In this second episode, Associate Professor David Higgitt, Treasurer of AOGS (Asia Oceania Geosciences Society), and Dr Srivatsan Vijayaraghavan of Tropical Marine Science Institute, will cover the following "Climate Change" issues of concern to society:

1. Importance of understanding past climate change and its impact on ecosystems;
2. Links between climate change and natural hazards (especially in Asia);
3. Environmental change impacts on rivers in Asia including impacts of land use change and water resources);
4. Need for impact assessments-discussion on some impacts due to climate change;
5. Climate Model Projections (Global and Regional)
6. Uncertainties in climate projections;
7. Improvements in science and modelling;
8. Policy implications;

Associate Professor David Higgitt is an Executive Committee member of the International Association of Geomorphologists. His research is concerned with the interaction between environmental processes, earth surface materials and the morphological expression of land surfaces and forms that result.

Dr Srivatsan Vijayaraghavan is presently involved in the "Climate Change Impact Study" commissioned by the National Environmental Agency, Singapore, to the Tropical Marine Science Institute. His research work deals with regional climate modelling (dynamical downscaling) and impact assessment study over South East Asia. He is also currently participating in the coastal protection impact study project and research exercises related to climate change and infectious diseases.

So tune in to 93.8 on 31 July at 10.00 am to find out more!!

Issued by AOGS Secretariat
27 July 2009

In this third episode, Professor Wing-Huen Ip, Founding Member, Honorary Member, AOGS President 2004 - 2006, will share his experiences on "Exploring our Solar System and Beyond" while Professor Atsuhiro Nishida, AOGS President 2006 - 2008, will discuss "Solar Terrestrial Physics(STP)"  relating the response of near Earth space environment to the solar activity that is brought by the Solar Wind and the very important role played by the Magnetic field. STP research has a great importance to space development since it deals with the state of the environment where spacecraft operates.

Professor Wing-Huen Ip is Professor, Graduate Institute of Astronomy and Space Science, National Central University, Taiwan. His specialty research is in solar system origin and planet formation, solar system plasma physics, cometary physics, and planetary atmospheres and exospheric systems.

Professor Atsuhiro Nishida  is Professor Emeritus, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science(ISAS),  University of Tokyo. His well known contributions include: (1) a very early evidence to support the theory that the magnetic reconnection is the dominant mechanism that couples the solar wind with the magnetosphere, (2) unambiguous identification of the spatial structure of the convection that is generated inside the magnetosphere by the above coupling,(3) a canonical theory on the formation of the plasmapause (a density discontinuation in the magnetosphere) as a natural consequence of the convection, (4) synoptic analysis of ground and space data to demonstrate the intimate connection between the aurora and the magnetic reconnection in the near-Earth tail region of the magnetosphere, (5) proposed a unique theory to explain the acceleration of the energetic electrons trapped in the radiation belt in terms of recirculation due to bimodal diffusion. Professor Nishida proposed and organized the GEOTAIL satellite project since the 1980s.The satellite was developed at ISAS and the launch was made by Delta-II from the Kennedy Space Centre. Geotail has shown that the reconnection to the near-Earth tail is associated with activation of aurora while the reconnection in the distant tail is related to the aurora at its high-latitude boundary region. It has clarified the nature of kinetic processes that operate in the reconnection region and discovered electrostatic solitary waves that are excited by the accelerated electrons in the plasma sheet.

So tune in to 93.8 on 14 August at 10.00 am to find out more!!

Issued by AOGS Secretariat
28 July 2009

In this first episode, Professor Dong-Kyou Lee, President of AOGS(Asia Oceania Geosciences Society), will be introducing AOGS - its vision, mission and future plans, and sharing a series of exciting geosciences topics to be covered in the next few episodes. Professor Kerry Sieh will share his experiences on earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes.

Professor Lee is the President of AOGS, and also a professor in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences in Seoul National University. Prof Lee's area of expertise is in weather prediction and meteorology, and he is also on the director boards of APEC Climate Center.

Professor Sieh specialises in seismology and volcanology, with specific interest in earthquakes and tsunamis, particularly in the Southeast Asian region. He initiated the field of paleoseismology 30 years ago with his work about California's San Andreas fault, and this fault system remains a crucible for testing neotectonic concepts. Professor Sieh and his students are currently exploring the earthquake geology of Myanmar (Burma). 

Both Professor Lee and Professor Sieh are expert geoscientists with years of experience and a wealth of knowledge to share, and they are glad to answer any geosciences-related questions that listeners may have.

So tune in to 93.8 on 23 June at 10.30am to find out more!!

Issued by AOGS Secretariat
16 June 2009