Ocean Sciences 2008

Ocean Sciences 2008

Call for Symposia and Topical Sessions

2008 OCEAN SCIENCES MEETING
From the Watershed to the Global Ocean
March 2-7, 2008 – Orlando, Florida, USA
Sponsored by ASLO, AGU, and TOS. Supported by ERF.

Please submit session proposals on line:
http://www.aslo.org/forms/orlando2008.html

The biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting, a gathering of more than 3000 aquatic scientists, will be held in at the Orange County Convention  
Center in Orlando next March.

The Planning Committee invites proposals for sessions of interest to members of ASLO, AGU, TOS, and ERF. The Ocean Sciences meeting is an important venue for scientific exchange across broad marine-science disciplines, including physical, biological, chemical, and geological oceanography, all branches of limnology, hydrology, and multidisciplinary topics ranging from evolution to climate change. In keeping with the theme of the meeting, we welcome proposals for topical sessions on these subjects and others that reflect new and ongoing research on watersheds, the global ocean, and society, including science education, outreach, and public policy.

Session Proposals are due April 30, 2007. Proposals should identify at least two co-chairs and include an informative session title and a short description of the session (see details below). Session presentations will be oral, poster, or both, to be determined by the Planning  
Committee after abstracts have been received. We strongly encourage proposals for poster-only sessions. Posters sessions will be designed for maximum attendance and will not conflict with oral presentations.

Guidelines for Session Proposal Submissions:
At least two (maximum four) co-chairs that plan to attend the meeting are required. Co-chairs must be members of AGU, TOS, ASLO, or ERF. Session titles should be between 45 to 180 characters. Session descriptions should be limited to 200 words and should be broad enough to include all interested researchers, regardless of affiliation or funding sources.

Schedule
Session proposals must be submitted online by 23:59 U.S. Central Daylight Time, 30 April, 2007. The Call for Abstracts will be issued  
early summer 2007. Abstracts will be due online 1 October 2007, when an abstract fee and registration for the conference will be required. The registration fee will be fully refundable up to 30 days prior to the conference, should cancellation be necessary.

Oral Session Format
Oral sessions will be in groups of eight 15-min talks, or seven talks with one double-length (30-min) talk available at the discretion of the  
co-chairs. Chairs may designate up to two presenters as "Invited" in each session.  Invited presenters are still required to submit an  
abstract and pay abstract and registration fees. Chairs may choose to use the 30-min talk for an overview or tutorial; the presenter of this  
talk may submit a second abstract (at no cost) that may be accepted for oral or poster presentation at the discretion of the session chairs and program planning committee. Otherwise, only one first-author presentation per attendee will be permitted. Sessions will be scheduled  
by the Planning Committee after abstracts have been received.

Poster Session Format
Posters will be approximately 4'x4' and are intended to be displayed for the entire meeting. Groups of posters, organized by topic, will be  
highlighted for two hours at a time when no oral sessions are scheduled. Beverages and substantial snacks will be available during poster sessions.

We also encourage town-hall and other group meetings in rooms at the Convention Center. Substantial space will be available at no charge for evening meetings. Request forms will be available with the Call for Abstracts.

If you have questions about the science program, please contact the  
meeting co-chairs:

Jon Sharp, University of Delaware
jsharp@udel.edu

Chris Sherwood, U.S. Geological Survey
csherwood@usgs.gov

Paul Bissett, Florida Environmental Research Institute
pbissett@feriweb.org

For practical and logistical information about the 2008 Ocean Sciences  
Meeting, please contact:

Helen Schneider Lemay
ASLO Business Manager
ASLO Business Office
5400 Bosque Blvd., Suite 680
Waco, Texas 76710 USA
Voice: 800.929.ASLO or 254.399.9635
Fax: 254.776.3767
E-mail: business@aslo.org