The IUGG Electronic Journal

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.php 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.