Contents

1. Joint Assembly Overview
2. Planned Sessions
3. Hotel and travel information
4. Important visa information
5. Press Registration Information
6. Press Registration Form

Continuing the tradition begun last year with the EGS-AGU-EUG Joint Assembly in Nice, France, AGU is meeting this spring in Montreal, Quebec, jointly with the Canadian Geophysical Union (CGU), the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), and the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society (EEGS). This meeting, 2004 Joint Assembly, will cover the full range of Earth and Space Sciences represented by these organizations. Joint Assembly replaces AGU's former Spring Meeting.

We will be holding press conferences on some of the exciting sessions at this meeting, and we are seeking to organize a relevant press field trip for Sunday, May 16. Further information will be provided in subsequent advisories.

The home page for 2004 Joint Assembly is www.agu.org/meetings/sm04/.

Joint Assembly takes place at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal. The Palais fills the block surrounded by Viger Avenue (North), Saint-Antoine Street (South), Saint-Urbain Street (East), and Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle (West), an extension of de Bleury Street. The nearest metro station is Place-d'Armes.

2. Planned Sessions

Over 160 special sessions are scheduled for Joint Assembly, which may change (up or down) as a result of abstracts submitted by the February 19 deadline. A small sampling of expected sessions:
The International Polar Year 2007-8
Greenhouse Gas, Climate and Ocean Interactions Through the Late Quaternary [current period]
New Views of Mars and Its Environment
Nature and Origin of Earth's Early Crust
Space Weather: Linking Research and User Needs
Magnetospheric Interaction with the Jovian Satellites
Violent Sun-Earth Connection Events of October-November 2003
The February 2004 Ulysses Encounter With Jupiter
POLARIS Studies of Earthquake Hazards and Continental Dynamics
Small Bodies of the Solar System
Extreme Waves (Tsunami and Rogue Waves)
Evaluation and Management of Water Resources
A Changing Arctic Landscape
Advances in Understanding the Global Water Cycle
Climatic and Anthropogenic Changes to the Environment: Contributions from Magnetism
Using National Parks to Teach about the Earth and Space Sciences
Sea Ice and Its Interactions With the Climate System
Magnitude and Causes of Decreasing Surface Solar Radiation

A subsequent advisory will provide access to the full list of scheduled sessions, as well as the abstracts associated with them.

Hotel and travel information will be provided in a subsequent advisory.

4. Important visa information

For Canada:

Canada requires citizens of many countries to obtain visas to attend a scientific meeting. For a complete list of countries whose citizens must obtain a visa and a list of those whose citizens are exempt from visa requirements, see www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.html.

Individuals who require a visa can either apply in person at a visa office of the Canadian government (see www.cic.gc.ca/english/offices/missions.html for a list) or they can apply by mail. For a complete set of requirements and directions, as well as a downloadable application in PDF format, see www.cic.gc.ca./english/applications/index.html.

Applicants applying by mail in the U.S. are advised to allow 3-4 weeks for processing; those applying from other countries are advised to allow 8 weeks for processing. There is a processing fee of Can$75.

AGU advises anyone requiring a Canadian visa to attend the 2004 Joint Assembly to apply early. Because of security-related policies, some applicants may be asked to present themselves for an interview by consular officers as part of the application process.

For the United States:

The following information applies to persons from outside the United States and Canada who may be visiting or transiting the United States before or after Joint Assembly:

General information about U.S. visas is available at www7.nationalacademies.org/visas.

The U.S. State Department requires citizens of many countries to obtain visas to attend a scientific meeting. In addition, the State Department requires citizens from visa waiver program (VWP) countries to obtain visas if they do not have machine-readable passports and they wish to visit the U.S. Enforcement of this new rule has been delayed from 1 October 2003 to 26 October 2004 for all but five VWP countries--Andorra, Brunei, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Slovenia. Most passports held by nationals of these countries are already machine-readable. AGU advises anyone who may need a U.S. visa to apply at least three months in advance. Security-related policies have greatly increased the processing time for visa applications. U.S. consular officers will now be interviewing most applicants as part of the application process.

Information on the procedures to follow to obtain a visa or a machine-readable passport and suggested actions in the event of a visa delay or denial are provided at the site listed below: www7.nationalacademies.org/visas/Traveling_to_US.html.

5. Press Registration Information

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.

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 (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 2003 or 2004.
• 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.

6. Press Registration Form

The Press Registration Form is set up for online submission, but includes a link to a version that can be printed out and faxed or mailed. Go to: www.agu.org/meetings/sm04/sm04pressreg_cgi.shtml.

The last day for advance press registration is May 10. You may also register onsite in the Press Room.

###