Physics Portal
http://www.nature.com/physics/
As part of the Journal Nature's Web site, the Physics Portal, is an online resource providing physicists easy access to timely, relevant research. After the free registration users can view current and past articles, arranged by subject including everything from astro to quantum physics. The site also contains news articles, meeting and job information, a links page, and more, making it a must-stop for any researcher or educator in the field. [JAB]
[Back to Contents]

Ranking of the World's Oil and Gas Provinces by Known Petroleum Volumes
http://greenwood.cr.usgs.gov/energy/WorldEnergy/OF97-463/97463.html
A recent USGS open file report entitled Ranking of the World's Oil and Gas Provinces by Known Petroleum Volumes groups the worlds 937 geologic provinces into eight regions by known petroleum volumes of field. This site succintly describes the ranking methods used and results of the study. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Middle East and North Africa was found to contain nearly twice as many billions of barrels of oil than any other area. The researchers hope that the rankings will "facilitate studies of reserve growth, assessment of undiscovered resources, and analysis of economics and risk". [JAB]
[Back to Contents]

New Publication Explores Challenges to Thermophysical Researchers [.pdf]
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/update/upd011113.htm#Chemistry
In June 2000, the Fourteenth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties was held to review the progress of thermophysics over the last 100 years and to look forward to the next century of research and development in thermophysics. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides a special publication online covering the event, including overviews of topical issues by professionals in the field and several brief, invited essays on issues raised in the forum by panelists, audience participants, and other experts in thermophysics. The topics addressed in the 113 page .pdf document include molecular modeling, nuclear waste cleanup, power plants, process and chemical manufacturing, data evaluation, and simulation and sensitivity analysis. [HCS]
[Back to Contents]

Two Datasets from Antarctica
Ice Thickness and Surface Elevation, Southeastern Ross Embayment,West Antarctica
http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0099.html
A Databank of Antarctic Surface Temperature and Pressure Data
http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ndp032/ndp032.html
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has released online ice thickness and surface elevation data for the Ross Ice Sheet of Western Antarctica. This data is a result of the Corridor aerogeophysics of the Southeastern Ross Transect Zone (CASERTZ) experiments of the 1990s. According to NSDIC, "the CASERTZ geophysical surveys were aimed at understanding geological controls on ice streams of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, ultimately to help assess the potential for ice sheet collapse." Tables listing season/flight, date, latitude and longitude, and thickness (m) are displayed in ASCII text format and are also downloadable via FTP. Antarctic monthly mean sea surface temperature and pressure data are accessible online from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) of Oak Ridge, TN. Compiled by the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, UK, this data is an update of temperature. and pressure data collected between 1957-1990 from 29 stations over Antarctica. CDIAC's Web page of this climatic research project displays a map of sampling localities and a table of contents, guiding readers to figure and table lists, the abstract, the introduction, data sources, error checking techniques, data revisions, file descriptions, and references. The data tables are presented in ASCII format and can be downloaded via FTP (instructions given). [HCS]
[Back to Contents]

Hydride Information Center
http://hydpark.ca.sandia.gov/
This site, posted by the US Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories, " provides access to a comprehensive set of databases on metal-hydrogen systems, their properties, applications, literature sources, and profiles of organizations involved in metal-hydrogen development." Metal hydrides are important because they are commonly used in batteries and as hydrogen fuel storage cells for autos and power generation (a fossil fuel alternative). The technical part of the database has hydride material listings (searchable by material, author, year); hydride properties (searchable by name, formula, pressure and temperature); and references (searchable by reference number, author, keyword). Another section of the database deals with applications (storage, processing, electrochemical). Scientists interested in using the Hydride Information Center database will also like the conference announcements and contact lists. [HCS]
[Back to Contents]

New Maps from the USDA
http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/land/index/newmaps.html
As part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Natural Resources Conservation Services State of the Land Web site provides analysis products to the public. The latest release of nearly fifty maps have been made available, consisting mainly of agriculturally related information, such as percent of prime farmland used as cropland and pastureland in the United States. Other topics include land use cover by state and percent of non-federal area in water. All maps are downloadable, and most have a link to the related state summary table and the data file used to make each map. [JAB]
[Back to Contents]

Physical Reference Data
http://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/contents.html
National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Physical Reference Data Web site (last mentioned in the August 16, 1996 Scout Report) provides data on physical constants, ionization, x-ray and gamma-ray, radiation dosimetry, nuclear and condensed matter physics, atomic and molecular spectroscopic data, and more. For example, within the searchable physical constants page, visitors can find everything from alpha particle mass to the Wien displacement law constant. Any researcher, professional, or graduate student in related fields will find this readily accessible information invaluable. [JAB]
[Back to Contents]

Petrological Database of the Ocean Floor
http://petdb.ldeo.columbia.edu/petdb/
Carried by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) of Columbia University, the Petrological Database of the Ocean Floor is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research project that includes over 30,000 samples and over 700,000 chemical values from oceanic stations throughout the world. Samples can be searched by location, expedition name, ship name, sample characteristics, reference, or by chemistry. A typical result might include the sample id, description, age, date, tectonic setting, latitude/longitude of site, rock chemistry analysis, and more. Uncluttered and easy to use, this site provides an excellent resource for users wanting to utilize this somewhat nonubiquitous data. [JAB]
[Back to Contents]