September 5, 1997
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Contents of this News Tip:
More than 60 scientists from around the world will meet next week (September
8-12) in La Jolla, California, to plan an international experiment they
hope will answer a pivotal question in climate change: How are pollutants
known as aerosols cooling the planet and impacting global climate change?
The meeting is being held at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The project -- INDOEX, or the Indian Ocean Experiment -- is one of
the first attempts by scientists to measure the cooling effect of sulfates
and other aerosols on regional climate. The Center for Clouds, Chemistry
and Climate, a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center,
is coordinating the experiment.
"The role that aerosols play in cooling the atmosphere is one of the
biggest sources of uncertainty in predicting future climate," says V.
Ramanathan, director of the center. "We are trying to assess the magnitude
of the problem and acquire data that can be used in global warming prediction
models."
Aerosols are tiny particles that scatter sunlight back to space and
thus cause a regional cooling effect. The particles can also have an indirect
cooling effect on climate by acting as seeds for cloud condensation and
increasing cloud reflectivity. Concentrated predominantly over the industrial
areas of the northern hemisphere, aerosols known as sulfates contribute
to acid rain and haziness. In addition to sulfates, aerosols also include
such pollutants as soot, organic carbon and mineral dust; they are produced
naturally and by human activities. [Cheryl Dybas]
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The National Science Board (NSB), in its role as governing body of
the National Science Foundation, continues this year to examine how the
agency manages its proposal review process.
Earlier this year, the board approved the adoption of new merit review
criteria, which will take effect on October 1.
Last month, the board's Committee on Audit and Oversight reviewed data
on gender distribution of NSF awards and proposals in light of a paper
published in Nature in May. The paper reported that sexism
exists in the merit review process of the Swedish Medical Research Council.
"Clearly, gender diversity in research remains a concern," said NSB
Chairman Dick Zare. "While more needs to be done to bring women into science
and engineering, I am pleased to report that gender bias in the NSF review
process is not part of the problem."
After reviewing NSF statistics, board members concluded that female
principal investigators actually have enjoyed slightly higher funding
rates than males in recent years. (The funding rate for NSF proposals
generally has remained near 30 percent for the past decade).
"It is important to stay vigilant to these factors in this climate
of tight competition for research funds," said Zare. "Applicants trust
that the process is fair, and I'm glad to say that the data support that
trust." [Mary Hanson]
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The National Science Foundation-supported ocean drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution has been roaming the African coastline between the Congo and
the Cape of Good Hope since mid-August so that scientists may better understand
the climate of southern Africa. This part of the continent has some of
the driest areas on earth, like the Namib Desert.
Precipitation in the southern part of Africa is greatly influenced
by ocean currents offshore. The Namib owes its very existence to the upwelling
of cold, subsurface ocean waters which produce a high air pressure region
that blocks moist winds from entering the African continent.
The intensity of upwelling directly reflects the intensity of winds
and precipitation in western Africa, according to expedition scientists.
They are hoping to reconstruct the history of this heat transfer to understand
what controls it and how sensitive it may be to climate change.
The scientists, from aboard the JOIDES Resolution, are collecting and
studying rock and sediment samples from beneath the seafloor to try to
understand changes in these wind fields over the past several millions
of years and their effects on African climate. The work is being done
under the aegis of the Ocean Drilling Program and will continue for another
month. [Cheryl Dybas]
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