2 November 2017
Saint Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square is a symbol of New Orleans.
Credit: Nowhereman86, CC BY 3.0.
WASHINGTON, DC — Discover the latest Earth and space science news at the 50th annual AGU Fall Meeting this December, when about 24,000 attendees from around the globe are expected to assemble for the largest worldwide conference in the Earth and space sciences.
This year, the meeting runs from Monday through Friday, Dec. 11-15, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, 900 Convention Center Blvd, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70130.
Included in this advisory:
- Hotel reservation information – deadline November 15
- First-timers’ webinar November 14 – register now!
- Press field trip + happy hour: Living with Water in New Orleans – register now!
- Press field trip: Climate and Culture – register now!
- Virtual Press Room and expert tools – coming soon!
- Abstracts and sessions online and searchable
- Press events and preliminary press conference topics
- Press registration information
Please visit the 2017 Fall Meeting Media Center to view previous media advisories that include important information about visas for international reporters and searching the scientific program. For any questions about the Fall Meeting or information included in this advisory, email [email protected].
1. Hotel reservation deadline: November 15
Members of the press can make hotel reservations through the online press registration site. You will need to submit your press registration before booking a hotel room. However, it is not required to wait for press registration approval before booking a hotel room. See #8 below for press registration information.
Once you have submitted your press registration, you will see a link to add/modify your hotel reservation on the press registration site. An additional link to the housing website is provided in the registration acknowledgement email you will receive after submitting your registration. You can also log back into the press registration site using your email and registration ID to add/modify your hotel reservation. The deadline to book a hotel room through AGU’s online housing system is Wednesday, November 15.
About 24,000 scientists, journalists, educators, and students are expected to attend this year’s meeting and some hotels are already sold out. Please consider booking a hotel room now for the best availability. Rates start as low as $129.00 per day, plus tax.
Please visit the Fall Meeting housing page to see a list of hotels offering the special AGU room rate, as well as their rates and locations. However, press must register and book housing via the press registration site, and not from the Fall Meeting housing page. Please use this page as a reference only.
2. First-timers’ webinar (Nov. 14)
Attending your first AGU Fall Meeting and don’t know where to start? Whether you’re covering a scientific meeting for the first time or just haven’t been to the Fall Meeting before, BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos and freelance reporter Julia Rosen will let you in on their secrets for navigating the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists during a webinar on Tuesday, November 14 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm EST. AGU Press Office staff will also be available to answer logistical questions about the meeting. The webinar is free but registration is required. Register for the webinar here.
3. Press field trip + happy hour: Living with Water in New Orleans (Dec. 10)
On Sunday, December 10, AGU, ISEECHANGE and local scientists and experts will lead members of the media on a field trip around New Orleans from 1 – 5 pm, with a post-trip happy hour from 5 – 7 pm.
Decisions around water infrastructure have influenced the most prominent aspects of New Orleans history and culture for the last 300 years. During this field trip, journalists will learn about cutting-edge approaches to combine citizen science, remote sensing data, and community engagement projects to influence the design of the city’s infrastructure.
Participants will visit the Gentilly Resilience District and other New Orleans neighborhoods affected by flooding. The tour will include a history of the city’s relationship with water, exploration of green infrastructure demonstration projects implemented by various public agencies and nonprofits, and information about large-scale innovative urban water management projects breaking ground in 2018.
The field trip will conclude with a media networking happy hour alongside AGU scientists and local experts. More details about the field trip and happy hour, including registration information and eligibility, can be found here.
Note: The happy hour following the field trip is open to all AGU Fall Meeting press registrants. You do not need to attend the field trip to come to the happy hour.
4. Press field trip: Climate and Culture (Dec. 14)
On Thursday, December 14, Louisiana State Climatologist Barry Keim will lead a tour of his hometown, New Orleans, from 2 – 5 pm, to show how water, engineering, and culture intersect in the Bayou State. This field trip is sponsored by Louisiana State University and the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The tour will include stops at iconic places including the 17th Street Canal Breach that led to thousands of homes flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Musicians’ Village, a revitalization project conceived by New Orleans natives Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis dedicated to support the arts, an above ground cemetery as well as the Lower Ninth Ward flood breaches and home of music icon Fats Domino.
Barry Keim is the director of the Disaster Science and Management program at Louisiana State University located in Baton Rouge. He is also a professor in the LSU Department of Geography & Anthropology. For more information, visit: http://ga.lsu.edu/faculty/barry-d-keim/.
More details about the field trip, including registration information and eligibility, can be found here.
5. Virtual Press Room and expert tools launching later this month
The Virtual Press Room and two tools to connect reporters with scientific experts at the meeting will launch in the Fall Meeting Media Center later this month. The Find an Expert tool allows public information officers to list scientific experts who are available to be interviewed by reporters at the meeting. The Request an Expert tool allows reporters to send requests for experts directly to PIOs.
For journalists: Journalists covering the Fall Meeting will 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 other information. Videos of press conferences will be added to the Virtual Press Room during the meeting for easy online access.
For public information officers: PIOs will be able to share press releases online in the Virtual Press Room by directly uploading press releases and other supplemental materials to the site.
Instructions on how to upload materials to the Virtual Press Room and how to participate in the expert tools will be included in a future advisory. For more information, e-mail [email protected].
6. Abstracts and sessions online and searchable
The full scientific program for the 2017 Fall Meeting is now searchable online. This includes more than 1,800 sessions and more than 22,000 abstracts.
To search, click on the search button at the top, right-hand corner of the online program. Click on “Advanced Search” to search by session, paper or person. To browse sessions by AGU’s scientific sections and focus groups (e.g. Atmospheric Sciences, Planetary Sciences, etc.), click on the Section/Focus Group link on the left-hand side of the search engine. “Union” sessions offer the most interdisciplinary presentations.
AGU will distribute at the meeting a book with a Fall Meeting schedule including session titles and times, an author index, maps, floor plans, listings of town hall meetings and activities/events, and other information. Members of the news media can pick up copies in the Press Room; 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.
AGU On-Demand allows attendees to live stream select content from the meeting and watch videos of presentations on-demand after the meeting. Presentations available on AGU On-Demand include Union Sessions, Named Lectures, Keynotes/Special Lectures, Selected Scientific Sessions and the Honors Ceremony. Registration for access to AGU On-Demand is required but free. Information on how to register will be included in a future advisory.
NOTE: Audio recording, photography or video recording is not allowed in scientific sessions or in poster halls.
7. Press events and preliminary press conference topics
AGU’s Public Information Office will be hosting three kinds of press events at the Fall Meeting:
- Press Conference – A small panel of speakers will share newsworthy findings being presented at the meeting.
- Workshop – Experts will provide comprehensive information and answer reporters’ questions about an upcoming project or mission, or an ongoing area of research, rather than present breaking news.
- Media Availability – A prominent person(s) in the Earth and space sciences will be available to reporters.
So far, we expect briefings on the changing Arctic, Saturn, Jupiter, melting glaciers, the 2017 solar eclipse and more. This list will grow and is subject to change. AGU also plans to send out press releases highlighting new research results presented at the meeting.
The full list of press events, including dates, times, summaries and lists of participants, will appear in a future advisory one week before the start of the meeting. All press events will take place in the Press Conference Room: New Orleans Convention Center Room 346-347. Information about press conference webstreaming will be included in a future advisory.
In addition to press conferences, AGU is also offering other events and activities of interest to the press, including beginner and advanced Social Media Forums, a Fall Meeting Tweetup, press field trips, Open Mic Night and more. See above for more information about the press field trips. Sign up to perform at Open Mic Night here.
NOTE: Some events and activities, including but not limited to invitation-only events and communications workshops, are not open to press badge holders.
8. Press registration information
Online press registration for the Fall Meeting is now open. Please pre-register to expedite the on-site badge pick-up process.
The AGU Press Office provides complimentary press registration to professional journalists representing media organizations, freelance journalists, photographers, videographers, bloggers, authors, filmmakers, public information officers, institutional communicators and student journalists for the express purpose of gathering news and information to produce media coverage of AGU meetings. Press registrants receive, at no charge, a badge that provides access to all scientific sessions, the press room and the press conference room. For eligibility requirements, please visit the Press Registration Eligibility Requirements page.
Registrations are approved at the discretion of the AGU press office and approval may take up to 5 business days. Eligible members of the press may also register for press credentials 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.
Check the online Who’s Coming list of journalists and press officers who have registered for the meeting. This list is updated regularly.
NOTE: Some events and activities, including but not limited to invitation-only events and communications workshops, are not open to press badge holders.
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The American Geophysical Union is dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity through its scholarly publications, conferences, and outreach programs. AGU is a not-for-profit, professional, scientific organization representing more than 60,000 members in 139 countries. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and our other social media channels.
Lauren Lipuma
+1 (202) 777-7396
[email protected]
Nanci Bompey
+1 (202) 777-7524
[email protected]