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3\10 Third Int'l Conf On Mars Polar Science & Exploration
Part 2 of 2

TIME AND LOCATION

This five-day meeting will be held from October 13-17, 2003, at the 
Fairmount Chateau at Lake Louise, near Banff National Park, in
Alberta, Canada. This location was chosen as the site for the third 
conference because of Canada's active programs in permafrost, glacial, 
and polar research, as well as its growing interest in Mars 
exploration. The Lake Louise/Banff area also offers an ideal venue for 
the meeting because of its scenic location, its close proximity to 
many excellent destinations for field trips (including alpine glaciers 
and other examples of cold climate features and terrains), and its 
ready accessibility to international travelers.

To take full advantage of the opportunities the Lake Louise/Banff area 
provides, the conference technical sessions will be held Monday, 
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with optional field trips to local 
sites of geologic and glacial interest on Wednesday and Saturday 
(additional details about the field trips will be included in the 
second announcement). Participants are encouraged to take advantage of 
the availability of conference-rate lodging (for the weekends before 
and after the meeting) to explore this extraordinarily scenic area 
with their spouse or family.

CONFERENCE FORMAT

The conference program will consist of invited and contributed
talks, panel discussions, and poster presentations, and will be
supplemented by several special sessions and social events that
will be held throughout the meeting.

Any scientist with relevant theoretical, experimental, or polar
field experience is strongly encouraged to participate and to
submit an abstract. Contingent upon review and acceptance by the
Program Committee, abstracts will be published as part of an LPI
abstract volume that will be distributed to conference
participants at the meeting. The abstracts and preliminary program
will also be available in electronic format and accessible via the
conference Web page by August 22, 2003.

Abstracts may address any relevant aspect of terrestrial or
martian polar research, including, but not limited to,

   * Polar Geology, Glaciology, and Hydrology
   * Compositional, Thermophysical, and Spectral Properties
   * Climate and Meteorology
   * Biology (including life in endolithic, subglacial, and
     hypersaline environments)
   * Geophysical and Remote Sensing Investigations
   * Instrument Design and Exploration Strategies

GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL AWARDS

To encourage the participation of student researchers, some travel
assistance (covering as much as ~20-50% of anticipated total
expenses) will be provided on a competitive and as-available
basis. Further details regarding this assistance will be included
in the second announcement.

CONTACTS

For further information regarding the format and scientific
objectives of the meeting, please contact
Stephen Clifford
Lunar and Planetary Institute
281-486-2146
clifford{at}lpi.usra.edu

For further information regarding meeting logistics, please
contact
Kimberly Taylor
Lunar and Planetary Institute
281-486-2151
taylor{at}lpi.usra.edu

FUTURE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Further details regarding the program, topics for discussion,
opportunities for participation, as well as guidelines for abstract 
and poster preparation, will be included in the second announcement 
that will be posted on this LPI Web site by May 9, 2003.

INDICATION OF INTEREST

To subscribe to a mailing list to receive electronic reminders and
special announcements relating to the meeting via e-mail, please
submit an electronic Indication of Interest form by April 11, 2003.

Please submit the Indication of Interest even if you do not care about 
electronic notification of future announcements. The number of e-mails 
tallied will also serve to facilitate meeting planning.

       -----------------------------------------------------
                             SCHEDULE

 April 11, 2003      Indication of Interest due at LPI

 May 9, 2003         Second announcement posted on the LPI Web
                     site

 July 16, 2003       Abstract submission deadline

 August 22, 2003     Final announcement, preliminary program,
                     and abstracts posted on the LPI Web site

 October 13-17, 2003 Third International Conference on
                     Mars Polar Science and Exploration


http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/polar2003

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