Three days into the meeting and there is a lot going on. Some say
that there will be more than 20000 people attending this week. The AGU meeting
brings together a very broad group of scientists ranging from planetary science
to all aspects of environmental science including the study of the deep earth.
In reality although BGS has a broad science remit, we probably do not cover
more than 15% of the activity types here.
Nonetheless on Monday and Tuesday, BGS scientists were involved in
a number of events. Many were presenting at poster sessions, which is a form of
presentation of science, where you stand in front of a display of science ideas.
There are hundreds of posters each day, they are well attended and a
great way of communicating science.
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| Geovisionary at AGU 2012 |
BGS have been demonstrating geological mapping technology of the UK, how volcanoes
formed in Mexico, what are the sources of magnetic anomalies on Earth,
redefining the best practice in high resolution geochronology, living with
atmospheric electricity, using geophysics to understand the structure of
volcanoes and much more.
The meeting is also a good place to bring together planning boards
for large projects. There have been several sessions on the future of
scientific drilling, both in the oceans through the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) and the continents with the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). BGS leads as a science operator in this science and has some key
scientific targets which underpin areas such as past climate change as a model for
the future high CO2 world, developing deep geothermal energy and understanding
the Arctic as a geological province for science discovery and for future
resources. As BGS director I sit on a number of management boards that meet at
AGU and to an extent I miss out on the fun parts of the science when attending
these sessions.
Evenings are punctuated by a number of “townhall” meetings to
announce science strategy and US universities bringing their past graduates together:
all of these tend to be good events to meet people and exchange scientific
ideas in a lively atmosphere.
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| Me at Fishermans Wharf, San Francisco, on my way to a "townhall" meeting |
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