Newsletter Vol 7 Issue 2

Welcome to the Fall 1999 Issue of the CSAM Newsletter. Enclosed are introductions from the newly appointed members of the Executive. We have reports on the CSAM 99 Technical Session and Business meeting, it was good to see some of you there. We have reports on various other meetings and the upcoming CSAM and AMS meetings in 2000.

I am trying something a bit different with the layout this time which will hopefully convert to the web page format a bit easier. Any comments ?

Thanks to all contributors. Enjoy.

Hugh McLean

(hmclean@em.agr.ca)

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

The accomplishments of agricultural and forest meteorologists in Canada were recently reviewed by Dr. George Robertson (see last CSAM newsletter). There is much to be proud of, indeed! The mandate of our Society is to foster the collaboration, and to promote the exchange of information among the professionals in agrometeorology. During my term, I would like to continue the excellent work that our past-presidents did towards the fulfillment of this mandate. Our annual meeting in Charlottetown was very successful, and I would like to thank Sean McGinn (president 1998/99), and Andy Bootsma (eastern director) for their dedication in organizing the scientific sessions and the CSAM banquet. CSAM recognized the achievements of several scientists, and thanked outgoing Executive members during the banquet as described in this newsletter.

I am looking forward to working with the members of the Executive this coming year. I would like to welcome Lianne Dwyer, our new president-elect, and Jon Warland, our new eastern director. With us for another term are Herb Cutforth (western director), Rob Gordon (secretary/treasurer), Sean McGinn (past president), Elizabeth Pattey (web page editor) and Hugh McLean (newsletter editor). Some of our objectives for this year are to continue the drive to increase membership initiated by Sean McGinn, to promote our student travel award, to plan CSAM participation at AIC 2000 (Winnipeg) and AIC 2001 (Guelph), and possibly to coordinate a session at the CMOS meeting in Victoria. Also, an increased use of the CSAM web page as a vehicle to exchange information will be emphasized by posting name and e-mail address of members on the site.

Suggestions or comments are always welcome; please send them directly to me at:

(criddle@lrs.uoguelph.ca) or

Phone 519-824-4120 ext. 2787 Fax 519-824-5730

Claudia Wagner-Riddle

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INTRODUCTION OF THE PRESIDENT-ELECT

Lianne Dwyer is a crop physiologist who has worked in the area of crop production, adaptation and agrometeorology for more than 20 years. Research efforts have focused on problems in Crop Physiology and Production. Recent research activities (since 1990) have been in canopy architecture and relationship to yield potential, physiological contributions to genetic improvement, and crop response to management decisions, including crop adaptation to thermal zonation, crop adaptation to reduced tillage, soil climate, nitrogen use efficiency and identification and management of drought stress. She joined Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 1980 following a two year postdoctoral fellowship in Agrometeorology. Dr. Dwyer has worked as a research scientist, study leader and program leader for the Research Branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Ottawa. She has been Associate Editor of Crop Science Society of America and will be Technical Editor of Crop Science Society of America in 2000. Dr. Dwyer is currently with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as Deputy Director in charge of research at the Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Ottawa.

Lianne Dwyer

(dwyerl@em.agr.ca)

CSAM President-Elect

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INTRODUCTION OF THE EASTERN DIRECTOR

A brief introduction: I originally come from `gorges' Ithaca, NY, where I also earned my BS in soil science at Cornell. After that I moved to BC, where I worked on a wind tunnel study of forest turbulence under the supervision of Mike Novak at UBC. I recently finished my PhD here at Guelph with George Thurtell. The title of my thesis is `Applications and Theory of Micrometeorological Flux Measurement' and it can be found as a PDF document on my website. I have now joined the faculty here, and I will be teaching micrometeorology and instrumentation while continuing to research methods of measuring and modeling exchange processes between vegetated surfaces and the lower atmosphere. I have need of graduate students (if you know of anyone, have them drop me a line!), and would be happy to hear from any you about most anything. On the personal side, my hobbies are history, philosophy, physics, music and home brewing.

I'm looking forward to serving as Eastern director and meeting many more CSAM members. And I am especially looking forward to seeing all of you in Guelph in 2001.

Jon Warland

CSAM Eastern Director

(519) 824-4120 x.6374

(jwarland@lrs.uoguelph.ca)

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~jwarland

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MESSAGE FROM THE WEB PAGE EDITOR

Please take few minutes to browse the web site of the Society for providing us with your feedback. We also need your assistance for completing/updating the email addresses presented in the list of members. We welcome electronic scientific presentations as well as the list of your latest publications for posting them on the site.

http://www.oac.uoguelph.ca/~csam/

Elizabeth Pattey

(PatteyE@em.agr.ca)

CSAM Web Editor

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MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY/TREASURER

I thought it might be useful to describe to all CSAM members a little about the societies finances. As you all know, our annual membership fees are $20 for full members and $5 for student members. Do you know however, that these rates are the same as they were over a decade ago? They are also the lowest rates of any of the scientific societies under the Agricultural Institute of Canada (AIC). In fact our membership fees are less than 1/4 of the average membership fees of the other scientific societies for full members and less than 1/3 of the price for student memberships.

Of the $20 membership fee for regular members, $15 of that is turned over to AIC. We receive most of that back however, through funding that is provided directly to CSAM to help organize our annual meetings and technical sessions.

As a result of our low overhead, or should I say our nonexistent overhead, the primary expenses that we incur are related to the newsletter preparation, awards and printing. This has allowed us to, over the years, save a great deal of our revenue while at the same time maintaining these very low membership rates. As a result, we have been able to invest some of this revenue into money making ventures. For example, in 1998 we purchased a $5,000 GIC for a three year term at 4.5% interest. This generates $225.00 in interest annually which is now dedicated to our new student travel award.

If members have any suggestions or recommendations regarding CSAM finances, please feel free to contact me.

Robert Gordon

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AIC 1999

REPORT ON CSAM TECHNICAL SESSIONS

The 1999 CSAM Technical Sessions were held at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, P.E.I. on August 9 and 10 in conjunction with the Agricultural Institute of Canada 79^th Annual Conference. A total of twenty-one people registered with CSAM, although more attended the sessions. Four of the registrants were students.

On Monday afternoon, August 9, the society held a joint symposium on Nutrient Cycling with the Canadian Societies of Soil Science and Agronomy. This session was very well attended, with over 80 people present. Five of the ten papers at this session were presented by CSAM members. Topics included papers on N and C gas emissions from soils, crops, fertilizer and manure systems, and on nitrogen transformations, losses through leaching and surface runoff, and nitrogen use efficiency.

CSAM technical sessions were held on Tuesday morning and afternoon, August 9. Fourteen oral and ten poster papers were presented. The poster session was held in the same location as the Canadian Societies of Agronomy and Horticultural Science. Papers were presented on topics such as micrometeorological flux measurements of various gases over crops, turf grass and from manure piles, modeling vegetation distribution and high winds in forests, modeling soil water surpluses, crop development rate, disease, plant water stress, and water quality from watersheds. Also included were papers on climate change on the prairies, spatial and time trend analyses, weather generators, effects of climate on wheat production and nitrogen dynamics in corn. There were five papers entered into the student competition for the Campbell Scientific Inc. student prize. Complete abstracts of all the technical papers are available at the AIC'99 web site at: http://www.upei.ca/~aic99/. Abstracts are also expected to be published in the Canadian Journal of Soil Science as in previous years.

The evening banquet was held in conjunction with the Canadian Society of Agronomy. We were joined by a relatively large delegation of farmers from Australia attending the conference . Much appreciation is due to Dr. Tapani Kunelius of the Charlottetown Research Centre for organizing this event at the Charlottetown Hotel. We were treated with fine food and a slide tour of flower gardens by Bert Christie's talk was on 'Gardens of Oceania'. Certificates were presented by our incoming president Claudia Wagner-Riddle to retiring president Sean McGinn, and retiring eastern director Andy Bootsma to recognize their services to CSAM. Philippe Rochette's services on behalf of CSAM as an Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of Soil Science were recognized with a plaque. The Campbell Scientific Inc. student prize was awarded to Selma Maggiotto of the University of Guelph. A plaque was also presented to Dr. Charles Bourque, last year's recipient of the Graham Walker Memorial Award. This year's recipient of the Graham Walker Memorial Award was Mr. Guy Ash of Manitoba Agriculture who will be awarded the plaque at AIC2000. Dr. Ray Desjardins was awarded the highest distinction of the society by becoming a CSAM Fellow. Philippe Rochette highlighted Ray's contribution to research and presented him with a plaque.

A hearty thanks to all who attended and contributed to making this year's annual meeting a successful and enjoyable event.

Submitted by Andy Bootsma

CSAM 1999 Attendees from left to right: Jon Warland, Robert Gordon, Ray Desjardins, Murray Brown, Claudia Wagner-Riddle, Wole Akinremi, Herb Cutforth, Philippe Rochette, Andy Bootsma, Lianne Dwyer, Sean McGinn, Li Hongmei, Charles Bourque, Bao Luo Ma, Selma Maggiotto, Hugh McLean.

At the end of the Business Meeting Past President Sean McGinn passed the Middleton Net Radiometer Gavel to President Claudia Wagner-Riddle. (Photo by H. McLean)

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CSAM FELLOW AWARD

The following address was given at Charlottetown by Philippe Rochette, who nominated Ray Desjardins for the CSAM Fellow Award.

Good evening Ray, Anne, everyone:

Ray, by nominating you Fellow of the Society, CSAM is recognizing the outstanding contributions that you made to agmet research on the national and international scenes. In the next few minutes, I would like to make a rapid tour of your accomplishments during the last 30 years.

Ray, like many other agrometeorologists has always been obsessed by measurements. The object of his obsession was and is still to measure the rate at which gas is exchanged between agricultural fields and the atmosphere. Among the different gases that transit between soil, plants and air, Ray has always had a preference for CO₂. He was among the first who attempted to measure instantaneous rates of photosynthesis and respiration of entire crop canopies and how these processes influence yield. If we compare a growing season to a hockey game, traditional agronomists go to bed after the first face-off and read the final score the next morning in the newspaper while Ray wanted to watch the game play-by-play and see how every goal was scored. I believe that he also enjoyed the fights...

Ray did not only spend a lot of time and energy measuring CO₂ fluxes, he also invented new techniques to improve his measurements. As a graduate student in Cornell, he conceived a novel way of quantifying gas exchange called the "Eddy Accumulation" technique. He showed mathematically that if you could sample air at a given height conditionally to its vertical direction and proportionally to its vertical velocity, all you would have to do is to measure the mean concentration of both pooled samples, feed that in a simple equation and obtain the mean flux over that period. While the technical difficulties in applying this theory have not been overcome yet, a simplified version of this technique is now commonly used in agmet research.

The second Ray's major contribution to the field of gas flux measurement was the development of a fast-response open-path infrared CO₂/H₂O sensor. This instrument is capable of measuring the air concentration in both gases up to 50 times per second without interfering with the air flow. Ray had this instrument working continuously for days and nights in the field before many others even thought it could be possibly built.

Until the late 70's, Ray had only used his instruments on tower-based measuring systems in agricultural fields. Then, he realized that the technology that he had developed could be used on another platform. Ray was the driving force behind the development of airborne flux observation by eddy correlation technique in Canada. There had been some early attempts in the US, in the late 70's, but around 1980, he contacted NRC's Flight Research Laboratory about possibly involving the Twin Otter aircraft, used at that time primarily for cloud physics studies. Out of the early initiatives, with collaboration of Ian MacPherson of NRC and Peter Schuepp of McGill University, came what is still the only such facility in Canada, and one of the leading facilities, worldwide. Actually, it is, in the opinion of many, the best one for low-level flux observations.

Ray's contributions here were (i) as 'visionary', who had the foresight to see the potential of this new technique, and (ii) through his vast expertise on instrument development and measurement techniques. He also has an incredible network of colleagues which collaborate with him, communicate with him or at least know of him, all over the world.

During the early years (1980 - 1986), emphasis was on airborne monitoring of CO₂ exchange for improved yield prediction, with attempts to explore the potential to monitor hail damage through its reduction in photosynthesis, or forest productivity modification through draining, forest fire impact, etc. The pioneering aspects of those studies is underlined by the fact that the Twin Otter graced the cover of Science in 1982.

In subsequent years, applications focused more on land surface climatology in large-scale experiments like FIFE, BOREAS and GEWEX. However, largely through Ray's participation, agricultural applications were always included. For example, ozone uptake by agricultural crops was measured in the California Ozone Deposition Experiment (CODE) and a continuing effort is made to try to use the aircraft for the development and validation of regional models of greenhouse gas production from agricultural sources.

Ray has also been very supportive of graduate students in the area of airborne flux observations, ready with constructive advice and making himself available unstintingly. During the last 15 years, he has supervised 10 M. Sc. and 12 Ph. D. students.

Dr. Desjardins's qualities are not limited to the field of experimental research. During the last ten years, he has managed complex research programs involving many research teams across the country. Since the early 90's, he played a key role in the Canadian research efforts for assessing the contribution of agriculture to atmospheric and climatic changes. Recently, he co-authored an excellent publication "The Health of our Air"summarizing the results of these research activities.

I would not forgive myself if I omit mentioning the role that your wife, Anne, played at your side during your career. I have lost track of the number of scientists from all over the world who had the chance to stay at the Desjardins's home while visiting Ray's lab in Ottawa. Actually, Ray, I think that Anne's hospitality and fine cuisine was one of your secret weapons for attracting these visiting scientists.

Finally, Ray, I would like to add that it has been a privilege for me to work for 8 years in your lab. I have learned many things from you. First, I have witnessed that success is not only the result of great ideas but also of intensive work and long days and long weeks. Second, I have always been impressed by how you reacted to problems. Every time that your prototypes failed a test, you were never discouraged but rather took that hurdle as a challenge and came forward with potential solutions. Third, during all those years, you never lost your enthusiasm for research. I believe that part of your success came from this enthusiasm that you communicated to your teammates, giving them the momentum necessary to reach the goals.

Ray, I know that you don't like to look backward and prefer to focus ahead on new ideas and projects to initiate. It is clear to those who know you that this honour is not the end of the road, but just another milestone in a journey that is still far from destination.

Congratulations for a well-deserved honour

Charlottetown, August 10 1999

Submitted by Philippe Rochette

Presenting Ray Desjardins with his CSAM Fellow award are Claudia Wagner-Riddle and Philippe Rochette.

(Photo by H. McLean)

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Graham Walker Memorial Award

The 1999 Graham Walker Memorial Award has been awarded to Guy Ash, of Manitoba Agriculture. Since he was unable to be at CSAM 99 the award will be presented at CSAM 2000 Technical sessions in Winnipeg.

As mentioned above, Dr. Charles Bourque was nominated for this award last year and was presented with the plaque by Rod Gordon and Claudia Wagner-Riddle at CSAM 99. See the CSAM fall 98 issue for a write up.

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Campbell Scientific Inc. Student Presentation Award

Every year Campbell Scientific Inc. Canada sponsors an award ($250) to the best student (oral or poster) presentation given at the CSAM meeting. At Charlottetown, the best presentation selected was by Selma Maggiotto. Ms. Maggiotto is in the final year of her Ph.D. study at the University of Guelph, and presented a paper entitled "Nitrous oxide and nitrogen emissions from turfgrass fertilized with ammonium nitrate, urea, and slow-release urea". Ms. Maggiotto previously studied at the "University de São Paulo" in Brazil, obtaining a B.Sc. (Agr.) in 1991 and a M.Sc. in 1996. The award was presented by Rob Gordon during the CSAM banquet on August 10.

Selma Maggiotto receiving her Campbell Scientific Best Student paper award from Robert Gordon and Claudia Wagner-Riddle. Robert Gordon presented the award on behalf of Campbell Scientific Canada. (Photo by H. McLean)

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CSAM Student Travel Grant

Last year a Student Travel Grant was created to financially help graduate students attend CSAM Technical Sessions using the revenue from investments. The 1999 Student Travel Grant went to Brendan Murphy from the University of Northern British Columbia, who is working with Peter Jackson. Brendan Murphy presented a paper titled "Extrapolation of high winds in complex terrain: an application in the McGregor Model Forest of British Columbia. Part I: Synoptic Meteorology". He also presented a poster that covered "Part II: Numerical Simulation"

This is also a reminder that there is a Travel Grant for Graduate Student Members to help with travel expenses to the Annual CSAM Technical Sessions. Please see, and direct your students to the CSAM web site for more information (http://www.oac.uoguelph.ca/~csam/)

Past President Sean McGinn presenting Brendan Murphy of the University of Northern British Columbia the Student Travel Grant. (Photo by H. McLean)

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AGROMETEOROLOGY POSITION

The Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba invites applications for a full-time tenure track position in agrometeorology at the rank of Assistant Professor. The position, subject to final budgetary approval, will commence January 3, 2000 or as soon as possible thereafter. A Ph.D. degree with specialization in agrometeorology or meteorology is required. Applicants shall have expertise in soil-plant-atmosphere interactions including energy and mass exchanges at the earth's surface and climates of vegetative surfaces. Post-doctoral experience is preferred. The successful candidate will be required to: (1) teach undergraduate and graduate courses in agrometeorology and related areas such as soil and water management, (2) develop an active research program in his/her area of specialization and (3) supervise postgraduate students. The Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences encourages staff to initiate and/or participate in interdisciplinary research and teaching. The candidate will be expected to establish collaborative research related to areas such as precision agriculture and effects of weather on agricultural pests and production systems. The candidate will also be expected to participate in outreach and service. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience; the salary range for the Assistant Professor level is currently $41,690 - $63,765 per annum. The University of Manitoba encourages applications from qualified women and men including members of visible minorities, aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities. In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, this advertisement is directed to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Send applications with a detailed curriculum vitae including a summary of teaching philosophy and interests, present and future research interests, academic transcripts, and names of three referees by November 30, 1999.

Dr. G.J. Racz
Department of Soil Science
Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences
The University of Manitoba
362 Ellis Building
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3T 2N2

PH: (204) 474-6036 FAX: (204) 474-7642

E-mail raczgj@ms.umanitoba.ca

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RECENT THESIS from the University of Guelph

Applications and theory of micrometeorogical flux measurement. Jon S. Warland, Ph.D. Thesis, July 1999. Advisor: G. W. Thurtell.
Several aspects of micrometeorological flux measurement are explored in this thesis. After a brief sketch of the history of the topic, the field testing of a tunable diode laser trace gas analyzer system (TDLTGAS) is reported. This system uses infrared absorption spectroscopy to monitor atmospheric ammonia concentrations. We monitored ammonia concentration gradients over 3 plots receiving different manure applications. From the gradients, fluxes of ammonia were calculated every 15~min, allowing continuous monitoring of the three treatments. The system functioned well and analysis of the response showed no problems with ammonia adsorption to the walls of the system. A technique for monitoring flux ratios from small (<5 m2) microplots was also field tested. This method monitors concentration profiles close to the surface, and from these the ratio of gradients, which is equal to the ratio of fluxes, is calculated. The field test of this method used acetylene inhibition of denitrification. Acetylene prevents the reduction of N2O to N2 by denitrifying bacteria, thereby increasing the flux of N2O by an amount equal to the N2 flux that would have been. By comparing the ratio of N2O fluxes from microplots with and without acetylene, an estimate of N2 production by denitrification was obtained. Field testing showed the technique to be practical and easily implemented. The final chapter of this thesis analyzes the relationship between a canopy scalar source profile and the resulting concentration profile. The model developed here translates the temporal near-field into a spatial near-field, allowing a concentration profile to be calculated from a source distribution through a mixing matrix. The mixing matrix sums up the contribution of each source to the gradient at each height, and the gradient profile is then integrated to determine the concentration profile. Comparison of the model with a wind tunnel dispersion experiment shows excellent agreement, though field testing of the model is still required.

Nitrous oxide flux from stored solid dairy manure. Heather A. Brown, M.Sc. Thesis, December 1998. Advisor: C. Wagner-Riddle.
Two studies were conducted on solid dairy manure from the Elora Research Station, Elora, Ontario, to determine the potential for nitrous oxide (N2O) production, during the storage term. In one study, a laboratory flow-through chamber method was employed to quantify N2O flux continuously, from solid dairy manure in a temperature-controlled environment. Factors that affect N2O production, such as percent water content and redox potential, were also monitored. In another study, a micrometeorological mass balance technique quantified the N2O flux from the same manure pile under field conditions for 8 days of semi-continuous measurements. N2O was generated in a shallow layer beneath the surface of the manure pile, and fluxes were highest at water contents between 55 and 70% and redox potential between 150 and 250 mV. The micrometeorological mass balance method measured a mean daily flux of 0.40 g N2O-N m-2 day-1. Fluxes were elevated after a rainfall.

Biogenic isoprene in the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia. Kristina C. Curren, Ph.D. Thesis, December 1998. Advisor: T.J. Gillespie
Tropospheric ozone is formed by photochemical reactions between nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds. In some regions, biogenic isoprene may be a significant contributor to the production of tropospheric ozone. The contribution of biogenic isoprene is an important aspect of regional ozone chemistry as it represents an ozone precursor that cannot be eliminated through emissions controls.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the sources, emission rates, and ambient concentrations of isoprene in the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia, and to evaluate its contribution to the regional production of tropospheric ozone. Field studies were conducted to identify natural sources of isoprene in the region and to quantify the rates of emission. Ambient isoprene monitoring data were used to examine isopreneÆs relationship with temperature, determine its source, construct diurnal time-concentration profiles, and investigate the chemical and physical factors that limit its concentrations. The Integrated Empirical Rate model examined the chemical characteristics of the Lower Fraser Valley air mass during ozone events and studies evaluating isoprene's relative reactivity were reviewed.

Few species of plants in the Lower Fraser Valley were found to emit isoprene in appreciable amounts. Ambient concentrations of total isoprene were correspondingly low throughout the day and in all seasons. Measurable concentrations of isoprene in winter and on cool summer days, as well as the positive correlation of isoprene with hydrocarbons known to be emitted from anthropogenic mobile sources, indicated that isoprene in the Lower Fraser Valley originated from both biogenic and anthropogenic sources. Therefore, biogenic isoprene constituted only a fraction of the small total isoprene load. Diurnal profiles of isoprene showed that the times of peak concentrations of isoprene did not coincide with peak NOx concentrations nor with the times of optimal ozone-producing meteorological conditions. Finally, in spite of isoprene's high reactivity, biogenic isoprene was estimated to be responsible for only ~ 7.5% of the total production of ozone downwind of Vancouver's centre during the mild episode of 1993. Thus, the weight of evidence from the research performed and reviewed in this thesis indicates that biogenic isoprene is not a major contributor to the production of ozone in the Lower Fraser Valley.

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CHU Maps of Eastern Canada now online.

Please note that a map of average Crop Heat Units (CHU) for eastern Canada is now available on line at the following URL:

http://res.agr.ca/CANSIS/SYSTEMS/online_maps.html

CHU are used to evaluate the climatic suitability for production of corn and soybeans and to recommend and/or evaluate specific hybrids/varieties in different CHU zones. The map is interactive, i.e. you can zoom in and out, or zoom to a place name that is in the Canadian Geographical Names Data Base maintained by Natural Resources Canada.

Please note that an updated and more detailed CHU for Quebec is in preparation and should be published either later this year or early next in a Technical Bulletin. The revised map will be based on a re-analysis of the latest available climate data for Quebec for the 1961-1990 period.

Any comments on the site would be very much appreciated.

Andy Bootsma

Tel: (613) 759-1526

email: BootsmaA@em.agr.ca

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Second International Symposium on Non-CO₂ Greenhouse Gases (NCGG-2)

Scientific understanding, control and implementation

Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands

September 8-10, 1999

The Second International Symposium on Non-CO₂ Greenhouse Gases (NCGG) was held September 8-10, 1999, in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands, and was attended by 200 participants representing 37 countries. The objectives of the symposium were to document new results and knowledge of the role of NCGGs in climate change and to be instrumental in the process of furthering the mitigation of NCGGs, through improved emissions inventories, a set of mitigation options, and optimal national and international approaches. Symposium presentations focused on three main themes: emission inventories, scenarios and scientific understanding of sources, sinks and atmospheric processes; technological options; and policy options.

The symposium was convened in part to address the needs of Working Group III of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in preparation for its third Assessment Report, due in 2001. The report will provide a state-of-the-art assessment of policy relevant scientific, technical, social and economic aspects of climate change, as well as global and regional estimates of greenhouse gas emissions. The NCGG-2 symposium served as a venue where assessment and inventory methodologies for NCGGs could be discussed as a contribution to the activities of the third Assessment Report.

The importance of NCGGs was highlighted in terms of the following:

•NCGGs contribute to a third of global warming problems so potentially can provide a third of the solution to global warming.
•Non-CO₂ related mitigation options are cheaper than CO₂ related mitigation options.
•The inclusion of NCGGs to the Kyoto Protocol has greatly enhanced the flexibility for meeting emission reduction commitments.
•NCGGs are to a great extent avoidable byproducts of industry, traffic and agriculture.
•Early reduction of NCGGs buys time for the development of technologies that reduce CO₂ emissions.

The keynote address was given by the Netherlands minister for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment and outlined the Netherlands' National Policy Implementation Plan for meeting Kyoto commitments. Other presentations at the symposium discussed issues associated with emission assessment methodologies, global and regional inventories, mitigation strategies and policy options. Information from the symposium will be the basis for global and regional assessments of NCGGs in the IPCC third Assessment Report. Proceedings of the symposium will be published in early 2000.

Submitted by Samuel Gameda

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AIC/CSAM 2000

Agri-Food 2000 Conference

Agri-Food 2000 will be held July 15 - 20 in the Winnipeg Convention Centre. It will be different from AIC conferences held in the past in that it will be held together with the Canadian Society of Agricultural Engineering and the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology. It is an opportunity to follow the course of food production and processing from the planting of the seed to the consumer's plate. The Monday sessions will consists of the opening Plenary Session in the morning and an Agri-Food Industry Showcase in the afternoon. In addition to the usual day of meetings for our society on the Tuesday, on Wednesday there will be a number of "integrated" sessions in which topics of interest to more than one society can be explored from each society's point of view. This will provide an opportunity for us to demonstrate the role of our discipline in the Agri-Food Industry. There will also be the usual pre- and post- conference tours, and social events.

This promises to be an most interesting conference, so mark you calendars and plan to come.

For more information contact Agri-Food 2000 at

phone: 204-261-6139 fax: 204-474-7521

http://www.agrifood2000.mb.ca

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CMOS 2000 Meetings

Just a reminder that the 34 Congress of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society is being held
29 May to 2 June 2000, at the University of Victoria, Victoria, BC

The web site for info is: http://www.cccma.bc.ec.gc/cmos2000/

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AMS 2000 Davis, California 14-18 August

24^th Conference on Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
Contact Roger H. Shaw at (rhshaw@ucdavis.edu) for more information

14^th Conference on Biometeorology and Aerobiology
Contact Dennis Driscoll (driscoll@ariel.met.tam.edu) for the biometeorology sessions and
Scott Isard (s-isard@unic.edu) for the aerobiology sessions.

Third Symposium on the Urban Environment
Contact Sue Grimmond (grimmon@indiana.edu) for more information.

Deadlines for the abstracts is 21 February 2000. Abstracts be submitted electronically via the AMS web site at: http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS

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NOMINATIONS FOR AIC AWARDS

AIC is seeking nominations for their next year's awards. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2000.

These awards include: AIC fellowship, Outstanding Young Agrologist award, Institute Recognition award, AIC International Recognition award, Grindley medal, Honorary membership, Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame Association, Order of Canada. I have received a form for these nominations, and they are also on the webpage (www.aic.ca/progs/awards.html). We are being asked to think seriously about any members of our organization who should be recognized.

Submitted by Claudia Wagner-Riddle

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Posted Nov 18/99