The Scout Report for Science & Engineering - October 27, 1999

October 27, 1999

A Publication of the Internet Scout Project
Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The target audience of the new Scout Report for Science & Engineering is faculty, students, staff, and librarians in the life sciences, physical sciences, and engineering. Each biweekly issue offers a selective collection of Internet resources covering topics in the sciences, and related fields such as math and engineering, that have been chosen by librarians and content specialists in the given field of study.

The Scout Report for Science & Engineering is also provided via email once every two weeks. Subscription information is included at the bottom of each issue.


In This Issue

Research

Learning Resources

General Interest

Current Awareness

New Data

In The News


Research

Eight Online Physical Sciences Journals
CrystEngComm [Chime]
http://www.rsc.org/is/journals/current/crystengcomm/cecpub.htm
Planetary and Space Science [.pdf]
http://www.elsevier.nl:80/inca/publications/store/2/0/0/
Catalysis Journals Online [.pdf]
http://catalysis.chemweb.com/catalysisonline
Applied Catalysis A: General
http://catalysis.chemweb.com/library/elsevier/effect/display.exe?jcode=apcata
Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
http://catalysis.chemweb.com/library/elsevier/effect/display.exe?jcode=apcatb
Catalysis Today
http://catalysis.chemweb.com/library/elsevier/effect/display.exe?jcode=cattod
Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical
http://catalysis.chemweb.com/library/elsevier/effect/display.exe?jcode=molcaa
Journal of Molecular Catalysis B: Enzymatic
http://catalysis.chemweb.com/library/elsevier/effect/display.exe?jcode=molcab
Microporous and Mesoporous Materials
http://catalysis.chemweb.com/library/elsevier/effect/display.exe?jcode=micmat
From the Royal Society of Chemistry, CrystEngComm was launched in October 1999 and is available for the rest of 1999 free of charge. The journal, available electronically only, focuses on "innovative research covering all aspects of crystal engineering." Some of the articles in CrystEngComm require Chime to experience the full range of this electronic medium. Any requisite software will be available at the site for downloading. Elsevier Science's Planetary and Space Science journal is offering free electronic access until December 31, 1999. Full-text articles are available for issues dating back to the start of 1998. Articles from the August 1999 issue include "Gas flow and dust acceleration in a cometary Knudsen layer," and "Modeling of the combined late-winter ice cap edge and slope winds in Mars Hellas and Argyre regions." Also, ChemWeb's Catalysis Online is currently featuring a special introductory offer of free access to six searchable journals on catalysis: Applied Catalysis A: General,Applied Catalysis B: Environmental,Catalysis Today,Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical,Journal of Molecular Catalysis B: Enzymatic, and Microporous and Mesoporous Materials. To access full-text journal articles of current and back issues [.pdf], ChemWeb requires users to sign on to a free membership. The site doesn't indicate how long free access to the Catalysis Online journals will be available. [KR]
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Missouri River InfoLINK
http://infolink.cr.usgs.gov/
Listed among the "Endangered Rivers" of 1999, the Missouri River drains one-sixth of the United States's surface water; management decisions regarding the Missouri River affect a wide range of wildlife, as well as millions of Americans from Missouri to Montana. The Missouri River InfoLINK, housed at the USGS-BRD Columbia Environmental Research Center, "was created for these stakeholders who want to understand how the river functions and make informed decisions about the river's future use and management." To that end, the site offers sections for the public as well as the scientist. For background information on current research, see the Science section (includes a large bibliography and research summaries); for a wide array of background information (some of which is technical), see the River section. In addition, the site offers summary data (soil attributes, agricultural products, the 1990 Census, etc.), beautiful maps showing county boundaries, basin-wide maps (depicting general geography, watersheds and rivers, average runoff, ecoregions, physiographic regions, Indian tribal lands, dams and reservoirs, and agriculture), or local maps (1:100,000 quadrangle maps of the 1993 flood extent, wetlands, etc.), and much more. This is an outstanding site, rich in information of varying complexity. [LXP]
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Institute for Mathematical Sciences Preprint Server
http://www.math.sunysb.edu/preprints.html
State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook: Mathematics Department & Institute for Mathematical Sciences [.ps, TeX, DVI, .pdf]
http://math.sunysb.edu/
This year, the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook's Mathematics Department was ranked fifth in the country by US News and World Report. The department's Institute for Mathematical Sciences (IMS) Preprint Server is searchable and offers full-text preprints (.ps and TeX) from 1990 to the present. Areas of research at Stony Brook include differential geometry, topology, dynamics, complex analysis, differential equations, algebra and representation theory, and mathematical physics. Though a little outdated, the department's Website offers an "On-line Guide to the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations." A computer resources section includes tutorials for HTML writing, UNIX, and putting Maple graphics in TeX files. [KR]
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Andean Botanical Information System
http://www.sacha.org/
The Andean Botanical Information System (ABIS) is a spectacular site, offering a wealth of information on the floristic and systematic investigations of the phanerogams (flowering plants) of Andean South America. Available in both English and Spanish, the site offers information on the Andean flora of several important geographic regions, including "the flora of coastal Peru and Chile, floristic inventories of montane forests of northern Peru, and monographic treatments with online images." A section entitled Environments offers photos, summaries, maps, and (where possible) plant checklists for specific ecoregions including Coastal Deserts, Montane Forests, and Inter-Andean Valleys, among others. The Plant Family Gallery section includes color photographs, descriptions, and sophisticated illustrations of many plant families. In addition, a recent publications section (with several hyperlinks) and a selection of links to related sites rounds out this excellent, well-maintained resource. [LXP]
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Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Undergraduate Mathematics Journal
(Call for Papers by Undergraduates)
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/mathjournal/
The Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal will be published electronically at this Website in March 2000. The purpose of the journal is to provide a high-quality, refereed forum for undergraduates to publish papers that exhibit "new results, new and interesting proofs of old results, historical developments of a theorem or area of mathematics, relationships between areas of mathematics and/or other fields of study, or interesting applications of mathematics." To this end, the journal is currently accepting submissions. Submissions must be sponsored by a professional mathematician familiar with the student's work. [KR]
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Student Review Articles: Insect Behavior
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/courses/en507/papers_1999/index.htm
Selected Publications and Databases
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/publications.html
Colorado State University entomology professor Dr. Louis Bjostad provides this interesting resource of review articles on insect behavior. Each review article was written by a student as part of a graduate level course held in Spring 1999; review articles consist of a three to six paragraph summary of research, followed by a dozen or more recent references. Titles include "Communal Roosting in Insects" and "Behavioral Aspects of Biological Control of Spider Mites," among dozens of others. For those interested in reading summaries of (and finding references to) recent scientific articles on insect behavior, this is an excellent starting place. Note that there are two additional review pages (from the same course in previous years) listed on the Entomology Department's Selected Publications and Databases page (listed alphabetically). [LXP]
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Learning Resources

Computational Physics Course
http://www.sst.ph.ic.ac.uk/angus/Lectures/compphys/
Professor Angus MacKinnon of the Imperial College of Technology and Medicine has created this comprehensive course covering the main computational techniques used in modern physics. The course, which appears here as a highly detailed outline, covers five broad sections: ordinary differential equations, partial differential equations, matrix methods, Monte Carlo methods and other simulation methods, and computer algebra (which offers an introduction to Mathematica). With internal links, this summarized version of the course may best be utilized as back-up material for educators or students taking a similar course on using computers with physics. [KR]
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Agriculture in the Classroom
http://www.agclassroom.org/
Established in 1981 by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) is a grassroots program dedicated to raising agricultural literacy and, in particular, to improving general understanding of "the role of agriculture in the economy and society." This recently launched homepage describes AITC's mission and history, in addition to offering summaries and highlights of each state's incarnation of the program. For specific information, select State AITC Web Sites; here, users will find a variety of information, including teaching resources and lesson plans, targeted for each particular state. Although some sections of the homepage are currently under construction, the site promises useful future information under the headings Kids' Corner, Lesson Plans, Links, and Resources, in addition to a newsletter and electronic mailing list. [LXP]
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Molecular Expressions: Electricity & Magnetism Tutorials [Java]
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/index.html
The Optical Microscopy Division of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) provides these state of the art Electricity & Magnetism Tutorials (For more from NHMFL, see the August 4, 1999 Scout Report for Science & Engineering). The wide variety of interactive tutorials (Java) includes topics like Atomic Orbitals, Cathode Rays, Faraday's Electromagnetic Induction Experiment, Lenz's Law, AC and DC Generator Action, and more. The Atomic Orbitals tutorial, for example, lets users select any combination of the first four atomic orbitals (s, p, d, and f) and view their orientations in relation to x, y, and z axes. These tutorials provide simple and useful tools for visualizing concepts. [KR]
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Journal of Medical Genetics
http://jmg.bmjjournals.com/
HighWire Press
http://highwire.stanford.edu/
The British Medical Association has announced the online availability of Journal of Medical Genetics (JMG). Published monthly, JMG covers a range of topics from basic research to clinical reports, "diagnostic methods and psychosocial aspects of clinical genetics. Areas of special interest include: Molecular genetics and its clinical application; Development of medical genetics services; Dysmorphology: the delineation and genetic basis of new syndromes; Ethical and social aspects of medical genetics." Online, full-text content begins with the January 1999 issue; online abstracts begin March 1975. Note that the free trial period for Journal of Medical Genetics Online ends March 1, 2000. This publication is made available by the British Medical Association in conjunction with Stanford University's HighWire Press. [LXP]
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Mathematics of Data Analysis
http://k12science.ati.stevens-tech.edu/curriculum/math/graph.html
From the New Jersey Networking Infrastructure in Education and the Stevens Institute of Technology, the Mathematics of Data Analysis page provides a succinct lesson for developing "the necessary skills need[ed] to effectively use graphing techniques to analyze a wide range of data." The instruction begins with finding the slope of a line, moves on to using data to find a slope, and finishes with describing how to create an equation for a line. This neat, single page on the most basic mathematics for graphing and data analysis may be used as a quick reference for teachers and young students. [KR]
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General Interest

Laboratory Survival Manual
http://keats.admin.virginia.edu/lsm/home.html
At this site, the University of Virginia's Office of Environmental Health and Safety has posted its guidelines for safely working with chemicals and other materials in the laboratory. In an effort to "promote safety awareness and encourage safe work practices," the Laboratory Survival Manual contains detailed and clearly stated information on lab safety practices, safety and protective equipment, emergency procedures, labeling, and classes of materials. In addition, the Office of Environmental Health and Safety has specific programs covering chemical safety, asbestos safety, fire safety, radiation safety, and much more. It should be noted that the safety guidelines posted here provide thorough instructions for responsible laboratory conduct and are applicable to all labs, but each lab may have its own specialized rules. [KR]
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Two on Squids
In Search of Giant Squid
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/squid.html
The Squid Squad [AVI]
http://www.nefsc.nmfs.gov/nefsc/systematics/systematic.html
The first site, an online exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), provides a wealth of background information on Giant Squids. The largest invertebrates on the planet, Giant Squids have aroused human curiosity for centuries. This site offers a plethora of general information about squids and includes a long list of squid links as well. The second site, hosted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (the regional research arm of the National Marine Fisheries Service) in collaboration with NMNH, serves as "a multimedia appendix to traditional scientific publications on squids, octopods and their relatives." The site contains color images (JPEG) and video clips (AVI) of squids and their relatives, as well as a keyword-searchable database of references on cephalopods. For information on systematics, follow the links to the Cephalopoda section of the Tree-of-Life project (of the University of Arizona).
[LXP]
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Firenet Virtual Library
http://life.csu.edu.au/fire/library.html
Hosted by the Charles Sturt University, the Firenet Virtual Library is a metasource of information related to fires. Searchable by complete listings, topics, resources provided, and type of site, Firenet lists quality links to sites that cover a wide range of fire topics. Topics include vegetation, structure, and chemical fires; behavior of fires; effects on plants, animals, and soil; fire weather; modelling and prediction; and much more. This is a first rate resource for anyone with an interest in accessing information on fires. [KR]
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Dinobase
http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/dinobase/dinopage.html
Dinobase, a dinosaur Website from the University of Bristol Palaeontology Research Group, provides a wealth of general information on dinosaurs. For the full Linnean classification and a cladogram of the major dinosaurian groups, see the Dinosaur Taxonomy section. The site also features a species/ genera list of dinosaurs, including distribution, time period, and basic morphology (length, weight). Further information is provided in the form of a bibliography, more than 50 pictures (many by John Sibbick), and descriptive text (in the Find out More section). Current research by the University of Bristol Palaeontology Research Group is also available at the site, through a series of links to principal investigators. [LXP]
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Historic USGS Maps of New England
http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/nhtopos.htm
Global information systems and satellite imagery have redefined our cartographic impressions of the world. Yet long before these new technologies, in 1882, the USGS began a topographic atlas of the United States. The University of New Hampshire has made available a collection of these USGS topographic maps with complete geographic coverage of New England from the 1890s to the 1950s. These beautiful maps can be accessed via an alphabetical quadrangle listing, an alphabetical town index, or by clicking on the appropriate area of an image map. This is an outstanding resource for an antiquated cartographic art form. [KR]
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Current Awareness
(For links to additional current awareness on tables of contents, abstracts, preprints, new books, data, conferences, etc., visit the The Scout Report for Science & Engineering Current Awareness Metapage: http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sci-eng/metapage/).

Research News at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/
From the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's (LBL) Public Information Department, the Research News Website contains a store of news on physics, chemistry, and life science research. Written in a layperson's language, this resource accesses current news releases and the lab's newspaper (Currents) and magazine (Research Review). The highlight of this site is the searchable Science Articles Archive which holds over 900 articles from the above-mentioned news sources. The archives include sections on Accelerator and Fusion Research, Chemical Sciences, General Physics, and X-ray Research, among many others. A "News Release Delivery Service" emails the latest LBL news to subscribers. [KR]
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science.komm
science.komm Home
science.komm News
http://www.sciencekomm.at/journals/environ.html
science.komm offers a monthly newsletter of science-related Internet sites, with an emphasis on online scientific journals. Committed to "helping scientists and health professionals with the communication of research results," science.komm is primarily a metasite, currently linking to 4,000 journal and publisher homepages. The site also includes links to subject directories, online dictionaries, abstract databases, and journal monitoring sites, among other resources. [LXP]
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New Publications

"Sustainable Growth in America's Heartland: 3-D Geologic Maps as the Foundation" [.pdf]
http://pubs.usgs.gov/circular/c1190/
This US Geological Survey circular offers the idea of using 3-D geological maps as a foundation for understanding the geology of the Great Lakes region with the hopes of applying this knowledge to fundamental sustainable development issues concerning natural resources of the area. The circular represents the work of a coalition of State and Federal Geological Surveys which advocates the use of geological information on glacial deposits in the region to help influence land-use decisions in ways that make them more compatible with a sustainable development framework. This newly released, high-quality circular is available in two .pdf versions (72-dpi, 1.4 MB and 150-dpi, 3.9 MB), the latter of which is more suitable for printing. [KR]

"Social and Economic Implications of Information Technologies: A Bibliographic Database Pilot Project"
http://srsweb.nsf.gov/it_site/index.htm
The latest statistical report from the National Science Foundation (NSF) is entitled "Social and Economic Implications of Information Technologies: A Bibliographic Database Pilot Project." The report details three main sections of the project: IT Road Maps (searchable listings of research publications, data sets, and Websites), Complementary Sites (links from IT Road Maps), and Additional Information About the Road Maps References. [LXP]

Electronic Research Announcements [dvi, .ps, .pdf, TeX]
http://www.ams.org/era/
The American Mathematical Society's Electronic Research Announcements "publishes high quality research announcements (up to about 10 journal pages) of significant advances in all branches of mathematics" and is available free of charge. The current volume, vol. 5, represents all submissions for 1999, the latest of which was posted on October 19, 1999. Articles can be viewed by section, or entire articles may be retrieved (dvi, .ps, .pdf, TeX). Previous volumes, dating back to 1995, are also available. [KR]

"Lusaka Agreement on Co-operative Enforcement Operations Directed at Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora" [.pdf, 32K]
http://www.eelink.net/~asilwildlife/lusaka.pdf
The Wildlife Interest Group of the American Society of International Law has posted on their Website the September, 1994 Lusaka Agreement on Co-operative Enforcement Operations Directed at Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora (PDF format). [LXP]

World Bibliography on Subterranean Aphanoneura [Oligochaeta]
http://members.aol.com/blspecies/oligochaeta.htm
Experienced speleologist Bernard Lebreton put together this recently posted World Bibliography on Subterranean Aphanoneura [Oligochaeta]. Organized alphabetically by author surname, the bibliography covers over 100 references on subterranean Aphanoneura. Although most references are pre-1990, numerous recent ones are also included. [LXP]

"Concentration and Structural Change in US Agriculture" [.pdf]
http://www.econ.ag.gov/whatsnew/issues/concentration/
Landscape Ecologists and others interested in the forces driving land-use patterns in the US will be interested in this resource, entitled Concentration and Structural Change in US Agriculture. Written for an economics-oriented audience, the report describes the current industrialization of the agricultural sector, and predicts some future changes. Of added interest are the links to several dozen related articles (some in .pdf format) listed at the bottom of the page. [LXP]
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Jobs

Job Openings in Science and Technology from The Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/free/jobs/faculty/scitech/links.htm
Although The Chronicle of Higher Education charges a fee to access the current week's job listings, extensive postings for the previous week are freely available. [LXP]

American Institute of Physics Job Opportunities
http://www.aip.org/careersvc/
A popular place for physicists in search of employment, the American Institute of Physics's Job Opportunities page is visited by more than 100,000 people per month and claims to place more than 200 people a year. The searchable jobs database accesses AIP's Career Services online job listings as well as this month's Physics Today classified ads. Academic, industry, government, and bachelor positions are all available here. [KR]

Jobs Resources from the Physiological Ecology Section of the ESA
http://www.botany.duke.edu/jackson/ecophys/transition.htm
This small metasite, from the Physiological Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), offers a suite of nice resources on finding science jobs and beating the job market in the US. Many resources are briefly annotated, and topics include how to land your first job, negotiating a start-up salary, and a select list of jobs sites. For the beginning scientist, this will be of special use. [LXP]
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Funding

GEM Fellowships
http://www.nd.edu/~gem/html/compat/ForStudents/fellowshipinfo.html
Headquartered at the University of Notre Dame, the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc. (GEM) offers fellowships for minority students seeking post-bachelor degrees in engineering and science disciplines. The three fellowships, MS Engineering, PhD Engineering, and PhD Science, aim to help increase the number of working American Indian, Black American, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, or Hispanic American engineers and scientists. Applications are accepted between September 1 and December 1, 1999. [KR]

International Opportunities for Scientists and Engineers
http://www.nsf.gov:80/sbe/int/9614rev.htm
The Division of International Programs (INT) at the National Science Foundation provides this site containing deadline information and announcements for a wide range of international opportunities for scientists and engineers. Some deadlines pertain just to the coming year, and others occur on an annual basis. This site is a useful collection of information on funding opportunities. [LXP]

Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development Program
http://www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/fr99_26.html
The Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (OFES) of the Office of Science (SC), US Department of Energy is accepting grant applications for its Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development Program. Eligible candidates should be tenure-track faculty researchers in experimental or theoretical plasma physics, and their applications should be submitted through a US academic institution. "The purpose of this program is to support the development of the individual research programs of exceptionally talented scientists and engineers early in their careers." The deadline for applications is January 20, 2000. [KR]

Research Fellowship Opportunities in Japan
http://www.twics.com/~nsftokyo/fel-opty.html
This site, from the Tokyo office of the National Science Foundation, describes various scientific research fellowship opportunities in Japan. Fellowships are offered by several different institutions, including the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Science and Technology Agency of Japan (STA), and The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership Science, among others. Fellowships target doctoral students, post-docs, and other academic/research positions. Complete information, including deadlines and application materials, is provided at the site. [LXP]
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Conferences

Advanced Study Institute on Techniques and Concepts of High Energy Physics
http://server-mac.pas.rochester.edu/Asiinfo.html
Sponsored by the Division of Scientific Affairs of NATO, the High Energy Physics Program of the DOE, the Elementary Particle Physics Program of the NSF, Fermilab, Florida State University, the ITEP in Moscow, and the University of Rochester, the Advanced Study Institute on Techniques and Concepts of High Energy Physics will be held in St. Croix June 15-26, 2000. Applications are open to all experimental high energy physics graduate students and recent PhD recipients. The deadline for applications is February 1, 2000, though early submissions are advised. [KR]

European Landscapes: From Mountain to Sea
http://glacier.gg.rhbnc.ac.uk/PECSRL.html#anchor302882
The nineteenth meeting of the Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape will be held at Royal Holloway, University of London (UK) and the University of Wales at Aberystwyth September 10-17, 2000. Although deadlines for abstracts have not yet been posted at the Website, interested participants are invited to request details directly from the organizers (contact information provided at the Website). [LXP]

Announcement of the 2001 International Math Olympiad
http://imo2001.usa.unl.edu/
For the first time since 1981, the International Math Olympiad will be held in the US in Washington, DC, July 1-14, 2001. The prestigious event will feature 500 of the most talented high school-age mathematicians in the world. "The American mathematics community will use this opportunity to promote the importance of mathematics for all students and to celebrate the accomplishments of our best and brightest students." For further information, contact information is available at the site. [KR]

Ninth Eastern Wildlife Damage Management Conference
http://wildlife.cas.psu.edu/
The Ninth Eastern Wildlife Damage Management Conference will be held in State College, Pennsylvania October 5-8, 2000. Topics to be covered include Sustainable Ecosystem Management, Wildlife Wars, and Population Dynamics. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is February 15, 2000. [LXP]

Towards an Ecologically Sound Fertilization in Field Vegetable Production
http://www.ab.dlo.nl/congres/ishs2000.htm
The International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) workshop, Towards an ecologically sound fertilization in field vegetable production, will be held September 11-14, 2000 in Wageningen, The Netherlands. All those interested in "the scientific aspects of fertilization in field vegetables" are invited to participate in the workshop. The deadline for submission of abstracts is March 1, 2000.
[LXP]
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New Data

IRI/LDEO Climate Data Library
http://ingrid.ldgo.columbia.edu/
Columbia University's International Research Institute for Climate Prediction (IRI) and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) have created this powerful Climate Data Library. The library "contains a wide variety of earth science data, primarily oceanographic and atmospheric datasets" and offers many ways of accessing and manipulating information. Specific topographical data or historical temperature and precipitation data, for example, may be found via searches by keyword, category, or source. The site comes complete with explanations to help users understand the vast search capabilities of the data library. [KR]
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TIGR Soybean Gene Index (GmGI)
http://www.tigr.org/tdb/gmgi/
The Institute for Genomic Resources, TIGR, has just released the Soybean Gene Index (Version 1.0), GmGI. The data may be searched by Nucleotide or Protein Sequence, Identifier (TC, ET, EST, GB) Tissue, cDNA Library Name, or cDNA Library Identifier (cat#). The GmGI database includes 19,382 total sequences (combined ESTs, TCs and singletons) and 14,362 total unique sequences (TCs, singleton ETs, and singleton ESTs). Note that the data are available "free of charge only to researchers at non-profit institutions using it for non-commercial purposes." First-time users should refer to the FAQ page or the TIGR Gene Indices Information Page found in the Data Definitions and Protocols section. [LXP]
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Daily Streamflow Conditions Map of the United States
http://water.usgs.gov/dwc/
This map from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) provides real-time data of streamflow conditions as measured at USGS gauging stations around the country. By selecting areas within a state on the map, users receive daily provisional data (which may be subject to revision) on current conditions and flood thresh-holds, as well as streamflow, stage, and rainfall graphs. Historic data and tabulated summaries are also available for the entire state as well as individual stations. [KR]
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Two on Neotropical Botany
Two new species of Clusiella (Clusiaceae) with a synopsis of the genus
http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/mesoamerica/clusiell/clusiell.html
Synopsis of Chrysochlamys (Clusiaceae: Clusioideae: Clusieae) in Mesoamerica
http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/mesoamerica/chrysoch/chrysoch.html
The Missouri Botanical Garden has placed online two recent, data-rich publications on botanical research in the Neotropics. The first publication describes two new species of Clusiella, (one from Costa Rica and Panama, C. isthmensis, and one from Brazil, C. impressinervis); it places one old species from Colombia (C. cordifolia Cuatrecasas) in synonymy; and it brings all eight species in the genus together in a key. The second publication examines taxonomy of Chrysochlamys, including a key to the thirteen species of Chrysochlamys recognized for Mexico and Central America. Both publications are written by Dr. Barry E. Hammel and include several clear, black-and-white photographs as illustrations for the keys. [LXP]
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In The News

RADARSAT Maps Give Researchers a Fresh Look at the Antarctic
1) "NASA Unveils New, Most Accurate Map of Antarctic Continent"
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-122.txt
2) "Antarctica Exposed by RADARSAT"
http://www.space.gc.ca/ENG/News_Releases/991019.html
3) Icy Continent Mapped from Space with RADARSAT [QuickTime]
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/imagewall/antarctica.html
4) National Ice Center
http://www.natice.noaa.gov/
5) Byrd Polar Research Center
http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/
6) National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
http://www-nsidc.colorado.edu/
7) Images of Antarctic Ice Shelves
http://www-nsidc.colorado.edu/NSIDC/ICESHELVES/
8) Antarctic Meteorology Research Center
http://uwamrc.ssec.wisc.edu/amrchome.html
9) Satellite Image Map of Antarctica
http://terraweb.wr.usgs.gov/TRS/projects/Antarctica/dist/
10) The World Factbook 1999: Antarctica
http://www.cia.gov/publications/factbook/ay.html
In a 1997 collaborative effort, NASA launched the Canadian Space Agency's RADARSAT Satellite which spent eighteen days over the Southern Hemisphere forming the first high-resolution radar maps of the Antarctic. RADARSAT's unusual capabilities make it possible to capture data even through darkness, clouds, and fog. Unveiled to the public on October 18, 1999, the new maps are so clear and detailed that a research bungalow on an iceberg or the tracks of a snow tractor can be picked out and recognized. Researchers believe the new high-resolution maps will greatly advance understanding of Antarctica. The maps show topographic details like the flows of ice, called ice streams, which run into the sea. The new data has great potential for furthering our understanding of the major role the Antarctic plays in regulating global climate and sea levels. This week's In The News provides an early view of these technologically superior images of the Antarctic, as well as access to a few of the important ice research facilities around the country.

Two news releases, one from NASA (1), dated October 18, 1999, and another from the Canadian Space Agency (2), dated October 19, 1999, each announce the unveiling of the new maps. The next site from NASA, Icy Continent Mapped from Space with RADARSAT (3), has been specially created as a forum to display the new Antarctica Maps. Images of the entire continent are available here, along with images and QuickTime movies of various parts of the continent. The government's National Ice Center (4) provides extensive information and data on the Antarctic area, but also includes coverage of other research areas including icebergs, forecasts, and the Arctic. For further exposure to Antarctic research, Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center (5) is an excellent resource. Users can browse reports and documents, Antarctic geologic data, and extensive information linked to research groups in the areas of meteorology, geology, glacier dynamics, remote sensing, ice core paleoclimatology, and more. Next, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) (6) (described in the October 2, 1998, Scout Report for Science and Engineering) at the University of Colorado Boulder maintains and disseminates information on topics ranging from snow cover and ice sheets to seawater ice, freshwater ice, and permafrost. Also from the NSIDC, see the Images of Antarctic Ice Shelves page (7) for select images of various ice shelves being monitored for changes and instability. For real time and archived meteorological data, see the University of Wisconsin's Antarctic Meteorology Research Center (8). The penultimate site, The US Geological Survey's Satellite Image Map of Antarctica (9), provides an older satellite map of the continent which users can compare with the new version. And finally, for more general (less scientific) information on the Antarctic, see the Central Intelligence Agency's The World Factbook 1999: Antarctica (10) for detailed reference information including geographic and social data. [KR]
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