b'Editors desk Editors deskThis issue of Preview features work by oneIn addition to these treats, Davidtakes a look at what is happening in of our student members, Cyrille Njiteu,Denham (Canberra observed) reviewsdate visualisation space, and Ian James on the Bangui magnetic anomaly the2021, the year that was. Terry Harvey(Webwaves) assesses the performance of largest magnetic anomaly in Africa,(Mineral geophysics) considers hard rockthe ASEG website.and one of the largest in the world.seismics responding in part to MickEnjoy!Cyrilles work highlights the paucity ofMicenkos enthusiastic write-up a couple geophysical data in central Africa andof months ago. Mick (Seismic window)Lisa Worrall in that regard caused me to reflect,reflects on the outcomes of some recentPreview Editor once again, on how lucky we are innetworking. Tim Keeping (Data trends)previeweditor@aseg.org.auAustralia. The sheer volume of data that is available to us can be overwhelming. Hence the call by Marina Costelloe, in her interview with Marina Pervukhina (Education matters), for more physicists, mathematicians and coders in the earth sciences. Co-incidentally, in Data trends, Shouv Sarker, a software engineer working in the Minerals Resources team at CSIRO, addresses the issue of handling large datasets in an article on cloud-based solutions for the management of AEM data. Mind blowing!We are also blessed with the first part of Niels Christensens memoirs. Niels will be known to many of us by virtue of his work on EM, especially during his tenure at Aarhus University. He is an Australian resident and frequent visitor- collaborating with both CSIRO and Geoscience Australia. Subsequent parts of his memoirs will be published in upcoming issues of Preview and although I struggle with serials in general (yes, I am a binge watcher), I am looking forward to this one! The Editor up the proverbial creek in western NSWno paddle required!Letter to the EditorDear Lisa Dagelet was an important and ancarried out at Botany Bay. His credentials I noticed with interest John Milsomsextremely competent French scientist.were impeccable, he had been appointed comment in his Letter to the EditorHe may very well have, with his assistantProfessor of Mathematics at the (Preview Dec 2021) regarding theRoux dAbourd, actually used hiscole Royale Militaire of Paris in 1777 pioneering gravity observations ingravity measurement to recompute the(dAbourd, like Napoleon Bonaparte, Sydney. He mentions the inadequacydimensions and density of the earth atwere students of his) and he was at (barely usable) of the 1793 Malaspinathe timehe certainly had all the gear,the time the youngest member of the observation and that seems most likely,including one of Condamines historicAcadmie Royale des Sciences (elected but then adds The same objectionpendulums, he had Lalandes gravity1785). Preview readers should not be left almost certainly would have applied towritings on-board and he had thewith a suggestion he would have carried the results obtained on the La Perousewhere-with-all to recalculate. This may beout an inadequate observation when it expedition . I have issues with thisspeculative on my part BUT he was thatis extremely likely that the opposite was comment despite the fact the gravitycompetent. He had previously travelledthe case. He knew what he was doing. measurement known to have beenon Kerguelens 1773-74 expedition andSadly his death, with all the others on the had assisted Lalande in the compilationexpedition, was a great loss to French made on the north shore of Botanyof his 1779 longitude tables. He had18th century science.Bay in February-March 1788 has notbeen brought up in a prestigious clock survived. The expeditions astronomer/ making family and he was responsibleDoug Morrison geodesist/ physicist Joseph Lepautefor the expeditions clock resets, which hesth.lands101@optusnet.com.auFEBRUARY 2022 PREVIEW 2'