IUGG Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

August 1-2, 2001 - Sapporo, Japan

Attendance: Bureau members M Kono, U Shamir, JA Joselyn, A Hansen, JY Chen, H Gupta, and T Palmer (assistant to the Secretary General); Association Presidents and Secretaries-General: F Sanso and CC Tscherning (IAG), D Kerridge (IAGA), K Takeuchi and P Hubert (IAHS), H Davies and R List (IAMAS), P Rizzoli and F Camfield (IAPSO), B Kennett (IASPEI); S Sparks (IAVCEI); IUGG Past President P Wyllie. Guests: S Imawaki (IAPSO), K Satake (IASPEI), A Taira (President, ICSU Scientific Committee on the Lithosphere); IUGG 2003 representatives: A Nishida (Chair, Scientific Programme Committee), S Uyeda (Chair, Local Organizing Committee), K Suyehiro (Secretary, Local Organizing Committee), B Schuffert (LOC meeting assistant).

• Matters Arising from the Bureau Meeting
• Reports from the Associations
• Reports from IUGG Liaisons
• Discussion of Inter-Association Initiatives
• Discussion Concerning the 2003 Assembly
• Discussion of IUGG Structure, Goals and Objectives for the Quadrennium and Long-term
• All Other Business

Matters Arising from the Bureau Meeting

President Kono summarized the Bureau meeting held on 31 July.

1. IUGG Membership. There are currently 66 Member adhering bodies, including 12 members in Observer status and 2 Associate Members. Four Adhering Bodies were terminated in 2001 because they had not paid dues for 5 years. Indonesia has asked for a change in Member category; a ballot will be sent to the voting Member Adhering Bodies. We were reminded that Taipei is a member adhering body, not a member country. New members are being actively encouraged.
2. Nominating Committee for Bureau and Finance Committee officers for 2003-2007. The President invited suggestions for persons to serve on the Nominating Committee.
3. Resolutions Committee for the 2003 General Assembly. The President invited suggestions for persons to serve on the Resolutions Committee.
4. Financial matters. The 2000-2003 IUGG budget was reviewed and found to be satisfactory; a draft of the 2004-2007 budget will be considered at the 2002 Bureau meeting; the cost of the IUGG Yearbook and its subscription price were discussed, as was a request from the Scientific Committee on the Lithosphere to increase IUGG support.
5. International Council for Science (ICSU). IUGG has been asked to participate in preparations for the Earth Summit (RIO+10) meeting in Johannesburg, S. Africa, in September 2002. The ICSU General Assembly will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, also in September 2002.
6. IGY+50. ICSU has asked IUGG to take the lead to plan a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Because the celebration should take place in 2007, it is convenient to plan the celebration in concert with our 2007 General Assembly.
7. IUGG co-sponsorship of meetings. General policy regarding co-sponsorship was discussed, and liberal use of the IUGG name to co-sponsor meetings was approved if the meeting as recommended by an IUGG or ICSU body. Financial assistance should be limited for meetings not directly linked to Associations or Inter-Association bodies.
8. Agreement between AGU and IUGG of the publishing of the Union proceedings. The present agreement ends December 2002 but will renew automatically unless cancelled. It was decided to renew the agreement as it now stands.
9. Survey Questionnaires. The survey questionnaire replies were analyzed and these will be discussed at length later in the meeting.
10. The 2002 Bureau meeting will be held September 7-8, in Capetown, S. Africa, pending confirmation among the Bureau members and our South Africa hosts.

Reports from the Associations

IAMAS (Dr. Huw Davies; Dr. Roland List)
The IAMAS Scientific Assembly was just concluded in Innsbruck, Austria (July 10-18). There were 840 registrants, and $45,000 (USD, $5000 contributed by WMO) was distributed in travel assistance (56 grants) to developing countries. Scientists under the age of 30 were given free registrations. An Assembly innovation was a series of lunch time presentations addressing societal impacts especially for young scientists.

IAMAS is highly connected with their scientific community. Robert Duce, the immediate past president of IAMAS has become the President of the ICSU Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR). IAMAS Vice-President M Geller is also Vice-President of the Scientific Committee on Solar Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP). IAMAS Secretary-General, R List, maintains his relationship with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), especially coordinating activities with the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP - most WCRP participants are members of IAMAS), and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP - to be restructured next year).

IAG (Dr. F Sanso; Dr. CC Tscherning)
There have been recent major achievements in geodetic research, including positioning and gravity missions. IAG itself is reorganizing in order to decrease the number of layers, enhance the representation of services, and open the election process. Individual memberships are being introduced.

IAG is continuing to consider the needs of developing countries by enhancing services, choosing low-expense meeting venues, and inviting and supporting scientists from developing countries to meetings. Recent training schools have been organized in Johari, Malaysia, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cairo is next (the African Geodesy Group has 150 members).

IAVCEI (Dr. S Sparks)
Recent IAVCEI activities include the 2001 "Cities on Volcanoes" meeting which especially considered the interface with society normally outside of scientific discussions; initiation of a book series; collaboration with USGS volcano database; drafting a systematic alert level for active volcanoes; and exciting research in dynamical systems. A medal will be presented at Sapporo 2003 in honor of people who have given outstanding service to volcanology or to society.

IAVCEI is continuing to enroll personal memberships and hopes for 1000 members. The annual dues are 45 Australian dollars ($23 USD), or $8 for low-income scientists, and the annual net income is approximately $15,000 (USD). The benefits to personal members include a newsletter, the right to vote on member issues, and a directory of members on the website. Bureau members urged caution in promoting personal Association memberships because National Committees may see this as reason to cease membership in IUGG. Careful adherence to IUGG Statutes and By-laws was urged.

Future activities include a meeting in May 2002 to mark eruption of Mt. Pelee in 1902, a Chapman Conference in July 2002, and another Cities on Volcanoes meeting in 2003. The next scientific assembly will be held in the Andes in Chile in late 2004.

IAPSO (Dr. P Rizzoli; Dr. F. Camfield)
The IAPSO Scientific Assembly will be in October in Mar del Plata, Argentina, and is joint with the International Association for Biological Oceanography. Dr. Walter Munk will receive the IAPSO Prince Albert I Medal, the first ever awarded. Funds raised to assist the travel of scientists from developing countries included $25,000 (USD) from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), $5,000 from SCOR, $10,000 from ICSU, and $1500 from IUGG, plus $10,000 from the Birmingham "head tax."

IAPSO continues to work with related international organizations, especially the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the Scientific Committee for Oceanic Research (SCOR), and CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability). Inter-Association activities include the Tsunami Commission (with IASPEI and IAVCEI) and the newly-formed working group on ground water/sea water interactions (with IAHS). Regarding services, IAPSO has sponsored the Standard Seawater Service for a long time and also the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level. There are no financial returns to IAPSO from the services; sponsorship simply implies a certain level of oversight so that IAPSO scientists can be assured of the quality and continuity of the service.

IASPEI (Dr. BLN Kennett)
The IASPEI Scientific Assembly will be held jointly with IAGA in Hanoi, Vietnam. $55,000 has been raised to support travel mostly for scientists from developing countries.

IASPEI has simplified their organizational structure by abolishing all sub-commissions and replacing then with 8 commissions that are aligned with scientific themes. IASPEI does not offer a service. Many of the IASPEI activities deal with developing countries. They feel that more money should be spent on promoting science as opposed to simply giving travel grants. The intention is not to reduce travel grants but to reevaluate the impact on science.

IASPEI does not give medals, and while personal membership has been discussed, royalties from publications provide adequate operating income.

The 2005 scientific assembly will be 7 rather than 8 days, and will be held in Latin America.

IAHS (Dr. K Takeuchi; Dr. P Hubert)
The 6th IAHS Scientific Assembly was held in Maastricht, The Netherlands. Approximately 350 scientists attended from 50 countries. Five symposia and 8 workshops were convened. The International Hydrology Prize was awarded to Professor Igor Shiklomanov (St. Petersburg State Hydrological Institute of Russia).

The globe is in the middle of a water crisis brought on by population growth and climate change. IAHS is trying to focus on scientific issues and also facilitate the interface between water science and water management in two ways. First, they interact with other organizations and agencies dealing with science issues (e.g., UNESCO and ICSU committees such as WCRP, IGBP, and the Human Dimensions Programme). Second, they interact with policy makers and organizations that more closely represent social issues such as the World Water Forum (WWF) and the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD; also known as Rio + 10).

IAHS has 8 standing commissions, and inter-commission activities are important. The International Commission on Snow and Ice (ICSI) has a strong desire to work in a more integrated way with IAHS, or IUGS. At the IAHS assembly, two new working groups were created. The first addresses ungauged basins as an inter-commission initiative, and the second, Hydrology 2020, recruits 12 young scientists to look into the opportunities for hydrology in the future.

IAHS earns much of their income from IAHS Press, which produces the Hydrological Sciences Journal and the "Red Book" series as well as other special publications. They make a concerted effort to reach developing countries.

IAGA (Dr. DJ Kerridge)
The IAGA Scientific Assembly will be held jointly with IASPEI in Hanoi, Vietnam. 58 symposia have been organized over the two-week period, with 11 of them co-sponsored by IASPEI. The IAGA Executive Committee also recognizes the value of small, focused meetings and 13 smaller meetings have been supported over last two years.

IAGA has five divisions that address topics in magnetism from the Earth's core to outer space, and two inter-divisional commissions that focus on the needs of developing countries, and history. The History Commission will be particularly involved in IUGG plans for the 50th Anniversary of the International Geophysical year in 2007.

IAGA science is being pushed quickly by new satellite data including images and measurements of processes and events on the sun and in the solar wind and geosphere. Computational power and electronic data transfer methods are developing rapidly and bringing about rapid advancements in data sharing, categorization and archival. Old analog data is being rescued from obsolete storage media. IAGA has strong links with the ICSU World Data Centers, and has recently endorsed a new geomagnetic index - the polar cap (PC) index.

IAGA services include the International Service of Geomagnetic Indices, and the International Space Environment Service. IAGA also produces the International Geomagnetic Reference Field, which is critical for both scientific and commercial purposes. IAGA has fostered INTERMAGNET, a consortium of geomagnetic observatories that has been award ICSU support to train observers and standardize practices. A training workshop was held in Slovakia last year and others are planned for South Africa in 2002 and Japan in 2004. IAGA awards a service medal to observers who have persevered in their work.

The meeting recessed for lunch from 12:55 PM to 2 PM.

Reports from IUGG Liaisons

There are16 organizations with IUGG representation. These are listed in the Yearbook. In general, it was agreed that IUGG must require a statement of work from any body that we are funding, as well as appropriate reports of accomplishments.

Discussion of Inter-Association Initiatives

$35,000 (USD) has been distributed to date to support projects that are interdisciplinary and benefit developing countries. The deadline for projects in 2002 is December 1.

A new joint working group among IAGA, IASPEI, and IAVCEI on "Electric and Magnetic Studies of Earthquakes and Volcanoes" was approved. Dr. S Uyeda will define the structure and form this group.

Discussion Concerning the 2003 Assembly

Report from the Scientific Programme Committee (The first meeting of the Scientific Programme Committee for the 2003 General Assembly was held on 31 July).

1. The State of the planet theme was approved with a modification of the title to "State of the Planet: Frontiers and Challenges."
2. It was agreed that one person can be the first author on only 3 contributed abstracts.
3. Suggested procedures for handling travel assistance grants were approved.
4. It was determined that another meeting of the SPC would be required. It will take place on December 8-9, 2001, in San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

Administrative Matters for the General Assembly

1. Opening Ceremony. It was agreed that the Opening Ceremony would occur on Monday June 30, in the evening. There may be special guests present for the Ceremonies.
2. The revised draft administrative schedule allocates 9 hours total for Council meetings, and 7 hours each for Bureau and Association meetings.
3. Requirements for office space and general secretarial support for the Union and Associations were discussed.
4. Assembly length. While many arguments were presented in favor of shortening the Assembly, it was ultimately agreed that the scientific and administrative business of the General Assembly require two weeks, including the intervening weekend.
5. The LOC will arrange for lectures that will be open to the general Sapporo public. Associations will be asked to nominate persons to present these lectures, which have proven to be popular at other scientific assemblies.
6. The State of the Planet Lecturers and other ceremonies or events may be videotaped for distribution especially to the National Committees of developing countries for educational purposes.
7. Resolutions. The Executive Committee reaffirmed the suggestion that resolutions should be submitted to the Committee before the General Assembly so that preliminary work to revise and approve can be done in advance. A call for Resolutions will be issued soon.

The meeting recessed at 6:25 PM, and resumed at 9 am on 2 August.

Discussion of IUGG Structure, Goals and Objectives for the Quadrennium and Long-term

As part of an initiative to re-examine IUGG structure and goals, a questionnaire composed primarily by V. Shannon was sent to all 7 Associations. A similar questionnaire was sent to all IUGG Adhering Bodies. All of the Associations responded, and 31 of the 66 Adhering Bodies responded. The results were analyzed by Bureau Members U Shamir, H Gupta, and M Kono and were presented to the Executive Committee for discussion. To facilitate discussion, the survey questions were divided into 12 Issues (see list) and summaries of the discussion are presented below.

1. IUGG Redefined: Goals; Relevance
2. Functioning of the Union; Communication; Bureau
3. General Assemblies
4. IUGG and Associations
5. Linkage
   1. Linkage with other earth science organizations
   2. Linkage with UNESCO/ICSU
6. Support for Developing Countries
7. Educational activities
8. Young Scientists
9. Budget; Finance Committee
10. Publications
11. Other

ISSUE A: Goals, Objectives, Relevance

• IUGG should pay more attention to the needs of the National Adhering Bodies, who provide the funding for IUGG activities.
• Improvements in the Vision and Goals statement resulting from the Boulder, 2000, Bureau and Associations meeting are needed. (There was no full discussion of these proposals at the meeting, nor a decision.)
• In the longer term, consider changes in the designation of the sciences in which the Union is engaged.

ISSUE B: Functioning of the Union

• Communication with the national committees should be improved, recognizing that much work is required to foster contacts with national committees
• Communication with national scientific societies should be initiated.
• The size of the Bureau (7 members) is not an issue, nor is the location or functioning of the Secretariat.
• Additional funding would increase Union/Association effectiveness.

ISSUE C: General Assemblies (GA)

• The GA will remain two weeks long.
• Union level activities are the essential and important component of the GA.
• Administrative meetings will be during the same time, as now.
• The number of Union lectures will be kept at four.
• Associations not "represented" in Union lectures should consider a high-visibility Association lecture that will draw a large and wide audience.
• Associations should strive not to schedule their activities in parallel with union level activities that their own scientists are interested in.

ISSUE D: IUGG and the Associations (+ Increase visibility)

• The E-Journal is successful and should be improved and expanded.
• The IUGG web page should be improved.
• Associations should make sure IUGG logo appears on all publications and their web pages, and create a link to the IUGG web pages from their own pages.
• A "list-server" for Union officers should be created.
• A suggestion to publish a Union science journal was not accepted.
• A working group should be set up to propose ways to publicize the Union most effectively.

ISSUE E1: Relations with other earth science societies

• Relationships with national and regional earth science societies, including AGU and EGS, and particularly in other parts of the world should be promoted.

ISSUE E2: Relations with bodies such as UNESCO, ICSU, WMO etc.

• The importance of IUGG science and activities should be promoted especially within ICSU. Executive Committee members are requested to provide ideas, suggestions and contacts.

ISSUE F: Support of Developing Countries

• A summary of IUGG support for Developing Countries, prepared by the Secretariat for ICSU, should be expanded, posted on the web page, and communicated to the Council and the Finance Committee.

ISSUE G: Educational activities

• A summary of IUGG educational activities, prepared by the Secretariat for ICSU, should be expanded and posted on the web page.
• A notable IUGG educational activity is the training for scientists by Associations (e.g., geodetic and geomagnetic measurements and analysis methodologies).

ISSUE H: Support of Young Scientists

• Support of young scientists requires more than just a discount on registration fees.
• A Working Group of Young Scientists that will focus on "Geo-Sciences: The Future" will be initiated by U Shamir.

ISSUE I: Budget and Finance Committee (FC)

• Relations with the current FC should be strengthened.
• The FC should be asked to engage in raising funds.
• A proposed budget for the 2003-2007 quadrennium should be prepared for input to the FC.
• Matters of disagreement should be raised at the Council Meeting.
• Persons with experience in Association operations should be nominated to the FC for the 2003-2007 quadrennium.

ISSUE J: Publications: E-Journal and Yearbook

• The IUGG E-Journal is an effective communication tool primarily to reach National Committees, but also to share information among Association leadership. Its content and distribution should be expanded.
• The IUGG Yearbook is an important legal document that informs Adhering Bodies and scientific institutions of IUGG structure, and the roles of individual persons within that structure.

ISSUE K: Services

• Service is not a primary IUGG function (promoting research is a primary function), but products and services promote IUGG science to the global social and commercial community.
• IUGG does not "serve" scientists in the way that scientific societies serve their membership (e.g., job advertisement and placement service). Rather, we enable science by promoting an environment in which scientific research can flourish.

(end of discussion about the Questionnaires)

All Other Business

Several countries have sought information regarding preparing a bid for the 2007 General Assembly.

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The meeting adjourned at 5:35 p.m.