science Committee, was chosen in recognition of his accomplishments as a champion for planetary science and exploration. Brown represented a California district close to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1962 and had been a member of the Science Committee since 1965.
The Meritorious Service Award, established in 1991, is named in honor of the late Harold Masursky of the USGS, a scientist who was a leader in establishing and accomplishing scientific objectives in both U.S. and international programs for planetary exploration.
The award was made in Pasadena, California, at the annual meeting of the DPS in October.
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Mary M. Glackin, who played a key role in the modernization of NWS's modernization program and particularly with the AWIPS project, has been named deputy assistant administrator for NOAA's National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) in Suitland, Maryland.
In her new position, she will oversee operations of four major areas: satellite operations, satellite data processing and distribution, systems development, and research and applications. Glackin has served with the NWS since the 1970s. Her most recent assignment was program manager for the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System.
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