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Third Convocation
of Societies in the Geophysical Sciences

July, 1996
Brisbane, Australia

During the 1996 Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting, representatives of 18 scientific societies from Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States agreed on a number of issues facing society that Earth and space scientists can help resolve. Despite the near unanimity on the issues, the group did not develop a clear plan for how they might collectively address these problems. Rather, the products of the convocation were a better understanding of the missions and approaches of the societies represented and a commitment to develop ways to share information on a continuing basis. Knowing more about the activities and interests of the different scientific societies will facilitate bilateral arrangements on matters of mutual concern. Electronic communication systems will be used to facilitate this sharing and several specific actions were agreed to as a follow-on from the convocation.

Societal issues that seem to be of greatest concern and that are also within the realm of interest for the Earth and space sciences include (1) natural hazards and hazard mitigation; (2) environmental quality; (3) energy and mineral resources; (4) effects of urbanization; (5) global climate change; 6) the extent to which space and planetary exploration should be done; and (7) relationships between the lithosphere and the biosphere. These themes are evident in the publications and scientific meetings of the participating societies. However, participants agreed it is important to remind the individual members of the societies, policy makers, and the general public that there is a common goal in improving our understanding of these issues.

The participants also attempted to define the key issues that shape the societal environment in which scientists are now working. Most, if not all, of the issues are present throughout the world.

Thus scientists everywhere are likely to be influenced by the following factors:

  • There is little appreciation of the importance of science, and there is continuing conflict between the scientific literate and the scientific illiterate.

  • Science is increasingly measured in terms of what it contributes to the creation of wealth and the quality of life.

  • The sciences have lost some credibility with policy makers and the general public because of the differences in the way scientists communicate. Policy makers want unequivocal answers, but scientific knowledge does not always have clear answers to the questions being raised.

  • Whereas the current societal interests should be very conducive to the advancement of the geosciences, these sciences seem unable to operate to their own best advantage.

  • Impatience and competition for financial resources are creating increasing pressure for short-term results from the science community.
The group identified a number of positive steps that scientists and scientific societies can take to operate more effectively in today's environment:
  • Communications from the scientific community must be kept simple and absolutely ethical in every respect.

  • Focusing on the interdisciplinary nature of the Earth and space sciences can make communications inside and outside the scientific community very powerful.

  • Remembering that there are different strategies for reaching decision makers, the media, the nonscientific public, and other scientists can improve the chances that the message will be understood and more favorably received.

  • Getting involved with those who control a school curriculum and working with the teachers are keys to improving the quality of scientific education at the lower levels. It may be possible to establish alliances with museums or other nontraditional educational organizations to achieve these ends.

  • Members of scientific societies can be encouraged to become involved with local schools both in their own home regions and in the locale of a society's annual or specialized meetings.
In considering the responsibility of the geosciences to the public, it is necessary to think in terms of those who rely on the information that the sciences provide, such as the regulatory agencies, special interest groups, and the general public. All agreed that the public must have trust in the information, but the degree to which the different scientific societies felt the need to have accreditation programs or codes of conduct varied depending on whether the society was more closely allied with the basic sciences or with engineering and the applied sciences. The convocation attendees decided that the most important step they could take together to strengthen their individual societies was to share more information. For example, the limited resources of the societies could be used more effectively if they could avoid conflicts in meeting dates and borrow from the products of other societies. With this goal in mind the representatives agreed to five specific actions and asked AGU to provide the database and electronic communication facilities necessary to accommodate these activities.

Meetings Coordination . An electronic calendar of scientific meetings in the geosciences will be developed and maintained. This database will be an expansion of the one now found on AGU's Web site. All geosciences societies will be invited to provide information in a standard format for this database.

Educational Materials . Several societies have either developed educational materials or cataloged educational materials in the Earth and space sciences. These materials include things like resource kits, audiovisual materials, and classroom exercises. It was agreed that each society with such material will provide a simple description and a contact person for further information. To simplify the work of those willing to provide the information, no special format will be required for the information. Rather than attempt to create a single repository for the information, each society with a web site will maintain its own information, and AGU will provide links to the various web sites.

Ethical Guidelines . A mechanism will be established for exchanging samples of ethical guidelines that have been prepared by different societies. Depending on the number that is provided, they may be organized into themes such as ethical guidelines for publication, standards for accreditation, and codes of general scientific conduct. While some of this information may be available publicly, any discussion of these guidelines will be limited to identified society representatives. In this way, a society can circulate drafts of material for comment by other societies.

Media Actions . Toss Gascoigne provided a paper titled "The Voice of Reason; Science and Technology Talking to Government" for the members of the convocation. This paper will be available to the representatives of the nearly 200 societies included in the directory AGU maintains. All of these societies will be encouraged to share information about the media interactions that they have developed or found to be particularly useful; they will also be urged to publicize the points of consensus developed at the 1996 convocation through appropriate society publication outlets.

Visitors. Frequently, scientists traveling to another country would be willing to provide a lecture to an academic institution, to members of a local scientific society, or even to the public in that locale. What they lack is a contact person in the other country through whom they could make appropriate arrangements. With the availability of the World Wide Web, it is possible to provide descriptions of the societies willing to help facilitate these visits and a contact person and e-mail address. Each society can publicize this program to its members. The process is a simple one of providing information for those wishing to take the initiative.

The next convocation of societies in the geophysical sciences will be held in conjunction with the 1997 meeting of the European Union of Geosciences (EUG) in Strasbourg and will be chaired by Vincent Courtillot, president of the EUG. Several possibilities were suggested for the locale for a meeting in 1998 if the societies still see value in these gatherings. For 1999, the General Assembly of the IUGG seemed to be the most attractive choice, since countries from around the world participate in that event.


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