INA
NANNO NEWS Jan 2002


Nanno News is the newsletter of the International Nannoplankton Association. The printed version is sent out to members with the Journal of Nannoplankton Research.
Editor Jean Self-Trail, HTML conversion by Jeremy Young.


Contents


LETTER FROM THE NANNO NEWS EDITOR

Welcome to another addition of Nanno News! You'll probably notice that this issue is thicker than is usual for news and gossip among the nannoplankton community. This is because included with this issue is a copy of the proposed Bylaws of the International Nannoplankton Association. This is your chance to read through the bylaws and suggest any changes that you deem appropriate. Send your suggestions via email or snail mail to Woody Wise. A final vote on the ratification of the INA Bylaws will take place in Parma, Italy, so be sure to get your suggestions in to Woody before the meeting.

You will also notice that a new section (Industry News) has been added to Nanno News. Mike Styzen (Shell Oil Co.) has graciously offered to be the industry correspondent and to write about what is going on in "Big Oil". However, he can't do it alone! I need a couple of volunteers to help Mike write this section, preferably from a different part of the world (i.e. Europe, Asia, etc.) and a different corporation. The idea is to let members know what is going on in the oil community, to discuss new technologies and techniques, and to give students, post-docs, and others an idea of what jobs are available in industry. If you would like to volunteer, let me or Mike know as soon as possible. This doesn't take much effort or time and would be a great benefit to all of us!

It has come to my notice recently that not all members of the INA have access to reliable web service. Because of this, I have asked John Firth to write a brief column (ODP News) summarizing the current activities of the Ocean Drilling Program. Included in his write-up is a listing of ODP web sites and contacts, which will come in handy if you're interested in volunteering for an ODP cruise.

That's all for now! I look forward to seeing everyone in Parma.

Jean M. Self-Trail
Nanno News Editor
jstrail@usgs.gov

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Plans are coming along beautifully for the next INA biennial meeting in Parma, Italy, September 9-12, 2002. Giuliana Villa is doing a wonderful job of organizing this, and I hope by now you have all received electronically the Second Circular for the meeting; if not, email Giuliana for a copy. Make your plans now to join us in the fall for a most memorable and informative meeting.

One item of business for that meeting will be a vote by the membership on the ratification of our new INA Bylaws, an important step in chartering of our association. Dave Jutson took this bull by the horns and with the help of the Council, has come up with a document that we believe will carry us into the 21st Century. Your participation in this process will not only be important but historic, so please look the proposed document over, which you fill find printed below. Please send any comments or questions regarding the bylaws to me.

Our Secretary-Treasurer, Stacia Spaulding, has compiled a list of all of the libraries that take the Journal of Nannoplankton Research, and I'm embarrassed to say that my university library (which shall remain nameless) is not on it! As soon as I return to Tallahassee from London, where I've spent the fall teaching, I'm going to gather up everyone in my lab, and we are going to march on our library (in kind of a nanno-protest) and demand (well, ask politely) that they subscribe immediately. And I hope you'll do the same at your company/agency/university library. The fact is that our journal is carried in only a few of our member's home institutions, so we will have to work hard to ensure that our flagship publication is visible and widely known in the scientific community. That is essential if we are to receive the recognition that our society deserves, and this is one of the best ways to go about that. It will also boost our publications fund so that we can publish even more of your work, which is one of the fundamental goals of our organization.

This is a project on which every member can help. Happily, Jackie Lees has consolidated our supplies of all of the back issues of the journal/newsletter going back to the first issue. This means that your library can obtain the complete set in one order and at a favorable discount of only $500 plus $40/year for an ongoing institutional subscription. The same offer is open to any member for only $300. So I challenge each of you to pay a visit to your local librarian and get our journal on the shelves. Take a recent copy of the JNR along to show them what they have been missing.

See you in Parma!

Woody Wise
INA President
Wise@gly.fsu.edu

INA BYLAWS - YOUR COMMENTS PLEASE

The draft bylaws are for inspection by the membership and will be voted on by the membership at the biannual business meeting in Parma, later this year. The wording may change, in part, after our attorney reviews this document. Please also be aware that parts of these bylaws are worded to conform to the legal language necessary to qualify the INA for non-profit status under the US tax code. Consequently, parts such as the ÔAims and ObjectiveÕ (Section 2.1) may seem a bit stilted and archaic to the reader, but this is what the US Internal Revenue Service will be looking for. Please bear with us on this. After reviewing this document, please send your suggestions for any alterations to the President. Woody Wise INA President Wise@gly.fsu.edu

SECRETARY/TREASURER'S REPORT

As I say in every one of my columns, please note that the year after your name on the mailing label is the date in which your dues expire. For example, 1999 means that your dues expired on December 31, 1999. (An "F" indicates that you have free membership.) If you discarded your wrapper without noticing the year and/or if you have questions about your expiration date, please do not hesitate to contact me.

We recently instituted a new policy that we will adhere to most strictly. You have a two-year grace period in which to get your dues paid up to date. If your dues are more than two years in arrears, you will be dropped from the membership list. Our credit card program works very well and a large number of members continue to use this payment option. We can accept payment by American Express, Mastercard and Visa. If you wish to pay your dues by credit card, please provide me with your credit card number and its expiration date. If you choose to pay by check, please make your dues payment to "International Nannoplankton Association". PLEASE DO NOT MAKE YOUR CHECKS PAYABLE TO ME PERSONALLY.

Stacia A. Spaulding, Ph.D.
Secretary-Treasurer
jrice@tds.net


UK INA Account to Accept Euro?

I am looking into whether or not we can accept payment by Euro into the UK account without incurring unacceptably high charges. I will keep you posted.

Matt Hampton
UK Assistant Treasurer
100710.1020@compuserve.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

When Jean asked me to help with the Industry News section, I agreed without hesitation. We're hoping to get some help from someone in the Eastern Hemisphere soon. I'm afraid this first column will be a little short on news. I hope to make future installments all news, so please bear with me. The intent of this section of the newsletter is to keep the membership informed of what is going on in the Oil and Gas Industry as it relates to nannoplankton. Besides letting everyone know who is on the move, I would also like to include some more in-depth reporting. This will include letting folks know how developments such as mergers are affecting the job market. I'd also like to include news as to what basins are being explored, what part of the section we're looking at, and what tools we're using. This should be of help not only to those of us working in the industry but also to people in school who harbor aspirations of working in the industry. I realize, of course, that there is a lot of confidential information out there. I don't want to crack into your shop and steal your secrets, but I will need some help! I view things from what has become a somewhat rarified perspective, that of a biostratigrapher working for "Big Oil". In the United States, the business has come to be dominated by small consulting companies, one-man/woman shops, and loose confederations of independent consultants. Each of these groups has a different viewpoint and different concerns. That's where you come in. Though I dearly love editorializing (I'd be glad to send you reprints of my GCSSEPM President's column), that is not what this column is about. I want to present news. I want you to provide it. Call me anytime; send me e-mail or even snail mail. If I don't get enough news you'll have to put up with my opinions and whatever rumors I've heard. Some of you might like that, others might not! I wouldn't risk it if I were you! Send me news.

Mike Styzen
Industry News Correspondent
Shell International Exploration and Production Inc.
Deepwater Services
P.O. Box 51510
New Orleans, LA 70151-1510
USA
mstyzen@earthlink.net
Phone: (504) 728-4308
Fax: (504) 728-0554

ODP NEWS

The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) just completed Leg 198, which cored Paleogene to Cretaceous sediments on Shatsky Rise in the northwest Pacific. The nannofossil specialists on board were Paul Bown and Jason Eleson (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). Tim Bralower was the co-chief scientist along with Isabella Premoli-Silva.

Leg 199 has just begun coring Paleogene sediments from the eastern Pacific, with Jan Backman and Isabella Raffi sailing as nannofossil specialists.

Current and upcoming information on ODP Legs can be found on the ODP site cruise page, and

Staffing needs for upcoming legs: Legs 200-203 are staffed already or do not need paleontologists.
Legs 204-205 staffing for these will begin soon and their respective prospectuses can be found at leg 204 and leg 205.

The drilling schedule for the final year of ODP operations can be found in the August 2001 meeting minutes of the JOIDES Science Committee. There are three legs scheduled for the North and South Atlantic Oceans in which nannofossil specialists will be needed. They are: Leg 207, Demerara Rise, January-March, 2003; Leg 208, Walvis Ridge, March-May 2003, and Leg 210, Newfoundland Margin, July-September, 2003. These legs should recover Neogene, Paleogene and Mesozoic sediments. Its never too early to submit applications to sail, but decisions on staffing these 3 legs will not be started until about late Spring of 2002.

On the ODP WWW Site youcan find information on applying for a leg, and sample requests for upcoming as well as old legs can be done through the science and curation services.

Finally, ODP's publications, both Initial Results and Scientific Results volumes, are now electronic, which means you can now view them and download them at publications services.

John Firth
ODP Correspondent
John-Firth@odp.tamu.edu

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

9th International Nannoplankton Association Conference 8th-14th September 2002 Parma-Italy
visit the web site, register, write your abstract, see you there.


Meeting on the Coniacian-Santonian Boundary September 13-17, 2002 Place: Colegio Mayor "Miguel de Unamuno" at S. Ignacia, Bilbao, Spain.
Purpose: To study and discuss the problem of the Coniacian-Santonian Boundary, and to visit the possible candidate for the GSSP boundary stratotype section at Olazagutia (Navarra) and a section at Villamartin (Burgos). Two days (September 14th and 15th) will be for the field trip and one day (September 16th) will be for poster presentations.
Pre-registration: No later than March 5, 2002.
The First Circular and Preliminary Registration Form can be found on our web site.
The contact is Prof. Marcos A. Lamolda and he can be reached at gpplapam@lg.ehu.es

International Palaeontological Congress (IPC) July 6-10, 2002

The Organizing Committee for the International Palaeontological Congress (IPD2002), to be held in Sydney, Australia from the 6th to 10th of July, 2002, is pleased to announce that the Second Circular is now available on our web site. Registration forms can be downloaded from the site. Deadlines for registration, submission of abstracts, booking of accommodations and final payment is March 30, 2002. Places for pre- and post-congress excursions are strictly limited. To avoid disappointment, please book and pay for your place early.

Those of you who replied to the First Circular should receive a copy of the Second Circular and Registration Form in the mail shortly. Please check the website for some minor corrections to the Second Circular. All queries or replies should be addressed to IPC2002@mq.edu.au.

INA8 PROCEEDINGS

There have been unforeseen delays with the production of the INA8 Proceedings volume, and we are still awaiting the return of four revised manuscripts. However, we expect this volume to be published this year, hopefully before INA9.
Helmut Willems
INA9 Proceedings Editor
willems@micropal.uni-bremen.de

JNR 2000-2001

If you are wondering what happened to JNR 23/2 (2000), then trouble yourself no longer. The December JNR has transmogrified into the January issue for a number of good reasons: it is an easier time of the year for me to get the work done (Christmas parties have nothing to do with it!); the printers are not overwhelmed with Christmas printing; post offices are not snowed under with Christmas mail; the copyright offices will be open to receive our mailing; authors have the Christmas holidays to do the corrections they should have done during the summer; and we need to start getting into the routine of publishing to strict dates (as part of the larger plan). Before you demand a refund, let me tell you that this year you will receive four (yes, four!) issues of the JNR, at no extra cost: the two regular issues (January, July), the Parma abstracts volume, and a surprise special issue. So, there will effectively be no JNR 23/2.

Jackie Lees
JNR Editor
j.lees@ucl.ac.uk

RECENT PhDS

Congratulations to our recent Ph.D. graduates! Lluisa Cros was awarded her Ph.D. by the Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona (Spain), where she studied under Ramon Margalef. Her thesis was entitled "Planktonic Coccolithophores of the NW Mediterranean". Lluisa is currently working for the CSIC at the Institut de Ciences del Mar of Barcelona. Mahmoud Faris was awarded his Ph.D. by the Laboratoire de Micropalentologie, Universite de Paris 6, France. He is currently working as a professor of micropaleontology at Tanta University in Egypt.

As usual, please let me know if you (or anyone you know) will be finishing your Ph.D. thesis within the next six months. Please send me your name, thesis title, awarding university, major professor and where you will be working. My email address is jstrail@usgs.gov. Thanks!


JNR BACK ISSUES

Back issues of the INA Newsletter /Journal of Nannoplankton Research from 1979 to 2001 are currently available at sale prices for bulk orders, as follows:
Individual Members: Complete sets $300
Single year $ 15
Libraries: Complete sets $500
Single year $ 25
Shipping (surface mail) is included in these prices. If you would like to order, please contact the Treasurer.
We encourage you to show a copy of the JNR to your library and ask them to order a set.

E-MAIL LIST

After some debate on the coccoliths list server it was decided not to post htis list of INA members email adresses on the WWW, members will find it in their printed copy.