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2008 JOINT ANNUAL MEETING
"Celebrating the International Year of Planet Earth"

We'll be there!
Clean up from Hurricane Ike is well under way,
and Houston reports all systems are GO!
GSA, SSSA-ASA-CSSA, GCAGS, the HGS, and the city of Houston
all look forward to welcoming you this October.
What you can do: To help in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, the Societies of the 2008 meeting are intensifying efforts to support the Houston Food Bank, raising our donation goal to $25,000. You can donate through your registration form or by dropping your "dollars for dinner" at secure donation bins on site.

Abstracts with Programs Book

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Abstracts with Programs book will not be mailed prior to the meeting. It will be stocked in the registration area on level 2 of the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston for pick up. Copies will also be on sale in the GSA Annual Meeting Bookstore.

Hotel Alert

Our hotel inventory is almost sold out. If you need to book a room, the Houston Housing Bureau is still your best contact; we encourage you to fax your housing request form to +1-713-227-6331 today!

 Bring the Kids!

We still have a few openings for childcare, and children are welcome at the meeting.

@ Selected Sessions to Be Webcast Live

Among the 2008 Joint Annual Meeting sessions to be broadcast live on the Web this year are James Hansen's lecture, Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim? (scroll down to link), the Public Forum on Understanding Evolution, the Teacher Forum on Evolution in the Classroom, and the GSA Presidential Address. Check the meeting Web site on the day of the event for more info.

Welcome Back to School!

Check out GEOLOGY's research focus articles! These brief, open-access articles highlight one or two GEOLOGY papers in the same issue to help a diverse readership quickly see the significance of the research problem and how the results contribute to a better understanding of, or provide a solution to, the problem. These articles are of value both to professionals as at-a-glance references and to students who want to engage more deeply with up-to-the minute earth science.

Always open access: All GSA Today articles, including the science, Groundwork, Rock Star, and Commentary articles, are digitized, and you can research our archives back to 1995 at no charge!

Opportunities

Boost your knowledge and make contacts this October at our Joint Annual Meeting Mentor Programs: Geology in Industry, Geology in Government, and Women in Geology.
   *Free lunch
   *Advice from mentors in industry and government
   *Networking opportunities

Don't miss the AAPG/SEG Student Expo: Wed.-Thurs., 8–9 Oct., Houston, Texas, USA.

Call for Applications: GSA-USGS Congressional Science Fellowship

Take your work to Capitol Hill! Your work as a geoscientist greatly impacts society and Earth — why not make an impact on our government as well? Deadline: 1 February 2009.

Geoscience Congressional Visits Day

9-10 Sept., Washington, D.C.: The first-ever Geoscience Congressional Visits Day was a huge success with more than 60 geoscientists and leaders from various geoscience societies participating. More than 100 House and Senate offices were visited in this event designed to increase the visibility of and support for the geosciences in Congress.

USGS Coalition Reception

15 Sept., Washington, D.C.: This Capitol Hill reception honored Representatives Norman Dicks (D-WA) and Ralph Regula (R-OH) with the first USGS Coalition Leadership Awards for their enduring support for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS Coalition is an alliance of 70 organizations united by a commitment to the continued vitality of the unique combination of biological, geological, hydrological and mapping programs of the USGS.

[ more info ]

GSA Cosponsors Congressional Briefing on Disaster Reduction

19 Sept., Washington, D.C.: "Grand Challenges for Disaster Reduction" is a 10-year strategy for priority federal science and technology investment needs by the National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction to help reduce future loss of life and property as a result of disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and wildfires.

[ more info ]

GSA Panel Seeks Input on Position Statement Draft: Integrating Geoscience with Sustainable Land-Use Management

Please review the draft online and submit your comments and suggestions by 14 November 2008.

Supporting Student Growth and Our Associated Societies
Essay: An AGI Student Intern's View of Geoscience and Public Policy

GSA's new Subaru Forester.

Renew Now and Save $

Renew your membership before 15 December 2008 and save 15%.
When you renew, you can also subscribe to GSA's high-quality journals, join any number of GSA's 17 specialty Divisions, and — new this year — join additional GSA Sections!

Subaru and GSA

GSA just received two new Subaru Foresters to use for GSA business and employee carpooling. They're detailed with photos of geologic interest and GSA and International Year of Planet Earth logos.

Did you know? GSA members save up to $3,000 on a new Subaru through the Subaru VIP program.

New Books

Special Paper 443
Response of Upper Gulf Coast Estuaries to Holocene Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise

International Book Series, Volume 10
Metamorphic Conditions along Convergent Plate Junctions: Mineralogy, Petrology, Geochemistry, and Tectonics — The J.G. Liou Volume

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Lithosphere
Get your manuscript in the queue for 2009 and be a part of Lithosphere's inaugural year.

GSA Today
Publish your hot-topic science to a wide readership with free color, no page charges, and open access online!

Funds Help Students

GSA’s travel grant and scholarship programs are helping hundreds of students make it to Houston for the 2008 Joint Annual Meeting. Our three grant programs this year have awarded 372 grants ranging from US$25 to US$500 in cash support. A new Subaru Minority Student Scholarship Program has provided scholarships to six students, one from each of GSA's Sections.

Call for Evaluators of Geologically Based World Heritage Sites

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) seeks comments from international experts on the global importance of nominated World Heritage sites.
If you would like to be added to the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) database of experts who provide evaluations to the IUCN, please e-mail the IUGS Secretary General at with your contact coordinates and area of geospecialization.

IYPE Lectures

The International Year of Planet Earth U.S. Lecture Series is growing, with a symposium in Washington D.C. (25 Sept.) and talks in Denver, Colo., and Greenwich, Conn. Add your voice to the celebration and raise awareness of the geosciences.

• Check Your Carbon Footprint! Powered by Conservation International.

• Free booklet: "Drinking water: Understanding the science and policy behind a critical resource," by the National Academies.

Highlighting upcoming meetings of GSA's Associated Societies.

29 March–2 April 2009, SAGEEP 2009, Forth Worth, Texas, USA. There's still time —
The Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society has extended the abstract submission deadline to 3 October 2008.

Asteroid 243 Ida from the Kornis family. Courtesy NASA/JPL, 28 Aug. 1993.

A SAMPLING OF GSA IN THE NEWS

Cosmic dust hits the Web! The discovery by Matthew J. Genge (September Geology) that the majority of micrometeorites recovered in this study of Antarctic ice originate from the Koronis asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter was reported on the AlphaGalileo, Centauri Dreams, and ScienceDaily Web sites. These micrometeorites, also known as cosmic dust, represent the first to be associated with a known asteroid.
[ Abstract | Centauri Dreams | ScienceDaily ]

Research by Kevin J. Cunningham et al. (GSA Bulletin, in press) reporting test results determining how chemical contaminants and pathogens move through the Biscayne aquifer received coverage in the East Bay Business Times, the South Florida Business Journal and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal in connection with a USGS report that the Miami water supply is at greater risk than expected.
[ Abstract | South Florida Business Journal article ]

"The Pangea conundrum," a study by J. Brendan Murphy and R. Damian Nance (September Geology) that calls for a second look at current geodynamic models for the supercontinent of Pangea, was covered by nationalgeographic.com.
[ Abstract | nationalgeographic.com ]

PRESS RELEASES ISSUED BY GSA

• September Geology and GSA Today Highlights (21 Aug)
• September/October GSA Bulletin Highlights (27 Aug)
• New Book Brings Upper U.S. Gulf Coast Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise into Focus (9 Sept)
• Evolution in Plain Language (10 Sept)

SELECTED PRESS RELEASES RECEIVED BY GSA

• Federally Managed Dams Need Better Security (19 Aug)
• Drier, Warmer Springs in U.S. Southwest Stem From Human Effect on Winds (19 Aug)
• Geophysicist Robert Detrick Named NSF Division Director for Earth Sciences (22 Aug)
• Unexplored Arctic Region to Be Mapped (2 Sept)
• USGS Coalition to Honor Reps. Dicks and Regula at Congressional Reception (10 Sept)

Looking for employment in the geosciences?

Post a résumé with the GSA Employment Service Center — it's FREE for all GSA Members.

Looking for qualified candidates in the geosciences?

GSA's Employer Services include an interview booth and scheduling at our annual meetings, résumé search capabilities, job announcements, and a messaging service.

1. What name is given to the lower surface of a sedimentary layer?
2. What name is given to the thin often-curved pieces of rock carved off in the process of exfoliation?
3. What name is given to a small mountain lake often found in the bottom of an old cirque?

Feel free to forward this to your friends and colleagues! Visit the GSA Connection archive on the Web any time.

© 2008, Geological Society of America, 3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, CO 80301 USA. All rights reserved.

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GSA Connection is a monthly e-publication of The Geological Society of America, containing news and items of interest to the geoscience community. This publication may contain links to sites on the Internet that are owned and operated by third parties. GSA is not responsible for the content of any such third-party site. GSA Connection may also contain advertising for science-related goods and services.