Gerald S. Barton(gbarton@gcrio.org), Director, U.S. Global Change Research Information Office
Under Title II (International Cooperation in Global Change Research) of the Act, Section 204 requires that a Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) be established. The stated purpose of the GCRIO is "to disseminate to foreign governments, businesses, and institutions, as well as citizens of foreign countries, scientific research information available in the United States which would be useful in preventing, mitigating, or adapting to the effects of global change." The GCRIO serves the U.S. user community as well.
In May 1992, the Subcommittee on Global Change Research (SGCR) of the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences (CEES), now the Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) as established by action of the National Science and Technology Council, designated that the GCRIO be implemented within the Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). Gerald S. Barton, on detail from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, reported as Director of GCRIO on August 30, 1993.
The GCRIO is operational with User Services functions in its Washington, DC, and Saginaw, Michigan, offices. On-line access to GCRIO services is available over the Internet, including e-mail, gopher, WAIS, and WWW services. The brochure describing GCRIO's programs, services, and capabilities has been distributed worldwide, and users are accessing GCRIO from locations throughout the world.
GCRIO CLEARINGHOUSE AND ON-LINE SERVICES
The GCRIO functions as a clearinghouse for information and data related to technology and research in environmental and global change topics. GCRIO directs the user to these services, but does not act as an information research service.
Users may access the GCRIO User Services staff in Washington, DC, or Saginaw, Michigan, in person, via postal mail, telephone, FAX, or e-mail on the Internet. There are also on-line computer services available to users of the Internet. The GCRIO gopher provides access to users with character terminals and low speed lines, while the GCRIO WWW page serves users with powerful computers and high-speed network access. Access by the character terminals is a critical requirement in order to serve as many users as possible in countries throughout the world. The GCRIO on-line services provide access to a variety of information and data sources such as on-line information, libraries, on-line documents, data directories, data inventory systems, and on-line data. There is also an information section on the U. S. Global Change Research Program and the CENR. Users may access the text of the USGCRP document "Our Changing Planet FY-95" via the WWW page. The GCRIO is working closely with the Interagency Working Group on Data Management for Global Change, under the Subcommittee on Global Change Research, and provides access to the Global Change Data and Information System (GCDIS).
The on-line servers also provide access to a WAIS full text search data base containing the FY-95 U.S. Agency Project Descriptions. Users may enter a search word, perhaps CO2, and receive a list of titles of all the descriptions that contain the word CO2. Selection of a title provides the text of the project description.
The GCRIO maintains a small collection of documents and brochures relating to the environment and Global Change. The document data base may be searched using the WAIS full text capabilities. The descriptions provide a brief abstract of the document, author, holding organization, and keywords. The user may request the document from GCRIO.
HOW TO OBTAIN GCRIO SERVICES
Telephone calls to GCRIO User Services staff:
Computer access to on-line GCRIO information services Internet access:
Electronic Computer Mail:
Postal Mail Access: