IUGG XXI
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REPORTS OF IUGG REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES

FEDERATION OF ASTRONOMICAL AND
GEOPHYSICAL DATA ANALYSIS SERVICES (FAGS)

1. Report of the President (O. Bedsted Andersen)

The group of FAGS-services is at the moment composed of 10 Services each of which operates under a Directing Board appointed by one or more of the following Unions: IUGG, IAU, and URSI. The administration of FAGS, in particular the setting of the budget, is the responsibility of the FAGS Council to which each of the above-mentioned Unions appoints two representatives. The Council appoints a Secretary who also becomes member of the FAGS Council. The IUGG representatives appointed for the period 1991-95 were P. Melchior and O.B. Andersen, however, P. Melchior was replaced by G. Balmino in 1994.

The President of FAGS 1990-94 E. Tandberg-Hanssen was succeeded by O.B.Andersen and the Secretary of FAGS 1986-92 R. Wielebinski (URSI) was succeeded by D. Pugh (IUGG).

The present Services are the following:

The FAGS Council has met once a year in Paris 1991 and 1992, Brussels 1993, Paris 1994, and Copenhagen 1995. The activities of the Federation and its Services are reported to ICSU. The Services are doing excellent work and are well managed. Thanks are due to the institutions to which the Services belong for their valuable support of the activities of the Services.

FAGS money is received from ICSU and the three Unions involved. The yearly funding has been close on $72,000. ICSU gives about $55,000 whereas IUGG, URSI, and IAU gives $10,000, $2,000, and $5,500, respectively.

All funds are allocated to the Services. The distribution of the grants is based on the reports and requests received from the Services with due consideration to an order of priority set up by the FAGS Council. In 1993 the grants ranged from $1,500 to $17,500. The allocations to the Services are mainly used for the evaluation of data and for support of publication series.

2. Report of the FAGS Secretary (D. Pugh)

The Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical Data Analysis Services is sponsored by three of the ICSU Unions, the IUGG, URSI and the IAU. The two IUGG representatives during this period have been Dr O.B. Andersen and Baron P.J. Melchior. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the honour conferred by the King of Belgium on Baron Melchior in 1993, and the long period of distinguished and devoted service which he has given to FAGS, as well as to the IUGG and other bodies within ICSU. The current President of FAGS is now Dr. O.B. Andersen, who replaced Dr. E.A. Tandberg-Hanssen in 1994. Dr. Tandberg-Hanssen (IAU) continues to serve on the FAGS Council.

A summary of the present Council membership, Permanent Services and their Directors is attached to this report. During the period we have welcomed new Directors to the International Centre for Earth Tides and the Sunspot Index Data Centre.

FAGS provides the framework within ICSU within which a wide range of geophysical and astronomical services are supported and ratified. Although in every case, the money made available through FAGS to the individual Services is much less than the cost of operating the Services, we are continually reminded that the imprimatur provided by FAGS and ICSU frequently enables the generation of additional support from other sources. This is essential, as the funding provided by FAGS itself has remained relatively constant over many years, and is gradually declining in real terms. For example, the money available from ICSU to FAGS in 1995 ($50,600) is substantially lower than the 1994 figure (£54,400). The support of the sponsoring Unions continues to be important. The IUGG contribution ($10,000 per annum) is greater than that of the other two Unions, which have a smaller interest in the Services. Nevertheless, it is pleasing to report that the IAU has more than doubled its contribution since 1993, and the contribution of URSI has remained constant. A summary of the financial allocations is included for information.

In addition to its annual review of reports from the ten Services, and allocating of funds to support them, the FAGS Council has also been involved in several other activities.

1. Discussions within ICSU, with CODATA and the WDC system on possibilities of enhanced collaboration. FAGS Council takes the view that there are many aspects of the technicalities of data management, such as hardware, software and charging policies, where sharing of experience would be beneficial. To this end FAGS has nominated Dr. Martine Feissel (IERS) to represent it on a data panel which CODATA is leading ICSU. However, FAGS Council stated very firmly that the nature of its Services requires that they do far more than collect data: Services are also charged with analysis and interpretation, and in many cases with the development of major observational programmes. These go far beyond the simple concept of data collection.

2. Council has sought to encourage certain extra work by the Services, by inviting them to bid for small additional sums at the beginning of each year. This flexibility margin has allowed the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level to invite representatives from the IERS and the World Glacier Monitoring Service to its Sixtieth Anniversary Meeting in London in December 1993. Nevertheless, there is still scope for further collaboration among the Services, although the ability of FAGS Council to stimulate these will be limited as allocations from ICSU are reduced.

3. During the period, Service Directors were asked to advise on the merits of requiring formal Government commitments to the measuring programmes from which they derive their data. There was general agreement that the flexibility afforded by working directly with individual scientists and specialists, rather than through Government mechanisms, should be retained. The Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level pointed out that although it operates within the non-Governmental framework of ICSU and FAGS, it has nevertheless encouraged the development of an intergovernmental sea level network within the framework of the In-tergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, and that it continues to work very closely with intergovernmental bodies.

4. FAGS Council decided that some effort should be spent on making the wider scientific community aware of the role of FAGS as an integrating organisation for the several Services. To this end FAGS Council was pleased to be invited to participate in the ICSU General Assembly in Santiago, Chile, in October 1993. Also, the FAGS Secretary prepared a special article on the nature and mission of FAGS which has been widely published by several organisations within the ICSU family. A copy of this article is attached for the information of the IUGG Council.

During 1995, there will be a review of FAGS as part of the on-going ICSU review of interdisciplinary bodies. At present Council is working on the papers for submitting to that review, and will be finalising the input when it meets on 24 April 1995.

IUGG XXI
Comptes Rendus

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