Session proposals
Propose an Ocean Sciences Meeting session
We invite session proposals for the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020.
Deadline for submissions: 22 May
Preparing a Session Proposal
We strongly encourage you to review all session and tutorial proposal guidelines to improve the quality of your submission. We would like to especially call out items of particular value.
Before submitting your proposal, please take the time to carefully examine the list of session proposals already submitted to the meeting to ensure your proposed session does not significantly overlap with other sessions.
Please review the list of session formats as well. In addition to the traditional oral and poster formats, session chairs will also have the option to request panel sessions or the new eLightning session format. See the "Session formats" section for more information.
Download a copy of the guidelines
Please review the information below or download the call for sessions and tutorials PDF to aid in your submission process.
Download PDFSession proposal guidelines
Follow the guidelines outlined in the categories to the right. Your proposal will be reviewed by the Program Committee based on these standards.
Session title and description
Session proposals must include an informative title (20-180 characters), accompanied by a concise definition of the scientific topic and a description of why the topic is relevant and timely (limit 200 words).
Suggested scope of proposals
Sessions should be designed to have a broad, interdisciplinary appeal and to engage international audiences. The Program Committee will not approve sessions that are too narrowly focused.
Session chairs
Each proposal must identify a primary chair to serve as the point of contact, and at least one additional co-chair. Proposals are limited to four total chairs. All chairs listed on session proposals must consent to being named as part of the proposal at the time of submission. Individuals may serve as a primary chair on only one session proposal. In addition, primary chairs can only be listed as a co-chair on two additional session proposals.
Topic areas and keywords
Session chairs must select a primary topic area, and up to two other topic areas relevant to the submission. Topic areas organize session proposal submissions for the Program Committee and help attendees plan their meeting.
Session chairs should select descriptive keywords that best describe the session from a pre-defined list of index terms. These terms help authors search for relevant sessions during the abstract submission process. They are equally helpful to attendees when the online program is published.
Session formats
During the session proposal submission process, chairs should indicate their preference for poster, oral, panel, or the new eLightning hybrid session format.
We strongly encourage poster-only sessions proposals as much as possible, due to the large number of abstract submissions expected.
Restrictions
Sessions that are celebratory or honorary will not be considered. Sessions cannot be in tribute of a specific person or contain the name of a scientist in the session title or description. Proposals deemed to be primarily advertisements of commercial products and services or that contain the name of a specific experiment in the title or description will not be considered.
Review of existing session proposals
Session proposals will be publicly available throughout the submission period. Potential chairs should carefully examine the list of submitted session proposals to ensure their proposed session does not significantly overlap with other sessions.
Session chairs should incorporate diverse ethnic and gender voices among their cadre of co-chairs and session presenters whenever possible. Additionally, to foster and strengthen the next generation of scientists, we encourage session chairs to include early-career scientists among their co-chairs and session moderators.
Session formats
There will be four session formats at Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020: poster, oral, panel, and a new hybrid format called eLightning.
We strongly encourage poster-only sessions proposals as much as possible, due to the large number of abstract submissions expected.
- Poster sessions will be scheduled for a two-hour time slot, but will be displayed for the duration of the meeting to maximize viewing opportunities. Poster presenters are also encouraged to submit an electronic version of their poster.
- Oral sessions receive two-hour time slots. Session chairs may select the length of time each presenter receives.
- Panel sessions receive two-hour time slots like traditional oral sessions but consist of up to eight individuals who respond to questions from a moderator and the audience. Panels can be scheduled to include a five-minute introductory talk from each panelist and/or allow for the opportunity for extended Q&A alongside attendees.
- eLightning sessions are lively three-minute oral presentations in the poster hall paired with digital, interactive poster presentations.
Introducing eLightning sessions
eLightning presentations create an engaging experience for both presenters and attendees as they offer both oral and interactive poster components. These sessions can include video and audio recordings and show complex data sets. Each presenter delivers a brief oral presentation followed by a poster presentation on a touchscreen. Session chairs will decide the length of the eLightning presentations based on the number of abstracts per session. While the sessions are scheduled for a two-hour time slot, the touchscreen poster presentations will be viewable for the duration of the meeting.
Selection process
The Program Committee will try to honor oral and poster requests while taking into account space and other requirements. The Committee has the final responsibility to allocate session types across the program.
Session chairs should not promise oral presentations to any potential authors. Once sessions are finalized by the Program Committee, chairs will assign poster and oral (if any) presentations.
Important dates
11 September 2019: Abstract submissions close. In late September through early October, we may need to get in touch with session chairs about scheduling. We ask that at least one session chair be available.
18 September 2019: Deadline to submit a town hall, workshop, committee meeting or social event, and the deadline to submit a travel grant application
Early November 2019: Abstract acceptance letters are sent and the final scientific program is available online.
8 January 2020: Early registration deadline.
24 January 2020: Housing deadline.
Session chair responsibilities
There will be no invited oral presentations. In order to encourage poster presentations, session chairs may designate one invited poster presentation per session and invite the author to submit via the online invitation tool. Invited authors are permitted to submit a contributed abstract (if they so wish) in addition to the invited abstract, in accordance with the First Author Policy.
Session chairs must agree to be responsible for coordinating the evaluation of all student presentations (oral and poster) in their session. One session co-chair must be identified during the scheduling process to serve as the point of contact and must coordinate the evaluation process. Additional information will be distributed as the meeting approaches.
Chairs have access to the online invitation management system. After logging into the invitation management session, chairs can click on "My Account," then on the name of their session to access the Session Proposal Control Panel. Open the panel, conveners should click the Invited Author Management button to access the invitation tool. Conveners can enter the names of up to two individuals they wish to invite to submit an invited poster presentation to their session.
Post-submission process for session chairs
Submission Review Process
The Program Committee will review all session proposals during May and June 2019. The evaluation process will include decisions to merge proposals to avoid duplicate or similar subjects within or across topic areas. The Program Committee will notify session chairs when sessions need to be merged and/or descriptions revised. Session chairs will receive an email with the final status of their proposal in early July 2019.
Abstract Submissions
During the abstract submission period, 10 July – 11 September 2019, session chairs should promote their session to potential authors and use the online tool to monitor the abstracts submitted to their session. Session chairs should alert AGU staff if there are abstracts in a session that are not topically relevant. After the scheduling phase in early October, abstracts will no longer be available to view until the program is finalized by the Program Committee in early November.
Scheduling Abstracts
In late September, the Program Committee will inform session chairs of their session type. Session chairs will have approximately one week, 24 September 2019 to 2 October 2019, to review and schedule the abstracts within the sessions they have been allocated. Detailed instructions will be provided.
Propose a Tutorial Talk for Ocean Sciences Meeting
We invite tutorial talk proposals for Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020.
Deadline for submissions: 22 May
About tutorial talks
A presenter of the tutorial talk must submit the proposal and may include one additional co-author when submitting a tutorial talk.
Title and description
Tutorial talks must include an informative title (20-180 characters) and brief description of the session topic (limit 200 words).
Presentation format
Tutorial talks consist of a 25-minute presentation with time for questions and changeover of speakers. The Program Committee will group tutorial talks into 30-minute concurrent sessions.
Acceptance, and registration
Acceptance notifications for tutorial talks are distributed in early July 2019. Tutorial talks do not count against the one-abstract limit for presenters. There is no submission fee for tutorial talks, however, presenters must still register for the meeting and pay the registration fee.
Ocean Sciences Meeting Program Committee
Marjy Friedrichs, VIMS
AGU Co-Chair
Alessandra Conversi, Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche
ASLO Co-Chair
Kristen Buck, University of South Florida
TOS Co-Chair
Allison Penko, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
AGU Vice Chair
Bob Chen, University of Massachusetts Boston
ASLO Vice Chair
Grace Chang, Integral Consulting, Inc.
TOS Vice Chair
Christopher Hayes, University of Southern Mississippi
AGU Early Career Rep
Nichole Price, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
ASLO Early Career Rep
Alice Marzocchi, National Oceanography Centre
TOS Early Career Rep
Hadley McIntosh, University of Maryland
AGU Student Rep
Ngozi Oguguah, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research
ASLO Student Rep
Camille Pagniello, University of California, San Diego
TOS Student Rep
AI: Air-Sea Interactions
Jim Edson
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Ruoying He
North Carolina State University
CT: Chemical Tracers, Organic Matter and Trace Elements
Kristen Buck
University of South Florida
Chris Hayes
University of Southern Mississippi
CP: Coastal and Estuarine Processes
Allison Penko
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Grace Chang
Integral Consulting
Nina Stark
Virginia Tech
Hadley McIntosh
University of Maryland
ED: Education, Outreach and Policy
Bob Chen
University of Massachusetts
Ngozi Oguguah
Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research
HT: Higher Trophic Levels
Camille Pagniello
University of California San Diego
Ngozi Oguguah
Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research
HE: High Latitude Environments
Alice Marzocchi
National Oceanography Centre
Hadley McIntosh
University of Maryland
Jim Edson
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
IS: Ocean Observatories, Instrumentation and Sensing Technologies
Bob Chen
University of Massachusetts
Grace Chang
Integral Consulting
Camille Pagniello
University of California San Diego
ME: Marine Ecology and Biodiversity
Nicole Price
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Camille Pagniello
University of California San Diego
Colleen Mouw
University of Rhode Island
MG: Marine Geology and Sedimentology
Nina Stark
Virginia Tech
Allison Penko
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
MM: Microbiology and Molecular Ecology
Ann Bucklin
University of Connecticut
Kay Bidle
Rutgers University
NC: Nutrient Cycling
Kristen Buck
University of South Florida
Nichole Price
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
OB: Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry
Colleen Mouw
University of Rhode Island
Ann Bucklin
University of Connecticut
Kristen Buck
University of South Florida
Marjy Friedrichs
Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences
OC: Ocean Change: Acidification and Hypoxia
Marjy Friedrichs
Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences
Chris Hayes
University of Southern Mississippi
OD: Ocean Data Management
Dick Crout
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Nina Stark
Virginia Tech
OM: Ocean Modeling
Ruoying He
North Carolina State University
Allison Penko
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
PC: Past, Present and Future Climate
Chris Hayes
University of Southern Mississippi
Alessandra Conversi
Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche Istituto di Scienze Marine
Alice Marzocchi
National Oceanography Centre
PI: Physical-Biological Interactions
Kay Bidle
Rutgers University
Marjy Friedrichs
Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences
PL: Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Larger
Mete Uz
National Science Foundation
Dick Crout
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
PS: Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Smaller
Dick Crout
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Mete Uz
National Science Foundation
SI: Social-Ocean Science Interactions and SDGs
Alessandra Conversi
Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche Istituto di Scienze Marine
Ngozi Oguguah
Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research
Resources to promote your session
As a chair, please promote your session to your colleagues. We created some social graphics below for you to use to promote abstract submissions. Please use the title of your session in the body of your post with the hashtag #OSM20. To download the full-size version, click each graphic and then right click to save the image.
Twitter shareable:
Instagram shareable:
Submit a session or tutorial talk
We invite proposals for sessions and tutorial talks that span the ocean sciences and the larger ocean-connected ecosystem. For Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020, we particularly encourage ideas with strong interdisciplinary themes that address new and emerging areas of research.
With 2021 launching the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, we welcome sessions on the related Sustainable Development Goals.
Submit a proposal
We invite session and tutorial talk proposals for the Ocean Sciences Meeting. The deadline for submissions is 22 May.
Submit