JpGU-AGU joint meeting research presentation highlights

19 May 2017


CHIBA, JAPAN — Discover the latest in Earth and space science research at the JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2017 taking place May 20-25 at the Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall in Chiba, Japan. The meeting will bring together researchers from the American Geophysical Union and the Japan Geoscience Union.

Included in this advisory:

  1. Research presentation highlights
  2. Keynote and special lectures
  3. Press registration information
  4. Press room information
  1. Research presentation highlights

The inaugural JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting includes more than 5,500 oral and poster presentations that span the Earth and space sciences. Topics include space and planetary sciences, atmospheric and hydrospheric sciences, human geosciences, solid Earth sciences, biogeosciences, education and outreach.

Highlights of research being presented at the meeting can be found below. A list of potentially newsworthy presentations submitted by presenters and selected by JpGU’s publicity committee can be found here. The full online program is available here.

Research highlights:

New technique provides earthquake risk for major cities worldwide
Scientists have developed snapshots of the likelihood of major earthquakes occurring in megacities around the world using a new statistical approach for estimating earthquake risk.

The new technique, called seismic nowcasting, estimates the progress of a defined seismically-active geographic region through its repetitive cycle of major earthquakes.  Applied to cities, the method assigns an Earthquake Potential Score, or EPS. The EPS provides a snapshot of the current risk of a major earthquake occurring in a region, and gives scientists, city planners and others a thermometer to see where a city is in a major earthquake cycle.

Read more about this new research being presented Monday, May 22 at the JpGU-AGU joint meeting on AGU’s GeoSpace blog.

Contact information for the researchers:
John Rundle: +1 (530) 400-4970 (cell); [email protected]; Skype: jbrundle; Skype Number: (530) 554-2625; Twitter: @rundlejb.

Early Tanpopo mission results show microbes can survive in space
Clumps of microbes can survive in space for at least a year – and perhaps longer, according to Japanese researchers conducting an experiment on board the International Space Station (ISS).

The Japanese Tanpopo mission is designed to test the panspermia hypothesis – the idea that life can be transferred from one planet to another by way of rocky debris. The mission is also aimed at testing the hypothesis that compounds that are precursors for life might have rained down on early Earth from space.

Read more about the initial results from the first year of the mission being presented Wednesday, May 24 at the JpGU-AGU joint meeting on AGU’s GeoSpace blog.

Contact information for the researchers:
Akihiko Yamagishi: +81 90-2907-1161 (cell); [email protected].

High levels of radioactive material migrating down into soil around Fukushima
High levels of radioactive cesium remain in the soil near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and these radionuclides have migrated at least 5 centimeters down into the ground at several areas since the nuclear accident five years ago, according to preliminary results of a massive sampling project.

In 2016, a team of more than 170 researchers from the Japanese Geoscience Union and the Japan Society of Nuclear and Radiochemical Sciences conducted a large-scale soil sampling project to determine the contamination status and transition process of radioactive cesium five years after a major earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Read more about the preliminary results from the sampling project being presented Thursday, May 25 at the JpGU-AGU joint meeting on AGU’s GeoSpace blog.

Contact information for the researchers:
Kazuyuki Kita: +81 90-6491-8385; [email protected].

Other potentially newsworthy presentations:

English-language presentations

Saturday, 20 May:

Sunday, 21 May:

Monday, 22 May:

Tuesday, 23 May:

Wednesday, 24 May:

Thursday, 25 May:

Japanese-language presentations:

Saturday, 20 May:

Sunday, 21 May:

Monday, 22 May:

Tuesday, 23 May:

Wednesday, 24 May:

Thursday, 25 May:

  1. Keynote and lunchtime special lectures

The keynote lecture will take place 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 21 in the Convention Hall of the International Conference Hall.

  • Noted seismologist Lucy Jones, founder of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, research associate at the Seismological Laboratory of Caltech and USGS Scientist Emerita, will present “Disaster Resilience in the 21st Century: Improving the communication between science and society.”
  • Nobel prize-winning physicist Takaaki Kajita, director of the Institute for Cosmic Radiation Research at the University of Tokyo, will present “Exploring the Universe with neutrinos, gravitational waves and gamma rays.”

World-class researchers will deliver lectures about the latest hot topics from 1:00 – 1:40 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the meeting in Room 103, on the first floor of the International Conference Hall.

  • Shawn McGlynn, of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, will present “Microbial Individuals and their roles in Biogeochemistry” on Saturday, May 20.
  • Peter van-Keken, of the Carnegie Institution for Science Washington, will present “The water cycle in subduction zones” on Sunday, May 21.
  • William Lau, of University of Maryland College Park, will present “The Asian Aerosol-Monsoon Climate System: A New Paradigm” on Tuesday, May 23
  • Ralph Lorenz, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, will present “Exploring Titan: An Earth-Like Moon” on Wednesday, May 24.
  • Eddie Bernard, of Survival Capsule, LLC, will present “New Frontier of Tsunami Science – Deep Ocean Observations” on Thursday, May 25.
  1. Press registration and hotel information

Eligible members of the media should register for the meeting on-site at the help desk at the Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall. There is no pre-registration. Press registrants will need to present identification and valid press credentials. For more information about press registration, please email [email protected].

  1. Press room information

A press room will be available for reporters at the meeting, with workspace, power strips, telephone, Internet connections, and space to conduct interviews with attending scientists.

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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 60,000 members in 137 countries. Join the conversation on FacebookTwitterYouTube, and our other social media channels.


AGU Contact:

Nanci Bompey
+44-7418-959064
[email protected]

Lauren Lipuma
+1 (202) 777-7396
[email protected]

JpGU Contact:
Kayoko Shirai
+81-3-6914-2080
[email protected]