2010 Fall Meeting: Media Advisory 2

27 October 2010

Joint Release

Moscone Convention Center,
San Francisco, California
13–17 December 2010

Abstracts and Sessions Now Online; Book Hotels by 10 November; NCSWA Holiday Dinner, Save the Date!

For important information regarding visas for international reporters and hotel bookings at meeting rates, please see: Media Advisory 1

Contents of this message:

  1. Abstracts and Sessions now Online and Searchable
  2. Reminder: Hotel Reservation Deadline – 10 November
  3. Field trip to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sun., 12 December
  4. NCSWA holiday dinner – Wed., 15 December
  5. News Media Registration Information
  6. News Media Registration Form
  7. Who’s Coming

For important information regarding visas for international reporters and hotel bookings at meeting rates, please see: Media Advisory 1.

1. Abstracts and Sessions Now Online and Searchable

All 1,460 sessions and 17,919 abstracts for the 2010 Fall Meeting have been posted on the AGU web site.

A. Searching for Abstracts of Interest to You

The 17,919 Fall Meeting abstracts may be accessed by the abstract search tool.

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). Instructions are available from the abstract search page. Tip: 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 1,460 sessions may be seen atMeeting at a 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.

(Please note: The search engine described above is of the type that AGU has provided for many years, but that was not available last year. This year, besides reviving this search engine, we are also providing access to it to reporters before it is publicly available. You may also access the abstracts by means of the Scholar One search engine, the type introduced last year. (Click on “search” in the left menu.))

C. Program Book and Daily Print Listings

AGU will provide a printed book with a schedule including session titles and times, an author index, listings of town hall meetings and other activities/events, maps, floor plans, and other general information about the meeting on site during the meeting. Copies of the book will be made available to members of the news media in the Press Room; the book does not include abstract information. However, newspaper-style, print listings of all presentations for each day, including the abstract titles, will also be available daily at the meeting.

2. Reminder: Hotel Reservation Deadline

Please note that the deadline for booking hotel rooms at preferential meeting rates is 10 November. For information on available hotels, rates, amenities, and a map of the area see the Travel page.

3. Field trip to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Sibley Volcanic Preserve, Sunday, 12 December

Join us for a tour of selected research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). We’re planning to speak with a researcher who has been tracking the Gulf oil spill and the microbes that are cleaning it up; learn about how the Advanced Light Source synchrotron is used to advance clean energy and geologic carbon sequestration research; and hear about recent advances in our understanding of regional climate change, climate extremes and abrupt climate change using the Integrated Earth System Model; and more.

We’ll take a break during lunch (a complimentary boxed lunch is provided) to take a tour of geologic features and a local fault at the Sibley Volcanic Preserve which is a short drive from LBNL.

The field trip is expected to depart by bus from Moscone Convention Center (West Building) at 8:30 am and return to the convention center by around 5:00 pm (timing is subject to change).

To register for the field trip, please email Kathleen O’Neil ([email protected]) with the following information:

  • Name
  • Title
  • Media outlet or other affiliation (“freelance” is fine)
  • Work address
  • Work email address
  • Phone number
  • Whether you have registered as a member of the news media for the 2010 AGU Fall Meeting
  • What would be of particular interest to you on this field trip
  • If you are a vegetarian or have a food allergy

Space is limited for this field trip. Priority will be given to working journalists. Please only sign up if you intend to participate. A confirmation of your place on the field trip or on the waiting list will be emailed to you. If a place has been reserved for you on the field trip but you find you cannot attend, please email Kathleen O’Neil to let her know.

4. Save the Date: NCSWA Holiday Dinner, Wednesday, Dec. 15

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

In an annual tradition, the Northern California Science Writers Association invites colleagues from the AGU newsroom to attend the NCSWA Holiday Dinner on Wednesday, 12/15. This year, NCSWA has moved the event to a new venue, Picaro Tapas restaurant in San Francisco’s vibrant Mission District, with easy access to public transit from the Moscone Center area.

Advance registration will be required. NCSWA will announce the dinner speaker and other details soon on itswebsite.

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 or other association of science journalists recognized by the World Federation of Science Journalists, or from the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ); or evidence of by-lined work pertaining to science intended for the general public and published in 2009 or 2010; 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 will not be 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 for the day they are presenting.

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.

News Media Registration Information

The News Media Registration Form is set up for online submission only.

The last day for advance News Media registration (assuring that your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive) is Monday, 6 December 2010. You may also register on-site.

News Media Registration Information

The online list of journalists who have preregistered for the Meeting is updated daily.