Background reading on UTC and leap seconds

International Telecommunication Union

• ITU/BIPM Workshop – Future of the International Time Scale – Geneva, 19-20 Sep 2013
• ITU Radiocommunication Assembly defers decision to eliminate the leap second
• Video from the ITU RA-12 Plenary on 19 January 2012

International Organization for Standardization

• Statement from ISO Technical Committee 37 (Terminology)

Articles

• The Future of Time:  UTC and Leap Seconds (American Scientist article, July-August 2011)
  Preprint at http://arxiv.org/abs/1106.3141
• The Debate over UTC and Leap Seconds (AIAA proceedings with references, August 2010)
• "The leap second: its history and possible future", R. Nelson, et al (Metrologia article, v38 n6 2001)
• "GPS and Leap Seconds", D. McCarthy & W. Klepczynski (GPS World article, Nov 1999)
• "Time scales, their users, and leap seconds", P. K. Seidelmann & J. Seago (Metrologia article, v48 n4 2011)
• "The Leap Second Debate", C. A. McDaniel Wyman (Master’s report, U. Texas, 2013)

References

• Recommendation ITU-R TF.460-6, "Standard-frequency and time-signal emissions"
• Draft Recommendation ITU-R TF.460-7, to be voted on in Geneva in January 2012
• Questionnaire on a draft revision of Recommendation ITU-R TF.460-6 (CACE Circular 539)
• Proceedings of the "Special Colloquium on the Future of the UTC Time Scale", Torino, Italy 2003:
  • Internet Archive Wayback Machine
  • UCO/Lick

Discussions

• UTC pages from UCO/Lick Observatory (by Steve Allen)
• Leap seconds page (by Markus Kuhn)
  
• Leap Second Discussion List (since 2007)
  
• Leap Second Discussion List (2000-2007)

IERS Questionnaire

• Results

Workshop Poster - click for large version

Timescales in the Solar System - click for larger version (figure courtesy A. Rots, Harvard CFA)