May 2005
New Orleans-area presentations at Joint Assembly
WASHINGTON--From coastal erosion in Louisiana to pollution in the Mississippi River, nearly 100 abstracts out of the 3,151 total presented at the 2005 Joint Assembly have a New Orleans theme. Below are a handful of abstracts with a local flair that will be presented during 460 sessions of the 23-27 May meeting.
Please note that audio- or videotaping are not allowed during panel discussions. Please contact an AGU public information officer for help in locating a particular scientist or panelist outside of the sessions. Recording is allowed during poster sessions. Reporters should obtain Joint Assembly media credentials to attend or report from inside the convention center. Information on how to get credentials can be found at the end of this message.
The complete Joint Assembly abstracts may be accessed by a search tool: http://www.agu.org/meetings/sm05/waissm05adv.html. Selected topics from 2005 Joint Assembly are below.
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1. Title: Sex in the Sand: Patterns and Strategies
Time: Thursday, 26 May, 8:30 a.m.
Location: Morial Convention Center, Room 04, From Genes to Ecosystems: integrative Approaches to Unionid Ecology I
Authors: George T. Watters, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Summary: Research has revealed an unexpected complexity in freshwater mussel reproductive strategies involving methods of luring fish so that their parasitic larvae encounter the proper hosts. The study will look at the variety of methods and patterns that ensure the survival of the economically important shellfish species. (Section: North American Benthological Society)
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2. Title: Determination of Recent Fault Activity in Southwestern Louisiana From Geodetic Leveling and LIDAR Data (Poster)
Time: Thursday, 26 May, 1:30 p.m., Subsidence of South Central North America posters
Location: Morial Convention Center: Hall B
Authors: Jordan O. Heltz, R. K. Dokka, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Summary: A new analysis of elevation models in Southwestern Louisiana indicates that accelerated slip rates, which reached up to 6 mm per year during 1960-1970, may have been caused by large amounts of groundwater and petroleum being withdrawn from the region. The study suggests that in addition to the natural forces driving fault motion, anthropogenic activities may have also influenced ground movement in the area of Louisiana. (Section: Geodesy)
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3. Title: Observation of Subsidence in New Orleans Using Permanent Scatterers (Poster)
Time: Thursday, 26 May, 1:30 p.m., Subsidence of South Central North America posters
Location: Morial Convention Center: Hall B
Authors: Sang-Wan Kim, S. Wdowinski, F. Amelung, T. H. Dixon, University of Miami, Miami, Florida; A. Ferretti, F. Novali, Tele-Rilevamento Europa, Milan, Italy; R. K. Dokka, Louisian State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; B. Rabus, MDA, Inc., Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.
Summary: The researchers apply an interferometry method to detect and quantitatively measure land subsidence in New Orleans. The technique can accurately measure down to millimeter-scale deformation mapping of coastal areas, which are sinking as much as one inch per year along the Louisiana coast. Overall, the state loses approximately 35 square miles annually to ground subsidence and erosion. (Section: Geodesy)
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4. Title: Hypoxia Adjacent to the Mississippi River Plume
Time: Monday, 23 May, 3:30 p.m.
Location: Morial Convention Center, Room 09, Hypoxia in the Mississippi Basin, Gulf of Mexico, and Other Major Ecosystems session Authors: Nancy N. Rabalais, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Chauvin, Louisiana; R. E. Turner, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Summary: The anthropogenic water pollution in the Mississippi River during the latter half of the 20th century has significantly influenced the natural balance of the northern Gulf of Mexico and changed the coastal ecosystem. The current research indicates that the southern Louisiana coastline, which has experienced widespread and severe oxygen shortages in the water column from man-made pollutants in the Mississippi River, is likely paralleled by hundreds of similar cases in the world. (Section: Hydrology)
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5. Title: Temporal Variations in U(234)/U(238) Activity Ratios in Four Mississippi River Tributaries
Time: Thursday 26 May, 1:30 p.m.
Location: Morial Convention Center, Room 09, Isotope Tracers of Biogeochemical and Hydrologic Processes I
Authors: Troy J. Grzymko, F. Marcantonio, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Summary: Seasonal measurements of the uranium isotopes from the four major tributaries into the lower Mississippi River (the Arkansas, Missouri, Upper Mississippi, and Ohio rivers) show patterns in their variability that may help researchers better understand the sources and trends of the rivers' flow and the each river's contribution to the freshwater chemistry. (Section: Hydrology)
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News Media registration eligibility information:
News Media 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 a recognized 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 2004 or 2005; or a letter from the editor of a recognized publication assigning you to cover Joint Assembly.
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. They are not accredited as News Media at Joint Assembly.
The Press Room is Room 235 in the Morial Convention Center. Press conferences will take place next door, in Room 236. The telephone number for the Press Room (Room 235) is: +1 504-670-7040. The Press Room will be equipped for wi-fi.
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Note: This advisory does not repeat important information in Media Advisories 1-5.
Media Advisory 1:
The four sponsoring organizations of Joint Assembly; important visa regulations for non-U.S. journalists covering the meeting. See http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0503.html
Media Advisory 2:
Hotel rooms at special Joint Assembly rates are now available; Press field trip planned. See http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0508.html
Media Advisory 3:
Abstracts and sessions online; Press conferences planned. See http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0510.html
Media Advisory 4:
Flood control field trip; Press Room information; Sullivan and Perlman Awards presented. See http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0512.html
Media Advisory 5:
Final press conference schedule, Field trip update, News media registration, Who's coming. See http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0513.html