2014 AGU Fall Meeting

December 15 - 19, 2014

The Ocean Sciences Meeting is the premier conference for ocean scientists from around the world to share recent results, interact with colleagues, attend professional development workshops, and acquire inspiration. However, the carbon footprint of large international conferences is significant. Virtual conferencing technologies have become commonplace and continue to improve, and if integrated strategically, could allow the Ocean Sciences Meeting to be more inclusive for those with limited funds, small (or large) children, critical teaching demands, medical conditions or any other factor that limits their travel.

This Town Hall will explore some of the opportunities and challenges of integrating remote participation in future Ocean Sciences Meetings. Some drawbacks include a lack of opportunity for informal networking, spontaneous brainstorming sessions, or community-building that are only provided by face-to-face interactions. Some advantages include diversifying the ways that participants can interact, broadening participation, and decreasing costs and carbon emissions associated with attending conferences.

 

Attend this Town Hall for an interactive discussion between the audience and a small panel of experts with diverse perspectives on the moral, technical, scientific, and business aspects of the issue. We will focus on possible ways to implement remote participation to maximize the benefits and minimize unintended consequences, since those details would likely determine whether the opportunities outweigh the challenges and make this a desirable endeavor.