IUGG Annual Report 1996Georges Balmino INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTIONThe International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), an international non governmental organisation established in 1919, is one of the scientific Unions grouped within the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). IUGG is dedicated to the scientific study of the Earth and the applications of the knowledge gained by such studies to the needs of society, such as mineral resources, reduction of the effects of natural hazards and environmental preservation. The Union is a purely scientific organisation. Its objectives are the promotion and co-ordination of physical, chemical and mathematical studies of the Earth and its environment in space. These studies include the shape of the Earth, its gravitational and magnetic fields, the dynamics of the Earth as a whole and of its component parts, the Earth's internal structure, composition and tectonics, the generation of magmas, volcanism and rock formation, the hydrological cycle including snow and ice, all aspects of the oceans, the atmosphere, ionosphere, magnetosphere and solar-terrestrial relations, and analogous problems associated with the Moon and other planets. Union activities embrace studies of the Earth by artificial satellites and other techniques for deploying instruments at high altitude. The IUGG has initiated and vigorously supported collaborative efforts that have led to highly productive world-wide interdisciplinary research programmes, such as the International Geophysical Year (1957-58), the Upper Mantle Project (1964-70), the Geodynamics Project (1972-79), the Global Atmospheric Research Programme (1970-80) and the International Lithosphere Programme (1981- ). These programmes have set a model for international interdisciplinary co-operation. One major contribution has been the creation, through ICSU, of the World Data Centre system, from which the data gathered during these major programmes are available to research workers everywhere. The IUGG co-operates with UNESCO in the study of natural catastrophes. It is also represented on the ICSU Committee for Science and Technology in Developing Countries, and gives particular emphasis to the scientific needs of the Third World (e.g. Geodesy in Africa, International Water Resources, etc...). The Union also co-sponsors the Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical Data Analysis Services (FAGS) and is a partner with other Unions of ICSU in Inter-Union Commissions (e.g. ICL). The official languages of the Union are French and English. MEMBERSHIPBy their very nature, geodetic and geophysical studies require a high degree of international co-operation as well as effective central co-ordination. The Union is fortunate in having 76 Member Countries. The great majority of those countries participate in the Union through IUGG Committees set up by the national academy or another body that adheres to ICSU (other methods of adherence do occur). The Member Countries are distributed throughout the world as follow :
The number of member countries may change from one General Assembly to the next due to accepted new applications, also because some countries get unfortunately expelled for being unable to pay their dues during several years. Besides, several countries, being in serious arrears of payment, are in observer status. VITAL STATISTICSStructureThe Union comprises seven semi-autonomous Associations, each responsible for a specific range of topics or themes within the overall scope of the Union's activities and each with a sub-structure; these seven International Associations and their sub-components are shown below:
The Associations are free to convene their own general assemblies and to sponsor particular symposia, often in partnership with one another, and, like the Union, are managed by a Bureau and Executive Committee whose members are elected during their General Assemblies. Within its own discipline each Association is responsible for determining its own programme of investigations and for supporting the activities of its own component parts. Inter Association Commissions and CommitteesOwing to the interactive nature of the subject fields managed by the Union's Associations, a number of Inter-Association Commissions have been established which serve the Union and the international geophysical community by promoting the study of particular interdisciplinary problems:
Besides, and within the International Lithosphere Program (ILP) of ICSU, IUGG and the International Union of Geological Sciences operate the Inter-Union Commission on the Lithosphere (ICL). General Assemblies of the UnionGeneral Assemblies have been held since 1922 and, since 1963, at 4 years intervals. The General Assemblies took place at the following locations:
The seven Associations of IUGG meet at these General Assemblies and organise separate or inter-Association symposia, and the Union itself organises symposia of high general interest. Each IUGG Committee, which functions as a non-governmental entity in its relations with IUGG, is represented at the periodic General assemblies of the Union by delegates appointed by its adhering body. During these assemblies, policies governing the Union are agreed on, research programmes requiring international participation are formulated and co-ordinated and plans are drawn for their execution. The scientific results of programmes in progress are discussed at the numerous symposia, Commission and Working Group meetings and other gathering of scientists that are held during these assemblies. Other Scientific MeetingsEach Association is free to organise its own general assembly in between general assemblies of the Union. These are very important venues where progress in all topics the Association deals with is reported. Associations may sometimes joint in organising a common assembly. The numerous symposia and workshops organised on other occasions by the Associations, together with the general assemblies, provide the opportunity for geodesists and geophysicists from the majority of the countries of the world to discuss their respective methodologies, results and hypotheses and to plan collaborative research projects. The symposia are intended to be particularly helpful to the younger scientists from the developing countries of the world. The IUGG tries to help some of them financially to increase their participation in such events. PublicationsThe Union and the Associations publish information bulletins of meetings of the Associations and of symposia sponsored by the Associations. The following bulletins are issued by the Union and the Associations which also publish more specialised bulletins from time to time (e.g. data compilations, etc ...);
ORGANISATIONAL MATTERSResponsibility for directing the Union's affairs is vested in the IUGG Council by the Statutes and Bylaws. The IUGG Council consists of the Council Delegates, who are designated for each Council meeting by their adhering body as the representative of the geodesists and geophysicists of their respective country. A Bureau, an Executive Committee and a Finance Committee administer the IUGG between Council meetings. The Executive Committee has the particular responsibility of overseeing the scientific programmes of the Union. The Bureau of the Union is composed of:
The Executive Committee consists of the Bureau, the past President of the Union (H. Moritz, Austria) and the Presidents of the seven Associations, that is:
An Advisory Board on Scientific Policy is in charge of looking at the goals of the Union and makes recommendations concerning its missions and objectives. It has been chaired by the IUGG Vice-President and is composed of the Presidents of the Associations. The Finance Committee is composed of:
ACTIVITIES IN 1996Administrative matters The preparation of the 22nd. General Assembly (Birmingham, UK, 1999) started. The Bureau met in Copenhagen in June 1996, and also had a joint meeting with the Association Presidents and Secretaries General on this occasion. Some organizational and scientific aspects of the 1999 General Assembly were discussed, for instance the composition and the role of the Organizing Committee, the Scientific Program Committee, which chairperson is Prof. Kathy Whaler, U.K.. Recommendations for Union and joint (inter-Association) symposia and suggestions for scientific topics were made. Thoughts about future IUGG activities were debated, in various areas such as : global geophysical observing systems, IDNDR, megacities, education, developing countries. The role of the Advisory Board on Scientific Policy was discussed : its role was considered terminated for the time being (it could be re-activated any time in the future if a need is perceived). Activities of the AssociationsThe following reports have been prepared by the Secretaries General of the Associations, that is:
International Association of Geodesy (IAG)Central Bureau activities: The "Travaux" of IAG, which contain reports of all IAG sections, services and other groups for the period 1992-96, was published in the spring. The Geodesists Handbook, 1996, was published as Journal of Geodesy, Vol. 70, No. 12 in October. It contains information about the IAG structure, activities and officers, totally 200 pages. Both publications were edited by Pascal Willis of IGN, France. The handbook is in digital form available on the IAG WWW Home-page. This enables the current update of the information, which is an important Central Bureau activity. The Bureau publishes a monthly newsletter, which is printed in the Journal of Geodesy. This is with the Journal distributed to all National Representatives and the members of the IAG Executive Committee. The newsletter includes a listing of all geodetic publications. (It is provided by the IAG Bibliographic Service). The Bureau is through the MANICORAL project (European Union Telematics Program funded) engaged in activities testing the use of modern multimedia and communication facilities for scientific cooperation and teaching. Symposia and meetings:
Educational Activities:
Services:
International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI)The Association held or sponsored a large number of meetings.
Although at its 1995 General Assembly IASPEI had already granted commission status to the Asian Seismological Commission (ASC), it remained necessary to complete this process by taking the steps required to formally establish the ASC. This was accomplished at the first ASC Council meeting, held on 3 August 1996 during the IASPEI Regional Assembly in Asia, at which statutes for the commission were adopted, officers elected (President, H. Gupta ; Vice Presidents, K. Hamada and G. Gibson ; and Secretary-General, Zhu Chuanzhen), and a time and venue for the next ASC General Assembly set (NGRI, Hyderabad, India, 1998).
IDNDR: The Workshop on Earthquake Risk Management Strategies in Central Asia brought together experts from around the world to confer with Central Asian experts on seismology, earthquake-resistant design, and emergency response. For the Central Asian participants (from Kazakstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Russia, Greece, and Turkey) it was the first time they had met as representatives of independent countries). Education/Training Activities: Activities Involving Developing Countries: Publications Transfer: Publications:
Special Projects:
New Areas of Interest: IASPEI/IAVCEI Commission on Physical and Chemical Properties
of Materials of the Earth's Interior IASPEI/IAVCEI Commission on Volcano Seismology International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI)Introduction: 1997 IAVCEI General Assembly: Arrangements were made also for an IAVCEI Information and Discussion Forum to be held in Puerto Vallarta. These are open meetings that have been held during previous IAVCEI General Assemblies in Canberra (1993) and Boulder (1995) and the International Volcanological Congress in Ankara (1994). They permit any participant of the conference to provide comment on, and ask questions about the management and future directions of IAVCEI. These meetings have been well attended and they offer an excellent opportunity for the IAVCEI Executive Committee to receive direct feedback from people interested in the future of the Association. A good attendance was anticipated at the 1997 General Assembly given the fact that nearly 600 people are now fully paid up members (`affiliates') of IAVCEI. Personal Membership: The system seemed to work well in that people from wealthy countries paid the full amount whereas students generally and people from economically under-privileged countries in particular, were able to join the Association for a low amount. US$8.00 is a substantial amount of money in some countries and indeed some people have said it is too much. However, this amount is in effect being subsidised by those paying the full amount and we feel that offering an even lower amount would be quite impractical and uneconomical. Transferring money to Canberra from underprivileged countries is also a problem, but people in these countries were urged to send in single-payment blocks of applications and to use the credit-card facility of a colleague in more wealthy countries as a means of payment. Very few people seem to have abused the honesty system, although there is of course no way of checking this fully. The total membership by 25 December 1996 was 542 (355 people paid the maximum fee, and 146 the minimum). Ten countries with the greatest numbers of members were, in decreasing order, the USA, Italy, Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, Russia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Germany, and France. We plan to seek further memberships during 1997 but to manage the membership from a newly established IAVCEI Secretariat in Canberra, rather than use a professional agency which takes a percentage of each membership fee. IAVCEI News: IAVCEI Homepage: Bulletin of Volcanology - the International Journal
of IAVCEI: New IAVCEI Video: Relationships with IASPEI: Attempts were made to organise a Joint Assembly of the two Associations, including the idea of a joint meeting in Indonesia where earthquake and volcanic activity are at high levels and where they threaten populous communities. IAVCEI plans to hold a General Assembly in Indonesia in the year 2000 (see below), but at the present time 2000 is an inconvenient year for IASPEI. A successful collaboration between the two Associations is more likely to be found in a joint venture in Chile where IAVCEI and the IASPEI Commission for the IDNDR are making arrangements to hold an international workshop on the use of modern technologies in reducing the risk from earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis and in providing rapid information immediately following disasters caused by these hazards. The workshop is expected to be held in April 1998 (see below). Another area of mutual interest to both Associations is in the vulnerability of megacities to the impact of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. This is a topic of considerable interest to volcanologists concerned with the impact of eruptions on large urban conurbations, such as in the Naples region of Italy. The topic will attract significant interest from IAVCEI during the 1999 IUGG General Assembly where megacity vulnerability is expected to be a prominent topic of discussion. Linkages with ILP: A current member of the IAVCEI Executive Committee is Dr Marta Mantovani, Brazil, who also is the Chair of National Committees for the ILP. She and South African colleagues have already started a dialogue concerning shared interests in the program of the 1998 IAVCEI meeting. New IAVCEI Commissions: IAVCEI Sub-Committees: The three other Sub-Committees that worked during the course of the year are as follows: 1. Crisis Protocols: Guidelines or protocols are being developed that will cover the behaviour of scientists during volcanic crises. These crises are times when local scientists are under considerable pressure to monitor volcanoes and to report findings to local authorities, but their task can be made more difficult when well-intentioned visiting scientists feel the need to visit the crisis ostensibly to ëassistí them. 2 Volcano Alert and Public Warning Systems: This group was established towards the end of 1996 and its aims are to examine the best ways of generating alert and warning systems (colour-coding and number systems, for example) for volcanic eruptions. 3. Directory of Crisis Expertise: The concept of establishing this Sub-Committee was discussed during the year, with a view to producing a directory of people and their respective skills and experience in volcano-crisis management, so that individuals can be drawn on by volcanological groups who require assistance as times of crisis. A Sub-Committee on Safety for Volcanologists in 1993-5 produced a set of guidelines for use by people planning to work on active volcanoes. The guidelines were published in English in IAVCEI News and as a poster that has been distributed worldwide, particularly to people in volcanological observatories. This poster was redesigned during 1996 and produced in Spanish for release in early 1997. Spanish is the most common first language spoken by people who live on or near the world's active volcanoes. Future meetings:
Concluding Remarks: International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA)The first full year of the quadrennium has been an active one. In 1996, IAGA cosponsored eight meetings, published 2 books, convened the first meeting of 1995-1999 Executive Committee (of the Association), participated in a meeting of the IUGG Association Presidents and Secretaries-General, published Issue No. 35 of IAGA News, and planned for the 1997 IAGA Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden. An ICSU grant through IUGG to support the INTERMAGNET project supported their efforts to modernize and standardize global observations of Earthís magnetic field. Congratulations were extended to Prof. Jack Jacobs on the occasion of his 80th birthday, and we mourned the death of IAGA members including Honorary Member Baron Marcel Nicolet. IAGA Co-Sponsored Symposia and Workshops: Co-sponsored and financially assisted by IAGA: Co-sponsored and financially assisted by IAGA and IUGG: Co-sponsored by IAGA with travel support from the IUGG
Developing Countries fund: Co-sponsored by IAGA:
Publications: IAGA Bulletin No. 32s - Geomagnetic Data for 1988, and IAGA Bulletin No. 32t - Geomagnetic Data for 1989, were published by ICSU with the financial assistance of UNESCO through the mediation of the Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical data analysis Services. The Bulletins are produced by the International Service of Geomagnetic Indices (ISGI) Publications Office which is hosted at the Centre d'étude des Environnements Terrestre et Planétaire (CETP, Saint-Maur, France), under the responsibility of Annick Berthelier and Michel Menvielle. IAGA Executive Committee Meeting:
Looking Ahead: A special address at the Assembly will be the "Commemorative Lecture on the Contribution of Hannes Alfvén to Geophysics". This lecture will be given by Professor C.-G. Fälthammar, who was for many years a close collaborator of Professor Alfvén and succeeded his chair at the Royal Institute of Technology. Professor Alfvén's contributions are fundamental to the development of plasma physics, cosmical physics, and many subdisciplines of geophysics. Thus it is quite fitting for IAGA to honor Professor Alfvén on the occasion of our General Assembly held in Sweden. International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS)Major Commission Activities: These Commissions are: II. Atmospheric Electricity (ICAE): Both President and Secretary were reelected for another 4year term. They are: Prof. E.P. (Phil) Krider, President ICAE, and Dr. E. (Earle) R. Williams, Secretary ICAE. IV. Clouds and Precipitation: Dr. George A. Isaac, has been elected President ICCP, succeeding Prof. Peter R. Jonas. This Commissions has had, for quite a while, no secretary. Instead they elected a Vice President, Prof. Gabor Vali. IX. Ozone (IOC): Prof. Robert D. Hudson, was elected as the new President of IOC, following Prof. G.M. Megie. The Secretary, Prof. Dr. Rumen D. Bojkov, was reelected Secretary IOC. X. Radiation (IRC): Prof. William Smith is the new President of IRC, stepping up from Secretary in the last period, and replacing R.J.E. Harries, the former President IRC. IAMAS involvement: Dr. Eugene Bierly of the American Geophysical Union has been representing IAMAS during discussions of the IAG/CSTG Working Group on the IUGG Fundamental Reference and Calibration Network (FRCN). Dr. Bierly attended a meeting of the working group at the AGU meeting in Baltimore, MD, USA in May, 1997. Travel support of scientists in need: Alliance: The aims of the ALLIANCE are to enhance collaboration in scientific, operational and organizational aspects between the different segments, to provide easy and fast cross links between and among different segments of the ALLIANCE, making full use of the Internet and its capabilities. The provision of information is Step I. It is established by making known and available already existing Web sites and organizing them in a user-friendly fashion. One of the applications addresses the interchange of available educational and training modules. Another segment would make scientific and applications software accessible on a down-loading basis. In Step II questionnaires are to establish the needs of the Services and Universities so that Internet units can be setup to address the high priority questions and provide teams to provide advice and assistance (Step III). The status of the ALLIANCE can be reviewed on http:iamas.org/alliance. The ALLIANCE will be particularly successful if the communities involved will be able to provide their own Web pages, which can then be linked. It is hoped, that the "system" is fully operational by the time most Universities in the developing world are also on the net. It is planned to have a IUGG proposal for collaboration submitted to the Executive Council of WMO in June 1997. By that time an official agreement by UCAR should also be available, in addition to some financial resources (which may be forthcoming). Administrative matters: One of the weak points in the IAMAS secretariat is the nearly complete lack of information on the National Representatives to IAMAS. Improvement will get top priority after the Melbourne IAMAS/IAPSO Joint Assembly in July 1997. Operation of IAMAS would not be possible without the use of e-mail. Unfortunately, often e-mail addresses are not activated or fax machines are not switched on. International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)Publication record: Hydrological Sciences Journal: Red Books in 1996: Application of Geographic Information Systems in Hydrology
and Water Resources Management: In April 1993 the highly successful first HydroGIS conference (IAHS Publ. No. 211) was held in Vienna. This new publication is the proceedings of the second HydroGIS conference which was held three years later in Vienna. The main goal of HydroGIS'96 was to track the progress in the methodology of GIS and in sophisticated applications in water-related areas from 1993 to 1996. The 83 papers included in this volume document the experiences and especially the progress in GIS applications in the hydrologic sciences. The papers are divided between the following topics:
The conference was a contribution to UNESCO's IHP-V programme (1996-2001): Hydrology and water resources development in a vulnerable environment. Erosion and Sediment Yield : Global and Regional Perspectives: Edited by D.E. Walling & B.W. Webb IAHS Publication No. 236 (published July 1996) in the IAHS Series of Proceedings and Reports. ISBN 0-947571-89-2 ; 586 + xiv pp. ; price £ 55.00. The 61 papers published in this proceedings volume were presented at the "International Symposium on Erosion and Sediment Yield: Global and Regional Perspectives", held at Exeter, UK, in July 1996. The Symposium drew together information currently available on global and regional patterns of erosion and sediment yield and their sensitivity to environmental change, to examine the trends and patterns involved and to identify key areas for future research and international collaboration. The papers were grouped together into six main themes. The papers on Global patterns and Regional and national patterns are primarily concerned with sediment yields and provide a valuable synthesis of existing information both at the global scale and from specific areas of the world. They are complemented by a group of papers dealing more specifically with Soil erosion perspectives which emphasize the significance of soil erosion in many parts of the globe. Any attempt to explain global and regional patterns of erosion and sediment yield must clearly take account of contrasts in the erosional and sediment conveyance systems operating in different morphoclimatic zones, and a further group of papers therefore focuses on Sediment dynamics in contrasting environments. Attention is also given to the sensitivity of erosion and sediment yields to environmental change in a section devoted to Trends in sediment yield. The wider environmental and economic significance of increased sediment loads in rivers and associated management issues are emphasized by the final group of papers dealing with Sedimentation problems and sediment management. The Symposium was a contribution to Projects 2.1 and 2.2 of UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme (IHP-V) which focus on vegetation, land use and erosion processes and on sedimentation processes in reservoirs and deltas. Calibration and Reliability in Groundwater Modelling: Edited by Karl Kovar & Paul van der Heijde. IAHS Publication No. 237 (published September 1996) in the IAHS Series of Proceedings and Reports. ISBN 0-947571-94-9 ; 606+x pp. ; price £ 55.00. In recent years, significant research has been conducted resulting in a variety of approaches that can be used to incorporate information about errors relating to model formulation into the modelling process and to establish the level of uncertainty in model-based decision-making. Increasingly, these new techniques are being applied to a variety of problems and sites. As at the previous conference in the series, ModelCARE 90, (held in The Netherlands, 1990), the major objectives of the ModelCARE96 Conference (held in September 1996 at Golden, Colorado, USA) were to provide an international forum for state-of-the-art presentations on relevant methodologies and techniques, and to identify the needs for future developments. In addition, the conference was intended to illustrate the practicality of various techniques through advanced case studies on calibration and reliability assessment. This new proceedings volume contains 59 papers spread over the six topics into which the conference was organized. (The proceedings of ModelCARE 90 were published as IAHS Publ. No. 195 in the same series as this new proceedings volume. The price is £ 35.50 and the publication is available from IAHS press) L'hydrologie tropicale: géoscience et outil pour le développement (Tropical Hydrology : A Geoscience and a Tool for Sustainability). Mélanges à la mémoire de Jean Rodier (Dedicated to the memory of Jean Rodier). Edited by P. Chevallier & B. Pouyaud. IAHS Publication No. 238 (published December 1996) in the IAHS Series of Proceedings and Reports. ISBN 0-947571-99-X ; 436 + xii pp. ; price £ 48.50. Jean Rodier devoted his professional life to tropical regions and developing countries. One year after his death the 11th "Journées Hydrologiques de l'Orstom" provided an opportunity to pay him homage - an international conference dedicated to his memory was organized and held in Paris from 3 to 4 May 1995. The title of this conference was "L'hydrologie tropicale : géoscience et outil pour le développement (Tropical hydrology : a geoscience and a tool for sustainability)" reflecting perfectly the framework and the objectives of Jean Rodier's work. The 30 principal papers presented at this conference are brought together in this publication. At a time when water is a major challenge in the relationships between societies, this book demonstrates the interest of scientific specialists concerned with the tropical world. It is concerned with the improvements of knowledge, methods and techniques, and how these can be applied in the developing countries of the tropics. While recalling Jean Rodier's approach and teachings, this book also considers the state of the art and the prospects for the future. The titles and abstracts of all the papers are provided in both French and English and the papers are arranged in five sections:
Calendar of meetings organized/sponsored by IAHS in 1996:
The recipient of the 1996 International Hydrology Prize, awarded jointly with UNESCO and the WMO, was Professor Desmond Midgley of South Africa. The citation for Professor Midgley, appearing in the January 1997 issue of the IAHS Newsletter ends, appropriately with the following: "Professor Midgley has been an exemplary exponent of applying basic hydrological principles to address real-world issues in a water-scarce environment such as that of southern Africa. He has a gift for reconciling the requirements of a site-specific hydrological study with regional hydrological patterns and trends. His vision that the immense spatial variability of rainfall-runoff conditions in the catchments of the southern African subcontinent can and must be overcome, has inspired the many post-graduate students, researchers and young water engineers who has benefited from his mentorship during the past four decades." IAHS produces a Newsletter three times a year which is widely distributed among more than 2 000 individual members and maintains a Homepage: International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Ocean (IAPSO)During this time period, the IAPSO Secretary General established a Web page at www.olympus.net/IAPSO/ which will be a valuable resource to the international oceanographic community. This Web page provides information on IAPSO and its activities and also provides direct links to IUGG, ICSU, various other scientific organizations of interest to oceanographers, universities, institutes, laboratories, government agencies, data sources, and other Web pages of interest. In addition to the Web page, direct responses were provided to various inquiries received by letters, e-mail, and fax. Activities continued to formulate the IAPSO Program for the upcoming IAMAS/IAPSO Joint Assembly to be held in July 1997 in Melbourne, Australia. The Joint Assembly has a Web page at www.dar.csiro.au/pub/events/assemblies/info.htm The IAPSO Commission on Sea Ice has organized a symposium and a separate workshop at this Assembly, and the Commission on Natural Marine Hazards and the jointly sponsored Tsunami Commission have also organized symposia. The final program was advertised and abstracts of proposed papers were accepted. An initial solicitation for proposals was issued for IAPSO symposia to be held at the upcoming 1999 IUGG General Assembly to be held in Birmingham, England, UK. Formulation of a proposed program is now in progress. The IAPSO President continues to serve as IAPSO's representative to ICSU's Scientific Committee on Ocean Research (SCOR). In that capacity he attended SCOR's meeting in Southampton, England, UK. The IAPSO Commission on Natural Marine Hazards co-sponsored and was a primary organizer of three scientific meetings. These were: Hazards '96 held in Toronto, Canada, in July 1996 as a continuation of a series of international meetings on hazards; Coastal Zone Canada '96 held in Rimouski, Quebec, in August 1996; and Natural and Technological Coastal Hazards held in Tirupati, India, in December 1996. The meeting in India was part of an initiative to hold scientific meetings in countries in need, recognizing that scientists in those countries often have difficulty in obtaining travel funds to attend meetings outside their immediate geographic area. The IAPSO Commission on Mean Sea Level and Tides, and IAPSO's Permanent Service on Mean Sea Level, provided scientific support and co-sponsorship of a meeting, Tidal Science, at the Royal Society in London, England, UK, in October 1996. The Permanent Service on Mean Sea Level continues to provide data and provides the GLOSS Bulletin which is available on the World Wide Web. The IAPSO Commission for Cooperation with Developing Countries completed a draft of an IAPSO publication on Oceanography in Developing Countries. Present Plans are to publish that in cooperation with a university in India. The publication incorporates papers presented at the IUGG General Assembly in 1991 and the IAPSO General Assembly in 1995. The IAPSO Standard Sea Water Service continues to serve the international oceanographic community. The Tsunami Commission is now jointly sponsored by IAPSO, IASPEI, and IAVCEI. The IAVCEI sponsorship was added in 1996. That Commission will report separately to IUGG. BRIEF REPORT ON USE OF 1996 ICSU GRANT AND UNESCO SUBVENTIONSeismic and Other GeophysicalInstrumentation The grant (US $ 8,200) was used for bringing scientists from developing countries to the meeting, also for training and teaching, and for planning/co-ordination. A more complete report is given as annex 1.Intermagnet Program A more complete report is given as annex 2.Modelling solute leaching due to fingering in non-structured
soil CONCLUSION AND FUTURE PLANSDates and places of the G.A.s of the Associations
Date and place of the 22nd Union General AssemblyJuly 19-30, 1999, Birmingham (United Kingdom) ANNEX 1A REPORT ON CDC/IDNDR WORKSHOP ON "SEISMIC AND OTHER GEOPHYSICAL INSTRUMENTATION" The CDC/IDNDR workshop on "Seismic and other Geophysical Instrumentation" was successfully conducted at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad, India during 9-20 December, 1996 as per schedule. The workshop was attended by 16 participants from various developing and earthquake-prone countries. A list of participants is given in Annexure 1. The expert panel consisted of Dr. R.D. Adams from ISC, Newbury, Prof. A. Nikolaev from the Institute of Physics of the Earth, Moscow and scientists from NGRI (Annexure 2). The participants arrived Hyderabad mostly between 7 and 9 December. There was a short informal inaugural function in the morning of 9 December. Dr. Adams presided over the function. Dr. H.K. Gupta welcomed the participants and gave the background of the workshop. The first lecture, immediately after the inaugural function, was delivered by Dr. Adams on "Development of International Seismology", which was followed by a series of lectures by various NGRI experts. As the name of the workshop indicates, the emphasis was laid mainly on seismic instrumentation. Global Positioning Systems, Magneto-Tellurics, Gravity and Magnetic instrumentation were the other subjects covered in this workshop. In addition to theory lectures, arrangements were made for direct handling of the instruments by the participants in real field conditions. A detailed scientific program of the workshop is given in Annexure 3. A complete volume of the lecture notes is given in Annexure 4. During the weekend, two excursions were arranged: one, a dawn to dusk trip to the Nagarjunasagar seismic observatory and dam, situated about 160 km from Hyderabad, and the other, a tour to various places of interest in and around the twin cities. Manufacturers of various geophysical instruments, namely Teledyne, Micronics, Geosys, Nanometrics, IGS, Reftek and some others, were invited to display their latest products and demonstrate their working to the participants. Two full days were allotted for this purpose. The representatives of these companies also gave lectures on the working principles and special features of their products. During the last three days (18-20 Dec.) of the Workshop participants took part in the annual convention of the Indian Geophysical Union (IGU) and the Seminar on "Geophysical Instrumentation". Four of the participants presented five papers in different sessions (please see Annexure 5). An informal valedictory function was held in the afternoon of 19 December in which certificates (please see Annexure 6) were distributed to the participants by Prof. Nikolaev. The participants were invited to give their feedback. Most of the participants expressed complete satisfaction. However, some of them felt that hands-on exercises on computers should have been given more emphasis. The organizers appreciated their views. The Workshop ended on 20 December along with the conclusion of the IGU convention. ANNEX 2Support for INTERMAGNET INTERMAGNET stands for International Real-Time Magnetic Observatory Network. Under the INTERMAGNET program, high quality geomagnetic data from a world-wide network of observatories are sent in near-real-time via satellite and electronic connections between computers to collection and dissemination centres called Geomagnetic Information Nodes (GINs). These are currently over sixty observatories from twenty-two nations (including former East bloc countries and LDCs) participating in INTERMAGNET, with six GINs operating in North America, Europe, and Asia. The number of participants is still growing. Data are disseminated to users in a timely manner, via electronic means, via floppy diskettes, and via CD-ROMS of definitive-quality data which are published annually. In 1996, the CD-ROM for the 1994 data-year was published and that for the 1995 data-year was finalized for publication. A Technical Reference Manual has been published, with the latest version having been produced during 1996. This manual is distributed widely to participating institutes of INTERMAGNET and to prospective participants. The geomagnetic data are fundamental to much geophysical and space science research, particularly concerning our near-earth environment. ICSU grants have in the past provided a key to the success of and the growth of INTERMAGNET. The 1996 grant has been used: for data publication and documentation; for planning/coordination and travel expenses to meetings for some members of the INTERMAGNET four-member Executive Council and of the ten-member Operations Committee. The Council and Committee, along with resource scientists, serve to: coordinate the effective worldwide operation of INTERMAGNET; establish quality standards and data transmission procedures and schedules; organize the efficient exchange of data within INTERMAGNET and to the world-wide user community; establish policies consistent with efficient operation and with any national constraints that may exist; seek ways to aid observatories that have funding, staffing, or technical problems (particularly those in LDCs and former Eastern bloc countries). The Council and Committee most recently convened meetings in September 1996 at the Niemegk Observatory, in Germany. Young, women, LDC, and former Eastern bloc scientists play important roles in these INTERMAGNET activities. Eighty per cent of the costs of these meetings are borne by the participating nations but without the ICSU and UNESCO funding that is generously made available, some key members would not be able to contribute their expertise to the growth of INTERMAGNET, and some observatories in critical areas of the world would have been closed down. Richard L. Coles for INTERMAGNET Executive Council |