Fall meeting: Media advisory 2 - Abstracts now online, tutorials announced, field trip details, press registration information and form

1. Abstracts online
2. New! Tutorials on key Fall Meeting themes
3. Update on Monterey Bay Aquarium Field Trip
4. Press conferences planned
5. Who's coming
6. Press registration
7. AGU 2001 Fall Meeting Press Registration Form

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Note: This message should be read in conjunction with Media Advisory 1 of August 22, as it does not repeat important information in that message. See: http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0123.html

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1. Abstracts Online

All abstracts have now been posted on the AGU web site and may be accessed by a search tool:

http://www.agu.org/meetings/waisfm01adv.html

The CD-ROM and printed volume of abstracts for this meeting will not be available until mid-November. They will be sent at that time to Press Room registrants who have requested them, while supplies last.

          Finding Sessions and Abstracts

The names, numerical designations, dates, times, and room numbers of all Meeting sessions have been posted on the AGU web site at http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm01glan.html By clicking on the name of a Section (e.g., Hydrology, Atmospheric Science), all of the sessions under that Section's auspices will be displayed. Clicking on any of these sessions will open a list of papers and/or posters associated with that session. Clicking on the name of a particular paper will open the abstract for that paper, including name and contact information for the lead author.

Many sessions are jointly sponsored by two or more Sections. The Union Sessions have the broadest interdisciplinary appeal.

          Searching for Abstracts of Interest to You

Reporters and public information officers may search for abstracts of particular interest to them, by looking up any the following items:
     Name of a scientist
     Name of an institution (e.g., university, government agency)
     Geographic location (e.g., city, state, or country)
     Topic (e.g., volcano, Io, erosion)

These search parameters may be combined (e.g., presentations on earthquakes by scientists in Pennsylvania). To access the search tool, go to http://www.agu.org/meetings/waisfm01adv.html Full instructions are included on that page.

Note: In searching for papers from a particular institution, it is often more effective to search by e-mail address than by the name of the institution. The latter may be written in different ways by various authors (e.g., UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles, Univ. of Cal. at Los Angeles, etc.), but all of their e-mail addresses will presumably include "ucla." The search key word "Affiliation" covers both names of institutions and their locations (e.g., look for either Yale@ or New Haven@ under Affiliation).

2. New! Tutorials on key Fall Meeting themes

For the first time, Fall Meeting will feature tutorials by leading scientists on the main themes of the meeting. These 30 minute sessions are not press conferences, but press registrants are welcome to attend. They are designed to give scientists attending the meeting a broad overview of current developments in fields other than their own.

All tutorials take place the morning of Monday, December 10, in Room 131 Moscone.

8:30 a.m. Comparative Planetology
James W. Head, Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Why are all of the planetary bodies in the solar system are different? Earth has plate tectonics and water and supports life; Mars once had liquid water but has no plates; Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Dr. Brown will provide fundamental background on these and other bodies and focus on the important questions and processes concerning their development.

Related Sessions:
Origin and Early Evolution of the Earth
Plate Tectonics and Self Organization
Mars Global Surveyor: Guiding the Future of Mars Exploration
Galileo's Polar Io Flybys: Magnetospheric and Geologic Observations
NEAR and Beyond
Structure and Evolution of Earth's Deep Mantle

9:00 a.m. Solar Variability
Barbara J. Thompson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

The Sun is a highly variable star. Violent explosions occur in the Sun's atmosphere, and its magnetic field and activity level vary cyclically. The consequences of the Sun's variability are felt in many ways on Earth and throughout interplanetary space. Dr. Thompson will survey the broad range of the Sun's variability and the effects that we observe on Earth and beyond.

Related Sessions:
Shocks and Shock Manifestations over the Solar Cycle
Interaction CMES and their Relationships to Interacting Ejecta

9:30 a.m. The Carbon Cycle
Eric T. Sundquist, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

One of the biggest questions in global carbon cycle science today is resolving where, why, and how big is the "missing carbon dioxide sink" in the Northern Hemisphere. Global atmospheric carbon dioxide is increasing, and scientists are reasonably confident in their estimates of carbon dioxide sources. They also know that source and sink estimates do not balance with the known atmospheric concentrations. Dr. Sundquist will clarify the concepts of sources and sinks and provide background information regarding the observations and models that are used to address these issues.

Related Sessions:
The North American Carbon Sink: When and Where?
Integrated Studies of Terrestrial Biosphere-Atmosphere FLUXNET
Measuring and Monitoring Biosphere-Atmosphere Exchange of CO2 and Energy
Carbon, Climate Change and Northern Forests

10:00 a.m. Climate Modeling
Edward S. Sarachik, Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

This tutorial will review current climate models, including the ways processes are represented, the general forms of numerical simulation, the sources of uncertainties, and the evaluation of simulation results. Dr. Sarachik will provide the background for such current issues as modeling abrupt climate change, diagnosing errors and uncertainties, and simulating hydrologic variability.

Related Sessions:
Science of Abrupt Climate Change
Diagnosing Systemic Errors in Numerical Models of Climate Systems
Mid-Century Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources in the West

3. Update on Monterey Bay Aquarium Field Trip

The field trip for press registrants to the Monterey Bay Aquarium will be on Sunday, December 9, as previously announced. This is a unique opportunity for science writers to visit behind the scenes of this world renowned institution and learn about its scientific research programs.

The planned schedule for the day is:

9:00 a.m. - Depart from Moscone Convention Center by chartered bus
11:00 a.m. - Arrive at Monterey Bay Aquarium
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Lunch and presentations in the Ocean View Conference Room
Speakers include:
* Judith Connor, Director of Information and Technology Dissemination Division, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI): Current MBARI research initiatives
* Chris Harrold, Director of Conservation Research, Monterey Bay Aquarium: Conservation and research programs at Monterey Bay Aquarium
* David Cripe, Senior Aquarist, Monterey Bay Aquarium: Husbandry research programs at Monterey Bay Aquarium, including culturing jellies
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - General and behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium, including a very advance preview of the exhibition, "Jellies: Living Art", opening in April 2002
3:00 p.m. - Free time
5:30 p.m. - Depart for San Francisco
7:30 p.m. - Arrive at Moscone Center

You must register in advance for this field trip, which may be done when you register for the Press Room. As of the date of this message, places are still available. If you are already registered for the Press Room, send an email to Harvey Leifert, stating your desire to participate in the field trip. Only one bus will be chartered.

If you live in the Monterey area and wish to participate using your own transportation, you must still pre-register for the field trip, indicating that you will arrive on your own.

4. Press conferences planned

We are in the early stages of planning press conferences for Fall Meeting. Among the topics under consideration, and subject to the usual caveats, are:
Tenth anniversary of Mount Pinatubo: Lessons learned
The North Atlantic Oscillation: Mechanisms, Coupling, and Climate Change
Prevention of interplanetary biocontamination
The North American carbon sink: a case study of synthetic analysis of large-scale ecological processes
Present-day sea level change: who should worry?
Climate observing system challenges
Biogeophysics of global warming mitigation
Real-time oceanography, now and in the future
Satellite sensing of ocean color as a calibration and validation tool
Oceans within our solar system and beyond
Science of abrupt climate change
Ancient earthquakes and eruptions and their human impact

Subsequent advisories will provide more detailed information about these and other press conferences that are under consideration.

5. Who's coming

Following is the list of press registrants as of the date of this advisory. An asterisk(*) following the surname indicates that the person is confirmed for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Field Trip on Sunday, December 9.

Mario Aguilera*, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Andrew Alden, About.com
Kristina Bartlett*, Geotimes
Henry Bortman*, Astrobiology News
Andrew Bridges*, Associated Press
Korey Capozza, United Press International
Mike Carlowicz*, NASA GSFC/Emergent IT
Robert Cowen, Christian Science Monitor
Cassie Ferguson*, San Diego Supercomputer Center
Andrew Fraknoi, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Rob Gutro, NASA Earth Science News Team
Brooks Hanson*, Science
Tara Hicks, Freelance
Jacqueline Hollister, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Robert Irion, ScienceNOW
Dick Kerr, Science
Edie Lau, Sacramento Bee
Barbara Levi, Physics Today
Dawn Levy*, Stanford News Service
Emilie Lorditch, Discoveries and Breakthroughs
Naomi Lubick*, Freelance
Betsy Mason, New Scientist
Barbara McConnell*, National Geographic Magazine
Usha Lee McFarling*, Los Angeles Times
Ryder Miller, Freelance
Madeleine Nash, Time
Larry O'Hanlon, Discovery.com
Sid Perkins*, Science News
David Perlman*, San Francisco Chronicle
Charles Petit, U.S. News & World Report
Horst Rademacher*, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Krishna Ramanujan, NASA Earth Science News Team
Linda Rowan*, Science
Phillip Schewe, Physics News Update
Randy Showstack*, Eos
Peter Spotts*, Christian Science Monitor
Sarah Simpson*, Scientific American
Alan Stahler*, KVMR-FM
Bill Steigerwald*, NASA GSFC
Rich Stone, Science
John VanDecar, Nature
Lidia Wasowicz, United Press International
Krista West*, Scientific American Explorations
Andrea Widener*, Contra Costa Newspapers
Alexandra Witze*, Dallas Morning News
David Wolman, ACFnewsource
Kathleen Wong, California Wild
Robert Zimmerman, Freelance

x. Press Registration

Press registrants receive a badge that provides access to any of the scientific sessions of the meeting, as well as to the Press Room and Briefing Room. No one will be admitted without a valid badge. A press registration form will be found at the end of this message.

Eligibility for press registration is limited to the following persons:

* Working press employed by bona fide news media: must present a press card, business card, or letter of introduction from an editor of the publication.
* Freelance science writers: must present a current membership card from NASW, NCSWA (or other regional affiliate of NASW), CSWA, ISWA, or SEJ, or evidence of by-lined work pertaining to science intended for the general public and published in 2000 or 2001.
* Public information officers of scientific societies, educational institutions, and government agencies: must present a business card.

Note: Representatives of publishing houses, for-profit corporations, and the business side of news media must pre-register through the AGU web site or register at the main registration desk at the meeting and pay the appropriate fees.
X. Press Registration Form

The version below may be copied and returned (please, do not send back this entire media advisory!) to Harvey Leifert by email hleifert@agu.org or by fax (202-328-0566).

Once the Abstracts are available in CD-ROM and/or book form, and while supplies last, they will be sent to registrants, upon request, below. (Others will receive a copy in the Press Room.)

The press pre-registration deadline is Friday, November 30, 2001. The form must be received at AGU by that date for your badge to be available upon arrival, avoiding delay. You may, of course, also register in the Press Room.

Fax to:
     Harvey Leifert +1 (202) 328-0566

Mail to:
     Harvey Leifert      AGU      2000 Florida Avenue N.W.      Washington, DC 20009, USA

Or, take the completed form to Fall Meeting Press Room.

Name (to be printed on badge):
Mailing Address: ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________
Telephone:	Fax:
Email Address:
Media Affiliation: ______________________________________________________________ (Freelancers: Describe your eligibility per criteria in Media Advisory of August 20, 2001.) _____ Member of NASW _____ Regional affiliate of NASW _____ CSWA _____ ISWA _____ SEJ _____ Letter from recognized publication assigning you to cover this meeting _____ Evidence of bylined science story published in 2000 or 2001
Abstracts
I prefer the abstracts as (check one only): ____ CD-ROM (searchable) ____ Bound volume (ca. 500 pages)
____ Send Abstracts to me at the above address by USPS First Class mail. ____ Send Abstracts to me at the above address (no P.O. Boxes!) via express service ____ Do not send Abstracts in advance; hold for me in the Press Room.
Name of service (e.g. FedEx, UPS, etc.):	_______________________________
Class of service (e.g. next day, 2nd day, etc.):	_______________________________
My Account Number:	_______________________________
Field trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium on Sunday, December 9; ____ I would like to participate. (You will be notified that you are confirmed or on standby.)
Press pre-registration deadline is Friday, November 30, 2001. (Form must be received at AGU by that date for your badge to be available upon arrival, avoiding delay. You may also register in the Press Room.)