1 October 2015 Project Update Volume 96, Issue 18

VOL. 96  NO. 18  1 OCT 2015

Earth & Space Science News

A GALAXY FULL OF PLANETS

Chinese Cave Inscriptions Capture Tale of Drought

Helping Early-Career Scientists Succeed

Save Money the Right Way

Act now to save on registration and housing.

Housing and Early Registration Deadline: 12 November 11:59 P.M. EST

To get the best rates, join or renew your AGU membership by 14 October

fallmeeting.agu.org Earth & Space Science News Contents

1 OCTOBER 2015 PROJECT UPDATE VOLUME 96, ISSUE 18

Helping Early-Career Researchers Succeed Targeted programs can help early-career scientists build skills, ease workloads, and form the collaborations they need to advance their careers.

NEWS

Chinese Cave Inscriptions Tell Woeful Tale of Drought Researchers use the graffiti to extrapolate future drought risk in central China.

12 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Surface Climate COVER 25 Processes Keep Earth’s Energy Balance in Check Kepler: A Giant Leap for Exoplanet Studies Models show that an abrupt increase in carbon dioxide emissions would trigger NASA’s low-cost space telescope opened up a universe of possibilities feedback processes that would change for scientists who scour space in search of planets—and possibly life. Earth’s hydrological cycle.

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 1 Contents

DEPARTMENTS

Editor in Chief Barbara T. Richman: AGU, Washington, D. C., USA; eos_ [email protected] Editors Christina M. S. Cohen Wendy S. Gordon Carol A. Stein California Institute Ecologia Consulting, Department of Earth and of Technology, Pasadena, Austin, Texas, USA; Environmental Sciences, Calif., USA; wendy@ecologiaconsulting University of Illinois at [email protected] .com Chicago, Chicago, Ill., USA; [email protected] José D. Fuentes David Halpern Department of Meteorology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pennsylvania State Pasadena, Calif., USA; University, University davidhalpern29@gmail Park, Pa., USA; .com [email protected] Editorial Advisory Board M. Lee Allison, Earth and Space Xin-Zhong Liang, Global Science Informatics Environmental Change Lora S. Armstrong, Volcanology, Jian Lin, Tectonophysics Geochemistry, and Petrology Figen Mekik, Paleoceanography Michael A. Ellis, Earth and Planetary and Paleoclimatology Surface Processes Jerry L. Miller, Ocean Sciences Arlene M. Fiore, Atmospheric Sciences Michael A. Mischna, Planetary 24 Nicola J. Fox, Space Physics Sciences and Aeronomy Thomas H. Painter, Cryosphere Steve Frolking, Biogeosciences Sciences Edward J. Garnero, Study of the Roger A. Pielke Sr., Natural Hazards 23 AGU News Earth’s Deep Interior Michael Poland, Geodesy AGU, ESA Foster Network Michael N. Gooseff, Hydrology Eric M. Riggs, Education Kristine C. Harper, History Adrian Tuck, Nonlinear Geophysics Collaborations. of Geophysics Sergio Vinciguerra, Mineral Keith D. Koper, Seismology and Rock Physics Robert E. Kopp, Geomagnetism Earle Williams, Atmospheric 24–25 Research Spotlight and Paleomagnetism and Space Electricity John W. Lane, Near-Surface Mary Lou Zoback, Societal Impacts Global Warming Intensifies Drought Geophysics and Policy Sciences Conditions in California; Surface Staff Climate Processes Keep Earth’s Production: Faith A. Ishii, Production Manager; Melissa A. Tribur, Senior Production Energy Balance in Check; Refining Specialist; Liz Castenson, Editor’s Assistant; Yael Fitzpatrick, Manager, Design and Branding; Valerie Bassett and Travis Frazier, Electronic Graphics Specialists Solar Wind Models to Better Predict Editorial: Peter L. Weiss, Manager/Senior News Editor; Mohi Kumar, Scientific Space Weather. Content Editor; Randy Showstack, Senior News Writer; JoAnna Wendel, Writer 9 Marketing: Angelo Bouselli and Mirelle Moscovitch, Marketing Analysts Advertising: Christy Hanson, Manager; Tel: +1-202-777-7536; Email: advertising@ 26–31 Positions Available agu.org Current job openings in the Earth 3–7 News ©2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Material in this issue may and space sciences. be photocopied by individual scientists for research or classroom use. Permission Reduced Middle East Air Pollution is also granted to use short quotes, figures, and tables for publication in scientific books and journals. For permission for any other uses, contact the AGU Publications Linked to Societal Disruption; 32 Postcards from the Field Office. Chinese Cave Inscriptions Tell A view from a helicopter Eos (ISSN 0096-3941) is published semi-monthly, on the 1st and 15th of the month Woeful Tale of Drought; Does U.S. except the 1st of January 2015 by the American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida approaching the Canadian High Hurricane Rating Scale Get the Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. Periodical Class postage paid at Washington, Arctic Research Station. D. C., and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Danger Right?; Honoring Earth and Member Service Center, 2000 Florida Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. Space Scientists. Member Service Center: 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Eastern time; Tel: +1-202-462-6900; On the Cover Fax: +1-202-328-0566; Tel. orders in U.S.: 1-800-966-2481; Email: [email protected]. Artist’s conception of Kepler-421b, Use AGU’s Geophysical Electronic Manuscript Submissions system to submit a 8 Meeting Report manuscript: http://eos-submit.agu.org. a Uranus-sized transiting exoplanet Focusing Attention on Climate Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect official positions of the that circles its star once every 704 Change and Pacific Island Nations. American Geophysical Union unless expressly stated. days. Kepler-421b orbits a star Christine W. McEntee, Executive Director/CEO located about 1000 light-years from 9–11 Opinion Earth in the constellation Lyra. Ten Years After Katrina: What Have Credit: Harvard-Smithsonian, Center We Learned? for Astrophysics/D. A. Aguilar.

facebook.com/AmericanGeophysicalUnion @AGU_Eos linkedin.com/company/american-geophysical-union youtube.com/user/AGUvideos

2 // Eos 1 October 2015 NEWS

East, where a variety of different circum- Reduced Middle East Air Pollution stances could have contributed to the variations. Linked to Societal Disruption In Iraq, for example, researchers mainly saw increases in NO2 until 2013, then a decrease in cities such as Tikrit and Samarra, which have recently been occupied by the Islamic State. Similarly, emissions in Baghdad began to decrease in 2010, around the time when activities of the Islamic State began, and began to increase in areas outside of Baghdad as people fled the city, Lelieveld said. Mass migrations can also affect NOx emissions, the authors wrote. As a violent civil war ravaged Syria, 1.2 million people sought refuge in neighboring Lebanon. Between 2005 and 2013, the authors report, NO2 emissions increases over Lebanon ranged from 3% to 4%, soaring to 20%–30% in 2014. In Egypt, political uprisings in early 2011 swept across the country, and during that period the satellite data reflect NO2 emission reductions that occurred parallel to a decrease in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Because no environmental or air quality policies were enacted during that time, the researchers suspect that a reduction in vehicle usage led to this drop in emissions. Because declining NO2 emissions often par- alleled a falling GDP, these declines could be due to higher fuel costs, reduced vehicle use,

Azad Lashkari/Reuters or stagnating industrial activities, Lelieveld A new study reveals that lower levels of air pollution in the Middle East can be tied to political and social unrest. said. Researchers suggest that unrest affects fuel costs and availability, as well as industrial activities. Here motorists queue up outside a gas station in Arbīl, Iraq, in June 2014. Fighting farther south disrupted fuel supplies. Impact of Sanctions In Iran, the researchers found relatively high levels of NO2 emissions in major cities such as any areas in the Middle East have reported on 21 August in Science Advances Tehran and Esfahan in the years before the experienced rapidly declining air (see http://bit.ly/Middle_East_NO2). United Nations imposed economic sanctions M pollution emissions, and these in 2006. After these sanctions were tightened decreases could be due to political conflict, Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide in 2010, NO2 emissions decreased by 4% per according to a new study. Using measurements from the Ozone Moni- year, parallel to a decreasing GDP that fell 6% While investigating air pollution levels toring Instrument aboard NASA’s Aura satel- per year starting in 2012. across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East lite, which orbits Earth 14 times per day, In addition, the researchers found that sul- between 2005 and 2014, a research team led by Lelieveld and his colleagues studied the abun- fur dioxide emissions also fell 50% as eco- Jos Lelieveld, director of the Max Planck Insti- dance of nitrogen dioxide, a highly reactive nomic sanctions slashed the volume of ship- tute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, gas. Nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, belongs to a ments, including oil exports, from and to observed a striking reversal: From 2005 to class of gases known as NOx that originate Iranian ports, Lelieveld said. 2010, many cities in the Middle East ranked mainly from the combustion of fossil fuels but “Since NO2 pollution is a very effective indi- among the fastest growing air pollution emit- also from agriculture and natural sources. cator of economic activity, satellite measure- ters. Then, starting around 2010, sharp The researchers also looked at emission ments of NO2 reduction help to reveal in a declines in certain emissions began in many of trends of sulfur dioxide, a by-product also of timely manner how political conflicts affect those same cities. fossil fuel combustion in power plants, indus- the socioeconomics,” said Jintai Lin, an atmo- Although some of the decline reflects the trial activities, and transportation, including spheric scientist at Peking University in Bei- effectiveness of recent environmental cleanup burning of low-quality fuels in cargo ships. jing, China, who did not participate in the measures by governments such as that of Both NO2 and sulfur dioxide are well-known study. “The relation confirms that human Saudi Arabia, that’s only a small part of the pollutants that can cause adverse health activities—in this case, political conflicts—are picture, the researchers say. effects and also contribute to climate change. effectively and rapidly perturbing the atmo- “A combination of air quality control and spheric environment,” he added. political factors, including economical crisis Emissions Swings Reflect Unrest and armed conflict, has drastically altered The research team observed dramatic changes the emission landscape,” the researchers in emissions levels in cities across the Middle By JoAnna Wendel, Staff Writer

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 3 NEWS

As the fallen water evaporates from the Chinese Cave Inscriptions cave floor, it leaves behind a thin coating of solid minerals. Those deposits build, layer by Tell Woeful Tale of Drought layer, into a cone that holds a chemical record of the surrounding environment. These layers, much like tree rings, offer clues to temperature and rainfall abundance when each layer was added. To conduct its analyses, the team looked at the ratios of heavy carbon and oxygen isotopes, specifically carbon-13 (13C) and oxygen-18 (18O), to lighter isotopes within each mineral layer. When water drips into a cave, it immediately degasses, releasing absorbed carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide molecules with the lighter carbon isotope 12C will degas first, leaving relatively more 13C behind. If conditions are drier, there’s more time between drips for lighter isotopes to leave, so the solid mineral left behind becomes especially enriched with 13C and 18O.

Importance of Cave Inscriptions The researchers created a timeline of wet and dry periods using radiometric dating techniques along with the isotope measurements. They found that geochemical markers of L. Tan drought aligned closely with the inscriptions One of 70 inscriptions left by visitors to Dayu Cave (see http://bit.ly/CaveWords). It reads “On May 24th, 17th year of that reflected a drought, Tan said. the Emperor Guangxu period, Qing Dynasty, the local mayor, Huaizong Zhu led more than 200 people into the cave “Our study also suggests the importance of to retrieve water. A fortune-teller named Zhenrong Ran prayed for rain during a ceremony.” cave inscriptions in climate and [historical] study, which were ignored before,” Tan added. “On June 8th, 46th year of the Emperor Kangxi due to drought” and that people came to pray “This study is unique as the authors capital- period, Qing Dynasty, the governor of Ningqiang for rain. ize on an opportunity to use in situ historical district came to the cave to pray for rain.” The inscriptions, which include dates from records of drought to test the ability of [sta- the Chinese calendar, add validity to the no- lagmite] isotopic and geochemical composi- he above entry is just one out of tion that drought may have undermined sev- tions to serve as a proxy of past drought,” said 70 inscriptions found in Dayu Cave in eral Chinese dynasties, the researchers said. Corinne Wong of the Department of Earth and T central China, written on the wall The new findings show “the vulnerability Environmental Sciences at Boston College, during a severe drought in 1707. In a study of civilization to even relatively small changes who wasn’t involved in the study. published 13 August in Scientific Reports (http:// in climate,” said lead author Liangchen Tan of bit.ly/SR_China_cave), scientists translated the Institute of Earth Environment at the Chi- Future Droughts the cave inscriptions and found evidence in nese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. The researchers also used patterns of 18O/16O seven of them of major droughts—in 1528, ratios within the stalagmite layers to develop 1596, 1707, 1756, 1839, 1891, and 1894—five of Scientists translated the a mathematical model to investigate future which were previously unknown to historians. precipitation variability. The researchers then used geochemical cave inscriptions and Although a model can’t predict precisely analysis of formations within the cave to con- when a drought might hit, if it recreates past firm this record of droughts. With their find- found evidence in seven of events known to have occurred, scientists can ings, they were also able to model the likeli- them of major droughts. better trust its projections, said Sebastian Bre- hood of major future droughts in the region. itenbach of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, a coauthor of the paper. The Summer Monsoon In this case, the team’s model, calibrated Agriculture in China depends on the summer Building Records of Past Droughts to the pre-1900 drought record obtained from monsoon, when roughly 70% of the year’s To find evidence of past droughts within the Dayu Cave, did indeed reflect a major drought rain falls in a few months. Chinese historical geochemical records of the cave, the sci- that occurred in China in the 1990s. By extrap- records recount political strife, widespread entists turned to stalagmites—limestone olating to the year 2042, the researchers found starvation, and even cannibalism during cones that grow upward from the cave floor that another drought could occur in the 2030s. droughts, the study says. This suffering is over millenia. Stalagmites form when water reflected in the cave’s graffiti, where record percolating from above drips from the cave’s keepers wrote that the “mountains are crying ceiling to the floor below. By JoAnna Wendel, Staff Writer

4 // Eos 1 October 2015 NEWS

Does U.S. Hurricane Rating Scale Get the Danger Right? Reuters/David J. Phillip J. Reuters/David A helicopter rescues New Orleans residents from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina on 1 September 2005.

hen Hurricane Katrina made landfall Size and Speed Matter vate company based in Tallahassee, Fla., that 10 years ago on 29 August, it claimed The SSHS was developed in the 1970s by Herb provides real-time hurricane analysis. W the lives of more than 1800 people Saffir, a structural engineer, and Bob Simpson, At its largest, Camille’s hurricane-force and caused $108 billion in damages. Decades a meteorologist, who attempted to quantify winds stretched only 60 miles (97 kilometers) prior, in 1969, Hurricane Camille devastated the physical damage incurred by hurricane- from the storm’s center, whereas Katrina the same region, although it resulted in only force winds and calibrated the numbers to a extended twice as far. Although Camille’s 262 deaths and about a billion dollars in dam- simple-to- read 1–5 scale, in which each cate- maximum wind speed (more than 200 miles age ($6.2 billion in 2015 dollars). gory represents a range of wind speeds (see (322 kilometers) per hour) far exceeded So why was Katrina categorized as a 3 and http://bit.ly/HurrScale). Katrina’s (130 miles (209 kilometers) per Camille a 5? But winds alone don’t make a hurricane hour), Katrina’s size allowed the storm to The answer has to do with the physical dif- dangerous. Hazards include the potential for push 4 times as much water toward the ferences between the storms, which is part of flooding, from both rainfall and seawater shore. the reason some scientists think that the cur- inundation. A hurricane’s powerful winds When comparing storms like Camille and rent way that the National Oceanic and Atmo- push waves toward the shore at speeds that Katrina, “it’s not important how strong the spheric Administration (NOAA) categorizes are sometimes faster than the storm itself, peak wind is; what’s important is how big the hurricanes—using the Saffir-Simpson hurri- piling up water near the shore before the storm is,” according to Powell. cane scale (SSHS)—is inadequate. storm even arrives. Davis noted that the speed at which a storm “There’s a strong feeling that the current Size was a major factor that differentiated moves across the ocean can also affect its haz- scale doesn’t accurately communicate haz- relatively compact Camille from sprawling ard potential. “It turns out that slower- ard,” said Chris Davis, a hurricane specialist at Katrina, said Mark Powell, a scientist formerly moving storms can create more damage the National Center for Atmospheric Research with NOAA’s National Hurricane Research because the adverse conditions last longer,” in Boulder, Colo. Division who now runs Hwind Scientific, a pri- he said.

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 5 NEWS

Weighing Scales The Saffir-Simpson Scale • Developed by Herb Saffir and Bob Simpson • Quantifies wind damage on structures • Range 1–5 • Katrina was a category 3 Alternative Hurricane Scales Integrated Kinetic Energy • Developed by Mark Powell and colleagues • Represents wind force on the ocean; accounts for storm size and speed

Mark Powell, NOAA Hurricane Research Division Hurricane Research NOAA Mark Powell, • Range 0.00–5.99 Diagrams of Hurricane Camille (left; 1969, category 5) and Hurricane Katrina (right; 2005, category 3) show the vast • Katrina would have been a 4.9 difference in their sizes. Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) + Hurricane Hazard Index (HHI) Developed by Lakshmi Kantha The SSHS scale takes into account neither a storm surge. Because such factors are hard to • Uses fluid dynamics to rate hurricane hurricane’s size nor the speed it travels, Davis combine into one simple-to-use scale, Kantha • strength; for use with additional said. suggests providing them separately but simul- scales taneously. Kantha’s proposed intensity scale, Other Shortcomings which he calls a “hurricane intensity index,” • Range 0.3 to above 5.0 for HII, 0.3 to about 15.00 for HHI The SSHS also falls short, critics say, because uses laws of fluid dynamics, which he says any hurricane with wind speeds exceeding 156 more accurately portray a hurricane’s inten- • Katrina would have been a 3.0 on HII miles (251 kilometers) per hour remains a cat- sity. and a 14.5 on HHI egory 5, no matter how much faster the wind Powell, meanwhile, analyzes hurricanes Cyclone Damage Potential blows. Given that scientists expect global warm- using a concept called “integrated kinetic • Developed by George Holland, James ing to make hurricanes more intense, a new rat- energy”—a measurement of the hurricane’s Done, and colleagues ing scale should not lump all the highest–wind total energy based on wind speed as well as • Uses coupled atmosphere-ocean speed storms into a single, open-ended cate- size. Applied to a numerical rating system dynamics for interactions of wind, gory, said Lakshmi Kantha, a scientist at the akin to the SSHS, these measurements might waves, currents University of Colorado in Boulder. be able to better reflect how much damage a Range 1–10 Another one of Kantha’s main criticisms of hurricane could cause, Powell said. • Katrina would have been a 6.6 the scale is that because each of the SSHS cat- Even if hurricane experts all agreed that an • egories encompasses a wide range of wind alternate scale is needed, the challenge lies in speeds, a small difference in wind speed at the devising one as easy to understand as the because that’s what’s killing the largest num- edge of a storm’s range can dramatically alter SSHS, Davis noted. Even though agencies like ber of people in hurricanes,” he said. a hurricane’s rating. NOAA make supplemental information about The team is “effectively de-emphasizing For instance, a category 3 hurricane sustains the size and the speed of storms available, he the Saffir-Simpson scale to communicate the wind speeds between 111 and 130 miles (179 said, the data are useless to most people hazards of a hurricane,” Rhome said. “We’re and 209 kilometers) per hour, whereas a cate- “unless you know where to look for it and how breaking out the hazards individually and then gory 2 storm’s winds blow at 96 to 110 miles to interpret it.” dealing with them with their own separate (154 to 177 kilometers) per hour. So a wind communication mechanism.” speed a few miles per hour slower could bump Going Beyond the SSHS The research center has started testing the a hurricane down a whole category but not Scientists at NOAA recognize that the SSHS effectiveness of flood risk maps that commu- necessarily affect its strength or potential to alone inadequately communicates hurricane nicate how high water could get during a cause serious damage, Kantha said. That’s why hazard, said Jamie Rhome, a scientist in the storm and how far inland it could go. Addi- he calls for a hurricane scale with more precise National Hurricane Center’s Storm Surge Unit tionally, to supplement the SSHS, center sci- numbers, like 2.4 or 3.8, for communicating in Miami, Fla. Instead of starting from scratch entists rolled out prototype alerts to be issued hurricane strength. and creating a new scale, the center has begun if a life-threatening storm surge is imminent. to develop other measures and warnings of This warning system should go into effect in Alternate Scales storm surge and flooding to provide what the 2017. Kantha urges use of multiple scales—an SSHS leaves out. intensity scale like SSHS with others that rate “We’re about 7 years into a 10-year journey the potential damage from, say, winds or to bring storm surge into the forefront By JoAnna Wendel, Staff Writer

6 // Eos 1 October 2015 NEWS

Honoring Earth and Space Scientists Showcase Your Videos and Films at AGU Cinema

AGU is seeking videos and films to show throughout the week of the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting, ©iStock.com/Paha_L including he Geological Society of America (GSA) Mexico in Albuquerque, will receive the Young recently announced its 2015 fellows Scientist Award (Donath Medal). Steven W. • Documentaries of scientific T (http://bit.ly/GSAFellows), many of Squyres, of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., activities whom are AGU members. will receive the 2015 President’s Medal. • Profiles of scientists In addition, the following individuals will Dawn J. Wright, chief scientist at the Envi- receive awards at the GSA annual meeting in ronmental Systems Research Institute in Red- • Instructional videos November: James W. Head, of Brown Univer- lands, Calif., and professor at Oregon State • Physical phenomena sity in Providence, R.I., will receive the University in Corvallis, will receive the Ran- Penrose Medal. John W. “Jack” Hess, former dolph W. “Bill” and Cecile T. Bromery Award • Animation GSA executive director (2002–2015) and cur- for the Minorities. • Science stories and opinions rent GSA foundation president, will receive Jessica Hellmann is the new director of the the GSA Distinguished Service Award. Priya Institute on the Environment at the University • Science fiction Ganguli, of Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti- of Minnesota Twin Cities in St. Paul. Before tution in Woods Hole, Mass., will receive the joining the institute, she was an associate pro- Doris M. Curtis Outstanding Woman in Sci- fessor in the University of Notre Dame’s Deadline: ence Award. Jerry X. Mitrovica, of Harvard Department of Biological Sciences. University in Cambridge, Mass., will be Jacqueline Huntoon professor of geological 15 October awarded the Arthur L. Day Medal. Naomi and mining engineering and dean of the grad- Oreskes, of Harvard University, will receive uate school at Michigan Technological Univer- the GSA Public Service Award. John M. Prof- sity in Houghton, is the new provost and vice fett, an independent consulting geologist in president for academic affairs. fallmeeting.agu.org/2015/ Eagle River, Alaska, will receive the Geologic Michael Thompson is the new interim agu-cinema-call-for-submissions/ Mapping Award in honor of Florence Bascom. president for the University Corporation for Brandon Schmandt, of the University of New Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colo.

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 7 MEETING REPORT

Palau and the Republic of Kiribati, the entire Focusing Attention on Climate Change nation’s existence is threatened. To better adapt to climate change, international cooper- and Pacific Island Nations ation is required to improve climate-related legislation, policy-making processes, human The 2014 Pan Pacific Partnership on Climate Change Adaptation capabilities, education, technology, and finan- Taipei, Taiwan, 29 September to 2 October 2014 cial support. Speakers also called on scientists to push harder for policy makers to include climate adaptation planning in decisions. As part of this effort, the meeting participants concluded that a formal international environmental partnership should be established that would include representatives from the United States, the Southeast Asia nations, and Pacific island nations. Such a partnership could strengthen efforts, remove barriers, pursue sustainable development, and promote creativity. A strong international partnership is essential to support ambitious domestic action.

0) Speakers called on scientists to push harder for policy makers to include climate adaptation planning in decisions. LuXTonnerre, CC BY 2.0 (http://bit.ly/ccby2- 2.0 CC BY LuXTonnerre, After the conference, 35 participants from Palau, seen here from above, risks being overrun as sea levels rise. 7 nations spent 2 days at a workshop, discuss- ing the stresses of climate change. Workshop any island nations across the Pacific 300 attendees. In addition, the presentations attendees discussed adaptation policies spe- Ocean face greater threats from cli- and panels were broadcast live to various uni- cifically for Pacific island nations. Participants M mate changes and associated changes versities and colleges in the region. reiterated the need for establishing an inter- in sea level and ocean acidification than most Conference goals included the following: national platform for cooperative efforts to mainland countries. These island nations have • promoting public awareness and enhanc- adapt to climate change together. To continue low elevation, long coastlines, and a critical ing communication among decision makers, the efforts, a follow-up meeting to be held in dependence on the seas around them for their subject matter experts, and academia about Vietnam is planned for autumn 2015. livelihoods. The United Nations Environment policy making, adaptation strategies, tool Programme (UNEP) named 2014 the “Small development, and implementation pathways Acknowledgment Island Developing States (SIDS) International • identifying and prioritizing issues that We give special thanks to Chi Ming Peng of Year,” raising international attention on these span the Pacific, establishing public and pri- WeatherRisk Inc. (Taipei, Taiwan) and S. K. small island countries. vate partnerships, and facilitating adaptation Yang of the National Oceanic and Atmo- “Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level” policies and the exchange of information on spheric Administration’s Climate Prediction served as the theme for last year’s World mitigation strategies Center (College Park, Md.) for the outstand- Environment Day, during which UNEP called • exploring the possibility of establishing a ing contributions they made to organizing on the international community to take action “Climate Change Adaptation Center” as a hub this meeting, as well as their contributions to with island nations to prepare themselves for for research and education to promote usage this report. disasters that may come as climate changes. of open and big climate data, as well as orga- To this end, the Environmental Protection nizational networking Administration of Taiwan developed and led Many presentations focused on the need for By Donald Wuebbles, Department of Atmo- an international conference and workshop adaptation policies. For instance, because of spheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana- (see http://bit.ly/PanPacificCC). sea level rise and increases in extreme events, Champaign, Urbana; email: wuebbles@illinois Participants included scientists and policy island countries and Southeast Asian nations .edu; Wayne Higgins, Climate Program Office, makers from Taiwan, the United States, a confront the dilemma of adapting to changing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- number of the Pacific island nations, and conditions for survival, stimulating economic tion, Silver Spring, Md.; and Hui-Chen Chien, Southeast Asia. The conference, held at development, and/or meeting human needs. Environmental Protection Administration, Taipei, National Taiwan University, drew more than In some cases, such as those of the Republic of Taiwan

8 // Eos 1 October 2015 OPINION

events in 1965 and 1969 from Hurricanes Betsy Ten Years After Katrina: and Camille flooded parts of the city. New Orleans’s unique geography makes it What Have We Learned? especially susceptible to flooding. Although all coastal cities are experiencing rising sea levels, New Orleans faces the additional problem of subsidence. Fortune is an arbiter of half of our actions. … I liken tion that seemed painfully slow. Analysts and The city is constructed on the Mississippi her to one of these violent rivers which, when they community leaders widely criticized federal, Delta, and deltas subside from processes that become enraged, flood the plains, ruin the trees state, and local governments for inadequate include sediment compaction and crustal and the buildings. … It is not as if men, when times preparation and inept relief efforts. loading. In a natural deltaic system, sediment are quiet, could not provide for them with dikes and Katrina stands as the costliest disaster in deposition occurs during spring floods and, dams so that when they rise later … their impetus is U.S. history, with losses exceeding $100 bil- over time, maintains the delta surface at or neither so wanton nor so damaging. lion, and the third deadliest hurricane, after near sea level, compensating for subsidence. The Prince [Machiavelli, 1532; translation, 1985] the 1900 Galveston hurricane that killed more Along the lower Mississippi, levees prevent than 6000 people and the 1928 Okeechobee this natural renewal, and the channelized bed n 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hurricane that killed between 1800 and 2500 forces sediment deposition farther out in the struck coastal Mississippi, Alabama, people. Many observers were surprised that a Gulf of Mexico. Dams on the upper Mississippi O and Louisiana. Damage was wide- disaster like Katrina could befall a wealthy, also reduce sediment supply. spread, but the city of New Orleans Settlers built the original town of was hit especially hard. New Orleans (the popular French On this tenth anniversary of the Experts pointed out the dangers of Quarter familiar to tourists) on rela- disaster, it’s worth looking back on tively high elevation natural levees how scientists and the nation flooding from hurricane storm adjacent to the river. However, the city responded to Katrina. Looking surge in New Orleans many years grew far beyond this favorable site in forward—given continuing coastal the pre-Katrina years, occupying development, accelerating sea level before Katrina struck. lower-elevation areas. rise, and warming oceans that can The highest rates of subsidence can intensify storm surge—how can we be found in recently reclaimed land prepare for future threats and disas- along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain, ters? technologically advanced nation like the where sediments tend to compact at high One mitigation strategy—relocating people United States. Ten years later, the population rates for several decades after reclamation and sensitive infrastructure to higher of New Orleans remains below prestorm lev- [e.g., Kim et al., 2010], or in former marshes ground—has not been explored fully and els, and some areas remain damaged. drained for urbanization, exposing organic eventually will need to be considered here and matter to oxidation. At the time of Katrina, in other coastal areas as sea level rise acceler- Flood Mitigation and Geology New Orleans was subsiding by about 5–6 milli- ates. Experts pointed out the dangers of flooding meters per year, with some areas sinking from hurricane storm surge in New Orleans faster than 20 millimeters per year [Dixon A Brief History of the Storm many years before Katrina struck. Similar et al., 2006]. and Its Aftermath 2005 had an active hurricane season, with 28 named storms and four category 5 hurricanes. After crossing Florida, Katrina intensified to category 5 as it passed over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico [Trenberth et al.,2007] but probably declined to category 3 by the time it struck the city. Although warned in advance, some residents were unable or unwilling to evacuate. Of the approximately 1800 fatalities associated with Katrina, about a thousand were New Orleans residents who remained behind. Responders attributed many deaths to drown- ing; rising water trapped many people in the attics of single-story homes. During the storm, Katrina breached many of the city’s levees, which previously had protected the city from flooding by the Missis- sippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. For many days after the disaster, television news

showed heartbreaking pictures of people in NOAA squalid conditions, awaiting relief and evacua- A GOES-12 visible image of Hurricane Katrina shortly after landfall on 29 August 2005.

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 9 OPINION

weather-related Low-elevation pumping stations, control events, although a facilities, and backup power at critical facili- detailed analysis ties in New Orleans failed during flooding would have to [e.g., ASCE, 2007; Fink, 2013]. A similar design account for the flaw doomed the Fukushima nuclear facility in increased value of Japan 6 years later when backup power was coastal real estate. disrupted by tsunami-induced flooding, leading to overheating and large-scale radiation What Have We release [Nöggerath et al., 2011]. Learned? How to Rebuild After Disasters? Katrina represented a One opportunity missed during the rebuilding major disaster for the phase was the chance to move sensitive United States but also infrastructure and housing to higher ground provides an opportu- (a significant fraction of the city is located at nity for the nation or above sea level). Sea level rise is accelerat- and the world to ing in the Gulf region [e.g., Karegar et al., learn from past mis- 2015], and subsidence continues, so Katrina is

Marty Bahamonde/FEMA takes. Scientists and unlikely to be the last flood experienced by Flooding from breached levees in New Orleans, La., following Hurricane Katrina. Photo engineers have con- the city. taken 29 August 2005. ducted forensic anal- Many people believe that widespread relo- ysis [American Society cation is unrealistic. People would refuse to of Civil Engineers move, and in any case, it would be too expen- This latter process likely explains some of (ASCE), 2007; Interagency Performance Evalua- sive to subsidize the transition, they argue. the lowest-lying areas of New Orleans, which tion Task Force (IPET), 2007–2009] of some I can’t speak to refusals to move, but a were drained for urbanization in the mid- to infrastructure failures, but to my knowledge, a generous government subsidy, combined late 1800s. Some of these areas currently lie far-reaching analysis of the various political, with a clear scientific statement about long- 3 meters or more below sea level. engineering, and scientific missteps that led term flood risk, could be useful to help per- to the disaster and its aftermath has never suade people to shift to higher ground. To my Costs been done. knowledge, no such statement was ever made Disasters in the United States have been Katrina won’t be our last major disaster. But following Katrina. mainly associated with weather- and climate- using Katrina as a lens, we can take a hard look Regarding the actual cost of relocation, less related events such as floods, droughts, and at all aspects of our preparations for and than 20% of the population lives at danger- wildfires. What’s more, the costs of such responses to disasters to ensure better future ously low elevation. My back-of-the- disasters are increasing (Figure 1). outcomes. Although some aspects of the envelope calculations suggest that people Some of the cost increase simply reflects Katrina disaster are unique (e.g., the low ele- could be moved to nearby higher ground for increased population. However, since 1980, vation of parts of New Orleans), the event far less than the United States spent on bail- costs have increased fivefold during a period shares common factors with a wide range of ing out bankrupt firms in the 2008 financial when population increased by only about 35%. natural and human-made disasters. crisis. Some of the cost increase therefore likely Seven years after Katrina, 2012’s Hurricane reflects increasing frequency and intensity of Levee Failures, Pumping Stations, Sandy, with many features in common with and Backup Power Katrina—including prior expert warnings and The Army Corps of Engineers and the Ameri- the role of low elevation and warm ocean can Society of Civil Engineers [ASCE, 2007; water—showed us how little progress we’ve IPET, 2007–2009] reviewed the levee failures. made regarding storm mitigation. One conclusion: Low elevation contributed to several levee failures when storm surge over- Recommendations topped and then eroded earthen structures. Warming seas and rising seas increase the The levee adjacent to the Mississippi River– likelihood of future storm surge–induced Gulf Outlet Canal failed in this way, contribut- flooding (see Figure 2). As scientists, we ing to flooding of St. Bernard Parish, where struggle to communicate to the public and 80% of housing was destroyed or damaged. policy makers how apparently small long- Measurements by satellite geodesy between term average changes in temperature and sea 2002 and 2005 showed this levee subsiding at level, convolved with natural short-term rates sufficient to lower its elevation by about variability and increased coastal population 1 meter since its construction in the 1960s density, lead to big increases in the risk of [Dixon et al., 2006]. coastal flooding. Fig. 1. Cost of natural disasters (insured plus uninsured An important note: Engineers conducted The local subsidence that played a role in losses) in the United States from 1980 to 2012 (in 2012 previous geodetic measurements on the levees Katrina’s flooding makes it a useful dollars). The best-fit line through the data has a slope of with terrestrial leveling, requiring the use of a indicator—a teachable moment—and a har- about $1.7 billion per year. The large spike in 2005 local reference point, which may also have binger of disasters that will come eventually mainly represents Katrina. Data from Munich Re. been subsiding [ASCE, 2007]. over a much broader area of the coastal

10 // Eos 1 October 2015 OPINION

0.7 list, focusing on issues that apply beyond New to higher ground should be possible without 0.6 Orleans: huge economic disruption and could be 0.5 • Scientists need to do a better job of com- encouraged with tax incentives and relocation 0.4 municating the long-term risks associated subsidies after a disaster. The 50-year time with rising sea level, increasing atmospheric scale is longer than normally used in govern- 0.3 and ocean temperatures, and intensifying ment and business planning but may be 0.2 storm surge. Devastation following Sandy required if we are to avoid the worst effects of

SSTA (degree C) 0.1 highlighted that Katrina was not an anom- sea level rise. 0 aly—the prior storm just happened to be the

-0.1 first to get our attention. Future Disasters and Our New Reality Geodesy has a role to play in highlighting It’s true that the next disaster will occur at -0.2 • 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 coastal areas undergoing rapid subsidence. some unpredictable time in the future, but the Time (Year)

Q. Yang Q. These areas serve as important canaries in the devastation from Katrina and Sandy is a coal mine for the public and policy makers, reminder that this future is not necessarily far Fig. 2. Average sea surface temperature (SST) in the illustrating in the short term (over the next away. North Atlantic since 1980, relative to 1901–1970, for the few decades) what long-term (over the next On this tenth anniversary of Hurricane ocean area bounded by 0°–50°N and 10°W–80°W. Com- few centuries) sea level rise will actually look Katrina and its devastation of New Orleans, puted from the Hadley Centre Global Sea Ice and Sea like. let’s resolve to do better, as scientists and as Surface Temperature data set [Rayner et al., 2003]. • Safety features such as backup power communities, in the ways that we communi- and communication and control facilities cate and listen about future threats and in the United States. Houston, Tampa Bay, Miami, need to be designed and sited to be safe from ways that we prepare for and respond to these and cities around the Chesapeake Bay, such flooding, high winds, and other damaging inevitable disasters. as Norfolk and Baltimore, are especially at conditions. risk. • We need to develop recovery mecha- Acknowledgments Somehow, scientists need to make it clear nisms for natural disasters that do not neces- I thank Seth Stein and Kevin Trenberth for that one degree of average temperature sarily involve rebuilding in exactly the same reviews. The National Science Foundation, increase and a few millimeters per year of spot. In the case of sea level rise and low- NASA, and the Department of Energy provided annual sea level rise mean many more lying coastal areas, this means zoning and funding for some of the research described Katrinas, each with the potential to cause other policies that limit new construction in here. thousands of fatalities, tens of billions of dol- sensitive areas and promote a managed lars in damages, and the destruction of major retreat from the coast, allowing some places References cities. to revert to green space and wetland. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (2007), The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System: What Went Wrong and Why. A Report Everyone has his or her own list of lessons Because the economic lifetime of many by the American Society of Civil Engineers Hurricane Katrina Exter- learned from Katrina. Here is a subset of my buildings is on the order of 50 years, relocation nal Review Panel, Reston, Va. Dixon, T. H., F. Amelung, A. Ferretti, F. Novali, F. Rocca, R. Dokka, G. Sella, S.-W. Kim, S. Wdowinski, and D. Whitman (2006), New Orle- ans subsidence: Rates and spatial variation measured by permanent scatterer interferometry, Nature, 441, 587–588. Fink, S. (2013), Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm- Ravaged Hospital, Crown, New York. Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) (2007–2009), Performance evaluation of the New Orleans and Southeast Louisi- ana Hurricane Protection System: Final report of the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force, 9 vols., U.S. Army Corps of Eng., Vicksburg, Miss. Karegar, M. A., T. H. Dixon, and R. Malservisi (2015), A three- dimensional surface velocity field for the Mississippi Delta: Impli- cations for coastal restoration and flood potential, Geology, 43, 519–522. Kim, S. W., S. Wdowinski, T. H. Dixon, F. Amelung, J. W. Kim, and J.-S. Won (2010), Measurements and predictions of subsidence induced by soil consolidation using persistent scatterer InSAR and a hyperbolic model, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L05304, doi:10.1029/2009GL041644. Machiavelli, N. ([1532] 1985) The Prince, translated by H. C. Mansfield, Jr., Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill. Nöggerath, J., R. J. Geller, and V. K. Gusiakov (2011), Fukushima: The myth of safety, the reality of geoscience, Bull. At. Sci.,67, 37–46. Rayner, N. A., D. E. Parker, E. B. Horton, C. K. Folland, L. V. Alexander, D. P. Rowell, E. C. Kent, and A. Kaplan (2003), Global analyses of sea surface temperature, sea ice, and night marine air temperature since the late nineteenth century, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D14), 4407, doi:10.1029/2002jd002670. Trenberth, K. E., C. A. Davis, and J. Fasullo (2007), Water and energy budgets of hurricanes: Case studies of Ivan and Katrina, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D23106, doi:10.1029/2006JD008303.

Mario Tama/Getty Images Mario Tama/Getty By Timothy H. Dixon, School of Geosciences, Two men paddle in high water in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward on 31 August 2005 after Hurricane Katrina devastated the University of South Florida, Tampa; email: thd@ Gulf coast. usf.edu

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 11 KEPLER

A GIANT LEAP FOR EXOPLANET STUDIES

By Jack L. Lissauer

This artist’s concept depicts a planetary system so compact that it’s more like Jupiter and its moons than the Sun and its planets. Astrono- mers using data from NASA’s Kepler mission and ground-based telescopes determined that the system, called Kepler-42, hosts the three

small exoplanets. An exoplanet is a planet that resides outside of our solar system. Pyle NASA/JPL-Caltech/Tim

12 // Eos 1 October 2015 KEPLER

A GIANT LEAP FOR

Kepler has discovered more than 690 candidate multiple transiting planets, almost all of which represent true multiple-planet systems.

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 13 Kepler data tell us that systems containing multiple planets on closely spaced orbits are quite common.

unlike our Sun, with an orbital period of only 4.23 days. Hundreds of planets have since been found from the ground, but all are much larger than Earth and/or orbit very close to their stars and are consequently very hot. To find smaller worlds, NASA launched the

NASA/Ames Wendy Stenzel Wendy NASA/Ames 0.95-meter- aperture Kepler space telescope into an orbit around the Sun in 2009 [Borucki Fig. 1. An artist’s rendition of NASA’s Kepler space telescope. et al., 2010; Koch et al., 2010]. Above Earth’s atmosphere and away from the glare and tem- mere quarter century ago, the only plan- perature variations of low Earth orbit, Kepler simultane- ets that we knew about orbited our Sun. ously monitored more than 150,000 stars, measuring their Astronomers didn’t know whether our brightness every 30 minutes. solar system—eight planets, plus assorted Kepler’s mission centered on searching for periodic dips moons, asteroids, and comets—was an caused by planets crossing in front of their host stars as analogue for other planetary systems and they orbited—events called transits. The spacecraft stared had no direct evidence that other planetary systems even at the same patch of sky for 4 years, until the failure of two Aexisted at all. reaction wheels—the gyroscope-like flywheels that point Now, thanks to the recent findings of NASA’s Kepler and stabilize the craft—which ended the main mission in space telescope (Figure 1), our understanding of our galactic May 2013. neighborhood has drastically changed. We know that we live Scanning for transits requires high-precision photome- in a galaxy full of planets that lie outside of our solar system. try. Although the transit of a Jupiter-size planet across the These bodies, referred to as extrasolar planets, or exo- disk of a Sun-like star blocks 1% of the stellar flux and can planets, include many kinds of objects and showcase a readily be identified using a ground-based telescope, an level of diversity that took astronomers by surprise. Extra- Earth-size transiting planet dims the same star by less solar planets include gas giants and rocky worlds so close than one hundredth of a percent. to their stars that they whip around them in less than one Kepler’s stability and custom-designed electronics Earth week and planets only a few times as massive as allowed it to detect patterns of dips in brightness sugges- Earth that have voluminous low-density atmospheres, like tive of more than 4600 planet candidates (Figure 2). Statis- shrunken versions of Uranus or Neptune. tical analysis indicates that the vast majority of these sig- This diversity shook up scientists’ ideas about how plan- nals represent true exoplanets. ets form and what a “normal” planetary system looks like. In some respects, many of these systems look like minia- Now, 20 years to the month after scientists’ first discovery ture versions of our own solar system. Most of the planet of a planet around a star other than our Sun, we can take candidates found by Kepler have years that are shorter than stock of how Kepler has revolutionized our understanding a few Earth months and sizes in between those of Earth and of worlds beyond our solar system. Neptune, a size that our solar system lacks. In addition, their orbits can be much more tightly spaced. More than one third The Hunt for Earth-Like Worlds orbit in systems where multiple transiting planets have The search for planets outside of our solar system dates been found, and Kepler data tell us that systems containing back more than 150 years, but early claims of discovery multiple planets on closely spaced orbits are quite common. turned out to be erroneous. The first exoplanets discovered that have withstood the test of time are two small planets A Bounty of Planets orbiting a pulsar [Wolszczan and Frail, 1992], but pulsars are Individual planets and planetary systems can be exciting stellar remnants rather than true stars, and few other and illuminating discoveries [Lissauer et al., 2014]. How- planets have been discovered in orbit about them. ever, Kepler is primarily a statistical mission, designed to The floodgates opened 20 years ago this month with the determine the abundance of planets as small as Earth that discovery of 51 Pegasi b [Mayor and Queloz, 1995], a planet orbit within their star’s habitable zones—the distance about half as massive as Jupiter whipping around a star not where planets with an atmosphere similar to Earth’s

14 // Eos 1 October 2015 10 1 RJupiter

] 1 R

� Neptune [R p R

One: 2967 Two: 467 Five: 20 Three: 151 Six: 3 1 RMars Four: 57 Seven: 1

1 10 100 1000 Orbital Period [days] Rebekah Dawson, University of California, Berkeley Rebekah

Fig. 2. Orbital period versus planetary radius for Kepler planetary candidates. The colored symbols represent how many planets orbit a given star, and the legend lists how many of this type of system are in the catalog. (For example, the catalog lists 2967 stars with only one planet orbiting them.) Planets with shorter orbital periods are overrepresented because geometric factors and frequent transits make them easier for Kepler to detect. The upward slope in the lower envelope of these points is caused by the difficulty in detecting small planets with long orbital periods, for which transits are shallow and few are observed.

receive the right amount of stellar radiation to maintain life—astronomers need to determine not just the size of a reservoirs of liquid water on their surfaces. planet but also its mass. Traditionally, many of these mass Kepler measures the sizes of planets when they flit in measurements have come from the Doppler technique, front of their host star: The bigger the dip in brightness is, which typically uses large ground-based telescopes to mea- the larger the size of the planet is relative to its star. sure how the light of a host star shifts to redder and bluer Astronomers determine the size and density of the host wavelengths as it rocks back and forth in response to the star itself by combining ground-based observations with gravitational tugs of the planet. This works best on planets stellar models. In some cases, Kepler data can further with very short period orbits around relatively bright stars refine these estimates on the basis of tiny variations in [Marcy et al., 2014]. brightness caused by the stars’ internal vibrations or by Kepler isn’t able to directly measure masses (except for a the shapes and lengths of the transits themselves. few massive planets on very short period orbits that tidally This ability to size up planets has led to the realization distort their star to a measurable degree). However, that planets smaller than Neptune (which is 4 times as astronomers can sometimes use Kepler data to indirectly large as Earth) are far more common than giant planets. determine the masses of planets in multiplanet systems by Although the number changes from catalog to catalog, studying how their gravitational tugs pull on each other, more than half of the planet candidates found by Kepler which very slightly disturbs their orbits. are 1–3 times the size of Earth and take less then 100 days Such perturbations cause orbital paths to deviate from to orbit their stars [Batalha, 2014]. The number of planets purely mathematical ellipses, speeding them up or slowing drops off gradually for periods below 10 days, but planets them down and interrupting the otherwise clockwork tim- with periods as short as about 8 hours have been found. ing of their transits. The masses of dozens of Kepler planets, including some not much larger than Earth and others What Are Exoplanets Made Of? with orbital periods of up to a few months, have been mea- To find out what a planet is made of—and whether it is sured by studying the transit timing variations (TTVs) pro- rocky, Earth-like, and potentially capable of supporting duced by these perturbations.

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 15 Eric Lopez, University of Edinburgh Eric Lopez,

Fig. 3. Mass-radius diagram for planets with masses less than 20 times the mass of Earth, along with theoretical curves for different compositions. Planets are color-coded by incident flux of starlight as a multiple of the sunlight intercepted by Earth. Kepler planets are shown by solid circles; other exoplanets are shown by open squares. For comparison, Venus and Earth (lower left), Uranus (center), and Neptune (center right) are indicated by their planetary symbols. The maroon curve is for Earth-like composition, the blue curve is for pure water, and the orange curve is for an envelope of a 1% hydrogen-to-helium ratio atop a core of (bulk) Earth composition.

These measurements have revealed a class of planets The multitransiting systems observed by Kepler provide astronomers didn’t know existed: low-mass, gas-rich a large and very rich data set of short-period planets (with worlds. In fact, most planets with radii between 2 and orbits cycling every few days to several months, in Earth 8 times that of Earth and orbital periods less than 100 days terms) that can be used to powerfully test theoretical pre- have quite low density, indicating that most of the planets’ dictions of the formation and evolution of planetary sys- volume is filled with hydrogen and helium gas. However, tems. For one, the sheer number of Kepler multis implies using mass measurements, scientists know that heavier that such systems with multiple close-in planets are com- elements must comprise the vast majority of the masses of mon, with about 5% of stars having two or more planets most of these large and light worlds. that are at least 1.5 times as large as Earth and that com- There appears to be a fuzzy boundary between Earth- plete full orbits in less than 100 Earth days. like rocky worlds with a thin atmosphere and these mini- Candidate systems with two or more transiting planets Saturns with large, fluffy layers of gas. The data currently seem to orbit close to the same plane [Fabrycky et al., 2014], suggest that the upper end of the boundary region between suggesting mutual inclinations similar to our solar system. rocky and other planets is at about 1.6 times the size of Orbits are nearly circular, with typical eccentricities of only Earth (Figure 3). However, mass data remain sparse, are a few percent. This ellipticity is similar to our solar system measurable only for planets around very bright stars, and but small compared to those of most giant exoplanets with suffer from detectability biases, so it remains unclear orbital periods of more than 10 days. where the lower end of this boundary region lies. How Common Are Planets Like Earth? Multiplanetary Systems Although Kepler has discovered planets smaller than Kepler was designed to search for small planets in the hab- Earth, these are hot worlds orbiting close to their stars or itable zone, but its ultraprecise, long-duration photometry orbit stars much smaller than our Sun. Probably the best is also ideal for finding systems with multiple transiting Earth analogue to date is Kepler-62f, which is 40% larger planets (multis). Kepler has discovered more than 690 than Earth and therefore has a fairly good chance of being candidate multis, almost all of which represent true rocky. The exoplanet orbits a star about 30% smaller than multiple-planet systems. the Sun at the right distance to have liquid water on its

16 // Eos 1 October 2015 These findings will continue to improve our understanding of how rare or ubiquitous planets like Earth are in our galaxy.

surface if it has an Earth-like atmosphere. Another possi- from entering the telescope. Since Kepler typically needs to ble Earth analogue is Kepler-186f, intermediate in size see two or three transits before declaring a signal to be a between Earth and Kepler-62f. This orb is likely to be potential planet, it is primarily discovering planets with rocky, but it orbits a much smaller star and thus is likely orbital periods of less than 30 days. to be in a tougher environment for life as we know it to The European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft, launched flourish. in 2013, is also aiding exoplanet scientists by helping to As scientists continue to analyze the Kepler data, they determine the distances to Kepler planet–hosting stars expect to find hundreds if not thousands of additional very accurately, enabling better estimates of their sizes and Kepler planet candidates. In addition, better estimates of therefore of the sizes of their planets. Gaia will also dis- stellar parameters will lead to more accurate values for cover new planets, primarily massive ones with orbital planetary sizes. Many more candidates will be verified as periods of 1 to a few years around nearby stars, from planets, and some of the false positives will be removed observing the wobble that these planets induce in the from the candidate pool. Many of the planets will be char- positions of their stars on the sky. acterized better through future observations and analysis Kepler will soon have a true spiritual successor: The of TTVs. Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, a NASA As the numbers improve, scientists will seek to better mission scheduled to launch in 2017, will scan the entire quantify the fraction of stars hosting Earth analogues. This sky for transiting planets around the nearest and brightest is of great interest to astrobiologists—it’s an important stars. Their brightness means that the planets TESS dis- step in determining how common the conditions for life covers will be easier targets for follow-up observations are in the galaxy. from the ground and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Prior to Kepler, the best estimates on the number of (to launch in 2018). Earth analogues were based not on data but on theoretical TESS will observe Kepler planets during a portion of its models of planet formation. So far, Kepler has provided mission, which will allow it to collect more observations very good estimates of the abundance of Earth-sized plan- of TTVs for those targets. This will be very useful; having ets only for those near their stars, which are easier to TTVs that span a large range of time greatly improves the detect. Extrapolating these numbers suggests that Earth accuracy of the measurements of the masses and orbital analogues are fairly common, albeit far from ubiquitous. characteristics of the planets. Planetary Transits and As data analysis proceeds, however, scientists will find Oscillations of Stars (PLATO), a European mission sched- more longer-period planet candidates, and good figures for uled for launch by 2024, will also take additional TTV the abundance of Earth-sized planets will probably be measurements for Kepler targets, as will ground-based available for those with orbiting periods out to 100 days. At telescopes. periods of 1 year, good abundances will probably be avail- These findings will continue to improve our understanding able for planets twice the size of Earth. of the masses and radii of rocky exoplanets—and ulti- These data will allow much better estimates of the num- mately how rare or ubiquitous planets like Earth are in our ber of Earth analogues, requiring less extrapolation. Some galaxy. extrapolation will still be necessary and will extend in two directions: upward in period for Earth-size planets and References downward in size for planets with orbital periods similar to Batalha, N. M. (2014), Exploring exoplanet populations with NASA’s Kepler Mission, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 111, 12,647–12,654. that of Earth. This will provide a consistency check on Borucki, W. J., et al. (2010), Kepler Planet-Detection Mission: Introduction and first results, results. Science, 327, 977–980. Fabrycky, D. C., et al. (2014), Architecture of Kepler’s multi-transiting systems: II. New What’s Next for Exoplanet Studies? investigations with twice as many candidates, Astrophys. J., 790, 146. Koch, D. G., et al. (2010), Kepler mission design, realized photometric performance, and Although the hobbled Kepler spacecraft cannot observe early science, Astrophys. J., 713, L79–L86. its original star field any longer, its engineers were able to Lissauer, J. J., R. I. Dawson, and S. Tremaine (2014), Advances in exoplanet science from reconfigure the craft for a new mission, dubbed K2, to Kepler, Nature, 513, 336–344. Marcy, G. W., et al. (2014), Masses, radii, and orbits of small Kepler planets: The transition continue its search for other worlds. With only two good from gaseous to rocky planets, Astrophys. J. Suppl., 210, 20. reaction wheels, the craft can maintain the necessary sta- Mayor, M., and D. Queloz (1995), A Jupiter-mass companion to a solar-type star, Nature, bility along only two axes. To remain stable enough to 378, 355–359. Wolszczan, A., and D. A. Frail (1992),A planetary system around the millisecond pulsar take good data, Kepler must point nearly parallel to its PSR1257+12, Nature, 355, 145–147. orbital path around the Sun so that sunlight falls on it evenly and the resulting pressure doesn’t send the space- Author Information craft into a spin. By Jack J. Lissauer, Space Science and Astrobiology Division, K2 can study a specific patch of sky for up to 83 days—at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.; email: jack which point the spacecraft must rotate to prevent sunlight [email protected]

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 17 Using Earth and space science and cloud computing to advance community solutions Call for Projects

Submit your proposal for a project that uses cloud computing and Earth and space science to advance solutions to community challenges related to natural resources, climate change, and natural hazards.

Deadline: 16 October 2015

Teams that propose winning solutions will: • Receive $15,000 in grant funds to use Amazon Web Services’ on-demand cloud services with support to move their solutions to the cloud • Receive free registration to the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting • Share their projects at a live event Helping Early-Career Researchers

For more details and to submit your proposal visit: thrivingearthexchange.org/sharing-solutions SUCCEED

In association with: ©Katie Pratt/Deep Carbon Observatory Early Career Scientists Workshop 2015 Pratt/Deep Carbon Observatory Early Career Scientists Workshop ©Katie

Early-career scientists sample the hydrothermal field in Furnas Volcano in the Azores. Helping Early-Career Researchers SUCCEED By Harmony V. Colella, Derek L. Schutt, Danielle F. Sumy, and Andrew M. Frassetto

he early years of a scientist’s career are no doubt some of the most demanding. As scientists transition from senior graduate students through postdoctoral fellowships and into pretenure faculty positions or to employment opportunities outside of academia, they are faced with a multi- tude of challenges. These junior scientists must develop as independent researchers Twhile also establishing new collaborations. Many must also adapt to the

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 19 Early-career investigators expressed appreciation for exposure to a variety of workforce options, as discussions at their home institutions tend to focus primarily on academic careers.

classroom, despite the limited teacher training available in The career-focused workshops have been very popular. graduate school. However, many receive little mentoring Notably, ECIs have repeatedly expressed their appreciation and guidance during this difficult transition period. to workshop conveners for the exposure to a variety of In an effort to help newly minted scientists, researchers, workforce options, as discussions at their home institu- and educators succeed, the Incorporated Research Institu- tions tend to focus primarily on academic careers. tions for Seismology (IRIS) Consortium created an early- career investigator (ECI) working group in late 2011. Its Tackling Career Obstacles mission is to organize practical resources and professional The working group also organized fora that tackled other development opportunities for ECIs (see http://www.iris issues of importance, such as funding opportunities, fea- .edu/hq/eci). turing presentations from a NSF program officer, as well as Over the past 4 years, the working group has strived to the ever-present concern of “work-life balance,” featuring build a network among ECIs to generate new collabora- panelists spanning different stages in an academic career tions, bring awareness of nonacademic career paths, and (postdoctoral researchers to full professors). create a centralized set of research and educational In 2014, IRIS co-organized a webinar and a luncheon resources that ECIs can share. Through a series of lecture- with the geodesy consortium UNAVCO. The webinar, which ships and joint partnerships, the working group has also aired 2 weeks before AGU’s Fall Meeting, focused on best sought to increase the visibility of ECIs and their research practices in scientific communications to prepare ECIs for and has promoted mentorship and collaboration between the luncheon. During the luncheon at AGU’s Fall Meeting, junior and senior scientists. roughly 30 ECIs presented 2-minute “elevator talks” on their research, which were immediately followed by dis- Charting a Career Path cussion among the attendees about research challenges To grow the ECI community, provide a forum for in-depth and potential collaborations. discussion, and disseminate information to a broader audi- AGU meetings have also provided a great opportunity for ence, the working group organized mini-workshops and the working group to reach across the geophysics and geol- discussions at several national meetings, including those ogy subfields to showcase its work and initiatives. At hosted by AGU, IRIS, and the National Science Founda- AGU’s 2012 Fall Meeting, we held an ECI luncheon cospon- tion’s (NSF) EarthScope program. Up to 70 ECIs attended sored by the national offices of EarthScope and the NSF- each event, which exposed participants to the working supported Geodynamic Processes at Rifting and Subducting group’s initiatives and resources, provided insight into Margins (GeoPRISMS) initiative. various career paths, and better informed working group The luncheon was advertised via a variety of listservs, organizers about the needs of the community. Facebook, Eos, and word of mouth. The primary purpose Career-oriented fora have included discussions with involved encouraging interdisciplinary networking among more senior researchers in diverse academic and govern- the roughly 60 attendees, whose fields spanned a broad ment careers, such as those at research universities, range of geoscience disciplines. This enabled ocean- and undergraduate institutions, and the U.S. Geological Survey. land-based geologists and geophysicists, from geochem- The panelists discussed the expectations at their type of ists to geophysicists, to explore collaborative amphibious institution and shared their personal obstacles to achieve projects based on field location or research site. tenure. Events also focused on nonacademic career paths. About A Portal to Resources 45 ECIs attended a workshop held before the 2013 Earth- The ECI working group also strives to share its online Scope National Meeting in Raleigh, N.C., where a geophys- resources. It created a website (see http://www.iris.edu/hq/ icist from British Petroleum provided an insider’s view of eci) and mailing list and established a social media pres- the challenges and rewards of a career at a major oil com- ence via Facebook and Twitter to collect and distribute var- pany. Roughly 30 ECIs attended a workshop before the ious ECI-related resources. 2014 IRIS meeting, where representatives from the Ameri- The website collects and organizes relevant community can Geosciences Institute and Department of Energy high- resources. These include profiles of posttenure seismolo- lighted the plethora of job opportunities available outside gists and geodesists who volunteered to serve as mentors, of academia, including in science writing, public policy, abstracts from ECIs who are available to present depart- and consulting. Throughout each event, speakers fielded mental colloquia, a list of notable funding opportunities, candid questions about the challenges and successes one and links to other resources such as the seismology code might experience in such careers. repository developed by IRIS Data Services.

20 // Eos 1 October 2015 Anaïs Férot (GeoPRISMS)

Graduate students and faculty participate in a field trip to the Newark rift basin, held the day before the GeoPRISMS Planning Workshop for the East Afri- can Rift System in Morristown, N.J., in October 2012. Here participants examine a normal fault developed in Late Triassic mudstone in Kintnersville, Pa.

As a result of popular demand from the community, we We plan to solicit course materials for other common continue to offer regular ECI-centric webinars, which focus classes that tenure-track ECIs teach during their first year, on topics that span technical software tutorials, proper such as geodynamics or geophysics. An important compo- presentation of scientific lectures, how to navigate federal nent of this effort is that the repository database will ini- funding agencies, and best research-based teaching prac- tially be password protected, with the hope that full tices. The webinars are streamed live with interactive courses will be submitted for curation. As courses are question-and-answer sessions and can be viewed on improved by users and modifications are uploaded, we plan the IRIS Education and Public Outreach YouTube channel to turn highly downloaded courses into community-based (http://bit.ly/IRIS_YT), where they are permanently courses that will be publicly available (minus any home- archived. ECI-centric webinars have quickly become the work or test keys). most popular of all IRIS webinars. To our knowledge, such a teaching resource is unprece- dented in academia, and its implementation will be closely A Course Repository for ECIs monitored by IRIS and the ECI working group to evaluate Instructors invest a significant amount of time in proper its success. course and curriculum preparation. This process is especially burdensome for ECIs who must develop courses for Helping ECIs Form Collaborations the first time. To ease the workload, the working group is One of the most important tasks for ECIs’ career advance- building a curated community course repository with ment involves reaching out to the greater geoscience com- materials that will range from complete courses to individ- munity by dissemination of their research results and ual exercises. establishing collaborations at other institutions. Some of Through this repository, ECIs will be able to download a the best opportunities to do both arise from invitations whole course on seismology, for instance, which would from other departments to give colloquia talks, which include lecture notes, homework, and test keys. Alterna- allow researchers to present their work and have face-to- tively, they could augment an existing course by down- face time with potential collaborators. loading an independent laboratory exercise about focal However, ECIs are being shut out from these opportuni- mechanisms or moment tensors, for instance. The reposi- ties under the current economic climate, in which many tory, which will be housed on the IRIS website, will start universities are under strict budget constraints that rarely with the course “Introduction to Seismology.” More cover the travel costs of distant colloquium speakers. Fur- advanced course materials will be added gradually once thermore, those who typically organize a department’s this example course is complete. colloquia often fail to recognize ECIs as potential speakers

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 21 because they lack name recognition. The lack of speaking opportunities not only hurts ECIs but also deprives departments of exposure to new blood and fresh ideas. Today’s ECI must understand To address this challenge, the working group piloted two programs in 2014 to help ECIs develop new collaborations the challenges that lie across the member institutions of the IRIS Consortium. In the inaugural year, five ECIs were awarded fund- matching ahead, particularly given the lectureships to travel to another institution as a colloquium speaker, with extra time allotted (up to 1 week) to weak domestic economic, develop new collaborations. Under the second program, two ECIs were awarded extended stays of up to a month to government funding, and collaborate with and learn from a senior scientist with complementary skills and give a colloquium talk. employment climate. The ECIs funded by the program reported that new collaborations were indeed established, which resulted in meaningful science and proposal opportunities. Of the five ECI colloquium speakers, three submitted proposals ECIs to working group organizers indicates that ECIs know to the NSF, and one presented preliminary results at the too little about employment opportunities outside of aca- 2014 Seismological Society of America meeting in demia and the energy industry. Additionally, ECIs request Anchorage, Alaska. Two additional proposals were sub- guidance and resources on how the skills and expertise mitted to NSF by ECIs who had extended junior- senior acquired in graduate school are applicable to the widest scientist visits. range of careers. The IRIS ECI working group continues to address these topics through workshops at annual meet- Moving Forward ings and webinars. Today’s ECI must understand the challenges that lie ahead, ECIs have requested that IRIS develop a formal mentor- particularly given the weak domestic economic, govern- ing program that pairs young geoscientists with mentors ment funding, and employment climate. Feedback from within their discipline. Ideally, the program would be a tiered mentor network that consists of an undergraduate student, graduate student, postdoctoral researcher, pretenure faculty, and senior scientist. Such a program is also AGU Author Webinar: ideal for a mentor training program, which could be done within, or across, several NSF- funded programs (e.g., How to Publish Your Research EarthScope, GeoPRISMS, or IRIS).

Expanding to Other Geoscience Disciplines 9 October 2015 • 2:00 p.m. EDT Many of the concerns and potential resources described here are not specific to the solid Earth sciences, and the activities Attend this 60-minute webinar to hear we have described are transferable to other disciplines. AGU editors discuss the benefits of Other geoscience organizations and consortiums should publishing with AGU, how to navigate the consider a focused effort to develop resources for ECIs. peer-review process, and review AGU’s Furthermore, it would be beneficial to develop interdis- guide to publication ethics. ciplinary resources that many different scientific communities and networks can share. This “across the aisle” col- Register today laboration is particularly important in today’s increasingly to hear from limited funding environment, where collaborative research proposals that focus on interdisciplinary research are often Mary-Elana Carr, Editor, more competitive. Global Biogeochemical Cycles The ECI working group is open to collaborations and Brooks Hanson, partnerships with other consortiums, organizations, or groups to expand the reach of and increase the resources Director of Publications, available to ECIs. We hope to work together to build a American Geophysical Union large- scale, geoscience- centric ECI organization to aid the Robert Pincus, Editor in Chief, success of ECIs, no matter what path they pursue. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems (JAMES) Author Information Harmony V. Colella, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe; previously at Department of Geological Sciences, Miami University of Ohio, Oxford; Register at wileyauthors.com/webinars email:[email protected]; Derek L. Schutt, Department of Geosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins; and Danielle F. Sumy and Andrew M. Frassetto, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), Washington, D. C.

22 // Eos 1 October 2015 AGU NEWS AGU recognizes and thanks our Organizational Partners for their generous support. AGU, ESA Foster Network This support helps AGU further develop and Collaborations expand programs and opportunities for members. JoAnna Wendel Eric Davidson and Jill Baron hold the official citation celebrating the partnership between AGU and the Ecological Society of America.

cientists, educators, program directors, and students gathered 10 August to celebrate the new partnership between the Ecological S Society of America (ESA) and AGU. The partnership aims to foster collaboration opportunities among research networks on global, conti- nental, and regional scales. The evening event, the first official joint gathering between ESA and AGU, was held at ESA’s 100th annual meeting in Baltimore, Md. It brought together representatives from several research networks— including the Critical Zone Observatories, the Long Term Ecological Research Network, and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)—to “demonstrate the synergies among those networks and the synergies between the science of AGU and ESA,” Eric Davidson, AGU president-elect and director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science, told Eos. Representatives from the various research networks explained how the networks can be used for collaboration across regional and global scales. With opportunities for scientists to work together “across the different science activities and data structures, we start becoming more and more interoperable,” said Russ Lea, the chief executive officer of NEON. *As of 10 September, 2015 With this partnership, “we can start taking the data from one side against another side against another location and start building hypoth- AGU‘s organizational partnership program develops eses,” he said. When Jill Baron, a past president of ESA and current researcher at the relationships with organizations that align with AGU’s U.S. Geological Survey, asked how many audience members were also values of unselfish cooperation in research and the AGU members, the majority of attendees raised their hands. highest standards of scientific integrity, while maintaining “These are truly societies that are joined beautifully between under- AGU’s reputation. These organizations share a vested standing the aboveground ecosystems and the belowground ecosystems, and that [partnership] will only grow,” Baron said in response to the interest in and commitment to advancing and raised hands. communicating science and its power to ensure a Davidson also presented Baron with an official citation from AGU sustainable future. celebrating the newly formed partnership.

By JoAnna Wendel, Staff Writer

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 23 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Global Warming Intensifies Drought Conditions in California 0) SA 2.0 (http://bit.ly/ccbysa2- 2.0 SA Elena Aravina, CC BY-

“Bathtub rings” around California’s Lake Oroville show just how far the waters have receded.

he Golden State earned its name for the precious metal, but for clude that “anthropogenic warming is estimated to have accounted for the agricultural giant, the most precious commodity of all might 8–27% of the observed drought anomaly in 2012–2014 and 5–18% in T be water. The recent drought dealt a heavy blow to western 2014.” states, which manifested in groundwater depletion, fields left fallow, The researchers found that the current droughts naturally occur but tree die-offs, and the latest rise in wildfires. The 2012–2014 drought got intensified by the rise in global temperatures since 1901. Although broke records in California’s key agricultural regions, and conditions in lack of precipitation is still the primary driver of drought, anthropo- 2014 were record-breaking statewide. genic warming has resulted in a significant trend toward drought and A recent study evaluates the role of anthropogenic climate change on has increased the probability of severe drought overall. these severe drought conditions. The new insight is fundamental to The trend toward drought emerged because warming disrupts the better protecting communities and ecosystems that depend on Califor- natural climate variability that would normally offset drying. Warming nia’s most precious resource. Decreasing soil moisture, lowering river since the early 1900s causes an additional 9 centimeters of annual levels, and diminishing groundwater reserves could be disastrous for evaporation during a given year, effectively making each raindrop or the state, especially in the Central Valley, the primary agricultural snowflake less valuable to humans and ecosystems because it is more region that relies on steady irrigation. readily evaporated. Williams et al. drew data from the Palmer drought severity index, a With warming projected to continue throughout the 21st century, proxy for drought conditions that calculates near-surface soil moisture this study highlights the need for long-term planning to improve from precipitation and temperature records. They looked at records drought resilience. A steadily warming planet will have profound local between 1901 and 2014 to identify the impact of rising global tempera- impacts that require conscientious resource management to safeguard tures on drought severity. The team also worked to distinguish natural lives and livelihoods. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1002/ temperature variability from anthropogenic warming. The authors con- 2015GL064924, 2015) —Lily Strelich, Freelance Writer

24 // Eos 1 October 2015 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Surface Climate Processes Keep Earth’s Energy Balance in Check

umping up atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels causes tem- Previous research has shown that these same processes operate at peratures to rise across Earth’s surface. This direct climate cor- the planet’s surface and can drive fluctuations in surface tempera- Brelation is well established, but measuring CO2 levels is not tures, the water cycle, and weather patterns that have direct impacts enough to build accurate climate models. Making precise predictions of on humans and the environment. But uncertainties in the strength temperature and weather patterns around the globe requires models and structure of surface energy responses remained. Recently, Col- that incorporate what scientists call feedbacks, an array of secondary man aimed to create a more comprehensive picture of the radiative changes that can amplify or diminish climate change. feedbacks operating at Earth’s surface when CO2 levels steeply As Earth warms, it radiates heat back into space, creating a negative climb. feedback. But extra moisture in the air acts to trap outgoing radiation, Colman used a global circulation model to examine surface radiation further increasing the temperature. When the Earth’s atmosphere changes under scenarios in which CO2 was doubled or quadrupled. He absorbs more energy than it reflects or releases, the planet warms and found that changes in cloud formation, relative humidity, and latent vice versa. Taken together, these processes direct radiative forcing, or heat flux all contributed to a rapid response in surface energy. Ulti- the overall balance of energy, to keep energy gains and losses in equi- mately, the study showed that as Earth’s surface warms, extra radia- librium. tion trapping from increased water vapor will exceed direct surface Traditionally, scientists have studied the processes behind these radiative cooling, driving a net increase in evaporation. gains and losses in energy where the action happens—at the top of Overall, his findings indicate that feedback processes at Earth’s Earth’s atmosphere. There the feedback processes at work to keep the surface differ widely from those at the top of Earth’s atmosphere, amount of energy lost and gained in equilibrium determine global tem- where they’re commonly measured. (Journal of Geophysical Research: peratures. Atmospheres, doi:10.1002/2014jd022896, 2015) —Eric Betz, Freelance Writer

Refining Solar Wind Models to Better Predict Space Weather

n the early 1970s, Apollo astronauts The team com- employed X-ray telescopes on board Sky- pared predictions I lab to continuously track coronal holes on they made using the our Sun for the first time. Their images original relationship showed dark areas with unusually low tem- to a new version of peratures and densities where our star’s mag- the model that cal- netic field reached out into space instead of culates solar wind looping back, allowing particles to stream out speed by measuring from the Sun. During most of the 11-year the perpendicular solar cycle, these holes only cover the Sun’s distance to the coro- polar caps, but in active periods, the holes can nal hole boundary. exist anywhere. The model also maps Two decades of observations built on the solar wind trajecto- Skylab results, and in 1990, that research ries out from the allowed astronomers from the Naval Research Sun’s visible surface Laboratory to tie solar wind speed to the to the edge of its expansion factor of the Sun’s magnetic field corona—the Sun’s lines. This model, first suggested by Wang outer atmosphere— and Sheeley, still underpins space weather and even out to forecasts today, helping the National Oceanic Earth. and Atmospheric Administration predict Their technique background solar wind speeds and Earth’s showed better agree- NASA/SDO/AIA magnetic field. ment between This coronal hole–roughly 30 times wider than Earth–dominated the Sun’s surface in Now Riley et al. suggest that models have observations and June 2011. The solar magnetic field is open-ended in these dark regions, allowing high- evolved so much that the expansion factor models than with the speed solar winds to stream into space. underlying the 25-year-old observed rela- original relationship tionship might no longer be needed. Instead, alone. The team also the authors suggest that solar wind speed suggests that by studying various predictions wind itself. (Space Weather, doi:10.1002/ might be dependent on the distance from the made by each model, scientists might be able 2014SW001144, 2015) —Eric Betz, Freelance coronal hole boundary. to better understand the origin of the solar Writer

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 25 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Atmospheric Sciences Applications and nominations will Princeton University is an equal AGU’s Career Center is be considered until the positions are opportunity employer and all qualified the main resource for Associate Professional Specialist/ filled; however, applications should be applicants will receive consideration received by October 31, 2015 to ensure for employment without regard to race, recruitment advertising. Professional Specialist Position in Intraseasonal-to-Decadal Real-time full consideration. Applicants should color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, Predictions and Predictability submit a cover letter, one to two page gender identity, disability status, pro- All Positions Available and Research statements on research and teaching tected veteran status, or any other additional job postings In collaboration with NOAA’s Geo- interests, curriculum vitae, and the characteristic protected by law. can be viewed at physical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory names of four references. https://eos.org/jobs-support. (GFDL), the Atmospheric and Oceanic CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer. Geochemistry Sciences Program at Princeton Univer- Colorado State University conducts AGU offers printed recruitment sity is seeking candidates with a strong background checks on all final candi- Lecturer, Department of Geosciences advertising in Eos to reinforce computational and technical back- dates. College of Sciences and Mathemat- your online job visibility and ground to fill an associate professional ics, Auburn University your brand. specialist/professional specialist posi- Postdoctoral Scientist in “Multi- The Department of Geosciences at tion. Decadal Internal Climate Variability Auburn University invites applications Contact [email protected] Candidates will join a vibrant and Its Role in Climate Change” for a 9-month non-tenure track faculty for more information about research team and play a leading role in The Atmospheric and Oceanic Sci- position in Geology beginning January reserving an online job posting supporting real-time seasonal fore- ences Program at Princeton University, 1st, 2016. The position is a one-year with a printed Eos recruitment casting of climate using complex mod- in cooperation with NOAA’s Geophysi- appointment subject to annual review advertisement. els simulating the Earth system. The cal Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), based on performance and funding. position will require performing pre- seeks a postdoctoral scientist for The candidate should be pedagogically dictions every month, as well as research related to multi-decadal trained to teach courses in economic research into predictability. This will internal (natural) climate variability geology and geochemistry. LINE LISTING RATES: involve configuration, running and and its potential role in explaining Applicants must have either a Ph.D. analysis of state-of-the-art coupled observed climate changes. A key focus or M.S. in Geology/Geoscience with ➢ $0.32 per character for climate models running on supercom- is to improve understanding of the role demonstrable teaching experience. puters. of low frequency internal climate vari- The successful candidate will teach two $0.26 per character for Initial appointment is for one year ability in the current “hiatus” in global or more lecture sections and possibly ➢ first issue of publication each additional issue of with the possibility of renewal subject warming, as well as previous hiatus one or more lab sections per term, and publication to satisfactory performance and avail- and accelerated-warming periods serve as laboratory coordinator for his/ able funding. Some amount of travel during the 20th century. Such under- her labs. Required qualifications STUDENT OPPORTNITY (to conferences or workshops) may be standing plays an important role in the include excellent written and interper- required. Salary commensurate with detection and attribution of observed sonal communication skills. The can- RATES: experience. climate changes. The research will use didate selected for the position must Complete applications, including a various approaches to understand the meet eligibility requirements to work ➢ No Cost up to 500 characters CV, copies of recent publications, physical mechanisms causing the in the United States at the time the names and contact information for at observed decadal changes including appointment begins. ➢ $0.16 per character over least 3 references are required in order quantification of contributions from Review of applications will begin to solicit letters of recommendation; both internal climate variability and October 15th, 2015, and will continue issue of publication applications should be submitted by responses of the climate system to var- until a suitable applicant is found. 500 characters for first October 15, 2015 for full consideration. ious natural and anthropogenic forcing Applicants should submit curriculum ➢ $0.16 per character Applicants should apply online to agents (e.g., greenhouse gases, aero- vitae, a letter of application (1-2 pages) for each additional issue http://jobs.princeton.edu, Requisition sols, and volcanic eruptions). The describing teaching philosophy and of publication #1500566. For additional information, research will make extensive use of experience, and the names and contact contact Gabriel Vecchi (gabriel.a both observations and a variety of information of at least three refer- TO VIEW ALL EMPLOYMENT [email protected]). modeling tools. The selected candidate ences. DISPLAY AD SIZES, VISIT This position is subject to the Uni- will have a Ph.D. and one or more of In order to apply for this position and versity’s background check policy. the following attributes: (a) a strong view full details, please visit our online http://sites.agu.org/ Princeton University is an equal oppor- background in climate/ocean dynamics website at http://aufacultypositions media-kits/files/2014/ tunity employer and all qualified appli- or coupled air-sea interactions, (b) .peopleadmin .com/postings/1195. 12/Eos-Employment- cants will receive consideration for experience conducting and analyzing Applicants are encouraged to visit Advertising.pdf employment without regard to race, coupled climate model experiments, the AU website to learn more about color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and (c) strong diagnostic skills in ana- Auburn University and the Department Eos is published semi-monthly ➢ gender identity, national origin, dis- lyzing simulated and observed data of Geosciences (http://www.auburn. on the 1st and 15th of every ability status, protected veteran status, sets. edu/academic/cosam/departments/ month. Deadlines for ads or any other characteristic protected by This is a two-year position (subject geosciences/). in each issue are published law. to renewal after the first year contin- Auburn University is an EEO/VET/ at http://sites.agu.org/ gent upon satisfactory performance Disability Employer media-kits/eos-advertising- COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY and funding availability) based at deadlines/. ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE TENURE GFDL/NOAA in Princeton, New Jersey. Postdoctoral researcher in stable TRACK FACULTY POSITIONS COL- Complete applications, including a CV, isotope geochemistry Eos accepts employment and ➢ LEGE OF ENGINEERING publication list, names of 3 references A postdoctoral position in stable open position advertisements The Department of Atmospheric for letters of recommendation, and a isotope geochemistry is available in the from governments, individuals, Science at Colorado State University one-to-two page statement of research Department of Earth, Planetary, and organizations, and academic invites applications for two ten- interests should be submitted. Review Space Sciences at UCLA. The successful institutions. We reserve the ure-track faculty positions at the assis- of applications will begin as soon as candidate will join a burgeoning team right to accept or reject ads at tant or associate professor level. We they are received and continue until dedicated to developing novel isotopic our discretion. solicit candidates in the research areas the position is filled. Applicants should molecular tracers using the unique

of (1) clouds and mesoscale processes, apply online to http://jobs.princeton. high-mass-resolution gas-source is not responsible for ➢ Eos and (2) surface-atmosphere interac- edu, Requisition #1500509. For addi- mass spectrometer housed in the typographical errors. tions - with expertise in land-atmo- tional information on the position, Department (Panorama). Emphasis sphere coupling preferred. please contact Rong Zhang (Rong. will be placed on studies related to the * Print-only recruitment ads will only be allowed for those whose requirements Further information about the open [email protected]) or Tom Knutson provenance of methane gas in a broad include that positions must be advertised positions and details on how to apply ([email protected]). This posi- spectrum of settings, but the new labo- in a printed/paper medium. can be found at http://jobs.colostate. tion is subject to the University’s back- ratory offers opportunities for studies edu/postings/17728. ground check policy. of rare isotopologues for a range of

26 // Eos 1 October 2015 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

molecular species and isotope systems. expertise. An interest in participating try to live and work, with a highly edu- lution global climate models. The We seek an individual with experience in the Department’s capstone under- cated workforce, moderate weather, selected candidate will have one or in isotope ratio mass spectrometry and graduate coastal processes field course reasonable cost of living, and a wel- more of the following attributes: (a) a the creativity and motivation to also is desirable. MEAS places a high coming environment. A collaborative, strong background in physical ocean- develop new analytical techniques and value on excellent instruction and the supportive environment for business ography, climate dynamics, or a closely novel avenues of inquiry. use of innovative teaching methods. and innovation and research collabora- related field; (b) experience using and To apply, please forward you resume Located within the College of Sci- tions with area universities and the analyzing advanced climate models to: To Professor Ed Young at EYoung@ ences at NC State, MEAS is one of the Research Triangle Park are compelling and ocean observational datasets, and epss.ucla.edu largest interdisciplinary geoscience reasons for relocation to the area. NC (c) strong diagnostic skills in analyzing departments in the nation. Opportuni- State is an equal opportunity and affir- large data sets. Ocean Sciences ties exist for disciplinary and interdis- mative action employer. All qualified Candidate must have a PhD. Initial ciplinary interactions with more than applicants will receive consideration appointment is for one year with the Department of Marine, Earth, and 30 marine, earth and atmospheric sci- for employment without regard to race, possibility of renewal subject to satis- Atmospheric Sciences Assistant Pro- entists. MEAS is one of six depart- color, national origin, religion, sex, factory performance and available fessor - Marine Microbiology ments across three colleges with a sexual orientation, age, veteran status, funding. The Department of Marine, Earth, presence at the NC State Center for or disability. Applications from Complete applications, including a and Atmospheric Sciences (MEAS) at Marine Sciences and Technology women, minorities, and persons with CV, publication list, at least 3 letters of North Carolina State University (NC (CMAST), a coastal and marine science disabilities are encouraged. recommendation, and a statement of State) is seeking to fill a tenure-track research facility located on Bogue research interests should be submitted faculty position at the Assistant Pro- Sound in Morehead City, NC. Addi- Postdoctoral Research Associate in by October 15, 2015 for full consider- fessor level in the area of marine tional information about the depart- Oceanic Variability, Predictability ation. Applicants should apply online microbiology. Expertise is desired in ment and its facilities can be found on and Change to http://jobs.princeton.edu, Requisi- prokaryote ecology and molecular the web page: http://www.meas.ncsu. The Atmospheric and Oceanic Sci- tion #1500567. For additional informa- diversity with interests in genetic and edu and http://www.cmast.ncsu.edu ences Program at Princeton University, tion, contact Gabriel Vecchi (gabriel.a. biogeochemical methods for examin- NC State also hosts large programs in in association with NOAA’s Geophysi- [email protected]). ing community composition and func- microbiology and biotechnology: cal Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), This position is subject to the Uni- tion in marine systems. Possible asso- http://www.microbiology.ncsu.edu/ & seeks a postdoctoral research associate versity’s background check policy. ciated research areas include: http://biotech.ncsu.edu/ and has or a more senior for research related to Princeton University is an equal oppor- biogeochemical-based ecosystem recently established the Center for intraseasonal-to-decadal oceanic vari- tunity employer and all qualified appli- modeling; climate change; elemental Geospatial Analytics: http://geospatial. ability, predictability and change. A key cants will receive consideration for cycling; extreme environments; food ncsu.edu. focus will be systematic comparison of employment without regard to race, safety/security/public health; or water Review of applications will begin on observations and dynamical models to color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, quality. A research focus on experi- 10 October 2015; the position will understand the character of and causes gender identity, national origin, dis- mental and field studies using state- remain open until filled. Applications, behind past changes to the ocean, with ability status, protected veteran status, of-the art molecular techniques is pre- including cover letters, curriculum focus on the impact of the ocean on or any other characteristic protected by ferred, as are experience and a strong vitae, teaching and research state- intraseasonal-to-decadal predictabil- law. interest in interdisciplinary collabora- ments, and contact information for ity. This would likely include assess- tions across and beyond the geosci- three references must be submitted ment of and modifications to coupled Postdoctoral Scientist in Ocean Mod- ences. online at https://jobs.ncsu.edu/ and ocean data-assimilation systems. elling The position is available 1 August postings/56255. This will include assessments of pre- The Atmospheric and Oceanic Sci- 2016. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. Founded in 1887, NC State is a land- dictability arising both from natural ences Program at Princeton University, degree in the oceanographic or related grant institution distinguished by its variability and radiative forcing in association with NOAA’s Geophysi- sciences. The successful candidate exceptional quality of research, teach- changes. The research will also exam- cal Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) must demonstrate strong potential for ing, extension, and public service. ine interactions between natural and the Department of Geophysical outstanding accomplishments in Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, NC decadal variability and the climate sys- Sciences at The University of Chicago, research, research supervision, and State is the largest university in North tem response to radiative forcing seeks a postdoctoral or more senior teaching. Specific course offerings may Carolina, with more than 34,000 stu- changes, including attribution of research associate for research related include undergraduate or graduate bio- dents and 8,000 faculty and staff. observed ocean changes. The research to the parameterization of mesoscale logical oceanography or marine micro- National rankings consistently rate will make extensive use of both obser- eddies in non-eddying and eddy-per- biology, or other classes commensurate Raleigh and its surrounding region vations and a variety of modeling tools, mitting numerical ocean models. The with the candidate’s interest and among the five best places in the coun- including newly developed high-reso- work will involve theoretical develop-

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 27 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

ments underpinning a sub-grid scale #1500697. For more information energy-based, resolution-aware eddy about the research project and applica- parameterization; implementation of tion process, please contact Alistair the sub-grid scale parameterization in Adcroft ([email protected]) and a numerical ocean general circulation Malte Jansen ([email protected]). model; and configuring, running and This position is subject to the Uni- analyzing ocean climate models to versity’s background check policy. assess the parameterization. Princeton University is an equal The ideal candidate has a strong opportunity employer and all qualified background in geophysical fluid applicants will receive consideration dynamics and physical oceanography, for employment without regard to race, as well as experience using and analyz- color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ing numerical models and/or large gender identity, disability status, pro- observational datasets. tected veteran status, or any other Candidates must have a PhD in characteristic protected by law. physical oceanography or a related field. Initial appointment is for one Solid Earth Geophysics year with the possibility of renewal subject to satisfactory performance and Brown University: DOF: Earth, Envi- available funding. The candidate is ronmental, and Planetary Sciences expected to spend the first six months Tenure-Track Faculty Position in at Princeton University, where they Geophysical Modeling will be introduced to working with the Location: Providence, RI ocean climate model, MOM6. Thereaf- The Department of Earth, Environ- ter, the candidate will be located at The mental and Planetary Sciences at University of Chicago, working both Brown University remotely with the ocean climate model (http:// http://www.brown.edu/ and locally on theoretical develop- academics/earth-environmental- ments and analysis. planetary-sciences/)invites applica- Complete applications, including a tions for a tenure-track faculty CV, a statement of research interests, appointment in Geophysical Model- and contact information of 3 references ing, including: mantle dynamics, should be submitted by November 15, thermo-mechanical properties of 2015 for full consideration. Applicants fluid/melt-rock systems, ice-sheet should apply online to http://jobs. and glacier dynamics, and deforma- princeton.edu, Requisition tion of the crust and lithosphere. Can- didates should complement and/or build on the Department’s current strengths in solid Earth and planetary geophysics that integrate observations and theory from seismology, geody- namical modeling, experimental studies of physical and kinetic properties of rocks and minerals, and geochemistry/petrology. Candidates are also encouraged to highlight potential links with our excellent programs in Applied Math, Computer Science and/ or Engineering Mechanics. The successful candidate will maintain an active, externally-funded research program and enjoy a commitment to teaching at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Qualifications Appointment will be at the Assis- tant Professor level. A Ph.D. degree is required, and postdoctoral experience is considered important. Application Instructions Applicants should forward a curriculum vita, descriptions of research and teaching interests, and contact information for at least three references to: apply.interfolio.com/31293 . Inquiries and other communications may be directed by email to: DEEPS@ Brown.edu. Applications received by October 21st, 2015 will receive full consideration, but the search will remain open until the position is closed or filled. The start date for this position is July 1st, 2016. For more information visit http:// http://www. brown.edu/academics/earth- environmental-planetary-sciences/ about/job-openings.

28 // Eos 1 October 2015 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Professor or Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) of Climate Geology

→ The Department of Earth Sciences (www.erdw.ethz.ch) at ETH Zurich invites applications for the above- mentioned position at the full, associate or assistant professor level.

→ The successful candidate is a leading scientist investigating climates of the geological past. He or she is expected to build a vigorous research program aimed at understanding climate and climate changes on times- cales from millennia to geological epochs, using geological or geochemical approaches and modern analytical techniques. The research program may, for example, focus on the coupling between climate and terrestrial and oceanic systems, the development and exploitation of climate proxies from the marine sediment record, or climate changes during mass extinction events. Ideally, the future professor would complement existing strengths in the geosciences and climate sciences at ETH Zurich. The teaching portfolio is expected to include undergraduate classes in Earth system sciences, sedimentology and participation in our field program; more advanced graduate classes may cover aspects of Earth’s climate, Earth history, and the use of proxies for infer- ences about past climates. The new professor will be expected to teach undergraduate level courses (German or English) and graduate level courses (English).

→ An assistant professorship promotes the careers of younger scientists. The initial appointment is for four years with the possibility of renewal for an additional three-year period and promotion to a permanent position.

→ Details regarding the application procedure and required documents can be found at www.erdw.ethz.ch/ en/department/jobs/professorships. Please submit your application addressed to the President of ETH Zurich, Prof. Dr. Lino Guzzella online at www.facultyaffairs. ethz.ch. ETH Zurich is an equal opportunity and family friendly employer and is further responsive to the needs of dual career couples. We specifically encourage women to apply.

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 29 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Interdisciplinary/Other include sedimentary geology, pale- ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EARTH geosciences, and geobiology. Research ontology and paleobiology, petro- AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES in atmospheric sciences is focused on ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EARTH leum geosciences and geobiology. (Hydrogeology/Groundwater Model- meteorological hazards, climate AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES Research in atmospheric sciences is ing) change, and remote sensing. Addi- (Exploration Geophysics) focused on meterological hazards, Applications are invited for a tenure tional information about our depart- Applications are invited for a ten- climate change, and remote sensing. track position as Assistant Professor in ment can be found on our web site: ure track position as Assistant Pro- Additional active research areas the Department of Earth and Atmo- http://eas.unl.edu. fessor in the Department of Earth and include Climate System Science, spheric Sciences at the University of To apply, go to http://employment. Atmospheric Sciences at the Univer- Geoscience Education and Hydrolog- Nebraska-Lincoln. The successful can- unl.edu, requisition # F_150187 and sity of Nebraska-Lincoln. The suc- ical sciences. Additional informa- didate will be expected to participate in complete the “faculty/administrative cessful candidate will be expected to tion about our department can be teaching and curricular development of form”. Applicants must attach a cover participate in teaching and curricular found on our web site: http://eas. undergraduate and graduate courses, to letter, curriculum vitae, statements of development of undergraduate and unl.edu. advise and direct graduate students, research and teaching interests, and graduate courses, to advise and direct To apply, go to http://employment and to develop a rigorous research pro- contact information for at least three graduate students, and to develop a .unl.edu, search for requisition gram that is supported by external references via the above website. We rigorous research program that is #F_150159 and complete the “fac- funding. It is expected that the will begin to review applications on supported by external funding. It is ulty/administrative form”. Appli- research program will focus on the October 31, 2015, but the position will expected that the research program cants must attach a cover letter, cur- responses of groundwater systems to remain open until it is filled. will include field and subsur- riculum vitae, statements of research climate change. Ability to contribute to The University of Nebraska is com- face-based studies of exploration and teaching interests, and names of multidisciplinary water and climate mitted to a pluralistic campus commu- geophysics. Ability to contribute to at least three references via the research efforts within Department of nity through affirmative action, equal growing petroleum geoscience-re- above website. We will begin to Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and opportunity, work-life balance, and lated teaching and research activities review applications on October 12, across the university will be considered dual careers. See http://www.unl.edu/ within the Department of Earth & but the position will remain open as an advantage. The candidate should equity/notice-nondiscrimination. Atmospheric Sciences will be consid- until it is filled. demonstrate strong potential for For further information, contact Dr. ered as an advantage. The candidate The University of Nebraska is research and teaching and must hold a Richard Kettler, Search Committee should demonstrate strong potential committed to a pluralistic campus Ph.D. in Geology, Hydrogeology, or a Chair by email, phone, or mail at: for research and teaching and must community through affirmative related field at the time of appoint- [email protected], 1-402-472-0882; hold a Ph.D. in Geology, Geophysics, action, equal opportunity, work-life ment. Department of Earth & Atmospheric or a related field at the time of balance, and dual careers. The Department of Earth and Atmo- Sciences, University of Nebraska- appointment. For further information, contact spheric Sciences offers B.S. degrees in Lincoln, 214 Bessey Hall, Lincoln NE The Department of Earth and Dr. Chris Fielding, Search Committee Geology and Meteorology-Climatology, 68588-0340. Atmospheric Sciences offers B.S. Chair by email, phone, or mail at: as well as M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in degrees in Geology and Meteorolo- [email protected], 1-402-472- Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Pri- EARTH & ENVIRONMENTAL Sciences gy-Climatology, as well as M.S. and 9801; Department of Earth & Atmo- mary research areas within the geolog- Lehigh University Ph.D. degrees in Earth and Atmo- spheric Sciences, University of ical sciences include hydrogeological Tenure Track Assistant Professor spheric Sciences. Primary research Nebraska-Lincoln, 214 Bessey Hall, sciences, sedimentary geology, paleon- Lehigh University invites applica- areas within the geological sciences Lincoln NE 68588-0340. tology and paleobiology, petroleum tions for a tenure track position in

30 // Eos 1 October 2015 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

earth and environmental sciences at with computer languages such as FOR- cipline at time of appointment is ences. The principal selection criteria the assistant professor level. Success- TRAN or C in a LINUX environment. required. for the fellow are scientific excellence ful candidates will have a PhD, research The position is available immediately We seek a dynamic researcher and and a clearly expressed research plan expertise that contributes to depart- and will run for approximately 1 year teacher who uses innovative field, lab- to address questions at the forefront of ment strengths through establishment with the possibility of extension pend- oratory and/or modeling approaches in Earth science, broadly defined. Addi- of an internationally recognized exter- ing availability of funding. Please send either targeted area. For sedimentol- tional details about the fellowship and nally funded research program, a com- a vita, bibliography and the names of ogy, we seek candidates with expertise the department can be found at http:// mitment to teaching at both under- three referees to Professor H. Jay in sandstone, mudstone or carbonate earthscience.rice.edu graduate and graduate levels, and a Melosh, Earth and Atmospheric Sci- sedimentary systems. For geophysics, Please send a cover letter, 3-pg documented commitment to diversity ences Department, 550 Stadium Mall we seek candidates with a specialty in research proposal, CV, and names of and inclusion. Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907, or to seismology or CSEM/MT methods. The four references to esci-postdoc@rice. Applications should submit a cover [email protected] by October 31, geophysics candidate’s main area of edu. The application deadline is letter, curriculum vitae, names and 2015. A background check is required research should be in imaging and November 1, 2015. contact information of three refer- for employment in this position. interpreting crust and lithospheric fea- Equal Opportunity Employer— ences, statements of research and Purdue University is an EEO/AA tures and whose interests include the Females/Minorities/Veterans/Disabled/ teaching interests, and a description of employer fully committed to achieving basin scale. A letter of application Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity experience and vision for enhancing a diverse workforce. All individuals, including contact information for three participation of traditionally underrep- including minorities, women, individ- references, vita, and short statements Student Opportunities resented groups to https:// uals with disabilities, and protected of research and teaching philosophies academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/5945. veterans are encouraged to apply. can be uploaded at http://www A Ph.D. Opportunity at Michigan To ensure full consideration the appli- .texastech.edu/careers/ requisition Technological University cation should be received by Novem- Tenure-Track Assistant Professor #5155BR. A Ph.D. research assistantship is ber 1, 2015. Position Available in Petrology and We seek candidates with strong available at the Earth Magnetism For additional Information contact Geochemistry at the University of records of scholarship who have the Laboratory of Michigan Tech focusing Anne Meltzer, Search Committee Puerto Rico - Mayaguez Campus proven capacity or the clear potential on the investigation of geomagnetic Chair, EES Dept., 1 West Packer Ave- The Geology Department of the to bring externally sponsored research field strength during the Proterozoic. nue, Bethlehem PA 18015-3001, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez to Texas Tech University. The depart- The position can start as early as Jan- [email protected] and see the EES seeks to fill a tenure-track position in ment (www.geosciences.ttu.edu) has uary 2016; applications will be department web pages, http://www. the fields of Petrology and Geochem- active research specialties in geology, accepted from both US and interna- ees.lehigh.edu/. istry, for January 2016. The appoint- geophysics, geochemistry, geography, tional applicants until the position is The College of Arts and Sciences at ment will be at the rank of an Assis- and atmospheric science. We have filled. For detailed inquires, contact Lehigh University is especially inter- tant Professor. Candidates need to ~400 undergraduate majors and ~85 Dr. Aleksey Smirnov (asmirnov@mtu. ested in qualified candidates who can have a doctoral degree (PhD) at the graduate students. Texas Tech is edu). contribute, through their research, time of appointment. Primary respon- located in Lubbock on the edge of the Michigan Tech is an equal opportu- teaching, and/or service, to the diver- sibilities for this position include Permian Basin. The region appreciates nity educational institution/equal sity and excellence of the academic teaching undergraduate courses in the social and economic importance of opportunity employer. community. Lehigh University is an Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, geoscience research due to the impor- Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Geochemistry and basic level courses tance of petroleum and groundwater PhD Student Opportunity in Hydrol- Employer. Lehigh University provides for majors and non-majors, as well as resources to the national economy. ogy, Washington State University comprehensive benefits including graduate level courses. Teaching Teaching duties include graduate and Four year RA available for student partner benefits. Lehigh University is responsibilities also include advising undergraduate courses in the candi- to work with an interdisciplinary a recipient of a NSF ADVANCE Institu- and directing undergraduate research date’s specialty. Service to the depart- team to understand the interactions tional Transformation award for pro- and MS theses. The successful candi- ment, university, and discipline is between drought, forest manage- moting the careers of women in aca- date will be expected to conduct expected. ment, and wildfire on forest ecosys- demic sciences and engineering. research and obtain funding that will As an Equal Employment Opportu- tem resilience. Students experienced complement the department’s nity/Affirmative Action employer, with Linux/programming and/or eco- GDL Foundation Fellowships in strengths. Fluency in English or Texas Tech University is dedicated to hydrology will be competitive. The Structure and Diagenesis Spanish is required and fluency in the goal of building a culturally diverse student will be co-advised by Jenni- The GDL Foundation supports study both preferred. Interested candidates faculty committed to teaching and fer Adam (WSU} and Christina Tague and research of chemical and mechan- must submit a letter of interest/cover working in a multicultural environ- {UCSB}. Interested students should ical interactions, structural diagenesis, letter, curriculum vitae, undergradu- ment. We encourage applications from contact [email protected] for more in sedimentary basins. Practical appli- ate and graduate transcripts, a state- qualified candidates who can contrib- information. Fall semester applica- cations are of particular interest. ment of research and teaching inter- ute, through research, teaching, and tions to WSU are due on 10 January for We are currently seeking applica- ests, copies of relevant publications, service, to the diversity and excellence priority consideration. tions from M.S. and Ph.D. candidates, and the names, phone numbers and of the academic community at Texas post-doctoral researchers, and scien- e-mail addresses of three professional Tech University. The university wel- tists for fellowships, up to $10,000, referees to: Dr. James Joyce (james. comes applications from minorities, based on specific proposals for [email protected]), Chairman Personnel women, veterans, persons with dis- research and participation in meetings Committee, Department of Geology, abilities, and dual-career couples. PLACE and conferences to share results. PO Box 9000, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico Evaluation of candidates will begin Submit applications (available at: 00681-9017, USA. Details about the November 11, 2015 and continue until www.gdlfoundation.org) by November department are available in the web- the position is filled. Department rep- 2, 2015. site http://geology.uprm.edu. Review YOUR resentatives will be available to discuss of completed applications will begin the position at the GSA Annual Meet- POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN PLAN- on October 15, 2015. The University of ing (1-4 November) in Baltimore, ETARY SCIENCE PURDUE UNIVER- Puerto Rico is an equal opportunity Maryland. Questions should be sent to AD SITY employer. Dr. Jeff Lee, Search Committee Chair: Purdue University’s program in [email protected]. planetary science has an opening for a Tenure-Track Position in Sedimen- PhD researcher to model the evolution tology or Geophysics at Texas Tech Wiess Post-Doctoral Research Fel- HERE of crater-generated porosity in the University lowship - Department of Earth Sci- lunar crust using a crater terrain evolu- The Department of Geosciences at ence, Rice University Contact tion model in conjunction with con- Texas Tech University seeks applicants The Department of Earth Science at straints from GRAIL gravity data. A for a tenure-track, assistant professor Rice University is launching a Wiess [email protected] PhD in physics, geophysics or plane- position in either sedimentology or Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship for information tary science and experience in model- geophysics to start Fall 2016. A PhD in competition in the broad fields of ing is required along with familiarity an Earth Science or closely related dis- Earth, atmospheric, and planetary sci-

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 31 Postcards from the Field

Greetings from the High North!

A lovely sunset? No, the sun doesn’t set in the summer around here. We’re approaching the Canadian High Arctic Research Station after a long day of sam- pling vegetation along a helicopter tran- sect. Climate change is happening earlier and faster in the Arctic, and NASA is partnering with Canadian colleagues to better understand the consequences to society. Why? Because what’s happening in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic. Learn more about the Arctic Boreal Vul- nerability Experiment at http://above . nasa.gov, and follow me on Twitter @NASA_ABoVE

—Peter Griffith, NASA

View more postcards at http://americangeophysicalunion.tumblr .com/tagged/postcards- from- the-fi eld.

32 // Eos 1 October 2015

Students Can Now Share 3 Opportunities Their Research—From Anywhere! to Participate This is a new opportunity that allows undergraduate and in Fall 2015 graduate students to present their research virtually, without Virtual Poster any need to travel. Showcase #1 For Undergraduate Students Advantages of Virtual Presentations Virtual Poster Over In-person Meetings Showcase #2 For Undergraduate Students Virtual Poster Showcase #3 For Graduate Less Time Lower Cost More Flexible Scheduling Students

Students Faculty • Share your research • Help students develop their presentation • Practice your presentation skills skills and ability to evaluate science • Review the posters of your peers • Impact more students with the funds • Receive quality feedback from you have peers and experts in your field • Incorporate Virtual Poster Showcases • Build your credibility in a capstone course

Join the conversation @theAGU #VirtualPoster