Graduates' Decision Points for Majoring in the Geosciences, Spring 2013

Quantitative Skills and Core Science Courses Taken by Geoscience Graduates, Spring 2013

Go online today to view a new webcast detailing resources, events, and opportunities available through Earth Science Week, the annual worldwide celebration of the geosciences! Find the "Introduction to Earth Science Week 2013" webcast online now for viewing at your convenience.

In the first study of its kind, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) Workforce Program has published the results of the National Geoscience Student Exit Survey, which documents the experiences of graduating geosciences majors. The need for continued growth in the geoscience workforce is well documented and supported by its continuance as one of the most lucrative majors at U.S. universities. However, whether those new graduates are ready for these opportunities has been a major question that this new report tries to address.

AGI is collaborating with the Houston Geological Society (HGS) and the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to extend and deepen the reach of the successful Earth Science Week campaign throughout the Houston area with special events, educational materials, online resources, and activities in schools and other settings.

Celebrate the second annual Geologic Map Day! On October 18, as a part of the Earth Science Week 2013 activities, join leading geoscience organizations in promoting awareness of the importance of geologic mapping to society.

The American Geosciences Institute's Workforce Program was able to analyze data on 18,000 precollege students who indicated an inclination towards a major in the physical sciences and scored well on the SAT in 2012 and in 2013.

The world is buzzing with the hum of servers containing terabytes of the world's collective datasets. And the geosciences are no different. Geoscientists are awash in data like never before. The challenge now for the geoscience community is how to best integrate disparate datasets for communal use and establish uniform standards for data entry. Now, communities of computer scientists and geoscientists are coming together to tackle the challenge of how best to integrate the wealth of data describing the earth system and to encourage geoscientists to dust off their personal collections for integration into the cumulative data cloud.

Each year, as hurricanes hit U.S. coastlines, scientists study them to improve forecasts critical for saving lives and property. Last year, unmanned aircraft from NASA flew into the biggest storms as part of a project to improve hurricane forecasts by 50 percent over the next 10 years. EARTH Magazine reports in the August issue, three projects in particular - the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program, NASA's 2010 Genesis and Rapid Intensification Project Field Experiment and its replacement, the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel Project - may be responsible for a 20 percent error reduction in the hurricane track and intensity forecasts.