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CLIMATE CHANGE IN CONGRESS - Special Issue - and Other Ways Scientists Are Leading Discussions on Air Pollution, Flood Risks, Mineral Stocks ...
Special
  VOL. 99 • NO. 12 • DEC 2018
                                                       Issue

CLIMATE CHANGE
IN CONGRESS…

                                …and Other Ways Scientists
                                Are Leading Discussions on
                                  Air Pollution, Flood Risks,
                                  Mineral Stocks, and More
CLIMATE CHANGE IN CONGRESS - Special Issue - and Other Ways Scientists Are Leading Discussions on Air Pollution, Flood Risks, Mineral Stocks ...
FROM THE EDITOR

This Moment in Time

A
           s geoscientists, we hold unique       of people who could be exposed to severe
           views about time. We stare at road    floods (“Millions More Americans Face
           cuts, at landscapes, at tiny miner-   Flood Risks Than Previously Thought,”
als in rocks, and we rewind time, seeking        p. 16). And when those disasters play out,
the exact scene that unfolded to generate        airways clogged with commercial wireless
the features we now see. We comb through         services could hinder disaster responses
data, analyzing, synthesizing, interpolat-       (“Wireless Frequency Sharing May Impede
ing, and extrapolating so that we can spin       Weather Satellite Signals,” p. 13).
up models to show us the future.                    Still more scientists strive toward con-
     While we look back and look ahead on        crete solutions. They create models that
minuscule and vast timescales, our feet          will help communities to better under-
remain firmly planted in the now. We need        stand the cascading effects of natural
open access to data now to fulfill our call-     disasters (“How Landslides Become Disas-
ing to thoroughly examine the past and           ters,” p. 32). They also band together to
future. We need to bring full attention to       provide opportunities to refugees with sci-
scientific findings now, to prevent irrepara-    entific backgrounds who are fleeing disas-
ble harm to our society.                         ters, both natural and political (“New Ini-
     This issue of Eos focuses on now, on this   tiative Aims to Help Displaced Scientists,”   Mohi Kumar (@scimohi)
moment in time. Regimes openly hostile to        p. 3).                                        Interim Senior News Editor
science are rising around the globe. State          A few, particularly those who study cli-
and federal science budgets are being            mate and environmental change, have got-
slashed; programs and even the very              ten creative with getting the message out.
vocabularies that capture scientific con-        They find allies in politicians who are
sensus on climate change and health are          poised to assume greater leadership roles
threatened with erasure. Many of our col-        (“The Push for a Climate Change in Con-
leagues worry that we’re sliding into a          gress,” p. 20). And they’re succeeding at
post-truth world in which facts, scientific      spreading their messages to those who
rigor, and logical analyses don’t matter.        help define popular culture (“Dive into
What can scientists do?                          Ocean Issues with Sherman’s Lagoon,”
     In the pages that follow, Eos gives snap-   p. 37).
shots of what we are already doing.                 In short, researchers are making strate-
     Some scientists frame their research to     gic moves right now to ensure that society
exigent concerns, showing how pollution          understands, embraces, and acts on sci-
already affects cognition (see “Heavy Air        ence.
Pollution May Lower Cognitive Test Scores”          This month, thousands of scientists from
on p. 8 of this issue) and accumulates in        around the world will gather at AGU’s Fall
our bodies (“Microplastics Found in Human        Meeting 2018 to discuss their research in
Stool,” p. 4). They demonstrate with data        the shadow of the U.S. Capitol. As AGU’s
that people can simultaneously keep their        president reminds us (“Solidarity Among
eyes on their pocketbooks and the envi-          World’s Scientists Needed Now More Than
ronment (“Conserving Riverside Habitat           Ever,” p. 19), the very act of meeting en
Could Bolster Bottom Lines,” p. 47). They        masse here and now sends its own power-
provide context about the extent to which        ful message.
the United States relies on other countries’        That message is simple: Science, sound
­natural resources (“Meeting the Mineral         science policy, and the truth matter. And
 Needs of the United States,” p. 26)—​           with a little strategy, even at this moment
 ­important information given the current        in time, we can share this message with
  rush toward trade wars.                        the world.
     Other scientists offer imminent warnings
  of clear-cut threats to human lives in the
  next months or years. They note that gov-
  ernment models fail to capture two thirds
CLIMATE CHANGE IN CONGRESS - Special Issue - and Other Ways Scientists Are Leading Discussions on Air Pollution, Flood Risks, Mineral Stocks ...
Earth & Space Science News                                                                                   Contents

   DECEMBER 2018
   VOLUME 99, ISSUE 12                                                                          FEATURE

                                                                                                                                   26
                                                                                              Meeting the Mineral Needs
                                                                                              of the United States
                                                                                              The U.S. Geological Survey tracks the supply
                                                                                              streams of 90 key mineral commodities. Its
                                                                                              work pinpoints where the United States is
                                                                                              most dependent on mineral imports and
                                                                                              highlights ways to reduce this dependence.

                                                                                                PROJECT UPDATE

                                                                                                                                   32

                                                                                              How Landslides
                                                                                              Become Disasters
                                                                                              A new modeling platform, tested on
                                                                                              two recent natural disasters, simulates
                                                                                              conditions that dump landslide debris into
                                                                                              ­rain-​­swollen rivers, often causing more
                                                                                               damage than the landslides themselves.

                                                                                                FEATURE

                                                                              20
22 // Eos                                                                     December 2018
                                                                                              37       Dive into Ocean Issues
                                                                                                       with Sherman’s Lagoon
                                                                                              The creator of
       FEATURE                                                                                Sherman’s Lagoon
                                                                                              talks to Eos
                                                                                              about providing
   The Push for a Climate Change                                                              light-hearted

   in Congress                                                                                entertainment while
                                                                                              weaving in ocean
   Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) is on a mission to find bipartisan solutions, further             facts and larger
   Democratic goals, and end the dark money that spurs members of Congress to oppose          messages about threats to the ocean and its
   climate measures.                                                                          creatures.

   Earth & Space Science News                                                                                                  Eos.org // 1
CLIMATE CHANGE IN CONGRESS - Special Issue - and Other Ways Scientists Are Leading Discussions on Air Pollution, Flood Risks, Mineral Stocks ...
Contents

  DEPARTMENTS                                                                           Editor in Chief
                                                                                        Heather Goss, AGU, Washington, D. C., USA; Eos_EIC@agu.org
                                                                                        Editors
                                                                                        Christina M. S. Cohen         Wendy S. Gordon               Carol A. Stein
                                                                                        California Institute          Ecologia Consulting,          Department of Earth and
                                                                                        of Technology, Pasadena,      Austin, Texas, USA;           Environmental Sciences,
                                                                                        Calif., USA;                  wendy@ecologiaconsulting      University of Illinois at
                                                                                        cohen@srl.caltech.edu         .com                          Chicago, Chicago, Ill.,
                                                                                        José D. Fuentes               David Halpern                 USA; cstein@uic.edu
                                                                                        Department of Meteorology,    Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
                                                                                        Pennsylvania State            Pasadena, Calif., USA;
                                                                                        University, University        davidhalpern29@gmail
                                                                                        Park, Pa., USA;               .com
                                                                                        juf15@meteo.psu.edu
                                                                                        Editorial Advisory Board
                                                                                        Mark G. Flanner, Atmospheric Sciences         John W. Lane, Near-Surface Geophysics
                                                                                        Nicola J. Fox, Space Physics                  Jian Lin, Tectonophysics
                                                                                        and Aeronomy                                  Figen Mekik, Paleoceanography
                                                                                        Peter Fox, Earth and Space Science            and Paleoclimatology
                                                                                        Informatics                                   Jerry L. Miller, Ocean Sciences
                                                                                        Steve Frolking, Biogeosciences                Thomas H. Painter, Cryosphere Sciences
                                                                                        Edward J. Garnero, Study of the               Philip J. Rasch, Global Environmental
                                                                                        Earth’s Deep Interior                         Change
                                                                                        Michael N. Gooseff, Hydrology                  Eric M. Riggs, Education
                                                                                        Brian C. Gunter, Geodesy                      Adrian Tuck, Nonlinear Geophysics

                                                                              16        Kristine C. Harper, History of Geophysics
                                                                                        Sarah M. Hörst, Planetary Sciences
                                                                                                                                      Sergio Vinciguerra, Mineral
                                                                                                                                      and Rock Physics
                                                                                        Susan E. Hough, Natural Hazards               Andrew C. Wilcox, Earth and Planetary
                                                                                        Emily R. Johnson, Volcanology,                Surface Processes
                                                                                        Geochemistry, and Petrology                   Earle Williams, Atmospheric
Inside Front Cover:                        40–45 AGU News                               Keith D. Koper, Seismology                    and Space Electricity
From the Editor                            Celebrating the 2018 Class of Fellows.
                                                                                        Robert E. Kopp, Geomagnetism
                                                                                        and Paleomagnetism
                                                                                                                                      Mary Lou Zoback, Societal Impacts
                                                                                                                                      and Policy Sciences
This Moment in Time.                                                                    Staff
                                           46–47 Research Spotlight                     Production and Design: Faith A. Ishii, Manager, Production and Operations;
3–9 News                                   Yellow Detritus
                                                                                        Melissa A. Tribur, Senior Production Specialist; Beth Bagley, Manager, Design and
                                                                                        Branding; Travis Frazier and Valerie Friedman, Senior Graphic Designers
New Initiative Aims to Help                in the Oceans                                Editorial: Mohi Kumar, Interim Senior News Editor; Peter L. Weiss, Interim Manager/
                                           May Help Reduce                              Features and Special Projects Editor; Randy Showstack, Senior News Writer;
Displaced Scientists; Microplastics                                                     Kimberly M. S. Cartier, News Writer and Production Associate; Jenessa Duncombe,
Found in Human Stool; Huge Blades          Warming;                                     News and Production Intern; Liz Castenson, Editorial and Production Coordinator
of Ice May Partially Cover Jupiter’s       Conserving                                   Marketing: Angelo Bouselli, Marketing Program Manager; Ashwini Yelamanchili,
Moon Europa; Lidar Uncovers                Riverside Habitat                            Digital Marketing Coordinator
Thousands of New Maya Structures;          Could Bolster                                Advertising: Dan Nicholas, Display Advertising, Email: dnicholas@wiley.com;
                                                                                        Heather Cain, Recruitment Advertising, Email: hcain@wiley.com
Large Exomoon Likely Orbits a              Bottom Lines;
Faraway World; Heavy Air Pollution         Increasing                                   ©2018. AGU. All Rights Reserved. Material in this issue may be photocopied by
                                           Radiation Levels May Challenge               individual scientists for research or classroom use. Permission is also granted to use
May Lower Cognitive Test Scores.                                                        short quotes, figures, and tables for publication in scientific books and journals. For
                                           Space Exploration.                           permission for any other uses, contact the AGU Publications Office.

10–11 Tribute                                                                           Eos (ISSN 0096-3941) is published monthly by AGU, 2000 Florida Ave., NW,
                                                                                        Washington, DC 20009, USA. Periodical Class postage paid at Washington, D. C.,
A. F. “Fred” Spilhaus Jr. (1938–2018).
                                           48–56 Positions Available                    and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Member
                                                                                        Service Center, 2000 Florida Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA.
                                           Current job openings in the Earth
                                                                                        Member Service Center: 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Eastern time; Tel: +1-202-462-6900;
                                           and space sciences.
12 Meeting Report                                                                       Fax: +1-202-328-0566; Tel. orders in U.S.: 1-800-966-2481; Email: service@agu.org.
                                                                                        Use AGU’s Geophysical Electronic Manuscript Submissions system
A Cross-Sectoral Approach to Tackle
Ocean Plastic Pollution.
                                           Inside Back Cover:                           to submit a manuscript: http://eos-submit.agu.org.
                                                                                        Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect official
                                           Postcards from the Field                     positions of AGU unless expressly stated.
                                           Researchers view the aurorae over            Christine W. McEntee, Executive Director/CEO
13–19 Opinion
                                           Utqiaġvik, Alaska.
Wireless Frequency Sharing May
Impede Weather Satellite Signals;
Millions More Americans Face Flood
                                           On the Cover
Risks Than Previously Thought;             Credit: timonko/Depositphotos;
Solidarity Among World’s Scientists        Natata/Shutterstock. Design: Valerie
Needed Now More Than Ever.                 Friedman

     AmericanGeophysicalUnion   @AGU_Eos        company/american-geophysical-union   AGUvideos            americangeophysicalunion                 americangeophysicalunion

2 // Eos                                                                                                                                                 December 2018
CLIMATE CHANGE IN CONGRESS - Special Issue - and Other Ways Scientists Are Leading Discussions on Air Pollution, Flood Risks, Mineral Stocks ...
NEWS

                            New Initiative Aims to Help                                                                             McGrath, who also is the coordinator of the
                                                                                                                                    InterAcademy Partnership, a global network

                            Displaced Scientists                                                                                    of 130 academies of science and medicine,
                                                                                                                                    said that there might be about 10,000 dis-
                                                                                                                                    placed scientists, engineers, medical doctors,
                                                                                                                                    and students in those fields among the mil-
                                                                                                                                    lions of refugees worldwide and that the
                                                                                                                                    numbers could increase with growing con-
                                                                                                                                    flicts and other causes of instability such as
                                                                                                                                    climate change.
                                                                                                                                       McGrath said that the science community
                                                                                                                                    can help those displaced keep up to date with
                                                                                                                                    current science so that when it is safe for them
                                                                                                                                    to return to their own countries, they can
                                                                                                                                    make a positive difference there. Although not
                                                                                                                                    all of the displaced scientists may want to
                                                                                                                                    return to their home countries or be able to do
                                                                                                                                    so, the initiative is not meant to be a brain
                                                                                                                                    drain, he added.

                                                                                                                                    A Resource, Not a Cost
                                                                                                                                    Maria Cristina Pedicchio, president of OGS,
                                                                                                                                    stressed that the idea is to provide displaced
iStock.com/Martin Barraud

                                                                                                                                    scientists with opportunities in Italy “but then
                                                                                                                                    to support them going back home to rebuild a
                                                                                                                                    new, more peaceful national context in their
                                                                                                                                    home countries.”
                                                                                                                                       She added that politicians and others who
                                                                                                                                    may be wary of refugees should understand
                                                                                                                                    that helping displaced scientists is a ­win-​­win

                            A
                                      mong the estimated tens of millions of    Geophysics (OGS), Italy’s National Institute        for the scientists as well as for host countries
                                      refugees worldwide, thousands might       for Astrophysics (INAF), and others.                that view the scientists as a resource rather
                                      be scientists, engineers, medical doc-                                                        than a cost.
                            tors, and students in those fields. A new joint
                            initiative by 10 Italian science institutions
                                                                                The parties to the                                  Looking for Ways to Help
                            hopes to help scientific refugees who have          agreement will work                                 “We are looking for ways to be helpful in this
                            been displaced because of conflicts or instabil-                                                        type of initiative,” said Giovanni Vladilo,
                            ities in their home countries.                      together “to identify,                              director of INAF’s Astronomical Observatory
                               The institutions have agreed to develop
                            research and study opportunities for scientists
                                                                                enhance and develop                                 of Trieste. Vladilo said that concrete actions
                                                                                                                                    could include conferring with other astronomy
                            in need, according to a statement issued on         professional and scientific                         organizations about considering special pro-
                            17 September in Trieste, Italy (http://​­bit.ly/­                                                       grams to help refugees.
                            italy​-­statement).                                 expertise of refugees and                              The new initiative is crucial for the scien-
                               The parties to the agreement will work                                                               tists in need and for the broader scientific
                            together “to promote, develop and consolidate
                                                                                asylum seekers.”                                    community, Vladilo added. “It’s important to
                            opportunities and common initiatives to iden-                                                           give a signal that scientists are involved in
                            tify, enhance and develop professional and                                                              society,” he said.
                            scientific expertise of refugees and asylum            The initiative suggests some initial steps
                            seekers,” according to a statement signed by        that include identifying the skills of affected     A Small Start
                            the institutions, all of which are based in Tri-    scientists, establishing research and training      The initiative “is a small start,” McGrath said.
                            este and the northeastern Italian region of         positions for some affected scientists, and         He added that he hopes that the accord can
                            Friuli Venezia Giulia.                              developing collaborations with other organi-        serve as a model for other research centers
                               The parties “will offer opportunities to         zations active in this issue, such as the Scholar   and universities in Europe or elsewhere.
                            affected scientists to enrich their profes-         Rescue Fund, Science4Refugees, and Scholars            Beyond that, he said, “What we need is
                            sional skills, to foster their human and pro-       at Risk.                                            either a ­European-​­level or ­global-​­level clear-
                            fessional development and integration, and                                                              inghouse where refugee scientists can regis-
                            encourage their reintegration in their country      A Responsibility to Assist                          ter, can connect, and can find ways to stay in
                            of origin once conditions allow,” the state-        Displaced Scientists                                the scientific system.”
                            ment continues. Science institutions that           “The scientific community has a responsibil-
                            signed on to the initiative include the World       ity to assist these people,” Peter McGrath,
                            Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Italy’s National        coordinator of the TWAS science policy and          By Randy Showstack (@RandyShowstack), Staff
                            Institute of Oceanography and Experimental          science diplomacy program, told Eos.                Writer

                            Earth & Space Science News                                                                                                                    Eos.org // 3
CLIMATE CHANGE IN CONGRESS - Special Issue - and Other Ways Scientists Are Leading Discussions on Air Pollution, Flood Risks, Mineral Stocks ...
NEWS

Micro­plastics Found                                                                                          93% of water in plastic bottles sampled was
                                                                                                              contaminated with micro­plastics. Despite the

in Human Stool                                                                                                mounting evidence of human exposure to
                                                                                                              micro­plastics, little research has quantified
                                                                                                              the risk and the impact.
                                                                                                                 In this new study, Schwabl and his col-
                                                                                                              leagues chose volunteers from countries

M
           ussels, sea salt, and shrimp: These        Austria, is another step in what researchers            around Europe and Asia and asked them to
           are just a few of the things that scien-   hope will reveal how micro­plastics move                keep a food journal. After 1 week, they tested
           tists have found riddled with micro­       through the environment.                                the subjects’ stool using a Fourier transform
plastics in the past year. According to research         “This is the first study of its kind,” said          infrared (FTIR) microspectrometer, which
to be presented at a conference in October,           Philipp Schwabl, lead author of the study and           identifies materials on the basis of the wave-
scientists can now add another example to the         a physician scientist in the Division of Gas-           lengths they absorb.
list: humans.                                         troenterology and Hepatology at the Medical                They found that every stool sample con-
   The study tested stool samples from eight          University of Vienna. The study, he said,               tained micro­plastics. They tested for 10 types
healthy adults and found micro­plastics in            “confirms what we have long suspected, that             of micro­plastics; the stool, collectively, con-
every stool sample tested (see http://​­bit​.­ly/​    plastics ultimately reach the human gut.”               tained all but one type.
­stool​-­micro­plastics). The research, which                                                                    “Personally, I did not expect that each sam-
 was presented at the annual United European
                                                      The study “confirms what                                ple would test positive,” Schwabl said. He
 Gastroenterology (UEG) Week in Vienna,                                                                       noted that the small sample size limited the
                                                      we have long suspected,                                 reach of the findings, but statistician Daniela
                                                                                                              Dunkler at the Medical University of Vienna
                                                      that plastics ultimately                                said that it is reasonable to estimate that more
                                                      reach the human gut.”                                   than half of the world’s population may have
                                                                                                              micro­plastics in its stool. Dunkler was not
                                                                                                              involved in the current research.
                                                                                                                 Two of the most common polymers found
                                                      The Facts from the Feces                                in the study were polypropylene (PP) and
                                                      “Plastics are pervasive in everyday life, and           polyethylene terephthalate (PET). “All par-
                                                      humans are exposed to plastics in numerous              ticipants had PP and PET particles in their
                                                      ways,” Schwabl said. Previous research has              stool samples,” Schwabl added. PP and PET
                                                        revealed that little flecks of plastic fre-           are components of plastic bottle caps and
                                                         quently end up in our food and water. A              plastic bottles.
                                                         study released earlier this year found that
                                                                                                              Dinner with a Side of Plastic
                                                                                                              All of this begs an important question: How
                                                          Plastic water bottles, which contain polyethylene   are micro­plastics making their way into peo-
                                                          terephthalate (PET), are one possible source of     ple’s guts?
                                                          micro­plastics that enter into water and food          Although it is still unclear where exactly
                                                           streams bound for human consumption. Credit:       each fragment came from, Schwabl noted that
                                                                           iStock​.­com/​­EasternLightcraft   “it is highly likely that during various steps of
                                                                                                              food processing, or as a result of packaging,
                                                                                                              food is being contaminated with plastics. In
                                                                                                              our study, most participants drank liquids
                                                                                                              from plastic bottles, but also fish and seafood
                                                                                                              ingestion was common.”
                                                                                                                 It’s too soon to tell whether these micro-
                                                                                                              plastic shards could have any human health
                                                                                                              risks, Schwabl said, because currently there
                                                                                                              are “no human studies that give answer to this
                                                                                                              question.” Studies in animals show that
                                                                                                              micro­plastics can harm intestines, hinder iron
                                                                                                              absorption, and even make their way into the
                                                                                                              bloodstream.
                                                                                                                 “Now that we have the first evidence for
                                                                                                              micro­plastics inside humans, we need further
                                                                                                              research to understand what this means for
                                                                                                              human health,” Schwabl said.

                                                                                                              By Jenessa Duncombe (@jenessaduncombe),
                                                                                                              News Writing and Production Intern

4 // Eos                                                                                                                                       December 2018
CLIMATE CHANGE IN CONGRESS - Special Issue - and Other Ways Scientists Are Leading Discussions on Air Pollution, Flood Risks, Mineral Stocks ...
NEWS

Huge Blades of Ice May Partially                                                                            Towering Tall
                                                                                                            Using estimates of noontime temperatures on

Cover Jupiter’s Moon Europa                                                                                 Europa and the reflectivity of its surface,
                                                                                                            among other parameters, the researchers
                                                                                                            estimate that ice on the moon sublimates at a
                                                                                                            rate of roughly 30 centimeters per million
                                                                                                            years. That’s millions of times slower than the

E
       uropa, a moon of Jupiter, has long been              As sublimation continues, the pits deepen.      rate on Earth, mostly because Europa is much
       heralded as one of the most promising              Over time, the cumulative sublimation eats        farther from the Sun. At the distance of
       places to look for life in the solar sys-          away at the ice, creating penitentes with typi-   Europa, “the Sun is 25 times less bright,”
tem. That’s because it contains an ocean of               cal heights of ­1–​­5 meters.                     Moore said.
liquid water beneath its surface that might,                Penitentes can last a year or two on Earth,        But even the creeping pace at which ice
much like Earth’s ocean, be a habitable place.            and they’ve even been re-­created in labora-      turns into water vapor on Europa is faster than
   But now scientists have proposed a poten-              tory experiments. The New Horizons space-         the rate at which Europa’s surface is eroded by
tial hitch to safely placing a lander on Europa:          craft has also spotted these features on Pluto,   charged particles from Jupiter. And because
Blades of ice up to 15 meters tall might be               where the towering columns are believed to be     penitentes form more rapidly than they’re
clustered around the moon’s equatorial                    made of frozen methane.                           eroded, they should exist on the Jovian moon,
region.                                                                                                     the researchers reason.
   These features, which exist in cold, dry               These blades could                                   Given that Europa’s surface is about 50 mil-
areas on Earth and have been spotted on Pluto,                                                              lion years old—on the basis of its relative lack
are formed when the Sun’s rays shine on ice,              prevent a lander from                             of craters—Moore and his colleagues estimate
causing it to completely skip melting into a
liquid and instead turn directly into a gas.
                                                          exploring parts of Europa.                        that penitentes as tall as 15 meters might
                                                                                                            tower over Europa’s equatorial region.
Known as penitentes—the Spanish term for                                                                       “The Sun sculpts these special features in a
religious figures kneeling in penance—                                                                      way that is remarkable,” said Douglas Mac­
because of their appearance, these blades                     Now Jeff Moore, a planetary geologist at      Ayeal, a geophysicist at the University of Chi-
could prevent a lander from exploring parts of            NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field,       cago who was not involved in the research. But
Europa.                                                   Calif., and his colleagues have proposed          remarkable or not, the spires themselves
                                                          another location where penitentes might           might not be good news. Penitentes would
Remarkable Sculpting                                      form: on Europa.                                  “imply a hazard of attempting to land on an
Penitentes are found on Earth in cold and dry                 “The raw ingredients seem to be there,”       equatorial surface of Europa,” Mac­Ayeal said.
conditions at tropical latitudes, for example,            Moore said. These ingredients include the
in the Andes mountains of northern Chile.                 moon’s icy surface, its cold temperature          Awaiting a Flyby
They begin to form when a field of ice natu-              (between −203°C and −141°C), and the rela-        Unfortunately, images of Europa taken by
rally develops small pits on its surface.                 tively constant angle at which sunlight strikes   spacecraft aren’t detailed enough to reveal or
   When the Sun is nearly overhead, its rays              it.                                               refute the presence of penitentes. However,
preferentially strike the bottoms of these pits,              “We hypothesize that penitentes can grow,     radar data of the Jovian moon are consistent
warming the ice. This warming ice doesn’t                 and indeed have grown [on Europa],” the           with the existence of penitentes near Europa’s
melt in a traditional sense: The air is so dry            researchers write in their study, which was       equator, Moore and his colleagues note.
that the heated ice immediately gets trans-               published in Nature Geoscience in October         Microwave wavelength radar observations of
formed into gas in a process called sublimation.          (http://​­bit​.­ly/​­europa​-­penitentes).        Europa have revealed that its equatorial region
                                                                                                            tends to reflect less radiation than its higher
                                                                                                            latitudes. If the moon’s surface is rough near
                                                                                                            the equator—due to penitentes, for example—
                                                                                                            that could explain these measurements: The
                                                                                                            deep pits of these ice blades tend to scatter
                                                                                                            and absorb radiation.
                                                                                                               In the coming decade, NASA’s Europa Clip-
                                                                                                            per mission is expected to put a spacecraft in
                                                                                                            orbit around Jupiter that will complete flybys
                                                                                                            of Europa’s surface, and scientists hope that a
                                                                                                            lander might follow. Moore and his colleagues
                                                                                                            are looking forward to mining the first data
                                                                                                            from the Europa Clipper mission, which will
                                                                                                            skim as close as 25 kilometers above Europa,
                                                                                                            to look for penitentes.
                                                                                                               “If they’re there, we’ll see them,” he said.

                                                                                                            By Katherine Kornei (email: hobbies4kk@​­gmail​
                                                                                                            .­com; @katherinekornei), Freelance Science Jour-
Penitentes in the Andes mountains in Chile. Credit: ESO                                                     nalist

Earth & Space Science News                                                                                                                      Eos.org // 5
CLIMATE CHANGE IN CONGRESS - Special Issue - and Other Ways Scientists Are Leading Discussions on Air Pollution, Flood Risks, Mineral Stocks ...
NEWS

Lidar Uncovers Thousands
of New Maya Structures

Finely scaled topography stands out in this ­lidar-​­generated map of Maya settlements north of the ancient city of Tikal,   (Top) A photo of the Maya lowland city of Tikal seen from
in what is now Guatemala. The large structure on the right is roughly 200 meters wide. Credit: Luke A ­ uld-​­Thomas/​       above the trees, coupled with (bottom) an image of the
­PACUNAM                                                                                                                     same view with the vegetation stripped away. Credit:
                                                                                                                             Francisco ­Estrada-​­Belli/​­PACUNAM

A
          team of 18 researchers has now                          The trick to peeling back dense vegetation
          mapped more than 61,000 structures in                involves lidar’s lasers, which rapidly pulse                  agriculture, a fact not well understood before
          the Maya lowlands. How? Two words:                   from ­low-​­flying planes. These pinpoints of                 the study. The team also found evidence of
airborne lidar.                                                light penetrate tiny gaps between leaves to get               elevated roads linking many of the urban cen-
     The scientists conducted aerial surveys of                to whatever may lie below, before reflecting                  ters, suggesting a closer connection between
northern Guatemala, repeatedly flying over                     back to the aircraft above. With a little pro-                cities than previously thought.
­long–​­abandoned sites of the ancient Maya civ-               cessing, scientists can use the time it takes for                “Seen as a whole, terraces and irrigation
 ilization that thrived between 1000 BCE and                   light to travel and reflect back to reveal precise            channels, reservoirs, fortifications and cause-
 1500 CE. The lidar data collected from these                  information about the elevations of the ground                ways reveal an astonishing amount of land
 surveys map in fine detail the ­3-D topography                and structures upon which the jungle grows.                   modification done by the Maya over their
 of the region, resolving ground features as                                                                                 entire landscape on a scale previously
 small as 1 meter. The researchers published                   What they found calls                                         unimaginable,” first author Marcello Canuto
 their maps and their interpretations of those                                                                               said in a press release about the project.
 maps on 28 September in Science (http://​­bit​.­ly/​          into question many                                               These findings may revise what scholars
 ­maya​-­lidar).                                                                                                             believe about Maya economics, population,
     One such map is the image above. Made                     of the accepted theories                                      and agriculture, the authors speculate, and the
  from the lidar measurements, it shows topog-                 of Maya life.                                                 data in hand could fuel more discoveries yet to
  raphy under the jungle canopy, revealing Maya                                                                              come.
  settlements that stood north of the ancient                                                                                   Lidar is “revolutionizing archaeology the
  city of Tikal in what is now Guatemala. A                                                                                  way the Hubble Space Telescope revolution-
  smattering of large and small buildings dot                     The team scanned more than 2,100 square                    ized astronomy,” coauthor Francisco ­Estrada-​
  the hillsides, some of them newly discovered                 kilometers of terrain in what it says is “the                 ­Belli told National Geographic earlier this year.
  in the most recent study.                                    largest single lidar survey of Mesoamerican                    “We’ll need 100 years to go through all [the
     Archaeologists can toil for years mapping                 archaeology.” What they found calls into                       data] and really understand what we’re see-
  one ancient Maya site by foot, wading through                question many of the accepted theories of                      ing.”
  the dense tangle of jungle that blankets the                 Maya life, the authors explain.
  region. But with lidar instruments, scientists                  For example, evidence of extensive agricul-
  can map in fine detail, from above, buildings                tural practices, from terraces to modified ter-               By Jenessa Duncombe (@jenessaduncombe),
  hidden beneath the undergrowth.                              rain, hints at a civilization intimately linked to            News Writing and Production Intern

6 // Eos                                                                                                                                                            December 2018
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Large Exomoon Likely Orbits                                                                                                          ing time on Hubble, then got to work meticu-
                                                                                                                                     lously scrutinizing the data.

a Faraway World                                                                                                                      Anomalies in Timing and Brightness
                                                                                                                                     Teachey and Kipping found that two aspects of
                                                                                                                                     the transit data from Hubble were consistent
                                                                                                                                     with their exomoon hypothesis. First, the

A
         team of astronomers has announced                          If future observations validate this hypoth-                     planet transited the star 1.25 hours earlier
         new evidence supporting the existence                    esis, the exomoon candidate, tentatively                           than expected on the basis of the orbital
         of an exomoon in orbit around a dis-                     dubbed K ­ epler-1625b-i, will be the first moon                   period measured by Kepler. “That is indicative
tant exoplanet.                                                   detected around a planet outside of our solar                      of something gravitationally tugging on the
   “Within our solar system, satellites are                       system.                                                            planet” during this particular transit, Kipping
abundant,” said David Kipping, assistant                                                                                             explained.
professor of astronomy at Columbia Univer-                        Two Telescopes, One Target                                             If a moon did exist, he continued, the posi-
sity in New York. “We have long assumed                           The planet, called ­Kepler-1625b, first came to                    tion of the moon in its orbit about the planet
that when it comes to exomoons, the ques-                         the researchers’ attention as a possible exo-                      could help explain why the timing of the Hub-
tion is not if they exist but, What are the                       moon host in 2017 after they analyzed data                         ble transit differed from that of the Kepler
physical properties of such a population?”                        from the Kepler Space Telescope. Kepler                            data. Imagine the influence of the moon to be
Kipping, who has been hunting exomoons for                        observed three transits of the J­ upiter-​­sized                   like pushing someone on a swing: Depending
nearly a decade, coauthored a Science Advances                    world during its primary mission. The planet,                      on when you push, the direction of your push,
research paper that announced the discovery                       about 8,000 ­light-​­years from Earth, takes                       and where you’re standing when you do push,
on 3 October (see http://​­bit​.­ly/​­teachey​                    about a year to orbit an old star that is slightly                 you (the moon) could make the swing (the
-­exomoon).                                                       larger and more massive than the Sun.                              planet) move faster or slower or not change
   Using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST),                           The Kepler data contained hints—subtle                          speed at all.
the team observed a ­Jupiter-​­sized planet as it                 blips in the host star’s emitted light that were                       Second, the Hubble observations of the
transited its host star and blocked a fraction                    slightly offset from the planet’s signal—that                      host star’s brightness showed two dips in
of the star’s light. It found that the timing,                    an exomoon might be orbiting the planet.                           brightness instead of just the one from the
shape, and strength of the planet’s transit                       ­Kepler-​­1625b was the only planetary system                      planet. “The location, shape, and depth of
showed peculiarities that strongly suggest                         out of nearly 300 viable targets that showed                      this event appear consistent with a ­Neptune-​
that it hosts a ­Neptune-​­sized moon.                             any hint of a moon.                                               ­sized moon [also] transiting in front of the
   “We are looking forward to the scrutiny of                        The preliminary results from Kepler were                         star,” Kipping said. The team also saw this
the scientific community on this work,” said                       tantalizing enough for the team to observe a                       secondary dip in the star’s light in some of
lead author Alex Teachey, “and we hope that                        fourth transit in October 2017 using HST.                          the Kepler transits.
we will have an opportunity to observe the                         Hubble provided a fourfold improvement in                             The team compared its data with outputs
target again before too long.” Teachey is a                        precision over Kepler for this star and also                       from a variety of transit models—some that
graduate student in the Department of                              made observations at infrared wavelengths.                         included or excluded exomoons and some
Astronomy at Columbia University.                                  The team obtained about 40 hours of observ-                        that included or excluded other exoplanets.
                                                                                                                                                   “We have tried our best to rule
                                                                                                                                                   out other possibilities such as
                                                                                                                                                   spacecraft anomalies, other
                                                                                                                                                   planets in the system, or stellar
                                                                                                                                                   activity,” Kipping said, “but we
                                                                                                                                                   are unable to find any other sin-
                                                                                                                                                   gle hypothesis that can explain
                                                                                                                                                   all of the data that we have.”
                                                                                                                                                      “The combination of Hubble
                                                                                                                                                   data with the Kepler data is really
                                                                                                                                                   an essential part of the moon
                                                                                                                                                   search,” Teachey said.

                                                                                                                                                   Moon of a Surprising Size
                                                                                                                                                    The ­exoplanet-​­exomoon system
                                                                                                                                                    suggested by the new observa-
                                                                                                                                                    tions has mass and radius ratios
                                                                                                                                                    similar to those of the ­Earth-​
                                                                                                                                                   ­Moon system but that are scaled
                                                                                                                                                    up by a factor of 11. If you were on
                                                                                                                                                    a spaceship flying through the
                                                                                                                                                    planet’s atmosphere, the exo-
                                                                                                                                                    moon would appear to be around
Artist’s rendering of the ­Jupiter-​­sized exoplanet K
                                                     ­ epler-​­1625b with its hypothesized ­Neptune-​­sized moon, ­Kepler-​­1625b-i. Credit: Dan    twice as large in the sky as our
Durda                                                                                                                                               Moon does, Teachey explained.

Earth & Space Science News                                                                                                                                                 Eos.org // 7
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                                                                Heavy Air Pollution May Lower
                                                                Cognitive Test Scores

                                                                D
                                                                        eteriorating air quality around the          also supplied researchers with background
                                                                        globe has long been linked to declines       information on test participants such as where
                                                                        in physical health, including lung can-      they have lived and for how long.
                                                                cer, heart disease, stroke, and overall life            By isolating these individual factors, the
                                                                expectancy. Now new research published in            researchers could classify a benchmark value
                                                                Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of   for each group. Assuming that a person’s
                                                                the United States of America suggests that high      scores started at the benchmark when they
                                                                levels of pollution can lead to a decline in cog-    were young, the researchers began to ponder
                                                                nitive ability too (see http://bit.ly/zhang-         the factors that could have led to changes in a
                                                                2018).                                               person’s cognition over time.
                                                                   The study analyzed scores on cognition tests         Given respondents’ age distribution as well
Artist’s impression of the exoplanet ­Kepler-​­1625b (larger
                                                                taken by nearly 32,000 participants across           as the spatial distribution of scores over much
black dot) and its potential exomoon (smaller black dot)
                                                                China, searching for demographic trends that         of China, the factor the researchers kept cir-
transiting their host star. In this rendering, the planet and
                                                                may be associated with pollution levels. And it      cling back to was air pollution.
moon orbit the star from left to right. New data from HST
                                                                found them.
first showed a dip in the star’s brightness as the planet
                                                                   “Long-term exposure to air pollution              Pollution on the Brain
transited the face of the star. This dip was followed by a
                                                                impedes cognitive performance in verbal and          Personal experience led Zhang to consider the
second, smaller dip, which the team attributed to a
                                                                math tests,” Xiaobo Zhang, lead author on the        health effects of air pollution. Zhang told
smaller exomoon. Credit: Dan Durda
                                                                study, told Eos. Zhang is a professor at the         Eos that when he returned to China from the
                                                                National School of Development at Peking             United States in 2012, he immediately began
     The team was surprised that a ­Neptune-​                   University in Beijing and a senior research fel-     experiencing headaches and found it hard to
­ ized moon seemed to orbit a ­Jupiter-​­sized
s                                                               low at the International Food Policy Research        concentrate on research on days when Beijing
planet. Moons in our solar system formed as                     Institute in Washington, D. C.                       had heavy air pollution.
­by-​­products of a collision (like our Moon), by                  “The negative impact on verbal scores was            Past studies, the team notes in the paper,
 the capture of asteroids or other objects (like                more pronounced for men than women,” he              had looked at how air pollution affects chil-
 the moons of Mars and Neptune), or as left-                    said. “The damage increases as people age.”          dren’s test scores in school, so Zhang won-
 overs of planet formation (like Jupiter’s Gal-                    The researchers note that most cities in          dered whether the effects were the same for
 ilean moons). A ­Neptune-​­sized moon around                   developing nations, including China, fail to         everyone. He became curious about how low
 a ­Jupiter-​­sized planet does not fit any of                  meet international air quality standards, so         air quality might affect different subpopula-
 these formation scenarios, the team said.                      this study may have implications beyond Chi-         tions in China. Do air pollution’s effects differ
     “A moon like this is not necessarily read-                 na’s borders.                                        for older populations, for men and women, or
 ily explainable,” said Teachey. However,                          “The damage to cognitive ability by air pol-      for those who work primarily outdoors?
 “you certainly can’t rule it out on those                      lution also likely impedes the development of           So Zhang instructed his team to learn more
 grounds, because nature makes all sorts of                     human capital,” Zhang explained. “Therefore,         about air pollution at the locations and times
 things that we are still struggling to                         a narrow focus on the negative effect on             that the CFPS tests were administered. The
 explain,” he said.                                             health may underestimate the total cost of air       survey fortuitously recorded the precise times
                                                                pollution.”                                          and locations of the tests, which the research-
Cautious Optimism                                                                                                    ers used to gather local air quality data for the
The ­exomoon-​­hunting team received media                      Sifting Through Scores                               testing period. Specifically, the team exam-
attention in 2017 when its planned observa-                     Zhang’s team mined cognition test results            ined each location’s air pollution index, a met-
tions appeared on Hubble’s public schedule.                     gathered in 2010 and 2014 by the China Family        ric recorded by the Chinese Ministry of Ecol-
This sparked unsupported claims that the                        Panel Studies (CFPS), a national demographics        ogy and Environment that accounts for levels
team was more confident in a ­Kepler-​­1625b                    survey conducted by Peking University.               of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and inhal-
moon than they had said.                                        Among other questions, the survey included           able particulate matter smaller than
   With this paper, “we are urging caution                      24 standardized math questions and 34 word           10 micrometers, such as smog, smoke, ash,
here,” Teachey said. “The first exomoon is                      recognition questions of increasing difficulty.      and dust (see http://bit.ly/air-quality-index).
obviously an extraordinary claim, and it                        Responses to the survey, gathered from 162
requires extraordinary evidence.” The                           counties spread over China, are representative       High Pollution, Low Scores
researchers hope to observe the May 2019                        of the Chinese population, according to CFPS.        Several areas in China are hot spots of poor air
transit of K
           ­ epler-​­1625b with HST to further                     Demographic data collected with the survey        quality as defined by the air pollution index.
test their exomoon hypothesis.                                  allowed researchers to group participants on         The country’s northeastern coast from Shang-
                                                                the basis of personal factors like age, sex, and     hai to Beijing, in particular, has consistently
                                                                education level, which in China likely deter-        been a source of unhealthily high pollution.
By Kimberly M. S. Cartier (@AstroKimCartier),                   mine whether a person works predominantly               Most research into the cognitive impacts of
Staff Writer                                                    outdoors and breathes unfiltered air. The data       air pollution “have focused on the U.S. or

8 // Eos                                                                                                                                              December 2018
NEWS

                                                                                       also found that          pregnancies and infants, it expands our
                                                                                       1 week of exposure       understanding into pollution’s cognitive
                                                                                       saw a roughly 0.3-       impacts on other groups. He added that future
                                                                                       point drop in verbal     work should also seek to account for personal
                                                                                       scores, but 3 years of   behaviors, like smoking, which may affect
                                                                                       exposure saw a 1.1-      cognitive performance.
                                                                                       point drop.
                                                                                          Men’s verbal test     Reduce Air Pollution to Save
                                                                                       scores dropped nearly    Cognitive Function
                                                                                       twice as much as         Cognitive decline with age, the team notes, is
                                                                                       women’s after 3 years    a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, which
                                                                                       of exposure to heavy     costs hundreds of billions of dollars in health
                                                                                       pollution when com-      services each year and affects almost 2% of the
                                                                                       pared to the bench-      adult population over 65. “The damage to the
                                                                                       mark. For men, but       aging brain by air pollution likely imposes
                                                                                       not women, the           substantial health and economic costs,” the
                                                                                       decrease in verbal       team writes, “considering that cognitive func-
                                                                                       cognition after expo-    tioning is critical for the elderly for both run-
A person wears a mask to protect against heavy air pollution outside the Palace        sure to heavy pollu-     ning daily errands and making high-stakes
Museum in Beijing, China, on 5 January 2017. Credit: Kyodo News/Getty Images           tion was more pro-       decisions.”
                                                                                       nounced with                Reducing air pollution in China to meet the
                                                                                       increasing age and       air quality standards published by the U.S.
Europe, where ambient air pollution levels are               even more so for men with less than a middle       Environmental Protection Agency could
relatively low,” said Dave Marcotte, a profes-               school education. Men’s and women’s math           increase verbal scores by 2.41 points and math
sor of public administration and policy at                   scores dropped roughly the same amount in          scores by 0.39 point nationwide in future pop-
American University in Washington, D. C.                     each age group in those with the highest           ulations, the team estimated. Had these stan-
“Because China has relatively high levels of air             exposure to pollution.                             dards already been in place, men older than 64
pollution, it is a setting highly relevant for                  The researchers speculate that the differ-      who have been exposed to long-term heavy
other parts of the globe, including south and                ence between men’s and women’s verbal              pollution might have seen average verbal
southeast Asia and urban areas in Africa.”                   scores corresponds to differences in how white     scores more than 9 points higher than cur-
Marcotte, who was not involved in this                       and gray matter are activated in men’s and         rently reported, or the equivalent of moving
research, has studied educational impacts of                 women’s brains during testing. Past                from the median score to the 87th percentile.
air pollution.                                               research has shown that white and gray mat-           “Investment in cleaning up air pollution is
   When mapping these locations to test                      ter, used for more verbal and more math cog-       good not only for health,” Zhang said, “but
scores, the researchers found that overall,                  nition, respectively, have different sensitivi-    also for the intellect of society at large.”
lower verbal test scores matched times with                  ties to air pollution.
heavy air pollution, regardless of age, sex, or                 Marcotte called this research “an excellent
education level. This effect was stronger than               and convincing study.” He explained that           By Kimberly M. S. Cartier (@AstroKimCartier),
what was seen in math scores. The researchers                unlike previous research focused mainly on         Staff Writer

                                                                                              Mercury Mission Will Map Morphology
   Read it first on                                                                           and Measure Magnetics
                                                                                              http://bit.ly/Eos_mercury-mission

   Articles are published on Eos.org before they appear in the magazine. What’s Your Superpower? Science Communication
   Visit https://eos.org daily for the latest news and perspectives.     http://bit.ly/Eos_superpower

                                                                                              Making Sense of Landslide Danger After
                                                                                              Kerala's Floods
                                                                                              http://bit.ly/Eos_landslide-danger

                                                                                              U.S. Mint Unveils Design for Special Apollo 11 Coin
                                                                                              http://bit.ly/Eos_Apollo11-coin

                                                                                              Better Data for Modeling the Sun's Influence
                                                                                              on Climate
                                                                                              http://bit.ly/Eos_Sun-climate

                                                                                              Helping Geoscience Students Thrive
                                                                                              in Graduate School
                                                                                              http://bit.ly/Eos_geoscience-grad-students

Earth & Space Science News                                                                                                                          Eos.org // 9
TRIBUTE

                     A. F. “Fred” Spilhaus Jr.                                                                           third leg to the stool, one from which AGU
                                                                                                                         could give back to the broader community.

                     (1938–2018)                                                                                         The education, public affairs, and public
                                                                                                                         information programs became that third
                                                                                                                         leg.
                                                                                                                            With the help of thoughtful members, a
                                                                                                                         public policy effort took shape. Fred had

                                             “H
                                                            e was big-       Early in Fred’s tenure as AGU’s executive   seen such activities become divisive in other
                                                            ger than      director (1970−2009), he attended a confer-    organizations when politics rather than pol-
                                                            life.” “His   ence for society managers at which a           icy took over. Thus, AGU’s public affairs
                                               legacy will not soon be    speaker talked about the importance of         program became firmly rooted in providing
                                               forgotten.” “He left a     reducing the financial threshold for mem-      solid scientific information that could be
                                               lasting mark on all he     bership so that more could join. The princi-   used by decision makers in legislative and
                                               touched.” These sen-       ple was to have a low entry fee and then       regulatory entities rather than a program
 Alik Ismail-Zadeh

                                               timents, which are         charge for the products and services mem-      that lobbied for particular legislation. The
                                               often spoken about a       bers used. Fred was so struck by the concept   first public policy statement adopted by
                                               recently deceased          that for more than 3 decades—until his         AGU, issued in 1981, dealt with the impor-
                                                individual, can seem      retirement—he was able to convince the         tance of underlying scientific principles
                     A. F. “Fred” Spilhaus Jr.
                                                like clichés.             Council (today’s Board of Directors) to keep   when Earth science was being taught at the
                                                   But for A. F. “Fred”   dues at $20 for members and to reduce and      precollege level.
                     Spilhaus Jr., executive director emeritus of         maintain dues for students at $7. Fred had a      Having clear guidelines for how policy
                     AGU, who died on 30 April just 3 weeks shy           strong numeric base for keeping the dues       statements would be prepared was critical to
                     of his eightieth birthday, they are far from         low: The dues must always cover the incre-     maintaining AGU’s position as a learned
                     just words.                                          mental costs of serving an average member;     society. The guidelines ensured that mem-
                        Those who were fortunate enough to                they always did.                               bers had the means to provide input to the
                     know and work with Fred may speak of his                                                            policy statements before they were final-
                     vibrant personality, his strong work ethic,          Fostering an International Organization        ized.
                     his generosity with ideas, his seemingly             When Fred joined the staff of AGU, he             Fred was also a great believer in the
                     unflagging energy, or his attraction to good         became an employee of the National Acad-       importance of having strong national and
                     food and wine. And Fred embodied all of              emy of Sciences. AGU had been founded
                     that.                                                within the academy as the U.S. national
                        However, those committed to the                   committee for the International Union of
                     advancement of science know that there are           Geodesy and Geophysics. Only U.S. resi-
                     fathoms more. Fred held an unwavering                dents could be full voting members of AGU
                     passion for AGU and was deeply dedicated to          because each member was also a member
                     its members.                                         of the committee; others were classified as
                        When asked, shortly before his retire-            associates and could not vote or hold
                     ment, what he felt was most important                office.
                     among his contributions to AGU, Fred noted,             When AGU was “invited” to leave the
                     “the openness of AGU and the ability for             academy and it became a separately incor-
                     anyone involved in the Earth and space sci-          porated nonprofit organization in 1972,
                     ences to join and stay a member. Of equal            Fred thought it would be good to get rid of
                     importance to me is the fact that AGU                the ­two-​­tiered approach to participation.
                     always puts the integrity and quality of sci-        Although the Bylaws Committee put for-
                     ence first.”                                         ward a document that eliminated all geo-
                                                                          graphic distinctions, before adopting the
                     A Commitment to Communication                        proposed bylaws the Council reinserted
                     and to Keeping Dues Affordable                       U.S. residency as a condition of holding
                     Fred held three degrees from the Massachu-           the office of president.
                     setts Institute of Technology, including a              Five years later, when Canadian J. Tuzo
                     Ph.D. in physical oceanography. After a              Wilson was nominated as a candidate for
                     short stint as an analyst for the CIA, he was        AGU’s ­president-​­elect, no one checked the
                     hired in the summer of 1967 by AGU to be             bylaws. Tuzo won the election. So that he
                     assistant executive director.                        could serve, a special election to change
                       One of his early assignments was to make           the bylaws was held, and the last vestige of
                     the stodgy quarterly Transactions, American          AGU’s being a U.S. society was removed by
                     Geophysical Union into a monthly magazine,           vote of the membership.
                     which he did with the January 1969 issue,
                     adding Eos to its title. Ten years later, Eos        The Importance of Giving Back
                     became a weekly tabloid newspaper. Fred              AGU had strong publications and meetings       A painting of Fred Spilhaus, executive director of AGU
                     served as editor in chief of Eos for 40 years.       programs, but Fred said there needed to be a   from 1970 to 2009. Credit: AGU

10 // Eos                                                                                                                                                        December 2018
TRIBUTE

   regional scientific societies. He saw a         arguments. He never took arguments per-
   worldwide network of such societies serv-       sonally and never held a grudge.
   ing the advancement of science at local,           Fred had the greatest respect for his        The International
   national, and international levels.             predecessor, Waldo Smith, and frequently        Continental Scientific
     Although he wanted AGU to be welcom-          said that he was glad to have had a ­3-​­year
                                                                                                   Drilling Program (ICDP)
   ing to all Earth and space scientists and       apprenticeship under Waldo’s tutelage.
   students anywhere in the world, Fred did        When Fred was nearing retirement and            Call for Proposals
   not want the size and success of AGU to         the AGU officers insisted that he have his      The International Continental Scientific Drilling
   keep other societies from developing. He        likeness painted, Fred refused to have it       Program, ICDP coordinates and supports
   gave unstintingly of his advice to the lead-    hung until a portrait of Waldo was painted      multinational endeavours in continental scientific
   ers of other organizations and helped to        and hung first. Fred’s last official act as     drilling. The program focuses on challenging
   lend AGU’s resources for the good of oth-       executive director was to host a small          themes of global geoscientific importance
   ers. As new societies got started, it was       reception of members in the Washington,         underpinning socio-economic challenges,
   common to hear their leaders explain their      D. C., area to unveil Waldo’s portrait.         including climate & ecosystem evolution,
                                                                                                   sustainable georesources and natural hazards.
   programs with “you know, it’s like AGU’s”          In 2010, Fred was delighted to receive
   Chapman Conferences or Macelwane                the AGU tribute that had been named for         With this announcement, the ICDP invites
   Medal.                                          his mentor: the Waldo E. Smith Medal. It        Earth scientists to submit pre-proposals,
                                                   is perhaps fitting that Fred was one of the     workshop proposals and full proposals in which
   A Strong Leader                                 last to receive the medal before it was des-    drilling is required to achieve critical research
   Fred’s mantra was “There is no end to the       ignated an award.                               goals. This call is open to investigators from
   good you can do if you don’t care who gets                                                      ICDP member countries (Austria, Belgium,
   the credit.” He had an uncanny gift for lis-    A Lasting Legacy                                China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Ger-
                                                                                                   many, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, New
   tening to what members were saying,             Many of us who saw the energy and pas-
                                                                                                   Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
   especially in committee meetings, and was       sion Fred devoted to supporting the vol-
                                                                                                   The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United
   quick to figure out how to shape those          unteer leaders, especially during difficult     States of America) as well as from countries
   thoughts into a policy, an action, or even a    financial times, know that AGU would not        considering membership in the ICDP.
   new direction for AGU. Fred brought the         be as strong as it is today if Fred Spilhaus
   mind-set of a scientist to analyzing prob-      had not answered the call and made AGU          Please note that ICDP provides operational
   lems and developing solutions.                  his life’s mission. Today’s members and         support and allocates co-funding for drilling-
      He loved being in the midst of the action,   leaders can count themselves fortunate          related costs only; research grants for the
                                                                                                   project should be sought from national
   but he didn’t seek to be the center of atten-   that Fred had broad shoulders on which
                                                                                                   or other funding agencies. This concept
   tion. He had no need for personal aggran-       they could stand.
                                                                                                   of commingled funding and international
   dizement. Those who experienced his                Fred Spilhaus—scientist, executive,          cost sharing, in addition to an exchange of
   infectious laugh or shared in his joy in a      mentor, man of courage, bon vivant, col-        technological capabilities and expertise, has
   good story, especially a ­self-​­deprecating    league, friend—turned his zeal for defend-      proven very successful.
   one, may be unaware that Fred relished          ing the integrity of science and for advanc-
   solitude, in which he could recharge his        ing our understanding of Earth and space        In the proposal evaluation process ICDP
   batteries.                                      into a career that enriched individuals and     will consider scientific quality and global
                                                                                                   relevance, technical and financial aspects as
      He was a man of strong opinions; this        organizations around the world. Although
                                                                                                   well as equality, gender and contribution of
   meant that Fred didn’t always see eye to        his legacy will remain, the man who built it
                                                                                                   early career scientists.
   eye with everyone in the various walks of       will be sorely missed.
   his professional life. Fred appreciated that                                                    ICDP aims to foster joint projects with the
   others held passionate views that differed                                                      International Ocean Discovery Program and
   from his own. He enjoyed intellectual           By Judy C. Holoviak (email: jholoviak@gmail​    therefore cordially invites project proposals
   sparring and having ­well-​­founded, civil      .com), former Deputy Executive Director, AGU    in which coordinated drilling on land and at
                                                                                                   sea is required or land-sea transect drilling
                                                                                                   series are planned (“amphibious projects”).
                                                                                                   Joint project proposal submission will be
                                                                                                   accepted by both programs at their respective
            Join AGU for an informal gathering                                                     deadlines and will be jointly evaluated.

                                                                                                   Detailed information on the scope of the
                 during Fall Meeting 2018                                                          ICDP, the submission of proposals, proposal
                                                                                                   format, the process for developing a successful
               to honor Fred’s life and work.                                                      proposal, the grant conditions and the
                                                                                                   evaluation process is available at:
                    9 December from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.                                         www.icdp-online.org/proposals.

                                                                                                   The deadline for submission of all proposals is
                              Renaissance Hotel                                                    January 15, 2019. Please, submit a single file
                     999 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001                                           of less than 10 MB size according to the guide-
                                                                                                   lines via e-mail to the ICDP Program Office
                            Room Congressional B                                                   using: proposal.submission@icdp-online.org.

Earth & Space Science News                                                                                                               Eos.org // 11
MEETING REPORT

A ­Cross-​­Sectoral Approach                                                                                                 break down into smaller microplastics and
                                                                                                                             nanoplastics. The effects of these breakdown

to Tackle Ocean Plastic Pollution                                                                                            products, along with particles originally pro-
                                                                                                                             duced as microplastics, are poorly understood.
                                                                                                                             Other key knowledge gaps include the effects
Plastic in the Oceans: Challenges and Solutions                                                                              of bioaccumulation of plastics in food webs
Cambridge, United Kingdom, 7 March 2018                                                                                      and potential effects on human health.
                                                                                                                                  Workshop participants concurred that
                                                                                                                             innovative approaches and systemic changes
                                                                                                                             are required to achieve the goal of zero plastic
                                                                                                                             waste, end the existing “throwaway culture,”
                                                                                                                             and move from a linear p     ­ roduction-​­to-​
                                                                                                                             ­disposal system toward a circular economy.
                                                                                                                                  Delegates presented solutions that
                                                                                                                              embrace science, including replacing plastic
                                                                                                                              with natural materials and biopolymers;
                                                                                                                              green chemistry and fiber engineering;
                                                                                                                              chemical recycling of end of life plastic into
                                                                                                                              virgin materials; and reducing pollution via
                                                                                                                              ocean cleanup schemes, including wastewa-
                                                                                                                              ter screening, collaboration with the fishing
                                                                                                                              community, and robotic and floating waste
                                                                                                                              collection technologies.
                                                                                                                                  Workshop participants identified a number
                                                                                                                              of priorities for action, including the need for
                                                                                                                              coherent, clear, and simple scientific mes-
                                                                                                                              sages for politicians, the public, and other
                                                                                                                              stakeholders; the creation of best practices
                                                                                                                              guidelines for monitoring the marine ecosys-
                                                                                                                              tem; and the establishment of appropriate
                                                                                                                              certification schemes.
                                                                                                                                  The workshop highlighted the value of
                                                                                                                              ­cross-​­sectoral engagement and collaboration
                                                                                                                               in finding solutions to the global issue of
An Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) is entangled in plastic fishing netting at Bird Island, South Georgia, South     ocean plastic pollution. Workshop partici-
Atlantic Ocean. Research team members removed the netting shortly after this photo was taken. Credit: Claire Waluda            pants agreed that to tackle the problem
                                                                                                                               effectively, we need to move beyond the tra-
                                                                                                                               ditional “­science-​­policy interface” to a net-

P
        lastic plays a vital role in our lives; how-              Plastic pollution is a truly global issue—                   work of scientists, industry representatives
        ever, plastic waste is a burgeoning envi-              floating garbage patches have been observed                     (large to small scale), nongovernmental
        ronmental, social, and economic prob-                  in all five subtropical oceanic gyres. The work-                organizations, and policy makers working
lem across the globe. The estimated 8 million                  shop highlighted that plastic is now prevalent                  together toward solutions. They emphasized
metric tons of plastic entering the oceans                     even in areas far removed from human habi-                      that to genuinely change the system, these
every year pose one of the greatest ­modern-​                  tation. Attendees raised concerns regarding                     solutions must embrace science, encourage
­day threats to the health of global marine eco-               the levels of plastic debris in the polar regions               industry innovation, and be amenable to pol-
 systems. A great deal of relevant research and                and their potentially profound effects on Arc-                  icy facilitation.
 progress is currently under way, but effectively              tic and Antarctic ecosystems.                                      A comprehensive report from this work-
 addressing ocean plastic pollution requires a                                                                                 shop is available at http://​­bit​.­ly/​­plastics​-­in​
 multidisciplinary and collaborative approach                                                                                  -­oceans.
 with engagement from a wide range of sectors.
                                                               Plastic pollution is a truly                                       We thank the British Antarctic Survey
    Last March, the British Antarctic Survey                   global issue—floating                                           (BAS), Cambridge Conservation Initiative, and
 convened a 1­ -­day workshop to address these                                                                                 Cambridge Cleantech; the workshop organiz-
 issues and identify potential solutions. More                 garbage patches have                                            ing committee; the BAS Plastics Group; BAS
 than 160 delegates attended, representing                                                                                     students for documenting the proceedings of
 academia, media, nongovernmental conserva-
                                                               been observed in all five                                       the meeting and helping with the event; and
 tion and policy organizations, and industry.                  subtropical oceanic gyres.                                      all workshop participants.
 About a quarter of the delegates attending
 were representatives from international com-
 panies, small businesses, and ­start-​­ups. The                                                                             By C. M. Waluda (email: ­clwa@​­bas​.­ac​.­uk;
aims of the workshop were to identify knowl-                      Workshop participants recognized that                      ­@­clairewaluda), R. D. Cavanagh (­@­RachieCav),
edge gaps, explore solutions, and highlight                    although the impact of large-sized plastic                     and C. Manno (­@­claramanno), British Antarctic
future actions on ocean plastics.                              debris is well documented, large pieces can                    Survey, Cambridge, U.K.

12 // Eos                                                                                                                                                          December 2018
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