June 2004

American Geophysical Union

Media Advisory 2 - Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting

Abstracts and Sessions now Online; Press Registration Information and Form

Contents of this message

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. Hotel reservations now available online (repeated from Media Advisory 1)
4. Important visa information (repeated from Media Advisory 1)
5. Press Registration Information (repeated from Media Advisory 1)
6. Press Registration Form

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1. Sessions and Abstracts Online and Searchable

All 122 sessions and 941 abstracts for 2004 Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting (WPGM) have been posted on the AGU web site. The following subjects are the principal themes of the meeting.
  • Biogeochemistry
  • Climate Variability
  • Computational Geoscience
  • Convergent Plate Margins
  • Crustal Deformation and Intraplate Volcanism
  • Natural Hazards
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Coupling
  • Remote Sensing

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    A. Searching for Abstracts of Interest to You

    The 941 WPGM abstracts may be accessed by a search tool:
    http://www.agu.org/meetings/wp04/waiswp04adv.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, seamount, iceberg)

    Up to three search parameters may be combined (e.g., presentations on climate by NOAA scientists based in California). 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 SOEST or Hawaii under Affiliation).

    The CD-ROM and printed volume of abstracts for this meeting will be available in late June. 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.

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    B. Finding Sessions at Joint Assembly

    The names, numerical designations, dates, times, and room numbers of all 122 sessions may be seen at http://www.agu.org/meetings/wp04/wp04glan.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.

    Some sessions are jointly sponsored by two or more Sections. Union sessions have the broadest interdisciplinary appeal. Room numbers beginning "HCC" simply refer to the Hawaii Convention Center. Sessions in Hall III are poster sessions; those in numbered rooms are oral sessions.

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    2. Press Room and press conferences

    The WPGM Press Room is Room 326b, on Level 3 of the Hawaii Convention Center. It will be open daily during the meeting from 0800 to at least 1730.

    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 WPGM presenters will be available. Breakfast and lunch will be provided daily, Monday-Friday.

    Press conferences will also take place in Room 326b. We are currently working on a number of newsworthy sessions and expect to announce a preliminary list of press conferences in July and the final, detailed list in early August.

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    3. Hotel reservations now available online (repeated from Media Advisory 1)

    AGU has negotiated rates at several hotels in Honolulu, ranging from $79 to $145 per night, some with kitchenettes. Rooms are reserved on a first come, first served basis and may fill up prior to July 14, the deadline for rooms at these rates.

    For the list of WPGM hotels, with rates, a map showing their location in relation to the convention center, and a link for an online or faxable hotel reservation form, see http://www.agu.org/meetings/wp04/hotel_travel.shtml

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    4. Important visa information (repeated from Media Advisory 1)

    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. Passports held by nationals of these countries are already mostly machine-readable.

    Journalists from outside the U.S. who are covering WPGM should apply for an "I" visa: "(I) upon a basis of reciprocity, an alien who is a bona fide representative of foreign press, radio, film, or other foreign information media, who seeks to enter the United States solely to engage in such vocation, and the spouse and children of such a representative if accompanying or following to join him"

    General information about visas: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/visas/

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    5. Press Registration Information (repeated from Media Advisory 1)

    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, a 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.

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    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: http://www.agu.org/meetings/wp04/review/wp04pressreg_cgi.shtml

    The last day for advance press registration is August 6. You may also register onsite in the Press Room.




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