(1) Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting Abstract Deadline Extended to May 5
(2) 2004 Joint Assembly, Montreal, May 17-21
(3) AGU Fall Meeting Special Sessions
(4) New VGP Officers
(5) New AGU Fellows from VGP
(6) Oceans Report

The 2004 Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, on 16-20 August. The deadline for abstract submissions and student travel grant applications has been extended until May 5. Further details can be found at http://www.agu.org/meetings/wp04/. Special sessions of interest to VGP members include:

V00 Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology General Contributions
V01 Physical Volcanology of Large Igneous Provinces
V02 Volcanic Eruptions: Field Observations, Experimental Constraints, and Integrated Modeling
V03 Ophiolites of the Pacific Rim
V04 Silicic Volcanism and Crustal Evolution in Oceanic Arcs
V05 Modeling lava Flow Emplacement Dynamics
V06 Volatiles in Oceanic Island Basalts
V07 Large Igneous Provinces and Hotspots in and Around the Pacific Basin
V08 Non-Earthquake Generated Tsunamis
V09 Physical Properties, Thermodynamics, and Structure of Silicate Melts and Magmas

The 2004 Joint Assembly, 17-21 May, will be held in Montreal, Canada. Full information is available at http://www.agu.org/meetings/sm04/, the VGP Scientific Program is available at http://www.agu.org/meetings/sm04/program.shtml, and the VGP Fieldtrip Information (listed under Events) is available at http://www.agu.org/meetings/sm04/activities.shtml.

On Tuesday 18 May VGP events include the Daly Lecture at 4.45 p.m. in CC 516 C followed by the joint Planetary Sciences and Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology Reception at Hotel Delta Centre-Ville at 5:457:15 p.m. This year the lecture will be given by Michael Manga and is titled “Why do volcanoes (only sometimes) erupt explosively?”

On Wednesday 19 May at 5:30 pm, the 2004 AGU Fellows will be recognized at the Honors Ceremony, and the CGU J. Tuzo Wilson Medal will be presented.

We take this opportunity to thank the VGP session conveners and all participants in VGP sessions at the Joint Assembly, without whom we would have had little to do! We hope to see you in Montreal

Michael Brown and Mark Jellinek AGU/CGU VGP Spring Program Chairs

It's not too early to plan for special sessions at the Fall AGU Meeting 13-17 December in San Francisco. Watch for an announcement early in May on the AGU web site. VGP Secretary for the 2004-2006 term is James Brenan (brenan@geology.utoronto.ca), who will be in charge of planning VGP sessions at the 2004 Fall Meeting.

Results of the AGU election were announced after the February VGP Newsletter was distributed. In case you haven't heard, Bernie Wood is President-elect and James Brenan is Secretary for the July 1, 2004 - June 30, 2006 term. Charlie Bacon becomes President and Kathy Cashman Past-President on July 1.

Congratulations to VGP members, now 2004 AGU Fellows, Enrico Bonnatti, David Green, Peter Keleman, Michael O'Hara, and Lionel Wilson. The number of new Fellows elected in a given year is limited to 0.1% of AGU members. Fellows are selected by the AGU Fellows Committee from nominations forwarded by the section Fellows committees. On behalf of our section, we appreciate the diligent work and effective advocacy of VGP nominees by the VGP Fellows Committee and its Chair, Nobu Shimizu.

As a reminder, it’s not too early to start thinking about Fellows and Award nominations for the coming year. For more information see the VGP web page (http://VGP.AGU.org)

Kathy Cashman President, VGP Section

On April 20, the US Commission on Ocean Policy announced the release of its preliminary report. Comments on the report can be submitted until 21 May 2004. For more information see http://www.oceancommission.gov/.