27 April 2015
2015 Joint Assembly
Media Advisory 3
AGU Release No. 15-30
Palais des congrès de Montréal
201 Viger Street West
Montreal, QC H2Z 1X7, Canada.
3-7 May 2015
Contents of this message:
1. Press conference schedule
2. Webstreaming: Access 2015 Joint Assembly Press Conferences (Live) Online
3. Public Lectures: Rosetta’s Wild Bounce / Ice loss & Sea-level rise
4. Press registration and badge pick-up
5. Press Room information
6. Virtual Press Room and PIO Uploader
Please visit the 2015 Joint Assembly Media Center for previous media advisories that include important information about visas for international reporters and searching the scientific program.
1. Press conference schedule
The AGU Public Information Office has planned a number of press conferences to help reporters cover new developments in the Earth and space sciences. A full list of those events is below and on the “Press Conferences” tab in the online Media Center.
Press conferences take place in the Press Conference Room, Room 523B. Times for press conferences are Eastern Daylight Time. All press conferences will be webstreamed. Click on the “Webstreaming” tab in the Media Center for further information and see #2 below.
The following schedule of press conferences is subject to change, before or during the Joint Assembly. Press conferences may be added or dropped, their titles and emphases may change and participants may change. Updates, changes and additions to the press conference schedule will be posted in the Press Conference tab in the Media Center.
Québec’s fraternal twin craters
Monday, 4 May
8:00 a.m.
For 50 years, East Clearwater Lake and West Clearwater Lake in Québec have been considered typical twin craters formed simultaneously by the impact of a pair of asteroids. But new radiometric dating of rocks, paleomagnetic evidence and a detailed look at the impact sites by researchers in Canada, Germany and Australia suggest there might be a different story to how and when these craters formed.
Participant:
Gordon “Oz” Osinski, Director, Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, Western University of Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Session: P11A
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Photos from the future depict vegetation, snow cover changes
Monday, 4 May
9:00 a.m.
Researchers have enlisted the aid of self-learning computer algorithms to predict effects of climate change on vegetation in three large swaths of the United States. The machines were first trained to generate faux satellite images closely matching today’s real ones from actual environmental data. Then, they projected some 50 years ahead using climate model data to render satellite photos from the future. The images suggest dramatic changes in store – both in vegetation and snow cover.
Participant:
Marc Stieglitz: Associate Professor, School of Civil and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A
Session: B14A
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Climate change and winemaking in Quebec
Monday, 4 May
10:30 a.m.
As average high temperatures continue to increase, new regions at northern latitudes may become more favorable for growing wine-making grapes. Researchers will discuss new models of the future wine-making potential of Canada’s Québec province, looking out to 2040-50.
Participants:
Philippe Roy, Climate scenarios specialist, Ouranos Consortium on Regional Climatology and Adaptation to Climate Change, Montreal, Quebec, Canada;
Isabelle Charron, Climate scenarios specialist, Ouranos Consortium on Regional Climatology and Adaptation to Climate Change, Montreal, Quebec, Canada;
Évelyne Barriault, Agronome, Conseillère en arboriculture fruitière et viticulture MAPAQ, direction régionale de la Montérégie-Ouest, Saint-Jean sur Richelieu, Québec, Canada.
Session: AS21B
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Latest scientific results from the Mount Polley mine failure
Tuesday, 5 May
10:30 a.m.
On August 4, 2014, the impoundment wall of the tailings pond at the Mount Polley copper and gold mine in British Columbia failed. The breach released approximately 25 billion liters of water, mine waste and other materials into nearby waterways, including near-pristine Quesnel Lake, the largest freshwater fjord lake in North America. A panel of scientists from the University of Northern British Columbia will present their latest findings on the impact of the disaster on the aquatic environment.
Participants:
Ellen Petticrew: Professor, Research Chair in Landscape Ecology, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada;
Phil Owens: Professor, Research Chair in Landscape Ecology, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada;
Stephen Déry: Canada Research Chair in Northern Hydrometeorology, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.
Session: H31C
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First images of thunder
Tuesday, 5 May
11:30 a.m.
For the first time, scientists have “imaged” thunder, visually capturing the sound created by artificially-triggered lightning, including how sound radiates along the length of a lightning bolt. Researchers will share the first such image, and also discuss lightning mechanics and the art of triggering artificial lightning using model rockets.
Participants:
Maher A. Dayeh, Research scientist, Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.;
Joseph R Dwyer, Professor and Peter T. Paul Chair, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, U.S.A;
Douglas M. Jordan, Director of Operations, International Center for Lightning Research and Testing, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, U.S.A.
Session: AS31A
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Ontario water contamination
Tuesday, 5 May
1:00 p.m.
Everyday chemicals can find their way into waterways, potentially affecting the aquatic environment. In this panel, scientists will present new findings about artificial sweeteners and chloride from road salt in rivers, streams and watersheds in Ontario.
Participants:
Claire Oswald: Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
Kristen Leal: Masters Candidate, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Session: B32B, B43A
2. Webstreaming: Access 2015 Joint Assembly Press Conferences (Live) Online
Reporters can remotely participate in Joint Assembly press conferences via webstreaming. For information on how to sign up and access this feature, click on the “webstreaming” tab in the online Media Center.
If, for some reason, the webstreaming does not work for a particular press conference, we will immediately put up a message on the 2015 Joint Assembly Media Center homepage and switch to making the briefing available via teleconference. To call into the teleconference, dial +1 (877) 709-0939 from within the United States or Canada, or +1 (678) 735-6305 internationally. The participant passcode is 1924247921.
NOTE: The teleconference will only be available if the webstreaming goes down.
3. Public Lectures: Rosetta’s Wild Bounce and Ice Loss & Sea-level Rise – Québec to Australia
The 2015 Joint Assembly will hold two public lectures on Sunday, 3 May. The lectures will take place 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. in Room 513A-C of The Palais des congrès de Montréal.
Rosetta mission scientist Claudia Alexander of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory will speak first, in English, about “The Rosetta Landing and its Wild Bounce at Comet 67/P (L’atterrissage du module de Rosetta sur la comète 67/P et ses rebondissements)” at 2:00 P.M. Michel Lamothe will present the second lecture at 3:00 P.M., in French, on “Fonte des calottes glaciaires et relèvement du niveau de la mer: les archives géologiques, du Québec à l’Australie. (Ice Sheets Mass Loss and Sea Level Rise: Geological Archives, from Québec to Australia.)” Lamothe, of the Université du Québec à Montréal, will discuss future sea-level rise expected to be “catastrophic for the stability and habitability of coasts around the world” and what can be learned about possible impacts and best ways to adapt to them from past sea-level rise recorded in sedimentary layers. For bios of the speakers, click here.
4. Press registration and badge pick-up
Online press registration for the Joint Assembly is now open. Please pre-register to expedite the on-site badge pick-up process.
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.
Approved press registrants should print and bring their confirmation email with them to the event. Badge pick-up will be available at the main registration counter of the meeting. When you arrive, please proceed to the main registration counter. If you don’t remember to bring your confirmation letter, you can show identification to staff there who will be able to verify your registration and issue you a badge.
Eligible members of the press may also register on-site at the meeting. Members of the press who wish to register on-site should proceed to the Press Room, Room 523A of the Palais des congrès de Montréal.
5. Press Room information
The Press Room is Room 523A. The Press Room provides working space for reporters, including a printer, Wi-Fi, and space for working and networking with colleagues. In the press room — and in the Virtual Press Room online in the 2015 Joint Assembly Media Center — members of the news media will find copies of press releases about developments in Earth and space sciences presented at the meeting.
Press Room Hours:
Monday May 4 – Wednesday May 6: 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Thursday May 7: 7:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Press Room phone number: 514-789-3422
6. Virtual Press Room and PIO Uploader
During the Joint Assembly, journalists can find press releases and many resources online in the Virtual Press Room in the Media Center on the Joint Assembly website. Public information officers (PIOs) can now post releases and other materials on the site.
For public information officers: Sign up now for a login for the PIO Uploader. PIOs with a login can add press releases, tip sheets and press conference materials to the Virtual Press Room at any time before or during the meeting, including uploading items in advance and scheduling them to post during the meeting. To register for a login, go to the Media Center on the Joint Assembly website and click on the “For PIOs” tab. Only registered PIOs will be allowed to upload content.
For journalists: Press releases and press conference materials (including PowerPoint presentations, images, videos, scientific papers, and more, as available) are added to the Virtual Press Room during the meeting for easy online access.
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Nanci Bompey
+1 (202) 777-7524
[email protected]