Friday, July 17, 2009

World Data Center System Roster

World Data Center System Roster

Airglow

Dr. Takashi Sakurai, Director
WDC for Airglow
National Astronomical Observatory
Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588
JAPAN

Astronomy

Prof. ZHAO Yongheng, Director
WDC for Astronomy
Beijing Astronomical Observatory
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Beijing, 100080
CHINA

Atmospheric Trace Gases

Mr. Thomas Boden, Director
WDC for Atmospheric Trace Gases
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
P.O. Box 2008
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6335
USA

Aurora

Dr. Akira Kadokura , Director
WDC for Aurora
National Institute of Polar Research
Kaga 1-9-10, Itabashi-ku
Tokyo, 173-8515
JAPAN

Biodiversity

Dr. John Hill, Director
WDC for Biodiversity and Ecology
U.S. Geological Survey Center for Biological Informatics
Building 810 DFC, MS302
Denver, CO 80225
USA

Climate

Dr. Michael Lautenschlager, Director
WDC for Climate
Model and Data Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology
Bundesstrasse 55
D-20146 HAMBURG
GERMANY

Cosmic Rays

Prof Takashi Watanabe, Director
WDC for Cosmic Rays
Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory
Toyokawa 442-8507
JAPAN

Earth Tides

Dr. Bernard Ducarme, Director
WDC for Earth Tides
Observatoire Royal de Belgique
Avenue Circulaire 3
Brussels, B-1180
BELGIUM

Geology

Prof. WANG Anjian, Director
Mr. Dai Aide, Vice Director
WDC for Geology
Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
Ministry of Geology and Minerology
26 Baiwanzhuang Road
Beijing, 100037
CHINA

Geomagnetism

Dr. Juergen Matzka
WDC for Geomagnetism, Copenhagen
Lyngbyvej 100
DK-2100, Copenhagen
DENMARK
Dr. David Kerridge, Director
WDC for Geomagnetism, Edinburgh
British Geological Survey
Murchison House, West Mains Road
Edinburgh, EH9 3LA
UNITED KINGDOM
Prof. Toshihiko Iyemori, Director
WDC for Geomagnetism, Kyoto
Data Analysis Center for Geomagnetism and Space Magnetism
Graduate School of Science
Kyoto University
Kyoto, 606-8502
JAPAN
Prof. Archana Bhattacharyya, Director
WDC for Geomagnetism, Mumbai
Indian Institute of Geomagnetism
Colaba, Mumbai 400 005
INDIA

Glaciology

Dr. Roger G. Barry, Director
WDC for Glaciology, Boulder
CIRES, Campus Box 449
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309
USA
Mr. Rick Frolich , Manager
WDC for Glaciology, Cambridge
Scott Polar Research Institute
Lensfield Road
Cambridge, CB2 1ER
UNITED KINGDOM
Prof. CHENG Guodong, Director
WDC for Glaciology and Geocryology, Lanzhou
Lanzhou Institute of Glaciology and Geocryology
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lanzhou, 730000
CHINA

Human Interactions in the Environment

Dr. Robert S. Chen, Director
WDC for Human Interactions in the Environment
CIESIN/Columbia University
P.O. Box 1000
61 Rt 9W
Palisades, NY 10964
USA

Ionosphere

Mr. Kiyoshi Igarashi, Manager
WDC for Ionosphere
Communications Research Laboratory
4-2-1 Nukui-kitamachi
Koganei-shi
Tokyo, 184-8795
JAPAN

Land Cover Data

Mr. Christopher A. Barnes, Director
WDC for Land Cover Data
U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Center
47914 252nd Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57198
USA

Marine Environmental Sciences

Prof. Dr. Gerold Wefer, Co-Director
Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM)
Prof. Wolfgang Hiller, Co-Director
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
WDC for Marine Environmental Sciences
Klagenfurter Str.
D-28359 Bremen
GERMANY

Marine Geology and Geophysics

Dr. Christopher Fox, Director
WDC for Marine Geology & Geophysics, Boulder
NOAA Code E/GC
325 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80303-3328
USA
Valeri S. Shcherbakov, Director
WDC for Marine Geology & Geophysics, Moscow
Glav NIVC MNR RF
32A, Marshal Tukhachevski Street
Moscow, 123585
RUSSIA

Meteorology

Mr. August L. Shumbera, Director
WDC for Meteorology, Asheville
National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
USA
Prof. SHI Peiling, Director
Wang Guofu, Vice Director
WDC for Meteorology, Beijing
National Meteorological Information Center
46 Zhongguanchun Nandajie Road
Beijing, 100081
CHINA
Dr. Marsel Z. Shaimardonov, Director
WDC for Meteorology, Obninsk
All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information
6 Korolev Str
Obninsk
Kaluga Reg., 249020
RUSSIA

Nuclear Radiation

Mr. Hideyuki Sasaki, Director
WDC for Nuclear Radiation
Atmospheric Environment Division
Japan Meteorological Agency
1-3-4 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, 100-8122
JAPAN

Oceanography

Dr. Vyacheslav I. Smirnov, Director
WDC for Oceanography, Obninsk
All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information
6 Korolev Str
Obninsk
Kaluga Reg., 249020
RUSSIA
Mr. Sydney Levitus, Director
WDC for Oceanography, Silver Spring
NOAA/NODC, E/OC5
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282
USA
Prof. Lin Shaohua, Director
WDC for Oceanography, Tianjin
National Marine Data & Information Service
State Oceanic Administration
93 Liu Wei Road, Hedong District
Tianjin, 300171
CHINA

Paleoclimatology

Dr. David Anderson, Director
WDC for Paleoclimatology
NOAA/NGDC Code E/GC3
325 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80303
USA

Remotely Sensed Data

Mr. Lyndon Oleson , Director
WDC for Remotely Sensed Land Data
U.S. Geological Survey
EROS Data Center
Sioux Falls, SD 57198
USA
Dr. Michael Bittner, Director
WDC for Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere
DLR-DFD
Oberpfaffenhofen
D-82234 Wessling
GERMANY

Renewable Resources and Environment

Prof. SUN Jiulin, Director
WDC for Renewable Resources and Environment
Commission for Integrated Survey of Natural Resources
Chinese Academy of Sciences
P.O. Box 9717
Beijing, 100101
CHINA

Rockets and Satellites

Dr. Alex M. Sterin, Director
WDC for Rockets and Satellites
All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information
6 Korolev Str
Obninsk
Kaluga Reg., 249020
RUSSIA
Dr. Edwin J. Grayzeck, Director
WDC for Satellite Information
NSSDC Code 633
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771
USA
Dr. Iku Shinohara, Director
WDC for Space Science Satellites
Institute of Space & Astronautical Science
3-1-1 Yoshinodai
Sagamihara
Kanagawa, 229-8510
JAPAN

Rotation of the Earth

Dr. Nikolai P. Kovalev, Director
WDC for Rotation of the Earth, Obninsk
All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information
World Data Center (RIHMI-WDC)
6 Korolev Str
Obninsk, Kaluga Reg., 249020
RUSSIA
Ms. Merri Sue Carter, Director
WDC for Rotation of the Earth, Washington
U.S. Naval Observatory
3450 Mass Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20392-5100
USA

Seismology

Dr. Stuart Sipkin
WDC for Seismology, Denver
U.S. Geological Survey
Denver Federal Center MS 967
P.O. Box 25046
Denver, CO 80225-0046
USA
Dr. LIU Refeng, Director
WDC for Seismology, Beijing
China Earthquake Networks Center
No. 63, Fuxing Avenue
Beijing, 100036
CHINA

Soils

Dr. David L. Dent, Director
WDC for Soils
Intl Soil Reference and Information Center
P.O. Box 353
6700 AJ Wageningen
THE NETHERLANDS

Solar Activity

Dr. Jean Aboudarham, Director
WDC for Solar Activity
Observatoire de Meudon
5 place Janssen
92195 Meudon Cedex
FRANCE

Solar Radio Emissions

Assoc. Prof. Kiyoto Shibasaki, Director
WDC for Solar Radio Emissions
Nobeyama Solar Radio Observatory
National Astronomical Observatory
Minamimaki, Minamisaku
Nagano, 384-1305
JAPAN

Solar Terrestrial Physics

Dr. William Denig, Director
WDC for Solar Terrestrial Physics, Boulder
NOAA/NGDC E/GC2
325 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80303
USA
Dr. Michael Lockwood, Director
Matthew Wild, Manager
WDC for Solar Terrestrial Physics, Chilton
Rutherford Appleton Lab
Chilton
Didcot Oxon, OX11 0QX
UNITED KINGDOM
Dr. Evgeny P. Kharin, Director
WDC for Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Moscow
Molodezhnaya 3
Moscow, 117296
RUSSIA
Dr. David Cole, Director
WDC for Solar-Terrestrial Science, Sydney
IPS Radio and Space Services
PO Box 1386
Haymarket, NSW 1240
AUSTRALIA

Solid Earth Geophysics

Prof. TANG Keyun, Director
WDC for Geophysics, Beijing
Institute of Geology and Geophysics
Chinese Academy of Sciences
P.O. Box 9825
19 Beitucheng West Road, Chaoyang District
Beijing, 100029
CHINA
Ms. Susan McLean, Director
WDC for Solid Earth Geophysics, Boulder
NOAA/NGDC E/GC1
325 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80305-3328
USA
Dr. Natalia A. Sergeyeva, Director
WDC for Solid Earth Physics, Moscow
Molodezhnaya 3
Moscow, 117296
RUSSIA

Space Science

Prof. ZOU Ziming, Director
WDC for Space Science
Chinese Academy of Sciences
P.O. Box 8701
Beijing, 100080
CHINA

Sunspot Index

Dr. Ronald van der Linden, Director
WDC for Sunspot Index
Observatoire Royal de Belgique
3 Avenue Circulaire
Brussels, B-1180
BELGIUM

WDC COORDINATION OFFICES


Dr. Anne M. Linn, Director
WDC Coordination Office, USA
National Research Council, KC-670
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
USA
Tel: +1 202 334 2744
Fax: +1 202 334 1377
E-mail: alinn@nas.edu
Prof. Yuri Tyupkin, Director
WDC Coordination Office, Russia
National Geophysical committee
Molodeznaya, 3
117296 Moscow
Russia
Tel: +7 095 930 5629
Fax: + 7 095 930 5509
E-mail: tyupkin@wdcb.ru
Prof. CHEN Panqin, Director
Dr. FENG Renguo
WDC Coordination Office, China
Bureau of Science and Technology for Resources
and Environment
Chinese Academy of Sciences
52 Sanlihe Road
Beijing, 100864
CHINA
Tel: +86 10 685 97 538
Fax: +86 10 685 97 583
E-mail: pqchen@office.cashq.ac.cn or rgfeng@cashq.ac.cn

See the World's Top 100 Wonders before you die

1

Pyramids of Egypt

26

Chichen Itza

51

Kashmir Valley

76

Topkapi Palace

2

Great Wall of China

27

Petra

52

Prague Old Town

77

Carnival in Rio

3

Taj Mahal

28

Nile River Cruise

53

Golden Temple

78

Stonehenge

4

Serengeti Migration

29

Easter Island

54

Amalfi Drive

79

Angel Falls

5

Galapagos Islands

30

Cappadocia

55

Meenakshi

80

Yellowstone NP

6

Grand Canyon

31

Colosseum of Rome

56

Chartres Cathedral

81

Santorini

7

Machu Picchu

32

Fjords of Norway

57

Mezquita Cordoba

82

Petronas Towers

8

Antarctica Cruise

33

St Peter's Basilica

58

Damascus Old City

83

Matterhorn

9

Iguazu Falls

34

Egyptian Museum

59

Dubrovnik

84

New York Skyline

10

Bali

35

Borobudur

60

Uffizi Gallery

85

Marrakesh

11

Amazon Rain Forest

36

Valley of the Kings

61

Rio Panoramic View

86

Eiffel Tower

12

Ngorongoro Crater

37

Hong Kong

62

Golden Pavilion

87

Ladakh

13

Great Barrier Reef

38

Sistine Chapel

63

Delphi

88

Niagara Falls

14

Angkor Wat

39

Alhambra

64

St. Basils Cathedral

89

British Museum

15

Victoria Falls

40

Louvre Museum

65

Abu Simbel

90

Burj al Arab

16

Forbidden City

41

Canals of Venice

66

St Mark's Basilica

91

Yangtze Riv. Cruise

17

Bagan

42

Versailles

67

Florence Cityscape

92

Yosemeti NP

18

Karnak

43

Carlsbad Caverns

68

Kremlin

93

Ayers Rock

19

Teotihuacan

44

Mecca

69

Varanasi/Ganges

94

Hermitage Museum

20

Banaue Rice Terr.

45

Kathmandu Valley

70

Li River Cruise

95

Chambord Chateau

21

Bora Bora

46

Metropolitan Mus

71

Shwedagon Stupa

96

Lijiang/Shangri La

22

Acropolis

47

Mt Everest

72

Sahara Desert

97

Neuschwanstein

23

Potala Palace

48

Temple Em. Buddha

73

Leaning Tower Pisa

98

Banff NP

24

Jerusalem Old City

49

Hagia Sofia

74

Baalbek

99

San Francisco

25

TerraCotta Warriors

50

Pompeii

75

Mont St Michel

100

Portofino

Crazy Patents - Aybey Boran

Patent Number Title Summary
5392735 Marine Mammal Communication Device This Walt Disney patent contains detailed source code (about 17 pages worth) of what basically anounts to a dolphin size keyboard that translates keystrokes into sounds for both humans and other dolphins and perhaps "whales and porpoises" as well. They hope that once trained that a human will be able to simply speak to the Dolphins as well.
7108178 Method of stopping a stolen car without a high-speed chase, utilizing a bar codeThe title alone earns the patent a place on this page. Part of the invention also requires that the rear wheel covers have bullets or knives installed in them, however the inventor also offers a method to disable the engine by remote control.
6142880 Method of playing a bowling gameThis is basically bowling like it is today, but changing the scoring system to "eliminat[e] the unfair advantage of scoring consecutive strikes with a multiplier effect".
20040161257 Just read Claim 9! If you are a patent attorney or inventor, you have to read Claim 9 -- hillarious, though perhaps not intended to be. Submitted by Angelo Castellano
5107620 Electrified table cloth Designed to discourgage bugs from crawling on a table cloth, the electrified table cloth shocks them, much like an invisible dog fence. I'm not sure this idea is so crazy -- if anyone knows where to get one of these, let me know :) Submitted by Karan Morrow.
7062320 Device for the treatment of hiccups Appears to be a glass that shocks you when you drink from it, ostensibly stimulating specific nerves in an attempt to cure hiccups. Submitted by Carl Palmgren.
4202456 Toy utilizing used, discardable items such as bottle caps and beverage cansMaking building blocks out of bottle caps? Sounds like a good way to cut yourself. OK, stupid invention. That's a given -- most everything on this page is stupid in one way or another. But, here is a legitimate question: Why did someone spend thousands of dollars to patent something whose primary purpose is to use cheap parts available in the home, rather than having to go to the store and buy blocks (are blocks really that expensive?) when the whole idea of the patent essentially means that the inventor can't sell a product, since he is encouraging people to make their own "toy" at home? I suppose he could sell the device that puts the holes in the sides of the caps. Not surprisingly, I've never seen such a device for sale. Perhaps the toy mafia is blocking the commercialization of this patent. Submitted by Oliver Kroth.
6994809 Plug for and method of patching a hole in a wall Maybe not really crazy, but crazily obvious. This patent shows you how to patch a hole in a wall by cutting out a piece the same size as a pre-formed plug, and then inserting the plug and plastering over it. Isn't that pretty much the way drywall is always patched??? Submitted by Ren Hoek.
3216423 Apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal forceThis one is too old to have full-text, so you are going to have to look at the pictures -- but it's worth it. I can't help but wonder if this device was ever actually used? Submitted by Dan.
6360693 Animal Toy Thanks to Samuel Pai for this submission, which is nearly unbelievable. Claim 1 describes (in fancy language of course), a synthetic STICK. Yes, a stick. I'm not kidding. This patent was applied for in 1999. Do you think anyone had ever conceived of the idea of using a stick (albeit a plastic one) as an animal toy prior to 1999? Check out the front page image -- a picture is worth a thousands words, or in this case, a stick.
5904268 Mug incorporating a simulated artificial horizon Granted, this isn't very useful, but let me tell you what really worries me about it: I know what I would do with it. I'd sit the cup on my dashboard and use it to see how many G's I could pull while driving. The lure of always going for a new "personal best" would surely be hazardous to one's health. Thanks to Oliver Kroth for submitting this one!
5443036 Method of exercising a cat In 1993 the USPTO issued this patent for using a laser pointer to exercise a cat (yes, by moving the laser pointer beam around and having the cat chase it). Come on now... Not only is this crazy to patent, but this idea had surely been thought of long before this patent came about. In fact, a bit of research turned up the book "One Hundred and Eighty-Seven Ways to Amuse a Bored Cat" (Ballantine Books; May, 1982) that describes the exact same idea, but using a flashlight. Sorry guys -- the use of a laser pointer for the same thing is obvious.
Update: Michael Burns pointed out something truly amazing about this patent. Not only should this patent probay never have been issued, but it appears that the USPTO has issued what is essentially the same patent many times! See:
6505576 Pet Toy
6557495 Laser Pet Toy
6651591 Automatic laser pet toy and exerciser
6701872 Method and apparatus for automatically exercising a curious animal

6826983 Light Bulb Changer How many machines does it take to change a light bulb? Come on now, who is going to buy a machine, that looks like it weighs 100 pounds and costs plenty, to change light bulbs. How would one even get this contraption up to a light bulb?
6752088 Eating counter apparatus for mobile vending vehicle This guy must have been sitting around with a hotdog cart, a park bench, and a welding torch, and decided he needed to patent something using only these three things.
6745394 Ballistic resistant body covering From the picture, one would guess that this is a super hero costume which purports to protect the wearer from bullets. All I can do here is to pray for the test engineers. Good luck pals.
6739074 Tamper Resistant Institutional Shoe And Method A shoe with a transparent sole to prevent concealing contraband. Don't laugh just yet -- these might be required on planes soon!
6718554 Hands free towel carrying system A towel with a neck loop. Seriously -- that's all it is. And it took until 2004 to patent such a thing. I wonder what other amazing inventions remain to be discovered???
6711769 Pillow with retractable umbrella A pillow, with a built-in umbrella to protect the user from the sun. Somehow the idea of having a tanned body and a ghostly white head doesn't appeal to me, but whatever floats your boat.
6659880 Chin Putter The funny thing about this is that I think the authors take it seriously; it does not seem to be a novelty item.
6650315 Mouse device with a built-in printer The title is pretty self-explanatory. Yes, it takes very small paper. Maybe it could serve as a label maker -- that's about all I can think of.
6637447 Beerbrella Keeps the sun off your beer (no, I am not kidding). One would think that those little insulating sleeves would be much more effective, but perhaps they were worried about their beer getting sunburned.
6557994 Stud Spectacles Eyeglasses that don't need a frame because they attach to body piercings on the face. Yeah
6368227 Method of swinging on a swing So these fools think that in all the years of swinging no one has ever before thought to pull on the opposite chains and swing form side to side? Well, I guess they got the PTO to issue the patent, so I'm not sure who the fool really is... But, even so, what do these guys expect to do with this anyway? Are they going to go around and collect royalties from kids on the playground?
6035447 Halloween Mask with Flash Device This guy took a Halloween mask, strapped a light on it and called it a new invention. I know that Halloween is a relatively new holiday compared to some of the others, but I do recall seeing glowing masks well before this patent existed. In fact, I had a Jason mask that glowed when you pushed a button. I bet I know the next patent this guy submitted. He took a tree and stuck some lights and decorations on them and called it a "Christmas Tree." Pure genius.
5971829 Motorized ice cream cone I am usually a proponent of anything that allows me to do less work, but everyone knows that the best part of eating an ice cream cone is eating the cone and ice cream at the end!
5901666 Pet display clothing A wearable Habitrail! This is a system of tubes that you can wear around, while your hamster crawls around in them. I have yet to see anyone wearing this, so I am guessing that it wasn't a smashing success at the pet stores (or clothing stores?).
5878931 Halloween Backpack A backpack that dispenses candy! I'm sure this will be a hot seller at Walmart.
5678617 Method and apparatus for making a drink hop along a bar or counter This is essentially the same as the fountains that Disney has at Epcot -- controlled streams of water designed to look like that are "jumping" (in this case, into a beer glass). But hey, this probalby IS amusing when you are drunk!
5491007 Carvable Artificial Pumpkin and Method Who ever said creativity is dead in America? No one who knows the patenter of the Carvable Artificial Pumpkin. This guy took a hollow Styrofoam ball (that may or may not be painted orange) and called it a new invention. Somehow this reminds me of that Saturday Night Live skit with Dan Akroyd playing the crazy defective toy maker. I can just see this product coming with a big butcher's knife for the carving and maybe a bag of glass and nails for this kids to play with.
5265827 Paddle Wheel Plane Does this thing really fly??? I'd be amazed.
5175571 Subliminal Glasses Glasses that project subliminal images? They claim to ge a possible aid for everything from quitting smoking, stopping drug and alcohol abuse, and learning. Yeah, because the submliminal tapes that are available work so well
4858627 Smokers Hat A hat with an air intake, which filters and then expels the air. Looks pretty much like wearing the exhaust hood for a stove on your head.
4553748 Electrostatically Enhanced Game Unless you take some pleasure out of being shocked or shocking someone else, the Electrostatically Enhanced Game is not for you. I personally could find some joy in shocking my buddy while beating him at Madden, but unfortunately I don't think this is an original invention. I seem to recall a James Bond flick that had a video game like that, and that's kind of sad ripping off Bond.
4455816 Tricycle Lawnmower No, you aren't misreading anything. This really is a child's tricyle with a lawnmower attached. Real safe, eh?
4432545 Non-lethal cock fighting system Cock fighting is illegal in the US (except for Louisiana and 1 other state as one of our readers has pointed out). So, these geniuses probably just drew attention to the fact that they are breaking the law. While this is a ridiculous patent, it did give me a idea for my next patent: A Kangaroo Kickboxing Kit.
4344424 Anti-Eating Mouth Cage Just think Hannibal Lecter
4300473 Device For Moistening The Adhesive Coating On Postage Stamps and Envelopes Describes a device containing an applicator to moisten stamps. Check out this quote: "The applicator may be in the form of a human tongue" Boy, that's novel.
4233942 Animal Ear Protection A device for protecting the ears of animals, especially long-haired dogs, from becoming soiled by the animal's food while the animal is eating. Ok, your pet might look better without dirty hair, but it's going to look pretty dumb wearing this thing.