File Katey Walter01.jpg thumb Katey M. Walter is an Alaskan aquatic ecologist and biogeochemist researching carbon and nutrient cycling between terrestrial and aquatic systems, and the cryosphere and atmosphere. Background Walter s research focuses on methane and carbon dioxide emissions from arctic and temperate lakes and wetlands in Alaska and Siberia , and the processes involved in greenhouse gas emissions from lakes, including thermokarst permafrost thaw , industrial plant emissions, geology, and changes in lake area. By using environmental gradients, isotopes, and remote sensing as tools, she hopes for an improved understanding of the basic processes in lake ecosystems. Many newly formed Arctic lakes have bacteria feeding on plant detritus previously frozen underground and producing methane as a waste product. Methane s contribution to the greenhouse effect is considerably more than that of carbon dioxide. Global warming extrapolations could be grossly underestimated if methane contributions from lakes have not been properly studied and are not taken into account. Studies of ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica have shown that in the early Holocene Period, between 14 000 and 11 500 years ago, methane concentration in the atmosphere spiked and was from a northern source. These spikes would be cyclic, coinciding with and aggravating global warming. Honours, awards and achievements In March 2007 Walter was appointed the Presidential International Polar Year Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Walter, who is fluent in Russian, works as project coordinator at Chersky research station Chersky for joint Russian U.S. projects over the International Polar Year , aiming to network arctic observatories in Alaska and Russia for long term monitoring of climate change in cold regions. Walter, who has conducted research projects in Russia, Germany, Central America and the United States, has an M.Sc in Ecology from the University of California with ... more details
wiktionary sphere A sphere is an object shaped like a ball and can also be used to refer to a sphere like region or List of algebraic structures shell . Sphere may also refer to tocright In mathematics Ball mathematics , the volume inside a sphere n sphere n sphere , the set of points a fixed distance from a central point in n 1 dimensional space In sociology Public sphere , an area where individuals can discuss social problems In astronomy Celestial sphere , the astronomical description of the sky Armillary sphere , a physical model of the celestial sphere Celestial spheres or planetary spheres, refer to a geocentric model of the universe and the associated postulate of a Musica Universalis Music of the Spheres Hill sphere , the spherical region around an astronomical body where the primary gravitational influence on an orbiting object is that body Sphere of influence astrodynamics , similar to the Hill sphere, but smaller, only about 60 of the radius Sphere of influence astronomy , a region around a supermassive black hole In Earth science planetary science Atmosphere Earth s atmosphere Celestial body atmosphere s Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere Exosphere Magnetosphere Biosphere Anthroposphere Hydrosphere Cryosphere sometimes included in the hydrosphere Geosphere Lithosphere Pedosphere Soil Crust geology Mantle geology Asthenosphere Mesosphere mantle Planetary core Inner core Outer core In stellar physics The layers of a star, in particular of the Sun Solar core Radiation zone Convection zone Photosphere Chromosphere Corona In geology A type of spherical stone Stone balls Artificial stone spheres Petrosphere s Lapidary spheres Stone Round shot cannonballs Spherical stone shot for Trebuchet s Stone spheres of Costa Rica Carved Stone Balls of Scotland Natural stone spheres Spherulites Megaspherulites Concretions cannonball Spheroidal weathering that creates spherical corestones Figurative metaphorical Noosphere , the sphere of human thought and or c ... more details
Image Logo egu.png right The European Geosciences Union or EGU is an interdisciplinary Non profit organization non profit learned society open to individuals who are professionally engaged in or associated with geosciences , planetary science planetary and space sciences , and related studies.The mission statement of the EGU is Dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the geosciences and the planetary and space sciences for the benefit of humanity. The objectives of the EGU are the promotion of the sciences of the Earth and its environment and of planetary and space sciences, and cooperation between scientists. History The EGU was established by the merger of the European Geophysical Society EGS and the European Union of Geosciences EUG on 7 September 2002. Publications The EGU publishes several peer reviewed scientific journal s and book series, including Advances in Geosciences , Annales Geophysicae , Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics , Biogeosciences , Climate of the Past , eEarth , Geoscientific Model Development , Hydrology and Earth System Sciences , Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences , Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics , Ocean Science journal Ocean Science , The Cryosphere , and the Stephan Mueller Special Publication Series . Most of these publications are open access publishing open access . ref cite web url http www.egu.eu publications statement online open access publishing.html title EGU Online Open Access Publishing publisher European Geosciences Union work Homepage accessdate 2011 07 15 ref Meetings The European Geosciences Union convenes a General Assembly every year. In 2011 this included 4,333 oral and 8,439 poster presentations in 707 sessions. At the conference 10,725 scientists from 96 countries participated, of which 28 were students http meetings.copernicus.org egu2011 .Abstracts of presentations are published in the Geophysical Research Abstracts print ISSN 1029 7006 , online ISSN 1607 7962 . Broad subject coverage for this general ass ... more details
File NOAA logo.svg 150px right NOAA The Earth System Research Laboratory ESRL is a laboratory in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research OAR . ESRL combines six separate NOAA labs under one organization to provide a more effective and coordinated management structure into four Divisions Global Monitoring, Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, and Global Systems. The former labs falling into ESRL are the Aeronomy Laboratory , the Climate Diagnostics Center , the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory , the Environmental Technology Laboratory , the Forecast Systems Laboratory , and the Surface Radiation Research Branch of the Air Resources Laboratory . ref merge Mission ESRL s mission is to observe and understand the Earth system and to develop products that will advance NOAA s environmental information and services on global to local scales. The lab will achieve this goal by understanding the roles of gases and particles in climate change, assisting water resources water management decisions with climate information, improving weather prediction, studying recovery of the ozone layer , and developing Air Quality Index air quality forecast models . ref mission Global Monitoring Division GMD The goal of the GMD is to conduct long term continuous measurement of atmospheric gasses, particles and radiation on a global scale in order to understand climate forcing , ozone depletion and air quality. This information will be used to support global and regional decisions, climate projections and carbon management. ref gmd Physical Sciences Division PSD The PSD conducts research to understand the physical environment the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere , and land in order to improve local to global weather and climate predictions. ref psd Chemical Sciences Division CSD The CSD studies chemical processes in the Earth s atmosphere that affect climate, air quality, and the ozone layer. ref csd Global Systems Division GSD ... more details
See also Index of earth science articles The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to earth science Earth science &ndash all embracing term for the science s related to the planet Earth planet Earth . ref http wordnetweb.princeton.edu perl webwn?s Earth science&sub Search WordNet&o2 &o0 1&o7 &o5 &o1 1&o6 &o4 &o3 &h 0 Wordnet Search Earth science ref It is also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth sciences, and is arguably a special case in planetary science , the Earth being the only known life bearing planet. Earth s spheres Image Seawifs global biosphere.jpg thumb 300px A false color composite of global oceanic and terrestrial photoautotroph abundance from September 1997 to August 2000, showing Earth s biosphere. Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and ORBIMAGE . The Earth s spheres are the many spheres into which the planet Earth is divided. The four most often recognized are the atmosphere , the biosphere , the hydrosphere and the geosphere . As a whole, the system is sometimes referred to as an ecosphere. Listed roughly from outermost to innermost the named spheres of the Earth are Magnetosphere Atmosphere , the gases that surround the Earth its air By altitude Exosphere Exobase Ionosphere Thermopause Thermosphere Mesopause Mesosphere Stratopause Stratosphere Ozone layer Tropopause Troposphere Planetary boundary layer By air turbulence Heterosphere Turbopause Homosphere Biosphere , all life on Earth Anthroposphere Noosphere rare Hydrosphere , all water found on, under, and over the surface of Earth Cryosphere sometimes Pedosphere Geosphere Lithosphere Crust geology Asthenosphere Mesosphere mantle Mesosphere Earth s mantle Earth s core Inner core Outer core Branches of earth science Geology Geology Economic geology Engineering geology Environmental geology Quaternary geology Planetary geology Petroleum geology Historical geology Hydrogeology Structural geology Geochemistry Geochronology Geoma ... more details
Marine regression is a geology geological process occurring when areas of submerged seafloor are exposed above the sea level. The opposite event, Transgression geology marine transgression , occurs when flooding from the sea covers previously exposed land. ref Monroe, James Stewart, and Reed Wicander. Physical Geology Exploring the Earth. Fifth edition Thomson Brooks Cole, 2005 p. 162. ref Evidence of marine regressions and transgressions occurs throughout the fossil record, and these fluctuations are thought to have caused or contributed to several Extinction event mass extinctions , among them the Permian Triassic extinction event 250 million years ago and Cretaceous Paleogene extinction event 65 Annum Ma . At the time of the Permian or P T extinction, the largest extinction event in the Earth s history, global sea level fell 250 meters, or more than 800 ft. ref Vincent Courtillot Courtillot, Vincent . Evolutionary Catastrophes The Science of Mass Extinction. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999 p. 89. ref During the Ice age ice ages of the Pleistocene , a clear correlation existed between marine regressions and episodes of glaciation as the balance shifts between the global cryosphere and hydrosphere , more of the planet s water in ice sheets means less in the oceans. At the height of the last ice age, at around 18,000 years before the present, the global sea level was 120 to 130 meters 400 ft. lower than today. A cold spell around 6 million years ago was linked to an advance in glaciation, a marine regression, and the start of the Messinian salinity crisis in the Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean basin. Some major regressions of the past, however, seem unrelated to glaciation episodes &mdash the regression that accompanied the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Cretaceous Period being one example. A major regression could, in and of itself, cause marine organisms in shallow seas to go extinct yet mass extinctions tend to involve both terrestrial a ... more details
reservoirs of ground ice. Some researchers have suggested that a frozen layer, called a cryosphere ... water saturated sediments. A variation of this idea of a cryosphere is that an aquifer was created along with the cryosphere. As more and more ice was added resulting in a thicker cryosphere, the water ... an impact or movement of magma broke or melted the cryosphere, floods of water under great pressure ... more details
Infobox journal cover editor Eric Calais discipline Geophysics , Earth science , space science former names abbreviation Geophys. Res. Lett. publisher American Geophysical Union country United States frequency Biweekly history 1974&mdash present openaccess Frontier Articles section license impact 3.505 impact year 2010 website http www.agu.org journals gl index.shtml link1 link1 name link2 link2 name JSTOR OCLC 1795290 LCCN 74646541 CODEN GPRLAJ ISSN 0094 8276 eISSN Geophysical Research Letters is a semi monthly peer review ed scientific journal published by the American Geophysical Union that was established in 1974. The editor in chief is Eric Calais Purdue University . ref name GRL hollis ref name about Cite web title About Geophysical Research Letters GRL work Journal description publisher American Geophysical Union year 2011 url http www.agu.org journals gl about.shtml doi accessdate 2011 01 08 ref ref name editor Cite web title Editors work List of edtiors, their institution, and other information publisher American Geophysical Union year 2011 url http www.agu.org journals gl editors.shtml accessdate 2011 01 08 ref Aims and Scope The stated purpose of Geophysical Research Letters is rapid publication of conscise research reports that may significantly influence one or more American Geophysical Union disciplines. These particular geoscience disciplines are atmospheric sciences , solid earth , space sciences , oceanography ocean sciences , hydrology , land surface processes , and the cryosphere . GRL also publishes twelve invited reviews that cover advances achieved during the past two or three years. The target readership is the earth science community, the broader scientific community, and the general public. ref name about ref name disciplines Cite journal last Famiglietti first James S. title Geophysical Research Letters New Policies and Features journal EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union volume 88 issue 49 pages 537 556 publisher American Geophys ... more details
COI date July 2008 Orphan date July 2008 The Glaciogenic Reservoir Analogue Studies Project GRASP is a research group studying the subglacial to proglacial record of Pleistocene glacial events. It is based in the Delft University of Technology . Introduction to glaciogenic reservoirs Glaciogenic reservoirs are sedimentary rocks deposited under an ice sheet influence and that are involved into a gaz or oil reservoir . The glacial earth system is complex to study. A large amount on past and ongoing scientific programs work ed on our cryosphere and generate a lot of debate about its dynamic, sustainability and behavior against climate change s. Past glaciations or ice ages record occurred several times Timeline of glaciation along the geological time scale . As they are hundreds of million years old, these ancient glaciations are even more hard to analyse and study. Earth at that time had a different atmosphere composition, the chemistry of the oceans was also different, life evolution on earth had also a great impact on the dynamic of these ice sheets, the continents were in a particular setting, etc. Geologists have a broad idea of all those parameters but glaciologists know that this is the combination of those setting that bring to our current ice age. A glacial system is able to produce a very large amount of sediment due to the tremendous erosive forces of ice at its base. Those sediments are particularly coarse grained principally sandstones and conglomerates and produced in consequent volumes http www.bgr.de ecord index.html? ecord basins basins focus.htm . For their good reservoir properties, ancient glacially related sediments have been targeted by oil industries. They are currently massively exploited in North Africa, in the Arabic peninsula, South Africa, and few small fields are present in Asia, Australia and Northern Europe. The main ice ages concerned are the Late Ordovician glaciation Hirnantian and the Permo Carboniferous glaciations. Project objective ... more details
Vallis plural valles is the Latin word for valley . It is used in planetary geology for the naming of landform features on other planets. Vallis plural valles was used for old river valleys that were discovered on Mars, when probes were first sent to Mars. The Viking Orbiters caused a revolution in our ideas about water on Mars huge river valleys were found in many areas. Space craft cameras showed that floods of water broke through dams, carved deep valleys, eroded grooves into bedrock, and traveled thousands of kilometers. ref name Kieffer1992 cite book author Hugh H. Kieffer title Mars url http books.google.com books?id NoDvAAAAMAAJ accessdate 7 March 2011 year 1992 publisher University of Arizona Press isbn 9780816512577 ref ref Raeburn, P. 1998. Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet Mars. National Geographic Society. Washington D.C. ref ref Moore, P. et al. 1990. The Atlas of the Solar System. Mitchell Beazley Publishers NY, NY. ref Some valles on Mars Mangala Vallis , Athabasca Vallis , Granicus Vallis, and Tinjar Valles clearly begin at graben. On the other hand, some of the large outflow channels begin in rubble filled low areas called chaos or chaotic terrain. It has been suggested that massive amounts of water were trapped under pressure beneath a thick cryosphere layer of frozen ground , then the water was suddenly released, perhaps when the cryosphere was broken by a fault. ref Carr, M. 1979. Formation of martian flood features by release of water from confined aquifers. J. Geophys. Res. 84 2995 3007. ref ref ISBN 978 0 521 87501 0 ref ref Hanna, J. and R. Phillips. 2005. Tectonic pressurization of aquifers in the formation of Mangala and Athabasca Valles on Mars. LPSC XXXVI. Abstract 2261. ref Nirgal Vallis and sapping Nirgal Vallis is one of the longest valley networks on Mars. It is so large that it is found on more than one quadrangle. Scientists are not sure about how all the ancient river valleys were formed. There is evidence that instead of ra ... more details
mergeto CryoSat 2 discuss Talk CryoSat 2 Merger proposal date October 2010 CryoSat is an European Space Agency ESA programme which will monitor variations in the extent and thickness of polar ice through use of a satellite in low Earth orbit . The information provided about the behaviour of coastal glaciers that drain thinning ice sheets will be key to better predictions of future sea level rise. The CryoSat 1 spacecraft was lost in a launch failure in 2005, however the programme was resumed with the successful launch of a replacement, CryoSat 2 , launched on 8 April 2010. ref http www.nature.com news 2010 100414 full 464962a.html Nature news brief The week in science dated April 15, 2010 ref ref http www.esa.int esaLP SEM7WFMVGJE LPcryosat 0.html European Space Agency article ESA confirms CryoSat recovery mission dated February 24, 2006 ref CryoSat is operated from the European Space Operations Centre ESOC in Darmstadt, Germany. Description CryoSat s primary instrument is SIRAL synthetic aperture radar SAR interferometry Interferometric Radar Altimeter . SIRAL operates in one of three modes, depending on where above the Earth s surface CryoSat was flying. Over the oceans and ice sheet interiors, CryoSat operates like a traditional radar altimeter. Over sea ice, coherently transmitted echoes are combined synthetic aperture radar synthetic aperture processing to reduce the surface footprint so that CryoSat could map smaller ice floes. CryoSat s most advanced mode is used around the ice sheet margins and over mountain glaciers. Here, the altimeter performs synthetic aperture processing and uses a second antenna as an interferometer to determine the across track angle to the earliest radar return. This provides the exact surface location being measured when the surface is sloping. The original CryoSat was proposed in 1998 by Duncan Wingham of University College London . The satellite s planned three year mission was to survey natural and human driven changes in the cry ... more details
The ESMF Earth System Modeling Framework is open source software for building climate , numerical weather prediction , data assimilation , and other Earth science software applications . These applications are computationally demanding and usually run on supercomputers . The ESMF project is distinguished by its strong emphasis on community governance and distributed development , and by a diverse customer base that includes modeling groups from universities, major U.S. research centers, the National Weather Service , the United States Department of Defense Department of Defense , and NASA . The ESMF development team was centered at NCAR until 2009, after which it moved to the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory . About ESMF Purpose ESMF increases the interoperability of Earth science modeling software developed at different sites and promotes code reuse . The idea is to transform distributed, specialized knowledge and resources into a collaborative, integrated modeling community that operates more efficiently, can address a wider variety of problems more effectively, and is more responsive to societal needs. Software architecture ESMF is based on principles of component based software engineering . The components within an ESMF software application usually represent large scale physical domains such as the atmosphere , ocean , cryosphere , or land surface. Some models also represent specific processes e.g. ocean biogeochemistry, the impact of solar radiation on the atmosphere as components. In ESMF, components can create and drive other components so that an ocean biogeochemistry component can be part of a larger ocean component. The software that connects physical domains is called a coupler in the Earth system modeling community. Couplers follow the mediator pattern and take the outputs from one component and transform them into the inputs that are needed to run another component. Transformations may include unit conversions, grid interpolation or remapping, mer ... more details
File Arctic Ocean.png thumb The Arctic Ocean and surrounding landmasses Unreferenced date October 2010 The International Arctic Science Committee IASC is a non governmental organization which is composed of international science groups participating in arctic science research. IASC is an International Scientific Associate of ICSU , and was established in 1990. IASC s main aim is to initiate, develop, and coordinate leading edge scientific activity in the Arctic region, and on the role of the Arctic in the Earth system. It also provides objective and independent scientific advice to the Arctic Council and other organizations on issues of science affecting the management of the Arctic region. The decision making organs of IASC are the Council and the Executive Committee. The day to day operations are supported by its secretariat headed by the executive secretary. IASC s geographical remit covers the Arctice Ocean and the surrounding landmasses. Since the founding of IASC, the scientific, environmental, economic and political realities of the North have changed dramatically. New problems and challenges ask for new or improved scientific knowledge. This increased need for knowledge of the arctic region has made international cooperation even more essential. In this light IASC has established five Working Groups WG that will identify scientific priorities and initiate and stimulate cross disciplinary initiatives. The Working Groups are living groups that rise and fall according to the scientific need of the community. The five Working Groups are Terrestrial WG Cryosphere WG Marine AOSB WG Atmosphere WG Social and Human WG Arctic Science Summit Week ASSW The ASSW is an initiative of IASC and organized in cooperation with the Pacific Arctic Group PAG , the International Arctic Social Sciences Association IASSA , the European Polar Board EPB and the Forum of Arctic Research Operators FARO . The purpose of the summit is to provide opportunities for coordination, collaboratio ... more details
MarsGeo Valley name Athabasca Valles latitude 8.6 N or S N longitude 205.0 E or W W length 285.0 km naming Athabasca River River in Canada. Changed from Athabasca Vallis. Athabasca Valles is an outflow channel on Mars , cut into its surface by catastrophic flood ing. It is one of the youngest known of these structures, probably forming only in the geologically recent past of Mars. ref http www.atypon link.com IAHS doi abs 10.1623 hysj.48.4.655.51407?cookieSet 1&journalCode hysj Hydraulic modelling of Athabasca Vallis, Mars Modelisation hydraulique de Athabasca Vallis, Mars ref The flood produced distinctive teardrop landforms similar to those found in the channeled scabland region of the United States on Earth . ref http www.msss.com mars images moc dec02 athabasca Mars Global Surveyor MOC2 322 Release ref It is thought that these landforms were produced though depositional processes wherein the floodwaters dropped sediment behind resistant bedrock outcroppings and craters. ref name 1066.pdf http www.lpi.usra.edu meetings lpsc2003 pdf 1066.pdf ref The source of water for the flood is thought to be Cerberus Fossae , at 10 N and 157 E. ref name 1066.pdf ref name Carr2006 cite book author Michael H. Carr title The surface of Mars url http books.google.com books?id uLHlJ6sjohwC accessdate 21 March 2011 year 2006 publisher Cambridge University Press isbn 9780521872010 ref Groundwater may have been trapped under a cryosphere which was broken when the fossae was created. ref Carr, M. 1979. Formation of martian flood features by release of water from confined aquifers. J. Geophys. Res. 84 2995 3007. ref ref ISBN 978 0 521 87501 0 ref ref Hanna, J. and R. Phillips. 2005. Tectonic pressurization of aquifers in the formation of Mangala and Athabasca Valles on Mars. LPSC XXXVI. Abstract 2261. ref The very high spatial resolution images from the HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed that all the flood features are draped by lava flows Jaeger et al. ... more details
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to hydrology Hydrology &ndash study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle , water resources and environmental watershed sustainability. Essence of hydrology Main article Hydrology Water Hydrologic cycle Cryosphere Branches of hydrology Hydrometry &ndash the measurement of the different components of the hydrologic cycle Chemical hydrology &ndash the study of the chemical characteristics of water Ecohydrology &ndash the study of interactions between organisms and the hydrologic cycle Hydrogeology &ndash the study of the presence and movement of water in aquifers Hydroinformatics &ndash the adaptation of information technology to hydrology and water resources applications Hydrometeorology &ndash the study of the transfer of water and energy between land and water body surfaces and the lower atmosphere Isotope hydrology &ndash the study of the isotopic signatures of water Surface water hydrology Surface hydrology &ndash the study of hydrologic processes that operate at or near the Earth s surface Catchment hydrology &ndash study of the governing processes in a given hydrologically defined Drainage basin catchment History of hydrology Main article History of hydrology Water movement pathways Above ground Evaporation &ndash Pan evaporation &ndash Interception water Interception &ndash Evapotranspiration &ndash Stemflow &ndash Throughfall &ndash On ground Surface runoff &ndash Overland flow &ndash Horton overland flow &ndash Below ground Infiltration hydrology Infiltration &ndash Pipeflow &ndash Baseflow &ndash Subsurface flow &ndash see Hydrological phenomenon Measurement tools Groundwater ref name Western Cite book last Western first Andrew W. contribution Principles of Hydrological Measurements year 2005 title Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences editor last Anderson editor first Malcolm G. volume 1 pages 75 94 place West Susse ... more details
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