The programme for the 2016 General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) is now online. The meeting, which attracts some 13,000 scientists, provides an opportunity for journalists to hear about the latest research in the Earth and space sciences and to talk to scientists from all over the world. This year's conference features debates on sustainable development in the Arctic and on economic growth and climate change. Press conferences include presentations on detecting nuclear explosions, on finding out how ancient organisms moved and fed, and on the latest developments from ESA's Asteroid Impact Mission, among other topics. The meeting is taking place on 17–22 April in Vienna, Austria, at the Austria Center Vienna.

Contents

• Meeting programme online
• Provisional press conference topics
• Union-wide sessions of interest
• Media registration

Meeting programme online

All sessions (close to 900) and abstracts (over 16,500) are now available online and fully searchable. You can access the programme on the EGU 2016 website.

The programme is searchable by name of a scientist, keywords (e.g.: Greenland, giant), session topic (e.g.: climate, atmospheric sciences), and other parameters. Further, you can select single contributions or complete sessions from the meeting programme to generate your personal programme. 

Reporters may also find the list of papers of media interest, selected by session conveners, useful. Closer to the time of the conference, the media officer will also highlight sessions and abstracts that could be of interest to reporters.

Provisional press conference topics

We are planning 8–10 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. Provisional topics to be presented to journalists include:

• Volcanoes, climate changes and droughts: civilisational resilience and collapse
• Historical responsibilities and climate impacts of the Paris agreement
• How ancient organisms moved and fed: finding out more from fossils
• Detecting nuclear explosions
• Giant seafloor craters and flares: methane seepage in the Arctic
• Impacts and costs of natural hazards
• Sea ice decline in the Arctic
• Latest mission developments of AIM & DART: could we deflect an incoming asteroid?

Please note that the list above is subject to change. A subsequent media advisory, to be release about a month before the Assembly, will include a full schedule of press conferences with a list of speakers and short summary of the topics covered in each media briefing.

Union-wide sessions of interest

The EGU 2016 General Assembly programme features a variety of Union-wide sessions that may be of interested to media participants. These include a Union-wide session on geosciences in the Anthropocene, and two special sessions dedicated to space sciences: a NASA-ESA-EGU joint Union session and a presentation by ESA astronaut André Kuipers on living and working in space. The conference will also feature five debates, including: 'Plan it Earth: is there enough resource for all? Is it just a matter of planning for the future?' and 'Is global economic growth compatible with a habitable climate?'. Also of highlight are four sessions dedicated to the theme of this year's Assembly, Active Planet.

Media registration

Members of the media, public information officers and science bloggers (conditions apply) are now invited to register for the meeting online, free of charge. Media registration gives access to the Press Centre, interview rooms – which are equipped with noise reduction material in 2016 – and other meeting rooms, and also includes a public transportation ticket for Vienna. At the Press Centre, media participants have access to high-speed Internet (LAN and wireless LAN), as well as breakfast, lunch, coffee and refreshments, all available free of charge.

The online list of journalist and public information officers who have registered already is available online.

Online pre-registration is open until 17 March. The advance registration assures that your badge will be waiting for you on your arrival to the conference venue, the Austria Center Vienna. You may also register on-site during the meeting.

Further information about media services at the General Assembly is available at http://media.egu.eu. Closer to the date, this website will feature a full programme of press conferences, which will also be announced in later media advisories. For information on accommodation and travel, please refer to the appropriate sections of the EGU 2016 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 17 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 11,000 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, energy, and resources. The EGU 2016 General Assembly is taking place in Vienna, Austria, from 17 to 22 April 2016. For information about meeting and press registration, please check media.egu.eu, or follow the EGU on Twitter and Facebook.

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