By Donald Cahoon, USGS

The preliminary program and field trip and registration information are available on the conference Web site. The goal of this conference is the integration of physical and ecological sciences to enhance our understanding of the interactions between salt-marsh geomorphology and intertidal sedimentary processes.

This meeting will promote discussion between ecosystem and physical scientists who otherwise may not communicate with each other about their respective fields of research. We hope that the meeting structure of plenary sessions, small breakout-group meetings, and two field trips will facilitate that discussion and, ultimately, help define how physics and ecology interact to produce and maintain salt marshes. At the end of the meeting, we expect to have a clearer view of where the sciences of salt-marsh physics and ecology are, where they need to be, and how to get there. The invited speakers and contributors were selected because of their potential to stimulate cross-disciplinary discussion.

As of August 9, 2004, 66 abstracts had been submitted from 16 countries, evaluating the interrelations among physical forcings, ecological processes, and sedimentary processes and their combined influence on coastal landforms. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a sponsor of the conference, along with the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG), several academic institutions, and other Federal agencies.

For further information about the conference, contact the conference organizers: Dr. Ray Torres, University of South Carolina, Dr. Danika van Proosdij, Dr. Sergio Fagherazzi, or Dr. Charles Hopkinson.