Activities

The USNC/IUGG is involved in a variety of issues facing the geodetic and geophysical sciences:

The USNC also serves to represent the viewpoint of U.S. scientists to the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), insisting upon an open and contested election process for the IUGG associations and forming the U.S. delegations to IUGG General Assemblies. In addition, USNC members attend IUGG association meetings as U.S. delegates and publicize travel funding opportunities for young scientists to attend those meetings. The committee also plans and sponsors scientific meetings in the United States, and has proposed sites for the 2009 Joint Assembly of IAMAS and IAPSO.

Another function of the USNC/IUGG is to inform the U.S. scientific community of the activities of the IUGG.

How Well Do We Know? Communicating Scientific Uncertainty to the Public

There is never true certainty in science, only varying degrees of uncertainty. This concept is difficult to convey to the public, and even scientists sometimes struggle with it. Yet whenever science and the public interest intersect, it is critical to communicate uncertainty to the public in an understandable way. This is especially important in cases of natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, and storm surges, as well as in cases of public policy such as assessing climate change and the human impact on climate. At the December 2005 AGU meeting, USNC/IUGG members Jeff Freymueller, David Jackson, William Boicourt, Kevin Johnson, and Larry Brown convened a session on communicating scientific uncertainty. This session brought together scientists, emergency managers, educators, and other professionals at the interface of science and the public to promote better understanding of the power and limitations of the predictive natural sciences.

Lisa Grant and Laurie Brown (members of the national committee for IUGG) in collaboration with Ken Verosub and Jim Beget (members of the national committee of INQUA) organized a session at the December American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in San Francisco. The session, Synchroneity of Quaternary Events, focused on challenges and developments in addressing temporal uncertainty and significance of Quaternary events. The goal of this session was to foster cross-disciplinary discussion of challenges in dating and correlating Quaternary events in paleoseismology, archaeology, volcanology, climatic change, and related fields.

The scientific discipline of geodesy has evolved from its original classical definition of studying motions of heavenly bodies and the size and shape of the Earth, to the science of also studying their changes and the complex dynamical processes interacting within the Planet with temporal scales of seconds to geological and length scales of meters to planetary radius. Committee member C.K. Shum is concerned about the state of geodesy, however, noting that throughout this evolution there has been a steady decline in geodesy programs and fewer students are trained in this important interdisciplinary science that is an integral part of Earth and planetary exploration satellite missions. Shum offers steps to resolve this problem in his draft white paper, “Space Geodesy: An Interdisciplinary Science in the 21st Century.”

The project on “Biodiversity through Geological Time” is a proposed project among the U.S. National Committees for DIVERSITAS, the International Union of Geological Sciences, and the International Union for Quaternary Research. The committees will organize a series of symposia at major international meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Geological Society of America, and the American Geophysical Union that will examine biodiversity from a geological perspective through time.

Committee member Miguel Marino is co-convener of a symposium that was held at the 7^th Scientific Assembly of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, in April 2005. The symposium addressed the obstacles facing water resource management in large cities with an interdisciplinary outlook, taking into account their hydrological, technical, environmental, and socioeconomic aspects, and looking for new solutions to overcome such problems as water scarcity, deteriorating water quality, lack of sufficient supply systems, inappropriate handling of wastewater, inadequate storm water management, and flood risk. This symposium promoted the exchange of existing experiences of water management for, in, and around large cities and define the challenges for hydrology and water management caused by the long-term trend to form extended urbanized areas.

In May 2002, the USNC co-organized a session at the spring American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting with the USNC/IUGS dealing with sustainability issues in energy resources. The session dealt with the need for future scientific studies resulting from increased reliance on nuclear energy, addressing the following topics from both domestic and international perspectives:

• status and potential future trends in the use of nuclear energy;
• associated with power plant security;
• storage, disposal and transportation of nuclear waste;
• promise of new technologies;
• review of international strategies for nuclear energy management;
• impacts associated with energy mix changes; and
• role and responsibility of the geoscientist in influencing public opinion and debate about highly charged societal issues.

The USNC/IUGG gathered speakers from the full spectrum of disciplines represented by the IUGG including current committee members Pat Leahy and Susan Landon.

A representative of the USNC/IUGG attended a constituency briefing of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) at the U.S. Department of Commerce on April 15, 2004. A U.S.-led initiative in global earth observation, the first Earth Observation Summit was a high-level meeting that attracted the attendance of scientific ministers and government representatives to focus on science from the point of view of policymakers and emphasize the benefits of global earth observation, which include reducing disaster loss, oceans, climate change, protecting and monitoring water, sustainable agriculture, environmental factors in human health, and ecological forecasts.

The USNC/IUGG looked into this initiative to ascertain whether solid earth science and scientists are involved. The members found that the GEO summit held in Tokyo, Japan in April was attended by representatives from governments of 47 nations as well as by Dr. Gerhard Beutler, President of the International Association of Geodesy. IAG was accepted as a participating organization through the advocacy of the German delegation. Dr. C. Reiber, Chair of IAG’s Global Geodetic Observing System project is working with GEO organizers with regard to observations of “geometry and Earth dynamics” but expects to act as an informant between other GEO subgroups and IUGG associations. This is an opportunity for IAG to ensure that Earth observations that are critical to IUGG disciplines are adequately considered in the international GEO initiative.

A draft 10-year Strategic Plan for the U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System is now available and open for public and scientific comment and review.

Committee member Jim Shuttleworth is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group of the Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB) of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS). PUB’s objectives are to:

• the ability of hydrologists worldwide to predict the fluxes of water and associated constituents from ungauged basins, along with estimates of the uncertainty of predictions;
• the knowledge and understanding of climatic and landscape controls on hydrologic processes occurring at all scales, in order to constrain the uncertainty in hydrologic predictions;
• the value of data for hydrologic predictions, and provide a rational basis for future data acquisitions, including alternative data sources, by quantifying the links between data and predictive uncertainty;
• the scientific foundations of hydrology, and provide a scientific basis for sustainable river basin management.
• promote capacity building activities in the development of appropriate scientific knowledge and technology to areas and communities where it is needed.

Contested Elections

The USNC/IUGG is strongly committed to encouraging an open and contested election process in choosing the leadership of the seven IUGG associations. Keeping in mind that the associations have limited budgets and run on a completely volunteer staff, as well as finding leaders with appropriate geographical and disciplinary balance, the USNC feels that contested elections are an effective mechanism for involving members in association affairs, stimulating discussions of alternative visions of the association, and finding good leaders for the future.

The 23rd General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics was held June 30 to July 11 in Sapporo, Japan. Among distinguished scientists and representatives of its member organizations, IUGG was pleased to have Japan’s Emperor Akihito in attendance at the General Assembly.

The U.S. delegation to the assembly was led by Dave Jackson, who was the current chair of the USNC and was elected to the IUGG Finance Committee. Members of the U.S. delegation were Daniel Baker, University of Colorado, Boulder; Robert Duce, Texas A&M University; Kevin Furlong, Pennsylvania State University; Kevin T.M. Johnson, Bishop Museum; Hugo Loaiciga, University of California, Santa Barbara; Mark Luther, University of South Florida; David Sandwell, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and Keith Seitter, American Meteorological Society. Delegations from every country met during the Congress to hear reports from officers and to vote on resolutions submitted by member delegations. The delegates also participated in congress debate, symposia, and workshops.

Travel grants, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and administered by the American Geophysical Union, were made available to students and young scientists who participated in the General Assembly by the USNC/IUGG.

International Union Activities

International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE)

IUGG is a full partner in the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE), 2007-2009, initiative of the International Union of Geological Sciences and UNESCO, along with the International Geographical Union and the International Union of Soil Sciences. The major scientific themes of IYPE include groundwater, health, cities, natural hazards, natural resources, climate change, deep Earth, the oceans, and soils. An outreach component will inform policy makers and the general public of new results that impact the environment and human populations.

International Polar Year (IPY)

The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 is envisioned as an internationally coordinated campaign of research that will educate and excited the public, and help train the next generation of engineers, scientists, and leaders in polar science. It coincides with the 50^th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year, which began as an IPY, as well as the 50^th anniversary of the ICSU Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research.

GeoUnions

At the February 2004 meeting of the International Council for Science (ICSU), officers of the four Unions with an emphasis on Earth science met together to explore common areas of interest. These were the IUGG, the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), the International Geographical Union (IGU), and the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS). Together, they selected five topics for further development:

• Cities and Megacities
• Desertification
• Groundwater
• Geophysical Hazards
• Health

Ideas for cooperative work in these areas are being exchanged among representatives of each union. Improved cooperation and communication among the GeoUnions will greatly enhance the achievement of their common goals. Specifically, two new initiatives on GeoData and Geosciences in Africa are being considered.

Capacity Building

ICSU has established a Panel for Priority Area Assessment on Capacity Building, on which Dr. Harsh Gupta, a member of the IUGG Bureau, sits. Each of the IUGG associations has programs aimed at supporting Earth science in developing countries using topical workshops and other scientific publications, and by providing direct support for disadvantaged scientists to attend international meetings. IUGG awarded $25,000 in 2002-2003 to assist scientists from economically disadvantaged countries to attend conferences, and nearly $87,000 to support interdisciplinary research initiatives in South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. In addition, the IUGG ad hoc committee, “Geophysics: The Future,” continues to engage young scientists worldwide in the work of the union.

GeoRisk Commission

The IUGG Commission on Geophysical Risk and Sustainability seeks to facilitate communications between scientists, decision makers, the public, and educators with a focus on the geophysical hazards to which cities are subject and the risks that these hazards pose to their inhabitants and their infrastructure. The purpose of the GeoRisk commission is the promotion of scientific studies applied to the reduction of risk from natural hazards in an increasingly urbanized world.

International Geophysical Year + 50

Legislation endorsing the International Geophysical Year + 50, an initiative that intends to launch a worldwide campaign of scientific activity that will build upon the heritage of the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, passed the U.S. Senate on October 11, 2004. The legislation encourages the National Academy of Sciences, where the USNC/IUGG is housed, to take a role.

Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY)

The Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY), 2007-2008, is an IUGG/IAGA initiative and intends to bring geoscientific data and information availability and world-wide access into the 21st Century. Partners joining in the development of eGY include the International Union of Geological Sciences, the Scientific Committee for Solar Terrestrial Physics, and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

Climate and Weather in the Sun-Earth System

Climate and Weather in the Sun-Earth System (CAWSES) is an initiative of the ICSU Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP). CAWSES seeks to mobilize the international solar-terrestrial science community to fully utilize past, present, and future data; to produce improvements in space weather forecasting and the design of space- and Earth-based technological systems; and to foster an understanding of the role of solar-terrestrial influences on global change.