Media Advisory Two: AGU Fall Meeting

Abstracts and sessions now online, Book hotels by Nov. 14, NCSWA holiday party -- Dec. 17

Contents of this message:

1. Abstracts and Sessions now Online and Searchable
2. Reminder: Hotel reservation deadline
3. Field trip update
4. NCSWA holiday dinner: Save the Date! (Wednesday, 17 December)
5. News Media registration information
6. News Media Registration Form
7. Who's coming

1. Abstracts and Sessions now Online and Searchable

All 1,193 sessions and 15,730 abstracts for the 2008 Fall Meeting have been posted on the AGU web site.

A. Searching for Abstracts of Interest to You

The 15,730 Fall Meeting abstracts may be accessed by a search tool: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm08/waisfm08adv.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., volcano, Cassini, aerosol)

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

Hint: In searching for abstracts from an 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 names of institutions, their locations, and e-mail domains (e.g., look under Affiliation for Columbia, New York, or @columbia.edu).

B. Finding Sessions at Fall Meeting

The names, numerical designations, dates, times, and room numbers of all 1,193 sessions may be seen at: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm08/index.php/Program/index.php/Program/Glance

Many sessions are sponsored jointly by two or more Sections, and Union sessions are expected to have the most interdisciplinary appeal. By clicking on the name of a Section (e.g., Planetary Science, Seismology), all of the sessions under that Section's auspices will be displayed. Clicking on any of these sessions will open a list of oral presentations 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.

C. Fall Meeting's detailed scientific program and abstracts in digital media only

AGU has discontinued the use of printed books that describe the detailed scientific program of the Fall Meeting. Instead, the full scientific program and abstracts will be provided on CDs and on the meeting Web site only.

AGU will continue to provide one printed book only, with a summary schedule, session overviews ('Meeting Highlights'), an author index, maps, floor plans, and other general information about the meeting. Copies of that book will be available to members of the news media in the Press Room.

For anyone who would like to create their own digital copy of the detailed scientific program in advance of the meeting, the downloadable file of the meeting program and abstracts (plus instructions for burning it onto a CD) should be available toward the end of next week at the Fall Meeting program page: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm08/index.php/Program/HomePage

Copies of CDs of the detailed scientific program and meeting abstracts will also be available in the Press Room.

2. Reminder: Hotel reservation deadline Please note that the deadline for booking hotel rooms at preferential meeting rates is 14 November.

For full information on available hotels, rates, amenities, and a map of the area, see https://www.cmrhousing.com/agu_3u/Welcome.aspx

3. Field trip update

Plans are in progress for the Sunday, 14 December, field trip. This year's excursion focuses on techniques and tools that scientists use to track motions (and other aspects) of the Earth's crust.

Stops at several Bay Area sites, led by U.S. Geological Survey scientists, are expected to include hands-on experience with state-of-the-art, portable GPS ground-motion instruments, a tour of a lab where slabs of rock fracture under conditions like those deep down where earthquakes originate, and a visit to a fault-monitoring site with obvious damage to curbs and other structures from fault slippage.

If you wish to participate in the field trip, please sign up for it at the same time as you sign up for news media registration (see Item 5. below). Any field-trip participants arriving from afar are advised to be in town by Saturday, 13 December, as the field-trip bus will depart early on Sunday. More details in the next advisory.

4. Save the Date: NCSWA holiday dinner, Wednesday evening, 17 December

[The following notice is provided on behalf of the Northern California Science Writers Association (NCSWA). This is not an AGU event.]

NCSWA's annual holiday party will take place this year again at New Delhi restaurant, which is within walking distance—about 4 to 5 blocks—from the Moscone Center. The party, which is held (as always) in conjunction with the AGU Fall Meeting in order to include out-of-town science journalists, will take place on Wednesday, 17 December. The speaker has not yet been chosen. Count on good food, good company, and door prizes!

For more about the restaurant, see: http://www.newdelhirestaurant.com/index.html

5. News Media registration information

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 a recognized publication.
• Freelance science writers: must present a current membership card from NASW, a 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 2007 or 2008; or a letter from the editor of a recognized publication assigning you to cover Fall Meeting.
• 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 register at the main registration desk at the meeting and pay the appropriate fees, regardless of possession of any of the above documents. They are not accredited as Press at the meeting.

Scientists who are also reporters and who are presenting at this meeting (oral or poster session) may receive News Media credentials if they qualify (see above), but must also register for the meeting and pay the appropriate fee as a presenter.

News Media registrants will receive a badge that provides access to any of the scientific sessions of Fall Meeting, as well as to the Press Room and Briefing Room. No one will be admitted without a valid badge.

Details will be provided in a subsequent advisory about where preregistered members of the media will pick up their badges and where those who have not preregistered will be able to register onsite. In either case, please be prepared to show identification.

6. News Media Registration Form

The News Media Registration Form is set up for online submission only. Please go to: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm08.old/index.php/News/Register

The last day for advance News Media registration, assuring that your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive, is Friday, 5 December 2008. You may also register onsite.

7. Who's coming

The online list of journalists who have preregistered for the Meeting is updated daily and may be seen at: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm08.old/index.php/News/HomePage (Scroll down to see list.)

For additional information (or for a Spanish-language version of this release):

Please see: Media Advisory 1 for important information regarding visas for international reporters and hotel bookings at meeting rates (The deadline is 14 November 2008.): http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/2008-27.html

*NOTA:* Todo aquel interesado en obtener una versión en español de este comunicado de prensa (Media Advisory 2) puede solicitarlo a Maria José Viñas, mjvinas@agu.org.