American Geophysical Union
NEWS

Media Advisory 2
FALL MEETING
Moscone Convention Center
747 Howard Street
San Francisco, California
December 10-14, 2001
(Monday-Friday)

Abstracts Now Online, Tutorials Announced, Field Trip Details, Press Registration Information and Form

1. Abstracts online
2. New! Tutorials on key Fall Meeting themes
3. Update on Monterey Bay Aquarium Field Trip
4. Press conferences planned
5. Who’s coming
6. Press registration
7. AGU 2001 Fall Meeting Press Registration Form

Note: This message should be read in conjunction with Media Advisory 1 of August 22, as it does not repeat important information in that message. See: http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0123.html

All abstracts have now been posted on the AGU web site and may be accessed by a search tool:

http://www.agu.org/meetings/waisfm01adv.html

The CD-ROM and printed volume of abstracts for this meeting will not be available until mid-November. They will be sent at that time to Press Room registrants who have requested them, while supplies last.

The names, numerical designations, dates, times, and room numbers of all Meeting sessions have been posted on the AGU web site at

http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm01glan.html

By clicking on the name of a Section (e.g., Hydrology, Atmospheric Science), all of the sessions under that Section's auspices will be displayed. Clicking on any of these sessions will open a list of papers and/or posters associated with that session. Clicking on the name of a particular paper will open the abstract for that paper, including name and contact information for the lead author.

Many sessions are jointly sponsored by two or more Sections. The Union Sessions have the broadest interdisciplinary appeal.

Reporters and public information officers may search for abstracts of particular interest to them, by looking up any the following items:

Name of a scientist

Name of an institution (e.g., university, government agency)

Geographic location (e.g., city, state, or country)

Topic (e.g., volcano, Io, erosion)

These search parameters may be combined (e.g., presentations on earthquakes by scientists in Pennsylvania). To access the search tool, go to

http://www.agu.org/meetings/waisfm01adv.html

Full instructions are included on that page.

Note: In searching for papers from a particular 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 key word "Affiliation" covers both names of institutions and their locations (e.g., look for either Yale@ or New Haven@ under Affiliation).

For the first time, Fall Meeting will feature tutorials by leading scientists on the main themes of the meeting. These 30 minute sessions are not press conferences, but press registrants are welcome to attend. They are designed to give scientists attending the meeting a broad overview of current developments in fields other than their own.

All tutorials take place the morning of Monday, December 10, in Room 131 Moscone.

James W. Head, Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Why are all of the planetary bodies in the solar system are different? Earth has plate tectonics and water and supports life; Mars once had liquid water but has no plates; Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Dr. Brown will provide fundamental background on these and other bodies and focus on the important questions and processes concerning their development.

Related Sessions:

Origin and Early Evolution of the Earth

Plate Tectonics and Self Organization

Mars Global Surveyor: Guiding the Future of Mars Exploration

Galileo's Polar Io Flybys: Magnetospheric and Geologic Observations

NEAR and Beyond

Structure and Evolution of Earth's Deep Mantle

Barbara J. Thompson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

The Sun is a highly variable star. Violent explosions occur in the Sun's atmosphere, and its magnetic field and activity level vary cyclically. The consequences of the Sun's variability are felt in many ways on Earth and throughout interplanetary space. Dr. Thompson will survey the broad range of the Sun’s variability and the effects that we observe on Earth and beyond.

Related Sessions:

Shocks and Shock Manifestations over the Solar Cycle

Interaction CMES and their Relationships to Interacting Ejecta

Eric T. Sundquist, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

One of the biggest questions in global carbon cycle science today is resolving where, why, and how big is the "missing carbon dioxide sink" in the Northern Hemisphere. Global atmospheric carbon dioxide is increasing, and scientists are reasonably confident in their estimates of carbon dioxide sources. They also know that source and sink estimates do not balance with the known atmospheric concentrations. Dr. Sundquist will clarify the concepts of sources and sinks and provide background information regarding the observations and models that are used to address these issues.

Related Sessions:

The North American Carbon Sink: When and Where?

Integrated Studies of Terrestrial Biosphere-Atmosphere FLUXNET

Measuring and Monitoring Biosphere-Atmosphere Exchange of CO2 and Energy

Carbon, Climate Change and Northern Forests

Edward S. Sarachik, Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

This tutorial will review current climate models, including the ways processes are represented, the general forms of numerical simulation, the sources of uncertainties, and the evaluation of simulation results. Dr. Sarachik will provide the background for such current issues as modeling abrupt climate change, diagnosing errors and uncertainties, and simulating hydrologic variability.

Related Sessions:

Science of Abrupt Climate Change

Diagnosing Systemic Errors in Numerical Models of Climate Systems

Mid-Century Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources in the West

The field trip for press registrants to the Monterey Bay Aquarium will be on Sunday, December 9, as previously announced. This is a unique opportunity for science writers to visit behind the scenes of this world renowned institution and learn about its scientific research programs.

The planned schedule for the day is:

9:00 a.m. - Depart from Moscone Convention Center by chartered bus

11:00 a.m. - Arrive at Monterey Bay Aquarium

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Lunch and presentations in the Ocean View Conference Room

Speakers include:

* Judith Connor, Director of Information and Technology Dissemination Division, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI): Current MBARI research initiatives

* Chris Harrold, Director of Conservation Research, Monterey Bay Aquarium: Conservation and research programs at Monterey Bay Aquarium

* David Cripe, Senior Aquarist, Monterey Bay Aquarium: Husbandry research programs at Monterey Bay Aquarium, including culturing jellies

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - General and behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium, including a very advance preview of the exhibition, "Jellies: Living Art", opening in April 2002

3:00 p.m. - Free time

5:30 p.m. - Depart for San Francisco

7:30 p.m. - Arrive at Moscone Center

You must register in advance for this field trip, which may be done when you register for the Press Room. As of the date of this message, places are still available. If you are already registered for the Press Room, send an email to Harvey Leifert, stating your desire to participate in the field trip. Only one bus will be chartered.

If you live in the Monterey area and wish to participate using your own transportation, you must still pre-register for the field trip, indicating that you will arrive on your own.

We are in the early stages of planning press conferences for Fall Meeting. Among the topics under consideration, and subject to the usual caveats, are:

Tenth anniversary of Mount Pinatubo: Lessons learned

The North Atlantic Oscillation: Mechanisms, Coupling, and Climate Change

Prevention of interplanetary biocontamination

The North American carbon sink: a case study of synthetic analysis of large-scale ecological processes

Present-day sea level change: who should worry?

Climate observing system challenges

Biogeophysics of global warming mitigation

Real-time oceanography, now and in the future

Satellite sensing of ocean color as a calibration and validation tool

Oceans within our solar system and beyond

Science of abrupt climate change

Ancient earthquakes and eruptions and their human impact

Subsequent advisories will provide more detailed information about these and other press conferences that are under consideration.

Following is the list of press registrants as of the date of this advisory. An asterisk(*) following the surname indicates that the person is confirmed for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Field Trip on Sunday, December 9.

Mario Aguilera*, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Andrew Alden, About.com

Kristina Bartlett*, Geotimes

Henry Bortman*, Astrobiology News

Andrew Bridges*, Associated Press

Korey Capozza, United Press International

Mike Carlowicz*, NASA GSFC/Emergent IT

Robert Cowen, Christian Science Monitor

Cassie Ferguson*, San Diego Supercomputer Center

Andrew Fraknoi, Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Rob Gutro, NASA Earth Science News Team

Brooks Hanson*, Science

Tara Hicks, Freelance

Jacqueline Hollister, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Robert Irion, ScienceNOW

Dick Kerr, Science

Edie Lau, Sacramento Bee

Barbara Levi, Physics Today

Dawn Levy*, Stanford News Service

Emilie Lorditch, Discoveries and Breakthroughs

Naomi Lubick*, Freelance

Betsy Mason, New Scientist

Barbara McConnell*, National Geographic Magazine

Usha Lee McFarling*, Los Angeles Times

Ryder Miller, Freelance

Madeleine Nash, Time

Larry O’Hanlon, Discovery.com

Sid Perkins*, Science News

David Perlman*, San Francisco Chronicle

Charles Petit, U.S. News & World Report

Horst Rademacher*, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Krishna Ramanujan, NASA Earth Science News Team

Linda Rowan*, Science

Phillip Schewe, Physics News Update

Randy Showstack*, Eos

Sarah Simpson*, Scientific American

Peter Spotts*, Christian Science Monitor

Alan Stahler*, KVMR-FM

Bill Steigerwald*, NASA GSFC

Rich Stone, Science

John VanDecar, Nature

Lidia Wasowicz, United Press International

Krista West*, Scientific American Explorations

Andrea Widener*, Contra Costa Newspapers

Alexandra Witze*, Dallas Morning News

David Wolman, ACFnewsource

Kathleen Wong, California Wild

Robert Zimmerman, Freelance

Press registrants receive a badge that provides access to any of the scientific sessions of the meeting, as well as to the Press Room and Briefing Room. No one will be admitted without a valid badge. A press registration form will be found at the end of this message.

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 the publication.

* Freelance science writers: must present a current membership card from NASW, NCSWA (or other regional affiliate of NASW), CSWA, ISWA, or SEJ, or evidence of by-lined work pertaining to science intended for the general public and published in 2000 or 2001.

* 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 pre-register through the AGU web site or register at the main registration desk at the meeting and pay the appropriate fees.

An online version of this form is available at

http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/fm01press_reg_form.html

A formatted, printable copy of the form found below is also available as a stand-alone file at

http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/fm01pressregpr.html

The version below may be copied and returned (please, do not send back this entire media advisory!) to Harvey Leifert by email or by fax (202-328-0566).

Once the Abstracts are available in CD-ROM and/or book form, and while supplies last, they

will be sent to registrants, upon request, below. (Others will receive a copy in the Press Room.)

The press pre-registration deadline is Friday, November 30, 2001. The form must be received at AGU by that date for your badge to be available upon arrival, avoiding delay. You may, of course, also register in the Press Room.

Fax to:

Harvey Leifert +1 (202) 328-0566

Mail to:

Harvey Leifert

AGU

2000 Florida Avenue N.W.

Washington, DC 20009, USA

Or, take the completed form to Fall Meeting Press Room.

*** 2001 Fall Meeting Press Registration Form ***

Name (to be printed on badge):

Mailing Address:

Telephone:

Fax:

Email Address:

Media or organizational affiliation:

If freelancer: Check below one basis of your eligibility below and bring relevant proof to meeting.

_____ Member of NASW

_____ Regional affiliate of NASW

_____ CSWA

_____ ISWA

_____ Letter from recognized publication assigning you to cover this meeting

_____ Evidence of bylined science story published in 2000 or 2001

Abstracts:

Indicate preference for book or CD-ROM version (Check one box below)

____ I prefer a CD-ROM in advance of the meeting.

____ I prefer a bound volume in advance of the meeting.

How shall we send the abstracts?

____ Send Abstracts to me at the above address by USPS First Class mail.

____ Send Abstracts to me at the above address (no P.O. Boxes!) via express service

Name of express service (e.g. FedEx, UPS, etc.):

Class of service (e.g. next day, 2nd day, etc.):

My Account Number:

____ Do not send Abstracts in advance; hold for me in the Press Room.

Field trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium on Sunday, December 9:

____ I would like to participate. (You will be notified that you are confirmed or on standby.)

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