Introduction to GIFT-2008

The 6th Geophysical Information for Teachers (GIFT) Workshop, taking place during the EGU 2008 Assembly, focuses on the carbon cycle

To be scientifically credible the design and implementation of large-scale nutrient addition experiments must be transparent and the results must be clearly stated and made available to the scientific community and the general public. Carbon credits for fertilization should not be allowed unless and until reliable methods have been developed to estimate and verify the amount of carbon actually sequestered, and side effects have been properly understood and taken into account. It is essential that each stage of these experiments is reviewed by well-qualified experts free of vested interests. The goal of any new experiment on the effects of nutrient addition should be to increase our understanding of ocean processes at adequate spatial and temporal resolution. ...

To almost everyone, the name H.M.S. Beagle is invariably connected to the Charles Darwin. But Darwin's voyage was the second voyage of the Beagle, not the first. The first mission of beagle was to participate in a hydrographical survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, accompanying the larger 380 ton ship, Adventure. The Beagle sailed from Plymouth on May 22, 1826. ...

Many human activities are heat producing, from industrial processes to household activities and urban lifestyles in general including all forms of transportation, and, of course, any use of energy irrespective of its source which deposits waste heat in the environment. It is essential to develop strategies to capture waste heat before it is emitted into the atmosphere where it contributes to the urban and global warming effect. ...