Media Advisory 1 - 2004 Ocean Sciences Meeting

As usual, we will organize a series of press conferences, highlighting some of the newsworthy sessions at the meeting. Information on press conferences will be provided in a subsequent advisory.

An important feature of the Ocean Sciences Meeting is a series of plenary talks on key issues. These will all be held the first morning of the meeting, January 26:

2. Finding Abstracts and Sessions

A. Searching for Abstracts of Interest to You

All 1,276 Ocean Sciences Meeting abstracts may be accessed by a search tool: http://www.agu.org/meetings/os04/waisos04adv.html

Reporters and public information officers may search for abstracts of particular interest to them, by looking up any the following parameters on the search tool above:

Name of a scientist
Name of an institution (e.g., university, government agency)
Geographic location (e.g., city, state, province, or country)
Topic (e.g., El Nino, iceberg)

Up to three search parameters may be combined (e.g., presentations on vents by NOAA scientists in California). Full instructions are available on the search page.

Hint: In searching for abstracts 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 category "Affiliation" covers both names of institutions and their locations (e.g., look for either Yale or New Haven under Affiliation).

The CD-ROM and printed volume of abstracts for this meeting will be available in January. They will be sent at that time to Press Room registrants who have requested them, while supplies last. (See Press Registration Form, below.) Copies in both formats will be available in the Press Room, as will the Program Book. Copies will be available, while supplies last, for reporters who cannot attend the meeting. Send an email requesting it to Harvey Leifert: hleifert@agu.org.

B. Finding Sessions at Ocean Sciences Meeting

The names, numerical designations, dates, times, and room numbers of all sessions have been posted on the AGU web site at http://www.agu.org/meetings/os04/os04glan.shtml.

Clicking on any of these sessions will open a list of oral presentations and/or posters associated with that session. Clicking on the name of a particular presentation will open its abstract, including name and contact information for the lead author.

3. Hotel and travel information

Several Portland hotels are offering special rates to attendees,. The deadline for reserving rooms at these rates is December 29, 2003.

United Airlines is offering special discounts to meeting attendees, with the maximum reduction available to those booking at least 30 days in advance.

For full information on housing and travel, please see: http://www.agu.org/meetings/os04/house_travel.shtml

4. Press Registration Information

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.

Eligibility for press registration is limited to the following persons:

Note: Representatives of publishing houses, for-profit corporations, and the business side of news media must register at the main registration desk at the meeting and pay the appropriate fees.

The last day for advance press registration is January 16. You may also register onsite in the Press Room.

5. Press Registration Form

The form is set up for online submission, but includes a link to a form that can be printed out and faxed or mailed. Go to: http://www.agu.org/meetings/os04/os04pressreg_cgi.html