Convene Your Own Sessions

There are 2 main types of session proposals: Regular and Special.
The deadlines, guidelines and procedures for convening both types of sessions are given below.

Regular Session

This type of session proposal covers topics that belong to any one of the 8 AOGS Scientific Sections listed below.
Once submission closes, Section Presidents will evaluate the proposals

• Those accepted will be listed on MARS to invite abstract submission
• Those rejected will not be listed
• Those whose contents are similar or closely related may be joined, combined or merged to form a single session. If the session involves 3 or more Sections, the session will be channelled to Interdisciplinary Geosciences (IG)

Atmospheric Sciences (AS)
Biogeosciences (BG)
Hydrological Sciences (HS)
Interdisciplinary Geosciences (IG)
Ocean Sciences (OS)
Planetary Sciences (PS)
Solar & Terrestrial Sciences (ST)
Solid Earth Sciences (SE)

Important Guidelines

1. The subject of a session should have a sufficiently broad appeal that it can be expected to consist of at least ten papers. The actual time allocation will vary according to the number of accepted abstracts. If a session has less than 10 accepted abstracts, the Section President and Program Committee reserve the right to move the abstracts to another session.


2. Session proposals with broader themes and larger scales are favoured, and session proposals with strong overlap are likely to be merged. This is so as to minimize repetition and to build a program with sessions that are fewer but larger and stronger.


3. Co-conveners should preferably be from different countries than the Convener. The minimum number of conveners is 2 and the maximum number of conveners is 5, per session.


4. Two session proposals is the maximum limit. No Convener may submit more than 2 session proposals.


5. Invited papers should not exceed one third of the papers in a given session, the only exception is for sessions of great timeliness (such as a recent natural disaster or the first reports from new international scientific programs or space missions).


6. Convener and Co-Conveners cannot present or be a co-author to an invited paper in their own session. Any paper with an overlap between the co-authors and the co-conveners cannot be designated as invited.


7. Program Committee will take note of scheduling requests but cannot guarantee that requests can be accommodated. Sessions could be scheduled between Monday morning and Friday afternoon.

Special Session

This type of session proposal should have their own themes and the topics discussed should be distinctly different from what is able to be covered under the AOGS regular sections. Participants in such sessions are solicited. Therefore all papers are “Invited” and the typical Special Session format will be 90-minute session with 4 to 6 presentations by notable speakers in their field.
It can also take the form of an overview lecture that provide relatively brief, high-quality introductions focused on news coverage of key developments in one or more technical, scientific, or policy-related topics that have arisen in the period prior to the annual meeting.

Important Guidelines

1. The session organiser should not be a speaker at the Special Session.


2. A Proposal to Convene a Special Session must include:
   
   
   1. A Title
   
   
   2. Session Description (300 words max), an explanation of its timeliness and comments about the specific audiences for which it will be of principal interest.
   
   
   3. Session Format
      You may choose: Either 90-Minute Seminar/Colloquium or 120-Minute Interactive Workshop.
      (See also additional notes below)
   
   
   4. Names of the Session Organizer(s); Session Chair(s); and all Speakers (Prospective session participants should have agreed to participate in the session before the Session Proposal is submitted).
   
   
   5. Complete affiliation and email address of Organizer(s), Chair(s); and all Participants.
   
   
   6. Title for each presentation.
   
   
   7. Abstract for each presentation (300 words max).

Additional Notes

−   90-Minute Seminar/Colloquium
This will be a session involving at least four registered participants, including a moderator/facilitator. At least 15 minutes should be left for audience participation. This is an opportunity to share vital issues important to your organization and communities.

−   120-Minute Interactive Workshop
This will be a session involving at least three presenters, which is hands-on and provides an extended learning experience for participants.

How to submit your session proposal on MARS 2018 (Opens 1 Sep 2017)

1. You will need your user account to log on to MARS (Management And Review of Submissions)


2. You may use the same email/password from your previous account (from AOGS 2017)


3. Click "My Session Proposals" on the left menu and complete the online form.


4. Before submission closes, you may return anytime to make changes (e.g. edit contents of your proposal, add/remove convenors)