The programme for the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), a meeting with over 10,000 scientists that covers all disciplines of the Earth, planetary, and space sciences, is now online. Press conferences will include presentations on Habitable Worlds in the Solar System and Climate Change (featuring Michael E. Mann), among other topics. The event will be held on 22–27 April 2012 at the Austria Center Vienna.

Meeting programme online

All sessions (over 700) and abstracts (over 14,000) are now available from the EGU 2012 website and fully searchable. You can access the programme here.

Media participants to the conference may use the meeting programme to search for abstracts or sessions they find particularly interesting. The programme is searchable by name of a scientist, keywords (e.g., volcano, Fukushima, Mars), session topic (e.g., Solar-Terrestrial Sciences, Natural Hazards), and other parameters. You may also select single contributions or complete sessions from the meeting programme to generate your personal programme.

Preliminary press conference topics

We are planning 10 to 12 press conferences at the EGU General Assembly, which will take place at the press centre located on the Yellow Level (Ground Floor) of the Austria Center Vienna. Preliminary topics to be presented to journalists include:

• Renewable energies
• Glaciers & ice caps and sea-level rise
• Habitable worlds in the Solar System
• Tsunami detection and early warning
• Critical mineral resources
• Geosciences and health
• Flood disasters: impacts and forecasting
• Aftermath of the March 2011 Japan earthquake
• Climate sensitivity and climate change (featuring EGU medalists Michael E. Mann and Michael Ghil, and NASA’s James Hansen)
• And more!

Please note that the list above is subject to change. A subsequent media advisory will include a full schedule of press conferences with a list of speakers and short summary of the topics covered in each conference.

Media registration

Members of the media and public information officers are invited to register online (free of charge) at the Registration page of the Media at General Assembly website. The online list of journalist and PIOs who have registered already is available here.

Online (pre-)registration will be available until Thursday 29 March. The advance registration assures that your badge will be waiting for you on your arrival to the Austria Center Vienna, giving you access to the press centre and other meeting rooms. You may also register on-site during the meeting.

Further information about media services at the General Assembly is available from http://media.egu.eu/.

For information on accommodation and travel, please refer to the appropriate sections of the 2012 EGU General Assembly website.

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. It is a non-profit interdisciplinary learned association of scientists founded in 2002. The EGU has a current portfolio of 14 diverse scientific journals, which use an innovative open-access format, and organises a number of topical meetings, and education and outreach activities. Its annual General Assembly is the largest and most prominent European geosciences event, attracting over 10,000 scientists from all over the world. The meeting’s sessions cover a wide range of topics, including volcanology, planetary exploration, the Earth’s internal structure and atmosphere, climate change, and renewable energies.