The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
nonprofit organization of Earth,
atmospheric
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
,
ocean,
hydrologic,
space, and
planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international fields within the Earth and space sciences. The geophysical sciences involve four fundamental areas:
atmospheric
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
and
ocean sciences
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...
;
solid-Earth sciences;
hydrologic sciences
Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...
; and
space sciences
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science:
Space science encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study natural phenomena and physical bodies occurring in outer s ...
. The organization's headquarters is located on
Florida Avenue in
Washington, D.C.
History
The AGU was established in December 1919 by the
National Research Council (NRC) to represent the United States in the
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), and its first chairman was
William Bowie of the
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS).
For more than 50 years, it operated as an unincorporated affiliate of the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
. On June 29, 1972, AGU was incorporated in the
District of Columbia[American Geophysical Union]
. '' District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs''. Government of the District of Columbia. Accessed on April 13, 2016. and membership was opened to scientists and students worldwide.
The AGU was intended to promote "pure" geophysics;
exploration geophysics has its own society, the
Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
[ In a March 1919 report by a committee chaired by ]Robert S. Woodward
Robert Simpson Woodward (July 21, 1849 – June 29, 1924) was an American civil engineer, physicist and mathematician.
Biography
He was born at Rochester, Michigan on July 21, 1849, to Lysander Woodward and Peninah A. Simpson. of the Carnegie Institution, geophysics was defined as a collection of "borderlands" (closely related, mutually dependent subjects): astronomy, geodesy
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
, geology, meteorology, oceanography
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...
, seismology, terrestrial magnetism, terrestrial electricity, tides, and volcanology. The AGU was organized under seven sections: Geodesy, Seismology, Meteorology, Terrestrial magnetism and electricity, Oceanography, Volcanology, and Geophysical chemistry. Hydrology was added in 1930 and Tectonophysics in 1940. In suggesting the latter name, Norman Bowen evoked a familiar theme: to "designate this new borderline field between geophysics, physics and geology ... for the solution of problems of tectonics."[
The first meeting of the AGU took place on April 23, 1920. In attendance were 25 members. Up to 1930, the number of members was restricted and members were elected. In 1932 the first annual dues of were imposed.][ The membership grew to 4600 in 1950; 13,000 in 1980; and 26,000 in 1990.][ As of 2018, it had 62,000 members from 137 countries.
]
Publications
AGU publishes the online magazine '' Eos'' and more than twenty peer-reviewed
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research.
Content
Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such as s ...
s:
*''AGU Advances
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's ...
''
*'' Earth and Space Science''
*'' Earth's Future''
*''Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
''Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems'' is a gold open access peer reviewed scientific journal specializing in Earth and planetary processes with a focus on understanding the Earth as a system. The journal is published by Wiley-Blackwell.
Accor ...
''
*'' GeoHealth''
*'' Geophysical Research Letters''
*'' Global Biogeochemical Cycles''
*'' Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems''
*'' Journal of Geophysical Research'' – sections A (Space Physics), B (Solid Earth), C (Oceans), D (Atmospheres), E (Planets), F (Earth Surface), and G (Biogeosciences)
*''Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
''Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Geophysical Union. It publishes original research articles dealing with all aspects of understanding and reconstructing Earth’s past clima ...
''
*'' Radio Science''
*'' Reviews of Geophysics''
*'' Space Weather''
*'' Tectonics''
*'' Water Resources Research''
The journal '' Radio Science'' is co-sponsored by the International Union of Radio Science
The International Union of Radio Science (abbreviated ''URSI'', after its French name, french: link=no, Union radio-scientifique internationale) is one of 26 international scientific unions affiliated to the International Council for Science ( ...
.
The journal '' Earth Interactions'' is published in partnership with the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the Association of American Geographers (AAG).
In addition, ''International Journal of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy'' is no longer published and AGU distributes ''Chinese Journal of Geophysics'' and ''Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics''.[ Many of the journals have high ]impact factors
The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as i ...
, with '' Paleoceanography'' having the highest within paleontology and '' Reviews of Geophysics'' the second highest within geochemistry and geophysics as of 2010. AGU has also been publishing books for more than 85 years.
AGU has also partnered with societies to publish:
* ''Chinese Journal of Geophysics'', with the Chinese Academy of Sciences
* ''Earth and Planetary Physics'', with the Chinese Geophysical Society
* '' Earth Interactions'', with the American Meteorological Society
* ''Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics
''Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics'' is an open-access peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing research within Earth science.
Abstracting and indexing
This journal is indexed in the following databases:
According to the ''Journal Cita ...
'', with the European Geosciences Union
* ''Interpretation'', with the Society of Exploration Geophysicists
* ''The Leading Edge'', with the Society of Exploration Geophysicists
AGU co-published (along with the AMS and the AAG) its first electronic journal, ''Earth Interactions'', in 1997. It started its own electronic journal, ''Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems'', in December 1999. It made a full transition to electronic publishing in 2001. For all its journals, the electronic version became the publication of record. This was accompanied by a new identification scheme for articles that entirely did away with sequential page numbers. Instead, each article had a digital object identifier (DOI). As an example, 10.1029/2001GL014304 consists of the publisher identifier (10.1029), the year (2001), the journal code (GL), and an article number (014304). This new system was met with complaints from libraries and scientists. The article numbers provided no clue for libraries to find an article in printed versions, and even scientific databases were not set up to handle DOIs. AGU officials claimed that the problems were a temporary cost of being a frontrunner, but did retroactively assign each article a four-digit article number.
In 2012 the journals and books, including over one and a half million pages of legacy content, were transferred to the Wiley Online Library. John Wiley & Sons were recognized for this work with the IT Project Team of the Year Award at the UK IT Industry Awards for 2013.
Five AGU journals are open access
Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...
only: ''AGU Advances'', ''Earth’s Future'', ''Earth and Space Science'', ''GeoHealth'', ''JAMES'', and ''Space Weather''. The remainder are delayed open access journals, having free access after a two-year rolling period.
The AGU hosts a number of blogs, collectively known as th
AGU Blogosphere
informally publishing frequent updates on the Earth and space sciences.
Texaco copyright case
AGU publications are copyrighted, but in the United States many exceptions to the exclusive rights of copyright are allowed under the fair use provision, part of the Copyright Act of 1976
The Copyright Act of 1976 is a United States copyright law and remains the primary basis of copyright law in the United States, as amended by several later enacted copyright provisions. The Act spells out the basic rights of copyright holders, cod ...
. Making copies of publications are allowed for such uses as teaching and research as long as a set of four criteria are met. However, when Texaco's corporate library made systematic copies of journal articles for its collection, AGU and five other publishers took Texaco to court. The judges found for AGU. Texaco was fined and agreed to retroactively purchase a license from the Copyright Clearance Center
Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) is a U.S. company based in Danvers, Massachusetts, (although it is incorporated in New York State), that provides collective copyright licensing services for corporate and academic users of copyrighted materials. C ...
.
Executive
Presidents
The presidents of the AGU have been:
* William Bowie (1920–1922)
* Louis Agricola Bauer (1922–1924)
* Harry Fielding Reid (1924–1926)
*Henry S. Washington (1926–1928)
* William Bowie (1929–1932)
*William Jackson Humphreys
William Jackson Humphreys (February 3, 1862 – November 10, 1949) was an American physicist and atmospheric researcher.
Biography
Humphreys was born on February 3, 1862, in Gap Mills, West Virginia to Jackson and Eliza Ann (née Eads) Humphreys ...
(1932–1935)
*Nicholas H. Heck
Captain Nicholas Hunter Heck (1 September 1882 – 21 December 1953) was a career officer of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps. A leading geophysicist of his time, Heck made important contributions in the study of seismology and o ...
(1935–1938)
*Richard M. Field (1938–1941)
*Walter C. Lowdermilk
Walter Clay Lowdermilk (July 1, 1888 – May 6, 1974) was a soil conservationist who worked in countries throughout the world to help protect and reclaim lands in order to better feed their population. Lowdermilk worked with the Belgian Relief E ...
(1941–1944)
*Leason H. Adams
Leason Heberling Adams (January 16, 1887 – August 20, 1969) was an American geophysicist and researcher. His principal achievement was his research on the properties of materials exposed to very high pressures, which he used to derive info ...
(1944–1947)
*Oscar Edward Meinzer
Oscar Edward Meinzer (November 28, 1876 – June 14, 1948) was an American hydrogeologist who has been called the "father of modern groundwater hydrology". He was awarded the William Bowie Medal
The William Bowie Medal is awarded annually by t ...
(1947–1948)
* Walter Hermann Bucher (1948–1953)
*James B. Macelwane __NOTOC__
James B. Macelwane, S.J. (September 28, 1883 – February 15, 1956) was a Jesuit Catholic priest and pioneering American seismologist.
Biography
Father Macelwane was the second of nine children born to Alexander Macelwane, a fish ...
(1953–1956)
* Maurice Ewing (1956–1959)
* Lloyd V. Berkner (1959–1961)
*Thomas F. Malone
Thomas Francis Malone (May 3, 1917 – July 6, 2013) was a noted American geophysicist best known for his contributions to atmospheric science and meteorology. His career ranged from a tenured academic appointment at the Massachusetts Institute of ...
(1961–1964)
*George P. Woollard (1964–1966)
*William C. Ackermann (1966–1968)
* Helmut Landsberg (1968–1970)
*Homer E. Newell, Jr.
Homer Edward Newell Jr. (March 11, 1915 – July 18, 1983) was a mathematics professor and author who became a powerful United States government science administrator—eventually rising to the number three position at the National Aeronautics a ...
(1970–1972)
*Philip H. Abelson
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
(1972–1974)
* Frank Press (1974–1976)
*Arthur E. Maxwell (1976–1978)
*Allan V. Cox
Allan Verne Cox (December 17, 1926 – January 27, 1987) was an American geophysicist. His work on dating geomagnetic reversals, with Richard Doell and Brent Dalrymple, made a major contribution to the theory of plate tectonics. Allan Cox won ...
(1978–1980)
*John T. Wilson (1980–1982)
* James Van Allen (1982–1984)
*Charles L. Drake
Charles Lum Drake (July 13, 1924 – July 8, 1997) was an American geologist who was Professor of Geology at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire.
Biography
He was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, the son of Ervin Thayer Drake and his wife Elizabeth Lum ...
(1984–1986)
*Peter S. Eagleson
Peter S. Eagleson (27 February 1928 - 6 January 2021) was an American hydrologist, author of ''Dynamic Hydrology'' and ''Ecohydrology: Darwinian Expression of Vegetation Form and Function''. He taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ...
(1986–1988)
*Don L. Anderson
Don Lynn Anderson (March 5, 1933 – December 2, 2014) was an American geophysicist who made significant contributions to the understanding of the origin, evolution, structure, and composition of Earth and other planets. An expert in numero ...
(1988–1990)
* Brent Dalrymple (1990–1992)
*Ralph J. Cicerone
Ralph John Cicerone (May 2, 1943 – November 5, 2016) was an American atmospheric scientist and administrator. From 1998 to 2005, he was the chancellor of the University of California, Irvine. From 2005 to 2016, he was the president of the Nati ...
(1992–1994)
*Marcia Neugebauer
Marcia Neugebauer (born September 27, 1932) is a prominent American geophysicist who made contributions to space physics. Neugebauer's research was among the first that yielded the first direct measurements of the solar wind and shed light on ...
(1994–1996)
*Sean Solomon
Sean Carl Solomon (born October 24, 1945) is the director of the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, where he is also the William B. Ransford Professor of Earth and Planetary Science. Before moving to Columbia in 2012, he w ...
(1996–1998)
*John A. Knauss
John Atkinson Knauss (September 1, 1925 – November 19, 2015) was an American oceanographer, meteorologist and administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1989 to 1993.
Knauss received a Bachelor of Scien ...
(1998–2000)
* Marcia McNutt (2000–2002)
*Robert E. Dickenson (2002–2004)
*John A. Orcutt (2004–2006)
* Tim Killeen (2006–2008)
*Tim Grove (2008–2010)
*Michael McPhaden (2010–2013)
*Carol Finn (2013–2014)
*Margaret Leinen
Margaret Leinen (born September 20, 1946) is an American paleoceanographer and paleoclimatologist. In 2013, Leinen was appointed the 11th director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, as well as the dean of the School of Marine Sciences ...
(2015–2017)
*Eric A. Davidson (2017–2019)
* Robin Bell (2019–2021)
*Susan Lozier
Susan Lozier is a physical oceanographer and the dean of the Georgia Institute of Technology's College of Sciences. Previously, she was the Ronie-Richelle Garcia-Johnson Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences in the Nicholas School of the Environ ...
(2021–)
Executive directors
While more than 40 presidents have provided scientific leadership for the AGU since 1919, operational leadership has been provided by just four individuals. The first was John Adam Fleming
John Adam Fleming, (January 28, 1877 – July 29, 1956) was an American geophysicist interested in the magnetosphere and the atmospheric electricity.
Fleming worked first at the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey with his superior Louis Agricola Ba ...
, who was elected Secretary in 1925 and changed the name of his position to General Secretary. He served as a volunteer while working at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution. By 1943, with the membership nearing 2,000, AGU recognized the need for a full-time professional administrator. The post was renamed Executive Secretary and Waldo E. Smith was hired. He served until 1970 and then Athelstan Spilhaus, Jr. was hired as executive director.[ Christine McEntee replaced him in 2010.][ Medals have been named after Fleming and Smith.][
]
Recognition
The AGU offers several awards, medals and fellowships.
Awards
* The Africa Award for Research Excellence in Earth or Ocean Sciences (established 2015), awarded annually to an early career scientist from the continent of Africa, "''f''or completing significant work that shows the focus and promise of making outstanding contributions to research in Earth or ocean sciences."
* The Africa Award for Research Excellence in Space Science (established 2015), awarded annually to an early career scientist from the continent of Africa, "for completing significant work that shows the focus and promise of making outstanding contributions to research in space science."
* The Ambassador Award
The Ambassador Award is one of the most prestigious Union level awards of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) that recognizes individuals whose excellence and leadership in research, education and innovation have significantly advanced Earth an ...
(established 2013), awarded annually to up to five honorees in recognition "for outstanding contributions to one or more of the following area(s): societal impact, service to the Earth and space community, scientific leadership, and promotion of talent/career pool." This is the only AGU award whose recipients are conferred AGU Fellows.
*The Athelstan Spilhaus Award (established 2006), named after Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus, Sr. who created the bathythermograph
The bathythermograph, or BT, also known as the Mechanical Bathythermograph, or MBT; is a device that holds a temperature sensor and a transducer to detect changes in water temperature versus depth down to a depth of approximately 285 meters (9 ...
and also a long-running science cartoon, "for enhancement of the public understanding of Earth and space science."
*The Charles S. Falkenberg Award (established in 2002), named after Falkenberg, who applied data visualization
Data and information visualization (data viz or info viz) is an interdisciplinary field that deals with the graphic representation of data and information. It is a particularly efficient way of communicating when the data or information is num ...
and information technology to earth sciences, to an individual "scientist under 45 years of age who has contributed to the quality of life, economic opportunities, and stewardship of the planet through the use of Earth science information and to the public awareness of the importance of understanding our planet."
*The Climate Communication Award (established 2011 and funded by Nature's Own, a purveyor of fossils and minerals) "for the communication of climate science."
*The David Perlman Award (established 2000), named after the science editor of the '' San Francisco Chronicle'', "for excellence in researching and reporting a news story that meets one or more of the following criteria: brings new information or concepts about AGU sciences to the public's attention, identifies and corrects misconceptions about AGU sciences, or makes AGU sciences accessible and interesting to general audiences, without sacrificing accuracy."
*The Edward A. Flinn III Award (established 1990), named after a leader of the NASA Geodynamics Program who directed efforts to detect motion of the Earth's crust using laser ranging, to an "individual who personifies the Union's motto 'unselfish cooperation in research' through their facilitating, coordinating, and implementing activities."
*The Excellence in Geophysical Education Award (established in 1995) "to acknowledge a sustained commitment to excellence in geophysical education by a team, individual, or group. To educators who have had a major impact on geophysical education at any level (kindergarten through postgraduate), who have been outstanding teachers and trainers for a number of years, or who have made a long-lasting, positive impact on geophysical education through professional service."
*The International Award (established 2007) "to recognize an individual scientist or a small team for making an outstanding contribution to furthering the Earth and space sciences and using science for the benefit of society in less favored nations."
*The Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA), "are awarded to promote, recognize and reward undergraduate, Master’s and PhD students for quality research in the geophysical sciences. Each year, Sections recruit judges to assess and score student oral and poster presentations at meetings. Typically the top 2–5% of presenters in each Section are awarded an OSPA."
* The Robert C. Cowen Award (established 1991), named after a long-time editor of '' The Christian Science Monitor'', "for a journalist or a group that has made significant, lasting, and consistent contributions to accurate reporting or writing on the geophysical sciences for the general public."
* The Science for Solutions Award (established 2012) "for significant contributions in the application and use of Earth and space sciences to solve societal problems."
* The Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism (established 2000), named after the renowned science writer of '' The New York Times'', awarded annually for science feature writing.
* The William Kaula Award (established 2003), named after geophysicist and physical geodesist William M. Kaula
William M. Kaula (May 19, 1926 – April 1, 2000) was an Australian-born American geophysicist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Kaula was most notable for his contributions to geodesy, including using early satellites to ...
, for "extraordinary dedication to, and exceptional efforts on behalf of, the Union's publications program." (Awarded on even-numbered years.)
Fellowships
AGU nominates members for fellowship in the society. According to the AGU website "To be elected a Fellow of AGU is a special tribute for those who have made exceptional scientific contributions to Earth and space sciences as valued by their peers and vetted by section and focus group committees." A maximum of 0.1% of the membership can be elected each year.
Medals
* The '' Charles A. Whitten Medal'' (established 1984), named after Charles A. Whitten, a former AGU General Secretary and geodesist, "for outstanding achievement in research on the form and dynamics of the Earth and planets."
*The ''Devendra Lal Memorial Medal
Devendra is a common Indian masculine given name. It comes from Sanskrit ' 'chief of the gods', which has been used as an epithet of the Vedic god Indra.
A list of persons with the name
* Devendra Banhart, Venezuelan/American musician
*Devendr ...
'' (established 2016) was named after Devendra Lal
Devendra Lal FRS (14 February 1929 – 1 December 2012) was an Indian geophysicist.
Life
He was born in Varanasi, India.
He graduated from Banaras Hindu University.
He graduated from Bombay University; his thesis was on cosmic ray physics; ...
. Lal had a founding role in developing the field in which cosmic rays produced isotopes on Earth and are used as tracers to investigate a wide range of Earth Science problems. The Medal is awarded "for outstanding Earth and/or space sciences research by a scientist belonging to and working in a developing country
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
."
*The ''James B. Macelwane Medal
The James B. Macelwane Medal is awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union to three to five early career scientists (no more than 10 years beyond having received their Ph.D.). It is named after James B. Macelwane, a Jesuit priest and one of ...
'' (established 1961), named after James B. Macelwane __NOTOC__
James B. Macelwane, S.J. (September 28, 1883 – February 15, 1956) was a Jesuit Catholic priest and pioneering American seismologist.
Biography
Father Macelwane was the second of nine children born to Alexander Macelwane, a fish ...
, a former AGU president who was deeply interested in teaching young scientists, "to be awarded annually for significant contributions by outstanding young scientists." Recipients must be no more than 10 years past their highest degree.
*The ''Joanne Simpson Medal Joanne may refer to:
Music
* ''Joanne'' (album), 2016 album by Lady Gaga
** "Joanne" (Lady Gaga song), a 2016 song from the album ''Joanne''
* "Joanne" (Michael Nesmith song), a 1970 song from the album ''Magnetic South''
* "Joanne", a song by C ...
'' (established in 2017), named after Joanne Simpson
Joanne Simpson (formerly Joanne Malkus, born Joanne Gerould; March 23, 1923 – March 4, 2010) was the first woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology, which she received in 1949 from the University of Chicago.Atlas D and Lemone ...
, the first woman in the United States to receive a PhD in meteorology, "for significant contributions to the earth and space sciences by an outstanding mid-career scientist."
*The '' John Adam Fleming Medal'' (established 1960), named after John Adam Fleming
John Adam Fleming, (January 28, 1877 – July 29, 1956) was an American geophysicist interested in the magnetosphere and the atmospheric electricity.
Fleming worked first at the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey with his superior Louis Agricola Ba ...
, a major contributor to magnetic standards and measurements, "for original research and technical leadership in geomagnetism, atmospheric electricity, aeronomy, space physics, and related sciences."
* The ''Maurice Ewing Medal Two international geophysical societies offer awards each year which are named in honor of Maurice Ewing; these are the American Geophysical Union and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists:
__TOC__
AGU Ewing Medal
The Maurice Ewing Medal is awa ...
'' (established 1974 and co-sponsored by the United States Navy), named after Maurice Ewing, a major contributor to oceanography, "for significant original contributions to the scientific understanding of the processes in the ocean; for the advancement of oceanographic engineering, technology, and instrumentation; and for outstanding service to the marine sciences."
* The ''Harry H. Hess Medal
Harry Hammond Hess (May 24, 1906 – August 25, 1969) was an American geologist and a United States Navy officer in World War II who is considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics. He is best known for his th ...
'' (established 1984), named after Harry Hammond Hess
Harry Hammond Hess (May 24, 1906 – August 25, 1969) was an American geologist and a United States Navy officer in World War II who is considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics. He is best known for his th ...
, who made major contributions to the study of the oceanic lithosphere, "for outstanding achievements in research of the constitution and evolution of Earth and other planets."
*The ''Inge Lehmann Medal The Inge Lehmann Medal is given out by the American Geophysical Union to recognize "outstanding contributions to the understanding of the structure, composition, and dynamics of the Earth's mantle and core". The award was created in 1995 and named a ...
'' (established 1995), named after Inge Lehmann, the discoverer of the Earth's inner core, "for outstanding contributions to the understanding of the structure, composition, and dynamics of the Earth's mantle and core."
* The ''Robert E. Horton Medal
The Robert E. Horton Medal is given out by the American Geophysical Union to recognize "outstanding contributions to the geophysical aspects of hydrology". The award was created in 1974 and named after Robert E. Horton to honor his contributions t ...
'' (established 1974), named after Robert E. Horton
Robert Elmer Horton (May 18, 1875 – April 22, 1945) was an American hydrologist, geomorphologist, civil engineer, and soil scientist, considered by many to be the father of modern American hydrology. An eponymous medal is awarded by the Ameri ...
, who provided many of the analytical concepts for understanding the hydrologic cycle "for outstanding contributions to hydrology."
*The ''Roger Revelle Medal
The Roger Revelle Medal is given out annually by the American Geophysical Union to recognize "outstanding accomplishments or contributions toward the understanding of the Earth’s atmospheric processes, including its dynamics, chemistry, and r ...
'' (established 1991), named after Roger Revelle
Roger Randall Dougan Revelle (March 7, 1909 – July 15, 1991) was a scientist and scholar who was instrumental in the formative years of the University of California, San Diego and was among the early scientists to study anthropogenic global ...
, an oceanographer notable for his contribution to the understanding of global change, "for outstanding contributions in atmospheric sciences, atmosphere-ocean coupling, atmosphere-land coupling, biogeochemical cycles, climate, or related aspects of the Earth system."
*The ''Waldo E. Smith Medal
The Waldo E. Smith Award, previously known as the Waldo E. Smith Medal, is given out by the American Geophysical Union to recognize "individuals who have played unique leadership roles in such diverse areas as scientific associations, education, l ...
'' (established 1982), named after Waldo E. Smith, the first Executive Secretary of AGU, to recognize "individuals who have played unique leadership roles in such diverse areas as scientific associations, education, legislation, research, public understanding of science, management, and philanthropy, and whose accomplishments have greatly strengthened and helped advance the geophysical sciences."
*The ''Walter H. Bucher Medal The Walter H. Bucher Medal is an annual award to one honoree from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) for "for original contributions to the basic knowledge of the crust and lithosphere."
The inaugural Bucher Medal was awarded in 1968 to J. Tuz ...
'' (established 1966), named after Walter Hermann Bucher, a former AGU president and major contributor to crustal problems, "for original contributions to the basic knowledge of the crust and lithosphere."
* The ''William Bowie Medal
The William Bowie Medal is awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union for "outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research". The award is the highest honor given by the AGU and is named in honor ...
'' is the highest AGU honor and is awarded at most annually for "outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research"; its namesake was the first recipient in 1939.
Sections
The AGU is divided into 25 sections that provide the main structure for managing volunteers, developing leaders and honoring scientists. These sections also reflect the breadth of science within Earth and space science: atmospheric and space electricity; atmospheric sciences
Atmospheric science is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its various inner-working physical processes. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. Climatology is the study of ...
; biogeosciences
''Biogeosciences'' is an open-access peer-reviewed scientific journal of the European Geosciences Union launched in 2004 by editors-in-chief Jean-Pierre Gattuso and Jürgen Kesselmeier. It covers all aspects of the interactions between the biolo ...
; cryosphere sciences; Earth and planetary surface processes; Earth and space science informatics
Informatics is the study of computational systems, especially those for data storage and retrieval. According to ACM ''Europe and'' ''Informatics Europe'', informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which ...
; education; geodesy
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
; geohealth; geomagnetism; paleomagnetism
Paleomagnetism (or palaeomagnetismsee ), is the study of magnetic fields recorded in rocks, sediment, or archeological materials. Geophysicists who specialize in paleomagnetism are called ''paleomagnetists.''
Certain magnetic minerals in rock ...
and electromagnetism; hydrology; mineral and rock physics; natural hazard
A natural hazard is a natural phenomenon that might have a negative effect on humans and other animals, or the environment. Natural hazard events can be classified into two broad categories: geophysical and biological.
An example of the distinct ...
s; near surface geophysics; nonlinear geophysics
In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...
; ocean sciences
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...
; paleoceanography; planetary science
Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of their f ...
s; seismology; societal impacts and policy sciences; space physics Space physics, also known as solar-terrestrial physics or space-plasma physics, is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere (aeronomy) and within the Solar System. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of ...
and aeronomy; study of the Earth's deep interior; tectonophysics; volcanology, geochemistry, and petrology
Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous and metamorphic petrology are commonly taught together ...
.
Meetings
AGU holds an annual meeting every December (known as the Fall Meeting). Until 2017, the meeting was held yearly in San Francisco. Because of renovations at the San Francisco venue, the 2017 meeting took place in New Orleans and the 2018 meeting in Washington, DC. It returned to San Francisco in 2019 and its location will rotate among San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago, and Washington, DC. Previously, a second meeting was held every Spring (April through May) in locations around the world. The latter grew out of AGU's annual Spring meeting, which had been held for many years in Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
, until declining interest caused AGU to move the meeting to different locations, starting with Boston in 1998. With the 2003 meeting in Nice, France, it became known as the Joint Assembly because AGU co-sponsors it with other societies such as the Geochemical Society, the Mineralogical Society of America (MSA), the Canadian Geophysical Union
The Canadian Geophysical Union (French: Union géophysique canadienne) (CGU) began as a society dedicated to the scientific study of the solid earth and has evolved into one that is concerned with all aspects of the physical study of Earth and its ...
(CGU), and the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The Fall Meeting had more than 25,000 attendees in 2018.
In addition to the Fall meeting that covers all areas of the geophysical sciences, AGU sponsors many specialized meetings that are intended to serve the needs of particular scientific disciplines or geographical areas, including the Ocean Sciences Meeting, which is held in even numbered years. Small, highly focused meetings are offered through the Chapman Conferences.
The large numbers and international participation in the Fall Meeting results in a large contribution to greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...
es. The 9500 participants in the 2002 meeting traveled an average of to attend, producing 1.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or one-sixteenth of the average yearly emissions for Americans. The AGU has made some adjustments such as asking shuttle bus drivers to turn off their engines when they are not moving, but 95% of the emissions come from jet fuel
Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial a ...
. In an unpublished study, David Scott and Lawrence Plug of Dalhousie University estimated that the AGU could reduce emissions by 7.7% if it moved the Fall Meeting to Denver, Colorado.
In 2017, the first joint JpGU-AGU meeting was held in Chiba, Japan. The meeting was a joint effort between AGU and the Japan Geoscience Union.
Science and society
On occasion the AGU Council issues position statements on matters affecting public policy that are related to geophysics. These include biological evolution, natural hazards, science education and funding, and climate change. The AGU adopted its first position statement on climate change in December 1998. That statement began
The statement continued,
After a discussion of scientific uncertainties the statement concluded
The adopted position statement was backed up by a detailed supporting document. The AGU position statement has undergone several revisions, most recently revised and reaffirmed in 2012.
In 2014, AGU developed the Sharing Science program to provide scientists with the skills and tools that they need to communicate science with any audience. The program offers resources, workshops, hands-on support, and opportunities to help scientists more effectively communicate with broader audiences about Earth and space science. Audiences range from journalists, educators and students, policy makers, and the broader public.
Members of the AGU who work in politically-controversial fields have come under legal attack. For example, Michael Mann, a Fellow of the AGU and lead author of the original "hockey stick graph
A hockey stick graph or hockey stick curve is a graph, or curve shape, that resembles an ice hockey stick, in that it turns sharply from a nearly flat "blade" to a long "handle".
In economics,
marketing,
and dose–response relationships,
a hoc ...
" study, faced a legal demand to turn over his private emails from Kenneth Cuccinelli II, at the time the attorney general of the state of Virginia, a conservative Republican who argues that there is no persuasive evidence that human activity is warming the planet. The court rejected Cuccinelli's demand. However, such legal challenges continue, so in 2012 AGU entered in a partnership with the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund to offer legal counseling at the Fall Meeting.
Scientific Ethics
In 2011, AGU created a Task Force on Scientific Ethics, "to review and update existing policies and procedures for dealing with scientific misconduct." This effort received a setback when its chairman, Peter Gleick, announced that he had lied to obtain internal documents from the Heartland Institute
The Heartland Institute is an American conservative and libertarian public policy think tank known for its rejection of both the scientific consensus on climate change and the negative health impacts of smoking.
Founded in 1984, it worked wit ...
and then leaked them to the public. Gleick, a climate scientist and recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, said he was motivated by frustration with the efforts of groups such as the Heartland Institute to attack climate science and scientists, but admitted that it was a serious lapse of judgement. He resigned from the task force on February 16, 2012, and was replaced by Linda Gundersen, director of the Office of Science Quality and Integrity at the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
In 2017, AGU adopted and updated ethics policy, called the AGU Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics. Among other updates, the policy updated its definitions of what counts as scientific misconduct to include harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...
, bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...
, and discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
. The change came, in part, as a result of a 2016 workshop AGU convened to address the challenge of sexual and gender-based harassment, with co-sponsorship by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
, the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), the Association for Women Geoscientists
The Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG) is an international professional organization which promotes the professional development of its members, provides geoscience outreach to girls, and encourages the participation of girls and women in t ...
(AWG), and the Earth Science Women's Network
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...
(ESWN). Additionally, AGU staff are trained in how to address incidents of harassment at their annual meeting and wear "Safe AGU" buttons to signify themselves as resources.
On February 27, 2018, AGU CEO Chris McEntee testified before the House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology Hearing – A Review of Sexual Harassment and Misconduct in Science. His testimony was alongside those of Rhonda Davis, head of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Kathryn Clancy, an anthropologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and attorney Kristina Larsen.
In July 2019, the AGU was awarded a three-year grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is an American philanthropic nonprofit organization. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan Jr., then-president and chief executive officer of General Motors.
The Sloan Foundation makes grants to support or ...
to launch the AGU Ethics and Equity Initiative, a collaboration among the AGU and the National Center for Professional and Research Ethics at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. The initiative will tackle issues around sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination by developing new educational resources and tracking tools to measure impact.
Corporate sponsorship
In 2014, the AGU accepted 5469 gifts, grants and pledges from individuals and corporations. Of these, the 1919 Society (gifts of over $100,000) included ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, and Nature's Own
Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packed bakery food. The company operates 47 bakeries producing bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and tortillas. Flowers Foods' products are sold regi ...
. AGU also was found to have many annual events sponsored by corporations, including an annual Student Breakfast (supported by ExxonMobil) and Amazon Web Services supported research grants and that offer access to its cloud computing resources.[ In 2015, the AGU Board approved a new Organizational Support Policy. The policy covers subjects such as advertorials and member surveys. It requires that partnerships contribute to AGU's mission, vision and goals and that the AGU "apply vetting to ascertain that partners are not engaged in false misinterpretations of science."]
The sponsorship of AGU by ExxonMobil became a source of concern for many members after evidence surfaced that ExxonMobil had known about climate change for decades but had actively worked to undermine climate science. On February 22, 2016, a letter signed by 100 scientists was delivered to the AGU, requesting that they cut all ties with ExxonMobil and other companies that foster climate misinformation. The AGU Board of Directors met on 22 April 2016 and voted to continue accepting sponsorship from ExxonMobil, arguing that there was not unequivocal evidence that ExxonMobil continues to participate in climate misinformation. Instead of making a short-term political statement, the Board wished to engage with the energy industry over the long term. In response, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Ted Lieu sent a critical letter saying that ExxonMobil continues to fund climate denial
Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or th ...
and is misleading the AGU. The Union of Concerned Scientists also sent a letter urging them to reconsider. However, in a meeting on 23 September 2016, the Board upheld its previous decision.
See also
* Geological Society of America
* List of geoscience organizations
* List of geophysicists
*Scientific consensus on climate change
There is a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific org ...
References
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Geophysics societies
Scientific organizations based in the United States
Meteorological societies
Physics societies
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Scientific organizations established in 1919
1919 establishments in Washington, D.C.