Volume 6 No. 1 (1 January 2006)

 

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National

Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and

actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web

site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the

information. Your comments are welcome.

 

Contents

 

1. Happy New Year! The IUGG Yearbook for 2006 is in press

2. Second Call for Invitations to Host the 2011 IUGG General Assembly

3. Nominating Committee for IUGG Officers for 2007-2011

4. Nominations open for IAG Secretary General

5. IUGG Website en Francais now operational

6. IUGG-related meetings occurring during January - March 2006

 

 

1. Happy New Year! The IUGG Yearbook for 2006 is in press

 

Thanks to all of the Adhering Body National Committees and the

Associations for helping to update the information in the IUGG Yearbook!

Assistant Secretary General Katina Rogers completed the master copy of

the 2006 Yearbook on 9 December. It was posted on the IUGG Website

(http://www.IUGG.org) by Webmaster Kathy Zellers, and will be printed

and distributed by the end of January. During 2006, updates to addresses

and other information in the Yearbook should be sent to the Secretariat

(secretariat@iugg.org) as soon as they are known; our goal is to update

the Web copy of the Yearbook periodically throughout the year.

 

Best Wishes to everyone for a healthy and prosperous New Year!

 

2. Second Call for Invitations to Host the 2011 IUGG General Assembly

 

Invitations to host the 2011 General Assembly are now being accepted and

must be received by January 2007. The guidelines for a proposal are

posted on the IUGG website, or can be received directly from the IUGG

Secretariat. The IUGG Council, at their 2007 meeting in Perugia, will

make the final selection.

 

3. Nominating Committee for IUGG Officers for 2007-2011

 

An important matter for the IUGG Council at its meeting in Perugia,

Italy, in 2007 will be the election of officers (President,

Vice-President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, and 3 Members), and the 4

members of the Finance Committee. The Nominations Committee has the task

of collecting the nominations and preparing the ballot, following the

rules regarding nominations and elections for these positions (IUGG

By-Laws, Section 10). President Shamir has announced the selection of

the members of the Nominations Committee as follows:

 

Chair: Dr. Søren Gregersen (Denmark)

Members: Prof. Attia Ashour (Egypt), Prof. Robert Duce (U.S.A.), and

Prof. Seiya Uyeda (Japan).

 

Instructions regarding the procedures to be used to submit nominations

in accordance with IUGG Statute 11 and By-law 10 will be posted on the

IUGG Web site and will be mailed to all IUGG officers and Adhering

Bodies before the end of January.

 

 

4. Nominations open for IAG Secretary General

 

The present Secretary General of the International Association of

Geodesy (IAG), C.C. Tscherning, has served for 3 periods, and cannot be

re-elected. The election of a new Secretary General (SG) will take place

in the spring of 2007 together with the election of other officers for

the 2007-2011 period. The commitment associated with this position is

heavier than that associated with any of the other IAG executive

positions and is based on a call for proposals to be evaluated by the

IAG Executive.

 

The duties of the SG are described in the IAG by-laws, section 2.5.3.

The SG is also the director of the Central Bureau, so a nomination

automatically implies a commitment to host the Bureau. According to the

by-laws, the SG receives no salary, but the expenses of the SG may be

covered by the allocation received from IUGG. However, the funds needed

for these expenses have normally exceeded the IUGG allocation, so the

organization hosting the SG and thereby the Central Bureau contributes

to the travel expenses of the SG and the running of the Central Bureau.

A nomination should therefore include information about the degree to

which the hosting organization is prepared to cover, in whole or in

part, the expenses of the SG and of the Central Bureau.

 

The proposal should be submitted to the president of the Nominating

Committee, Prof. F. Sansò in electronic form before 15 March 2007. For

additional information, please write to Prof. Sanso at

fernando.sanso@polimi.it

 

 

5. IUGG Website en Francais now operational

 

Thanks to the good work of Kathy Zellers and Katina Rogers, the French

IUGG web site has been translated and transferred to the IUGG Internet

server. We are grateful for their time and talent.

 

 

6. IUGG-related meetings occurring during January - March 2006

 

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those

organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web

Site [www.IUGG.org]. Specific information about these meetings,

including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also

list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

 

January 4 – 6 IAHS, Dindigul, Tamilnadu, India, IGC 2006 International

Groundwater Conference on Sustainable Development and Management of

Groundwater Resources in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

 

January 21- 26 IGBP, Boulder, Colorado, USA, First Integrated Land

Ecosystem Atmosphere Processes Study (iLEAPS) Science Conference

 

January 23 - 27 IAVCEI. Quito, Ecuador, Cities on Volcanoes 4

 

March 6 - 8 IASPEI, Islamabad, Pakistan, International Conference on

Seismology with special reference to the October 8, 2005 Earthquake

 

March 6 -10 SCOSTEP, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 11th Quadrennial Solar

Terrestrial Physics Symposium

 

March 13 - 18 IAG, Venice, Italy, Fifteen Years of Progress in Radar

Altimetry Symposium

 

March 16 -22 IAHS, Mexico City, Mexico, Fourth World Water Forum: Local

Actions for a Global Challenge

 

March 27 - 29 UN/ISDR, Bonn, Germany, Third International Conference on

Early Warning

 

 

End of IUGG Electronic Journal Volume 6 Number 1 (January 2006)

J. A. Joselyn, Secretary General [http://www.IUGG.org]

secretariat@iugg.org fax: 1 303 497 3645

Volume 6 No. 2 (1 February 2006)

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National

Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and

actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web

site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the

information. Your comments are welcome.

Contents

1. United Nations proclaims 2008 as the International Year of Planet Earth

2. IUGG Statutes and By-Laws Committee

3. IUGG Resolutions Committee

4. IUGG 2011 Site Selection Committee

5. Harsh Gupta named to ICSU CSPR Committee

6. IUGG-related meetings occurring during February - April 2006

1. United Nations proclaims 2008 as the International Year of Planet Earth

On the 22nd of December the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus a

Resolution by the United Republic of Tanzania and co-signed by 82

nations, to proclaim 2008 as the UN Year of Planet Earth. This UN Year

is the core year of the 2007-2009 triennium during which the

International Year of Planet Earth (Earth Science for Society) will

operate. This will be the first ever UN Year for the Earth Sciences.

The Press Release issued by the UN, is reproduced below.

"By a draft on the International Year of Planet Earth, 2008, which the

Committee approved without a vote on 11 November, the Assembly would

declare 2008 the International Year of Planet Earth. It would also

designate the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) to organize activities to be undertaken during the

Year, in collaboration with UNEP and other relevant United Nations

bodies, the International Union of Geological Sciences and other Earth

sciences societies and groups throughout the world. Also by that draft,

the Assembly would encourage Member States, the United Nations system

and other actors to use the Year to increase awareness of the importance

of Earth sciences in achieving sustainable development and promoting

local, national, regional and international action."

The International Year of Planet Earth aims to demonstrate the great

achievements made in the geosciences and to urge politicians and

decision- makers to apply such knowledge for the benefit of humankind.

Now that this IUGS and UNESCO initiative has collected the political

support of 191 UN member countries, our fund-raising campaign will begin

with approaches to a broad sweep of the private sector including

extraction industries, governments, foundations, insurance companies,

banks et cetera.

The International Year of Planet Earth will soon be incorporated as a

legal entity with tax exempt status for donations. It will consist of a

Board of Stakeholders (IUGS, UNESCO, Chairs of the Outreach, Science and

Development Committees, Founding Partners, Sponsors, donors and regional

representatives) and a Secretariat.

The Secretariat will be outsourced, and the call for proposals will be

open until 15th of April 2006. We invite all professional geoscientific

and other qualified bodies to consider hosting the Secretariat. For more

details, please go to website: http://www.yearofplanetearth.org/

Calls are open now for submitting international project proposals on the

outreach programme and on selected science themes. Again, please go to

our website for downloading Expression of Interest forms (lower right

hand corner of the index page) and submit these to the (IUGS)

Secretariat (IUGS.secretariat@ngu.org).

Contributed by Eduardo F.J. deMulder, Chair of the Management Team,

International Year of Planet Earth

 

2. IUGG Statutes and By-Laws Committee

Dr. Uri Shamir, IUGG President, has announced the members of the

Committee that will accept proposed changes to the IUGG Statutes and

By-laws:

Chair: Dr. David Kerridge (U.K.)

Members: Dr. Jean-Pierre Barriot (France), Dr. Priscilla Grew (USA), and

Dr. Ronald Stewart (Canada).

All Adhering Bodies of IUGG Member Countries, through their National

Committees, may submit proposals for modifications. Proposals must reach

the Secretary General by 1 January 2007, so that they can be included in

the Agenda Book for the Council Meetings. To permit the Committee to

prepare a summary of the proposed changes and their consequences, please

send proposals before 1 November 2006 to Dr. Kerridge at the following

addresses:

e-mail: djk@bgs.ac.uk

fax: 44 131 667 1877

post: Dr. David Kerridge

British Geological Survey

Murchison House, West Mains Road

Edinburgh EH9 3LA

Scotland, U.K.

 

3. IUGG Resolutions Committee

Dr. Uri Shamir, IUGG President, has announced the members of the

Committee that will accept proposals for Resolutions to be considered by

the IUGG Council at the 2007 General Assembly in Perugia, Italy.

Chair: Prof. Masaru Kono (Japan)

Members: Prof. Dr. Huw Davies (Switzerland), Dr. Pierre Hubert (France),

and Prof. Zev Levin (Israel).

Resolutions from past IUGG General Assemblies are posted, as available,

on the IUGG Web site. Unfortunately, the resolutions passed at the 1979

Vancouver, Canada, General Assembly are lost. If anyone has a copy of

the Comptes Rendus from the1979 General Assembly, please contact the

Secretariat.

 

4. IUGG 2011 Site Selection Committee

The 2005 IUGG Executive Committee agreed that a committee should be

appointed to evaluate all proposals to host the 2011 IUGG General

Assembly. Uri Shamir has appointed the following members of this Committee:

Chair: Dr. E. Robert Engdahl (USA)

Members: Prof. C.C. Tscherning (Denmark) and Prof. Kathryn Whaler (U.K.)

Invitations to host the 2011 IUGG General Assembly are now being

accepted and must be received by January 2007. Guidelines for a proposal

are posted on the IUGG Web site.

 

5. Harsh Gupta named to ICSU CSPR Committee

The International Council for Science (ICSU) established a Committee on

Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR) in 1998 in order to coordinate the

development of proposals for new ICSU scientific initiatives and to

advise the Executive Board on priorities for such initiatives. The

Committee also reviews the activities carried out by ICSU's

Interdisciplinary Bodies and oversees the ICSU Grants Programme (which

has been suspended for 2007 pending CSPR review). The Committee Chair is

the ICSU Vice-President for Scientific Planning and Review, Dr. Khotso

Mokhele; for additional information consult the web address

http://www.icsu.org/5_abouticsu/STRUCT_Comm_Poli.html#CSPR

It is with great pleasure that we announce that IUGG Bureau Member Dr.

Harsh Gupta has been named to this prestigious Committee. We wish him

well in these important duties.

 

6. IUGG-related meetings occurring during February - April 2006

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those

organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web

Site [www.IUGG.org]. Specific information about these meetings,

including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also

list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

January 30 - February 3 Seville, Spain, V Hispanic-Portuguese Assembly

of Geodesy and Geophysics

March 6 - 8 IASPEI, Islamabad, Pakistan, International Conference on

Seismology with special reference to the October 8, 2005 Earthquake

March 6 -10 SCOSTEP, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 11th Quadrennial Solar

Terrestrial Physics Symposium

March 13 - 18 IAG, Venice, Italy, Fifteen Years of Progress in Radar

Altimetry Symposium

March 16 -22 IAHS, Mexico City, Mexico, Fourth World Water Forum: Local

Actions for a Global Challenge

March 27 - 29 UN/ISDR, Bonn, Germany, Third International Conference on

Early Warning

April 2-7 EGU, Vienna, Austria, EGU 2006 General Assembly

April 18-21 Utrecht, the Netherlands, short course on In-Situ

Remediation and Treatment Technologies, organized by the Utrecht

University section on Environmental Hydrogeology and the Netherlands

Center for Soil Quality Management and Knowledge Transfer

April 18-21 IASPEI, San Francisco, California USA, 100th Anniversary

Earthquake Conference Commemorating the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

April 22-26 UNOOSA/STDM, Damascus, Syria, United Nation/Syria Regional

Workshop on the Use of Space Technology for Disaster Management in

Western Asia and Northern Africa

 

End of IUGG Electronic Journal Volume 6 Number 2 (February 2006)

J. A. Joselyn, Secretary General [http://www.IUGG.org]

secretariat@iugg.org fax: 1 303 497 3645

Volume 6 No. 3 (1 March 2006)

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National

Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and

actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web

site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the

information. Your comments are welcome.

 

Contents

 

1. Welcome to Ghana, a new IUGG member

2. 2007 General Assembly Call for Papers

3. Union Commission on Mathematical Geophysics Conference

4. SCAR Update

5. Needed: Director of ICSU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

6. IUGG-related meetings occurring during March - May 2006

 

1. Welcome to Ghana, a new IUGG member

 

By vote of the regular members of the IUGG, Ghana has been accepted as a

member of IUGG in Associate status. The Adhering Body is the CSIR Water

Research Institute, and the President of the National Committee is Dr.

B.K. Kortatsi. The Vice-President is Mr. Mawuli A. Akoto, the Secretary

is Dr. W.E.I. Andah, and the Treasurer is Dr. S. Osae. We welcome this

new member of IUGG, and look forward to new collaborations and new

friendships.

 

 

2. 2007 General Assembly Call for Papers

 

The XXIV IUGG General Assembly: Earth Our Changing Planet, will take

place in Perugia, Italy, July 2-13, 2007. The Second Circular (Call for

Papers) is nearing completion and will be posted on the General Assembly

website (http://www.iugg2007perugia.it/ ) in early March. This

publication will list all of the scientific symposia planned for the

Assembly, including a description of the topics to be discussed, the

conveners, and instructions on how to submit abstracts and to apply for

financial assistance. In addition to sessions of topical interest, four

Union Lectures, 12 Union Symposia, and 77 interdisciplinary symposia

have been arranged (more than 200 symposia in all). The General Assembly

will also include special events that will be featured in upcoming

issues of the E-Journal. Please plan now to come to Perugia in July 2007!

 

 

3. Union Commission on Mathematical Geophysics Conference

 

The 26th IUGG Conference on Mathematical Geophysics will be held 4- 9

June 2006 on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Israel. The Conference

will focus on Coupling in Earth Systems: Solids, Fluids, Life. Sessions

topics include Convection in Solids and Fluids; Mathematical Aspects of

Geohazard Research; Time Series Analysis; Coupled Fluids-Solid Systems;

Biosphere and Geosphere Interactions; Deformation, Faults, Earthquakes

and Waves; Fire in Rocks; and Frontiers in Computational and Analytical

Techniques. All information regarding the Conference can be found on the

website: www.weizmann.ac.il/conferences/CMG2006/. The deadline for

receiving abstracts is 24 March.

 

 

4. SCAR Update

 

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is an

interdisciplinary committee of International Council of Science (ICSU).

IUGG has an official liaison to SCAR, Dr. Roland Schlich, as well as

working relationships spread among our Associations. In particular, the

August 2005 SCAR report includes a Science Plan for a SCAR Programme on

Antarctica and the Global Climate System which has ties with IAMAS, and

the Science and Implementation Plan for a SCAR Research Programme

ICESTAR: Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar Terrestrial and

Aeronomy Research, which has ties with IAGA. The next SCAR Delegates

meeting, where their main scientific research programmes will be

reviewed, will be 16-19 July in Hobart, Australia.

 

Dr. Colin Summerhayes has recently written to IUGG, inviting increased

communication and coordination with our Associations. To find out more

about SCAR, please visit their web page: www.SCAR.org .

 

5. Needed: Director of ICSU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

 

The International Council for Science (ICSU) invites applications from

citizens in developing countries of Asia and the Pacific for the post of

Director of its Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, which is being

established at the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This Regional Office will be responsible for the promotion of increased

participation of countries and scientific organizations of the region in

ICSU programmes and activities. An ICSU Regional Committee for Asia and

the Pacific has been established based on nominations from the ICSU

National Members in the region. More information about the position is

located on the ICSU web site: www.ICSU.org . The application deadline is

15 March 2006.

 

 

6. IUGG-related meetings occurring during March - May 2006

 

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those

organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web

Site [www.IUGG.org]. Specific information about these meetings,

including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also

list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

 

 

March 6 - 8 IASPEI, Islamabad, Pakistan, International Conference on

Seismology with special reference to the October 8, 2005 Earthquake

 

March 6 -10 SCOSTEP, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 11th Quadrennial Solar

Terrestrial Physics Symposium

 

March 8 - 10 ISPRS Frascati, Italy, 2nd Workshop for Epidemiology and

Remote Sensing

 

March 13 - 18 IAG, Venice, Italy, Fifteen Years of Progress in Radar

Altimetry Symposium

 

March 16 -22 IAHS, Mexico City, Mexico, Fourth World Water Forum: Local

Actions for a Global Challenge

 

March 27 - 29 UN/ISDR, Bonn, Germany, Third International Conference on

Early Warning

 

April 2 - 7 EGU, Vienna, Austria, EGU 2006 General Assembly

 

April 18 - 21 IASPEI, San Francisco, California USA, 100th Anniversary

Earthquake Conference Commemorating the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

 

April 22-26 UNOOSA/STDM, Damascus, Syria, United Nation/Syria Regional

Workshop on the Use of Space Technology for Disaster Management in

Western Asia and Northern Africa

 

May 14-18 IAVCEI, Guangzhou, China, Continental Basalt Volcanism

 

May 15-19 IASPEI, Trieste, Italy, Workshop on the Conduct of Seismic

Hazard Analyses for Critical Facilities

 

May 21-24 IAHS, Golden, Colorado, USA, MODFLOW and More 2006: Managing

Ground-Water Systems.

 

May 22-24 IAG, Baden, Austria, 3rd IAG Symposium on Geodesy for

Geotechnical and Structural Engineering

 

May 23-26 AGU, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Spring Joint Assembly

 

May 23-26 IAHS, Ohrid, Macedonia, BALWOIS Conference on Water

Observation and Information Systems for Decision Support

 

May 29 - June 2 IAG, Wuhan University, China, VI Hotine-Marussi

Symposium of Theoretical and Computational Geodesy: Challenge and Role

of Modern Geodesy

 

May 30 - June 3 IAHS, Dijon, France, Anniversary Conference on the

occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Foundation of IAH and the150th

Anniversary of Darcy's Law.

 

 

End of IUGG Electronic Journal Volume 6 Number 3 (March 2006)

J. A. Joselyn, Secretary General [http://www.IUGG.org]

secretariat@iugg.org fax: 1 303 497 3645

Volume 6 No. 4 (April 2, 2006)

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the information. Your comments are welcome.

Contents

1.       IUGG 2005 Annual Report

2.       Union Commission Symposium on Studies of Earth’s Deep Interior

3.       Report of the Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) Planning Meeting

4.       ICSU March 2006 Newsletter is posted

5.       "Padma Shri" Award for Harsh Gupta

6.       IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during April - June 2006


1. IUGG 2005 Annual Report

Thanks to the individual reports from the IUGG Associations and Union Commissions, a summary document of 2005 IUGG activities is complete and ready to post on the website. A printed copy of the report will be sent to all Adhering Bodies within the month. Highlights include the IUGG response to the December, 2004, South East Asia Tsunami, reports of 6 Association Scientific Assemblies, the meetings of the IUGG Finance Committee, the Bureau, the Executive Committee, and a meeting of the 2007 IUGG General Assembly Scientific Programme Committee. The General Assembly Second Circular (Call for Papers) is posted on the General Assembly website (www.iugg2007perugia.it/) and printed copies will be available in early April.

2005 Annual Report from the Secretary General [ PDF ]


2. Union Commission Symposium on Studies of Earth’s Deep Interior

Studies of Earth’s Deep Interior (SEDI), an IUGG Union Commission, will hold their 10th Symposium on 9-14 July 2006, in Prague, Czech Republic. The scientific focus of SEDI is an enhanced understanding of the past evolution and current thermal, dynamical and chemical state of the Earth’s deep interior and the effect that the interior has on the structures and processes observed at the surface of the Earth. Information regarding the Symposium can be found on the website: www.ig.cas.cz/SEDI2006/ which can also be accessed from the SEDI website: www.sedigroup.org.


3. Report of the Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) Planning Meeting

The annual planning meeting of the Electronic Geophysical Year initiative (eGY), held in Boulder, Colorado, March 13-14, succeeded in setting out clear directions and a program for the future. The program is diversifying as eGY activities and national committees are becoming established in a rapidly growing number of countries - Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia, UK, and the USA.

eGY will be launched officially on 1 July 2007 in Perugia, Italy, and will run until December 2008. Publications and practical demonstrations of modern capability and best practice are to be the major thrust during 2006 for conveying the eGY principles set out in the "Declaration for a Geoscience Information Commons" (see www.egy.org). We agreed on a series of meetings, workshops, publications, and a program of developing demonstration projects. One of the most important of these is a general-use case demonstration - a 'proof of concept' showcase of the power of virtual observatories and modern information systems to meet present and future information needs of people who are non-specialist scientists (decision-makers, public, and so on) or scientists who come from other specialist backgrounds.

Submitted by C. Barton
Inquiries to: eGY Secretary, Bill.Peterson@lasp.colorado.edu


4. ICSU March 2006 Newsletter is posted

The March 2006 ICSU Newsletter has been posted on the website: www.ICSU.org. Items of specific interest to IUGG include the following.

  • A dedicated International Polar Year (IPY) Data Policy and Management Subcommittee has been established.
  • A new Planning Group on Natural and Human-Induced Environmental Hazards will be chaired by Professor Gordon McBean. The members of the group are yet to be announced.
  • ICSU is considering co-sponsoring THORPEX, a WMO weather research programme.
  • The GEO Committee on Science and Technology will meet at UNESCO 19-20 April to discuss the implementation of the 2006 Workplan and decide on the process by which the scientific and technological community can provide input to the 2007-2008 Workplan. ICSU has distributed the list of tasks assigned to the Committee and has invited interest in getting involved with task implementation.
  • The ICSU Regional Office for Africa has established scoping groups to consider 4 priority issues: global change; natural and human-induced hazards; human health; and sustainable energy.
  • The ICSU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific will be located at the Academy of Sciences, Malaysia. The inauguration will take place on 18-19 September in conjunction with a regional symposium on "Natural and Human-induced Hazards and Disasters."
  • The ICSU Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean is under consideration for Rio de Janeiro.
  • The Priority Area Assessment on Capacity Building is available on the ICSU website.
  • ICSU will establish an ad hoc scoping group on Human Health, and a Review Panel on the ICSU Grants Programme.
  • The 75th Anniversary of ICSU will take place on 11 July 2006, and several special events will recognize the occasion.

5. "Padma Shri" Award for Harsh Gupta

Dr. Harsh Gupta, IUGG Bureau Member, was given the prestigious 'Padma Shri' Award by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, President of Republic of India on March 20, 2006. Padma Awards are the highest civilian awards in India and were instituted some 40 years ago. These are given for outstanding performance in any field. Dr. Gupta is the third Geo-Scientist to get this award.


6. IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during April - June 2006

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web Site [ www.iugg.org ]. Specific information about these meetings, including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

April 2 - 7, 2006
EGU; Vienna, Austria; EGU 2006 General Assembly

April 18 - 21, 2006
IASPEI; San Francisco, California USA; 100th Anniversary Earthquake Conference Commemorating the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

April 22- 26, 2006
UNOOSA/STDM; Damascus, Syria; United Nation/Syria Regional Workshop on the Use of Space Technology for Disaster Management in Western Asia and Northern Africa

May 14 - May 18, 2006
IAVCEI; Guangzhou, China; Continental Basalt Volcanism

May 15 - May 19, 2006
IASPEI; Trieste, Italy; Workshop on the Conduct of Seismic Hazard Analyses for Critical Facilities

May 21 - May 24, 2006
IASPEI; Golden, Colorado, USA; MODFLOW and More 2006: Managing Ground-Water Systems

May 22 - May 24, 2006
IAG; Baden, Austria; 3rd IAG Symposium on Geodesy for Geotechnical and Structural Engineering

May 23 - May 26, 2006
AGU; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Spring Joint Assembly

May 23 - May 26, 2006
IAHS; Ohrid, Macedonia; BALWOIS Conference on Water Observation and Information Systems for Decision Support

May 29 - June 2, 2006
IAG; Wuhan University, China; VI Hotine-Marussi Symposium of Theoretical and Computational Geodesy: Challenge and Role of Modern Geodesy

May 30 - June 3, 2006
IAHS; Dijon, France; Anniversary Conference on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Foundation of IAH and the 150th Anniversary of Darcy’s Law

June 1 - June 2, 2006
Potsdam, Germany; OECD Global Science Forum: Workshop on Earthquake Science and its Contribution to Society

June 4 - June 8, 2006
IUGG/CMG; Sea of Galilee, Israel; Coupling in Earth Systems: Solids, Fluids, Life

June 6 - June 8, 2006
IAG; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; International Workshop on Height Systems, Geoid and Gravity of the Asia-Pacific

June 8 - June 10, 2006
IASPEI; Tucson, Arizona, USA; 2006 IRIS Workshop

June 8 - June 10, 2006
IAHS; Guangzhou, China; Hydrological Sciences for Managing Water Resources in the Asian Developing World

June 14 - June 16, 2006
EMSEV; Toulouse, France; Déméter International Workshop

June 16, 2006
IAGA; Tihany, Hungary; 50th Jubilee of the Tihany Geophysical Observatory

June 17 - June 21, 2006
IASPEI; Castle of Trest, Czech Republic; Seismic Anisotropy and Geodynamics of the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere System

June 19 - June 23, 2006
IAG; Copenhagen, Denmark; IGeS Geoid School 2006; The Determination and Use of the Geoid

June 19 - June 24, 2006
IAGA; Belsk, Poland; XII IAGA Workshop

June 30 - July 1, 2006
IAHS; Paris, France; 8th IAHS-UNESCO KOVACS Colloquium


End of IUGG Electronic Journal Volume 6 Number 4 (April 2, 2006)
J. A. Joselyn, Secretary General  [ http://www.IUGG.org ]
jjoselyn@cires.colorado.edu, fax:  1 303 497 3645.

 

Volume 6 No. 5 (May 1, 2006)

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the information. Your comments are welcome.

Contents

1.       Announcement of IUGG General Assembly Union Lecturers

2.       Reminder: Nominations for IUGG Officers and the Finance Committee are open

3.       New International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management

4.       News from SCOSTEP/CAWSES

5.       Recent Advances toward an International Year of Planet Earth

6.       IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during May - July 2006


1. Announcement of IUGG General Assembly Union Lecturers

IUGG President Uri Shamir has selected the 4 Union Lecturers for the 2007 General Assembly in Perugia, Italy. These lecturers, and the dates of each presentation, are as follows.

Dr. Robert Corell; Senior Policy Fellow, American Meteorology Society; Monday, 2 July Prof. Maria Zuber; Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Thursday 5 July Prof. Claudio Faccenna; Geological Sciences, University of Rome; Tuesday 10 July Dr. Kenji Satake; National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Geological Survey of Japan; Friday 13 July


2. Reminder: Nominations for IUGG Officers and the Finance Committee are open

An important matter for the IUGG Council at its meeting in Perugia, Italy, in 2007 will be the election of officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, and 3 Members), and the 4 members of the Finance Committee. The Nominations Committee has the task of collecting the nominations and preparing the ballot, following the rules regarding nominations and elections for these positions (IUGG By-Laws, Section 10). The members of the Nominations Committee are as follows:

Chair: Dr. Søren Gregersen (Denmark) sg@geus.dk
Members: Prof. Attia Ashour (Egypt), Prof. Robert Duce (USA), and Prof. Seiya Uyeda (Japan)

Instructions regarding the procedures to be used to submit nominations in accordance with IUGG Statute 11 and By-law 10 are posted on the IUGG Web site and have been mailed to all IUGG officers and Adhering Bodies. The first deadline for nominations is 30 September 2006. For further information, contact Dr. Gregersen or the IUGG Secretariat.


3. New International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management

Professor Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, past-President of IAHS (2001-2005) and Vice-Chair of the IUGG Union Commission on Geophysical Risk and Sustainability, has been appointed as the Founding Director of the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM), inaugurated under the auspices of UNESCO on 6 March 2006. The Centre is an outcome of the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto in 2002 and is hosted by the Public Works Research Institute in Tsukuba, Japan. The goal of the Centre is to provide practicable strategies to localities, regions, and nations to manage the risk of water-related disasters including floods, drought, landslide, debris flow, storm surge, tsunamis, and water contamination. For example, ICHARM will develop inundation models and distribute them to countries to help forecast and mitigate damage, and will train researchers from developing countries to create flood-hazard maps. The ICHARM Newsletter No.1 is posted on their website: www.icharm.pwri.go.jp.


4. News from SCOSTEP/CAWSES

The ICSU Scientific Committee on Solar Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP) held a Bureau meeting on 5 March 2006 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in association with the STP-11 Symposium. At that time, it was announced that Joe Allen was retiring as Scientific Secretary, and that Gang Lu, a research scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) will take over from Joe and locate the Secretariat at NCAR in Boulder, Colorado (USA). It was further announced Susan Avery, Interim Provost of the University of Colorado, will become the Co-chair of the SCOSTEP international program on Climate and Weather of the Sun-Earth System (CAWSES) on 1 April. She will share the duties of the Chair with Sunanda Basu, who has been instrumental in initiating this five-year program and has chaired it since 2004, until August 1 when Sunanda will retire and Susan will become the Chair. The next meeting of the SCOSTEP Bureau will take place in conjunction with the IUGG General Assembly in Perugia, Italy, 2-13 July 2007. For additional information about CAWSES and its 5 scientific themes, please read their March newsletter posted on the website www.bu.edu/cawses.


5. Recent Advances toward an International Year of Planet Earth

Dr. Eduardo F.J. deMulder reports that steady progress is being made toward The Year, which was proclaimed for 2008 by the UN General Assembly. 2008 is the central year is a triennium that will begin in January 2007 and end in December 2008. Fund-raising is in progress to support the Science and Outreach programmes that are already in place. For additional information, visit the website www.yearofplanetearth.org.


6. IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during May - July 2006

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web Site [ www.iugg.org ]. Specific information about these meetings, including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

May 14 - May 18, 2006
IAVCEI; Guangzhou, China; Continental Basalt Volcanism

May 15 - May 19, 2006
IASPEI; Trieste, Italy; Workshop on the Conduct of Seismic Hazard Analyses for Critical Facilities

May 21 - May 24, 2006
IAHS; Golden, Colorado, USA; MODFLOW and More 2006: Managing Ground-Water Systems

May 22 - May 24, 2006
IAG; Baden, Austria; 3rd IAG Symposium on Geodesy for Geotechnical and Structural Engineering

May 23 - May 26, 2006
AGU; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Spring Joint Assembly

May 23 - May 26, 2006
IAHS; Ohrid, Macedonia; BALWOIS Conference on Water Observation and Information Systems for Decision Support

May 29 - June 2, 2006
IAG; Wuhan University, China; VI Hotine-Marussi Symposium of Theoretical and Computational Geodesy: Challenge and Role of Modern Geodesy

May 30 - June 3, 2006
IAHS; Dijon, France; Anniversary Conference on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Foundation of IAH and the 150th Anniversary of Darcy’s Law

June 1 - June 2, 2006
Potsdam, Germany; OECD Global Science Forum: Workshop on Earthquake Science and its Contribution to Society

June 4 - June 8, 2006
IUGG/CMG; Sea of Galilee, Israel; Coupling in Earth Systems: Solids, Fluids, Life

June 6 - June 8, 2006
IAG; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; International Workshop on Height Systems, Geoid and Gravity of the Asia-Pacific

June 6 - June 9, 2006
WCRP; Paris, France; Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability

June 8 - June 10, 2006
IASPEI; Tucson, Arizona, USA; 2006 IRIS Workshop

June 8 - June 10, 2006
IAHS; Guangzhou, China; Hydrological Sciences for Managing Water Resources in the Asian Developing World

June 14 - June 16, 2006
EMSEV; Toulouse, France; Déméter International Workshop

June 16, 2006
IAGA; Tihany, Hungary; 50th Jubilee of the Tihany Geophysical Observatory

June 17 - June 21, 2006
IASPEI; Castle of Trest, Czech Republic; Seismic Anisotropy and Geodynamics of the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere System

June 19 - June 23, 2006
IAG; Copenhagen, Denmark; IGeS Geoid School 2006; The Determination and Use of the Geoid

June 19 - June 24, 2006
IAGA; Belsk, Poland; XII IAGA Workshop

June 30 - July 1, 2006
IAHS; Paris, France; 8th IAHS-UNESCO KOVACS Colloquium: Frontiers in Flood Research

July 3 - 7, 2006
IAHS; Dundee, Scotland; Sediment Dynamics and the Hydromorphology of Fluvial Systems

July 8 - 15, 2006
IASPEI; Davos, Switzerland; International Disaster Reduction Conference

July 9 - 14, 2006
IUGG/SEDI; Prague, Czech Republic; 10th Symposium of SEDI

July 9 - 15, 2006
IUSS; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; 18th World Congress of Soil Science

July 10 - 14, 2006
AOGS; Singapore; 3rd Annual Meeting

July 15 - 19, 2006
ESOF; Munich, Germany; Euroscience Open Forum: ESOF 2006

July 16 - 23, 2006
COSPAR; Beijing, China; 36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly

July 17 - 19, 2006
SCAR; Hobart, Australia; XXIX SCAR Meeting

July 25 - August 3, 2006
ESA/FFG; Alpbach/Tirol, Austria; Summer School Alpbach 2006: Monitoring of Natural Hazards from Space


End of IUGG Electronic Journal Volume 6 Number 5 (May 1, 2006)
J. A. Joselyn, Secretary General  [ http://www.IUGG.org ]
jjoselyn@cires.colorado.edu, fax:  1 303 497 3645.

Volume 6 No. 6 (1 June 2006) 

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National

Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and

actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web

site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the

information. Your comments are welcome.

Contents

1. Welcome to Bolivia, a returning member of IUGG

2. Call for Delegates to the 2007 IUGG General Assembly

3. ICSU announces formation of a Planning Group on Natural Hazards

4. IUGG representative to Science for Health and Well Being Steering

Committee

5. IUGG representative to the Consultative Committee for Time and Frequency

6. IAGA liaison to the Union Commission on Mathematical Geophysics

7. ICSU supports IAG’s GGOS for IGOS-P membership

8. IUGG-related meetings occurring during June - August 2006 

 

1. Welcome to Bolivia, a returning member of IUGG 

By vote by correspondence of the regular members of the IUGG, Bolivia

has been accepted as a new member of IUGG in Associate status. Bolivia

had previously been a member of IUGG from 1960 to 2000, and we welcome

their return. The Adhering Body is the Academia Nacional de Ciencias de

Bolivia, and the President of the National Committee is Dr. José Luis

Tellería-Geiger. The Vice-President is Estela Minaya, and the Secretary

General is Dr. Rudolfo Ayala. We look forward to new collaborations and

new friendships. 

2. Call for Delegates to the 2007 IUGG General Assembly 

In a formal letter posted on 9 May 2006 to all IUGG Adhering Bodies, a

request was made for the name of the official delegate to the IUGG

Council meetings in Perugia, Italy, in July 2007. This person must be

accredited by means of a signed letter (fax and e-mail are not

acceptable) from the IUGG Adhering Organisation. This person will be

admitted to the Council meeting and may participate in Council business.

Delegates from Adhering Bodies in Observer status (that is, dues not

paid through 2006), may participate in Council Business but may not vote

on issues requiring a ballot, including elections of officers and

approval of the budget. Because of a change in IUGG By-laws (By-law 11)

enacted at the 2003 General Assembly, IUGG Members in Associate status

may send one representative to the Council meetings as a Listener,

Listeners are not permitted to engage in discussions or vote on IUGG

business. Previously, Associate members were not represented at Council

meetings. 

The Adhering Organizations are asked to send these letters so that they

arrive at the IUGG Office by 28 February 2007. In order to expedite the

Council meetings, documents regarding items of business will be sent

directly to the delegates for consideration in advance of the General

Assembly. 

3. ICSU announces formation of a Planning Group on Natural Hazards 

At the ICSU General Assembly in China in October 2005, a decision was

taken to plan for a new ICSU initiative on Natural and Human-induced

Hazards and Disasters. A call for nominations for members was issued,

and IUGG as well as many of the GeoUnions submitted a number of names

for the Planning Group. Tom Beer, Stephen Sparks, and Harsh Gupta as

liaison from the ICSU Committee on Scientific Planning and Research

(CSPR), were selected to represent the GeoUnions on the committee. Their

work will begin in June. 

4. IUGG representative to Science for Health and Well Being Steering

Committee 

SHWB is an initiative of the ICSU Unions that been under development

since 2002. It expects to marshal expertise from the natural, social,

behavioral, and engineering sciences to attain new insights into the

research and policies that affect people while being mindful of the

obvious and intimate links to environmental systems. IUGG has been one

of the several Unions, under the leadership of the International Union

of Biological Sciences, which has supported this initiative. A Steering

Committee is being formed to take this initiative forward, and Dr.

Claire Horwell, Director of the International Volcanic Health Hazard

Network, has agreed to be the IUGG representative to the Steering

Committee. We look forward to being an active partner in this truly

inter-disciplinary effort. 

5. IUGG representative to the Consultative Committee for Time and Frequency 

Dr. Claude Boucher, Ministere de la Recherche, Direction de la

Technologie, Department Espace et Aeronautique, France, will represent

IUGG at the 17th meeting of the CCTF from 15-15 September, at BIPM in

Sevres, France. IUGG is grateful for his continuing service. 

6. IAGA liaison to the Union Commission on Mathematical Geophysics 

Professor Matthias Holschneider, Universität Potsdam, Institut für

Mathematik, Germany, has kindly accepted to be the IAGA liaison to the

Union Commission on Mathematical Geophysics (CMG). Other Association

liaisons include Martin Vermeer (IAG), M. Daniel Schertzer (IAHS), and

A. Neri and Oded Navon (IAVCEI). The CMG 2006 meeting, Coupling in Earth

Systems: Solids, Fluids, Life, will be held June 4-8 at the Sea of

Galilee, Israel. 

7. ICSU supports IAG’s GGOS for IGOS-P membership 

The Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS) is an over-arching

strategy for conducting observations relating to climate and atmosphere,

oceans and coasts, the land surface and the Earth's interior. Based on

existing international global observing programmes, IGOS seeks to

improve observing capacity and deliver observations in a cost-effective

and timely fashion. IGOS has developed six initial prototype projects as

follows:

1. Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment

2. Upper Air Measurements

3. Long-Term Continuity Of Ozone Measurements

4. Global Observation Of Forest Cover

5. Long-Term Ocean Biology Measurements

6. Disaster Management Support

Resolution 3 of the 2003 (Sapporo) IUGG Council supported the

establishment of the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) by the

International Association of Geodesy (IAG). GGOS, based on the IAG

Services, provides the metrological basis for many monitoring and

observing programmes in the field of Earth sciences. The IUGG Resolution

and fact that GGOS is already well established within GEO (IAG is a GEO

participating organization) encouraged ICSU to recommend that GGOS

should become a member of the IGOS Partnership (IGOS-P). A new theme,

Dynamic Earth, will likely be developed. 

8. IUGG-related meetings occurring during June - August 2006 

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those

organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web

Site [www.IUGG.org]. Specific information about these meetings,

including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also

list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

 

May 29 - June 2 IAG, Wuhan University, China, VI Hotine-Marussi

Symposium of Theoretical and Computational Geodesy: Challenge and Role

of Modern Geodesy 

May 30 – June 3 IAHS, Dijon, France, Anniversary Conference on the

occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Foundation of IAH and the150th

Anniversary of Darcy’s Law. 

June 1-2 Potsdam, Germany, OECD Global Science Forum: Workshop on

Earthquake Science and its Contribution to Society 

June 4-8 IUGG/CMG, Sea of Galilee, Israel, Coupling in Earth Systems:

Solids, Fluids, Life 

June 6-8 IAG, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, International Workshop on Height

Systems, Geoid and Gravity of the Asia-Pacific 

June 6 –9 WCRP Paris, France Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability 

June 8-10 IASPEI, Tucson, Arizona, USA, 2006 IRIS Workshop 

June 8-10 IAHS, Guangzhou, China, Hydrological Sciences for Managing

Water Resources in the Asian Developing World 

June 14-16 EMSEV, Toulouse, France, Déméter International Workshop 

June 14 – 17 IAG Riga, Latvia EUREF symposium 2006 Riga 

June 16 IAGA, Tihany, Hungary, 50th Jubilee of the Tihany Geophysical

Observatory 

June 17-21 IASPEI, Castle of Trest, Czech Republic, Seismic Anisotropy

and Geodynamics of the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere System 

June 19-23 IAG, Copenhagen, Denmark, IGeS Geoid School 2006; The

Determination and Use of the Geoid 

June 19-24 IAGA, Belsk, Poland, XII IAGA Workshop 

June 30 - July 1 IAHS, Paris, France, 8th IAHS-UNESCO KOVACS Colloquium:

Frontiers in Flood Research 

July 3-7 IAHS, Dundee, Scotland, Sediment Dynamics and the

Hydromorphology of Fluvial Systems 

July 8-15 IASPEI, Davos, Switzerland, International Disaster Reduction

Conference 

July 9-14 IUGG/SEDI, Prague, Czech Republic, 10th Symposium of SEDI 

July 10-14 AOGS, Singapore, 3rd Annual Meeting 

July 9-15 IUSS, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 18th World Congress of

Soil Science 

July 15-19 ESOF, Munich, Germany, Euroscience Open Forum: ESOF 2006 

July 16-23 COSPAR, Beijing, China, 36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly 

July 17-19 SCAR, Hobart, Australia, XXIX SCAR Meeting 

July 21 – 22 IAG Beijing, China, International workshop on quality

improvement and coast-land applications of satellite altimetry 

July 25 - August 3 ESA/FFG, Alpbach/Tirol, Austria, Summer School

Alpbach 2006: Monitoring of Natural Hazards from Space 

August 14 - 25 IAU, Prague, Czech Republic, IAU XXVI General Assembly 

August 21 – 25 WCRP/UCCS, Cambridge, England, International Symposium on

Cryospheric Indicators of Global Climate Change 

August 23 - 27 IUGG/IAG, Jakarta, Indonesia First Indonesian Geospatial

Technology Exhibition 

August 27 - September 1 IASPEI, Sao Paolo, Brazil, The IRIS Workshop on

Managing Waveform Data and Related Metadata for Seismic Networks 

August 28 - September 1 IAG, Istanbul, Turkey, 1st International

Symposium of International Gravity Field Service (IGFS) 

August 30 - September 1 IASPEI, Grenoble, France, ESG 2006 Symposium

 

Volume 6 No. 7 (July 1, 2006)

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the information. Your comments are welcome.

Contents

1.       ICSU Celebrates 75 Years

2.       Reminder: Nominations for IUGG Officers and the Finance Committee are open

3.       In Remembrance

4.       Honors and Awards

5.       IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during July – September 2006


1. ICSU Celebrates 75 Years

The International Council for Science, formerly known as the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), was created on 11 July 1931. IUGG was one of the original Unions of ICSU and has continued to participate in its programmes. A number of activities are being undertaken to celebrate this 75th Anniversary. A new brochure and a set of posters have been created and can be seen and downloaded from the ICSU website: www.icsu.org. On 4 July, the French Académie des Sciences is organizing an afternoon of science lectures relating to ICSU programmes and strategic priorities. Finally, an ICSU congress for young scientists – "Strengthening International Science for the Benefit of Society" is being planned for late 2006 or early 2007. IUGG will be asked to sponsor a young scientist to attend this event. IUGG congratulates ICSU on 75 years of "strengthening international science for the benefit of society."


2. Reminder: Nominations for IUGG Officers and the Finance Committee are open

An important matter for the IUGG Council at its meeting in Perugia, Italy, in 2007 will be the election of officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, and 3 Members), and the 4 members of the Finance Committee. The Nominations Committee has the task of collecting the nominations and preparing the ballot, following the rules regarding nominations and elections for these positions (IUGG By-Laws, Section 10). The members of the Nominations Committee are as follows:

Chair: Dr. Søren Gregersen (Denmark) sg@geus.dk
Members: Prof. Attia Ashour (Egypt), Prof. Robert Duce (USA), and Prof. Seiya Uyeda (Japan).

Instructions regarding the procedures to be used to submit nominations in accordance with IUGG Statute 11 and By-law 10 are posted on the IUGG Web site and have been mailed to all IUGG officers and Adhering Bodies. The first deadline for nominations is 30 September 2006. For further information, contact Dr. Gregersen or the IUGG Secretariat.


3. In Remembrance

In the past few months, several Associations have reported the death of eminent scientists as listed below. Full obituaries appear on the Association web sites. We gratefully remember the life and work of these friends and colleagues.

Dr. Paul Serson (IAGA - Canada)
Dr. Luiz Muniz Baretto (IAGA - Brazil)
Prof. Yoram Kaufman (IAMAS - USA)
Prof. Yury Tyupkin (IASPEI - Russia)


4. Honors and Awards

Professor W. James Shuttleworth, Director of the University of Arizona (USA) Center for Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) has been award the prestigious International Hydrology Prize, given annually by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), UNESCO, and WMO. Professor Shuttleworth was nominated "for his innovative, international leadership over more than thirty years, contributing to the growth of hydrology into a major discipline of Earth System Science."

The International Association of Geodesy (IAG) has awarded their 2005 Young Author Award to Roland Pail (Austria) for his paper “"A parametric study on the impact of satellite attitude errors on GOCE gravity field recovery" (Journal of Geodesy, Vol. 79, No. 4-5, pp. 231-241, 2005). Mr. Pail studied geophysics at the University of Vienna, finishing his diploma thesis in 1995. IAG reports that he has already been the project manager of diverse national projects and is a member of several IAG study groups.

Dr. Deon E. Terblanche and his team from the South African Weather Service have been awarded the first Prize for Excellence in Advancing the Science and Practice of Weather Modification. This Prize, established in 2003 by the Department of Atmospheric Studies of the Ministry for Presidential Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, aims to stimulate efforts to advance knowledge in this field with a view to satisfying the need for water in the many water-scarce regions of the world. Dr. Terblanche recently represented IUGG and IAMAS at the 14th Session of the WMO Commission for Atmospheric Sciences.

The AGU recently announced their 2006 class of Fellows. Among those honored were Paola Malanotte-Rizzoli, Chair of the Scientific Programme Committee for the 2007 IUGG General Assembly, and Raymond Pierrehumbert, a Vice-Chair of the Union Commission on Mathematical Geophysics.


5. IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during July – September 2006

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web Site [ www.iugg.org ]. Specific information about these meetings, including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

July 3 - 7, 2006
IAHS; Dundee, Scotland; Sediment Dynamics and the Hydromorphology of Fluvial Systems

July 8 - 15, 2006
IASPEI; Davos, Switzerland; International Disaster Reduction Conference

July 9 - 14, 2006
IUGG/SEDI; Prague, Czech Republic; 10th Symposium of SEDI

July 9 - 15, 2006
IUSS; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; 18th World Congress of Soil Science

July 10 - 14, 2006
AOGS; Singapore; 3rd Annual Meeting

July 15 - 19, 2006
ESOF; Munich, Germany; Euroscience Open Forum: ESOF 2006

July 16 - 23, 2006
COSPAR; Beijing, China; 36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly

July 17 - 19, 2006
SCAR; Hobart, Australia; XXIX SCAR Meeting

July 21 - 22, 2006
IAG; Beijing, China; International workshop on quality improvement and coast-land applications of satellite altimetry

July 25 - August 3, 2006
ESA/FFG; Alpbach/Tirol, Austria; Summer School Alpbach 2006: Monitoring of Natural Hazards from Space

August 14 - 25, 2006
IAU; Prague, Czech Republic; IAU XXVI General Assembly

August 21 – 25, 2006
WCRP/UCCS; Cambridge, England; International Symposium on Cryospheric Indicators of Global Climate Change

August 23 - 27, 2006
IUGG/IAG; Jakarta, Indonesia; First Indonesian Geospatial Technology Exhibition

August 27 - September 1, 2006
IASPEI; Sao Paolo, Brazil; The IRIS Workshop on Managing Waveform Data and Related Metadata for Seismic Networks

August 28 - September 1, 2006
IAG; Istanbul, Turkey; 1st International Symposium of International Gravity Field Service (IGFS)

August 30 - September 1, 2006
IASPEI; Grenoble, France; ESG 2006 Symposium

September 1 - 7, 2006
ISPRS/VIII; Haifa, Israel; Remote Sensing for a Sustainable Future

September 2 - 6, 2006
IASPEI; Smolenice Castle, Slovakia; Workshop on Numerical Modeling of Earthquake Source Dynamics (NMESD)

September 4 - 6, 2006
UN/ISDR; Davos, Switzerland; International Disaster Reduction Conference (IDRC 2006)

September 4 - 6, 2006
EMS/ECAC; Ljubljana, Slovenia; 6th Annual meeting of the European Meteorological Society and the 6th European Conference on Applied Climatology

September 4 - 6, 2006
Indonesia Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation; Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Workshop on Merapi and Merapi Type Volcanoes in the world with their phenomena, and Volcano International Gathering 2006

September 4 - 7, 2006
IAG; Nice, France; XIII Assembly of the Wegener Project

September 4 - 8, 2006
IAGA/ICMA/CAWSES; Sodankyla, Finland; Workshop on Long-Term Changes and Trends in the Atmosphere

September 4 - 8, 2006
IAHS; Nice, France; 7th International Conference on Hydroinformatics

September 4 - 8, 2006
IASPEI; Geneva, Switzerland; First European Conference of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology

September 11 - 14, 2006
IAHS; Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic; International Multidisciplinary Conference on Hydrology and Ecology: The Groundwater/Ecology Connection

September 14 - 17, 2006
IAEG, EGGSL; Nottingham, United Kingdom; 10th Congress of the International Association of Engineering Geology and the Environment

September 17 - 23, 2006
IAGA; El Vendrell, Catalonia, Spain; 18th Electromagnetic Induction Workshop

September 18 - 22, 2006
IAGA/IAMAS; Varena, Bulgaria; 3rd IAGA/ICMA Workshop on Vertical coupling in the Atmosphere-Ionosphere System

September 20 - 22, 2006
IAHS; Prague, Czech Republic; BIOHYDROLOGY 2006: impact of biological factors on soil hydrology

September 20 - 23, 2006
IAHS; Belvaux, Luxembourg; ERB200: Uncertainties in the Monitoring-Conceptualization-Modeling Sequence of Catchment Research

September 21 - 23, 2006
IAHS; Neuchatel, Switzerland; 8th Conference on Limestone Hydrogeology

September 24 - 29, 2006
IASPEI; Hayama, Japan; 12th International Symposium on Deep Seismic Profiling of the Continents and their Margins

September 25 - 26, 2006
ISPRS; Goa, India; Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques for Monitoring and Prediction of Disasters

September 25 - October 7, 2006
IASPEI; Trieste, Italy; 8th Workshop on 3D Modelling of Seismic Waves Generation, Propagation and their Inversion

September 26 - 28, 2006
IAHS; Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany; 3rd International Symposium on Integrated Water Resources Management


 

 


Volume 6 No. 8 (August 1, 2006)

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the information. Your comments are welcome.

Contents

1.       XXIV 2007 IUGG General Assembly

2.       Association Assemblies in 2008-9

3.       Short Report of the ICSU 75th Anniversary events

4.       Short Report of the SEDI meeting

5.       Short Report from the GeoRisk Commission

6.       Honors and Awards

7.       News from the International Heliophysical Year

8.       IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during August – October 2006


1. XXIV 2007 IUGG General Assembly

With the General Assembly in Perugia less than a year away, preparations are now moving quickly. At the GA website, www.iugg2007Perugia.it, abstracts can be submitted online, the Scientific Program and other important information are available, and news is posted regularly. Of special note, the deadline for abstract submission for the IAHS Symposia for which the papers will be pre-published in IAHS Red Books is 31 August; full details of these symposia, and also ten IAHS Workshops and four symposia/workshops organized jointly with the Union Commission for Cryospheric Sciences (UCCS), IAMAS and IAG are available on the website. Please bookmark the site and visit it often.


2. Association Assemblies in 2008-09

The IUGG Associations have selected the venues of their 2009 Assemblies (IAVCEI will meet in 2008). While in most cases the dates are not yet firm, the locations of these Assemblies illustrate the international reach of IUGG. IAG has not yet selected their venue, but the others are listed below. More information will be listed on each Association website as it becomes available.

IAGA – Sopron, Hungary
IAHS – Hyderabad, India
IAMAS/IAPSO (joint Assembly) – Montreal, Canada IASPEI – Cape Town, South Africa IAVCEI – Reykjavik, Iceland


3. Short Report of the ICSU 75th Anniversary events

On behalf of IUGG, Pierre Hubert (IAHS Secretary General), and Alik Ismail-Zadeh (Chair of the IUGG Commission on Geophysical Risk and Sustainability) attended the 75th Anniversary of ICSU that took place on 4 July at the French Academy of Sciences in Paris. Goverdhan Mehta, ICSU President, and Edouard Brézin, "Académie des sciences" President, chaired the event. The French ministers for Education, G. de Robien, and for Research, F. Goulard, were present and delivered a message of strong support to the activities of ICSU. Lectures included those by Michel Loreau (France) Chairman of DIVERSITAS, on Biodiversity: Challenges for Science and Society; Jane Lubchenco (USA) Past-President of ICSU, on Sustainable Development and Marine Fisheries; Khotso Mokhele (South Africa) President of National Research Foundation of SA, on International Research and Africa; and Dominique Wolton (France) Research Director of CNRS, on Languages and Communication. The Ceremony concluded with a reception at the Paris City Hall hosted by the Mairie de Paris.


4. Short Report of the SEDI meeting

The tenth SEDI symposium was held in Prague, The Czech Republic, from 9th - 14th, July 2006, with approximately 150 participants. Jonathan Aurnou gave the Zatman lecture, and Julien Aubert, Keith Koper, and Jonathan Mound won Doornbos prizes for outstanding research on the deep Earth by a young scientist. The meeting centered on the structure and chemistry of the core and lower mantle, core-mantle interactions, the geodynamo and core dynamics and thermodynamics, D" and mantle convection, and the interiors of other bodies in the solar system.

Article contributed by Michael Bergman


5. Short Report from the GeoRisk Commission

The third joint symposium of the IUGG GeoRisk Commission and the European Association for Promotion of Science and Technology entitled "Riding the storm: Can science keep us in the saddle?" was held July 15-19 in Munich, Germany, during the EuroScience Open Forum. The meeting's topics were extreme natural events and humanitarian disasters (Friedemann Wenzel), the role of geoscience in preventive disaster management of catastrophic natural events (Alik Ismail-Zadeh), integrated global observation strategy for disaster reduction (Hormoz Moderassi), prediction of extreme natural events (Vladimir Kossobokov), disaster risk management from an insurance perspective (Anselm Smolka), and relationship between disaster risk management and governance (John Paterson). The symposium was followed by a press briefing.

Article contributed by Alik Ismail-Zadeh


6. Honors and Awards

Dr. Timothy Killeen (USA), Co-Chair of IAGA Working Group II-B:
Thermospheric Dynamics, began a two-year term in July as President of the AGU. Other AGU officers with IUGG responsibilities include Jaime Urrutia Fucugauchi (AGU International Secretary and Delegate from Mexico to the Sapporo IUGG General Assembly); Catherine Constable (President-elect of the Section on Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism and member of the SEDI Advisory Committee); Jeffrey Freymueller (President of the Section on Geodesy and IAG National Correspondent for the USA); and Walter Mooney (President of the Section on Seismology and Acting Chair of the IASPEI task group on Seismic Imaging of the Lithosphere).

The IAHS Tison Award, which aims to promote excellence in research by young hydrologists, was presented during the 8th Kovacs Colloquium, to Dr Özgür Kisi, of the Hydraulics Division, Erciyes University, Turkey.

In April, Professor Igor Shikolmanov, a committed and long-time active member of IAHS, shared the prestigious Tyler Price with David Schindler, a professor of ecology at the University of Alberta (Canada).


7. News from the International Heliophysical Year (IHY)

IHY is a highly successful program that not only celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the International Geophysical Year but also promotes international cooperation on number of new initiatives. More information about the program can be found on their web site: http://ihy2007.org.

Headlines from their July 2006 Newsletter include the following:

IHY Asia/Pacific Regional Planning Meeting & International Space Weather Meridian Circle Program Workshop, Oct. 9-12,2006. Beijing, China

Balkans, Black Sea and Caspian Sea Regional Network Report

South African Regional Activities

Latin American Activities and upcoming Workshop in September 2006


8. IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during August – October 2006

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web Site [ www.iugg.org ]. Specific information about these meetings, including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

August 14 - 25, 2006
IAU; Prague, Czech Republic; IAU XXVI General Assembly

August 17 - 18, 2006
UCCS; Cambridge, U.K.; GLIMS Workshop

August 21 – 25, 2006
WCRP/UCCS; Cambridge, England; International Symposium on Cryospheric Indicators of Global Climate Change

August 23 - 27, 2006
IUGG/IAG; Jakarta, Indonesia; First Indonesian Geospatial Technology Exhibition

August 27 - September 1, 2006
IASPEI; Sao Paolo, Brazil; The IRIS Workshop on Managing Waveform Data and Related Metadata for Seismic Networks

August 28 - September 1, 2006
IAG; Istanbul, Turkey; 1st International Symposium of International Gravity Field Service (IGFS)

August 30 - September 1, 2006
IASPEI; Grenoble, France; ESG 2006 Symposium

September 2 - 6, 2006
IASPEI; Smolenice Castle, Slovakia; Workshop on Numerical Modeling of Earthquake Source Dynamics (NMESD)

September 4 - 7, 2006
IAG; Nice, France; XIII Assembly of the Wegener Project

September 4 - 8, 2006
IAGA/ICMA/CAWSES; Sodankyla, Finland; Workshop on Long-Term Changes and Trends in the Atmosphere

September 4 - 8, 2006
IAHS; Nice, France; 7th International Conference on Hydroinformatics

September 4 - 8, 2006
IASPEI; Geneva, Switzerland; First European Conference of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology

September 11 - 14, 2006
IAHS; Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic; International Multidisciplinary Conference on Hydrology and Ecology: The Groundwater/Ecology Connection

September 14 - 17, 2006
IAEG, EGGSL; Nottingham, United Kingdom; 10th Congress of the International Association of Engineering Geology and the Environment

September 17 - 23, 2006
IAGA; El Vendrell, Catalonia, Spain; 18th Electromagnetic Induction Workshop

September 18 - 22, 2006
IAGA/IAMAS; Varena, Bulgaria; 3rd IAGA/ICMA Workshop on Vertical coupling in the Atmosphere-Ionosphere System

September 20 - 22, 2006
IAHS; Prague, Czech Republic; BIOHYDROLOGY 2006: impact of biological factors on soil hydrology

September 20 - 23, 2006
IAHS; Belvaux, Luxembourg; ERB200: Uncertainties in the Monitoring-Conceptualization-Modeling Sequence of Catchment Research

September 21 - 23, 2006
IAHS; Neuchatel, Switzerland; 8th Conference on Limestone Hydrogeology

September 24 - 29, 2006
IASPEI; Hayama, Japan; 12th International Symposium on Deep Seismic Profiling of the Continents and their Margins

September 25 - 26, 2006
ISPRS; Goa, India; Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques for Monitoring and Prediction of Disasters

September 25 - October 7, 2006
IASPEI; Trieste, Italy; 8th Workshop on 3D Modelling of Seismic Waves Generation, Propagation and their Inversion

September 26 - 28, 2006
IAHS; Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany; 3rd International Symposium on Integrated Water Resources Management

October 2 - 6, 2006
SCOPE; Rome, Italy; 52nd Open Executive Committee Meeting

October 2 - 6, 2006
UCCS; Davos, Switzerland; 4th Mars Polar Science and Exploration Conference

October 4 - 6, 2006
IAHS; Potsdam, Germany; 1Model Developer’s Workshop (SWAT and SWIM)

October 8 - 12, 2006
FIG; Munich, Germany; XXIII International FIG World Congress

October 9 - 13, 2006
IAG; Munich, Germany; Geodetic reference frames GRF2006

October 16 - 18, 2006
IUGG; Melbourne, Australia; IUGG Bureau Meeting

October 16 - 20, 2006
IAG, ICC; Jeju, Korea; 2006 International Symposium on GPS/GNSS (12th IAIN World Congress) and the Asia Pacific Space Geodynamics (APSG 2006) Workshop

October 23 - 25, 2006
CODATA; Beijing, China; 20th International CODATA Conference: Scientific Data and Knowledge within the Information Society


 

 


Volume 6 No. 10 (October 1, 2006)

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the information. Your comments are welcome.

Contents

1.       Proposed Changed to IUGG Statutes and By-laws due 1 November

2.       Corrections and updates to the IUGG Yearbook now due

3.       Update on Plans for the 2007 IUGG General Assembly

4.       eGY announces Start Date of 1 July 2007

5.       IHY announces Start Date of 1 March 2007

6.       International Science Panel on Renewable Energies

7.       In Memoriam

8.       IUGG-related meetings occurring during October – December 2006


1. Proposed Changed to IUGG Statutes and By-laws due 1 November

As announced in the February 2006 E-Journal, all Adhering Bodies of IUGG Member Countries, through their National Committees, may submit proposals for modifications to the IUGG Statutes and By-laws. The Committee appointed to accept and coordinate the proposed changes includes the following members:

Chair: Dr. David Kerridge (U.K.)
Members: Dr. Jean-Pierre Barriot (France), Dr. Priscilla Grew (USA), and Dr. Ronald Stewart (Canada)

Proposals must reach the Secretary General by 1 January 2007 so that they can be included in the Agenda Book for the Council Meetings. To permit the Committee to prepare a summary of the proposed changes and their consequences, please send proposals before 1 November 2006 to Dr. Kerridge at the following addresses:

e-mail: djk@bgs.ac.uk
fax: 44 131 667 1877
post: Dr. David Kerridge
British Geological Survey
Murchison House, West Mains Road
Edinburgh EH9 3LA
Scotland, U.K.


2. Corrections and updates to the IUGG Yearbook now due

Corrections and updates to the information contained in the IUGG Yearbook are now being finalized in preparation for the 2007 Yearbook. Please contact the IUGG Secretariat as soon as possible or by November 1 [ secretariat@iugg.org ] with additions and corrections.


3. Update on Plans for the 2007 IUGG General Assembly

The Perugia Local Organizing Committee is dedicated to a number of tasks including the following:

  • increasing the number of flights to and from the airport of St. Egidio
  • organizing urban and suburban transportation to the conference venue
  • finding an adequate number of accommodation options
  • organizing catering within the conference locations; setting up offices for the IUGG Bureau and associations, rooms for lectures, poster sessions and exhibitions.
  • supporting public relations with local and national newspapers that cover the conference event
  • consistent contact with the local authorities that deal with safety aspects relating to the event

Furthermore, the LOC is promoting parallel initiatives to find sponsors for travel assistance grants within Italian cities. Please visit the website for the most recent information: www.iugg2007perugia.it.

Information contributed by Arnaldo Pierleoni, Perugia LOC


4. eGY announces Start Date of 1 July 2007

The Electronic Geophysical Year [ eGY, www.egy.org ] will begin on July 1, 2007, fifty years after the beginning of the IGY. Opening ceremonies will be held in Perugia, Italy, in conjunction with the IUGG General Assembly.

eGY is an internationally-recognized resolve by the science community to achieve a step increase in making past, present, and future geoscientific data readily, rapidly, conveniently, and openly available. eGY provides the international framework and a target for stimulating and coordinating activities to make this happen. eGY focuses on themes of electronic data location and access, permission and release of data, conversion of data into modern digital form, data preservation, capacity building, particularly in developing countries, and outreach. Promoting the development of a network of virtual observatories is a central feature of eGY.

eGY is an ICSU-endorsed initiative of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), driven by the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA), under the chairmanship of Dan Baker (LASP). The next general meeting of eGY Participants will be March 13-14, 2007 in Boulder, Colorado. Sign up for the eGY Newsletter at www.egy.org/maillist.html to receive information about this meeting.


5. IHY announces Start Date of 1 March 2007

The opening ceremony for the 2007 – 2009 International Heliophysical Year [ www.ihy2007.org ] will be held 19 February 2007 in Vienna, Austria, during the second week of the annual meeting of the UNOOSA Science and Technology Sub Committee


6. International Science Panel on Renewable Energies (ISPRE)

The ISPRE is a joint development of the International Council of Science (ICSU), the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS), and the Renewable Energy Policy Network. Two IUGG scientists have been selected for this Panel, serving from 2006-2008. They are Andrew Blakers, of the Australian National University in Canberra, and Arni Snorrason, of the Iceland Hydrological Service in Reykjavik. The ISPRE will provide strategic guidance for renewable energy Research & Development efforts worldwide. The Panel’s focus will extend from basic scientific research to issues of technology development, demonstration, and deployment.


7. In Memoriam

IASPEI and IAGA have reported the recent deaths of valued colleagues.

Joergen Hjelme, State Seismologist of Denmark, died on 4 March 2006 at the age of 77. He was a pioneer in the establishment of the World Wide (WWSSN) network of 100 identical seismograph stations, and was the Danish representative in the Group of Scientific Experts (GSE) for technical nuclear test ban monitoring from the beginning to 1995. He was a member of the IASPEI commission on practice for many years and served as chairman of the working group on magnitude. He was the Danish representative to IASPEI for very many years and was dedicated to promoting cooperation between seismologists in the Nordic countries.

Toyohisa Kamei, assistant professor of Kyoto University, Japan, died on 3 September 2006, at the age of 58. He joined the World Data Center for Geomagnetism in 1979 (operated by Data Analysis Center for Geomagnetism and Space Magnetism, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University) and worked on the derivation of AE and Dst indices. For this contribution, IAGA had decided to award him the IAGA Long Service Medal at the IUGG General Assembly in Perugia, and he was so informed of this honor before his death.


8. IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during October – December 2006

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web Site [ www.iugg.org ]. Specific information about these meetings, including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

September 25 - October 7, 2006
IASPEI; Trieste, Italy; 8th Workshop on 3D Modelling of Seismic Waves Generation, Propagation and their Inversion

October 2 - 6, 2006
SCOPE; Rome, Italy; 52nd Open Executive Committee Meeting

October 2 - 6, 2006
UCCS; Davos, Switzerland; 4th Mars Polar Science and Exploration Conference

October 4 - 6, 2006
IAHS; Potsdam, Germany; 1Model Developer’s Workshop (SWAT and SWIM)

October 8 - 12, 2006
FIG; Munich, Germany; XXIII International FIG World Congress

October 9 - 13, 2006
IAG; Munich, Germany; Geodetic reference frames GRF2006

October 16 - 18, 2006
IUGG; Melbourne, Australia; IUGG Bureau Meeting

October 16 - 20, 2006
IAG, ICC; Jeju, Korea; 2006 International Symposium on GPS/GNSS (12th IAIN World Congress) and the Asia Pacific Space Geodynamics (APSG 2006) Workshop

October 23 - 25, 2006
CODATA; Beijing, China; 20th International CODATA Conference: Scientific Data and Knowledge within the Information Society

November 3 - 11, 2006
GSDI; Santiago, Chile; Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association (GSDI) 9th International Conference; Spatial Information: Tool for Reducing Poverty

November 6 - 8, 2006
IASPEI; Santiago, Chile; International Conference Montessus de Ballore- Centennial of the Valparaiso 1906 Earthquake

November 6 - 8, 2006
ESA-ESRIN; Frascati, Italy; 3rd International GOCE User Workshop

November 7 - 8, 2006
START; Beijing, China; Young Scientists’ Global Change Conference

November 7 - 10, 2006
IASPEI; Bangkok, Thailand; 6th General Assembly of Asian Seismological Commission Symposium On the Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation

November 9 - 12, 2006
ESSP; Beijing, China; Global Change Open Science Conference on Global Environmental Change: Regional Challenges

November 20 - 22, 2006
IAGA/EMSEV; Agra, India; International Workshop on Electromagnetic Studies related to Earthquakes and Volcanoes

November 27 - December 1, 2006
IAHS; Havana, Cuba; 5th World FRIEND Conference: Water Resources Variability: Processes, Analysis and Impacts

December 7 - 10, 2006
IAHS; St. Moritz, Switzerland; 7th International Workshop on Precipitation in Urban Areas: Extreme Precipitation, Multisource Data Measurement and Uncertainty


End of IUGG Electronic Journal Volume 6 Number 10 (October 1, 2006)
J. A. Joselyn, Secretary General  [ http://www.IUGG.org ]
jjoselyn@cires.colorado.edu, fax:  1 303 497 3645.

 

Volume 6 No. 11 (November 1, 2006)

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the information. Your comments are welcome.

Contents

1.       Brief report of the IUGG Bureau meeting

2.       Brief report of the SCOPE meeting

3.       Postage stamps honor the International Polar Year

4.       Awards and Honors

5.       IUGG-related meetings occurring during November 2006 – January 2007


1. Brief report of the IUGG Bureau meeting

The IUGG Bureau met from 16-18 October in beautiful Melbourne, Australia, at the invitation of the Australian Academy of Sciences. We very much appreciated the hospitality of the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau, the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, and Melbourne Ambassador Tom Beer. Items of discussion included the current state of arrangements of the 2007 General Assembly; the International Lithosphere Programme (now positioned as a Joint Scientific Program of IUGG and IUGS); the Union Commissions; ICSU matters including the Regional Offices, the suspended Grants Programme, and the strategic initiative on data and information; IUGG Membership and the 2008-2011 budget; and reaching out to young scientists and developing countries, with an emphasis on Africa. Following the meeting on October 19, IUGG President Uri Shamir delivered the 2007 CSIRO Priestly Lecture, a series of annual lectures begun in 1995 in honor of Bill Priestley, founding Chief of CSIRO’s former atmospheric research division. His topic was Water: Management under Uncertainly and Risk.


2. Brief report of the SCOPE meeting

Norman (Jake) Peters, IUGG liaison to the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) attended the Open 52nd Executive Committee meeting in Rome, Italy, from 2-6 October. The theme of the scientific symposium on Monday and Tuesday was Air Pollution and Human Exposure Complexity. SCOPE ongoing scientific activities are grouped into 3 clusters: Managing Social and natural Resources, Ecosystem Processes and Biodiversity, and Health and the Environment. These activities were reviewed and a number of new projects and project proposals were presented. SCOPE projects all involve extensive international networks of outstanding scientists.

Related to SCOPE, Jake has copies of all SCOPE volumes published since 1999, and he is willing to loan them to IUGG scientists as requested. As a service, he has been working on scanning the non-electronic (and often out-of-print) volumes for posting under Publications on the SCOPE website (www.icsu-scope.org). He has processed about 36 volumes thus far.


3. Postage stamps honor the International Polar Year

In 2007, the U.S. Postal Service will issue a souvenir sheet of two 84-cent (international letter rate) stamps to commemorate the International Polar Year 2007-2008. They are images of photographs of the aurora australis and aurora borealis. This souvenir sheet will be issued as part of a booklet of similar sheets jointly issued by eight countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the USA. To see the U.S. stamps, visit the website: www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007stamps/welcome.htm


4. Awards and Honors

Roger Barry, director of NSIDC and the World Data Center for Glaciology, is the recipient of the 2006 Goldthwait Polar Medal, given in recognition of his outstanding contributions to polar research. The Byrd Polar Research Center (BPRC) at Ohio State University awards the medal in honor of Dick Goldthwait, the Center's founder. Barry presented the Goldthwait Lecture, "Arctic Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Interactions," on October 13, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.


5. IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during November 2006 - January 2007

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web Site [ www.iugg.org ]. Specific information about these meetings, including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

November 3 - 11, 2006
GSDI; Santiago, Chile; Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association (GSDI) 9th International Conference; Spatial Information: Tool for Reducing Poverty

November 6 - 8, 2006
IASPEI; Santiago, Chile; International Conference Montessus de Ballore- Centennial of the Valparaiso 1906 Earthquake

November 6 - 8, 2006
ESA-ESRIN; Frascati, Italy; 3rd International GOCE User Workshop

November 7 - 8, 2006
START; Beijing, China; Young Scientists’ Global Change Conference

November 7 - 10, 2006
IASPEI; Bangkok, Thailand; 6th General Assembly of Asian Seismological Commission Symposium On the Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation

November 9 - 12, 2006
ESSP; Beijing, China; Global Change Open Science Conference on Global Environmental Change: Regional Challenges

November 20 - 22, 2006
IAGA/EMSEV; Agra, India; International Workshop on Electromagnetic Studies related to Earthquakes and Volcanoes

November 20 - 22, 2006
IAG; Johannesburg, South Africa; Building Geospatial Capacity and Infrastructure in Africa (Principal sponsors CSIR South Africa and Department of Land Affairs)

November 27 - December 1, 2006
IAHS; Havana, Cuba; 5th World FRIEND Conference: Water Resources Variability: Processes, Analysis and Impacts

December 7 - 10, 2006
IAHS; St. Moritz, Switzerland; 7th International Workshop on Precipitation in Urban Areas: Extreme Precipitation, Multisource Data Measurement and Uncertainty

 

Volume 6 No. 12 (December 1, 2006)

This short, informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and actions of the IUGG Secretariat. Past issues are posted on the IUGG Web site. Please forward this message to those who will benefit from the information. Your comments are welcome.

Contents

1.       General Assembly Third Circular to be released soon

2.       Delegate Certifications needed for General Assembly

3.       Nominations for IUGG Officers

4.       2008 will be the Year of Science and Technology for Africa

5.       IGY + 50, and eGY kick-off events and showcase demonstrations

6.       IUGG-related meetings occurring during December 2006 – February 2007


1. General Assembly Third Circular to be released soon

The XXIV IUGG General Assembly will be held in Perugia, Italy from 2-13 July 2007. The Third Circular will be released soon on the web site (www.iugg2007perugia.it) and will be mailed to all of those who have pre-registered. The registration form and hotel booking form in the Third Circular can be filed electronically or by post. The early registration fee will be accepted until 30 April so that the Perugia Local Organizing Committee can better plan for the expected attendance. After that, the fees will increase. The Abstract and Travel Grant submission forms are due in Perugia by 31 January 2007. (If abstracts and grant forms are being sent by post, they must be mailed by 15 January).


2. Delegate Certifications needed for General Assembly

Official notification of the XXIV IUGG General Assembly was sent to all Adhering Bodies on 9 May 2006. The letter asked that all Adhering Bodies to send the name of their delegate to the IUGG Council meetings to the IUGG Secretariat by 28 February 2007. This deadline ensures that the Council Delegates will receive the Council Meeting Agendas and other important information such as the venue of the meetings. To date, the following Adhering Bodies have sent the letter appointing their delegate to the Council:

Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, India, Israel, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, and New Zealand.

Many more letters are needed. Please do not neglect this important duty, which will provide your delegate with the credentials and information needed to vote.

In addition, all Adhering Bodies should issue credentials for their delegates to the Association business meetings. Those should be sent to the individual Association Secretaries General as soon as possible.


3. Nominations received for the IUGG Finance Committee

Given below is the list of nominations for the IUGG Bureau and the Finance Committee as agreed upon by the Nominating Committee. For each position either one or two candidates have been nominated, as required by the By-Laws (10b). The positions and the nominated candidates are:

President: Tom Beer (Australia)
Vice-President: Harsh K. Gupta (India), and David Kerridge (U.K.)
Treasurer: Aksel W. Hansen (Denmark)
Secretary General: Alik Ismail-Zadeh (Germany)

Bureau Members
Position #1 Yun-Tai Chen (China)
Position #2 Ali Tealeb (Egypt)
Position #3 David Jackson (U.S.A.)

Finance Committee
Position #1 Jan Krynski (Poland)
Position #2 Kyoshi Suyehiro (Japan)
Position #3 open
Position #4 open

The Curriculum Vitae of the candidates will be posted on the IUGG Web site. During the next four months, new candidates for each office will be added to the list given above if they meet the general requirements for IUGG officers, and are supported by at least three presidents or equivalent officers of National Committees of Member Adhering Bodies.

New candidates must signify their acceptance of the nomination and must prepare a resume outlining their position, research interests, and activities related to the Union. The deadline for adding nominations is 31 March 2007. The resulting final list of nominations will be completed and distributed by 30 April 2007. The By-Laws provide for re-nominations following the close of the first Council Meeting at the General Assembly.

If you have any question concerning the nomination procedure, please contact the chair of the Nominating Committee, Søren Gregersen, at sg@geus.dk


4. 2008 will be the Year of Science and Technology for Africa

The African Union (AU) is planning to declare 2008 to be the year of S &T for Africa. If this proposition is endorsed by the African Heads of State and Governments in January 2008, it will coincide with the UN-declared Year of Planet Earth, the ICSU General Assembly in Mozambique, the climax of the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) and the International Polar Year (IPY), and the final year of the electronic Geophysical Year (eGY).


5. IGY + 50, and eGY kick-off events and showcase demonstrations

Preparations are currently underway to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Geophysical Year and the kick-off for the Electronic Geophysical Year on July 1st, 2007, in Perugia, Italy. Exhibitions of IGY posters and movies, as well as public lectures and eGY showcase demonstrations are being planned. Anyone wishing to contribute ideas for the festivities should contact Emily CoBabe-Ammann (ecobabe@lasp.colorado.edu).

eGY showcase demonstrations will illustrate the value of web-based systems for providing ready access to data, information, analysis capability, visualisation, and other services. Adaptations of systems to meet the needs of the Education sector will be included. The aim is to illustrate the potential of such systems, encourage participation and release of data, and help build the foundations of wider interoperability. The showcase demonstrations will be held at the Fall AGU meeting, and on subsequent occasions during the course of eGY (July 2007 - December 2008). Anyone who wishes to get involved, or who has a system to be demonstrated, or who would like to build such a system should contact: Peter Fox (pfox@ucar.edu and Emily CoBabe-Ammann (ecobabe@lasp.colorado.edu).


6. IUGG-Related Meetings Occurring during December 2006 – February 2007

A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those organized or sponsored by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG Web Site [ www.iugg.org ]. Specific information about these meetings, including web links, can be found there. Individual Associations also list more meetings on their web sites appropriate to their disciplines.

December 7 - 10, 2006
IAHS; St. Moritz, Switzerland; 7th International Workshop on Precipitation in Urban Areas: Extreme Precipitation, Multisource Data Measurement and Uncertainty

December 11 - 15, 2006
AGU; San Francisco, California, USA; AGU Fall Meeting

December 18 - 20, 2006
IASPEI; Roorkee, India; The 13th Symposium on Earthquake Engineering (13SEE-06)

January 14 - 18, 2007
AMS; San Antonio, Texas, USA; 87th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society

February 7 – 10, 2007
IAHS; Coimbatore, India; 3rd International Groundwater Conference (IGC-2007): Water, Environment and Agriculture – Present Problems and Future Challenges