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Modeling Earth’s Ever-Changing Surface

Pluto’s Moons Nix and Hydra Show Their Faces

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15 AUGUST 2015 PROJECT UPDATE VOLUME 96, ISSUE 15

On the Rebound: Modeling Earth’s Ever-Changing Shape A new modeling tool easily computes the elastic response of changes in loading on Earth’s surface to high resolution. Scientists test this tool using finely detailed data on glaciers’ mass changes.

MEETING REPORT

Coping with Future Water 7 Woes in the Western United States

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

8 27

COVER Gaseous Planets May Have Huge Luminous Rings Caused Dissolved Organic Matter by Lightning What business do elves have in the in the Ocean Carbon Cycle upper atmospheres of gas giants? Plenty, it seems. The enormous ring-shaped Controversy leads to a better understanding of carbon cycling through phenomena triggered by lightning may a massive pool of organic matter dissolved in the Earth’s oceans. occur on Jupiter, Saturn, and exoplanets.

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 23 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 18–23 AGU News Nicola J. Fox, Space Physics Sciences 2015 AGU Union Medal, Award, and and Aeronomy Thomas H. Painter, Cryosphere Steve Frolking, Biogeosciences Sciences Prize Recipients Announced; 2015 Edward J. Garnero, Study of the Roger A. Pielke Sr., Natural Hazards Class of AGU Fellows Announced; Earth’s Deep Interior Michael Poland, Geodesy 2015 AGU Section and Focus Group Michael N. Gooseff, Hydrology Eric M. Riggs, Education Kristine C. Harper, History Adrian Tuck, Nonlinear Geophysics Awardees and Named Lecturers; of Geophysics Sergio Vinciguerra, Mineral Member Comment Period Open for Keith D. Koper, Seismology and Rock Physics AGU Bylaws Amendments; Share Robert E. Kopp, Geomagnetism Earle Williams, Atmospheric and Paleomagnetism and Space Electricity Your Science with Today’s Teachers, John W. Lane, Near-Surface Mary Lou Zoback, Societal Impacts Tomorrow’s Scientists. Geophysics and Policy Sciences Staff Production: Faith A. Ishii, Production Manager; Melissa A. Tribur, Senior Production 26–27 Research Spotlight Specialist; Liz Castenson, Editor’s Assistant; Yael Fitzpatrick, Manager, Design and Branding; Valerie Bassett and Travis Frazier, Electronic Graphics Specialists Underwater Robot Tracked Ocean Editorial: Peter L. Weiss, Manager/Senior News Editor; Randy Showstack, Senior Sediment During Hurricane Sandy; Writer; Mohi Kumar, Science Writer/Editor; JoAnna Wendel, Writer 22 Urbanization Threatens Drought- Marketing: Angelo Bouselli and Mirelle Moscovitch, Marketing Analysts Reducing Clouds in California; Advertising: Christy Hanson, Manager; Tel: +1-202-777-7536; Email: advertising@ Gaseous Planets May Have Huge agu.org 3–6 News Luminous Rings Caused by Lightning. ©2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Material in this issue may Pluto’s Moons Nix and Hydra Show be photocopied by individual scientists for research or classroom use. Permission is also granted to use short quotes, figures, and tables for publication in scientific Their Faces; Weak Shaking Lessened 28–32 Positions Available books and journals. For permission for any other uses, contact the AGU Publications Nepal Earthquake Impact; McNutt Office. Current job openings in the Earth Nominated as President of National Eos (ISSN 0096-3941) is published semi-monthly, on the 1st and 15th of the month and space sciences. except the 1st of January 2015 by the American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Academy of Sciences; Samuel J. Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. Periodical Class postage paid at Washington, Bame Jr. (1924–2014). D. C., and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Inside Back Cover: Member Service Center, 2000 Florida Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. Member Service Center: 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Eastern time; Tel: +1-202-462-6900; 7 Meeting Report Postcards from the Field Fax: +1-202-328-0566; Tel. orders in U.S.: 1-800-966-2481; Email: [email protected]. Coping with Future Water Woes in A view of the stratosphere from a Use AGU’s Geophysical Electronic Manuscript Submissions system to submit a manuscript: http://eos-submit.agu.org. the Western United States. hot air balloon. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect official positions of the American Geophysical Union unless expressly stated. On the Cover Christine W. McEntee, Executive Director/CEO Marine phytoplankton, such those in the Cymbella genus, are a major source of dissolved organic carbon in the ocean. Credit: Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc./Visuals Unlimited, Inc.

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2 // Eos 15 August 2015 NEWS

Pluto’s Moons Nix and Hydra Show Their Faces

luto’s moons Nix and Hydra appear in (165,000 kilome- unprecedented sharpness in images ters) from Nix and P released on 21 July from NASA’s New 143,000 miles Horizons mission. These images enabled sci- (231,000 kilome- entists for the first to time to estimate the ters) from Hydra. sizes of these tiny natural satellites: Nix (left) Nix and Hydra’s at 26 miles (42 kilometers) by 22 miles debut came on the (36 kilometers) and Hydra (right) at 34 miles heels of other (55 kilometers) by 25 miles (40 kilometers). detailed images of Nix’s portrait, imaged in enhanced colors, Pluto, taken during showed a reddish patch reminiscent of a the spacecraft’s bull’s-eye. In a press release (see: http://bit historic Pluto flyby .ly/NixHydra_PR), scientists said that they (see: http://bit.ly/ suspected the region could be an impact cra- PlutFlyby). ter on the jelly bean–shaped moon but were awaiting additional data from the spacecraft to better understand what they’d observed. The New Horizons spacecraft captured the By JoAnna Wendel,

images on 14 July while 102,000 miles Staff Writer APL/SWRI NASA/JHU

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

Weak Shaking Lessened Nepal Earthquake Impact

“People knew how to conduct themselves. That must have been another factor in few lives lost.”

along the plate boundary unrelieved of their stress and still capable of generating even stronger quakes. “There are no safe spots,” he said.

Training May Have Saved Lives Other session speakers suggested that to a limited degree, improvements in earthquake preparedness and building practices in Nepal helped lessen the number of deaths and amount of destruction from the quake. Harsh Gupta, president of the Geological Society of India and past president of IUGG, Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images told Eos that although the structural damage A woman inspects rubble from a house in Bhaktapur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, that was severely damaged by to Nepal was what one would expect from a the 25 April earthquake in Nepal. Despite widespread devastation from the quake, the magnitude 7.8 temblor gener- magnitude 7.8 earthquake, the loss of human ated shaking more typical of a smaller earthquake, scientists said at a June meeting of the International Union of lives was much less than from similar earth- Geodesy and Geophysics. quakes. He partially attributed this decrease to earthquake safety training. he magnitude 7.8 earthquake that from a magnitude 6 or 6.5 quake rather than An earthquake awareness campaign takes struck Nepal on 25 April killed more from almost an 8, symposium convener place in the city every year, so “people knew T than 8800 people, injured another Domenico Giardini told Eos. He serves as how to conduct themselves,” he said. “That 23,000+, and destroyed at least 500,000 chair of seismology and geodynamics at the must have been another factor in few lives buildings. Institute of Geophysics at ETH Zurich, Swit- lost.” But weak and limited ground shaking for a zerland, and is president of the International Training of engineers and masons in Nepal quake of such large magnitude helped keep Association of Seismology and Physics of the over the past several decades to design and its impact from being a lot worse, said scien- Earth’s Interior (IASPEI), a semiautonomous build more earthquake-resistant structures tists at a special symposium about the earth- association of IUGG. “definitely had an effect,” added Mohsen quake at the International Union of Geodesy Ghafory-Ashtiany, president of the Iranian and Geophysics (IUGG) general assembly in Seismic Risk Remains High Earthquake Engineering Association. “But it Prague, Czech Republic (http://bit.ly/ Giardini, Lay, and other speakers in the was not as effective as we would expect.” IUGGPrague). 27 June session noted that the seismic risk Engineers and scientists have not been The earthquake “wasn’t generating a lot of remains very high in the Kathmandu area, successful in Nepal at translating their ground acceleration,” symposium speaker which lies along the earthquake-prone knowledge into “simple, doable, affordable, Thorne Lay told Eos. “It just had very concen- boundary where the Indian tectonic plate culturally acceptable solutions,” said trated slip that was localized [and] that lim- slowly pushes beneath the Eurasian plate. Ghafory-Ashtiany, who chairs IASPEI’s Com- ited the areas that had the most shaking.” The Nepal earthquake “actually ruptured mission on Earthquake Hazard, Risk and Lay, who directs the Center for the Study of an incredibly small segment of this plate Strong Ground Motion. Although Nepal has Imaging and Dynamics of the Earth at the boundary,” said Kevin Furlong, a geosciences building codes and a master plan for dealing University of California, Santa Cruz, professor at Pennsylvania State University in with major disasters, he told Eos, there is a explained that the temblor “wasn’t really University Park. Major earthquakes have big gap “between implementation and the- jerky” because it was “a very narrow, smooth occurred in the past along many segments of ory.” propagating rupture.” the boundary, he noted, but the short length The shaking from the earthquake better of the rupture, which ended just north of matched what would have been expected Kathmandu, leaves many other locations By Randy Showstack, Staff Writer

4 // Eos 15 August 2015 NEWS

McNutt Nominated as President of National Academy of Sciences

arcia McNutt, a marine geophysicist Medal in 2007 for her significant contribu- who served as president of AGU from tions to deep-sea exploration. M 2000 to 2002, has been nominated by In an interview with Eos, current NAS presi- the Council of the U.S. National Academy of dent Ralph Cicerone praised McNutt’s leader- Sciences (NAS) to succeed Ralph Cicerone as ship skills and experience. He named a host of its next president, the academy announced on issues he could see her tackling in the new 6 July. post, from transparency of data and better She is expected to be the sole nominee for funding for federal science agencies to sus- president and, if her nomination is ratified, tainability, cybersecurity, national goals for would be the first woman president of NAS space exploration, and more. since its founding in 1863, according to NAS It is symbolically important that McNutt spokesperson would be NAS’s William Kearney. first woman McNutt told Eos McNutt pledged to keep NAS president, he that as NAS presi- “the place where the nation can added. But at dent, she would first, “It didn’t AAAS make climate turn to for an unbiased answer hit me in the face Marcia McNutt change a top pri- that hard because ority. Her goal to a scientific question.” I’ve just regarded “would be to spur Marcia as a col- ored simply to have my name discussed in the serious action on league—and so same association with so many distinguished mitigation and many other scientific leaders,” she said. adaptation, showing U.S. leadership in tech- women like Marcia as colleagues,” Cicerone McNutt’s nomination will be presented to nology choices and policy solutions that can be explained. the full NAS membership for ratification from widely adopted,” she said. Cicerone said that he will step down, after 15 December 2015 to 31 January 2016. Cicerone She also pledged to keep NAS “the place 11 years as NAS president, before the end of will step down as NAS president on 30 June where the nation can turn to for an unbiased his second 6-year term to pursue other inter- 2016, after which, if ratified, McNutt would answer to a scientific question. I strongly ests, including conducting more research. succeed him. believe that science should not dictate to society what to do, but can only describe the likely Unforeseen Consequences results of various choices, allowing clearer of Missing Committee Meetings By Randy Showstack, Staff Writer decisions to be made.” Reflecting on receiv- ing the nomination, Long History of Leadership McNutt told Eos that and Academic Service she had originally McNutt has served as editor in chief of the Sci- been a member of ence family of journals since May 2013. From the nominating 2009 to 2013 she was director of the U.S. Geo- committee for the logical Survey. Previous positions include pres- next NAS president. ident and chief executive officer of the Monte- “I had to miss the rey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and first meeting professor of geophysics at Stanford University. because I had a con- In 2005, McNutt was elected to the National flict. After the first Academy of Sciences. Since 1984, she has meeting, the chair served on more than 30 committees and asked if I would be boards of the National Academies of Sciences, willing to step off Engineering, and Medicine. She is a fellow of the committee to AGU, the Geological Society of America, the become a candidate American Association for the Advancement of instead.” Science, and the International Association of Being chosen Geodesy. seemed like a long McNutt also received AGU’s Macelwane shot to her, but she Medal in 1988, for research accomplishments welcomed the turn- by a young scientist, and AGU’s Maurice Ewing about. “I was hon-

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

Samuel J. Bame Jr. (1924–2014) Sam emerged as one of the most successful, innovative, and prolific experimenters studying space plasma physics.

Space Physics at Los Alamos During his 40-year career at Los Alamos, Sam served as principal investigator for more than 60 neutron and plasma experiments that he conceived, designed, and implemented. All 60 were flown in space. In the first successful flight of NASA’s Scout rocket program, Sam made measurements of the relatively low-energy protons trapped in the outer Van Allen radiation belt. In a series of three rocket flights from 1959 to 1961, he made some of the first measurements of the neutron spectrum and neutron albedo above the atmosphere. The neutron detectors he developed for the Vela and follow-on satellite programs have provided continuous, critical monitoring support for the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty since 1963.

An Inspirational Scientist and Mentor Sam was a mentor and an inspiration to younger scientists,

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los such as the four of us, whose careers were launched and Sam Bame (center) in 1970, surrounded by (from left to right) Harry Felthauser, Jack Asbridge, and J. Paul Glore, as sustained by the rich data sets his instruments returned. he explains a detail of one of the earliest space plasma instruments using an engineering model. The instrument, The knowledge, skill, and care he brought to his work have which he designed and developed, was flown on a Vela spacecraft in the early 1960s. left a truly rich legacy. One of us (Dave McComas), whose desk was located in Sam’s lab, recalls learning about the design and develop- amuel J. Bame Jr., one of the early pioneers in mechanisms of ion and electron heating at the Earth’s col- ment of flight hardware as a young physicist. It was a true space physics, passed away 14 December 2014 in lisionless bow shock along with numerous quantitative apprenticeship, similar to that of a young tradesman mov- S Albuquerque, N.M. characterizations of magnetospheric structure and ing into the master’s workshop to learn a craft. Beginning with his work in the Atomic Energy Commis- dynamics at geosynchronous orbit. Sam’s attention to the careful design of his instruments sion’s Vela program, Sam emerged as one of the space taught us the utility and fundamental need for controlling community’s most successful, innovative, and prolific Early Interest in Science and measuring, where possible, all backgrounds that affect experimenters studying space plasma physics. His plasma Sam was born on 12 January 1924 in Lexington, N.C. As a the data. He promoted an open scientific environment that experiments using various types of spherical section elec- youth, he was fascinated by science, particularly astron- often led to lengthy, animated discussions of central scien- trostatic analyzers were flown on the Vela 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 omy. He began his college education at North Carolina’s tific questions raised by the data from his instruments. The satellites; on the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform 6, 7, Catawba College before entering the Army in 1943. resulting “chatter” in the halls was a distinguishing and and 8 satellites; on the International Sun-Earth His aptitude for physics led to his selection for the Army vital trait of the space plasma team at Los Alamos. Explorer 1, 2, and 3 satellites; on Ulysses and the Specialized Training Program at Pennsylvania State Univer- Sam served on a number of advisory groups for NASA Advanced Composition Explorer; and on a series of eight sity in 1943–1944, and he served in the Proximity Fuse Pro- over the years, was a Fellow of Los Alamos National Labo- geosynchronous satellites. Together, these sensors have gram and Ordnance Technical Intelligence in the United ratory and the American Geophysical Union, and authored returned more than 82 satellite-years of data. States, the Philippines, and Japan in 1945–1946. After the more than 400 scientific papers. Sam’s experiments led to fundamental discoveries war, he earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from the Uni- He was preceded in death by his wife of 44 years and is about space plasmas. These include the discovery of the versity of North Carolina and earned his master’s and Ph.D. survived by his three daughters and four grandchildren. Sam plasma sheet and plasmoids in the geomagnetic tail as degrees in nuclear physics from Rice University in 1951. will be dearly missed by his many friends and colleagues. well as magnetic reconnection at the Earth’s magneto- During his time at Rice, Sam won a Humble Oil Fellowship pause and in the solar wind. His instruments also detected that allowed him to spend a summer interning at Los Alamos By Bill Feldman, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Ariz.; heavy ions, non-Maxwellian structure in velocity distribu- Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico. After graduation, he Jack Gosling, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Phys- tions, thermal anisotropies, double ion beams, and coro- joined the scientific staff at Los Alamos, where he spent his ics, University of Colorado, Boulder; Dave McComas, nal mass ejections in the solar wind, as well as the three- entire professional career. His early years there were devoted Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas; email: dimensional structure of the wind and its temporal and to low-energy nuclear physics, but he shifted his attention to [email protected]; and Michelle Thomsen, Planetary spatial evolution. In addition, his sensors discovered space physics as the Space Age began. Science Institute, Tucson, Ariz.

6 // Eos 15 August 2015 MEETING REPORT

determined with concern for environmental Coping with Future Water Woes impacts, with a formalized, regulated market to disseminate price information. Critically, in the Western United States participants concluded that an incomplete water market structure coupled with uncer- Water Scarcity in the West: Past, Present, and Future tainties about the hydrologic system would Davis, California, 6–7 April 2015 impede rational water management.

Scarcity Under a Changing Climate Climate scientists and hydrologists focused on examining the drought in terms of the past and defining water scarcity under climate change. Although the current drought may not be extraordinary in the context of the West’s paleoclimate record, persistent pressure events, such as atmospheric ridging in the Pacific Northwest that diverts the winter storm track northward, are likely to be more common with global warming. Integrated atmospheric and hydrologic modeling can improve predictions of climate change impacts on water resources.

California Lags Behind in Water Resource Policy The conference highlighted the fact that Cali- fornia trails other states in water management and policy. Patricia Mulroy, former general manager of the Southern Nevada Water

Alejo Kraus- Polk Authority, emphasized that California has less California’s New Melones Lake, photographed in December 2013, shrunk by prolonged drought. resources information, less transparency, and a weaker watershed consciousness than other western states. uman existence in the West, where water in the state, especially groundwater. Meeting participants agreed that improved users compete for limited surface water Some, including California Secretary for Natu- public information about groundwater usage Hand diminishing groundwater reserves, ral Resources John Laird, floated the idea of and the formation of a regulated central clear- has always been challenged by water scarcity. eliminating established water rights. As in inghouse for water transfers are the first steps As much of the western United States enters a Australia, prior appropriation could be toward better management. Attendees also fourth year of drought, adapting to increasing replaced with tradable shares of a flexible total agreed that the West needs to define itself as water scarcity is paramount. allocation. Other speakers—primarily the part of an interstate watershed community, A recent conference brought together water economists present—promoted water mar- with better monitoring and accountability. and climate experts to discuss this challenge. For details more details, see the confer- Held at the University of California, Davis, the ence’s website (http://bit.ly/westH20scarcity). conference aimed to foster discussion among Although water markets competing stakeholders and identify methods Acknowledgments for coping with future water scarcity. could become a major The conference was funded by the National component of the Science Foundation (NSF). Ellen Bruno, Lauren A Focus on California Foster, Katherine Hoeberling, Alejo Kraus- and on Water Markets solution, the system would Polk, Stephen Maples, Matthew Renquist, During conference discussions, experts in Stacy Roberts, and Will Turner IV of the Cli- hydrology, climatology, economics, environ- need to be transparent. mate Change, Water, and Society Integrative mental history, geography, and policy Graduate Education Research Traineeship attempted to characterize water scarcity, first (CCWAS IGERT) at the University of California, through time (from the perspectives of his- Davis, organized the conference and contrib- tory, paleoclimate, and climate prediction) kets as a way to efficiently reallocate water to uted to this article, with support from Graham and second across sectors—ecosystems, those who need it most, without disrupting Fogg, Carole Hom, the CCWAS IGERT, and NSF urban, and agriculture. They also discussed the current rights system. grant DGE 1069333. strategies communities have used to cope with Although water markets could become a water scarcity. major component of the solution, the system Much discussion focused on California. would need to be transparent, meeting By Ellen Bruno, Agricultural and Resource Speakers noted major inadequacies in the legal attendees agreed. Water basins in the West Economics, University of California, Davis; email: framework for monitoring and regulating would need to be divided into trading zones [email protected]

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 7 By D. A. Hansell and C. A. Carlson

Controversy leads to a better understanding of carbon cycling through a massive pool of organic matter dissolved in Earth’s oceans. iStock.com/Nadeika ©

8 // Eos 15 August 2015 arth’s deep oceans contain almost as much considered particularly dynamic compared with nutri- carbon in the form of dissolved organic ents and oxygen, it was considered by many to be bor- molecules as the planet’s atmosphere con- ing and, as a result, was little studied. tains in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2). Then came a surprise: Sugimura and Suzuki [1988] Given the dynamic nature of this pool, reported 2–5 times larger surface ocean DOC concen- it was likely a major player in global cli- trations than others had previously observed. This mate over geologic time scales. Evidence suggests that stunning result hinged on a new analytical technique Esequestering large amounts of dissolved organic carbon for measuring marine DOC by high-temperature cata- in the deep ocean may have helped bring the planet lytic oxidation. In this technique, DOC in seawater is back from past warming episodes similar to the one oxidized at high temperature and the CO2 generated is humans are causing now. measured. Could today’s oceans pull off another such climate The results indicated significant variability in DOC rescue? Certainly not on the timeline we’d like, but a from the surface ocean through to the greatest depths. quarter century of research has scientists poised to If the results were correct, DOC was far from “boring,” make major progress toward understanding how the instead being central to the ocean’s carbon cycle. system works. Troubling Implications The road to this point was not always smooth; just a few decades ago, a shocking study threw scientists’ Many scientists took the results at face value in part entire understanding of dissolved organic carbon in the because Sugimura and Suzuki [1988] showed a strong ocean into doubt. Efforts to test the then new, incredi- inverse relationship between their measured DOC con- ble, and, finally, erroneous data led to a deeper under- centrations and estimates of the oxygen utilized standing of how the ocean sequesters carbon. throughout the ocean’s water column. Such an inverse A Surprise Result Initiates a Controversy relationship could be seen as consistent with what might be expected in nature: Oxygen was consumed In the mid-1980s, ocean scientists believed that dis- while DOC was removed by DOC-consuming bacteria. solved organic carbon (DOC) remained mostly biologi- But if the deep ocean’s oxygen consumption was pri- cally inactive and did not vary much throughout the marily due to DOC consumption, the result was incon- ocean depths. Given that the pool of carbon was not sistent with the prevailing biological pump model of the

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 9 ocean, whereby microbial oxidation of falling biogenic particles dominated oxygen consumption. The relationship also required that DOC follow oxygen into the deep ocean interior by the same mixing pathway: Oxygen-enriched and DOC-enriched surface ocean waters get carried with vertically overturning ocean circulation to great depths, largely at high latitudes. Accordingly, abyssal microbes must be surviving largely through the consumption of DOC and oxygen as the deep ocean layers circulate globally. Overturning longstanding paradigms (i.e., that the biological pump, as exemplified by sinking biogenic particles, dominated deep oxygen consumption) is never easy; thus, despite the excitement generated by the new data, a controversy was born. The community was divided and in angst. The discovery challenged much of what ocean scientists thought they knew about the intersection of ocean biology, chemistry, and the carbon cycle; many were left to wonder about their career’s body of work, which was being so severely challenged by these surprising results. One pair of scientists [Williams and Druffel, 1988] summarized the community’s deep divisions on the issue, writing, “These elevated concentrations, as yet unconfirmed, have been accepted as Hansell [2013] gospel by some, as heresy by others.” Fig. 1. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) profile (solid line, with sampling The situation became so tense that during a meeting of depths from August 2008 indicated) and fractions (shaded regions) scientists tasked with testing the new methods and find- assigned in the western Sargasso Sea, in micromoles per kilogram. Con- ings, a National Science Foundation program manager centration boundaries of the fractions shown are approximate. RDOC, was seen pounding a table and demanding, “You guys refractory DOC; SRDOC, semirefractory DOC; SLDOC, semilabile DOC. need to figure this out!”

What Is Correct? nature of the biological pump, which indeed included an The marine chemistry community quickly organized itself important role for DOC. to test the reliability of Sugimura and Suzuki’s [1988] fasci- nating yet troubling data [see Hedges and Lee, 1993]. A Panoply of Carbon Compounds Scientists found it difficult to reproduce the analytical Moving ahead more than 2 decades, scientists now have a technique itself because of the difficult-to-attain catalyst much more nuanced picture of the forms organic carbon used in the “homemade” instrumentation of Sugimura and takes in the ocean. DOC comprises a myriad of compounds Suzuki [1988]. In addition, analytical expertise had to be [Repeta, 2015] exhibiting a spectrum of biological reactivi- quickly developed to actually use the instruments; a lack of ties, from the most easily altered (turnover rates of min- agreement between a challenging scientist’s results and utes to days) to the most inert (turnover rates of millennia; those stunning new data could be laid at the challenger’s Figure 1). As such, depending on the fraction of interest, feet with “your analytical skills are simply inadequate!” marine DOC has biological and ecological significance as Who was to judge irreproducibility? Was irreproducibil- well as biogeochemical implications for carbon export and ity due to the challenger’s uncertain analytical skills or due sequestration within ocean basins. to problems at the origin of those stunning data? The most easily consumed DOC pool—with an esti- In the early 1990s, a large community effort mobilized mated global production of around 15 to 25 petagrams to standardize and optimize high-temperature combus- (1 petagram = 1 billion metric tons) of carbon each year yet tion methodology. After numerous laboratory intercom- an inventory of less than 0.2 petagram because microbes parison exercises [Sharp et al., 2002] and considerable consume it as fast as it is produced [Hansell, 2013]—has effort and expense, a number of scientists, including the most biological relevance. The pool supports the Suzuki himself [Suzuki, 1993], deemed the 1988 results energy and nutrient needs of vast populations of irreproducible. marine heterotrophic microbes. Although much about this experience proved unfortu- This biologically available fraction includes nate, costly, and exhausting, the focused effort and simple compounds such as sugars and amino resulting methodological improvements offered, for the acids, which turn over on time scales of hours first time, the ability to precisely measure small DOC con- centration changes within a relatively large pool, thus opening the door to a proper evaluation of DOC in ocean Marine phytoplankton, such those in the Cymbella biogeochemistry. Although scientists concluded that the genus, are a major source of dissolved organic carbon original paradigm of a biological pump driven primarily (DOC) in the ocean. They release DOC as they grow by sinking particles survived its challenge, the improved and get consumed through numerous foodweb interac- DOC methodology produced valuable insights on the full tions.

10 // Eos 15 August 2015 Fig. 2. DOC (in micromoles per kilogram) in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, with water from all lines connected via the Antarctic circumpolar currents. Arrows depict water mass renewal and circulation; white lines indicate constant density surfaces, along which deep waters mix. The blues and pinks of the deepest waters indicate the presence of the most refractory DOC fractions, present everywhere in the ocean, whereas the greens and reds show the upper layer accumulation of semilabile and semirefractory fractions, both of which are largely produced at the sunlit ocean surface and removed at depth upon water column overturn. AABW, Antarctic Bottom Water; AAIW, Antarctic Intermediate Water; CDW, Circumpolar Deep Water; IODW, Indian Ocean Deep Water; IOIW, Indian Ocean Intermediate Water; LCDW, Lower Circumpo- lar Deep Water; NADW, North Atlantic Deep Water; PDW, Pacific Deep Water; SAMW, Subantarctic Mode Water. Credit: Hansell [2009].

to days. With this fast turnover, the pool’s contribution to processes are due to biological or nonbiological pro- carbon sequestration is inconsequential. cesses is unknown. Biologically unavailable (recalcitrant) DOC fractions Identifying the controls on DOC accumulation and its (Figure 1), summing to around 660 petagrams, constitute removal in the ocean is required before we can reply to the sequestration capacity of the pool; this is the DOC that our program manager that “we finally figured it out!” actually accumulates in the ocean (Figure 1). These fractions have a range of lifetimes. Lessons Learned Those with remineralization time scales reaching Scientists now view marine DOC as one of Earth’s greatest decades (the semilabile and semirefractory DOC frac- reservoirs of bioactive and exchangeable carbon, compa- tions of Figure 1) contribute to carbon export from the rable in size to the atmospheric CO2 reservoir. We now surface to depths through overturning circulation, as know that biological and biogeochemical processes can seen in the downward transport of DOC in the far north- alter the production, removal, and storage of ocean DOC, ern North Atlantic (Figure 2). These fractions, holding with important implications for oceanic and atmospheric 20 petagrams of carbon, deliver that carbon from surface carbon exchange. waters to the deep ocean at a rate of around 2 petagrams In addition, the pool is highly dynamic in the carbon per year, representing the fate of around 20% of global cycle, cycling through the system on time scales ranging ocean net community production. from seconds to millennia. Finally, we have learned that The longest-lived fraction (termed refractory DOC in DOC feeds vast deep-ocean microbial populations, play- Figure 1) holds a carbon mass of around 640 petagrams. ing a role in controlling microbial diversity. With average ages reaching 6000 years [Bauer et al., 1992], this fraction sequesters carbon on millennial time Challenges Ahead scales. The gradient in concentrations of this old mate- The demand to understand DOC has escalated with time, rial, ranging from nearly 45 micromolar in the deep creating new challenges and opportunities [Hansell and North Atlantic to 35 micromolar in the deep Pacific (Fig- Carlson, 2015]. ure 2), requires DOC removal along the path of deep cur- A major challenge is to determine the role the DOC res- rent flow in the global ocean. Whether these removal ervoir plays in regulating Earth’s climate [Ridgwell and

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 11 Arndt, 2015]. As much as 500 times more organic carbon Hansell, D. A., C. A. Carlson, D. J. Repeta, and R. Schlitzer (2009), Dissolved organic matter in the ocean: A controversy stimulates new insights, Oceanography, 22, may have been dissolved in the ocean during the Neopro- 202–211. terozoic Era (1000–543 million years ago; see Rothman et al. Hedges, J. I., and C. Lee (Eds.) (1993), Measurement of dissolved organic carbon [2003]), and more than twice as much as at present may and nitrogen in natural waters, Mar. Chem., 41(1–3), 290 pp. Connect to AGU’s network of Earth and space science blogs Repeta, D. (2015), Chemical characterization and cycling of dissolved organic mat- have been held in the deep ocean during the Paleocene and ter, in Biogeochemistry of Marine Dissolved Organic Matter, 2nd ed., pp. 21–63, Eocene epochs (~65–34 million years ago), perhaps serving Elsevier, Waltham, Mass. as the carbon reservoir being released to the atmosphere as Ridgwell, A., and S. Arndt (2015), Why dissolved organics matter: DOC in ancient oceans and past climate change, in Biogeochemistry of Marine Dissolved Organic CO2 to drive the brief but regular warm events of that era Matter, 2nd ed., pp. 1–20, Elsevier, Waltham, Mass. [Sexton et al., 2011]. Rothman, D. H., J. M. Hayes, and R. E. Summons (2003), Dynamics of the Neopro- Comparing those climates to ours today may elucidate terozoic carbon cycle, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 100, 8124–8129. Sexton, P. F., R. D. Norris, P. A. Wilson, H. Palike, T. Westerhold, U. Rohl, C. T. Bolton, the potential of our oceans to serve as a natural capacitor and S. Gibbs (2011), Eocene global warming events driven by ventilation of oceanic for carbon storage and release over geologic periods, giving dissolved organic carbon, Nature, 471, 349–353. up its carbon to the atmosphere as CO to drive warm peri- Sharp, J. H., C. A. Carlson, E. T. Peltzer, D. M. Castle-Ward, K. B. Savidge, and 2 K. R. Rinker (2002), Final dissolved organic carbon broad community intercal- ods and pulling it back to force cool phases. ibration and preliminary use of DOC reference materials, Mar. Chem., 77(4), The research community is determining how DOC 239–253. Sugimura, Y., and Y. Suzuki (1988), A high-temperature catalytic oxidation method sources and sinks—both biotic and abiotic—operate today; for the determination of non-volatile dissolved organic carbon in seawater by this knowledge is required to understand mechanistically direct injection of a liquid sample, Mar. Chem., 24, 105–131. DOC’s role in past and future oceans. Vast opportunities Suzuki, Y. (1993), On the measurement of DOC and DON in seawater, Mar. Chem., 41, 287–288. for discovery await. Williams, P. M., and E. R. M. Druffel (1988), Dissolved organic matter in the ocean: Comments on a controversy, Oceanography, 1, 14–17. References Bauer, J. E., P. M. Williams, and E. R. M. Druffel (1992),14 C activity of dissolved organic Author Information carbon fractions in the north-central Pacific and Sargasso Sea, Nature, 357, 667–670. D. A. Hansell, Department of Ocean Sciences, University Hansell, D. A. (2013), Recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon fractions, Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci., 5, 421–445. of Miami, Miami, Fla.; email: [email protected]; and Hansell, D. A., and C. A. Carlson (Eds.) (2015), Biogeochemistry of Marine Dissolved C. A. Carlson, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Organic Matter, 2nd ed., 712 pp., Elsevier, Waltham, Mass. Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara

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12 // Eos 15 August 2015 Connect to AGU’s network of Earth and space science blogs

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Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 13 ON THE REBOUND Modeling Earth’s Ever-Changing Shape

By Daniele Melini, Pascal Gegout, Matt King, Ben Marzeion, and Giorgio Spada

14 // Eos 15 August 2015 A new modeling tool easily computes the elastic response of changes in loading on Earth’s surface to high resolution. Scientists test this tool using ﬁ nely detailed data on

glaciers’ mass changes. ock solid though it may be, Earth’s surface is constantly morphing. Like a tennis ball hit relentlessly, the Earth deforms endlessly as atmosphere and oceans push and pull on its surface, glaciers grow and melt, ocean tides surge, mountains erode, and sediment piles up. RSome of these changes occur almost instantaneously, whereas others can take decades, centuries, or longer to play out as slow viscous flow takes place under the crust. In the same way that tides ebb and flow, rocks compress and expand instantaneously through storage and release of elastic energy. Much slower deformation also occurs when a large mass shifts on top of the surface, for instance, after a glacier retreats, and it takes time for the Earth’s viscous layers underlying the crust to adjust. Regardless of time scale, the largest elastic deformation of the crust is focused very near places where mass changes are occurring. Therefore, to accurately represent how Earth’s surface responds to phenomena ranging from tides shifting to glaciers melting, numerical models need to have high spatial resolution. To address this need, we developed the Regional Elastic Rebound Calculator (REAR), a new open-source software tool that performs fast, high-resolution elastic computa- tions associated with any load change. We illustrate how REAR can be used with finely detailed data on glaciers’ mass changes.

What Do Models of Glacial Deformation Need? Scientists can study Earth’s deformation to gain insights into how massive features on the surface are changing [Khan et al., 2007; Argus et al., 2014]. This study may also ON THE REBOUND yield a deeper understanding of the structure and composition of lower layers such as the asthenosphere, the viscous upper layer of Earth’s mantle [Ito and Simons, 2011]. Elastic deformation signals are particularly large, and often highly time variable, near thinning glaciers in Modeling Earth’s Ever-Changing Shape Greenland, Svalbard, Alaska, and Antarctica. This deformation can complicate studies attempting to validate models of how the crust adjusts over long time scales in response to the melting of ice sheets since the Last Glacial Maximum (~20,000 years ago). Scientists studying glacial melt therefore need an effective model of short-term glacier- related deformation so that it can later be sepa- rated from long-term trends of the crust’s response to the last ice age.

A Sharper View Until recently, open software tools for computing elastic deformation have dealt mainly with elastic effects related

Switzerland’s Aletsch glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps. Thinning glaciers across the world, such as this one, don’t just erode landscapes as they cut; their weight deforms the crust below them as they fl ow and iStock.com/TomasSereda

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 15 to ocean tides (e.g., SPOTL [see Agnew, 1997]). Other tools center. This computation generates elementary response represent Earth’s surface and subsurface at low spatial res- functions (ERFs), which are evaluated using user- olutions, which smears signals over unrealistically large supplied LDCs. These LCDs can be either globally aver- regions (e.g., ALMA [see Spada, 2008]). aged or regional, depending on the specific problem REAR offers geophysicists unprecedented realism and requirements. precision in representing Earth’s surface deformation. The In the second step, REAR combines the ERFs with a software takes advantage of the solution of equilibrium user-defined model of the surface mass variation to com- equations for a simplified model of Earth known as the pute geodetic observables on a grid or at specified loca- solid, nonrotating, elastic and isotropic, layered, com- tions. In its current implementation, REAR requires that pressible spherical Earth model [see, e.g., Gegout et al., the mass model grid hosts elements the same size as 2010]. These equations describe how an elastic medium those used to compute the ERFs. reacts when horizontally or vertically pushed or stressed or attracted by the material above it. Putting the Method to Use The images in Figure 1 depict the kinds of results REAR Setting up the Problem can produce. In Figure 1a, arrows show how Earth’s sur- Geophysicists express the elastic response to a localized face responds to the melting of glaciers across Alaska; surface load in terms of a set of load-deformation coeffi- Figures 1b and 1c show how it responds to glacial melting cients (LDCs). These coefficients represent the deforma- in the Alps. tions and gravitational variations induced by specific loads Both simulations assume a constant rate of glacial distributed over the surface of the globe. mass loss between the periods of 1990/1991 and To compute the LDCs [Gegout et al., 2010], scientists solve 2010/2011. The example illustrates all three basic outputs equations to find equilibrium between gravity’s downward of REAR: vertical rates of uplift (or subsidence), horizon- pull and elastic deformation’s outward push while consid- tal rates of deformation, and the rate of change of the ering the physical properties of the Earth’s layers. Site- height of the geoid, which is the shape considered by dependent LDCs account for local composition and geodesists to be Earth’s true shape, defined by what the thickness—important factors because the crust deforms ocean’s surface looks like under the influence of Earth’s differently if made of thin or thick sediments or of hard gravitation and rotation alone. crystalline rocks. We reconstructed mass changes for the glaciers of the Randolph Glacier Inventory—a globally complete collec- A Two-Step Process tion of the digital outlines of glaciers, excluding ice sheets REAR calculates the Earth’s response to surface load vari- [Pfeffer et al., 2014]. We then used the glacier global sur- ations in two distinct steps. First, the program computes face mass balance model of Marzeion et al. [2012] and how the surface would deform elastically in response to a observed gridded temperature and precipitation anoma- disk-shaped load as a function of the distance from its lies [Harris et al., 2014].

Fig. 1. Simulated vertical and horizontal rates of displacement and rate of geoid height variations (a) in Alaska and western Canada and (b and c) across the Alps between the periods of 1990/1991 and 2010/2011. Simulated rates are from the Regional Elastic Rebound Calculator (REAR) and show deformation changes with unprecedented realism and precision. The rates of mass loss are −43.9 and −2.5 gigatons per year, respectively. The model’s resolution corresponds to roughly 1 kilometer on the Earth’s surface. Blue areas in the insets show the extent of ice sources employed in these runs. Computing these maps requires only 3.5 minutes on a midrange workstation.

16 // Eos 15 August 2015 Even though the glacier’s mass changed only modestly Argus, D. F., Y. Fu, and F. W. Landerer (2014), Seasonal variation in total water storage in California inferred from GPS observations of vertical land motion, Geophys. Res. Lett., during the study period, Figure 1c shows that mass loss and 41(6), 1971–1980. surface deformation cause the geoid to subside at a rate of Gegout, P., J. Böhm, and D. Wijaya (2010), Practical numerical computation of Love roughly 0.5 millimeter per year across the Alps. numbers & applications, paper presented at Workshop of the COST Action ES0701, Vienna, 16–17 Nov. Harris, I., P. D. Jones, T. J. Osborn, and D. H. Lister (2014), Updated high-resolution grids Advantages and Limitations of monthly climatic observations—The CRU TS3.10 dataset, Int. J. Climatol., 34(3), 623–642. Because of REAR’s simple structure, adding new geodetic Ito, T., and M. Simons (2011), Probing asthenospheric density, temperature, and elastic variables is straightforward—the user can easily edit the moduli below the western United States, Science, 332(6032), 947–951. code to produce new outputs such as tilts of the Earth’s Khan, S. A., J. Wahr, L. A. Stearns, G. S. Hamilton, T. van Dam, K. M. Larson, and O. Fran- cis (2007), Elastic uplift in southeast Greenland due to rapid ice mass loss, Geophys. surface or gravity anomalies induced by the deformations. Res. Lett., 34, L21701, doi:10.1029/2007GL031468. However, the software has limitations. For instance, Kustowski, B., G. Ekstrom, and A. M. Dziewonski (2008), Anisotropic shear-wave veloc- REAR does not model the gravitational attraction between ity structure of the Earth’s mantle: A global model, J. Geophys. Res., 113, B06306, doi:10.1029/2007JB005169. the surface loads and the oceans. Hence, the program is Marzeion, B., A. H. Jarosch, and M. Hofer (2012), Past and future sea-level change from suited for the study of local and regional deformations (on the surface mass balance of glaciers, Cryosphere, 6, 1925–1322. scales up to a few hundreds of kilometers) in response to Pfeffer, W. T., et al. (2014), The Randolph Glacier Inventory: A globally complete inventory of glaciers, J. Glaciol., 60(221), 537–552 . small surface loads that involve a limited mass variation. Spada, G. (2008), ALMA, a Fortran program for computing the viscoelastic Love numbers Additionally, although nonelastic processes during defor- of a spherically symmetric planet, Comput. Geosci., 34(6), 667–687. mation of low-viscosity crustal layers can be important even for short time scales and especially for large loads Author Information [Spada, 2008], REAR considers only elastic deformations. Daniele Melini, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Hence, REAR is not suitable for modeling the long-term Rome, Italy; Pascal Gegout, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, subsidence caused by sedimentary and volcanic loads, Toulouse, France; Matt King, University of Tasmania, Hobart, which tend to be nonelastic. Australia; Ben Marzeion, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; and Giorgio Spada, Università di Urbino, Urbino, Italy; A Fine-Scale View email: [email protected] The level of detail in the maps in Figure 1 would be impos- sible to capture using computer models that do not account for finely layered mantle and crustal layers or that are not designed to efficiently compute deformation on fine scales. Modern computers with multicore central processing units (CPUs) can efficiently perform REAR calculations to a very high precision, which is necessary to capture deformations down to the kilometer scale. Details of the map in Figure 1 are captured thanks to the efficient design of REAR and the very high resolution of deformation. We hope that REAR will open up new horizons in crustal deformation studies.

Technical Details REAR runs on any UNIX environment with a Fortran com- piler, including Windows systems running the Cygwin layer. The REAR source code package and a detailed user guide are available from http://bit.ly/REARcalc.

Acknowledgments We thank two anonymous reviewers and the editor for useful suggestions. This work was performed within the context of International Association of Geodesy subcom- mission 3.4 Cryospheric Deformation. M.K. is supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship. P.G. is funded by the Loadings & Propagations project of the Cen- tre National d’Études Spatiales’s Terre, Océan, Surfaces Continentales, Atmosphère program. B.M. is supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): P25362-N26. G.S. is funded by Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide (CUP D32I14000230005). REAR has been partly developed with the support of CINECA ISCRA (Italian SuperComput- ing Resource Allocation) grants.

References Agnew, D. C. (1997), NLOADF: A program for computing ocean-tide loading, J. Geophys. Res., 102(B3), 5109–5110.

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 17 AGU NEWS

2015 AGU Union Medal, Award, and Prize Recipients Announced

he Honors and Recognition Committee and the Union selection committees are pleased to announce the recipients of AGU’s 2015 Union medals, awards, and prizes. T AGU’s vision is to collaboratively advance and communicate science and its power to ensure a sustainable future. Our honorees’ achievements help build the foundations on which we will realize that vision. In an environment that encourages experimentation, innovation, and the free exchange of ideas, these outstanding contributors to the Earth and space sciences thrive. Their work has a profound impact on the ways we live and think. We thank all who have given their support and commitment to AGU’s honors program, including volunteers who serve on the medals, awards, and prizes selection committees that have chosen this year’s Union honorees. We also thank the nominators and supporters who made this all possible with their dedicated efforts to recognize their colleagues. We look forward to celebrating the honorees’ breakthrough achievements and exceptional work at the Honors Ceremony and Banquet, to be held on 16 December 2015 at the Fall Meeting in San Francisco. Please join us in congratulating our esteemed class of 2015 Union honorees listed below.

Medals Edward A. Flinn III Award Sonia Esperanca and Robin L. Reichlin, William Bowie Medal National Science Foundation Wilfried H. Brutsaert, Cornell University Charles S. Falkenberg Award James B. Macelwane Medal Benjamin L. Preston, Oak Ridge National Paul Cassak, West Virginia University Laboratory Bethany L. Ehlmann, California Institute of Technology Athelstan Spilhaus Award Colette L. Heald, Massachusetts Institute of Holly R. Gilbert, NASA Goddard Space Flight Technology Center Matthew G. Jackson, University of Califor- International Award nia, Santa Barbara Peter J. Webster, Georgia Institute of Tech- Katharine Maher, Stanford University nology John Adam Fleming Medal Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achieve- Andrew F. Nagy, University of Michigan, ment in Science Journalism Ann Arbor Andrew Revkin, The New York Times Maurice Ewing Medal Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Russ E. Davis, Scripps Institution of Ocean- Journalism—Features ography Douglas Fox, Freelance Writer Robert E. Horton Medal David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Günter Blöschl, Vienna University of Technology Journalism—News Harry H. Hess Medal Sandi Doughton, The Seattle Times Claude P. Jaupart, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris Prizes

Roger Revelle Medal The Asahiko Taira International Scientific Ocean Anne M. Thompson, NASA Goddard Space Drilling Research Prize Flight Center Fumio Inagaki, Japan Agency for Marine- Earth Science and Technology Inge Lehmann Medal Peter Olson, Johns Hopkins University Climate Communications Prize Richard C. J. Somerville, Scripps Institution Awards of Oceanography

Ambassador Award Charles R. Chappell, Vanderbilt University By Margaret Leinen, AGU President, and Sam Lucile Jones, U.S. Geological Survey Mukasa, Chair, Honors and Recognition Commit- Gordon McBean, University of Western Ontario tee; email: [email protected]

18 // Eos 15 August 2015 AGU NEWS

2015 Class of AGU Fellows Announced

n behalf of the Honors and Recognition Committee and the Union Fellows Committee, Minnesota we are very pleased to present the 2015 AGU Class of Fellows. Being elected a Union Fel- low is a tribute to those AGU members who have made exceptional contributions to Michael J. Jackson, University of Minnesota O Twin Cities, Minneapolis Earth and space sciences as valued by their peers and vetted by section and focus group committees. This honor is bestowed on only 0.1% of the membership in any given year. Nevada We thank all who have given their support and commitment to AGU’s honors program. These include all the section and focus group Fellows selection committees and the Union Fellows Scott W. Tyler, University of Nevada, Reno Committee, who gave their valuable time and energy in evaluating and selecting this year’s Fel- lows. We also thank all the nominators and supporters who, through their dedicated efforts to New Jersey nominate and recognize their colleagues, made all this possible. Amitava Bhattacharjee, Princeton University, We look forward to celebrating their breakthrough achievements and exceptional work at the Princeton annual Honors Ceremony and Banquet to be held on 16 December at the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco. New York Please join us in congratulating our 2015 AGU Class of Fellows! Geoffrey A. Abers, Cornell University, Arizona Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, National Center for Ithaca Atmospheric Research, Boulder Suzanne M. Carbotte, Lamont-Doherty George E. Gehrels, University of Arizona, William K. Peterson, University of Colorado Earth Observatory, Palisades Tucson Boulder, Boulder Peter A. Fox, Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti- Jonathan T. Overpeck, University of Ari- William J. Randel, National Center for tute, Troy zona, Tucson Atmospheric Research, Boulder Cynthia Rosenzweig, NASA Goddard Insti- Jay Quade, University of Arizona, Tucson Michael J. Thompson, University Corpora- tute for Space Studies, New York Peter A. Troch, University of Arizona, tion for Atmospheric Research, Boulder Larry D. Travis, NASA Goddard Institute for Tucson Space Studies, New York Florida California North Carolina Jeffrey Chanton, Florida State University, Lawrence E. Band, University of North Gregory P. Asner, Carnegie Institution for Tallahassee Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill Science, Stanford Allan J. Clarke, Florida State University, Hans W. Paerl, University of North Carolina Thorsten W. Becker, University of Southern Tallahassee at Chapel Hill, Morehead City California, Los Angeles Robert W. Carlson, Jet Propulsion Labora- Hawaii Ohio tory, Pasadena Todd E. Dawson, University of California, Axel Timmermann, University of Hawaii, Michael G. Bevis, Ohio State University, Berkeley Honolulu Columbus Imke de Pater, University of California, Oregon Berkeley Illinois Sarah T. Gille, University of California, San Roger M. Samelson, Oregon State Univer- Diego, La Jolla James Best, University of Illinois at Urbana- sity, Corvallis Jennifer W. Harden, California Water Sci- Champaign, Urbana ence Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Tami C. Bond, University of Illinois at Pennsylvania Menlo Park Urbana-Champaign, Urbana Charles J. Ammon, Pennsylvania State Glen M. MacDonald, University of Califor- Praveen Kumar, University of Illinois at University, University Park nia, Los Angeles Urbana-Champaign, Urbana Robert Pinkel, University of California, San Yanbin Wang, University of Chicago, Argonne Texas Diego, La Jolla Fred F. Pollitz, Earthquake Science Center, Maryland Ping Yang, Texas A&M University, College U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park Station Laurence C. Smith, University of California, Lorraine A. Remer, University of Maryland, Los Angeles Baltimore County, Baltimore Washington

Colorado Massachusetts Christopher S. Bretherton, University of Washington, Seattle Jose-Luis Jimenez, University of Colorado John W. Farrington, Woods Hole Oceano- Alex B. Guenther, Pacific Northwest Boulder, Boulder graphic Institution, Falmouth National Laboratory, Richland

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 19 AGU NEWS

Ian R. Joughin, University of Washington, Seattle 2015 AGU Section and Focus Group Philip J. Rasch, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Awardees and Named Lecturers

International

Paul D. Bates, University of Bristol, Bristol, n behalf of AGU’s leaders and staff, we give our heartfelt congratulations to all of this United Kingdom year’s section and focus group awardees and named lecturers. Michael A. Church, University of British O Listed below are the scientists, in various stages of their careers, who have been Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, selected by AGU sections and focus groups to receive awards in 2015. Also listed are those indi- Canada viduals chosen to present lectures under the annual Bowie Lecture Series as well as the Section Olaf A. Cirpka, University of Tübingen, and Focus Group Named Lecture Series. Tübingen, Germany The Bowie Lecture was inaugurated in 1989 to commemorate the fiftieth presentation of the Mark J. Dekkers, Utrecht University, William Bowie Medal, which is named for AGU’s first president and is the highest honor given by Utrecht, Netherlands AGU. Bowie lecturers in the list below are denoted by asterisks. Named lecturers are designated Georgia Destouni, Stockholm University, by sections and focus groups to honor distinguished scientists in their respective fields of sci- Stockholm, Sweden ence. Hugh S. O’Neill, Australian National Uni- We thank all sections and focus groups for giving these recognitions to their well-deserving versity, Canberra, Australia colleagues. These awardees/lecture recipients represent some of the most innovative minds in Michael L. Roderick, Australian National their fields. We recognize their continuing meritorious work and service toward the advance- University, Canberra, Australia ment and promotion of discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Daniel Rosenfeld, Hebrew University of We look forward to recognizing their achievements at the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting, to be held Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel 14–18 December in San Francisco, Calif. Martha K. Savage, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand Barbara Sherwood Lollar, University of Atmospheric and Space Electricity William S. and Carelyn Y. Reeburgh Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Focus Group Lecture Gary King, Louisiana State University Jean-Pierre Vilotte, Institut de Physique du Franklin Lecture Globe de Paris, Paris, France Paul Krehbiel, New Mexico Institute of Cryosphere Focus Group Martin Visbeck, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre Mining and Technology for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany Cryosphere Early Career Award Guoxiong Wu, Chinese Academy of Sci- Atmospheric Sciences Section Sarah Kapnick, National Oceanic and ences, Beijing, China Atmospheric Administration Ascent Award Jiwen Fan, Pacific Northwest National Nye Lecture By Margaret Leinen, AGU President, and Chris- Laboratory Eric Rignot, University of California, tina Ravelo, Chair, Union Fellows Committee; Andrew Gettelman, University Corporation Irvine email: [email protected] for Atmospheric Research Allen Robinson, Carnegie Mellon University Earth and Planetary Surface Processes Allison Steiner, University of Michigan Focus Group

James R. Holton Junior Scientist Award G. K. Gilbert Award in Surface Processes Chunsong Lu, Nanjing University of Robert Anderson, University of Colorado, Boulder Get Eos highlights Information Science and Technology Yoram J. Kaufman Unselfish Cooperation in Luna B. Leopold Award in your inbox Research Award Vamsi Ganti, California Institute of every Friday. Brent Holben, NASA Technology Christos Zerefos, University of Athens Sharp Lecture To sign up for the Eos Buzz Bjerknes Lecture* Vamsi Ganti, California Institute of newsletter, simply go to Kerry Emanuel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Technology publications.agu.org, Earth and Space Science Informatics Charney Lecture* Focus Group scroll down, and enter your Meinrat Andreae, Max Planck Institute for information in the “SIGN-UP Chemistry Leptoukh Lecture Dawn Wright, Environmental Systems FOR EOS BUZZ NEWSLETTER” Biogeosciences Section Research Institute section. Sulzman Award for Excellence in Education Geodesy Section and Mentoring Ruth Varner, University of New Geodesy Section Award Hampshire Matt Pritchard, Cornell University

20 // Eos 15 August 2015 AGU NEWS

Ivan I. Mueller Award for Service and Leadership Nonlinear Geophysics Focus Group Fred L. Scarf Award Charles Meertens, UNAVCO Majd Matta, Boston University Donald L. Turcotte Award William Bowie Lecture* Jezabel Curbelo, Universidad Autonoma Space Physics and Aeronomy Richard Daniel Dzurisin, Cascades Volcano Obser- de Madrid Carrington Education and Public Outreach vatory, U.S. Geological Survey Behzad Ghanbarian-Alavijeh, University Award of Texas at Austin Charles Chappell, Vanderbilt University Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Section Space Weather and Nonlinear Waves and Sunanda and Santimay Basu Early Processes Prize Career Award in Sun-Earth Systems William Gilbert Award Gurbax Lakhina, Indian Institute of Science Michael Jackson, University of Minnesota Geomagnetism Chaowei Jiang, Chinese Academy of Sciences Bullard Lecture* Lorenz Lecture Steven Constable, Scripps Institution of Shaun Lovejoy, McGill University Eugene Parker Lecture Oceanography Phil Scherrer, Stanford University Ocean Sciences Section Global Environmental Change Focus Group James Van Allen Lecture* Ocean Sciences Early Career Award Michelle Thomsen, Planetary Institute Schneider Lecture Angel White, Oregon State Tucson Donald Wuebbles, University of Illinois at University Urbana-Champaign Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior Ocean Sciences Award Focus Group Tyndall Lecture Don Rice, National Science Foundation Julie Brigham-Grette, University of Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior Graduate Carson Lecture Massachusetts Amherst Research Award Mary Jane Perry, University of Maine Matt Weller, Rice University Hydrology Section Sverdrup Lecture Fiamma Straneo, Woods Hole Tectonophysics Section Early Career Hydrologic Science Award Oceanographic Institution Tom Gleeson, University of Victoria Jason Morgan Early Career Award Lijun Liu, University of Illinois at Urbana- Horton Research Grant Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology Champaign Laura Stevens, Massachusetts Institute of Focus Group Technology Birch Lecture* Dansgaard Award Emily Voytek, Colorado School of Mines Kelin Wang, Geological Survey of Canada Adina Paytan, University of California, Adam Wlostowski, Colorado State Santa Cruz University Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology Section Hydrologic Sciences Award Planetary Sciences Section Hisashi Kuno Award Dara Entekhabi, Massachusetts Institute of Ronald Greeley Early Career Award in Planetary Chris Huber, Georgia Institute of Technology Science Technology Langbein Lecture* Ian Garrick-Bethell, University of Tissa Illangasekare, Colorado School of California, Santa Cruz Norman L. Bowen Award and Lecture Tom Sisson, U.S. Geological Survey Mines Whipple Award and Lecture Alfred McEwen, University of Arizona Daly Lecture* Mineral and Rock Physics Focus Group Katharine Cashman, University of Bristol Sagan Lecture Mineral and Rock Physics Early Career Award John Asher Johnson, Harvard University Nicolas Brantut, University College London Joint Award: Geodesy, Seismology, Shoemaker Lecture* and Tectonophysics Sections Mineral and Rock Physics Graduate Research William Bottke, Southwest Research Award Paul G. Silver Award Institute Yun-Yuan Chang, Academica Sinica Robert Smith, University of Utah Zhang Dongzhou, California Institute of Seismology Section Technology Joint Lecture: Keiiti Aki Young Scientist Award Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology Natural Hazards Focus Group Sanne Cottar, University of Cambridge and Ocean Sciences

Natural Hazards Focus Group Award for Gutenberg Lecture* Emiliani Lecture Graduate Research Kazushige Obara, University of Tokyo Alan Mix, Oregon State University Cheng Linyin, University of California, Irvine Space Physics and Aeronomy Section Gilbert F. White Lecture Basu United States Early Career Award By Eric Davidson, AGU President-elect and Chair, Susan Cutter, University of South Timothy Duly, University of Illinois at AGU Council, and Sam Mukasa, 2015–2016 Carolina Urbana Chair, Honors and Recognition Committee

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 21 AGU NEWS

Member Comment Period Open for AGU Bylaws Amendments Helps You Manage Your Career

l Participate in Career Advice Workshops and Webinars l Update your resume to manage and track your career accomplishments l Access information from past Career Advice Workshops and Webinars ©iStock.com/serggn l Search and respond to job member comment period is now open Development Board. The bylaws specify that listings for two minor amendments to the AGU’s president-elect will serve in this posi- A AGU bylaws. The changes relate to tion; the amendment recommends that the section and focus group voting and develop- AGU past past president serve as vice chair ment board leadership. The comment period instead. will end on 6 September 2015. AGU’s president-elect already has significant responsibilities and time commitments Voting Restriction Lifted serving as the Council chair, Council Leader- AGU encourages members to join as many ship Team chair, Board vice chair, and an sections and focus groups as desired. The first Executive Committee member. The past past amendment removes the voting restriction for president is well positioned to provide lead- members belonging to more than three sec- ership to the Development Board, having tions and focus groups. just rotated off the AGU Board. Almost 25% of AGU members belong to four AGU members are asked to review the or more sections and focus groups, and this amendments on the AGU Bylaws web page restriction was creating confusion during elec- (http://bit .ly/ bylawspage) and to respond in tions. It also seemed inconsistent with AGU’s one of these three ways listed on the Member strategic plan and growing commitment to Comment Period web page (http://bit.ly/ interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary science. commperiod): In December 2013, the Council determined that members should be allowed to vote for offi- 1. No Comment: The proposed changes look cers in any or all sections and focus groups to OK to me. which they belong. It voted to remove the voting 2. Abstain from commenting. restriction, and the change was implemented in 3. Submit comments. the 2014 AGU election. This is a cleanup of the bylaw’s language to make it consistent with the If you have any questions, please contact already implemented voting change. Cheryl Enderlein.

New Role for AGU Past Past President The second amendment would change which By Cheryl Enderlein, Assistant Director of Lead- careers.agu.org AGU president serves as vice chair of the ership, AGU; email: [email protected]

22 // Eos 15 August 2015 AGU NEWS

Share Your Science with Today’s Teachers, Tomorrow’s Scientists

re you interested in fostering the next generation of Earth and space scien- A tists? Two opportunities to share your science with children, parents, and teachers are coming up at the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting. One is a Sunday afternoon spread of hands-on, kid-oriented science exhibits and activities, called Exploration Station. The other is a weekday training seminar, known as the Geophysical Information for Teachers (GIFT) Workshop. In this workshop, scientists like yourself share the ins and outs of your field with a classroom full of talented K–12 educators. Both offer great opportunities to get your research out there and to hone your communication skills. These events are part of AGU’s Sharing Science program (see http://sharing- science.agu.org/), which helps scientists engage a broad audience in Earth and space science. By

participating, you’ll learn how to better present Gary Wagner technical material in a way that the general pub- A Cub Scout investigates rocks at the Exploration Station during the 2014 Fall Meeting. lic can understand, and you’ll help close the gap between what you do as a scientist and the public’s understanding of science. What’s more, 21 August at http://bit.ly/ES_register. Explora- If you have ideas to share and would like to these programs are just plain fun! tion Station will be held from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. present, please submit an application by on Sunday, 13 December. 31 August (see http://bit.ly/GIFT_apply). The Exploration Station Draws Crowds 2015 GIFT Workshop will be held from Do you like working with children? Create an Enduring Impact 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, 14 Decem- exhibit and help involve kids in hands-on If you want to have more clout in K–12 sci- ber, and Tuesday, 15 December. activities at Exploration Station. Open to the ence classrooms, pair with an expert educator New this year, each team of presenters public, this event attracts local San Francisco at the 2015 GIFT Workshop and share your receives one free full-week registration to Fall families and teachers, as well as Fall Meeting knowledge there. Meeting, to be used by one member of the pre- attendees and their families. Visitors enjoy Selected scientists will present classroom senting team. giveaways, demonstrations, and immersive activities and resources that bring students a activities. Exploration step closer to the Newcomers Welcome Station attendance You’ll help close the gap cutting edge of sci- These events grow larger each year, and AGU more than doubled entific research. The is always happy to have new scientists get last year to nearly between what you do as a impact doesn’t stop involved and share their passion for Earth and 1000 visitors; we at the workshop: space science. The interaction of scientists expect this year to be scientist and the public’s Attendees range with Exploration Station and GIFT Workshop even better. from public school attendees empowers teachers and students. It Past Exploration understanding of science. teachers to informal also strengthens the impact of science profes- Stations featured educators, so infor- sionals. As one 2013 GIFT Workshop teacher stomp rockets, iPad mation will dissemi- put it, the AGU Fall Meeting provided an apps, and a planetarium. Last year, the event nate through multiple avenues. Materials will “excellent opportunity for teachers to connect also included, for the first time, a set of activi- remain online afterward in the form of Live with research scientists.” For this educator, ties meant to appeal particularly to Boy Scouts Education Activity Resource Network the experience made the Fall Meeting that and Girl Scouts. They had a great time working (LEARN) videos. Check out videos from past year “second to none.” with scientists to complete merit badge workshops on the LEARN site (see http://bit requirements. This year, we will again include .ly/AGU_LEARN), such as one about making activities geared to scouts. predictions about Yellowstone National Park To become an exhibitor, read our FAQs volcanoes and another about a game explor- By Victoria Anania, Education Intern, AGU; (http://bit.ly/ES_FAQs) and register by ing pollination. email: [email protected]

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 23 The Honors and Recognition Committee and the Union Medals, Fellows, Awards, and Prizes committees are very pleased to present the 2015 AGU Union Honorees

Medals

William Bowie Medal Maurice Ewing Medal Wilfried H. Brutsaert, Cornell University Russ E. Davis, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

James B. Macelwane Medal Robert E. Horton Medal Paul Cassak, West Virginia University Günter Blöschl, Vienna University of Technology

Bethany L. Ehlmann, California Institute of Technology Harry H. Hess Medal Colette L. Heald, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Claude P. Jaupart, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris Matthew G. Jackson, University of California, Santa Barbara Roger Revelle Medal Anne M. Thompson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Katharine Maher, Stanford University Inge Lehmann Medal John Adam Fleming Medal Peter Olson, Johns Hopkins University Andrew F. Nagy, University of Michigan

Fellows

Geoffrey A. Abers, Cornell University Robert W. Carlson, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Charles J. Ammon, Pennsylvania State University Jeffrey Chanton, Florida State University

Gregory P. Asner, Carnegie Institution for Science* Michael A. Church, University of British Columbia

Lawrence E. Band, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Olaf A. Cirpka, University of Tübingen

Paul D. Bates, University of Bristol Allan J. Clarke, Florida State University

Thorsten W. Becker, University of Southern California Todd E. Dawson, University of California, Berkeley

James Best, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Mark J. Dekkers, Utrecht University

Michael G. Bevis, Ohio State University Imke de Pater, University of California, Berkeley

Amitava Bhattacharjee, Princeton University Georgia Destouni, Stockholm University

Tami C. Bond, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign John W. Farrington, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Christopher S. Bretherton, University of Washington* Peter A. Fox, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute*

Suzanne M. Carbotte, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory George E. Gehrels, University of Arizona

*Corrected from 1 August print issue of Eos magazine

24 // Eos 15 August 2015 Sarah T. Gille, University of California, San Diego Michael L. Roderick, Australian National University*

Alex B. Guenther, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Daniel Rosenfeld, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Jennifer W. Harden, U.S. Geological Survey* Cynthia Rosenzweig, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Michael J. Jackson, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Roger M. Samelson, Oregon State University

Jose-Luis Jimenez, University of Colorado Boulder Martha K. Savage, Victoria University of Wellington*

Ian R. Joughin, University of Washington Barbara Sherwood Lollar, University of Toronto

Praveen Kumar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Laurence C. Smith, University of California, Los Angeles

Glen M. MacDonald, University of California, Los Angeles Michael J. Thompson, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

Hugh S. O’Neill, Australian National University* Axel Timmermann, University of Hawaii*

Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, National Center for Atmospheric Research Larry D. Travis, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies*

Jonathan T. Overpeck, University of Arizona Peter A. Troch, University of Arizona

Hans W. Paerl, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Scott W. Tyler, University of Nevada, Reno

William K. Peterson, University of Colorado Boulder Jean-Pierre Vilotte, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris

Robert Pinkel, University of California, San Diego Martin Visbeck, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

Fred F. Pollitz, U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Science Center* Yanbin Wang, University of Chicago

Jay Quade, University of Arizona Guoxiong Wu, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences* William J. Randel, National Center for Atmospheric Research* Ping Yang, Texas A&M University Philip J. Rasch, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Lorraine A. Remer, University of Maryland, Baltimore County*

Awards

Ambassador Award International Award Charles R. Chappell, Vanderbilt University Peter J. Webster, Georgia Institute of Technology*

Lucile Jones, U.S. Geological Survey* Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement Gordon McBean, University of Western Ontario in Science Journalism Andrew Revkin, The New York Times Edward A. Flinn III Award Sonia Esperanca and Robin L. Reichlin, Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science National Science Foundation Journalism–Features Douglas Fox, Freelance Writer Charles S. Falkenberg Award Benjamin L. Preston, Oak Ridge National Laboratory David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism–News Athelstan Spilhaus Award Sandi Doughton, The Seattle Times Holly R. Gilbert, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center*

Prizes

The Asahiko Taira International Scientific Ocean Drilling Research Prize Fumio Inagaki, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology

Climate Communications Prize Richard C. J. Somerville, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

honors.agu.org

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 25 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Underwater Robot Tracked Ocean Sediment During Hurricane Sandy Nilsen Strandskov/Rutgers University Nilsen Strandskov/Rutgers

A Teledyne Webb autonomous underwater glider RU23 belonging to Rutgers University deployed off the New Jersey coastline in 2012.

n October 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the northeastern United pended in the water column during the 24-hour period of peak storm States around New Jersey and devastated a number of large metro- intensity. I politan areas, including New York City. For all the destruction and In addition to confirming the models’ predictions, the finding chaos it wrought, the storm also allowed researchers to closely moni- indicates that perhaps unsurprisingly, Hurricane Sandy was seri- tor a host of environmental and physical phenomena associated with ously stirring up the ocean floor along her path. Certainly, this leads a storm of such magnitude. to erosion in some areas, but it also increases sediment deposition in Miles et al. report observations of ocean sediment movement off others. New Jersey’s coast, caused by the storm. Data from an ocean glider The researchers conclude that after the hurricane made landfall, its equipped with a host of scientific instrumentation and deployed ahead energy dipped below the threshold necessary to keep the sediment of the storm allowed researchers not only to see how sediment was particles suspended in the water column. But where did all that swirl- being redistributed by the hurricane as the storm unfolded but also to ing debris land? compare their real-life observations with forecasts from mathemati- According to the model predictions, Sandy dropped about 3 centi- cal models. meters of sediment across the continental shelf just north of the Del- The glider used optical and acoustic backscatter—techniques sim- aware Bay. The team suggests that hurricanes play an important role ilar to radar in which sound or light is bounced off of surroundings in redistributing ocean sediment and that gliders can play a valuable and analyzed upon return—to survey the water for sediment parti- role in tracking a storm’s effect on local ecosystems. ( Journal of Geo- cles of two different sizes (0.4 and 0.1 millimeter) commonly used in physical Research: Oceans, doi:10.1002/2014JC010474, 2015) —David models. It observed that both particle sizes got completely sus- Shultz, Freelance Writer

26 // Eos 15 August 2015 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Urbanization Threatens Drought-Reducing Clouds in California

ubtropical stratus clouds—low-lying, relatively thin clouds often The historical cloud referred to as “aboveground fog”—regulate coastal, and even records are consistent S global, climate. Small decreases in the occurrence of these with an urban heat near-surface clouds would drive up temperatures and exacerbate island effect: drought conditions, but climate models are not consistent in predict- Increases in night- ing the impact of stratus clouds. Looking back at historical records to time and early morn- analyze past cloud cover and temperature trends could give scientists ing warming prevent important insights into how the clouds may be influencing climate water vapor from conditions. condensing out of the Williams et al. pored through 67 years’ worth of hourly observations air into clouds near Williams Park Marine stratus clouds thinly scattered over Marina Del of fog, stratus cloud frequency, and stratus cloud base height taken the surface of the Rey in Los Angeles in August 2014. from 24 airfields across coastal southern California, clustered in four Earth. Higher tem- areas: Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and two islands west of peratures essentially Los Angeles. The researchers found that between 1948 and 2014, stra- lift the altitude of tus frequency decreased by 23% in the Los Angeles area. Declines were condensation and cloud base height, thereby reducing fog frequency. nearly as common in San Diego but did not occur in Santa Barbara or The researchers found that, in general, the more urbanized areas in the islands. the study had larger increases in cloud base height and larger Even larger trends were observed with fog. Los Angeles saw a 63% decreases in the frequency of fog and low stratus clouds. reduction in fog frequency, whereas San Diego experienced less severe This pattern is troubling because fewer daytime clouds, and resul- fog reductions, and fog frequency remained stable in Santa Barbara tant decreases in shading and water deposition to ecosystems, can and increased over the islands. These trends were most pronounced in cause warming and drought. Warming further reduces fog and stratus the early morning, when stratus clouds and fog are most common. cloud formation. This positive feedback loop can lead to increases in The trends match changes observed in cloud base heights. Base water and energy demand, wildfire risk, and adverse public health heights have risen in Los Angeles by an average of 12.7 meters per consequences. However, from the perspective of transportation safety decade. These heights increased in San Diego to a lesser extent but and tourism, these changes in cloud base height could have positive remained the same over Santa Barbara, whereas they have actually effects. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1002/2014GL063266, 2015) fallen over the islands. —Chris Palmer, Freelance Writer

Gaseous Planets May Have Huge Luminous Rings Caused by Lightning

upiter and Saturn—and other gas giant planets like them in alien those gas giant planets and solar systems—may have a strange phenomenon related to light- found that the effects were J ning in their upper atmospheres known as “elves.” much stronger than on Earth, This phenomenon was first discovered in the upper reaches of creating a layer of ionization Earth’s atmosphere in the early 1990s. Unlike conventional lightning, high above the storms. The which strikes from cloud to cloud or cloud to ground, elves appear resulting elve was enormous— high above thunderclouds at the edge of space as an enormous, expanding to a diameter of expanding red ring. First recorded from the space shuttle Discovery, nearly 4000 kilometers. Elves the glow can reach 500 kilometers in diameter in 1 millisecond. are especially bright at Saturn, Elves occur when lightning in a thunderstorm triggers a disturbance and NASA’s Cassini orbiter is in the electric and magnetic fields called an electromagnetic pulse almost capable of imaging (EMP). This pulse reaches into the upper layers of the Earth’s atmo- them, the authors’ calculations sphere and expands outward, jolting electrons and exciting nitrogen show. They also suspect that molecules, which emit a faint red glow. This light also provides the elves probably occur on similar Caltech/Space Science Institute grounds for the phenomenon’s whimsical acronym: Emissions of planets—cold gas giants far

Light and Very low frequency perturbations due to Electromagnetic from their host stars—in other NASA/JPL- pulse Sources. solar systems. (Journal of Geo- Lightning on Saturn, seen here as a purple Luque et al. used simulations to explore whether elves can also physical Research: Space Physics, dot in this false-color image, may generate occur on Jupiter and Saturn, where conventional lightning has pre- doi:10.1002/2014JA020457, 2014) glowing rings called elves that expand viously been spotted. They modeled EMPs in the atmospheres of —Mark Zastrow, Freelance Writer through the planet’s upper atmosphere.

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

Atmospheric Sciences both observations and a variety of mod- applicants will receive consideration AGU’s Career Center is eling tools. The selected candidate will for employment without regard to race, the main resource for Postdoctoral Scientist in “Multi- have a Ph.D. and one or more of the fol- color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, recruitment advertising. Decadal Internal Climate Variability lowing attributes: (a) a strong back- gender identity, disability status, pro- and Its Role in Climate Change” ground in climate/ocean dynamics or tected veteran status, or any other coupled air-sea interactions, (b) experi- All Positions Available and The Atmospheric and Oceanic Sci- characteristic protected by law. ences Program at Princeton University, ence conducting and analyzing coupled additional job postings in cooperation with NOAA’s Geophysi- climate model experiments, and (c) Hydrology can be viewed at cal Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), strong diagnostic skills in analyzing https://eos.org/jobs-support. seeks a postdoctoral scientist for simulated and observed data sets. Tenure-Track Assistant Professor research related to multi-decadal This is a two-year position (subject Position GROUNDWATER HYDROLO- AGU offers printed recruitment internal (natural) climate variability to renewal after the first year contin- GIST University of Wyoming advertising in Eos to reinforce and its potential role in explaining gent upon satisfactory performance The Department of Civil and Archi- your online job visibility and observed climate changes. A key focus and funding availability) based at tectural Engineering at the University your brand. is to improve understanding of the role GFDL/NOAA in Princeton, New Jersey. of Wyoming invites applications for a of low frequency internal climate vari- Complete applications, including a CV, tenure-track faculty position in Contact [email protected] ability in the current “hiatus” in global publication list, names of 3 references Groundwater Hydrology at the Assis- for more information about warming, as well as previous hiatus for letters of recommendation, and a tant Professor level. We seek a candi- reserving an online job posting and accelerated-warming periods one-to-two page statement of research date with the interest and ability to develop and sustain a nationally com- with a printed Eos recruitment during the 20th century. Such under- interests should be submitted. Review petitive research program. The suc- advertisement. standing plays an important role in the of applications will begin as soon as detection and attribution of observed they are received and continue until cessful candidate must hold an earned climate changes. The research will use the position is filled. Applicants doctoral degree in Civil Engineering or various approaches to understand the should apply online to http://jobs. in a closely related discipline by the LINE LISTING RATES: physical mechanisms causing the princeton.edu, Requisition #1500509. position start date. Registration as a For additional information on the posi- professional engineer or professional $0.32 per character for observed decadal changes including ➢ quantification of contributions from tion, please contact Rong Zhang (Rong. hydrologist are desirable but not both internal climate variability and [email protected]) or Tom Knutson required. The successful candidate $0.26 per character for responses of the climate system to var- ([email protected]). This posi- must be able to teach courses in fluid ➢ first issue of publication each additional issue of ious natural and anthropogenic forcing tion is subject to the University’s back- mechanics, hydraulics, hydrology, and publication agents (e.g., greenhouse gases, aero- ground check policy. water resources engineering. Also, the sols, and volcanic eruptions). The Princeton University is an equal successful candidate must have the STUDENT OPPORTNITY research will make extensive use of opportunity employer and all qualified demonstrated ability to develop an externally funded research program in RATES: groundwater hydrology. This position will become part of a ➢ No Cost up to 500 characters major research thrust in water resources at the University of Wyo- ➢ $0.16 per character over ming. Groundwater resources are of immense importance to societal and issue of publication ecological needs. Approximately half of 500 characters for first Wyoming water resources are from ➢ $0.16 per character groundwater, and subsurface resources for each additional issue provide critical water to agriculture, oil of publication and gas development, and municipali- ties. There are tremendous research TO VIEW ALL EMPLOYMENT challenges in groundwater resulting DISPLAY AD SIZES, VISIT from changing climate signals and human population patterns, and http://sites.agu.org/ emerging techniques provide out- media-kits/files/2014/ standing opportunities for groundwa- 12/Eos-Employment- ter hydrologists to better quantify the Advertising.pdf fate and transport of water in a changing west. We seek a groundwater ➢ Eos is published semi-monthly hydrologist with experience in labora- on the 1st and 15th of every tory and field approaches for describ- month. Deadlines for ads ing complex subsurface processes. in each issue are published Areas of specific interest include, but at http://sites.agu.org/ are not limited to, surface-groundwa- media-kits/eos-advertising- ter interaction, unsaturated flow and deadlines/. contaminant transport. As a member of the faculty of the ➢ Eos accepts employment and Department of Civil and Architectural open position advertisements Engineering, the successful candidate from governments, individuals, will integrate his or her research with organizations, and academic the goals of the new Wyoming Center institutions. We reserve the for Environmental Hydrology and Geo- right to accept or reject ads at physics (http://www.uwyo.edu/epscor/ our discretion. wycehg/) and provide academic support to the PhD program in Water ➢ Eos is not responsible for Resources, Environmental Science and typographical errors. Engineering (http://www.uwyo.edu/ wrese/). * Print-only recruitment ads will only be allowed for those whose requirements UW faculty have access to world- include that positions must be advertised class computational resources as in a printed/paper medium. described at: https://arcc.uwyo.edu/. The department is supported by 22

28 // Eos 15 August 2015 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

tenured or tenure-track faculty and docs is expected. Requires: Ph.D. ocean offers ABET-accredited baccalaureate sciences or other related physical dis- programs in both civil engineering and cipline by the start of employment; architectural engineering to approxi- scholarly potential demonstrated by a mately 300 undergraduate students. record of peer-reviewed publications The department also offers graduate and a clearly defined research agenda; programs at the Masters and PhD lev- potential for establishing a funded els to roughly 60 graduate students. research program; potential for teach- Laramie is a picturesque and ing excellence, student success, men- friendly town offering a reasonable toring students/postdocs. For CEOAS cost of living, good K-12 public schools information see: http://ceoas.oregonstate. and easy access to outdoor activities in edu To apply go to: http://oregonstate. the Rocky Mountain region. Additional edu/jobs posting #0015241. For full information on the Department, Col- consideration apply by 09/14/2015. lege, and Laramie is available at: http:// Closing date: 10/14/2015. www.uwyo.edu/civil, http://ceas.uwyo. edu and http://www.laramie.org. Interdisciplinary/Other Applications must include: 1) a letter of application, 2) a curriculum vitae Assistant Professor Mineralogy/ including a list of publications, 3) a Petrology/Earth Materials West Vir- statement of research interests, 4) a ginia University statement of teaching interests, and 5) The Department of Geology and contact information for at least three Geography at West Virginia University references. Do not include supplemen- seeks to hire a tenure track Assistant tal information such as off-prints of Professor specializing in Earth Materi- papers, reference letters, or transcripts. als. This could include expertise in Review of applications will begin 15 Igneous, Metamorphic, Sedimentary or September 2015 and continue until the Organic Petrology, Mineralogy, Geomi- position is filled. The preferred start crobiology or related fields. The suc- date for the position is January 2016. cessful candidate will have the opportu- Submit applications in a single PDF file nity to develop a vigorous to: [email protected]. externally-funded research program. The University of Wyoming is an The new hire will also teach core under- Equal Employment Opportunity/Affir- graduate classes covering the origins of mative Action employer. All qualified rocks and minerals, as well as graduate applicants will receive consideration for courses in the area of his/her expertise. employment without regard to race, Requirements include: a Ph.D. in color, religion, sex, national origin, dis- Earth Science by the start date, evi- ability or protected veteran status or dence of potential to establish a strong any other characteristic protected by externally-funded research program, law and University policy. Please see: ability to publish in peer-review jour- http://www.uwyo.edu/diversity/ nals, and a commitment to teaching fairness. We conduct background inves- excellence at the undergraduate and tigations for all final candidates being graduate levels. considered for employment. Offers of Qualified applicants should: (1) sub- employment are contingent upon the mit a single PDF file including a state- completion of the background check. ment of research interests, a statement of teaching philosophy, and a curricu- Ocean Sciences lum vitae; (2) submit PDF files of up to 3 publications; and (3) arrange for three Assistant/Associate Professor with letters of reference to be sent. All doc- focus on remote sensing and ocean uments should go to earthmaterials@ circulation. mail.wvu.edu. The College of Earth, Ocean, and Review of applications will begin Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State Sept. 30, 2015 and continue until the University located in Corvallis, Oregon position is filled. The anticipated start invites applications full-time, 12 date is August of 2016. month tenure-track position. For additional information, please We seek a colleague to develop and see http://pages.geo.wvu.edu/ maintain a vigorous, externally funded earthmaterials or contact the search research program in ocean remote chair: Jaime Toro at [email protected] or sensing. This position will specialize in (304) 293 9817. applying, developing and improving West Virginia University is an EEO/ satellite remote sensing capabilities to Affirmative Action Employer and wel- study mesoscale and large-scale ocean comes applications from all qualified circulation, may develop transforma- individuals, including minorities, tive observational capabilities in oce- females, individuals with disabilities, anic physics. This position will: com- and veterans. plement existing CEOAS research programs in coastal and large-scale Faculty Position in Geology or Geo- ocean circulation, ocean-atmosphere physics at the University of Michigan interactions and climate variability and The Department of Earth and Envi- change; participate in undergraduate ronmental Sciences at the University of and graduate teaching program by Michigan anticipates an opening for a teaching courses in physical oceanog- tenure-track assistant professor in the raphy and ocean remote sensing, and areas of geology or geophysics for a advise/mentor students and/or post- university-year appointment starting

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

September 1, 2016. The Department appointment, and should submit a CV, intends to pursue additional hires in statement of current and future this direction in future years, and we research plans, statement of teaching are particularly interested in candi- philosophy and experience, evidence of dates whose strengths will comple- teaching excellence (if any), and names ment existing research programs and contact information of at least four within the Department. persons who can provide letters of rec- Geology: We encourage applications ommendation. from candidates whose research inter- Information about the Department ests encompass the origin, evolution, and instructions for submitting an or dynamics of the continents. The application can be found at www.lsa. successful candidate will develop a umich.edu/earth. strong field-based research program, To apply please go to http://www. complemented by expertise in modern earth.lsa.umich.edu/facultysearch/ analytical techniques or in numerical newapplicant, complete the online or analogue modeling. Candidates with form and upload the required applica- an interest in understanding continen- tion documents as a single PDF file. If tal evolution in deep geologic time are you have any questions or comments, particularly encouraged to apply. please send an email message to Geophysics: We encourage applica- [email protected]. tions from candidates who will The application deadline is Septem- develop an observationally based ber 15, 2015 for full consideration, but research program using geophysical applications will continue to be methods (e.g. seismology, geodesy, or reviewed until the position is filled. potential fields) to study the Earth at Women and minorities are encouraged the crustal or continental scale. We to apply. The University of Michigan is are particularly interested in those supportive of the needs of dual career applicants whose work is relevant to couples and is an equal opportunity/ societal concerns including natural affirmative action employer. hazards, such as earthquakes, volca- nism, and associated hazards, or envi- ASSISTANT COOPERATIVE EXTEN- ronmental change to the hydrosphere SION SPECIALIST Integrated Urban or cryosphere. Water Management University of The successful candidate is expected California, Riverside to establish an independent research The College of Natural and Agricul- program and contribute to both under- tural Sciences at the University of Cal- graduate and graduate teaching. Appli- ifornia, Riverside invites applications cants must have a Ph.D. at the time of for an Assistant Cooperative Exten-

30 // Eos 15 August 2015 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

sion (CE) Specialist position in inte- alive under continued drought and tionally diverse undergraduate stu- terizing materials associated with grated urban water management. The water restrictions is an important dent body. Its mission is explicitly environmental health issues (e.g., air- position has a 75% Cooperative Exten- aspect of this position. A Ph.D. in linked to providing routes to educa- borne particulates) is preferred but not sion and a 25% Organized Research Water Resources and Management, tional success for underrepresented required. appointment in the Agricultural Water Resource Engineering, Soil and and first-generation college students. We seek another individual with Experiment Station (http://cnas.ucr. Water Science, Natural Resources, A commitment to this mission is a experience in studying impact-induced edu/about/aes/) and will be located in Environment Sciences or related field. preferred qualification. Advancement melting and deformation in rocks to the Department of Environmental Sci- The ability to conduct innovative through the faculty ranks at the Uni- investigate rock fulgurites resulting ences, University of California at Riv- urban water management and conser- versity of California is through a from lightning strikes. The successful erside. The successful candidate will vation research and education pro- series of structured, merit-based candidate will apply modeling, theo- provide leadership for developing an grams and measure their impact is evaluations occurring every 2-3 years retical and/or experimental approaches applied research and outreach educa- required. Excellent communication each of which includes substantial to understanding the formation of ful- tion program focusing on urban water and interpersonal skills are essential. peer input. The University of Califor- gurites and associated shock micro- conservation and irrigation manage- Applications will be reviewed for full nia is an Equal Opportunity/Affirma- structures, and will work closely with ment in cooperation with a statewide consideration commencing September tive Action/Disability/Veterans the post doc described above to inform network of UC ANR specialists, advi- 1, 2015, the position will remain open Employer. models and theory with microstruc- sors, and on campus academics work- until filled. Applications must include tural observations. A key goal will be to ing in water resources, environmental a vita, statements of research and Student Opportunities understand similarities and differences horticulture, and related areas. Clien- teaching interests, and at least 4 let- between shock-induced planar defor- tele include UCANR CE advisors; state, ters of recommendation. All applica- Two Postdoctoral Research positions mation features in fulgurites with sim- regional and local water resource reg- tion materials, including letters of are currently available in the ilar features in rocks deformed by ulators and managers; other public recommendation, must be submitted Department of Earth and Environ- meteoric impacts or experimental and non-profit agencies; private at the same time through AP Recruit mental Science at the University of shock loads. industries, and domestic water users. at: https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/apply/ Pennsylvania. Both positions are available for one The successful candidate is expected JPF00336 . For more information about We seek an individual with a strong year and may be renewable based on to have expertise in the development the position,please contact Dr. Laos- background in mineralogical and performance and the further availabil- of sustainable strategies for increasing heng Wu, Department of Environ- microchemical characterization to ity of research funds. urban water use efficiency for large mental Sciences, University of Califor- study a variety of Earth materials, Please send a letter of interest, CV, commercial and publicly-maintained nia, Riverside ([email protected]). including rock fulgurites (melt, crys- and the names and contact informa- irrigated landscapes as well as urban For questions on application proce- tals, and associated deformation fea- tion of 3 references to Prof. Reto Gieré landscapes; management practices for dures and requirements, please con- tures caused by lightning strikes on ([email protected]). Interested reducing urban runoff and runoff tact Judy Bliss, Academic Personnel rocks), airborne dust, and materials candidates are encouraged to arrange water capture and reuse; rain harvest- Coordinator, at [email protected]. associated with frictional sliding of for an interview at the upcoming Gold- ing to reduce pollutant loads to water- Additional information about the experimental and natural faults. Expe- schmidt Conference. Evaluation of ways; and safe application of greywa- Departments of Environmental Sci- rience with light microscopy and vari- applications will begin immediately ter and reclaimed wastewater reuse. ences can be found at: http://envisci. ous electron beam instruments, specif- and continue until the position is filled. Developing strategies for long-range ucr.edu/. UCR is a world-class ically SEM, ESEM and analytical TEM, is Penn is an affirmative action, equal planning in the area of keeping plants research university with an excep- essential. Previous experience charac- opportunity employer.

Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 31 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

32 // Eos 15 August 2015 Postcards from the Field

Hello, Earthlings,

Greetings from the stratosphere! This photo was taken by a camera on board our prototype solar hot air balloon from an altitude of 22 kilometers above North Carolina. We’re developing this balloon to enable airborne measurements in remote areas (such as some active volcanic regions) where traditional helium balloons are too hard to use. Although this flight was just a proof of concept, we did pick up some big gravity waves from the convective activity you can see in the photo. Later this year we’ll be making infrasound measurements in the stratosphere using this design. Stay tuned!

Best, Daniel C. Bowman and Xiao Yang Ph.D. candidates, Department of Geological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

View more postcards at http://americangeophysicalunion.tumblr .com/tagged/postcards- from- the-fi eld. Submit an Abstract for Presentation

Call for Abstracts

Abstract Submission Deadline: 23 September 2015

The theme for the 2016 Ocean Sciences Meeting is Ocean Sciences at the Interface. Complex interactions often occur at interfaces. Interactions at these interfaces occur on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, and these interactions are critical for understanding the world around us and implementing informed policies in a global society. The meeting will highlight processes at interfaces and how the work at such interfaces pervades the study of ocean sciences and shapes the impact of our research on society. osm.agu.org