Tectonics and continental growth processes
in the circum-Caribbean region

Convenors: Alan Levander (Alan@geophysics.rice.edu) and Paul Mann (paulm@ig.utexas.edu.

This preplanned session at the fall AGU meeting in San Francisco, CA (Dec. 13-17, 2004) aims to highlight the results of recent BOLIVAR multidisciplinary studies in the Venezuela and Trinidad region. The exact day of the session during the Dec. 13-17 meeting is not known now but will be determined by October 15 when the fall meeting schedule is finalized. We also do not know at this time if the session is oral or poster - although we have indicated our preference that this be a poster session. Please consider submitting an abstract to this special session summarizing your aspect of BOLIVAR and its results. Our hope is to have at least one poster or talk on each aspect of the BOLIVAR study. For those of you awaiting data recovery, an abstract summarizing the types of data you are collecting and a timeframe for presenting it would be useful to the group.

The abstract deadline is Sept. 1 (postal mail submission) and Sept. 9 (web submission). There is a space on the abstract form to indicate that you would like to submit to this preplanned session, T29. See the AGU website for detailed abstract submission information:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm04/?pageRequest=program#abstract_submissions

We are encouraging graduate students working on the project to submit their work and we plan to bring a large contingent of student presenters from both UT and Rice. See the AGU website for information on student travel grants (deadline Sept. 9):
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm04/?pageRequest=outreach#stg.

All abstract first authors must be AGU members in good standing as of 27 August, 2004, with dues paid for 2004. See AGU web site for information on how to join AGU. For those of you outside of the US who would require a visa to enter the US, an acceptance letter from AGU will be mailed to you within 5-7 days after receipt of your abstract. This acceptance letter could then be used by you to obtain a visa in your home country. Please be advised that visa applicants from some countries must now apply at least three months in advance of their travel date. See the AGU website for other US visa-related information:
http://www.agu.org/pubs/visa_info.html.

We would also like to solicit abstracts from people outside of the BOLIVAR project that are working on similar themes of crustal growth and tectonic history in the circum-Caribbean (ie, MARGINS Subduction Factory in Central America; various land-based mapping and dating studies). If you know of anyone you think might be interested in presenting their work in this session, please forward them this note.

We are looking forward to the opportunity for all BOLIVAR participants to get better acquainted and begin the process of integrating the various aspects of the study.

We hope to see you all in San Francisco!

Paul and Alan.