International SCOSTEP Newsletter

Tuija Pulkkinen - Macelwane Medal
Peggy Shea - Waldo Smith Medal

Tuija Pulkkinen is a Scientific Discipline Representative for SCOSTEP. Peggy Shea was closely associated with STEP as leader of Panel 1 on Long-Term Observations and is continuing her activities as head of the Panel for Environmental Applications, appointed by the ISCS Steering Committee.

We are proud that these scientists, associated with SCOSTEP programs over many years, are being honored by their peers for their many accomplishments in Solar-Terrestrial Physics. We confidently predict (a sure forecast) that further years of similar success lie ahead of them both. Congratulations!

International Solar Cycle Study (ISCS)
WORKING GROUP 1:
Solar Energy Flux Study: From the Interior to the Outer Layer
Coordinators: Claus Fröhlich and Judit Pap

Measurements of the solar energy flux (electromagnetic radiation and the emission of charged particles) and understanding its variability are essential since they provide important information about the physical processes and structural changes taking place below, in, and above the photosphere. In addition to the astrophysical importance of the solar energy flux measurements, these measurements are important for solar-terrestrial physics. Measurements of the solar energy flux over the last decades have demonstrated that it varies with the eleven-year solar activity cycle, and it has been established conclusively that the Earth's climate, radiative environment, and upper atmospheric chemistry are influenced by the varying solar energy flux. The solar variability together with the accumulation of anthropogenic trace gases determine the human milieu of the future.

The main objective of ISCS's Working Group 1 is to coordinate and support comprehensive international research of the variations in the solar energy flux during the rising portion and maximum of solar cycle 23. Although the "Solar Energy Flux Study: From the Interior to the Outer Layer" within ISCS is based on the results gained during the SOLERS22 project which ended on December 31, 1997, it will address much broader scientific issues than SOLERS22. ISCS WG1 "Solar Energy Flux Study: From the Interior to the Outer Layer" has been divided into three working groups:

WG1.1: Variations in Total and Spectral Irradiance from Infrared to UV at 200 nm. Working group leaders: Martin Anklin (total irradiance), Gerard Thuillier (visible and infrared), and Linton Floyd (ultraviolet.)

WG1.2: Variations in Far UV, EUV, X-ray and Particle Fluxes. Working group leaders: W. Kent Tobiska, Gerard Schmidtke (XUV), and David Winningham (particles.)

WG1.3: Solar Indices, Cosmogenic Isotopes, Solar-Stellar Relations. Working Group Leaders: Gary Chapman (solar indices), Juerg Beer (cosmogenic isotopes), and Sallie Baliunas (solar-stellar relations.)

These working groups will be concerned about measurements of the solar energy flux, analysis of the measurements, modeling the measured changes, interpreting the results and study the climate effect of solar variability.

We invite all interested scientists to participate in this project. Please choose the appropriate working group(s) where you would like to contribute and work within. Please send the following information to the appropriate working group leaders (addresses listed below):

Name, Affiliation, Position, Mailing Address (where any information should be sent), Phone Number, Fax Number, e-mail Address

I am interested in WG1 ................ (Yes/No)
I am interested in WG2 ................ (Yes/No)
I am interested in WG3 ................ (Yes/No)

Field of interest: Measurements, Data Analysis, Modeling Theoretical Interpretation, Sun Climate Connections

Please note that you may choose more than 1 working group and list as many interests as you wish.

Please send the form to one of the appropriate group leaders (e.g., if you are interested WG1 and in total irradiance send the form to Martin Anklin, if you are interested in UV send the form to Linton Floyd.)

For planning purposes we ask you to send the form no later than April 30, 1998. However, application to participate in this project will be accepted at any time.

We are looking forward to get as many applications as possible. On behalf of ISCS WG1: Claus Fröhlich and Judit Pap

List of the leaders of ISCS WG1 "Solar Energy Flux Study: From the Interior to the Outer Layer."

ISCS WG1 Coordinators:
Claus Fröhlich, Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Center, PMOD/WRC, Dorfstrasse 33 CH-7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland Phone: 41-81-417-51-36 Fax: 41-81-417-51-00
email: cfrohlich@obsun.pmodwrc.ch
cfrohlich@solar.stanford.edu

Judit M. Pap, Division of Astronomy and Astrophysics Department of Physics and Astronomy University of California, Los Angeles, Box 951562, 405 Hilgard Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1562, USA
Phone: (1) 310-825-1289 Fax: (1) 310-206-2096
email: pap@astro.ucla.edu
jpap@solar.stanford.edu

WG 1.1: Variations in Total and Spectral Irradiances from Infrared to UV at 200 nm

Gerard Thuillier, Service d'Aeronomie-CNRS BP3, 91371 Verrieres Le Buisson, France
Phone: 33-1-64474291 Fax: 33-1-69202999
email: gerard.thuillier@aerov.jussieu.fr

Linton Floyd, Naval Research Laboratory, Code 7660 4555 Overlook Ave., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20375, USA
Phone: 202-767-2258 Fax: 202-767-5636
email: floyd@susim.nrl.navy.mil

WG 1.2: Variations in Far-UVm EUV, X-ray and Particle Fluxes

Gerhard Schmidtke, Fraunhofer IPM, Heidenhofstr. 8 D-79110 Freiburg i. Br., Germany
Phone: 49 761-88-57-176 Fax: 49 761-88-57-224
email: schmidtk@ipm.fhg.de

J. David Winningham, Southwest Research Institute 6220 Culebra Road, P.O. Drawer 28510 San Antonio, TX 78228, USA
Phone: (1)-210-522-3075, Fax: (1)-210-647-4325
email: david@cluster.space.swri.edu

WG 1.3: Solar Indices, Cosmogenic Isotopes, Solar-Stellar Connections

Juerg Beer, Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science & Technology, 8600 Dubendorf, Switzerland
Phone: 41-1-823-5111 Fax: 41-1-823-5210
email: beer@eawag.ch

Sallie Baliunas, Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics MS 15, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 01238, USA
Phone: (1)-617-495-7415 Fax: (1)-617-495-7049
email: baliunas@cfa.harvard.edu

A Dictionary of Geophysics, Astrophysics and Astronomy, is scheduled to appear in about two years (CRC press.) If you would like to contribute definitions to this work, please contact me at one of the addresses below.

The ideal contribution will provide about 100 definitions, each 100-200 words (with latitude for larger excursions) in length. I can provide suggested topics for definition, but in most cases you will be far more expert than me in choosing topics for definition. Definitions should be supplied in LaTex, with style files I can supply.

There is no financial remuneration for this work. Authors will receive publication credit and a complimentary copy of the volume in which the contribution appears, but see the publisher's WWW page: http://members.aol.com/PhysDict/index.html for definitive details and for a sample contract.

PUBLICATIONS

There is an on-line service on WWW that some SCOSTEP participants may find useful -- that is, unless I'm the last one to learn about this service. It is "StarWorlds." This is a set of pages on a site that permits searches for links to many other astronomy and space sites on the WorldWide Web. The main resource homepage is located at:
http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/starsfamily.html, and this can be used to provide links to over 9,000 sites available that have information and materials relevant to astronomy and space resources. This includes a dictionary of acronyms and abbreviations, as well as the ability to search for information about individuals. If a search is non-productive, the hosts are happy to have suggestions about additions that are needed, so that they can grow a larger, more inclusive, and more useful site.

The staff responsible for maintaining StarPages have more than 20 years tradition and experience in maintaining topical compilations and even have thousands of entries not yet entered onto the WWW. Data and information are quality checked and a basis is provided for permanent updating of information and authenticating data originators.

Three sets of master files comprise the essential system:
- The directory StarWorlds of astronomy, space, and broadly related organizations of the world (currently 6000+ entries offering about 5,000 WWW links) reachable at: http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/starworlds.html;
- The database StarHeads of personal web pages of essentially astronomers and space scientists (currently about 4,500 entries) reachable at:
http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/starheads.html;
- The dictionary StarBits of abbreviations, acronyms, contractions, and symbols in astronomy, space sciences, and related fields (currently about 120,000 entries) reachable at:
http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/starbits.html.
Anyone interested in this on-line information system is welcome to use it directly or to correspond with Prof. Andre Heck at:
heck@astro.u-strasbg.fr, or see http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/~heck.

WIND: Definitive 3-s, 1-min, and 1-hr data from the GSFC magnetometer are available for May 1995 through June 1996 from both CDAWeb and SPyCAT/NDADS. CDAWeb (http://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/) provides for the creation of user-specified plots, screen listings, and files in CDF or ASCII formats. SPyCAT (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/ndads/spycat.html) provides access to full 1-day CDF-formatted multi-resolution files and to ASCII files separated by resolution (1-day files for 3-s data, 1-month files for 1-min and 1-hr data). Data for the rest of 1996 should be available in about a month. Data for later periods, and for the first several post-launch months will become available thereafter. Recall that Wind 1-min key parameter magnetometer data to within several days of current day are also CDAWeb-accessible.

IMP 8: The "IMP Merge" data set, built at JHU/APL, contains 20-s records with 10-s and 20-s resolution data from the two JHU/APL particle experiments (CPME, EPE), 15-s and 20-s data from the GSFC magnetometer, and 1-min data from the MIT plasma instrument. These data were provided by JHU/APL to NSSDC on five VAX/binary CD-ROMs/year for 1973-1996. NSSDC is creating gzipped ASCII daily files of these data and is loading them to NDADS for SPyCAT access. To date, NSSDC has loaded these data for the ISTP era (1992-1996) and will next process and load the 1973-1991 data. Post-1996 IMP Merge data will become SPyCAT-accessible later.

Recall that a high level index of all space physics data network-accessible from NSSDC's various interfaces is available at http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/netdex.html.

Interesting side point on IMP: Since the building of a new IMP VHF telemetry capture station at Canberra, Australia, in September-October, 1997, the overall IMP telemetry capture has been running 90-95%, which is significantly higher than IMP's lifetime average and yields a significantly higher value to the IMP data flow. IMP's other ground stations are the ESA station at Redu, Belgium, and the NASA station at Wallops Island, VA.

Credits: Wind magnetometer data: R. Lepping and team at GSFC/LEP and S. Chen and others at NSSDC. IMP Merge data: R. Decker at JHU/APL and his distributed colleagues, and N. Papitashvili and others at NSSDC. IMP Canberra station: M. Comberiate and others at GSFC and at Canberra.

Dr. Eigil Friis-Christensen: Institute tel: 45 35 32 57 00 or 01; Direct Tel: 45 35 32 57 07; Fax: 45 35 36 24 75
email: Eigil.Friis@dsri.dk

Prof. A. R. W. Hughes: Fax: (27 31) 261-6550.

Dr. Judit Pap: Division of Astronomy and Astrophysics Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, 8971 Math Science Building, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1592
email: pap@astro.ucla.edu

Prof. Bodo W. Reinisch, Director, Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 600 Suffolk Street. Lowell, MA 01854
Tel: 978-934-4903 Fax: 978-459-7915;
email: Bodo_Reinisch@uml.edu

Dr. Jürgen Röttger: Max-Planck-Institut fur Aeronomie Max-Planck-Str. 2, D-37191 Katlenburg-Lindau Germany
Tel: 49-5556-9790; Fax: 49-5556-979240
email: roettger@osf1.mpae.gwdg.de

Prof. F. W. Sluijter: (New Bureau Member, replacing S. Gredzielski), Technical University Eindhoven, P. O. Box 513, NL-5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands,
Tel: (31 40) 247-4288; Fax: (31 40) 244-5253;
email: fws@phys.tue.nl

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Positions 1) and 2) are available beginning immediately with existing funding. Positions 3) and 4) are pending. Additional positions may become available as well within the Bartol Space Physics Group in 1998. The positions are under the direction of Dr. William Matthaeus (yswhm@bartol.udel.du), Dr. Charles W. Smith (chuck@bartol.udel.edu), and Dr. Gary P. Zank (zank@bartol.udel.edu).

Initial appointment is for one year with an extension possible up to an anticipated three years, depending on satisfactory progress and availability of grant funds. Some positions will give preference to applicants with computational experience in hydrodynamics, MHD, cosmic ray transport or particle/hybrid simulations, or to applicants with experience in analysis of spacecraft data. For additional information, send email to the above addresses, or phone (302)831-8111. To apply, send a curriculum vita and arrange to have three letters of reference sent to POSTDOC SEARCH, c/o Dr. W. H. Matthaeus, Bartol Research Institute, The University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled. The Bartol Research Institute is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

A graduate research assistantship for masters or PhD student interested in Space Plasma Physics is offered beginning in the 1998/1999 academic year. We seek highly motivated students with a strong background in Computational Physics, Mathematics, and Plasma Physics.

Visit our Web site at http://www.gi.alaska.edu or send inquiries to Professor George V. Khazanov, Geophysical Institute, The University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA; email: khazanov@gi.alaska.edu http://www.uaf.edu/physics/KAZ.html.

Applications are invited for a full-time, tenure track Assistant Professor position in the Physics Department, beginning August 23, 1998, with a salary range of $32,000 to $40,000, depending on experience. The Department's activities include undergraduate majors in Physics and Applied Physics, courses for non-major students, and graduate programs in Physics, Space Physics and Atmospheric Sciences in conjunction with the Geophysical Institute at UAF. Applicants must have an earned Ph.D. in Physics or Applied Physics, experience and an interest in teaching, and have an interest in and show potential to develop and maintain a research program supported by external funding. The successful candidate will become an essential member of the teaching staff of the department, supporting the department's undergraduate and graduate programs and service courses; preference will be given to candidates with university teaching experience. The area of research specialization is open, but preference will be given to specialties pursued by the current department faculty (atmospheric science, space physics and aeronomy, experimental condensed matter physics.) We encourage candidates with the potential for forming collaborative research programs with current department faculty members, and we especially encourage applications from qualified women and minority candidates. The University has an enrollment of approximately 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students and is the designated physical science and engineering campus for the State. The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an AA/EO Employer and Educational Institution.

This information is available on the Worldwide Web at: http://137.229.52.100/~physics/search98.html

A postdoctoral position analyzing Polar UVI data is available at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Recent Ph.D.s with a good publication record can apply to Patrick Newell at the address below. Ching Meng is the overall leader of the auroral particles and images team effort at APL, but the successful candidate will be working directly with Pat on a day-to-day basis.

The Australian Research Council offers a range of postdoctoral fellowships open to application by individuals. Applications are now being called for and a new teaching and research option is available in the most junior fellowship category. This new category of fellowships will be funded by ARC and the host institution.

Prof. Peter Dyson at La Trobe University is leading an Australian consortium building the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER), a SuperDARN radar to be located in Tasmania. TIGER is scheduled to begin operations later this year and La Trobe will support ONE application for a new teaching and research fellowship position to begin 1999. The applicant will work on the TIGER project and teach courses in the BSc (Space Science) course.

The Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships are available to persons who have been awarded a PhD on or after 1 March 1995 and persons completing a PhD may apply provided they submit their thesis by 31 Dec. 1998. The salary range is A$38,589 - $41,422. Additional information is available at http://www.deet.gov.au/divisions/hed/research.html.

The Max-Planck-Institut fuer Aeronomie in Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany (home page http://www.mpae.gwdg.de) (expected to be renamed Institute for Solar Physics and Planetary Science) is seeking an Outstanding Scientist in Solar System Research to be appointed as Director and Member of the Scientific Board of the Institute and Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society at the level of Full Professor (C4.) The new Director will succeed Prof. Sir Ian Axford and will be responsible for directing research in planetary science.

The Institute conducts experimental and theoretical research in the fields of the planetary surfaces, atmospheres, ionospheres, magnetospheres, rings and satellites, and asteroids, dust, comets and Kuiper belt objects, as well as in the fields of solar and heliospheric physics. The experimental work in planetary sciences is carried out both in situ and by remote observations from spacecraft and from the ground. It involves detectors covering the full range of the electromagnetic spectrum, including imaging and spectroscopy, and particle detectors in a wide energy, charge and mass range, including mass spectrometry.

The applicant should be a scientist with an international reputation and an excellent publication record. Younger scientists are encouraged to apply.

Please send your application for consideration in confidence, not later than 31 March 1998, to the Chairman of the Chemisch-Physikalisch-Technische Sektion of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: Prof. Dr. A. Simon, Heisenbergstr. 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany

Please include a curriculum vitae, a list of publications and copies of five of your most important publications.

For further information, contact Professor Hagfors at Max-Planck-Institut fuer Aeronomie, Max-Planck- Str. 2, D-37191 Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany Tel. (49)-5556-979414 Telefax: (49)-5556-979410 email: hagfors@linmpi.mpg.de

The Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, anticipates several openings for scientists to work on the analysis of data and/or instrument development in the areas of space plasma physics (FAST, Wind, Polar, Equator-S, and Cluster spacecraft), planetary science (Mars Global Survey or, Lunar Prospector), and solar physics (HESSI.) Applicants must have (or expect to receive in the near future) a Ph.D. in Physics or Astronomy, with a strong background in space plasma physics, planetary science, or solar physics. Experience in data analysis, software development, and/or development of space experiments is highly desirable. Applicants for the HESSI openings must have strong experimental background in X-ray and gamma-ray measurements, Fourier-transform imaging, rotating modulation collimators, and/or the reduction and analysis of imaging data. The rank of the positions will depend on level of experience. These positions are available for two years with the possibility of renewal, and salaries will be commensurate with experience. Interested applicants should submit their curriculum vitae, list of publications, and names of three references (including institutional and email addresses) by 15 April 1998, to:
Kate Harps, Space Physics, Space Sciences Laboratory University of California, Centennial Drive at Grizzly Peak Boulevard, Berkeley, CA 94720

The general goal of the internship is to provide a promising undergraduate physical or life sciences major an opportunity to work in the area of civil space research policy in the Nation's Capital, under the aegis of the National Research Council's Space Studies Board. The intern will assist program staff and committee members in assembling necessary information and organizing and supping meetings of task groups and committees concerned with the following studies:

1. The implementation plan for the National Space Weather Program.
2. Integration of elements of Earth Observing System into the polar-orbiting satellite system operated by NOAA and DoD.
3. The exploration of Europa following the completion of the Galileo mission.
4. The federal-funding of astronomical research and the organization of the next decennial study committee and its associated panels.
5. The infusion of DoD and commercial technologies into NASA's space science programs.
6. U.S.-Japan cooperation in space science.
7. Research, technology, applications, and management aspects of the human exploration of space.
8. Maintaining Boards WWW pages (accessible from WWW.NAS.EDU).
9. As time permits, survey, collect and organize past work of the Board and its committees.
10. Perform other duties as assigned.

Send college transcript and a brief statement (not to exceed one printed page) of academic interests and experience and career plans; provide names and telephone numbers of three college faculty references. Send these items to the name and address listed below before the deadline of March 15. Selection will be made by April 15.

Note: Selection of intern and initiation of program is dependent on final approval by NRC Office of Human Resources and availability of funds.

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Space and Astrophysics in the Physics Department at the University of Warwick, UK. The PPARC funded post is to study the dynamics of solar system magnetospheres by means of large scale numerical simulation, with particular emphasis on nonlinear processes. The minimum requirement is a PhD in physics; expertise in plasma physics, computational physics and nonlinear dynamics is highly desirable. Current activities in the Space and Astrophysics Group include large scale numerical simulation, nonlinear plasma processes, Virtual Reality, and involvement in current space missions. The appointment is on the RA1A scale and is for a fixed term of two years with a starting date on or before 1 September 1998.

To apply, send a resume, publication list, statement of research interests, and the names of at least three referees to the Personnel Office, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK by 1st May 1998. Informal inquiries may be made to the Head of Space and Astrophysics, S. Chapman (Email sandrac@astro.warwick.ac.uk).

Details may also be found on http://www.astro.warwick.ac.uk/postdoc.html.

Warwick University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and it especially encourages applications from women and members of minority groups.

OTHER NEWS

Comments about either of these developments are welcome and may be directed to Dr. David Bohlin, Code SR, NASA Headquarters, Washington DC 20546-0001, phone: (202)358-0880; email: david.bohlin@hq.nasa.gov. OSS deeply appreciates your interest in its programs, and we look forward to working with you in the future to continually improve our ability to announce and manage its programs.

The following are copies of email alerts sent out by Dr. P. McIntosh (NOAA retired) concerning rising solar activity in the new cycle. Pat provides this information to a select list of personal contacts who have asked to receive it. This is not intended to take the place of any other forecasts or warnings sent out by official agencies. Some of the information provided by Pat in the last quarter of 1997 proved to be useful and succeeded in identifying active regions that were sources of flares and coronal mass ejections which had some impact on Space Weather at Earth.

Region 8131 (S22 W32) may produce a series of strong Class-C events today following the intensification of sunspots in a small delta-configuration trailing an enlarged leader sunspot. Continued coalescence of like-polarity spots should gradually weaken the magnetic-field gradient and reduce flare potential. The X-ray background has remained elevated since a strong, long-duration Class-C event near 1000 UT today.

Flux eruption is increasing globally as seen in numerous ephemeral bipolar regions and the slow regeneration of fields in some of the existing remnant bipolar regions. A new spot group formed late on 14 January near N16 at solar-disk central meridian. Another bipolar region has intensified near S26 E02, just east of a prominent coronal hole lobe extending equatorward from the south pole.

The corona at east limb shows strong loop structure high above old Region 8124 at S22 that is due to show on the solar disk by 17 Jan. The corona suggests this region is at least as strong as on the previous disk passage, but that was not an active passage. The well-organized loops indicate a north-south orientation of the bipolar fields, more conducive to high activity than the usual east-west orientation.

These gradual increases may be the start of a new epoch of high solar activity that is predictable from the normal slope of a rising phase of a new solar cycle. The pause in the rise of solar activity in the past two months is as long as normally occurs during this rising phase. It is now time for another upward step in global magnetic-flux eruption. Strong solar flares and frequent, large coronal mass ejections are probable during the next 60 days. Region 8131 may be the first of a series of strong regions from now through March.

This alert was delayed until 1700 UT due to computer problems. A Class M1 (barely) occurred at about 1530 UT, confirming the expectation from Region 8131.

Numerous ephemeral bipolar regions have appeared throughout the solar disk at latitudes below 20 degrees.

Region 8142 (S20 W76) and the extensive remnant bipolar region in which it emerged begin transit of the west limb today, continuing for the next four days. The proper motions among magnetic elements in this area failed to force an expected rearrangement of the principal polarity boundary during this disk passage. Resumption of flux emergence in the region in the next three days could accomplish this change, resulting in prominence and coronal-mass ejections. Such events would not affect Earth unless an event expands along the filament channel toward central meridian.

Of greater concern is the interaction between Region 8143 (S35 W04) and the southern polar crown filament channel. The expanding perimeter of the region is now encountering footpoints of the magnetic-field arcade spanning the polar crown, causing filaments to increase in activity. This encounter will eventually rearrange the patterns of polarity boundaries such that the leader-polarity area of Region 8143 joins with the polar region fields. Filament eruptions and a coronal mass ejection are likely as this takes place. Should this occur in the next two days the event would send a disturbance toward Earth. This ejection would be accompanied by only a small flare in Region 8143, whose spots have diminished and simplified. At this time the filaments in the polar crown near Region 8143 are not dark or active. An event will not occur in the next 24 hours.

The eastern half of the solar disk is very quiet. It will remain quiet until a series of active regions returns to east limb beginning at NE limb on 31 January. February activity will rise as a sequence of new activity complexes develop. The preferred areas of flux eruption that have dominated recent months are near the end of their expected lifetimes.

Joseph M. Gwinn (gwinn@ed.ray.com) writes in an article "The Millennium Comes Early to GPS" in the 97/12/08 issue of AIR SAFETY WEEK that the algorithm by which GPS receivers translate the broadcast signals coming from the satellites depends on a 10-bit time count for the week of operation. This runs from 0 to 1,024 (about 19.69 years), and began at midnight 5-6 January 1980. This clock/week counter will reset to 0 in August 1999 (somewhat ahead of systems which may encounter a problem with conversion to year 2,000.) The article cites GPS documentation from USAF: ICD-GPS-200, rev. B, Sect. 3.3.4(b); a July 1993 update of ICD-200 (pg. 33); and in GPS SPS Signal Specification, 2nd edition, 2 June 1995 (available as a .pdf file from U.S. Coast Guard WWW site: http://www.navcen.uscg.mil/gps/reports/sigspec/sigspec.html. An overview of GPS is at: http://www.utexas.edu/depts/grg/gcraft/notes/gps/gps/html. Unless a fix is implemented in existing electronic units using GPS signals, on 22 August 1999 at 00:00:00 UTC, they will begin telling their systems that the current date is 6 January 1980. I assume this may have some impact on navigation applications, position determination, etc.

Notice to SCOSTEP David N. Schramm Prof. David N. Schramm died suddenly on 19 December 1997, when a light airplane he was piloting crashed near Denver, Colorado. Prof. Schramm was Vice President for Research at the University of Chicago and Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor in the Physical Sciences. His obituary was published in the New York Times of 22 December. Prof. Schramm was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and on the board of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. In 1993, he received the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize from the American Physical Society "for his manifold contributions to nuclear astrophysics" and, in 1978, the Helen B. Warner Prize from the American Astronomical Society. Prof. Schramm was a cosmologist, but he came to this discipline by way of research in elementary particle physics.

On the Internet and other mixed media, there are a great many efforts to use the eclipse as an entree to discuss the Sun-Earth Connection. The Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum and NASA have been supporting a live/television/web interactive eclipse event run by the SF Exploratorium and Discovery Channel Online. Information about those events can be found at http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/index.html and http://www.discovery.com/area/science/eclipse/eclipse.html.

The FY99 Presidential Budget Request released on February 2 contains two new initiatives for the NASA Sun-Earth Connection program: funding for the Solar Terrestrial Probe (STP) series and an augmentation for continuation of the International Solar Terrestrial Physics Program. This budgetary success was enabled by (1) the excellent Sun-Earth Connection Roadmap generated by the community, (2) the steady stream of scientific results from existing missions, and (3) the demonstration that some of these results have significant public interest. The community deserves a well done!

We now have a budget plan for Mission Operations and Data Analysis (MO&DA) that allows continuation of ISTP through solar maximum. We now have a budget plan for implementing the STP missions beyond TIMED. The first five follow-on missions in our strategic plan are Solar-B, STEREO, Magnetospheric Multiscale, Global Electrodynamics, and Magnetospheric Constellation. In the next few months we will be working on an implementation plan for the new mission series.

Results of this planning will be presented at the AGU Spring Meeting in Boston.

Dr. Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Science, has announced his departure from the Agency in the near future.

Huntress is responsible for NASA's programs in astrophysics, planetary exploration and space physics. "I have served in this position for more than five years now," Huntress said, "and it is simply time to move on."

"Wes Huntress has presided over a revitalization of NASA's Space Science enterprise," NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin said. "Five years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope had problems, spacecraft costs were growing out of control, and serious budgetary threats were clouding NASA's future in space science. But during his tenure, thanks in no small part to the magnificent team he assembled at the field centers and NASA Headquarters, the Space Science enterprise has become one of NASA's crown jewels.

"The Hubble Telescope has become the workhorse of cutting- edge astronomy, and planetary exploration is now the province of faster, better, cheaper missions such as Mars Pathfinder. Through these efforts, even with constrained budgetary possibilities in the years ahead, NASA will continue to be a world leader in exploring the worlds beyond Earth. Much of this achievement is due to the wisdom and skill of Wes Huntress. We shall miss him."

Huntress was named to head the Office of Space Science in March 1993. He began his career at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA, as a National Research Council resident associate in the 1960s. He joined JPL permanently in 1969 as a research scientist specializing in ion chemistry and planetary atmospheres. Huntress and his research group gained international recognition for their pioneering studies of chemical evolution in interstellar clouds, comets and planetary atmospheres.

NASA will begin a search for Huntress' replacement immediately.

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS

For additional information, please contact the Space Science Institute:Internet:http://wwwssi.colorado.edu/Education/ResourcesForScientists/Workshops/1.html or Susan Solari solari@colorado.edu; Telephone (303) 492-5184; Facsimile: (303) 492-3789.

Special Session SA02: Variability and Irregularities in the Low-Latitude Topside Ionosphere

The low-latitude topside ionosphere (from the F-region peak up to about 1500 km) is observed to be highly variable in such physical parameters as density, composition, electric field and temperature, and in the occurrence of spread-F related irregularity features. This variability occurs as a function of longitude, local time, time of year, and solar cycle. Unfortunately, the topside ionosphere is not easily monitored on a long-term basis: it is out of reach of ionosondes, and is only poorly resolved by TEC techniques. Only a few instruments (incoherent scatter radars, topside sounders and in situ diagnostics) are available to detail the structure, chemistry and dynamics of this region which is poorly specified, yet rich in phenomenology. This session welcomes abstracts dealing with all aspects of topside research.

Convener: Peter Sultan; Air Force Research Laboratory/VSBP, 29 Randolph Road, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731; phone: 781-377-1309; fax: 781-377-3550; email: sultanp@plh.af.mil For more information, see http://earth.agu.org/meetings/sm98spss.html.

SH02: Active Sun and the Sun-Earth Connection/Space Weather: Modeling and Observations

This special session will be held at the joint AGU/AAS Solar Physics Division Spring 1998 Meeting in Boston at the end of May. It will feature in one setting modeling efforts and observations related to active solar phenomena and their propagation through the heliosphere, particularly as they affect the geospace environment.

In addition to the modeling and current observations papers solicited in the original announcements, papers dealing with new classes of data related to the Sun-Earth connection are also welcome. This would include, for example, submissions related to the collection and analysis of simultaneous multi-spacecraft observations envisioned for the proposed STEREO mission.

SM04: Large-scale and Global Studies of the Aurora and Ionosphere (Joint with SA)

Global images of the Earth can provide key contextual and correlative information about large-scale phenomena. When used in correlation with ground-based observations, in situ measurements from multiple spacecraft, and theory/modeling efforts, images provide a powerful tool to help interpret events and observations from a macro perspective. Over the past 25 years, imaging instruments to study auroral-related phenomena have been flown and, currently, more are scheduled to be launched. Recent advances in instrumentation technology have enabled quantitative interpretation of large-scale ionospheric phenomena with temporal resolution of a few minutes. This special session will feature studies of large-scale and global phenomena associated with the aurora using both space-borne and ground-based data. Emphasis will be given to studies that use images to interpret results and in particular to quantitative results. It is anticipated that two oral sessions with invited and contributed papers and one poster session will be offered.

Conveners: George Parks, Geophysics Program, University of Washington Seattle WA 98195 email: parks@geophys.washington.edu
Ching Meng, The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723 email: ching_meng@spacemail.jhuapl.edu

Please note, due to popular demand, we have extended the Workshop dates from June 23 to June 22 and July 2 to July 3.

The theme of the symposium/workshop is: Multi-scale Phenomena II. Highlights include: Alfvén Memorial Lecture, special sessions on current topics and a poster session.

Workshop registration is due by April 1, 1998. Other important and interesting information concerning the workshop is available on the site. http://space.mit.edu/ geocosmo. You can also reach the Conference Coordinator, Mary Terhune, by email: mt@space.mit.edu.

The Local Organizing Committee, Prof. G. V. Givishvili, Scientific Secretary; and Dr. A. D. Powsner, National Geophysical Committee, RAS, Molodezhnaya ul, 3, Moscow, 117296 Russia, have mailed out a combined information packet and registration form to those who may be interested in attending this meeting this summer. Registration information should be returned by mail or email before 10 April 1998. Send email to: gcras@wdcb.rssi.ru attention T. P. Prisvetlaya. Anyone interested in presenting a paper should enclose a separate sheet of paper giving information about the topic.

This meeting is organized under the joint auspices of IAGA and IAMAS. Organizers are: National Geophysical Committee, the Geophysical Center, RAS, the Obukhov Institute of the Physics of the Atmosphere, the Institute of Earth Magnetism, Ionosphere, and Radiowave Propagation, the Central Aerological Observatory, the Institute of Applied Geophysics, the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics (Siberian Branch), and the Institute of Experimental Meteorology.

Russian studies in recent years have documented effects of major cooling and sinking of the upper atmosphere over several decades. Negative trends in temperature were revealed based on many years of measurements by rockets and optical observations, and by ionospheric and radiometric measurements. These comprise a unique mass of data on characteristics of the middle and upper atmosphere.

Observed effects of the fall of temperature exceed climatic changes of temperature in the near-surface atmospheric layer by one to two orders of magnitude. Analysis indicates that a radical review should be made of existing ideas about possible causes and mechanisms of climatic changes. Russian scientists believe these results are important for both science and for practical solution of problems arising from climate evolution.

It seems urgent to discuss the causes of these observed phenomena with specialists from a number of countries who work on these problems. Hence the referenced International Working Meeting is proposed under auspices of the National Geophysical Committee, RAS.

Main Topics of the Working Meeting:

1. Long-term variations of thermal conditions and composition of the middle and upper atmosphere.
2. Long-term trends of ionospheric features.
3. Influence of ozone layer variations over many years on processes in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere.
4. Manifestations of solar activity variations seen in climate variations of the middle and upper atmosphere.
5. Modeling the influence of natural and technogenic factors on the mesosphere and lower thermosphere.
6. Infrared cooling and heating of the middle atmosphere.
7. Height variations of meteor absorption from many years of observation.
8. Role of hydrodynamic waves in energy exchange between atmospheric layers.
9. Mechanisms for solar activity effects on long-term climate variations.
10. Variability of turbo-pause energy based on long-term observations.
11. Long-period variations of satellite braking in the upper atmosphere.

G. S. Golitsyn is Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee

The Circular announcing this meeting is an official "invitation" and may be used as the basis for requesting an entry visa for Russia. If you have any question about this, please correspond directly with the LOC.

Registrations are due by 10 April 1998. Reports should be presented in English and proceedings of the meeting will be published afterwards. Information about the requirements for submitted reports will be distributed during the meeting. Oral presentations should not be longer than 20 minutes. Official languages of the meeting are English and Russian.

Registration fee is $150, to be paid upon arrival at the meeting.

The Working Meeting will be held at the Holiday Hotel "Izvestiya", a pleasant location in the forest some 30-35 km from Moscow. A single room costs 150 roubles ($30 US) per day, a double room is 240 roubles ($40 US) per day, and a deluxe double room is 400-500 roubles ($70-80 US) per day. All costs include 4 meals per day. Available conveniences are those of a 4-star hotel and include billiards, tennis, sauna, bar and movie hall. A trip to Moscow will be organized for participants who wish to visit the city.

This is all the information available to the SCOSTEP Secretariat about this meeting. Please direct any questions to the organizers.

The extensive data on galactic and anomalous cosmic rays now available from spacecraft in the distant heliosphere, at high solar latitude and 1 AU offer new insight into the transport and acceleration of energetic particles in a complex astrophysical plasma and on the large-scale structure and dynamics of our heliosphere. The focus of this symposium is on the energetic particle observations (including Earth-based and balloon experiment related to), simulations, and theoretical studies that help us to understand the large-scale properties of our extended heliosphere. The symposium will consist of solicited and contributed papers on these topics. The contributed papers will be both oral and poster.

For additional information contact the Main Scientific Organizer, Z. Fujii, Solar Terrestrial Laboratory, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-01, Japan

Recent development of space observations of solar flares and the magnetosphere have revealed a vast amount of observational evidence of magnetic reconnection. While those observations suggest that the solar and the magnetospheric reconnection processes have many similar features, we expect that there are some fundamental differences both in the basic field geometry and boundary conditions. From the comparisons between solar and magnetospheric observations, therefore, we should be able to get further insight into the physics of the reconnection phenomenon. This symposium will present the highlights of the observational progress to date and the physical interpretations of those observations. The symposium will attempt to cover the full range of aspects both in the solar and magnetospheric processes. It will consist of both invited and contributed papers in both oral and poster sessions.

A description of the meeting is given below, along with a preliminary agenda. Full details of the meeting can be found at the web site http://www.copernicus.org/COSPAR/ or contact Masahiro Hoshino (hoshino@stp.isas.ac.jp).

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

AM
Kosugi:    YOHKOH Observations of Reconnection in Flares
Nishida:   What Has Been Learned from In Situ Observations
           of  Reconnection in the Earth's Magnetotail
Russell:   Reconnection in Planetary Magnetospheres
Forbes:    Theory of 3D Reconnection
2-3 contributed talks

PM
Scholer:   Ion Dynamics on Reconnection
Yokoyama:  Numerical MHD Reconnection Model of Flares
Terasawa:  Comparative Study of Flares and Substorms
Makishima: Reconnection in Galactic and Extragalactic
           Plasma
2-3 contributed talks

The purpose of this symposium is to provide an opportunity for scientists to present their work on the ionospheres and magnetospheres of the planets/moons/comets in our solar system. There will be a number of invited papers, but the bulk of the time available will be devoted to contributed presentations of the results of observations and model calculations.

Further information about the COSPAR Meeting can be obtained through:
http://www.copernicus.org/COSPAR/COSPAR.html
or
anagy@umich.edu

CALENDAR OF EVENTS