AGU Fall Meeting: Abstracts and Sessions Now Online; Book Hotels by 8 November

American Geophysical Union
2013 Fall Meeting
Media Advisory 2

Moscone Convention Center
San Francisco, California
9–13 December 2013

Included in this advisory:

1. Abstracts and sessions now online and searchable
2. Press registration information
3. Reminder: Hotel reservation deadline – Nov. 8
4. Virtual Press Room – access press conferences and press releases online
5. U.S. visa regulations for international reporters
6. Using the Fall Meeting search engine – now with Advanced Search

For important information about booking hotels at meeting rates, please see: Media Advisory 1.

1. Abstracts and sessions now online and searchable

All 1,720 sessions and 21,289 abstracts for the 2013 Fall Meeting have been posted in the Scientific Program on the AGU Fall Meeting website. The full program is now searchable via the Itinerary Planner. For more information about using this search engine — which now includes an Advanced Search feature — see Item 6 at the bottom of this release.

AGU will give out at the meeting, and post online, a book with a Fall Meeting schedule including session titles and times, an author index, maps, floor plans, listings of town hall meetings and other activities/events, and other information. Members of the news media can pick up copies in the Press Room (Moscone West, Room 3001A); the book does not include abstract information. AGU will also distribute daily a newspaper-style print listing of all presentations for each day, including abstract titles.

2. Press registration information

To register as press and to check eligibility requirements, please see the online press registration page. Check here for an online Who’s Coming list of journalists and press officers who have preregistered for the meeting. This list gets updated regularly.

Press registrants receive a badge providing complimentary access to any of the meeting’s scientific sessions, as well as to the Press Room, Press Conference Room, and Quiet Rooms. No one will be admitted without a valid badge.

Eligible members of the press may also register on-site at the meeting. The on-site registration location, badge pick-up location, and Press Room, Press Conference Room, and Quiet Rooms locations will be included in a future advisory.

3. Reminder: Hotel reservation deadline – Nov. 8

Please note that the deadline for booking hotel rooms at preferential meeting rates is 8 November. Hotel reservations are accessible via the online press registration site. It is not required to wait for press registration approval before booking a hotel room, nor is it required to book a hotel room when registering to attend the meeting. Important: Please be sure to book your hotel through the press registration site to ease your registration process.

Note: AGU will not be offering shuttle service to/from the Moscone Center.

4. Virtual Press Room – access press conferences and press releases online

For journalists: Journalists covering the Fall Meeting can find many resources online in the Virtual Press Room. Press releases, press conference materials (including PowerPoint presentations, images, videos, scientific papers, and more, as available), and video recordings of press conferences are added to the Virtual Press Room during the meeting for easy online access.

The Virtual Press Room will launch in the Media Center of the Fall Meeting website about a month before the meeting begins. Information about press conference webstreaming will follow in a later advisory.

For public information officers: PIOs can share press releases online in the Virtual Press Room by directly uploading press releases and other supplemental materials to the site. PIOs must register for access to the Virtual Press Room. Instructions on how to register will be included in a future advisory. For more information, e-mail [email protected].

5. U.S. visa regulations for international reporters

All journalists who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States need a visa to cover scientific meetings in the U.S. This also applies to journalists from “Visa Waiver Program” countries (e.g., Western Europe) who do not normally need visas to enter the U.S. as tourists. This is not a new requirement, but it is now being strictly enforced.

The required visa is a “Media (I) Visa” issued by an American Embassy or Consulate in your home country. Journalists traveling internationally to attend the Fall Meeting should apply as soon as possible for a “Media (I) Visa.” The application procedure is simple but can be timely due to a high volume of applications.

The U.S. Department of State has a “Media (I) Visa” fact sheet for journalists available on its website.

6. Using the Fall Meeting search engine – now with Advanced Search

AGU provides a search engine, called the Itinerary Planner, for searching and browsing the Scientific Program. Please note that, this year, the planner includes an Advanced Search capability, located directly below the regular Search Program window.

To search or browse sessions tied to AGU’s unique scientific sections and focus groups (e.g. Atmospheric Sciences, Planetary Sciences, etc.), use the Select Topic field at the top right. Checking the box next to the name of a section will display only sessions sponsored by that section or focus group. “Union” sessions offer the most interdisciplinary presentations.

When search results are displayed, clicking on the plus sign next to any session will open a list of presentations that are in that session and associated with your search criteria. Clicking on the “view presentation” link beneath a particular presentation will open its abstract, including name and contact information for the lead author.