Contents
1. Sessions and Abstracts Online and Searchable
    A. Searching for Abstracts of Interest to You
    B. Finding Sessions at Joint Assembly
2. Press Room and press conferences
3. Press Registration Information
4. Press Registration Form
5. Who's Coming

1. We expect to issue a preliminary list of press conference topics and information on a Press field trip in early April.

2. This message does not repeat important information on visa issues, hotel accommodations, and air fares that were in Media Advisory 2: www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0413.html.

All 435 sessions and 2,876 abstracts for 2004 Joint Assembly have been posted on the AGU web site. The following subjects represent the principal themes of the meeting.

• Biogeochemical Cycles
• Climate Change, Environmental Change, and Hazards
• Comparative Plantetology
• Continental Tectosphere
• Early Terrestrial Planet Evolution
• High Latitude Processes
• Mantle Dynamics, Volcanism and Tectonics

All 2,876 Joint Assembly abstracts may be accessed by a search tool: www.agu.org/meetings/sm04/waissm04adv.html.

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

• Name of a scientist
• Name of an institution (e.g., university, government agency)
• Geographic location (e.g., city, state, province, or country)
• Topic (e.g., volcano, Io, iceberg)

Up to three search parameters may be combined (e.g., presentations on the Arctic by Environment Canada scientists based in Manitoba). Full instructions are available from the search page. Hint: In searching for abstracts 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 category "Affiliation" covers both names of institutions and their locations (e.g., look for either McGill or Montreal under Affiliation).

The CD-ROM and printed volume of abstracts for this meeting will be available in late April. They will be sent at that time to Press Room registrants who have requested them, while supplies last. (See Press Registration Form, below.) Copies in both formats will be available in the Press Room, as will the Program Book.

The names, numerical designations, dates, times, and room numbers of all 435 sessions (293 oral, 142 poster) may be seen at www.agu.org/meetings/sm04/sm04glan.shtml.

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 oral presentations or posters associated with that session.

Clicking on the name of a particular presentation will open its abstract, including name and contact information for the lead author.

Many sessions are jointly sponsored by two or more Sections. Union Sessions have the broadest interdisciplinary appeal. Room numbers beginning "CC" simply refer to the Convention Center.

The Joint Assembly Press Room is Room 521b/c, on Level 5 of the Palais des Congrès. It will be open daily during the meeting from 0800 to at least 1730. (Exception: on Wednesday, 19 May, it must close no later than 1730.)

The Press Room telephone number is +1-514-871-5822. Please provide this number to anyone who may have to call you at Joint Assembly.

The Press room provides working space for Press registrants, including phones (no charge for business calls), computers and printers with Internet access, and a copier. Press releases and copies of papers submitted by Joint Assembly presenters will be available. Breakfast and lunch will be provided daily, Monday-Friday.

Press conferences will take place in Room 522a/b. We are currently working on a number of newsworthy sessions and expect to announce a preliminary list of press conferences in early April.

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, regardless of possession of any of the above documents.

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.

Gerri Barrer, CBC TV
Peter Calamai, Toronto Star
Rob Gutro, NASA's Earth Science News Team
Hannah Hoag, Freelance
Naomi Lubick, Geotimes
Barbara Moran, WGBH-NOVA
Sid Perkins, Science News
Elvia Thomson, NASA Headquarters
Dan Vergano, USA Today

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