Media Advisory 3:
2005 Fall Meeting
Moscone Convention Center West
San Francisco, California
5-9 December 2005

Abstracts and Sessions Now Online;
Earthquake Centennial Field Trip Update;
News Media Registration Form

1. Abstracts and Sessions now Online and Searchable
2. NCSWA holiday dinner: You are invited!
3. Field trip update
4. Reminder: Hotel reservation deadline
5. News Media registration information
6. News Media Registration Form
7. Who's coming

Please see:
Media Advisory 1 for important information regarding visas for international reporters: http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0524.html

Media Advisory 2 for information on hotel bookings at meeting rates. (The deadline is 3 November 2005.) http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0533.html

1. Abstracts and Sessions now Online and Searchable

All 960 sessions and 11,145 abstracts for 2005 Fall Meeting have been posted on the AGU web site, with more to come for the late-breaking session on Hurricane Katrina.

A. Searching for Abstracts of Interest to You

The 11,145 Fall Meeting abstracts may be accessed by a search tool:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/waisfm05adv.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, Cassini, aerosol)

Up to three search parameters may be combined (e.g., presentations on tsunamis by NOAA scientists based in Hawaii). Full instructions are available from the search page.

Hint: In searching for abstracts from an 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 names of institutions, their locations, and e-mail domains (e.g., look under Affiliation for Columbia, New York, or @columbia.edu).

New! The CD of abstracts for this meeting will be available at the meeting, but not in advance. The CD will be available in the Press Room, as will the Program Book, whose contents are also on the CD. There will not be a printed volume of abstracts distributed at this or future AGU meetings. (A small number will be printed for reference purposes and will be available after the meeting.)

B. Finding Sessions at Joint Assembly

The names, numerical designations, dates, times, and room numbers of all 960 sessions may be seen at: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/?pageRequest=mtg

Many sessions are sponsored jointly by two or more Sections, and Union sessions are expected to have the most interdisciplinary appeal. By clicking on the name of a Section (e.g., Planetary Science, Seismology), 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.

As in 2004, some sessions will be held at the Marriott Hotel, 4th and Mission Streets, one block from Moscone. The online program grid and Program book clearly indicate which sessions are held at the Marriott. Those with "MC" room numbers are at Moscone Convention Center West.

C. Special lectures all week

A series of special lectures all through Fall Meeting allows scientists, journalists, and others to catch up on the latest developments in Earth and space science, directly from leading experts. For a list of these lectures, with links to their abstracts, see http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/?pageRequest=highlights#ul

[The following notice is provided on behalf of the Northern California Science Writers Association. This is not an AGU event.]

Register for NCSWA holiday dinner on Wednesday, 7 December

The Northern California Science Writers Association (NCSWA) invites AGU reporters to join us for our annual holiday dinner on Wednesday, December 7. We will return to Yank Sing, a sumptuous Chinese restaurant within walking distance of the Moscone Center, acknowledged as serving the finest dim sum cuisine in the city. Please come for a social hour at 1830h, followed by dinner, special events (including door prizes!), and a timely scientific talk until 2200h.

Our speaker is Michael (Mickey) Glantz, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder and the first social scientist employed there. In his 30-year career, Glantz has studied how climate affects society and how society affects climate, especially the interaction between climate anomalies and human activities and effects on quality of life. Glantz will focus on superstorms and whether we can now expect seasons of extreme weather events. He will discuss the human impacts of climate change and weather disasters, touching on Hurricane Katrina and what it really tells us about societal vulnerability.

The holiday dinner always sells out, so we advise AGU reporters to sign up by October 31. Please mail a check for $45 (made out to NCSWA) to this address:

Robert Irion
115 Northrop Place
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

For further information on this event, please contact Robert Irion: irion@nasw.org

For general information on the planned field trip, pegged to the upcoming centennial of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, see Media Advisory 2: http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0533.html#2

We have made one significant change to the previously proposed itinerary: instead of visiting the San Andreas Fault in Olema (Marin County), we will do so on the Peninsula, south of San Francisco. The trip to and from Olema would eat up too much of the day, especially in a large bus, as it involves negotiating narrow, winding, and hilly roads.

We are currently running a wait list, but News Media registrants interested in participating should check the field trip box on the registration form or send an e-mail to Harvey Leifert. There may be cancellations and/or no-shows.

Organized by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with several state, regional, and local agencies

Departing from and returning to Moscone Convention Center West, 800 Howard Street, at Fourth Street, San Francisco

0815h - Participants assemble, receive badges, printed materials and box lunches, and board bus.

0900h-0940h - Overview of San Francisco from Twin Peaks: the impact of the 1906 earthquake, other Bay Area faults, and the overall probability of future earthquakes and their impacts on the dense population and infrastructure. Discussion of 1906 ground motion simulations and San Francisco's unique seismic vulnerability assessment, CAPSS (Citizen's Action Plan for Seismic Safety).

1000h-1040h - Marina District, corner of Divisadero and North Point, focus of extensive damage in 1989 quake in area of landfill, dating from the 1860s. A highly desirable neighborhood, this area shook 7-10 times more than surrounding areas in 1989. At this corner, one house tilted from vertical and was since righted, one house collapsed and burned (as did its neighbors), and another house completely collapsed. The 1860s shoreline runs through this intersection.

1110h-1315h - San Andreas Fault on the Peninsula: 1906 offsets and plans for the recently approved upgrade and seismic retrofit of the Hetch-Hetchy aqueduct system. Overview stop off Highway 280, then a visit (on San Francisco Water District land) to a section of the Fault where a fence and row of trees, offset in 1906, are still preserved. Discussion of the impact of future Bay Area quakes on water delivery in the Bay Area.

1315h-1400h - Cross San Francisco Bay via the San Mateo Bridge. Box lunch on board (compliments of AGU).

1400h-1500h - Visit Oakland Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

1515h-1615h - Design and construction of new East span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. One section of the original span collapsed in the 1989 earthquake.

1615h-1700h - Return to Moscone West via the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. (A stop will be made at an East Bay BART station for any participants who wish to return home by BART.)

Please note that the deadline for booking hotel rooms at preferential meeting rates is 3 November.

For full information on available hotels, rates, amenities, and a clear map of the area, see http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/?pageRequest=hotel_travel#acco

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.

New: This year, News Media registrants who have preregistered will pick up their badges at a special window or kiosk in the main registration area on Level 1 (street level), not in the Press Room on Level 2, as in the past. Be prepared to show identification (see below).

If you have not preregistered, you may fill out a News Media Registration Form, available at the News Media window, presenting appropriate identification. Your badge will be made on site.

No one will be allowed into the Exhibition Hall (Level 1) or up the escalators or elevator to Levels 2 and 3 without a 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 Fall Meeting.
• 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 Press at the meeting.

Scientists who are also reporters and who are presenting at this meeting (oral or poster session) may receive News Media credentials if they qualify (see above), but must also register for the meeting and pay the appropriate fee as a presenter.

The News Media 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/fm05/?pageRequest=press_reg

The last day for advance News Media registration, assuring that your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive, is Wednesday, 23 November 2005. You may also register onsite in the Press Room.

The following persons have registered as of the date of this message. If you have submitted a registration form, but your name does not appear below, please resubmit the form (Item 6, above).

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