AGU Town Meeting: International Polar Science Needs You
December 9, 2002 (6:45 PM to 8:00 PM)
AGU Fall Meeting
San Francisco, CA
Moscone Center (room TBA)
For more information on the AGU Town Meeting contact:
Dr. Mahlon C. Kennicutt II (mck2 [at] gerg.tamu.edu)
General information about the Fall Meeting of AGU is available at:
http://agu.org/meetings/fm02/
Polar science is more relevant and exciting than ever before. Polar
science research on climate change, global contamination, sea level
change, and exploration for life, among others, is highly relevant to
society and is reported regularly in the popular press. Antarctica is a
focus for international collaboration and cooperation being the only
continent on the planet set aside for science by mutual agreement of 48
countries representing 2/3 of the world's population. You are invited to
a Town Meeting of the polar science community to begin a dialogue on how
US scientists might increase their participation on the international
stage and promote polar science in general.
The Polar Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences serves as
the US National Antarctic Committee to the Scientific Committee on
Antarctic Research (SCAR). SCAR, created in response to the success of
the IGY, has had an important role in the history of science in
Antarctica. Is SCAR still relevant in the US today? The meeting will
include a review of SCAR's restructuring and SCAR science programs.
Information will be provided on emerging geoscience initiatives that
will require major instrumentation and logistical support (e.g.,
drilling, airborne & ground-based geophysics, remote geophysical
observatories) and we will consider how such large-scale
multidisciplinary initiatives can benefit from SCAR sponsorship and
involvement. Discussions will include possible US and international
science activities being planned to commemorate the 50th anniversary of
the International Geophysical Year (IGY) and 125th anniversary of the
International Polar Year (IPY) in 2007. Contributions from Arctic
scientists on possible bi-polar studies are welcomed.
For more information on the AGU Town Meeting contact:
Dr. Mahlon C. Kennicutt II, Director
Geochemical & Environmental Research Group
Texas A&M University
833 Graham Road
College Station, TX 77845
Phone: 979-862-2323 ext. 111
Fax: 979-862-2361
Email: mck2 [at] gerg.tamu.edu