Editor: Jim Elliott
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NSF Director Rita Colwell, as she had done earlier in the month before the House, brought her agency's FY 2000 budget request before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on VA/HUD and Independent Agencies on 23 March.
Also appearing at the hearing was OSTP Director Neal Lane, the former NSF director who was succeeded by Colwell. Lane, who gave lengthy testimony on science and technology funding over a whole host of agencies (see separate story), called the NSF budget "a very aggressive research balance." He said that while the president "would like to do more," he admitted that the United States is "significantly underutilizing its scientific resources." Lane explained, "there is only so much money; something has to give."
Colwell underlined that NSF is "the only agency whose mission covers research in all fields of science and engineering, as well as education at all levels—cradle to grave. We support the fundamental work that benefits the mission agencies right down the line."
She said the $3.95 billion FY2000 budget request represents a 5.8% increase over the current level of spending and described the amount as "outstanding," given the restraints imposed by the discretionary spending caps.
She reiterated that the "headliner" in the agency's budget is the new initiative in information technology, or IT2 as it is called. NSF is the lead agency with this initiative, shared by six agencies with total budgeting amounting to $356 million across all six agencies. NSF will put $146 million into IT2, with the money covering three sets of activities—fundamental IT research, $100 million; terascale computing system, $36 million, and research on the societal, ethical, and workforce impacts of emerging technologies, $10 million.
"When people ask me why NSF and the United States should invest in information technologies—and why now," she explained, "I say it is an absolute must. It's not a national initiative, it's a national imperative." "The possibilities are limitless," she continued. We tackle the toughest challenges in science and engineering, and we put high octane fuel in this great engine of job creation and growth."
Another area of high NSF priority is biocomplexity—a multidisciplinary approach to understanding our world's environment. "For generations," Colwell said, "scientists have studied parts of our environmental system, individual species and habitats, in isolation. Now it is time for a better understanding of how those parts function together as a whole."
"This will not be easy," she explained. "Taken separately, these parts are very complex. Biocomplexity is about looking at phenomena, whether they be weather or proteins or human society, at many scales. Such a viewpoint will let us identify the principles and patterns that operate at multiple levels of organization in the earth's systems and across time and space.
"Because of our planet's biocomplexity, organisms, and entire ecosystems in one region can be influenced dramatically by physical and chemical changes occurring thousands of miles away. For example, wildfires in the western United States affect fisheries half a world away. Mercury from very hot wildfires can be blown aloft by high-level winds and fall into rivers and lakes far away. Fish consume food contaminated by the mercury, presenting a human health hazard."
A third high priority in NSF, she explained, is science and math education. Comparing our schools with those of other nations, she said, can be not such good news. "By 12th grade," she explained, "our students are near the bottom. We can and must do better."
Other items she mentioned included the Plant Genome Research Program for which a $5 million increase in funding is asked for a total of $55 million; a new Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation, being provided $8 million in FY2000, toward a total investment of $82 million over the next five years; and modernization of the South Pole station, which she said remains on schedule and on budget.
By its very timing, Colwell said, "a budget for the first year of the new millennium takes on added significance. That applies doubly to NSF. The year 2000 marks the 50th anniversary of the National Science Foundation."
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Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Neal Lane appeared before the Senate Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies on 23 March providing a comprehensive across-the-board rundown on research spending throughout the government.
"...funding for S&T, like funding for education, is a high-leverage investment in our continued quest for peace and prosperity," he said. "Support of such investments has traditionally been a matter of bipartisan agreement. It is imperative that we build common ground in support of a shared vision—a commitment to keep America the world's leader in S&T."
Sustaining that leadership, he continued, has been the cornerstone of President Clinton's economic and national security strategy. "Investments in science and technology, both public and private, have driven economic growth and improvements in the quality of life in America for the last 200 years," he said.
"Over the past three years," he explained, "information technology (IT) alone has accounted for more than one-third of America's economic growth. More than 7.4 million Americans work in IT today—and those jobs pay, on average, 60% higher than the average job.
"Investments in research and development are among the highest payback investment a nation can make. Over the past 50 years, technological innovation has been responsible for as much as half of the nation's growth in productivity."
These innovations, he said, have built some key industries, including computers and communications, biotechnology, aerospace, environmental technologies, and energy efficiency.
"Every one of these industries," he said, "has been built on federal investments in R&D...From satellites, to software, to superconductivity, the government has supported, and must continue to support, exploratory research, experimentation, and innovation that would be difficult, if not impossible, for individual companies or even whole industries to afford.
Lane said that the administration has submitted a balanced budget request to Congress for FY2000. "Despite the tight constraint on discretionary spending," he said, "FY2000 is the seventh year in a row that the president has proposed increased investments in civilian research and development, to a total of $39.8 billion. Civilian R&D now constitutes 51% of the overall R&D budget of $78.2 billion."
The new budget request continues that trend, he explained. "It boosts funding for basic research to $18.2 billion, an increase of 4.2% ($727 million) over FY99. The budget also strengthens university-based research, which increases by $353 million and reflects an effort to reestablish an optimum balance between health care research and other scientific disciplines."
"The proposed R&D investments," he said, "will enable S&T agencies to achieve the president's goals for science and technology; promote long-term growth that creates high-wage jobs; sustain a healthy, educated citizenry; harness information technology; improve environmental quality; enhance national security and global stability, and maintain world leadership in science, engineering, and mathematics."
Examples he cited included:
National Institutes of Health (NIH): budget includes a 2% ($320 million) increase to allow continued progress on diabetes, brain disorders, cancer, genetic medicine, disease prevention strategies, and an AIDS vaccine.
National Science Foundation (NSF): budget provides $3.92 billion (a 7% increase), including $146 million to lead the administration's Information Technology Initiative. It also provides increase funding for biocomplexity research on biological, physical, chemical, and social interactions in Earth's ecosystems.
Department of Energy (DOE): budget provides $2.84 billion (a 6% increase) with increased resources provided for basic research as well as continued support for construction and operation of large scientific user facilities.
Department of Defense (DOD): the budget provides $1.1 billion in basic research, $3 billion in applied research and $3.3 billion in advanced technology development.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): budget provides $2.48 billion for the International Space Station (ISS) (an 8% increase) and includes $2.2 billion for Space Science (a 4% increase over FY99) and $1.46 billion for Earth Science (a 3% increase.)
Department of Agriculture (USDA): budget provides a 3% increase, $837 million for the Agricultural Research Service. The Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service National Research Initiative receives a 68% increase to a total of $200 million, and the Forest Service a 19% increase to $235 million.
Department of Commerce (DOC): budget includes $918 million in the twenty-first century Research Fund. It provide $239 million (an 18% increase) for NIST's Advanced Technology Program and $283 million for research to support decision making on climate change, air quality, and ozone depletion.
Department of Interior (DOI): budget provides for $838 million (a 5% increase) to USGS for science that supports national resource and environmental decision making.
For the Climate Change Technology Initiative, Lane said, the budget provides for a 34% increase, and for the Global Change Research Program it provides $1.8 billion (a 6% increase).
OSTP's budget request for FY2000 is $5 201 000, an increase of less than 3.5% and an increase of one in the FTE level from 39 in FY99 to 40 in FY2000.
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Testifying before the House Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies on 23 March, NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin devoted considerable attention to the agency's efforts with its Earth Science Enterprise (ESE). Excerpts of his ESE testimony follow:
"Since its creation in 1958, NASA has been studying the earth and its changing environment by observing the atmosphere, oceans, and land and their influence on climate and weather. The perspective afforded since the beginning of the space age planted a growing seed of knowledge—we now understand that the key to gaining a better understanding of the global environment is exploring how the earth's systems of air, land, water, and life interact with each other. This approach, called Earth System Science, integrates fields like meteorology, oceanography, biology, geology, and atmospheric sciences.
"While 1998 was an outstanding year for Earth Science results, missions launched in 1999 and beyond promise to increase our fundamental understanding of the Earth system. We have 30 Earth Science launches scheduled over the next five years. The president's budget request for Earth Science for FY2000 is $1.459 billion (NASA's total budget request for FY2000 is $13.6 billion).
"The Earth Observing System (EOS), the largest element of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise ($663.2 million for FY2000), is a program of multiple spacecraft designed to provide measurements of the key, multidisciplinary parameters needed to understand global climate change. The first EOS spacecrafts, EOS-AM-1 and Landsat-7, represent two of the eight missions the Earth Science Enterprise will launch this year. These missions, plus EOS-PM-1 and Chemistry-1 missions, will help achieve the fundamental EOS measurements, which will begin our understanding of the earth system. PM-1 and Chemistry-1 remain on track for launch in 2000 and 2002, respectively. The EOS program also includes several small spacecraft such as the U.S./French TOPEX/Poseidon follow-on mission, known as Jason-1; QuikScat; Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat); Solstice; and the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) satellite.
"The Earth Probes program ($138.2 million in FY2000) addresses specific, highly focused Earth science questions that are new or complementary with other parts of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. Currently approved Earth Probes include the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer-EP and the Earth System Science Pathfinder missions (the Vegetation Canopy Lidar and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment). A new U.S./French ESSP mission called PICASSO-CENA was selected in December 1998 to study the earth's atmosphere in tandem with the EOS-PM-1 satellite.
"A parallel series of New Millennium program missions is being developed to validate advanced technology for future Earth Science spacecraft. The Earth Orbiter-1 mission will demonstrate an advanced land imaging system with a hyperspectral and multispectral capability starting in 1999. The Space-Readiness Coherent Lidar Experiment will fly in the cargo bay of a Space Shuttle in 2001 to test whether a space-based sensor can accurately measure atmospheric winds from the surface to a height of 10 miles. Atmospheric winds determine the transport of energy and chemical constituents across the earth, hence an important parameter for weather prediction. Recognizing the high value of ocean winds data, we have rapidly developed a replacement mission for the failed NSCAT mission called QuikScat, which was ready for launch in November 1998—only 18 months after the loss of NSCAT. Safety concerns with the QuikScat's launch vehicle will push the launch into the spring of 1999.
"The EOS Data Information System (EOSDIS $231.5 million for FY2000) has been serving thousands of users by providing available data and information from NASA-sponsored programs since September 1995. EOSDIS will operate the EOS spacecraft and acquire and distribute the basic data gathered by them. Command and control of the EOS-AM-1 mission is currently on schedule for meeting the July 1999 launch date. In addition, EOSDIS is also on track to support operations of the PM-1 (12/00), ICESat (07/01), and Chemistry (11/02) spacecraft.
"The Triana mission is an Earth observation spacecraft to be located at the Earth-Sun LaGrange-1 point, providing a near-term, real-time, continuous high-definition view of the full sun-lit disc of the earth. This mission will carry three major scientific experiments to make the first direct measurements of the solar radiant power reflected by the earth, to make global aerosol and ozone measurements and to observe solar wind. A selection was made in October 1998 for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to conduct the Triana mission with the Goddard Space Flight Center. Launch is scheduled for December 2000.
"The Earth Science Enterprise balances funding across observations, research, and data analysis, applications and commercial remote sensing, information systems and advanced satellites technologies to ensure the nation has the tools to answer scientific questions about the earth and to put the answers to work for the benefit of society. Earth science is science in the national interest, and NASA is committed to its success."
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Following up on his budget testimony before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin brought his message to the Senate and House VA, HUD appropriators on 18 and 23 March, respectively.
While he termed the FY2000 budget request of $13.6 billion "lean"—a 0.6% decrease from FY99 funding—he said the agency's agenda is "ambitious but achievable." And for the first time in many years, he continued, budget increases are "in sight" in the outyears.
In his testimony, he cited successes in space and Earth sciences and underscored bold plans for the future. Future plans, he said, include establishing a virtual presence across the solar system and an interplanetary Internet, designing spacecraft in a virtual environment, reducing the cost of access to space and eliminating the distinction between air and space transportation.
With both the Senate and the House appropriators, the topic of the International Space Station (ISS) raised the most concern, although considerable interest was shown regarding the speeded-up repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Goldin confirmed that the cost for the complete assembly of the ISS has risen from $17.4 billion to at least $23.4 billion, with a large share of the higher cost blamed on Russian delays and the resulting U.S. contingency plans.
Questions were raised at both hearings about the Hubble repair mission, use of remote sensing data for NASA's Earth Science program, the Triana mission and NASA's compliance with the Year 2000 computer problem. Goldin said that NASA is 93% Y2K compliant and is working with its contractors and subcontractors to ensure their compliance as well.
Three of Hubble six gyroscopes have failed, Goldin said, explaining that the failure of one more gyroscope would destroy the spacecraft's stability, ruling out its capability to accomplish science. The repair mission was expedited to this October as a precaution against another failure occurring.
A question was raised in the Senate hearing as to whether remote sensing data could be used for disaster prediction and mitigation (the committee also has jurisdiction over the Federal Emergency Management Agency.) Goldin replied that NASA was looking at ways to help FEMA and reduce its costs. In the House, the question was asked about the availability of remote sensing data to state and local governments for land use and planning purposes. NASA, Goldin said, is "reaching out" in this area "with the same intensity as we do to industry."
Triana, an Earth Science mission to view the sun-lit disc of the Earth, originally proposed by Vice President Gore, drew challenges regarding its scientific value. Goldin responded by saying the spacecraft would carry three scientific instruments and that NASA needs an Earth-facing satellite at that position.
Questions also arose about declining NASA funding for academic programs. Goldin admitted that NASA probably is not doing enough for education, but explained that the agency is limited by "the capacity of the budget," a fact that was personally frustrating to him.
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The House Science Committee has laid out its views, agency by agency under its discretion, of the administration's FY2000 budget request.
In its 13-page report, entitled "Views and Estimates of the Committee on Science for Fiscal Year 2000," the committee noted that it will continue to support the goal of increasing research funding in a responsible manner, emphasizing that increases must fall within the discretionary budget caps and be predicated on five principles:
The president's FY2000 budget "outlines some positive steps in strengthening our science priorities," the report noted, citing a 3% increase for civilian R&D spending. However, the report went on to complain that while there is a 3% increase in programs under the Science Committee's jurisdiction, "The committee is concerned that total overall support for defense and nondefense R&D declines by 1% in Fiscal Year 2000."
The committee also complained that the FY2000 budget contained an increase of only 2.1% for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It noted that the FY99 budget called for an 8.4% increase, which was increased by Congress to 14.4% above the FY98 appropriation. The report urged the House Committee on Budget and the Committee on Appropriations to increase funding by at least three percent for the programs under the Science Committee's discretion for FY2000 and emphasized that the committee "remains committed to the goal of stable and sustainable R&D funding over the next five years."
Regarding the Information Technology Initiative for the twenty-first century (IT2), the committee reported that the Administration is requesting $366 million, which the administration says represents a 28% increase over current spending for information technology. A joint project involving six agencies, a breakdown of the funding shows National Science Foundation ($146 million); Department of Defense ($100 million); Department of Energy ($70 million); NASA ($38 million); NIH ($6 million); and NOAA ($6 million).
The committee noted that the $6 million requested for NIH is "clearly inadequate when one considers the benefits to biomedical research, in telemedicine, genome research, etc., that advanced IT provides." It noted also that it was concerned about outyear spending, the plan for coordination between the respective agencies and the fulfillment of NSF and DOE's commitment to open competition in supercomputer contract awards.
The report noted:
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
The administration has requested $3.954 billion for NSF, which includes $33.0 million from the H-1B immigration fees. This represents a 5.8% increase over the FY99 appropriation of $3.737 billion and a 1.8% increase over the FY2000 authorization of $3.886 billion. The committee supports increased funding for NSF and is "pleased the administration recognizes the importance of funding basic research and improving math and science education. Nevertheless, the committee will carefully examine the request because it exceeds by $35.3 million the amount authorized for NSF (P.L. 105-207), an amount that bipartisan majorities in both Houses of Congress strongly backed. The committee expects NSF and other agencies under its jurisdiction to submit budget requests that fall within the amounts authorized under current law."
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY–U.S. FIRE ADMINISTRATION (USFA)
The president's request for USFA, which includes the National Fire Academy, for FY2000 is $45.1 million, up 40% from FY99. "The proposed increase...represents a welcome change, and the committee intends to conduct a thorough assessment of the USFA budget request to ensure that agency funding, management, and programs are able to fulfill its life-saving mission."
NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION PROGRAM
The administration has requested $102.8 million, a decrease of 0.5% from the FY99 appropriation of $103.2 million. Four agencies participate with NEHRP–FEMA, the lead agency ($15.4 million); NSF ($37.6 million); USGS ($47.6 million); and NIST ($2.2 million). The committee regards the FY2000 request favorably and will examine the need for increased funding for the real-time seismic warning system pilot program. In addition, the committee wants to examine the need to modernize the nation's seismic monitoring network.
GLOBAL DISASTER INFORMATION NETWORK
This network involves 12 agencies that would integrate existing data resources from federal agencies and provide useful information to emergency planners and response teams worldwide. The administration has requested $10 million for GDIN—$2 million for NOAA and $8 million for USGS. This proposal appears to be consistent with the committee's long-standing commitment to use science to protect life and property.
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
The administration's FY2000 proposal reduces the agency's budget by $87 million, from a FY99 funding level of $13 665.0 million to a FY2000 request of $13 578.4 million. For more than five years, the report noted, the White House has given NASA more responsibilities and progressively smaller budgets to accomplish its mission. "However, for the first time in five years," the report said, "the administration has submitted a NASA budget that forecasts incremental increases in the outyears. The committee supports a stable budget for NASA that enables the agency to focus on its core missions, including basic scientific research, human and robotic exploration of space and advanced technology development."
The report noted that the committee is "dedicated to building and operating the International Space Station . . . Unfortunately, financial difficulties experienced by the Russian government and its inability to adequately fund the Russian components have caused assembly of the International Space Station to be delayed.
"...its delay causes a ripple effect throughout the entire assembly schedule. Russia's financial situation does not appear to be improving. Therefore, the United States and the other international partners will be forced to endure continuing schedule delays and cost overruns until we end our dependence on Russia." The report said that "severing our dependence on Russia is critically important to halt continuing delays, uncertainty and cost growth," but noted that the Administration has submitted a budget that provides funding for an independent U.S. propulsion module and augments funding for a U.S. crew return vehicle.
The committee oversight of the Earth Science Enterprise will continue to push for program accountability and a reduction in its significant cost overruns and schedule slips, the report said. The report expressed concern over launch delays of AM-1, recently named "Terra," and Landsat-7. Terra originally was scheduled to be launched in June 1998, and it now has slipped to July 1999. Even then, the report noted, the science processing software "will not be 100% capable." Landsat-7 launch has been delayed from July 1998 to April 1999.
"The committee acknowledges the significant strides made with respect to data purchase policy," the report noted. "Earth Science Enterprise upper management has recognized this tool as a 'normal way of doing business.' While this policy is laudable, Earth Science still has a long way to go implementing it."
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
The committee supports an increase in appropriations for NIST in FY2000, the report noted. The core functions of NIST are carried out under the Scientific and Technology Research and Services (STRS) budget account. For FY2000, the administration's request is $290 million for the STRS account, an increase of $10 million from FY99. While the request represents an overall increase from last year, the report noted, "the increase is so small that it amounts to a reduction in the overall level of effort for the STRS account. Under the request, four of the nine laboratory accounts will have to reduce their current level of effort...,and the FY99 budget of the Building and Fire Research account is cut by 8%. The committee believes that NIST laboratories are its most important scientific research function, and should, at a minimum, maintain their current level of activity. The committee therefore supports fully funding all STRS laboratory functions."
The administration's request for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) for FY2000 is $239 million, the report said, an increase of $40 million over the FY99 level of $198 million. The request includes $73 million in new grants.
"To date, the Department of Commerce has shown only anecdotal evidence that the program has yielded any benefit to the United States competitiveness," the report said. "Further, the committee continues to be concerned that federal ATP grant money may simply be displacing private investment capital."
The report said the committee supports continuation of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program at the requested funding level of $100 million. The committee indicated it continues to support the legislative revisions to the NIST Act that will ensure that private capital is not displaced by public funding. "Until these fundamental reforms are enacted, the committee will not support new ATP grants."
The committee also said it supports completion of funding for the Advanced Measurements Laboratory (AML), saying the $107 million outlined in the administration's request for Construction and Maintenance should be sufficient to complete funding of the AML.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
The department's FY2000 budget authorization requests for programs under the committee's jurisdiction is $4 942.9 million, while DOE's total FY2000 budget authorization is $4 986.9 million, an increase of $201.8 million, or 4.2%.
Major increases requested over the FY99 appropriation include (1) $221.1 million, or 24.5%, for the administration's Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI); (2) $84.0 million, or 64.6%, million for the Spallation Neutron Source, and $79.0 million to initiate the Scientific Simulation Initiative (SSI), a joint six agency program in advanced computing resources for use in scientific research.
The report said that "while the committee supports DOE's overall FY2000 budget request level, it is concerned about a number of the department's emphases. The committee intends to increase support for DOE's long-term, high-risk, high-quality research, and development activities, while simultaneously reducing funding for near-term, low-risk research and for its commercialization and marketing efforts."
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY R&D
The Science Committee has or shares jurisdiction (with the Commerce Committee) for EPA research and development programs, funded in three separate appropriation accounts: (1) Environmental Programs and Management (Science Advisory Board); (2) Science and Technology (including Superfund R&D, Leaking Underground Storage Tank R&D and Oil Spill Research), and (3) State and Tribal Assistance Grants.
The agency's overall fiscal year request of $882.4 million represents an increase of $178.2 million, or 25.3%, over FY99 funding of $704.2 million. Major increases over the previous year include $114.8 million, or 89.7%, for climate change, and $200.0 million for a "Clean Air Partnership Fund," to be distributed to state and local governments to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gases.
"The major decrease from the Fiscal Year 1999 appropriation is $29.2 million, or 5.2%, for science and technology," the report noted. "The committee views with alarm the continued erosion of EPA's Science and Technology account and intends to support increases to EPA's R&D programs where those increases are justified.
"In addition, the committee continues to be frustrated by EPA's continual lack of documentation and justification for its budget request, a concern shared by a number of independent bodies such as the National Academy of Sciences and the EPA Science Advisory Board. In particular, there is little justification provided for new climate change initiative or for the substantial cuts to the Science and Technology account."
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
NOAA's FY2000 request is $1785.3 million, an increase of $132.0 million, or 8.0%, above the FY99 appropriation of $1653.9 million, according to the report. NOAA's total FY2000 budget request authority (which includes requests of $77.1 million for GOES I-M and $54.5 million for the Sea Grant College Program already authorized by separate legislation) is $1913.0 million, an increase of $120.7 million or 6.7% above the FY99 appropriation of $1793.2 million.
The report read, "Of continuing concern to the committee is the National Weather Service modernization program, which has been underway for over 15 years at a cost of about $4.5 billion. The General Accounting Office (GAO) continues to identify this program as a high-risk area, and it has been the subject of a number of critical reports by the Department of Commerce Inspector General (DOC IG). The deployment and development of the observing systems associated with the NWS modernization are nearing completion.
"However, unresolved issues remain concerning the observing systems' operational effectiveness and efficient maintenance, such as performance problems with the new radars and ground-based sensors. In addition, GAO has noted that the NWS lacks a means to ensure that the modernized NWS systems provide promised returns on investment. GAO also found that NWS has not demonstrated that all proposed capabilities will result in mission improvements.
"The committee is concerned about NOAA's FY2000 request of $51.6 million to acquire a new fisheries research vessel (FRV), and its plans to spend an additional $133.1 million over the 4-year period FY2001–2004 to purchase three additional FRVs."
The report noted that NOAA has increased its contracting with the private sector, universities and other public entities. "However," it said, "NOAA continues to rely greatly on its inefficient fleet that lacks the latest available technology and continues to plan on replacing some older vessels. Continued Congressional oversight is needed to ensure that NOAA pursues more cost-effective acquisition of research data."
Committee Democrats, led by Ranking Minority Leader George Brown (CA), issued "Additional Views and Estimates," which noted, in part, "While we endorse the funding levels in the committee's 'Views and Estimates,' there are certain policy statements contained in that document that we cannot endorse. Those positions are portrayed as the committee's position; to our knowledge, the committee has yet to take formal policy positions on these matters in the 106th Congress."
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The need for database protection was expressed during a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property on 18 March, although concerns were expressed about the impact of current proposed legislation.
The hearing focused on H.R. 354, the Collection of Data Antipiracy Act, designed to strike a balance to provide adequate protection to ensure there is an incentive for companies to invest in the development of collections of information without inhibiting members of the scientific, library and research communities from carrying on their work.
The subcommittee heard from two panels of witnesses. The first panel consisted of Marybeth Peters, registrar of Copyrights, Library of Congress, and Andrew Pincus, general counsel, Department of Commerce. The second panel was composed of James Neal, Johns Hopkins University, on behalf of the library associations; Terrence McDermott, National Association of Realtors; Marilyn Winokur, Microdex, Inc.; Joshua Lederberg, the Rockefeller University, on behalf of the National Academy of Science and the AAAS; Lynn Henderson, Doane Agricultural Services Co.; Michael Kirk, American Intellectual Property Law Associaton; Charles Phelps, University of Rochester, on behalf of the university associations, and Dan Duncan, Software & Information Industry Association.
"This bill," explained Subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble (R-NC), "is nearly identical to the legislation that passed the House of Representatives not once, but twice, last year. H.R. 354 differs from last year's legislation in two ways. First, it clarifies that the term of protection for a collection of information is limited to 15 years. Second, the bill adopts "fair use'-like language to clarify the permissible uses for scientific, educational, and research purposes."
Marybeth Peters said she supports the legislation but thinks it can be improved. She summarized the position of the Copyright Office as: "We remain convinced that there is a need for new federal legislation to supplement existing law and provide adequate incentives for investments in databases. We are not aware of any changes in law or technology since my 1997 testimony that would warrant rethinking that conclusion.
"As to the form that such legislation will take, we continue to prefer the misappropriation approach taken by H.R. 354 to an exclusive property rights model, for the reasons given in prior testimony. Moreover, in our view, the provisions of H.R. 354 represent a significant improvement over the provisions of H.R. 2652 as introduced.
"Many of our earlier concerns, and a number of concerns raised by others, have been addressed or ameleriorated. Again, however, I stress that the sensitivity and importance of this subject matter demands great care in crafting a statutory balance. Several issues warrant further analysis, among them the question of possible perpetual protection of regularly updated databases and the appropriate mix of elements to be considered in establishing the new, fair use-type exemption."
Pincus acknowledged there is a gap currently in database protection that H.R. 354 would fill. His testimony marked the first time the administration has taken the public position that there needs to be a new type of protection for databases. Describing the administration's position, Pincus said, "We believe that there should be effective legal remedies against 'free riders' who take databases gathered by others at considerable expense and reintroduce them into commerce as their own."
He outlined several principles that the administration believes should be followed in crafting new legislation, including "Consistent with administration policies expressed in relevant Office of Management and Budget circulars and federal regulations, databases generated with government funding generally should not be placed under exclusive control, de jure or de facto, of private parties."
He made several suggestions about how the bill should be changed. They were (1) the prohibited conduct be narrowed to distribution and extraction for the purpose of distribution; (2) the standard of harm be increased to 'substantial harm;' (3) the definition of actual market be redefined to be the market within which the producer is genuinely active; (4) the access to government data be assured; (5) the term of protection be further modified to prevent perpetual protection, and (6) the application of the law be more flexible.
The second panel, representing both proponents and opponents of the bill, said there are numerous reasons database protection is needed. International protection of databases was brought up repeatedly.
The opponents' concerns included: the legislation is overbroad, the bill would allow a producer or publisher unprecedented control over the uses of information; the exemption for education and research activities remains far too narrow; the term of protection is, in effect, perpetual; the provision relating to government information requires modification to ensure a continued robust public domain and to ensure that information in government-mandated databases is not covered by this legislation; provisions do not address concerns regarding source databases, and provisions could lead to increased transaction costs in data use.
Lederberg, representing the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute for Medicine and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said the current draft is unacceptable. "The academies and the AAAS remain committed to working with Congress oncrafting a well-reasoned and balanced database protection bill that serves the interests of our nation and not just one segment of the publishing community," he explained.
He recommended the legislative proposal, "The Database Fair Competition and Research Promotion Act of 1999." However, Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) indicated the alternative bill is not a serious alternative but rather a bargaining position because it only would prohibit the complete duplication of a database.
Coble concluded the meeting by predicting that the subcommittee would end up with a bill that "nobody is really happy with."
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The American Meteorological Society has joined 128 (as of 30 March 1999) other organizations in the following position statement urging modification of H.R. 354, the Collections of Information Antipiracy Act. The variety of participating institutions is wide ranging from universities such as Harvard and Penn State, to corporations such as AT&T, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and Yahoo!, to nonprofit organizations such as UCAR, and AAAS, and trade organizations such as the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association. For more information, go to http://www.databasecoalition.org.
The corporations, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and trade associations listed below are users as well as creators in the compilation and value-added transformation of databases. The Information Age and digital technology provide researchers and consumers across the globe with a unique opportunity to continue to create, maintain, and use new and innovative databases that are essential to science, education, business, and the overall economy.
Because databases are items of commerce in their own right, and are critical tools for facilitating electronic commerce, research and education endeavors, we support federal legislation carefully tailored to provide database publishers with sufficient protection against incentive-eliminating piracy. Conversely, we oppose legislation which would grant the compiler of any information an unprecedented right to control transformative, value-added, downstream uses of the resulting collection or of any useful fraction of that collection.
The basic information policy of this country—a policy that has existed since the writing of the Constitution—has served us extremely well. The policy is that the building blocks of all information, facts, as distinct from the copyrightable manner in which they are expressed, cannot be owned.
The particular legislative approach that has been considered by the House Judiciary Committee in the past three Congresses would mark a fundamental change in our nation's information policy. The problems raised by this change to commerce and competition were recognized by the Department of Justice, the Department of Commerce, and the Federal Trade Commission last year in separate letters to Congress identifying their concerns with H.R. 2652 considered by the 105th Congress. H.R. 354, the Collections of Information Antipiracy Act, is modeled on last year's bill and does not resolve these concerns.
We support federal legislation that will not harm legitimate research activities and small businesses, but will:
We look forward to working closely with all members of Congress to craft well-reasoned, targeted, and balanced legislation that will punish database pirates without jeopardizing the thriving commerce in information long at the core of America's economic, scientific, and intellectual life.
Amazon.com, Inc,. Amdahl Corporation, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association of Law Libraries, American Association of Legal Publishers, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, American Committee for Interoperable Systems, American Council on Education, American Film Heritage Association, American Library Association, American Meteorological Society, American Society of Agronomy, American Statistical Association, Americans for Tax Reform, Art Libraries Society of North America, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Association of American Universities, Association of Research Libraries, Association of Systematics Collections, AT&T, Ball Research, Inc., Bell Atlantic, Big 12 Plus, Libraries Consortium, Bloomberg Financial Markets, Brown University, California Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve University, CDnow, Inc., Charles Schwab &Co., Inc., Citizens' Council on Healthcare, College Art Association, Columbia University, Commercial Internet eXchange Association, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, Conference on College Composition and Communication, Consortium of Social Science Associations, Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association, Consumer Project on Technology, Cornell University, Council of Graduate Schools, Council on Governmental RelationsCrop Science Society of America, Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc., Digital Future Coalition, Digital Media Association, Duke University, Dun & Bradstreet, Eagle Forum, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Enso Audio Imaging, Inc., Excite, Florida Coastal School of Law, Geocities, Global Music Outlet, Inc., Harvard University, Home Recording Rights Coalition, Information Technology Association of America, Inktomi, Internet Society, Iowa State University, Kent State University, Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology, Louisiana State University, Lycos, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MCI WorldCom, Medical Library Association, Missouri Council on Library Development, Montana State University, Music Library Association, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, National Council of Teachers of English, National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage, National Writers Union, NetRadio Network, Inc., Netscape Communications Corporation, North Carolina State University, Northwestern University, Oklahoma State University, Omnibot, Online Banking Association, Pennsylvania State University Queens Borough Public Library, NY, RealNetworks, Inc., Rice University, Rutgers University, Soil Science Society of America, Special Libraries Association, Spinner Network, inc., Stanford University, StorageTek, Syracuse University, Tunes.com, U.S. WEST, United States Catholic Conference, University at Stony Brook, State University of New York, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, University of Arizona University of California System, University of Chicago, University of Cincinnati, University of Colorado, University of Delaware, University of Florida, University of Kansas, University of Kentucky, University of Michigan, University of Missouri - St. Louis, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of New Orleans, University of North Carolina -- Charlotte, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, University of Texas at Austin, University of Utah, University of Virginia, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University System of Maryland, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Utah State University, Vanderbilt University, Visual Resources Association, Washington University, St. Louis, Wells Anderson Legal Tech Services, Yahoo! Inc., Yale University
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House Committee on Science Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.(R-WI) has expressed concern over a series of reports by the General Accounting Office (GAO) identifying agencies and programs characterized by waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.
"I'm perplexed that these agencies have yet to successfully address these persistent management problems after Congress has provided the agencies with the necessary management tools," Sensenbrenner said. "The management challenges listed by the GAO will be an important aspect of the committee's oversight work in the 106th Congress.
In the past several years, Congress passed the Results Act, the Clinger/Cohen Act, and the Chief Financial Officer Act, which focused efforts to help government agencies address their management problems. The GAO reports detail continued management challenges for agencies under the jurisdiction of the Science Committee and reinforce the importance of agencies complying with those laws to improve accountability and performance, according to the committee. Broad areas cited by the GAO include the effects throughout government agencies of the Year 2000 computer bug and the lack of government computer security.
Other areas cited, include:
Chairman Sensenbrenner said the committee is dedicated to assisting the agencies in resolving these management and policy problems.
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The National Science Board (NSB) and National Science Foundation (NSF) Director Rita Colwell have taken stands opposing legislation that permits individuals to use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel access to raw, partially processed research data.
The NSB urged repeal of the legislation, and Colwell called for "more flexible and sound data policies that meet the information needs of the twenty-first century."
In its statement, the NSB noted that premature release of raw research data "disrupts the process of discovery." It reported that the legislation "creates a mechanism that allows research to be misinterpreted or unfairly and inappropriately delayed or attacked; interferes with the publication of researchers' work in peer reviewed journals through compulsory and premature disclosure of research data; discourages participation of research subjects because of the legitimate fear that their responses might not ultimately be confidential; undermines public–private cooperative research efforts by breaching the protections for participants' proprietary rights and information; jeopardizes researchers' ability to obtain international patent protection for discoveries, and imposes significant administrative and financial burdens on research institutions with no clear means of recouping such costs beyond drawing from research funds."
The board noted that current sharing practices "promote free and open exchange of research data in a context that supports the rapid creation of knowledge, widespread evaluation of research results, and the entry to highly talented individuals to research."
"For all these reasons," the board statement reported, "the board urges the repeal of the provision in recent legislation that relies upon FOIA to obtain premature access to research data."
The legislation was passed without a hearing in last year's Omnibus appropriations bill. The legislation provides that federally funded data will be made available under the FOIA. Congressman George S. Brown Jr. (D-CA) has introduced a bill opposing the measure, declaring that the provision in the Omnibus Bill was never introduced as a separate bill, never had a public hearing, went into the Omnibus Bill without public debate or comment and yet is being rapidly implemented by the White House. OMB called for comments on the data access provision by 5 April.
In a letter to the Director of OMB, Colwell wrote, "The National Science Foundation has long encouraged the broad dissemination of NSF-funded research data in support of the science and engineering enterprises. NSF's current data access policy, which is clearly stated in a specific provision in our grants, promotes free and open exchange by expecting researchers to promptly publish their findings and share their data and supporting materials with other researchers. This policy has been successful, and we expect it to continue."
She said she understood that the Omnibus Bill provision directs OMB to apply the FOIA procedures to data produced under federal awards "for the purpose of improving dissemination of federally supported data."
"I appreciate your efforts to limit the scope of the proposed rule regarding the use of FOIA to 'published research findings,'" she continued, "and only for instances where data are used in 'developing policy or rules.' This language may help avoid untimely release of raw data by researchers as well as limit the proposed rule's application to specific studies.
"I remain concerned, however, that the proposed revisions are unclear and open to different interpretations that could ultimately harm the research process. For example, it is unclear what constitutes 'data' in the proposed rule. Also, the phrase 'developing policy or rules,' while limiting the scope of the proposed rule, is ambiguous and needs clarification. I am also concerned about how the proposed rule would deal with legitimate privacy and confidentiality issues for research subjects.
"Using FOIA in this manner also undercuts the successful, balanced and flexible approach to science and engineering data access adopted by NSF and other science agencies. These policies were expressly endorsed by the Senate Treasury Postal Appropriations Subcommittee as late as last July. That is why I believe we should work toward enactment of the bipartisan, H.R. 88 sponsored by Representative George Brown to repeal the FOIA provision..."
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The first class of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps recruits in four years graduated 25 March from rigorous three-month basic officer training at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., NOAA announced. The officers were scheduled to begin their first ship assignments on 1 April.
The NOAA Corps is the nation's seventh uniformed service. NOAA Corps officers manage and operate the agency's fleet of 15 research ships and 14 aircraft used to gather data and conduct research in fulfillment of NOAA's environmental science mission. Officers also apply their technical, managerial and operational skills to shoreside positions within NOAA program offices.
New NOAA Corps recruits, who must have degrees in science, engineering, or mathematics, are sent to Kings Point to learn ship management, bridge operations, radar plotting, navigation, firefighting, service protocol, and other skills needed before they begin tours aboard NOAA vessels as junior officers. Classroom lectures, lab activities, and demonstrations are combined with hands-on experience aboard the academy-owned ship, Kings Pointer, which is a sister ship to two NOAA-owned ships.
Once assigned to a vessel for a two-year tour, each officer will work with a senior officer on the bridge and also begin specialized training in hydrographic surveys, fishery research and trawling, or oceanic and atmospheric research, depending on the vessel assigned.
Recruitment for the second class, planned for late summer, is already underway. The NOAA Corps expects to have two recruiting classes a year until a full officer contingent is in place. There are currently 240 officers in the Corps, including the 17 new recruits. NOAA Corps has been mandated by Congress to maintain a minimum of 264 and a maximum of 299 officers.
Information about the Office of NOAA Corps Operations can be found at: http://www.nc.noaa.gov
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NOAA has announced a continuing collaboration with China to reduce and mitigate natural disasters, pursue integrated coastal management, and convene a workshop and symposium on climate variability issues.
The announcement was made at the second meeting of the U.S.–China Environment and Development Forum during the Science for Sustainable Development Working Group at the U.S. State Department on 9 April.
The first meeting of the group was held in Beijing in 1997. Since then, NOAA has played a key role in advancing several initiatives, officials said. They are:
These activities "build on the strength of our relationship and focus our efforts in the fields of science and technology," said NOAA Administrator D. James Baker. "As we approach 20 years of cooperation and collaboration with China, the critical issues of natural disasters, coastal management, and climate will continue to be priorities for the future."
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For the first time, scientists have developed a reliable estimate of the number of "sprites" spawned by a single thunderstorm. Sprites, the luminous red glows that are the high-altitude companions of some lightning strikes, are the focus of a new study by researchers Steven Reising of the University of Massachusetts, and Umran Inan and Timothy Bell of Stanford University in California. The team's findings appear in the 1 April issue of Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), published by the American Geophysical Union. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Air Force, and NASA.
Sprites accompany roughly one in every 200 lightning strikes. They tower up to 55 miles above a thundercloud, occurring simultaneously with a lightning strike, and can be seen with the naked eye, sometimes from as far away as 400 miles. Sprites are electrical phenomena that appear above thunderclouds, reaching the lower ionosphere. These striated, glowing ribbons appear at several-minute intervals. They are found above all the major landmasses of the earth, according to Reising.
"Sprites are spectacular luminous evidence of electrodynamic coupling between the neutral atmosphere in which weather processes occur and the higher altitude (60–90 km) ionized regions of the earth's atmosphere known as the mesosphere and the lower ionosphere," explains Sunanda Basu, director of NSF's aeronomy program, which funded the research. "The importance of the new finding is that the radio signals produced by lightning discharges that lead to sprites are distinctly different from those due to other lightning discharges."
Researchers focused on a thunderstorm that occurred on 1 August 1996, in western Kansas, above which a total of 98 sprites were recorded in a 90-minute period. The team recorded the radio signals emitted by each lightning strike. For each visible sprite, they examined the corresponding radio wave measurements using custom-designed radio antennas and receivers. Researchers found that the lightning strikes that produce sprites also tend to carry a distinctive radio signature. The radio signals the team "read" were emitted by the lightning itself, rather than by its companion sprite. The information gleaned in the study may have a bearing on climate monitoring and atmospheric chemistry.
"This marks the first time that independent measurements not requiring video have been used to estimate the number of sprites produced by a single thunderstorm," said Reising. A typical lightning strike occurs in one-tenth of a millisecond. But those associated with sprites emit a much longer-lived electrical current. "These electrical currents last for at least several milliseconds," explained Reising. "In a relative sense, that's a long period of time, and radio measurements can easily tell the difference. We can't rely on video alone to count all the sprites, because many times, sprites are visually blocked by the clouds." Also, it would be nearly impossible, and extremely costly, to videomonitor every thunderstorm in the hemisphere, or around the world, he added.
Sprites do not interfere with spacecraft launches, aircraft or telecommunications satellites. However, chemical changes could be produced in the atmosphere by sprites. But in order to address that issue, scientists first need a reliable estimate of how many sprites actually occur. "Using four relatively low-cost receivers, you can count the number of lightning strikes and sprites in the Western hemisphere, 24 hours a day, and at very low cost," said Raising. "A storm in Brazil could be monitored by stations in California and Antarctica. You can do this from 12 000 kilometers away—a quarter of the way around the world."
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Hurricane specialists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center will be touring the eastern Caribbean and the U.S. East and Gulf Coast in the coming weeks to promote hurricane preparedness and safety.
Traveling with the Air Force WC-130 hurricane reconnaissance airplane, the hurricane experts will be making stops in the Cayman Islands on 19 April, Jamaica on 20 April, St. Maartin on 21 April, and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Antigua on 23 April. At each location, they will meet with local officials to stress hurricane safety and preparedness techniques. The general public and media are also invited to tour the hurricane hunter aircraft and meet with the specialists to learn more about the devastating storms and how to protect themselves and their property.
During the week of 26 April, the plane and crew will make stops along the U.S. East coast including Daytona, Florida on 26 April; Myrtle Beach, S.C. on 27 April; Farmingdale, Long Island on 28 April; Halifax, Nova Scotia on 29 April, and Cape Cod/Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts on 30 April.
Finally, NOAA hurricane specialists are scheduled to make a trek along the U.S. Gulf Coast states in early June using the NOAA Gulfstream IV jet. Between June 1–3, the team will make stops in Galveston and Harlingen, Texas; New Orleans; Mobile, Alabama; and Tampa and Miami. Local officials and media will be invited to tour the aircraft and meet with the hurricane experts. Due to the fast-paced schedule, public tours will not be available.
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On 31 March 1999, the National Weather Service (NWS) commemorated the 25th anniversary of the nation's worst tornado outbreak. Agency officials joined community leaders in Xenia, Ohio —ground zero for outbreak— in remembering when 148 twisters struck their state and a dozen others on 3–4 April 1974.
During the 1974 outbreak, tornadoes caused a damage path of more than 2500 miles leaving 330 dead and 5484 injured. In less than 24 hours, twisters ran the gamut from 0 to 5 on the Fujita Scale with some tornadoes traveling more than 100 miles. One twister was five miles wide and at one point, 15 tornadoes were on the ground at the same time. One twister even crossed over into Canada from Michigan and back again. In all, 13 states were struck by twisters: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Tornado eyewitnesses and weather service forecasters shared their experiences in Xenia. John Forsing, director of the National Weather Service's Eastern Region, worked the storm as a forecaster at the NWS office in Louisville, Kentucky. "The top floor of the terminal building offered an unobstructed view of the storm," Forsing recounted. "As the lowered cloud base moved overhead, we first observed the funnel cloud forming and were able to even see small scale circulations within the descending vortex. Suddenly, an instrument shelter, which was bolted to a rooftop deck, collapsed on its side in front of our window. An I-beam, ripped from the rooftop and thrown onto a car in the adjacent parking lot, marked the beginning of a trail of damage affecting 900 homes and causing millions of dollars of property loss in the Louisville area."
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Coloradans lost an average of about $37 million a year to flood damage from 1983 to 1997, while tornadoes cost state residents about $1 million per year from 1950 through 1994, according to the Extreme Weather Sourcebook. The Web site, created at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), provides quick access to data on the cost of damages from hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes in the United States and its territories.
The $37 million in average annual flood losses place Colorado 29th out of 51 states and territories. Number 1-ranked Iowa suffers about $543 million in damages per year. In 1997, the year of the Fort Collins flood, Colorado flood losses reached $360 million, the highest in the 14-year period. Colorado places 30th for tornado damage with $1 million in average annual costs. Texas is first with $43 million in average yearly losses.
"The dollar amounts we're reporting are approximate and are most useful in comparing states and regions," says political scientist Roger Pielke Jr., who led the NCAR team that built the site. He also warns that historical costs cannot predict what future damages might be. "We created the site to spur investigation into the impacts of extreme weather events on society," he adds.
The Sourcebook was partially funded by the U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP), a federal program focused on improving predictions and their use by decision makers. The data for hurricane impacts covers 1925–95 (based on a study by Pielke and Christopher Landsea of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration); for tornadoes, 1960–94 (based on a database maintained by the Storm Prediction Center); and for floods, 1983–96 (based on data published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). The flood and tornado data were updated to 1997 dollar values using the Gross National Product Implicit Price Deflator, which is published annually by the White House. The hurricane data were normalized to 1997 values by adjusting for growth in population and wealth, in addition to inflation.
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The National Weather Service's AWIPS system has received a laureate medal in the Computerworld Smithsonian Awards program, the Commerce Department announced. The award program honors the use of information technology to create positive social and economic change. A case study of the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System is now part of the permanent research collection on information technology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
AWIPS is the key integrating element in the modernization of the National Weather Service. It provides significant improvements in weather- and flood-related services to protect life and property. AWIPS gives local weather forecasters access to satellite imagery, Doppler radar data, automated weather observations, and computer-generated numerical forecasts, all in one workstation. This helps to improve the accuracy and lead time of weather predictions, especially for severe weather, and also helps to enable a reduction in overall staffing at the weather service.
Mary Glackin, director of the AWIPS Program Office of the National Weather Service, accepted the award at a ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution Castle in Washington, D.C. on Monday, 12 April. AWIPS is in contention for further honors in the award program's Environment, Energy, and Agriculture category later this year.
The weather service is on schedule to complete installation of the planned 152 AWIPS systems throughout the nation by the end of June. Further AWIPS enhancements due by September 2001 will provide improved support for many NWS functions associated with making and communicating forecasts and warnings, acquiring data, and verifying the accuracy of forecasts.
AWIPS consists of commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software, and government-developed weather applications software. The site hardware includes workstations that allow the forecaster to display and manipulate data; servers that store and process data; communications processors that acquire satellite and radar data; and a high-speed, local-area network that interconnects all the site equipment.
All AWIPS sites are interconnected through a high-speed, dedicated intranet to facilitate data exchange. The system also includes a subsystem, called "Local Data Acquisition and Dissemination," which allows local sensor data to be acquired and forecasts to be disseminated efficiently to the local community, including emergency managers. AWIPS is being developed and deployed by the National Weather Service, NOAA's Forecast Systems Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, and Litton PRC of McLean, Virginia.
The AWIPS program previously earned a "Best of What's New" award from Popular Science magazine in 1997.
More information about AWIPS is available on the Internet at http://tgsv5.nws.noaa.gov/msm/awips/awipsmsm.htm.
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The National Weather Service proclaimed the river forecast system tested at the Des Moines Weather Forecast Office a success. The Weather Service will continue the Des Moines demonstration project through the remainder of 1999. The administration's Fiscal Year 2000 budget proposes expanding the system into the upper Ohio River Valley and upper midwest beginning in the year 2000. The Des Moines demonstration began in March 1997.
"The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction System, or AHPS, has been a huge boon for our office in providing river and flood stage information to local emergency managers and other agencies tasked along with the National Weather Service for protecting life and property," Des Moines Meteorologist in Charge Brenda K. Brock said. "We have an opportunity now to show how well AHPS works with other new technologies being incorporated into our forecast and warning programs. We're excited about the benefits these technologies bring to our jobs of watching the weather."
AHPS will produce hydrologic forecasts with lead times of a few days to several months and provide river forecasts that not only account for precipitation already on the ground, but that also will probabilistically account for estimates of future precipitation. According to the NWS, this coupled prediction system is expected to improve the Nation's capability to take timely and effective actions that will significantly mitigate the impact of major floods and droughts. The system also provide better overall information for use in managing competing water demands for irrigation, fisheries, hydropower and other purposes.
NWS officials said that as of 17 March, Des Moines became the first National Weather Service office in the country to employ in its forecast and warning programs all the technological components resulting form the decade-long NWS modernization. On 15 March, technicians installed the Automated Weather Information Processing System (AWIPS) at the office. Now Des Moines forecasters can apply AHPS, AWIPS, the WSR-88D radar, satellite data and NOAA Weather Radio 2000 (a computer-voiced upgrade of the nationwide warning network) to daily operations.
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Winter's weather patterns over the United States from a cool pool of water in the Tropical Pacific known as La Niña brought wetter than normal conditions to the northern tier of states, particularly the northwest, NOAA officials reported in the annual spring flooding outlook.
Some locations in Washington and Oregon set new records of unseasonable warmth over the winter, they said, resulting in many areas of the Rockies seeing considerable midwinter snow melt and river ice not as thick as normal. Those conditions resulted in a very deep snowpack in much of the northwest, raising the possibility of flooding in many of the region's rivers. Long-term precipitation outlooks indicate the likelihood of continued above average precipitation for a large part of the northwest.
To the east, the report noted, snow accumulation in the Red River Basin has all but assured flooding there. Also, in North Dakota, Devil's Lake is expected, for the third year in a row, to establish a new record crest.
Other areas with generally lower risk of flooding but still bear watching area: northern New England, the southern Ohio River Basin, western Washington and Oregon, the Klamath Basin in Oregon and California, and localized areas on the east slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
In Hawaii, El Niño left the islands with a substantial precipitation shortfall. In the intervening year, the precipitation deficit has continued to increase. The northeast-facing portions of the islands have had the best rainfall as a result of persistent Trade Winds and the passage of several upper-level disturbances. Conditions on the western islands are driest, the report noted. At this point, it continued, conditions are considered "manageable." However, as summer is a typically dry period, there is great concern about rainfall over the next several months.
Frank Richards, head of the NWS Hydrologic Information Center, told reporters that there is "greater than average potential" this spring for flooding in Oregon and Washington east of the Cascades because of the snow melt. Other areas of heightened flood potential, he said, are in Idaho and adjacent streams in Oregon and Montana, North Dakota's Red River Basin, and Devil's Lake, the latter a closed drainage system that has steadily risen since 1993.
"In contrast," he reported, "dryer than average conditions this spring may result in water concerns in southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah, western Texas, and Hawaii." The rest of the nation can expect conditions typical of those experienced during an average spring, he said. In announcing the report on 17 March, NWS Director John J. Kelly Jr. warned that people should "be aware and be prepared."
"People think that weather-related deaths are only caused by severe storms like tornadoes and hurricanes, but in reality, more deaths are caused by floods," said Commerce Secretary William M. Daley. "I urge all Americans to use caution when traveling and to pay attention to weather service warnings."
The annual spring outlook compiles information provided by NWS's nationwide network of River Forecast Centers and Weather Forecast Offices. The nation's spring flood potential can be monitored through the Hydrologic Information Center Web site at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hic/nho/index.html. Additional information can be found at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/pa/secnews/flood/index.html and at http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/lanina/index.html.
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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is opening a new river studies station at the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center in Columbia, Missouri. It is designed to gather the many layers of information needed to understand the dynamic nature of large rivers, as well as the biological systems they support.
The new station, according to Center Director Bill Mauck, will allow experts in large riverine systems to work together to answer complex questions about how large river systems function. The emphasis will be on field studies that can provide the information needed to improve river management and guide habitat restoration for resource managers and policy makers, he explained.
The initial focus of the River Studies Station will be on the lower Missouri River, which has been extensively managed for navigation, flood control, and power generation since the 1800s, Mauck said. These practices, he explained, have fixed the once-wandering river channel in place and reduced or eliminated connections between the main current and surrounding floodplain habitats.
USGS Research Hydrologist Dr. Robert Jacobson said one set of studies already underway focuses on two physically similar stretches of river that differ greatly in management approaches. Both river stretches were severely affected by flooding in 1993.
In the Overton Bottom reach, just west of Columbia, management plans call for the construction of side channels and engineered wetlands that will be subjected to controlled flooding. A short distance upriver in the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, the Lisbon Bottom reach and surrounding wetlands will be managed passively, allowing a natural response to take place. As a result of levee breaches and channel shifts caused by the 1993 flood and subsequent floods in 1995 and 1996, natural flood dynamics were partially restored to the Lisbon Bottom area.
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Two ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula known as the Larsen B and Wilkins are in "full retreat" and have lost nearly 3000 square kilometers of their total area in the last year, according to scientists in Colorado and the United Kingdom.
Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and the British Antarctic Survey attribute the retreats to a regional warming trend. The trend has caused the annual melt season to increase by two–three weeks over the last 20 years, they said. Satellite photos monitored by NSIDC personnel show that the Larsen B ice shelf has continued to crumble after an initial small retreat in spring 1998. In a series of events that began in November 1998, an additional 1714 square kilometers of shelf area caved away, said Research Associate Ted Scambos of NSIDC.
On the opposite side of the peninsula, the Wilkins Ice Shelf retreated nearly 1100 square kilometers in early March of last year, said Scambos. Scientists looking at weather satellite imagery at that time suspected a breakup was underway and had their suspicions confirmed by radar satellite images. "The radar images showed a large area of completely shattered ice, indicating an ice front 35 kilometers back from its previous extent," Scambos explained. "The sudden appearance of thousands of small icebergs suggests that the shelves are essentially broken up in place and then flushed out by storms or currents afterward."
The British Antarctic Survey scientists had predicted one of these retreats, using computer models to demonstrate that the Larsen B was nearing its stability limit. With the small breakup observed last spring, the shelf already had retreated too far to continue to be supported by adjacent islands and shorelines, according to the scientists.
"We have evidence that the shelves in this area have been in retreat for 50 years, but those losses amounted to only about 7000 square km," said David Vaughan, a researcher with the British Antarctic Survey. "To have retreats totaling 3000 square kilometers in a single year is clearly an escalation. Within a few years, much of the Wilkins ice shelf will likely be gone."
Surface features on the Larsen B indicate that it has existed for at least 400 years. But as climate inches toward a summertime temperature just above 0°C, the melting point of water, the Larsen and Wilkins ice shelves have begun to disintegrate. The Larsen B ice shelf currently is about 7000 square kilometers—about the size of Delaware. The Wilkins ice shelf is nearly twice that large, Scambos said.
The British researchers, who have monitored the peninsula's climate warming for decades, report an increase in mean annual temperature of about 2.5°C or roughly 4.5°F since the 1940s. Both the Americans and the British agree that ice shelf breakup is a direct result of local climate warming. The recent warming trend, Scambos explained, has led to greater amounts of ponding melt on the shelf, weakening it. "Melt water at the surface acts to increase the extent of fracturing in the ice," he said. "The weight of the water essentially forces the cracks open, so a relatively small amount of climate warming can destroy a large, centuries-old ice shelf."
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A new "Handbook" on global warming that looks at current warming trends from the perspective of past climatic changes is now available on an NOAA Web site.
The Web site, called "A Paleo Perspective on Global Warming," explains global warming and the greenhouse effect and describes how they relate to the issues of atmospheric ozone change, according to NOAA officials. What makes this site different from other global warming sites is how it places current warming in the context of past temperature variations through the use of paleoclimatic data, they explained.
One chapter tells how scientists study global warming, including how they study variations in the earth's temperature using satellite, instrumental, and paleoclimatic data or climate data extending as far back as millions of years.
The site also contains references and displays from a number of climate articles that have appeared in peer-reviewed journals. It also includes links to a wealth of data on natural climate change over the past 120 million years. To visit the site, go to http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/perspectives.html.
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Tropical coral reefs could be directly threatened by the buildup of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) entering the oceans, and some reefs may already be declining, say six scientists in a paper published in the 2 April issue of the journal Science. Writes lead author Joan Kleypas of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), "We believe that these findings represent some of the first evidence of a direct negative impact of increased CO2 on a marine ecosystem."
The team's findings apply primarily to coral reefs located in surface waters between 35°N and 35°S of the equator. However, the authors predict that reefs in greatest danger are those where the production and destruction of calcium carbonate are closely balanced. These include some higher-latitude reefs, such as those off Bermuda; those in areas where colder, deeper waters rise to the surface, such as those off the Galapagos Islands; and many reefs already stressed by human activity.
A coral reef is the accumulation of calcium carbonate produced by the corals and other calcium-secreting organisms, such as coralline algae. If calcium production declines, coral and algal skeletons will weaken and reef building may slow or stop. The reef then becomes more vulnerable to erosion. Ongoing calcium production depends on the saturation state of calcium carbonate in surrounding surface waters. This saturation state declines as CO2 enters tropical surface waters.
Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas produced by fossil-fuel use. For their study, the authors used future scenarios in which the preindustrial level of CO2 doubles by the year 2065—considered a moderate projection by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international group of 2500 scientists. As the gas builds up in the atmosphere, the tropical sea surface takes it up at a proportional rate. Scientists have so far focused on CO2 storage in the ocean. This is one of the first studies to examine how CO2 increases may affect the chemistry and biology of ocean ecosystems.
As CO2 dissolves, it produces an acid that lowers the seawater pH. The interaction of carbon dioxide with calcium carbonate in seawater decreases the level of calcium carbonate saturation. Given the rapid rise in CO2 levels expected over the coming decades, the authors project that by the year 2065, the interaction of CO2 with seawater will have reduced calcium carbonate saturation in tropical surface waters by 30% relative to preindustrial levels.
The findings are based on ocean carbon data and computer models, and on laboratory experiments that show that coral and algal calcification declines as the saturation state declines. The coral reefs themselves have not been studied in situ. "Our work is somewhat speculative," says Kleypas. "We need more studies at the ecosystem level. If the laboratory results bear out in the oceans, I think many species of coral reefs could be vulnerable."
The buildup of CO2 may also warm ocean surface temperatures. Although warmer sea-surface temperatures are being blamed for the recent increase in coral bleachings worldwide, some feel that this warming could be a boon for reefs in chilly waters. However, says Kleypas, if the calcium carbonate saturation rate is as important as water temperature in reef building, warmer waters won't save higher-latitude reefs.
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DOE's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) has posted its first official database for AmeriFlux, the network of field research projects quantifying the exchange of carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas, between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere in the Americas.
The database offers approximately 53 000 hourly CO2, water vapor and energy exchange measurements from Harvard Forest obtained using the eddy covariance technique. The data were contributed by Bill Munger and Steve Wofsy (Harvard University), Dave Fitzjarrald and Kathy Moore (SUNY), Mike Goulden (UC, Irvine) and Allen Goldstein (UC, Berkeley). The data and documentation work was performed by CDIAC's Tom Boden and Antoinette Brenkert.
The database also contains 62 000 hourly reactive trace gas profiles (CO2, CO, O3, NO2, and NO3) and approximately 29 000 hourly measurements for 20 different hydrocarbon species (e.g., ethane).
Harvard Forest is the oldest of 40 AmeriFlux sites in the United States, Brazil, Canada, and Costa Rica, with measurements starting in 1990. Records through 1996 are provided in the database made available by CDIAC. In addition, the files contain time stamps relative to January 1990 to facilitate future integration and synthesis of data across the entire AmeriFlux network.
The data are available directly from CDIAC's AmeriFlux Web site http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/programs/ameriflux; from the Harvard Forest page http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/programs/ameriflux/harvard2.html; follow the "Data Access" link for access to data and "read me" documentation files.
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NASA has selected four concepts for further study as candidates for its Earth Observing-3 (EO-3) mission, technologies that could revolutionize space-based Earth observations, according to Dr. Ghassem Asrar, NASA's associate administrator for Earth Science.
The concepts are part of NASA's New Millennium program designed to identify, develop, and validate key instrument and spacecraft technologies that can lower cost and increase performance of science missions in the twenty-first century.
The technologies under consideration for these missions will revolutionize space-based Earth observations through their unique spatial, spectral, and temporal characteristics and capture aspects not previously possible, Asrar explained.
The selected concepts are:
These concepts were selected from 24 proposals submitted in response to a NASA Research Announcement in September 1997. Each of the concept providers is responsible for forming a team to conduct a six-month study effort, at the end of which they will each produce peer-reviewed study reports. At least one will be selected by the Office of Earth Science at NASA headquarters to enter the full implementation phase.
The first New Millennium program Earth-orbiting mission, Earth Observing-1 (EO-1), is scheduled for launch in December 1999. It will demonstrate an advanced land imager system and hyperspectral imaging technologies that may
eventually replace the current approach used by Landsat satellites.
Earth Observation-2 (EO-2) will fly an infrared laser in the cargo bay of the space shuttle to demonstrate the capabilities of a space-based lidar to accurately measure atmospheric winds from the earth's surface to a height of 10 miles. This flight is scheduled for launch in early 2001.
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New computer models that indicate the climate of Venus have wavered radically in its relatively recent past may prove valuable to scientists tracking Earth's changing climate, according to two University of Colorado researchers.
Despite the recent intrigue in Mars, Venus actually is more Earth-like because it's the only other planet with a complex, evolving climate, explained Mark Bullock and David Grinspoon of the university's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.
"Our model shows Venus has changed dynamically in the recent past," said Bullock. "Since Venus and Earth have a number of similarities, there are implications here for our own future."
An article by Bullock and Grinspoon regarding global change on Venus appeared in the March issue of Scientific American. Although Venus and Earth were virtual twins early in their histories, they took vastly divergent evolutionary paths. Today, Venus is hot enough, 900°F, to make rocks glow and has a noxious carbon dioxide atmosphere encased by a dense cloud of sulfuric acid. But the clouds may have waxed and waned over time, according to scientists.
Computer modeling by Bullock and Grinspoon indicates that volcanic activity some 900 million years ago "repaved" Venus with lava, as evidenced by a dearth of impact craters on its surface. Bullock and Grinspoon estimate enough lava erupted from the surface to cover the planet with a layer up to six miles thick.
Their model suggests the massive volcanism would have increased the abundance of water vapor in the atmosphere by 10 times and the amount of sulfur dioxide by 100 times. Because both are greenhouse gases, the atmosphere would have begun to heat, they hypothesized. But the gases also would have produced droplets that thickened the clouds over the planet, causing more light to reflect back to Venus, according to the model.
"Eventually, the clouds could have cut off the amount of sunlight required to power the greenhouse, cooling the planet," said Bullock. "We think the clouds initially won out." The thick cloud deck may have cooled Venus by 200°F, the researchers theorized. As the planet cooled, the water vapor likely rose higher in the atmosphere and was disassociated by ultraviolet radiation, allowing a large amount of hydrogen to escape into space.
Much of the sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere may have been taken up by carbonates on the surface of Venus, Grinspoon speculated. As the clouds thinned, more solar energy reached the planet's surface and heated it. Eventually, the hotter surface temperatures may have evaporated the clouds from below, causing the immense cloud deck to disappear entirely by about 200 million years ago.
For well over 100 million years, Venus may have been unshrouded, the researchers believe. "But we calculated that volcanism must have been active within the past 30 million years to support the thick clouds observed today, they said. The volcanoes likely are still active, they believe. "Venus is the only chance for studying an evolving climate system like Earth in our own solar system," said Grinspoon. He pointed out that researchers determined that chlorine reduced the levels of free oxygen above Venusian clouds, shedding light on the destruction of ozone by chlorine in Earth's atmosphere.
The model indicates "the climates of Earth-like planets can undergo abrupt transitions because of interactions among planetary-scale processes. While the effects of climate tinkering on Earth by humans remain unknown, "In the long term, Earth's fate is sealed," the researchers wrote. "As the sun ages, it brightens. In about a billion years, the oceans will begin to evaporate rapidly and the climate will succumb to a runaway greenhouse. Earth and Venus, having started as nearly identical twins and diverged, may one day look alike."
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NASA is seeking proposals for a low-cost, advanced imaging radar technology for Earth observing satellites, opening new opportunities to the U.S. commercial remote-sensing industry. The technology is planned for the Lightweight Synthetic Aperture mission, or "LightSAR," part of NASA's long-term effort in the development and productive use of imaging radars, according to NASA officials.
The satellite's capability to observe the earth day and night in all weather is expected to result in numerous scientifically valuable and commercially lucrative applications, officials said. LightSAR, for example, will have the unique capability to monitor continuously minute changes in the earth's surface, down to the one-millimeter level, which will lead to improved understanding of natural hazards, such as earthquakes and volcanoes.
The satellite's advanced capabilities will greatly help improve the government's emergency management efforts and may prove useful to industries involved in disaster recovery, according to NASA officials. Its high-resolution imaging capability will have significant commercial potential for mapping the earth's surface, environmental surveillance, crop monitoring and land management, planning, and development.
The LightSAR announcement of opportunity is available via the Internet on http://www.earth.nasa.gov/nra/current/. Proposals must be submitted by 10 May.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is managing the LightSAR project for NASA's Office of Earth Science.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced that GOES- L, the fourth in a series of advanced geostationary operational environmental satellites, is planned for launch on 15 May from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida. GOES-L will be stored in orbit at 105°W longitude. It will replace either GOES-8 or GOES-10 when needed.
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites provide the kind of continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. They circle the earth in a geosynchronous orbit, which means they orbit the equatorial plane of the earth at a speed matching the earth's rotation. This allows them to hover continuously over one position above the surface. The geosynchronous plane is about 35 800 km (22 300 miles) above the earth, high enough to allow the satellites a full-disc view of the earth. Because they stay above a fixed spot on the surface, they provide a constant vigil for atmospheric "triggers" for severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, severe thunderstorms, and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, the GOES satellites monitor storms and track their movements.
NASA launched the first GOES for NOAA in 1975 and followed it with another in 1977. Currently, the United States is operating GOES-8, launched on 13 April 1994, and GOES-10, launched on 25 April 1997. Each satellite views almost a third of the earth's surface: one monitors North and South America and most of the Atlantic Ocean, the other North America and the Pacific Ocean basin. The two operate together to send a full-face picture of the earth, day and night. GOES-8 and GOES-10 are aiding forecasters in providing better advanced warnings of thunderstorms, flash floods, hurricanes, and other severe weather.
More information on the GOES satellites and current imagery is available on the Internet http://www.goes.noaa.gov or http://www.saa.noaa.gov
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If springtime on Earth were anything like it will be on Uranus, we would be experiencing waves of massive storms, each one covering the country from Kansas to New York, with temperatures of 300 degrees below zero. A dramatic new time-lapse movie by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows for the first time seasonal changes on the planet. Once considered one of the blander-looking planets, Uranus is now revealed as a dynamic world with the brightest clouds in the outer Solar System and a fragile ring system that wobbles like an unbalanced wagon wheel. The clouds are probably made of crystals of methane, which condense as warm bubbles of gas well up from deep in the atmosphere of Uranus.
The movie, created by Hubble researcher Erich Karkoschka of the University of Arizona, clearly shows for the first time the wobble in the ring system, which is made of billions of tiny pebbles. This wobble may be caused by Uranus' shape, which is like a slightly flattened globe, along with the gravitational tug from its many moons.
Although Uranus has been observed for more than 200 years, "no one has ever seen this view in the modern era of astronomy because of the long year of Uranus— more than 84 Earth years," said Dr. Heidi Hammel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The seasonal changes on Earth are caused by our planet's rotational pole being slightly tilted. Consequently, the Earth's Southern and Northern Hemispheres are alternately tipped toward or away from the sun as the earth moves around its orbit. Uranus is tilted completely over on its side, giving rise to extreme 20-year-long seasons and unusual weather. For nearly a quarter of the Uranian year, the sun shines directly over each pole, leaving the other half of the planet plunged into a long, dark, frigid winter.
The Northern Hemisphere of Uranus is just now coming out of the grip of its decades-long winter. As the sunlight reaches some latitudes, it warms the atmosphere. This appears to be causing the atmosphere to come out of a frigid hibernation and stir back to life. Uranus does not have a solid surface, but is instead a ball of mostly hydrogen and helium. Absorption of red light by methane in the atmosphere gives the planet its cyan color.
Uranus was discovered 13 March 1781, by William Herschel. Early visual observers reported Jupiter-like cloud belts on the planet, but when NASA's Voyager 2 flew by in 1986, Uranus appeared as featureless as a cue ball. In the past 13 years, the planet has moved far enough along its orbit for the sun to shine at midlatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. By the year 2007, the sun will be shining directly over Uranus' equator. Karkoschka, Hammel and other investigators used Hubble from 1994 through 1998 to take images of Uranus in both visible and near-infrared light.
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Robert S. Winokur has been appointed vice president and executive director of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE). Prior to this appointment, Winokur was with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) since 1993, where he served as assistant administrator for Satellite and Information Services and as acting assistant administrator for Weather Services from 1997 to 1998.
CORE is the Washington, D.C.-based association of U.S. oceanographic research institutions, universities, laboratories, and aquaria. The 59 members represent the nucleus of U.S. research and education in the ocean. Its mission is to promote, encourage, develop, and support efforts to advance knowledge and learning in the science of oceanography and to disseminate such knowledge to the scientific community and to the public.
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Michael Hawes, chief engineer for the space station, has been named acting chief of NASA's space station project. He replaces Gretchen McClain, who is leaving the agency to return to private industry.
Hawes joined NASA in 1978 and served as the senior engineer in the former space station office in Reston, Virginia. Before that, he served in several technical and managerial positions at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.
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NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin has named Daniel C. Tam as assistant to the administrator for commercialization. Although a NASA headquarters employee, Tam will be based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Tam comes to NASA from TRW where his most recent position was director of planning and investments for the company's Space and Electronics Group.
In his NASA position, TAM will be responsible for seeking opportunities to increase commercialization of NASA infrastructure, operations, and technology. He also will be reaching out to the broader public sectors, including industry, academia, and other government organizations in an effort to accelerate the deployment of NASA-developed technologies in the U.S. economy beyond the aerospace sector.
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Frank Kudrna has been elected chair, and Geraldine Knatz has been voted chair-elect of the National Sea Grant Review Panel, an independent 15-member citizens' advisory committee of individuals with diverse backgrounds in marine affairs.
Panel members are appointed by the secretary of comme