September 5, 1997
For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer at the end of each item at (703) 306-1070. Editor: Bill Noxon
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENT TO STUDY ROLE OF POLLUTANTS IN CLIMATE CHANGE
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]
BOARD FINDS NO GENDER BIAS IN NSF REVIEW PROCESS
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]
OCEAN FLOOR OFFERS CLUES TO ARID SOUTH AFRICAN CLIMATE
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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