International STEP Newsletter

G7 Environment and Natural Resources Management (ENRM)
http://enrm.ceo.org/home.html

The ENRM prototype information server allows free on-line registration and interactive editing of records for global environmental information resources. In addition to this, it provides an international directory of Environmentalists to which all ENRM users belong.

You are invited to visit the site at the above URL and register your information on the system. Should you wish to contribute information about complete datasets held on other servers (of course, you retain control over all of the entries), or if you have any queries regarding the service please contact us by email at enrm-admin@jrc.it. The success of the ENRM initiative relies on your contribution.

THE ENRM MISSION
The objective of this G7 joint project is to increase the electronic linkage and integration of sources of data and information relevant to the environment and natural resources. A group of experts, representing each participating body, will build on existing international efforts to create a prototype for a Global Information Locator Service (GILS), to further interconnect catalogues and directories around the world and ensure their accessibility to developed and developing countries, and to facilitate the exchange and integration of data and information about the Earth for use in a variety of applications. The project will demonstrate the breadth of data and information already existing internationally, and show the mutual benefits of improved accessibility for all levels of policy makers, researchers, non-governmental organizations and the general public.

THE ENRM PARTICIPATORS
The G7 ENRM project is an initiative of the G7 nations. As such, it involves the collaboration of organizations from these nations amongst others: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and the European Community. The following are "some" of the organizations directly involved in the G7 ENRM MetaInformation Working Group:

• CEO, European Commission / Centre for Earth Observation
  
• DLR, German Aerospace Research Establishment
  
• EEA, European Environment Agency
  
• ESA, European Space Agency
  
• ERIN, Environment Resources and Information Network of Australia
  
• GCOS, Global Climate Observing System
  
• NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, US
  
• NASDA, National Space Development Agency of Japan
  
• NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US
  
• UNEP, United Nations Environment Program
  
• USGS, US Geological Survey
  
• WMO, World Meteorological Organization

THE ENRM PROTOTYPE
This prototype system has been developed by the European Commission's Centre for Earth Observation on behalf of the G7-ENRM project. The current service provides the following features:

• Searchable database of Worldwide Environmental resources on the internet. The ENRM server allows searches using free text, geographical and keyword search-ing and Z39.50 protocol searches. This makes it compatible with other initiatives and will allow distributed searching of ENRM resources.
• Dynamically updatable entries: once you have registered you can contribute data into the ENRM database. Further-more any of your entries can be edited and updated by yourself. All this can be done through any standard web browser.
• The service is entirely free and will remain so. You are encouraged to register yourself, your organization or datasets on the system, and to use the database for inquiries relating to environment, natural resources, climate change and biodiversity. For further information please contact the ENRM helpdesk by email at enrm-admin@jrc.it

Developed by the Centre for Earth Observation on behalf of the G7-ENRM Project. phone +39 332 78 5425 fax +39 332 78 5461 email ENRM-Admin@jrc.it

The ENRM Development Team

The following information is copied from a post-card announcement circulated in mid-July by NASA. The SCOSTEP Secretariat does not have any additional information about this "AO", but encourages all who are interested to contact the name/address given below.

JHA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces the release of the Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) Announcement of Opportunity (AO) in support of the Office of Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE). This program is intended to identify and develop small science-driven missions to accomplish objectives in response to national and international research priorities that are not being addressed by current programs. ESSP will provide periodic "windows of opportunity" to accommodate new scientific priorities and infuse new scientific participation into the MTPE program.

This AO will be available electronically on or about July 19, 1996, via the Internet at the Mission to Planet Earth Home Page: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/mtpe/ under the "MTPE Research Announcements" or via anonymous ftp at: ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/mtpe.

Paper copies of the AO will be available to those who do not have access to Internet by calling (202) 358-3552 and leaving a voice mail message. Please leave your full name and address, including zip code and your telephone number, including area code.

Questions regarding this AO can be addressed to NASA Headquarters, Code YF, Washington, DC 20546, Attn: Mr. Kevin Niewoehner, telephone number (202) 358-0751, FAX number (202) 358-2769. email address:

kniewoeh@mtpe.hq.nasa.gov

STEP Proceedings and Interlibrary Loan

Richard Donnelly submitted the following item about the published but largely unknown Proceedings from our STEP meeting in Maryland in 1992.

The Proceedings for the STEP Symposium held August 24-28, 1992, at the Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University near Baltimore, Maryland, was published as Volume 5 in the COSPAR Colloquia Series (Baker et al., 1994). Some members of STEP have not yet seen the Proceedings because their institute's library does not have it. Libraries at the following institutes have the Proceedings:

1. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA.

2. NCAR, P. O. Box 3000, Boulder, Colorado 80307-3000, USA.

3. NOAA MASC Library, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80303-3328, USA.

Those who would like to borrow the Proceedings and do not have direct access to these or other libraries that have the Proceedings may be able to borrow it from their own institute's library via an interlibrary loan. To achieve such an interlibrary loan, first determine whether your institute's library participates in that program. Then ask your library to submit a request for the Proceedings using either an ALA Form (American Library Association) or an OCLC Form to, for example, Cheryl Homan- Wendell (Phone: 303 497 5570; e-mail http://www.bldrdoc.gov/library/ library.htm) at the NOAA MASC Library address given above. The Proceedings identification numbers are ISBN 0-08-042131-8 and QC811.S7 1992.

Reference: Baker, D. N., V. O. Papitashvili and M. J. Teague, eds., Solar-Terrestrial Energy Program, The Initial Results from STEP Facilities and Theory Campaigns, Proceedings of the 1992 STEP Symposium/5th COSPAR Colloquium held in Laurel, Maryland, U.S.A., 24-28 August 1992, Pergamon, Elsevier Science, Inc., Tarrytown, New York 10591-5153, USA, 828 pp., 1994.

Joint Studies with Oersted, the EISCAT Incoherent Scatter Radars and other Ground-Based Instruments in Northern Scandinavia

The following is a report to the SCOSTEP Bureau about use of the 1995 $40K grant funds allocated to Dr. S. Kirkwood ($10K). The meeting was held at the Geophysical Observatory, Sodankyla, Finland on 18-19 April 1996. For more information, contact Sheila Kirkwood at: sheila@sun3.irf.se and/or Hilkka Ranta at: Hilkka.Ranta@sgo.fi .

In 1995 this project was awarded a supplemental STEP grant of 10,000 USD. This grant was to be used to collect together the scientists working with the various ground-based instruments both to plan measurement campaigns coordinated with the satellites and to form groups around particular scientific topics which would be studied using the combined data sets. The launch of the satellite, which was originally planned for late 1995 is now, unfortunately, delayed until early 1997. In order not to start the project too early, we delayed the first planning meeting until April 1996. The program for the meeting and the participant list are attached. The meeting was arranged in Sodankyla, Finland, so as to keep travel costs low for as many participants as possible. The STEP grant was used to finance 4 of the participants, 1 from Murmansk, 2 from Apatity and 1 from England (total cost about 3,000 USD)(A further participant from Austria may still need a contribution). The remainder of the grant will be used for our next meeting which will take place after the satellite is launched and we have made the first coordinated measure-ments. This meeting is tentatively planned to be held in England in the autumn of 1997 together with the next international EISCAT workshop.

The meeting was very successful. The STEP grant allowed us to widen the group of attendees to include experts in the field from outside the Scandinavian countries. In particular, all the European groups with a long tradition of high-latitude D-region studies were represented and, by comparing ideas and analysis techniques we were, for example, able to reach a new consensus on the genuine geophysical variability of the 'effective recombination coefficient' which describes the relationship between ionization rate and electron density. Test and improvement of models for this parameter are one of the primary objectives of the coordinated measurement campaigns.

In addition, the meeting was the first chance for the scientists planning auroral electrodynamics studies with the help of Oersted to get together, to establish contacts between modelers and imagers, and to have their questions answered as to just what information the satellite can be expected to provide (field-aligned currents).

Finally, the meeting provided a focus for the project and has resulted in two new sources of information for participants -- the proceedings of the planning meeting have been collected by Hilkka Ranta and will be distributed soon, and a project homepage on WWW:

http://silicon.irf.se/~sheila/oerstedGB/.

Sheila Kirkwood

Science Information Systems Newsletter (Vol I, 1996, Issue 38)

This massive "newsletter" (56 pages) is actually a book about many activities within various NASA programs involving the collection and distribution of data and information. On first look, the total information available is a bit daunting. But anyone interested in what is available from NASA should try to get a copy of this publication or access the version on WWW. The address on the Internet is: http://techinfo.jpl.nasa.gov/jpltrs/sisn/sisn.html.

Comments may be sent to Sandi Beck at: sandi_beck@iplmail.jpl.nasa.gov. Probably you could contact Sandi about getting a printed copy -- I don't know the size of their press run or its distribution.

JHA

Prof. H. Oya, Chairman of the Japanese STEP Project Team and National Committee of STEP in Japan, distributed copies of this 25-page volume at the Foxbury House meeting in July. It reviews STEP Activity in Japan during 1996. This special issue is beautifully produced, including many color images. Its publication was supported by the Dept. of Astronomy & Geophysics, Tohoku University and the Solar-Terrestrial Environment Lab, Nagoya Univ. Dr. T. Watanabe was the Managing Editor. To inquire about getting a copy, contact on Internet: watanabe@env.sci.ibaraki.ac.jp

JHA

17th NSO/Sacramento Peak International Summer Workshop, SOLERS22 1996 Workshop

Continuing its tradition of bringing the international community together annually at Sacramento Peak to review and discuss the most recent results in solar-terrestrial physics, NSO this year hosted the "Solar Electromagnetic Radiation Study for Solar Cycle 22" (SOLERS22) 1996 Workshop during the week of June 17. This workshop was a fine match for NSO's workshop series because it considered both basic physical processes on the Sun and their terrestrial consequences, and because NSO leads the Precision Solar Photometric Telescopes (PSPT) component of the NSF-sponsored Radiative Inputs from the Sun to Earth (RISE) program.

SOLERS22 has been organized under the auspices of the Solar-Terrestrial Energy Program (STEP) Working Group on "The Sun as a Source of Energy and Disturbances". STEP is sponsored by the Scientific Committee on Solar- Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU).

The main goals of SOLERS22 are to monitor, study, model, and interpret the observed changes in the solar electromagnetic radiation, both bolometric and in spectral bands from X-ray to infrared and radio. Since the Sun is a representative of one class of stars showing cyclic variability, the study of the variability of solar-type of stars is also an important interest of SOLERS22. Understand-ing and predicting solar variability, especially on long time scales, is of extraordinary practical importance because the solar radiative output is one of the major natural driving forces of the terrestrial atmosphere and climate system. Therefore, SOLERS22 is also concerned about the climate impact of solar variability.

More than 100 scientists from many countries attended this year's meeting. Variations in solar and stellar irradiances and the climate impact of solar variability were discussed in detail. The contributed papers will be refereed and published in Solar Physics. The Workshop Proceedings will be edited by Judit Pap, Claus Froehlich, and Roger Ulrich and published by Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Results presented during the Workshop demonstrate that considerable progress has been made since the SOLERS22 Workshop held in 1991. Several new measurements of solar irradiance have been performed from space, from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), the ATLAS and EURECA missions, and more recently from the SOHO mission. These space-borne observations of the solar radiation have confirmed that solar total and spectral irradiances have indeed changed in parallel with the solar magnetic activity cycle. In addition to space observations, considerable efforts have been made in improving the ground-based observations of solar activity. Since the satellite-based irradiance monitoring experiments observe the Sun as a star, high quality spatially resolved images are necessary to reveal and interpret the causes of the observed irradiance changes. In addition to the ground-based observations of solar variability, several experiments on the SOHO mission provide high resolution solar images to study solar variability on time scales from minutes to years. Results presented in the SOLERS22 1996 Workshop have demonstrated that considerable efforts have been put forward to improve irradiance models using the results of image decomposition techniques and new statistical methods. Coupling the studies of changes in solar irradiance and the frequency of solar oscillations as well as the solar radius have provided an additional tool for probing the solar interior and to study the physical causes of irradiance changes.

Since the current STEP project and its activities will expire in December 1997, the Workshop participants discussed the future of SOLERS22. SOLERS22 members and Workshop participants agreed that the near-term SOLERS22 effort will concentrate on the following: (1) producing a reference solar spectrum from X-ray to far infrared for solar minimum between cycles 21 and 22; (2) gathering information about the solar cycle dependence of spectral irradiance changes; and (3) improving physical models of solar irradiance variability by incorporating the results gained from image analysis, radius measurements, and studying the frequency changes of p-mode oscillations. A better understanding of the physical causes of irradiance changes will certainly lead to improvement of the reliability of climate models. Based on the discussions during the SOLERS22 1996 Workshop, a continuation of SOLERS22 in the post-STEP era, during the period 1998-2002, has been proposed to SCOSTEP.

The Workshop was sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), European Office of Aerospace Research and Development; AFOSR/Asian Office of Scientific Research and Development; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; National Optical Astronomy Observatories, National Solar Observatory; Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP); Solar-Terrestrial Energy Program (STEP); and University of California, Los Angeles.

The Scientific Organizing Committee consisted of R. P. Cebula, R. F. Donnelly, F. F rnik, C. Froehlich (Co-Chair), D. Gillotay, K. Harvey, D. F. Heath, J. Kuhn, A. Mecherikunnel, L. November (Co-Chair), H. Ogawa, J. M. Pap (Chair), G. J. Rottman, P. C. Simon, G. Thuillier, W. K. Tobiska, C. H. Wehrli, T. N. Woods. The Local Organizing Committee consisted of R. Altrock, R. Coleman, R. Elrod, R. Hunter (Chair), R. Kariyappa, J. Kuhn, L. November.

Judit Pap, Claus Froehlich,
Dick Altrock, Doug Rabin

The SCOSTEP Bureau, STEP Steering Committee, S-RAMP Steering Committee, and the Scientific Program Committee for the 9th Quadrennial STP Symposium met during the days 11-14 July 1996. Details about actions arising from the groups and minutes of the meetings will be published in "STP Newsletter 96-1" in December 1996.

In brief, the Bureau approved Post-STEP programs PSMOS (Planetary Scale Mesopause Observing System) and EPIC (Equatorial Processes Including Coupling.) The revised PSMOS proposal was submitted by G. Shepherd, S. Avery and R. Vincent. The EPIC proposal (a revision of the previous EATVIP) was submitted by S. Fukao, A. Richmond, and R. Vincent.

All but one of the Supplemental STEP Projects ($40K) Grant opportunity proposals submitted were rejected by the Bureau. Although several were considered very worthwhile projects, most did not meet the goal to supplement existing STEP programs as set by the Bureau. The project proposed by T. Kamei to install and maintain digital magnetometers at Siberian sites to produce data for use in deriving a timely Auroral Electrojet (AE) Magnetic Activity Index was partially supported by the Bureau. Other resources from this block of funding will be used for an S-RAMP Post-Doctoral Fellow (announcement to be released by D. Baker by the end of 1996.)

The 9th STP Symposium will be held in Uppsala, Sweden during 4-11 August 1997, concurrent with the first week of the IAGA Scientific Assembly and the IAMAS-MAC symposium. There will be six invited tutorial lectures. One will open each morning of the Symposium and one will open the Wednesday afternoon session. After each tutorial, there will be six half-day scientific review sessions of five invited review papers each. These will cover advances in STEP Working Group topics during the period 1990- 1997. At Foxbury, the Scientific Planning Committee (SPC) developed a list of topics and preferred speakers for the half-day sessions. This will be published when acceptances are secured and topics refined. Contributed papers are to be sent to IAGA or IAMAS-MAC topical session organizers.

Attendees: D. N. Baker (Acting Chair), E. Friis-Christensen, Y. Kamide, A. H. Manson. Other guests: H. Oya, M. Rycroft, B. Schmeider, R. Vincent

Agenda

• Introduction and Background
• Evaluation of Objectives
• Brief Summary of Discipline Status: Solar, Interplanetary, Magnetosphere, Ionosphere, Thermosphere, Middle Atmosphere
• STEP Data Catalogue
• Special Data Bases/Availability
• S-RAMP Participant File
• Newsletter issues (Hardcopy/Electronic formats)
• Bulletin Board/WWW access
• Steering Committee structure/membership

Summary of Discussion
A brief discussion of the S-RAMP steering committee membership and status was presented. The following concerning the program was noted:

S-RAMP was proposed to the Bureau and approved in the SCOSTEP General Meeting in Sendai, Japan, during June 1994. Factors basic to the proposed program were:

A spectacular database has been and will continue to be collected over the STEP interval 1990-1997. However, most researchers' efforts to this time have been devoted to the collection of the data and much less to data analysis.

STEP was designed to promote interaction between the various discipline areas within the SCOSTEP community (i.e., solar, heliosphere, magnetosphere, ionosphere, thermosphere, middle atmosphere and regions adjacent to the Earth's surface.) Because of the extraordinary effort scientists had to make in times of declining resources, most of the research activity stayed confined to the disciplines and there was not extensive interdisciplinary activity in the spirit of the STEP concept.

No infrastructure has been put in place to support the international solar-terrestrial community in their data analysis efforts or in procuring resources to carry out such data analysis.

No specific organization has taken on the mandate to bring closer together in scientific activity those who collect data on the solar- terrestrial environment and those who develop and implement high performance computer models of that environment.

Thus, SCOSTEP was invited to develop a 5-year data analysis and modeling interval over the period 1998-2002 to facilitate the optimization of the study and analysis of the data acquired during the STEP period 1990-1997. The major objectives were:

1. To focus on the study of the coupling mechanisms between the various regions of the sun-geospace system.
2. To assist in the development of an effective information transfer mechanism between the experimental, theoretical and computer modeling communities.
3. To publicize the tangible products of the STEP endeavor which can form the basis for future scientific programs within the solar-terrestrial discipline and which can be of use to other scientific disciplines and to applied research.

The Committee members and guests present reflected on the stated objectives and prospects for S-RAMP. Issues included questions of how to share data, how to involve developing countries, what should be "rules of the road" in such cooperation, and how S-RAMP could lead by example. Dr. Oya noted that whereas Japan and many other countries are very strong technologically, these same countries are still developing their database and information systems capability. He urged that S-RAMP strive to help bring all nations to an acceptable level of data sharing and that scientists be given due credit for such sharing.

Dr. Baker presented an example from his group's work which tied together data from solar, interplanetary, magnetospheric, and ionospheric satellite missions plus a variety of ground-based data. The point was made that remarkable new tools (such as the World Wide Web - WWW) are making data exchange and analysis vastly easier and more rapid. A goal of S-RAMP should be to bring this set of new tools into the hands (or at least into the sphere of knowledge) of all SCOSTEP-affiliated scientists.

Dr. Schmeider discussed her group's efforts to develop solar databases and catalogues along with relevant simulation tools. She noted the important goal of providing internet access as well as CD-ROM development plans. She discussed SOHO-YOHKOH team collaborations as a prototype of what S-RAMP might foster. She described the importance of also attracting the ground-based solar community into such collaborations.

Dr. Manson noted that scientists (and their students) who become involved in S-RAMP programs would "buy into" interesting problems. They would then do the work. The S-RAMP Steering Committee (S.C.) would not have to, in any sense, lead all of the work -- nor should it. Dr. Manson urged that S-RAMP get going sooner than its nominal 1998 start date. He noted that this would roll naturally into a complementary support for the other post-STEP approved programs of SCOSTEP (PSMOS and EPIC). Dr. Vincent strongly supported this view and noted that the latest STEP data can be used right now for extremely productive science.

Drs. Vincent and Manson noted that formatting and sharing of space-based and ground-based data now would help future SCOSTEP programs improve their return. They urged that S-RAMP use some of its (meager) budgeted funds to become more proactive. Dr. Vincent raised the possibility of a dedicated S-RAMP scientist to facilitate this proactivity (see below.)

The committee and group present felt that some revision of the stated S-RAMP objectives was in order. These were reworked to state that S-RAMP's objectives are:

1. To facilitate and enable the detailed study and understanding of coupling mechanisms between regions of the Sun-Earth system.
2. To facilitate and enable effective data and information transfer and feedback between the experimental, theoretical, and computer modeling communities.
3. To demonstrate products and benefits of the STEP endeavor to funding organizations, the media, and the public at large as the basis for future scientific programs, cross-discipline studies, and applications.

In order to achieve these revised objectives, the group strongly supported the suggestion made concerning a dedicated S- RAMP scientist. This basic recommendation therefore emerged:

SCOSTEP Fellow Concept:

• Resident in SCOSTEP Secretariat in Boulder
• Supported by SCOSTEP funds
• Reports to S-RAMP steering committee; daily supervision by J. H. Allen
• Begin as soon as practicable (CY97)

• Ph.D. or equivalent experience
• Facility in modern communication technology and techniques
• Use WWW pages to demonstrate S-T coupling processes
• Propose and help define data bases for CD production, etc.

• Interest in the broad solar-terrestrial system
• Active in some S-T research field
• Capable of sharing interest with the public and media

[This concept was presented to the SCOSTEP Bureau the following day and was greeted rather warmly. With full S-RAMP S.C. support, we will proceed apace.]

Concerning the other matters on the agenda, the committee felt that S-RAMP should continue and extend the STEP Catalogue. It was felt it should include references to - - or even summaries of - - measurement techniques. An example of this was cited in the case of the Japanese MAP Handbook. It was urged that the extended catalogue be placed on-line.

In the matter of the Newsletter, it was felt that an S-RAMP Newsletter was imperative. It was suggested that a hardcopy of such a newsletter to each "address" (suitably defined) would be adequate: Not every individual would need a hardcopy. After discussion, it was urged that all post-STEP and other SCOSTEP activities be part of the newsletter. It was felt that perhaps a monthly electronic newsletter and a quarterly hardcopy shipped from the SCOSTEP Secretariat (in Boulder) would be the right way to proceed.

It was strongly endorsed to have an S-RAMP Homepage on the WWW. This could share all manner of information and could serve bulletin board, research, and access functions.

It was recommended that the S-RAMP membership be extended. Dr. Paul Newman (NASA/GSFC) was suggested as a person with suitable atmospheric science credentials. Dr. Rycroft also expressed willingness to serve on the committee and brings a wealth of experience. All of the guests at the Foxbury House meeting added immeasurably to the dialogue and would (in the Chair's opinion) be very welcome members.

Finally, there was discussion of appointment of a permanent S-RAMP chair. Some sentiment was expressed in so-appointing D. Baker. Such an appointment will require the concurrence of the full Steering Committee and the approval of the SCOSTEP Bureau.

Daniel N. Baker

October 17-18, 1996, Boulder, CO

This Workshop will be hled in the Damon Room at NCAR. Everyone should talk on her/his special subject relevant to the TTO, and we suggest for all a 40-minute talk followed by 20 minutes discussion. We suggest the following schedule:

Thursday, 17 October:
H. van Loon: TTO, 9--10.00
10--10.30 coffee
L. Hood: U, 10.30--11.30
J. Haigh: Modeling, 11.30--12.30
12.30--14.00 Lunch, NCAR Cafeteria
J. G. Roederer: Biogeomagnetics, 14.00--15.00
D. Cayan: Ocean temperatures, 15.00--16.00
S. Hameed: Climate Data, 16.00--17.00
Friday, 18 October
K. Labitzke: TTO & QBO, in winter, 9.00--10.00
10.00--10.30 coffee
D. Rind: Modeling, 10.30--11.30
K. Yamazaki (or K. Kodera(?)), 11.30--12.30
12.30--14.00 Lunch
B. Tinsley: Particles (?), 14.00--15.00

Please make your own arrangements for hotels, but Liz Stephens at NCAR (STEPHENS@ UCAR.EDU) would help you, if needed. Out of our STEP etat we can cover your hotel and food expenses, if this is necessary for you.

Please send me a quick email, that you are coming. With our best regards, looking forward to a nice meeting with fruitful discussion, Karin Labitzke and Lon Hood.

Prof. Dr. Karin Labitzke

tel.: (49 30) 838 71166; fax.: (49 30) 838 71167
email: labitzke@strat01.met.fu-berlin.de

Edmond C. Roelof (SH) (edmond.roelof@jhuapl.edu)
Odile de la Beaujardiere (SA) (delabe@nsf.gov)
Thomas E. Moore (SM) (t.e.moore@msfc.nasa.gov)

P Planetology (Joint Session with SPA)

P04 Galileo at Jupiter (Joint with A, SPA-SM, VGP)
The Galileo spacecraft has been in orbit about Jupiter since December 7, 1995. This special session will highlight results from the spacecraft's first three orbits of the giant planet as well as the continuing analysis of the Probe results. The presentations will cover observations of all aspects of the Jovian system: the magnetosphere, Galilean satellites, and Jupiter's atmosphere. The session will consist of a combination of invited talks and contributed oral and poster papers.

SA SPA-Aeronomy

SA01 Sun-Earth Connections: Implementation of the Space Weather Program (Joint with SM and SH)
Our civilization is relying more and more on technology that is affected by conditions in the space environment. To prepare ourselves to deal with these vulnerabilities, the National Space Weather Program has been implemented. This session will focus on research, observations, models, and education, the four "pillars" that support the space weather forecast and specification effort.

SA02 Results from the Recent Tether Experiment (TSS-1R) and the Physics of Charge Collection in Space
Results from the TSS-1R mission will be presented, including current collection, ionization, and effects on charging. Theoretical papers on the physics of charge collection in space and the energetics of particles in the TSS-1R environment are solicited.

SA03 Excited Atoms and Molecules in the Atmosphere: Laboratory Studies and Related Atmospheric Models (Joint with A)
Over the last several years, new experimental techniques have been developed to study transient chemical entities of atmospheric significance. Papers are invited that describe new laboratory measurements relating to electronic, vibrational, rotational, and translational excitation in atoms and molecules, which have or could have impact on atmospheric processes. Theoretical and modeling treatments that highlight omissions and deficiencies in the experimental databases are also requested.

SA04 Meteor Metals in the Ionosphere - Dynamics and Chemical Processes
This session combines data and analysis from various disciplines: meteoritics, radar observations, mass spectrometric measurements, lidar data, supporting laboratory measurements, and modeling. The aim of the session is to reach a substantial picture which unifies the morphology of meteors from the point of their entry in the earth's atmosphere to the point where the individual species are condensed and transported to ground. The session will include steady-state layers and sporadic or sudden layers.

SH SPA-Heliospheric Physics

SH01 Sun-Earth Connections: Imaging of Space Plasmas (Joint with SA, SM)
Imaging has already been proven a fundamental tool in solar and ionospheric physics, most recently with the SOHO and Polar missions. In the near future, interplanetary (IPS--radio, SMIE--white light), planetary (Mars96, Cassini--ENA), and magnetospheric (SAC-B, IMAGE--ENA, EUV) missions should reap a comparable scientific harvest for space plasma physics. Recent imaging results and their interpretation will be featured in invited talks, along with descriptions of upcoming missions and instruments. Contributed talks and posters are solicited over the wide range of topics in present and future space plasma imaging relevant to illuminating Sun-Earth connections.

SH02 Plasma Dynamics and Energetic Particles in the Outer Heliosphere
The Pioneer 10/11, Voyager 1/2, and Ulysses probes over the last two decades have revealed marked, often surprising, fluctuations in the solar wind plasma (flow, density, temperature), electromagnetic fields (mean IMF, turbulence, plasma waves), and suprathermal particle distributions (low energy solar particles, pickup ions, anomalous and galactic cosmic rays). Invited papers will address a wide range of topics. The heliospheric termination shock might be encountered soon by the deep space probes. The observed radial and latitudinal gradients of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) are leading to a reevaluation of the theory of both GCR transport and the heliospheric magnetic field. Observations of pickup ion (PI) spectra near the Sun and anomalous cosmic ray (ACR) spectra in the outer heliosphere are shedding new light on the problem of the pre-acceleration of PI, their injection, and conversion to ACR. We encourage contributed oral and poster papers dealing with the above-mentioned topics, as well as observational and theoretical aspects of topics such as the continued presence of recurrent plasma structures to at least 50 AU, the role of pickup and superthermal solar ions in pressure balance structures (e.g., at interplanetary MHD discontinuities), and the spatial evolution of the IMF and plasma turbulence with radius and latitude.

SH03 Global Coronal Disturbances and Mass Ejections
This all-contributed special session (oral and poster) offers researchers an unstructured opportunity to present a wide range of recent results on observations of solar disturbances and correlated magnetospheric activity (SOHO, Spartan, Yohkoh, WIND, Ulysses, Sampex, etc.), theory, and simulations, as well as consensus and/or controversy stemming from recent meetings on the subject (e.g., Chapman Conference on CMEs, Bozeman, Montana, August 1996). Papers addressing the relationship between global coronal disturbances and geomagnetic substorms, as well as application of scientific results to prediction of sun-Earth connections will be welcomed.

SH04 Helioseismology
Helioseismology utilizes observations of the properties of waves that propagate throughout the Sun's interior and become visible at the Sun's surface to understand internal structure and dynamics. Exciting new results from the GONG network and the SOHO spacecraft are changing our view of the Sun and challenging existing theories. This session will feature invited papers on latest developments, and contributed oral and poster papers are solicited on relevant observations and theory.

SH05 Has the Sun Changed the Climate? (Joint with A)
It has long been speculated, based on the observed variation of sunspots and cosmogenic isotopes, that the irradiance of the Sun has varied. Satellite observations since 1978 show that the Sun's irradiance does vary over the 11-year cycle, but only by an amount (0.1%) that is too small to influence the Earth's climate. Yet, correlations between solar features and terrestrial temperatures and observations of sun-like stars suggest that there may have been larger variations of the solar irradiance on longer time scales. If this is true, then solar-irradiance variations may have played a non-negligible role in variations of the Earth's climate, both prior to and during the period of instrumental temperature observations. Such solar-irradiance-induced changes in Earth's climate would have major implications for understanding climate change in general, and anthropogenically induced climate change in particular. Even if the total solar irradiance has not varied significantly, variations in solar UV radiation may have influenced tropospheric climate through variations in stratospheric ozone, perhaps as a nonlinear dynamical system. Thus, the main purpose of this special session is to review the most recent results obtained from observations, theory and modeling of both the Sun and climate. The following two topics will be covered during the session: (1) What do solar, stellar and isotopic observations, theory and models tell us about solar- irradiance variability?, and (2) What do climate observations, theory and models tell us about the contribution of solar-irradiance variability to changes of the Earth's climate? In addition to papers that will be invited for this special session, contributed oral and poster papers are solicited.

SM SPA-Magnetospheric Physics

SM01 Sun-Earth Connections: ISTP/GGS Correlative Results (Joint with SA, SH)
The international solar-terrestrial science community is moving into a new era of solar-terrestrial research as opportunities for coordinated analysis of space and ground-based data are being identified following the launch of key spacecraft such as Geotail, Wind, Polar, SOHO, and Interball. A tremendous international coordination effort has been going on to provide a rich source of correlative data from space and ground-based measurements. This session is devoted to the presentation of correlative results from these new ISTP missions. In addition, this session will support "interactive poster" papers allowing direct access to ISTP correlative data.

SM02 Terrestrial Plasma as an Active Element in Substorms and Storms (Joint with SA)
This all-contributed special session (oral and poster) offers researchers an unstructured opportunity to present a wide range of recent observational or simulation/theoretical results on this topic and to explore consensus and/or controversy in theory/interpretation stemming from recent publications on the subject.

SM03 Substorm Processes in the Near-Earth Plasma Sheet (Joint with SA)
Understanding the physical processes of substorm triggering is a primary challenge of magnetospheric physics. However, after three decades of intensive theoretical and observational studies, opinions on the physical processes of substorm onset have been diverging rather than converging. Recently a large number of theoretical and observational studies of substorms targeted the near-Earth plasma sheet, with an emphasis on the region within 15 RE. This region is characterized by the large gradients in physical quantities, such as the equatorial magnetic field strength or plasma pressure, especially at the end of the substorm growth phase. The investigation of substorm onset mechanism requires the understanding of (1) pre-onset plasma sheet configurations, (2) the physics of triggering instabilities, and (3) the morphology of substorm onset in the near-Earth plasma sheet. This special session will include invited papers that address theoretically and/or observationally any of the above issues. The primary objective of this session is to emphasize interaction between theoretical and observational work. For this purpose each theoretical paper is required to provide a list of predictions that can be tested experimentally, and each observational paper is required to provide a list of constraints that should be considered in the future modeling effort of substorm onset.

The Second Announcement has been distributed. It will be held at RASC, Kyoto University, and the Chairman of the Organizing Committee is Prof. H. Matsumoto (RASC, Kyoto University, Japan.) Prof. Y. Omura is Chairman of the Scientific Program Committee. A series of lectures and invited talks will be given on:

1. Observation, Theory and Simulations of Microscale Phenomena (nonlinear wave generation, particle acceleration and heating, etc.);
2. Observation, Theory and Simulations of Mesoscale Phenomena (magnetic reconnection, shocks, turbulence, irregularities, etc.);
3. Observation, Theory and Simulations of Macroscale Phenomena (global modeling of magnetosphere, boundary layer, particle dynamics, ray tracing, etc.);<
4. New Area of Research (dusty plasma, multiscale phenomena, active experiments, remote sensing, etc.); and (5) New Technologies for Space Simulations (parallel processing, visualization, Vlasov simulation, innovative scheme for MHD and parallel codes, etc.).

Demonstration and exercises of particle codes, fluid codes and visualization will be given for a limited number of participants during three night sessions (3 hours each). Those wishing to participate in this activity are asked to so indicate in the application form.

Notice of intention to participate is due by 15 October. Registration form and hotel reservation due by 15 December. Extended Summary of contributed papers due by 31 January.

More detailed information is available from H. Matsumoto. See also URL: http://www.kurasc.kyoto-u.ac.jp/isss; or use e-mail to: isss@kurasc.kyoto-u.ac.jp; or Fax: 81-774-31-8463.

This Colloquium will focus on the physical properties of filaments, current ideas on their formation, destabilization and eruption, their role in the solar cycle and relationship to the solar dynamo, their signatures in interplanetary space, and the evidence for filaments on other stars. In particular, it will bring together recent insights provided by SOHO, Yohkoh, Ulysses and other current observational and theoretical programs. The principal topics of the meeting are:

1. Filaments and their Environment
   
   • Structure and dynamics of filaments
     
   • Diagnostics of filaments and surrounding corona
     
   • Magnetic fields
     
   • Prominence-like cool material in stars
     
2. Birth and Death of Filaments
   
   • Origin of filament mass and magnetic field
     
   • Eruption of filaments
     
   • Interplanetary signatures
     
3. Global Patterns
   
   • Magnetic helicity
     
   • Global evolution
     
   • Large-scale observations and modeling
     
   • Implications for the solar dynamo
     

Scientific Organizing Committee: D. M. Rust (U.S.A.) and B. Schmieder (France); Co-Chairs, O. Engvold (Norway), V. Gaizauskas (Canada) Z. Mouradian (France, I. Kim (Russia) R. Schwenn (Germany), E. Cliver (U.S.A.) J-X. Wang (China), T. Sakurai (Japan) G. Peres (Italy)

Local Organizing Committee: B. Schmieder (Chair), D. Webb, T. Amari, K. Bocchialini, V. Bommier, C. Brechet, P. Demoulin, J. M. Malherbe, Z. Mouradian

Contact address: David Webb, Phillips Lab/GPSG. 29 Randolph Road, Hanscom AFB, MA, U.S.A. 01731-3010

Voice: 617-377-3086; Fax: 617-377-3160 E-mail: webb@plh.af.mil For site details please refer to http://www.in2p3.fr/~drevon/CPL.html .

Nancy Alkire, Program Assistant to Joe Allen, has been accepted into the University of Utah Medical School at Salt Lake City and will be moving there around the middle of September. We congratulate her on this achievement and wish her well. SCOSTEP certainly appreciates (and will miss) her very fine work at the Secretariat.