International Activities Mission The U.S. Geological Survey continued to be active in international studies in science and technology as an adjunct to its domestic program during FY 1989. Authorization for foreign investigations is provided by the Organic Act, as revised, and the Foreign Assistance Act and related legislation. Activities are conducted under bilateral or multilateral agreements that require approval by the U.S. Departments of the Interior and of State. The following factors largely influence decisions as to whether the studies are in the interests of the U.S. Government: ⚫ Domestic research objectives will be expanded in scope and achieved through the comparative studies of scientific phenomena nationally and internationally. • Information about existing and potential foreign resources of interest to the United States will be obtained and incorporated in worldwide data bases. Scientific knowledge, understanding, expertise, and reputation of the USGS and of the United States in the earth sciences will be broadened and appropriately recognized internationally. • Relations with foreign counterpart institutions will be developed and maintained, and the programs will facilitate scientific cooperation, technology transfer, and data exchange. • International programs of other Federal agencies, academia, and the private sector will be supported; in particular the Department of State will receive adequate scientific information required to formulate foreign policy objectives and deci sions. Funds for USGS technical assistance to foreign countries, including all training programs either within or outside the United States, are supplied by other Federal agencies, international organizations, or foreign governments. Assistance pro grams provide for transfer of technology to foreign nationals by advice, training, and demonstrations. A small amount of the funds appropriated annually to the USGS for research is used in cooperative ventures with foreign counterpart organizations that also supply funding and (or) services-in-kind. Cooperative projects range from individual scientistto-scientist discussions, correspondence, and exchange visits on topics of mutual interest to jointly staffed, formally organized, bilateral scientific research, and multilaterally coordinated investigations that focus on a variety of scientific phenomena. Highlights Seasonal Vegetation Mapping by Satellite for Grasshopper and Locust Control in Africa By G. Gray Tappan, Dean While rainfall in both the Saharan and sub-Saharan countries of Africa has broken the drought of the mid-1980's, it also has produced favorable habitat conditions for the breeding of grasshoppers and locusts. The resulting insect infestations threaten the region's ability to produce sufficient food supplies. Monitoring vegetation conditions favorable to grasshoppers and locusts is essential for effective control programs. In support of an international effort to control these pests, the U.S. Agency for International Development requested the EROS Data Center of the U.S. Geological Survey in Sioux Falls, S. Dak., to develop and put into place a seasonal vegetation monitoring program. The program uses National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite data and USGS geographic information systems technology. The greenness field sheets provide information on favorable grasshopper and locust habitats. Data received daily from the AVHRR were merged with a cartographic data base to produce Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (greenness) field sheets. The field sheets are produced at a scale of 1:2,500,000 (1 inch represents about 40 miles) for most countries and are sent by express mail from South Dakota to Africa every 2 weeks. The greenness information, which relates to vegetation growth and condition, is used to monitor the complex seasonal patterns of greening-up and drying of vegetation on a countrywide basis through the critical periods of vegetation growth and grasshopper and locust activity. The field sheets are used by numerous organizations involved in grasshopper and locust control in Africa. The primary users include national crop protection services in Africa, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Training is provided to users in each country on how to interpret and to use the information in their surveillance systems. Grasshopper and locust control teams use the sheets for planning and conducting field and aerial surveys to locate infestation areas more efficiently. Sheet use is based on the principle that seasonal rainfall triggers both the growth of herbaceous vege Lessons from the December 7, 1988, Spitak, ArmeniaEarthquake By Walter W. Hays Introduction Armenia, a Soviet Socialist Republic, is located in an environment where, over time, the collision of the Eurasian and Arabian tectonic plates has produced a broad zone of faulting and crustal deformation that extends southward from the Caucasus Mountains in Armenia to northern Turkey and Iran. The December 7, 1988, earthquake that centered on Spitak, Armenia, is the latest in a long series of earthquakes in the region that reflects the ongoing collision of the plates. The magnitude 6.8 earthquake was one of the worst disasters of the 20th century. It struck Spitak at 11:41 a.m., local time, and left an estimated 25,000 dead, 18,000 injured, 510,000 homeless, and reconstruction costs of $16 billion. It reminded the world of the damage that an earthquake can do to a nation, its urban centers, gross national product, and to the fabric of the society. An earthquake disaster can serve as an all-too uncomfortable reminder of how unprepared an area may be to cope with such a calamity. Such disasters show whether or not preparedness planning and mitigation measures were adequate. They also test the siting, design, and construction practices for lifelines, buildings, and critical facilities. Perhaps most critically, earthquakes and their aftermath stretch the capacity of the populace to respond to these disasters and to modify their activities and practices during the recovery period. Important Lessons Multidisciplinary studies of the 1988 Armenia earthquake by a U.S. team of experts in cooperation with their Soviet counterparts and previous studies of |