2010 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, Ore.: News media registration and hotel booking open

Abstracts of talks and posters now online to read and search

Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon
22-26 February 2010

1. About the 2010 Ocean Sciences Meeting

More than 4,000 scientists from around the world are expected to attend the meeting, where they will present and discuss the latest findings from scientific studies of plastic debris in the oceans, tsunamis, rivers and dead zones, ocean acidification, predicting and managing effects of climate change on ecosystems, and many other research areas.

We are in the process of organizing a series of press conferences to bring some of the most important new discoveries to reporters who cover the meeting. These will be described in subsequent advisories.

Some 229 oral sessions and 191 poster sessions are planned for Monday, 22 February to Friday, 26 February 2010 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. Poster presentations will take place Monday-Thursday evenings to avoid overlap with oral sessions.

Three scientific organizations co-sponsor the 2010 meeting: The American Geophysical Union (AGU), The Oceanography Society (TOS), and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO).

The meeting website is http://www.agu.org/meetings/os10/index.php .

2. News Media Registration Information

International reporters: If you are neither a citizen nor a permanent resident of the United States, you need a visa to cover meetings in the U.S. This applies also to reporters from countries in the Visa Waiver Program, who do not need visas to visit the U.S. as tourists. For current information, see the official State Department web site at http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1276.html . Additional visa information is available at http://www.agu.org/meetings/os10/travel/index.php . Scroll down to the Visas section.

Eligibility for Press Registration: 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 2008, 2009 or 2010; or a letter from the editor of a recognized publication assigning you to cover the 2010 Ocean Sciences Meeting.
Public information officers of scientific societies, educational institutions, and government agencies: must present a business card.

Badges: News Media registrants receive a badge that provides access to any of the scientific sessions of the meeting, as well as to the Press Room. No one will be admitted without a valid badge. All members of the News Media (journalists and public information officers) should come to the Press Room (F150) to receive badges.

PLEASE BE PREPARED TO SHOW SECURITY YOUR PRESS CARD, BUSINESS CARD OR OTHER EVIDENCE OF YOUR ELIGIBILITY AS A NEWS MEDIA REGISTRANT. This evidence is required so that you will be permitted to proceed directly to the Press Room to receive your badge. News Media registrants who have preregistered (see Item 3 below) will find a badge waiting in the Press Room. If you have not preregistered, you may fill out a News Media Registration Form, available in the Press Room, presenting appropriate identification. Your badge will be made on site.

Members of the news media may register on site at any time when the Press Room is open. The Press Room will be open during the meeting: Mon -Th (2/22-25): 7:30h - 1900h, F (2/26) 7:30h-1400h. The Press Room will be closed Sunday, 21 February. If any members of the news media need access to the convention center on that day, please call Peter Weiss, cell phone 202-378-3053 to arrange to get a badge.

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.

3. News Media Registration Form

The News Media Registration Form is set up for online submission only. Go to: http://www.agu.org/meetings/os10/newsmedia/registration.php

The last day to preregister online is Friday, 12 February 2010. Members of the news media who preregister will have a badge waiting for them when they arrive on site. You may also register at the Press Room (see above).

4. Book Hotel Rooms by 20 January 2010

Five hotels are offering rooms to Meeting attendees at prices ranging from $99 to $149 per night, plus tax. The deadline for booking at these rates is 20 January 2010. To book rooms and find further information, see: http://www.agu.org/meetings/os10/travel/reservations.php

5. Abstracts and Schedule Available Online

A record 4,177 abstracts were received for the Ocean Sciences Meeting. Use the search engine at http://agu-os10.abstractcentral.com/planner.jsp to read abstracts online. The search engine offers the ability to search for abstracts by author's last name (multiple author names, separated by commas, are allowed), date, session track (i.e. scientific field), title, and other attributes.

Of particular usefulness are the search categories "Abstract/Presentation Title Keyword Search" and "Abstract/Presentation Body Keyword Search." The Title Keyword Search will look for the single keyword or key phrase (exact wording required) that you enter in the box. The Body Keyword Search will scan meeting abstract texts (but NOT titles) for a keyword (or key phrase) entered. Neither of these search categories will accept multiple key words or key phrases.

Please note that this new search engine does not search by affiliations of authors (i.e. the names and locations of their universities, laboratories, agencies, etc.). To help you ferret out abstracts by author affiliation, please see the Abstract Finder web page at http://www.agu.org/meetings/os10/newsmedia/abstract_finder.php .

There you can download an Excel spreadsheet listing all abstract numbers, titles, and authors, with affiliations, and search it using Excel's search commands. (Note: Author affiliations are also often mentioned in the abstract text. So, if you wish to use the meeting's search engine to find talks given by presenters from a particular university or other institution, you may have some luck using the Body Keyword Search feature.)

Search Tip: If you need to search the text within an abstract, press CTRL-F to activate the "Find" function. It will allow you to search for word(s) within the abstract.

If instead of searching through texts of abstracts, you prefer to browse sessions, click the Browse option of the meeting search engine. This function permits browsing of sessions on a particular day of the meeting (choose day at top.) and within a particular category (e.g. Biological Oceanography, Education and Outreach, Marine Technology, …). Click on category of choice at bottom. Please note that a listing of meeting Events and Activities can also be browsed.

When you click on the name of a category, all sessions on the chosen day under that category 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 "View Presentation" link of a particular presentation will open its abstract, including names and affiliations of authors.

6. 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/os10/newsmedia/whos_coming.php

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