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:

1. Online press registration still open
2. Press conference schedule
3. Webstreaming
4. Press/News Media badge pickup
5. Press Room and Quiet Room information
6. Online resources
7. Expert tools
8. Press field trips + happy hour
9. Journalism awards reception
10. Fall Meeting keynote lectures and general sessions
11. Late-breaking sessions
12. Fall Meeting App, AGU On-Demand and other information

Please visit the 2017 Fall Meeting Media Center to view previous media advisories that include information about searching the scientific program and visa information for international reporters. For any questions about the Fall Meeting or information included in this advisory, email [email protected].

1. Online press registration still open

Online press registration for the Fall Meeting will remain open throughout the meeting to expedite the badge pick-up process (see #4 below for details). We encourage all press registrants to register online.

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.

Check the online Who’s Coming list of journalists and press officers who have registered for the meeting. This list is updated regularly.

2. Press conference schedule

AGU’s Public Information office has planned more than 25 press events, including 16 press conferences, to help reporters cover new developments in the Earth and space sciences. There will be three formats for press events at the Fall Meeting:

1. Press Conference – A small panel of speakers will share newsworthy findings being presented at the meeting.
2. 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.
3. Media Availability – A prominent person(s) in the Earth and space sciences will be available to reporters.

A list of all 2017 Fall Meeting press events is below. Events listed are press conferences unless otherwise specified. Please click on the title of an event for more information, including short descriptions, participants and associated scientific sessions. Please click on the “Press Conferences” tab in the Fall Meeting Media Center for the full schedule of press events.

AGU also plans to send out press releases highlighting new research results presented at the meeting.

NOTE: The following schedule of events is subject to change before or during Fall Meeting. Press events may be added or dropped, their titles and emphases may change and participants may change. Updates, changes and additions to the press events schedule will be posted in the Press Conferences tab in the Media Center.

All press events will take place in the Press Conference Room, Morial Convention Center Room 346-347, and are 45 minutes long. Times are listed in Central Standard Time. All press events will be streamed live over the web. Click on the “Webstreaming” button in the Media Center for further information and see #3 below for details.

Monday, 11 December
9:00 a.m. – Evolution of a new Pacific island may unlock secrets to Mars
10:30 a.m. – Assessing flood risk in the U.S. and the consequences of sea level rise
11:30 a.m. – Eclipse 2017: Studying the Sun-Earth connection and more from the Moon’s shadow
1:45 p.m. – Dan Rather (Media Availability)
2:30 p.m. – The biggest story in the solar system: Science from NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter
4:00 p.m. – Climate change has unexpected consequences for animal populations
5:00 p.m. – American Geophysical Union leaders (Media Availability)

Tuesday, 12 December
8:00 a.m. – Climate solutions: Policy, planning, science and engineering in uncertain political and economic times (Media Availability)
9:00 a.m. – Arctic Report Card 2017
10:30 a.m. – The IODP-ICDP Chicxulub impact crater drilling expedition (Media Availability)
11:30 a.m. – New Horizons explores the Kuiper Belt (Workshop)
1:45 p.m. – Why we are still in (Media Availability)
2:30 p.m. – New NASA eyes on ice (Workshop)
4:00 p.m. – The bright stuff: New Dawn findings at Ceres

Wednesday, 13 December
8:00 a.m. – The melting cryosphere
9:00 a.m. – Improving gender equity in the geosciences (Workshop)
10:30 a.m. – Spanning disciplines to search for life beyond Earth
11:30 a.m. – Explaining extreme events of 2016 from a climate perspective
1:30 p.m. – Canary in the coalmine: Subsidence in coastal Louisiana
2:30 p.m. – Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria – Part 1
3:30 p.m. – Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria – Part 2

Thursday, 14 December
9:00 a.m. – The costs of increased smoke exposure
10:30 a.m. – Using music to advance geoscience research
11:30 a.m. – The declared North Korean nuclear test on September 3, 2017
1:45 p.m. – Vaughan Turekian (Media Availability)
2:30 p.m. – Is climate intervention in our future? (Media Availability)

Please also see our Media Tip Sheet, a list of potentially newsworthy research presentations selected by AGU’s public information team, as well as our Gulf Coast Tip Sheet, a list of potentially newsworthy presentations specific to Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.

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 and a happy hour, Open Mic Night, Story Collider and more. See #8 below for information about the field trips and happy hour.

NOTE: Some events and activities, including but not limited to invitation-only events and communications workshops, are not open to press badge holders.

3. Webstreaming: Stream 2017 Fall Meeting press conferences live

Reporters can remotely participate in Fall Meeting press events via webstreaming.

All Fall Meeting press events will be streamed live on the AGU press events webpage. Reporters can visit this site throughout the meeting to watch press events in real time and ask questions via an online chat. For more information and instructions, click on the “Webstreaming” button in the Fall Meeting Media Center.

If, for some reason, the webstreaming does not work for a particular press conference, we will immediately switch to making the briefing available via teleconference. To call into the teleconference, dial 877-709-0939 within the United States and Canada, or +1 678-735-6305 internationally. The participant passcode is 192-424-7921.

NOTE: The teleconference will only be available if the webstreaming goes down.

4. Press/News Media badge pickup

To expedite the registration process and avoid long lines on Monday morning, Dec. 11, we encourage all members of the news media to go through the final steps of registering and picking up your badge on Sunday, Dec. 10. You may register online throughout the duration of Fall Meeting and we encourage all press registrants to register online. As always, press/news media registration is complimentary.

If you did not preregister online: The main Fall Meeting registration area is in the Great Hall, on the northernmost side of the first floor of the Morial Convention Center. Press registration is located in the main registration hall. To register on-site, you must go to the Press Registration Counter in the Great Hall, fill out an onsite registration form, and present your media credentials. For eligibility requirements and required credentials, please visit the Press Registration Eligibility Requirements page. Press Registration counter hours are listed below.

If you preregistered and were mailed your badge: If you have your badge in hand, you can complete the registration process (picking up a badge lanyard and other materials) at the Press Registration Counter in the main Fall Meeting registration area in the Great Hall or at the Press Room, Room 350-351. Press Registration counter hours are listed below. The Press Room is open daily at 7:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 11 through Friday, Dec. 15. The room closes daily at 6:30 p.m. except for Friday, Dec. 15, when it closes at 2:00 p.m. Please note: The press registration information in the approved press confirmation e-mail is incorrect. You must pickup your materials at the Press Registration Counter or the Press Room at the hours listed in this advisory.

If you preregistered online but didn’t receive your badge in the mail or forgot to bring your mailed badge to the meeting: If you preregistered online and have been approved for press registration, but you don’t have your badge in hand, you should go to the Press Registration Counter in the main Fall Meeting registration area in the Great Hall. You should bring your approved press registration e-mail. Please see below for Press Registration Counter hours. Please note: The press registration information in the approved press confirmation e-mail is incorrect. You must pick up your materials at the Press Registration Counter at the hours listed in this advisory.

Press Registration Counter hours:
Great Hall, 1^st Floor, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
Sunday, Dec. 10: 12:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 11: 6:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 12: 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 13 through Friday, Dec. 15: 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

The entrances to the Morial Convention Center are on Convention Center Boulevard.

5. Press Room and Quiet Rooms information

The Press Rooms are located on the third floor of the New Orleans Convention Center. A floorplan of the Morial Convention Center, showing locations of the Press Room, Quiet Rooms, registration area, poster hall and more, can be found here. Generic floorplans of the convention center can also be found here. The Press Rooms provide working space for press registrants, including phone lines (with no charge for business calls), computer terminals and printers, Wi-Fi and internet hard drops, electrical outlets and space for working and socializing. The main phone number in the Press Room for incoming calls is +1 (504) 670-5513.

Approved press registrants should first check-in and pick up their green press ribbons in the main Press Room, Room 350-351. Press registrants can also eat and network in the main press room.

Immediately next door to the Press Room is the Press Work Room, Room 348-349. The Press Work Room provides quiet space for approved press to work, including computer terminals and printers, internet hard drops, Wi-Fi and electrical outlets.

Press events (press conferences, workshops and media availabilities) take place in the Press Conference Room, Room 346-347, diagonally across from the Press Rooms.

The Press Room and Press Work Room open daily at 7:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 11 through Friday, Dec. 15. The rooms close daily at 6:30 p.m. except for Friday, Dec. 15, when they close at 2:00 p.m.

Some meals and other refreshments will be provided in the main Press Room, Room 350-351. Below is a schedule of meal and snack times throughout the week:

Monday through Thursday:
Hot breakfast: 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Morning coffee: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Lunch: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Afternoon snack and coffee: 3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Friday:
Continental breakfast: 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Morning coffee: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Fall Meeting press registrants can also reserve one of four available Quiet Rooms during the meeting to conduct interviews. Locations of the Quiet Rooms are given below. Quiet Rooms are available from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday, Dec. 11 through Thursday, Dec. 14, and from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15.

Quiet Room Locations and information:
Quiet Room 1: Room 341, 3^rd floor, fits 16 people
Quiet Room 2: Room S.O. B211, 2^nd floor, fits 8 people
Quiet Room 3: Room S.O. B212, 2^nd floor, fits 8 people, has internet hard drop and phone
Quiet Room 4: Room S.O. B213, 2^nd floor, fits 8 people, has internet hard drop and phone

Please sign up to reserve these rooms at the front desk of the Press Room (Room 350-351) or by calling the Press Room at +1 (504) 670-5513 during the meeting. Reservations are given in 30-minute increments for up to one hour at a time, and are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Public information officers can disseminate paper press releases and related documentation at Fall Meeting. We recommend bringing around 50 copies of printed materials and three to five copies of broadcast-quality video.

The easiest way to get these materials to the Press Room is to take them yourself, if you are going to Fall Meeting, or to give them to one of your scientists, with instructions to deliver them to the AGU Press Room (Room 350-351) from Monday, Dec. 11 onward.

If you prefer to ship materials to the Fall Meeting, contact [email protected] for more information.

Materials remaining in the press room may be collected from Room 350-351 by Friday, Dec. 15 at 1:00 p.m., after which they will be thrown away.

6. Online resources

During Fall Meeting, journalists can find many resources online in the Fall Meeting Media Center. Public information officers (PIOs) can now post press releases and other materials to the site.

For journalists: In the Virtual Press Room, journalists can find 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 can now share press releases and other materials in the Virtual Press Room by directly uploading them via the Press Item Uploader. PIOs can upload press releases, tip sheets and press conference materials to the Virtual Press Room at any time before or during the meeting. PIOs can also upload materials and schedule them to publish at a later date.

Note: PIOs do not need to register to upload press items to the Virtual Press Room. However, only public information and press officers of recognized scientific societies, educational institutions, government agencies and non-profit Earth and space science research organizations are eligible to upload press items. The AGU press office may remove any items posted by press officers who do not meet these criteria.

7. Expert tools

The AGU press office offers two online tools to connect reporters with scientific experts at the 2017 Fall Meeting. These tools are now available online in the Fall Meeting Media Center.

The Find an Expert tool allows PIOs 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: With the Find an Expert tool, reporters can search a list of scientific experts in various topic areas who are at the meeting and available for interviews. These experts have been listed by PIOs from recognized scientific societies, educational institutions, government agencies and non-profit Earth and space science research organizations. With the Request an Expert tool, reporters can send a request for an expert directly to PIOs via email. When a reporter fills out the “Request an Expert” form, participating PIOs will receive a private email with the reporter’s name, affiliation and information about the kind of expert he or she is seeking. PIOs can then contact reporters directly if they have an expert available.

For public information officers: With the Find an Expert tool, PIOs can list up to 10 scientific experts who are at the meeting and available for interviews with reporters. Reporters can then search the list of available experts for scientists who meet their needs. PIOs do not need to register to list an expert; they simply need to fill out the “List an Expert” form on the Find an Expert page.

The Request an Expert tool allows reporters to send a request for an expert directly to PIOs via email. When a reporter fills out the Request an Expert form, participating PIOs will receive a private email with the reporter’s name and affiliation as well as information about the kind of expert he or she is seeking. PIOs can then contact reporters directly.

PIOs who wish to receive expert request emails from reporters should fill out the Receive Expert Requests form.

Note: PIOs do not need to register to list an expert on the Find an Expert page. However, only public information and press officers of recognized scientific societies, educational institutions, government agencies and non-profit Earth and space science research organizations are eligible to list experts. The AGU press office may remove any experts posted by press officers who do not meet these criteria.

More information about these tools can be found in the Fall Meeting Media Center.

8. Press field trips and happy hour

Field trip + happy hour (Sunday, Dec. 10)
On Sunday, Dec. 10, AGU, ISEECHANGE and local 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. The field trip will include a history of the city’s relationship with water, exploration of green infrastructure projects, and information about large-scale innovative urban water management.

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, nor do you need to register in advance for the happy hour.

Field trip (Thursday, Dec. 14)
On Thursday, Dec. 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.

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, an above ground cemetery, the Lower Ninth Ward flood breaches and home of music icon Fats Domino.

More details about the field trip, including registration information and eligibility, can be found here.

9. Journalism Awards Reception (Dec. 12)

We invite you to join your Press Room colleagues to honor and celebrate AGU’s most recent journalism award winners during an informal reception on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

We will recognize the outstanding reporting and writing of 2017 Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism–Features winner Tony Bartelme, 2017 David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism–News winner Courtney Humphries and 2017 Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement in Science Journalism winner Rich Monastersky.

The reception will take place in the Press Room, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Room 350-351, from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.

10. Fall Meeting keynote lectures and general sessions

Fall Meeting Keynote Lectures cover different and exciting topics applicable across all fields of Earth and space science. This year’s lectures include:

• Veteran journalist Dan Rather will deliver the Presidential Forum Lecture on Monday, Dec. 11 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. A media availability with Mr. Rather will be held immediately following the lecture.
• A Special Keynote Panel titled “Why We Are Still In” will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 12 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. AGU is facilitating this special plenary around the wearestillin.com movement, a response to a U.S. governmental decision to depart from the Paris Climate Accord. Panelists include the Honorable James Brainard, Mayor of Carmel, Indiana; and Sra. Tanya Müller García, Secretary of the Environment, Mexico City. A media availability with the panelists will be held immediately following the lecture.
• Joanna Morgan, Professor of Geophysics at Imperial College London and Co-Chief Scientist of the IOPD-ICDP Expedition 364 Chicxulub Impact Crater Drilling Project, will deliver the Frontiers of Geophysics Lecture, “Chicxulub: The End of an Era,” on Wednesday, Dec. 13 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Joanna Morgan will participate in a media availability on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 10:30 a.m.
• Vaughan Turekian, senior board director for sustainability programs at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, will deliver the Fall Meeting Agency Lecture, “How a Geoscientist Can Change the World,” on Thursday, Dec. 14 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. A media availability with Dr. Turekian will be held immediately following the lecture.

All Keynote Lectures will take place in the New Orleans Theater, located on the second floor of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center above Hall I-1. Registered journalists who are interested in attending these events should meet an AGU staff member at the entrance to the lecture hall 30 minutes prior to the start of the talk.

All media availabilities will take place in the Press Conference Room, Room 346-347, located on the third floor of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center above Hall E.

Safe AGU: Ethics, response to harassment and work climate-related events 
This year, AGU’s Board of Directors adopted an updated Ethics Policy. This policy takes a much stronger stance against harassment by including it in the definition of research misconduct and expanding its application to AGU members, staff, volunteers, and non-members participating in AGU-sponsored programs and activities, including AGU Honors and Awards, and governance. The purpose of these updates is to address persistent ongoing issues of harassment, discrimination, and bullying within the sciences.

AGU will be hosting a Town Hall session on the updated ethics policy on Tuesday, 12 December from 6:15 – 7:15 p.m. in Room 203-205. Visit the Fall Meeting Safe AGU page for a list of additional 2017 Fall Meeting events that delve into these issues.

Union and Town Hall lectures
AGU Fall Meeting Union sessions focus on multidisciplinary topics with a broad interest to the scientific community. Town Hall lectures offer an opportunity for government agencies, academic programs, special projects, and other focused interest groups to gather input from the broader AGU Community. Browse the scientific program for a list of this year’s Union and Town Hall sessions.

Recommendations from AGU Journal Editors
AGU’s journal editors give their recommendations for some of the most interesting oral and poster sessions at this year’s meeting in two posts on Eos.org. The first post covers interdisciplinary, science communication and publishing, space, planets, solid Earth, atmosphere, and oceans sessions. The second post covers climate, paleoclimatology, hydrology, Earth surface, biogeosciences and geohealth sessions.

11. Late-breaking sessions

Several late-breaking sessions have been added to the Fall Meeting program to cover the latest research on recent events. These sessions include:

• Climate Solutions: Policy, Planning, Science and Engineering in Uncertain Political and Economic Times
  Oral session GC23H, Tuesday, 12 December, 1:40 – 3:40 p.m., Room 252-254
• Late-Breaking Research Related to the 2017 Hurricane Season in the Americas
  Poster session NH23E, Tuesday, 12 December, 1:40 – 6:00 p.m., Poster Hall D-F
  Oral session IN31F, Wednesday, 13 December, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m., Room E3
  Lightning session NH32C, Wednesday, 13 December, 10:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m., Room E3
  Oral session U32B, Wednesday, 13 December, 10:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m., Room La Nouvelle C
  Oral session NH33E, Wednesday, 13 December, 1:40 – 3:40 p.m., Room E3
  Oral session NH34B, Wednesday, 13 December, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., Room E3
  Oral session NH34C, Wednesday, 13 December, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., Room 352
• The September 2017 Tehuantepec and Puebla Earthquakes in Mexico
  Oral session S32D, Wednesday, 13 December, 10:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m., Room 343
  Poster session S33G, Wednesday, 13 December, 1:40 – 6:00 p.m., Poster Hall D-F
• Late-Breaking Sessions on the North Korean September 3, 2017 Declared Nuclear Test:
  Oral session S34C, Wednesday, 13 December, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., Room 228-230
  Oral session S41G, Thursday, 14 December, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m., Room 225-227
  Poster session S43H, Thursday, 14 December, 1:40 – 6:00 p.m., Poster Hall D-F
• 2017 South East Asia Flooding
  eLightning session NH51D, Friday, 15 December, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m., eLightning area

12. Fall Meeting app, AGU On-Demand and other information

The 2017 AGU Fall Meeting mobile app is now available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play. The app allows you to browse the scientific program, plan and sync your schedule between devices, receive event alerts and stay connected on social media. The app also has floor plans of the Morial Convention Center and Hilton Riverside Hotel to help you get around.

To get the app, search for “AGU Events” in the Apple App Store or Google Play and download the app called “AGU Events.” When you open the AGU Events app after downloading it, select “2017 AGU Fall Meeting” and download the Fall Meeting-specific app.

AGU On-Demand
AGU On-Demand provides online access to live streaming and recorded content from the meeting, including lectures and oral presentations. Click here for a full list of AGU On-Demand sessions. E-posters (electronic versions of Fall Meeting posters) will also be available online. All sessions will be recorded and available for viewing on YouTube after 1 January 2018.

Registration for access to AGU On-Demand is required, but free. For more information, email [email protected].

Scientific Neighborhoods
This year, the poster hall has been organized into scientific neighborhoods. This co-locates posters from related sections and focus groups to make it easier for viewers to identify connections and relevant posters. Visit the Scientific Neighborhoods page for more information.

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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.

AGU Contact:

Lauren Lipuma
+1 (202) 777-7396 (office)
+1 (504) 427-6069 (cell)
[email protected]

Nanci Bompey
+1 (202) 777-7524 (office)
+1 (914) 552-5759 (cell)
[email protected]