September 16, 2017 was the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. In fact, September 16, 2017 marked the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Montreal Protocol. The protocol was aimed at regulating the production and use of chemicals that contribute to the depletion of Earth’s ozone layer. It entered into force on January 1, 1989, … Read more
By Eric Davidson, AGU President, Robin Bell, AGU President-elect, and Margaret Leinen, AGU Past President Science is strongest when a diverse set of voices are not only allowed, but encouraged, to share their perspectives and scientific ideas. Harassment and discrimination can negatively impact that diversity of voices and have no place in a research environment or … Read more
By Jasmine Crumsey, Ph.D., AGU Council Member, and Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University. “The overwhelming challenges we need to face today can’t be solved through incrementalism . . . What actually holds us back? Why aren’t we doing bigger things? The first answer is people and the perception of … Read more
By Ramesh P. Singh, Ph.D., AGU Natural Hazards Focus Group President, and Chapman University Professor of Earth System and Remote Sensing On 8 September 1900, the town of Galveston, Texas, close to Houston, was hit by a category 4 hurricane with strong winds of 135 miles per hour and storm surges up to 15 feet … Read more
For days before it made landfall, the projections for Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Texas―and other parts of the Gulf Coast―were of devastation. Then, when the record-breaking storm arrived, our worst fears were realized as the region was inundated with 101-130 centimeters of rain, not to mention high winds and intense storm surge. Now, as we … Read more
By Christina Cohen, Ph.D., AGU Council Member, AGU Space Physics and Aeronomy Section President-elect, and Member of the Professional Staff at the California Institute of Technology On the 40th anniversary of the Voyager mission it is impossible not to marvel at how far a human-built machine (with less computing power than the typical smart phone) … Read more
On 21 August, 2017, a solar eclipse swept across North America. Many AGU members were observing this wonder of our universe using everything from cutting-edge instruments to cardboard glasses ordered online. How different the faces studying the geophysics are now than they were in 1878 when Maria Mitchell of Vassar College was explicitly not invited … Read more
President Trump campaigned as a proponent of technological innovation and development. Yet his proposed fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget slashes funding for research programs at the Department of Energy (DOE). Congress isn’t bound to follow the President’s proposed budget, but last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the FY2018 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, … Read more
Authors: Rana Fine (chair of the COF steering team – moving forward) and Ana Barros (chair of the COF Task Force – creation of the COF) First and foremost, we’d like to offer our sincere congratulations to this year’s newly announced 2017 Class of Fellows. This year, 61 AGU members joined a distinguished group, receiving … Read more
AGU has long been a proponent and leader in open data and open science, not only in our own publications and meetings, but also within the broader research community. I’m pleased to announce that we have taken that commitment to the next level today by launching an Application Program Interface (API) that will open the … Read more