CMOS-CGU Ottawa 2010


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The Societies
 
CMOS
 
The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS) is the national society of individuals and organizations dedicated to advancing atmospheric and oceanic sciences and related environmental disciplines in Canada. The Society's aim is to promote meteorology and oceanography in Canada. It is a non-governmental organization serving the interests of meteorologists, climatologists, oceanographers, limnologists, hydrologists and cryospheric scientists across Canada and internationally. CMOS has a rich history dating back to 1939 when it was known as the Canadian Branch of the Royal Meteorological Society. CMOS was officially created in 1967 as the Canadian Meteorological Society and adopted its present name in 1977, following an invitation by the Canadian Meteorological Society to the oceanographic community in Canada to join the Society.
 
CGU
 
On October 24, 1945, the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada convened the first meeting of an Associate Committee to advise it on the needs of geophysics, with J. T. Wilson as the Chairman of the committee. In 1946, this committee was amalgamated with the Canadian committee for the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) to form the Associate Committee of Geodesy and Geophysics (ACGG) of the NRC. Activities of geophysicists in Canada were coordinated by ACGG by forming a number of subcommittees.
 
In 1974, the ACGG was replaced by a professional society called "The Canadian Geophysical Union, a joined Division of the Geological Association of Canada (GAC) and of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP)", and with J. T. Wilson as its first president. The Canadian Geophysical Union became an independent organization in 1988, but today geophysicists still can join CGU by joining CAP or the Geophysics Division of GAC. CGU comprises four scientific sections: Hydrology (since 1993), Geodesy (since 2002), Solid Earth (since 2009) and Biogeosciences (since 2009). Now with about 500 members, CGU serves as the national focus for geophysical sciences and carries on the traditional responsibility of representing Canada in the IUGG through a Canadian National Committee (CNC/IUGG).