71st Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society (MetSoc 2008)

Matsue, a city of great antiquity, is located about 650 km west of Tokyo, and is the prefectural capital of Shimane. Matsue is surrounded by water and blessed with an abundance of beautiful natural scenery. The venue for the meeting is the Kunibiki Messe, Shimane Prefectural Convention Center, which is located along a river connecting Lakes Shinji and Nakanoumi, and is within walking distance from all hotels in the city center.

MetSoc 2008 on the web:  Additional information regarding transportation, accommodations, meeting activities, etc., can be found on the Matsue meeting website.

Transportation:  Matsue is served by Izumo (IZO) and Yonago (YGJ) Airports with regular services from Tokyo (Haneda Airport, HND), Nagoya (Chubu Centrair Airport, NGO), Osaka (Itami Airport, ITM), and Fukuoka (Fukuoka Airport, FUK). JAL flights from Haneda to Izumo, ANA flights from Haneda to Yonago or ANA flights from Centrair to Yonago are convenient.

We strongly recommend that international travelers arrive at Narita International Airport (NRT) by mid-afternoon because they must transfer to Haneda by bus.

Kansai International Airport (KIX) is easily accessible by airport limousine to Itami airport. Flights from Itami to Izumo are available.

It takes about half an hour to reach the city center of Matsue by shuttle bus, from the Izumo and Yanago Airports.

A map of Japan is provided.

Accommodations:  Matsue offers plenty of hotel rooms, and many of them offer very reasonable rates. The following hotels are holding 210 rooms for this meeting (5,670–9,600 JPY for single occupancy, including breakfast and taxes). Forty twin rooms are also available.

Matsue Tokyu Inn
Matsue Urban Hotel
Matsue New Urban Hotel Annex
Matsue Ekimae Universal Hotel
Toyoko Inn Matsue Ekimae

The detailed booking information, including special rates for MetSoc 2008, is available at the Matsue meeting website.

Weather:  The rainy season in Japan usually ends at the middle of July. After a seasonal rain front goes north, the weather becomes stable and hot. High temperatures are approximately 30–35°C (86–95°F) and lows are around 20°C (68°F).

* Accretion and differentiation of primitive materials
* Analytical developments
* Asteroids and comets
* Astrobiology
* Beyond the solar system
* Chondrites, carbonaceous
* Chondrites, others
* Chondrules
* Chronology of early solar system events
* Classification of meteorites
* Differentiated meteorites
* Fall and recovery of meteorites
* Historical aspects
* Impact processes and structures
* Interplanetary dust particles and micrometeorites
* Isotopic anomalies
* Low-temperature components
* Lunar samples and lunar meteorites
* Martian meteorites
* Moon, Mars, and other planets
* Nebular or presolar processes
* Parent body processes
* Presolar materials
* Refractory inclusions
* Sample return missions, results, and prospects
* Shock effects
* Space missions, other
* Special Session: Kaguya Mission
* Special Session: Memorial session, in honor of the late Dr. Gordon McKay

This memorial session is dedicated to the late Dr. Gordon McKay (NASA Johnson Space Center) who passed away on February 8, 2008. The session will cover many aspects of Gordon's petrological and geochemical research, including Mars rocks, lunar rocks, asteroidal basalts, trace element partitioning, and redox states of basalts. We would like to solicit input from those who may be interested in submitting papers to a special issue of MAPS or GCA in memory of Gordon. Please send expressions of interest to either Takashi Mikouchi or John Jones.

Preparation and Submission of Abstracts:  Each abstract will be limited to ONE SINGLE column for publication in Meteoritics & Planetary Science. The dimensions of your completed abstract should be no more than 3.45 inches (~8.7 cm) wide by 9 inches (~23 cm) long. Abstracts will be published as a supplement to Meteoritics & Planetary Science. Due to the small size of the abstracts, figures often do not print well and should be avoided. If the editorial office finds a figure is illegible in the proof copy, we will print the abstract, but reserve the right to remove the figure.

Abstracts must be submitted in Microsoft Word (PC or Mac) or rich text format. PostScript files will be accepted only from authors who cannot submit files in Microsoft Word format. Complete instructions for authors, templates, and a sample abstract page from a previous volume are provided.

The electronic abstract submission form will be deactivated on May 7, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time, so it will not be possible to submit a late abstract. If you discover that you are having difficulty submitting your abstract on the website, please e-mail or call the LPI staff immediately ([email protected] or 281-486-2142/-2188) so that they will have time to assist you.

All meteorite names appearing in abstracts MUST have been approved by the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society. Abstracts submitted in violation of these requirements will NOT be published in the journal. It is recommended that you submit to the committee any new meteorite names by April 16. The Committee cannot guarantee that meteorites submitted after this time will be processed and approved by the time of the abstract deadline. To check the publication status of a meteorite, please use the "Quick Meteorite Name Search." A representative of the Meteorite Nomenclature Committee will be reviewing the submitted abstracts to make certain that all authors are in compliance with these policies. The program committee reserves the right to reject any abstract found to be in violation of these rules.

Provisions for Hard-Copy Submission:  If for some reason you will be unable to submit your abstract electronically, you must contact the LPI by fax (281-486-2125) to request the necessary forms and instructions for submitting by hard copy. These requests must be accompanied by a valid fax number, phone number, and e-mail address. The deadline for hard-copy submissions is May 1, 2008. Hard-copy submissions received after that date will be returned to the author.

Online Abstract Fee Payment:  After you have uploaded your abstract and have received a confirmation number from LPI, you will be directed to the secure fee payment page. The abstract fee, $55.00 (USD) per abstract, can be paid on line by Visa or MasterCard only. You can also access the payment page directly at the MAPS Online Store.

Payment by Check:  If you submit your abstract as a hard copy, or are unable to pay with Visa or MasterCard, please print out the abstract fee page. Include your abstract number (as assigned by LPI) and the first author's name and mail this page and a check for $55.00 (USD) to:

    Meteoritics & Planetary Science
    RE: METSOC 71 Fee Payment
    University of Arizona—Geosciences
    4717 East Fort Lowell Road, Room 104
    Tucson, AZ 85712-1201 USA

Only checks in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank can be accepted. If you are unable to pay the abstract fee in this way, or have other questions, please contact the journal by e-mail ([email protected]) or fax (520-881-0554).

Program, Abstracts, and Presentation Facilities:  The program and abstracts will be placed online no later than June 18, 2008. These files will be in PDF format, viewable with Adobe Acrobat Reader (version 6.0 or higher). MAPS abstract volumes will be mailed prior to the meeting, and participants are encouraged to bring these to the meeting. For oral presentations, an LCD projector will be provided.

If you want to travel in Japan before and/or after the meeting, you may wish to buy a Japan Rail Pass. Note that you have to buy the pass BEFORE coming to Japan and qualify for "temporary visitor" entry status.

Wednesday Excursion:  Wednesday, July 30. In the afternoon, we will visit the Adachi Museum of Art and Izumo Taisha Shrine. Adachi Museum of Art is set in a beautiful natural environment, and is well known for both its superb Japanese gardens and its collection of contemporary Japanese paintings, comprising approximately 1,300 of the country's most highly regarded paintings produced after the Meiji period and centering on the works of Yokoyama Taikan. Izumo Oyashiro (Izumo Shrine) is one of the most important Shinto shrines and is known as the home of Okuninushi no Mikoto, the "Celestial Matchmaker". According to Shinto beliefs, in the tenth month of the old lunar calendar, all the gods of Japan assemble at Izumo and hold a series of divine conferences. The shrine is built in the taisha-zukuri style, considered the oldest of shrine architectural styles in Japan. The main temple has been designated a national treasure. The present main building of the shrine was built in 1744, the 25th building since the original structure.

Conference Banquet:  Wednesday evening, July 30. After the excursion trip, the conference banquet will be held with local traditional food at the Matsue Vogel Park, a bird and flower park. The park is a breathtaking showcase of about 10,000 flowers such as begonias and fuchsia, and up to 3,000 birds, including pelicans and owls.

Guest Excursions:  During the meeting, guests will have the opportunity to freely visit the town of Matsue or to participate in organized tours at reduced costs to visit nearby spots of historic, natural, and scientific interest. Specific plans will be presented in the final announcement. A help desk of Nippon Travel Agency will assist meeting participants in planning activities in the city and on many attractive destinations (e.g., One-day pass for sightseeing by bus: 500 JPY. Tour of castle moat by sightseeing boat: 1,200 JPY).

Farewell Party:  We will have a farewell party at Kunibiki Messe just after closing the Friday session.

On August 1, we will depart from the hotel late in the afternoon, fly from Izumo Airport to Fukuoka Airport, and stay the night in Fukoka City. The next day, we will leave the hotel early in the morning for Suga Shrine, and may visit Dazaifu Shrine and other areas in the afternoon. Tour buses will be chartered. The tour finishing point is Fukuoka. The tour cost is 50,000 JPY, including lodging and airfare. Maximum enrollment is 20 people. Registration will be accepted in order of receipt.

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine Ruins — Saturday, August 2:  The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine site, about 80 km west of Matsue, is a cluster of mountains, rising to 600 meters and interspersed by deep river valleys featuring the archaeological remains of large-scale mines, smelting and refining sites and mining settlements worked between the 16th and 20th centuries. The high quality of the silver resulting from the use of advanced techniques, and the quantity of silver mined, contributed substantially to the overall economic development of Japan and Southeast Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries, and prompted the mass production of silver and gold in Japan. The mining area is now heavily wooded. Included in the site are fortresses, shrines, parts of Kaido transportation routes to the coast, and three port towns, Tomogaura, Okidomari and Yunotsu, from where the ore was shipped. The property extends to 442 hectares and the buffer zone to 3,221 hectares. The area was designated as a World Heritage Site in July, 2007.

We will depart from the hotel early in the morning, visit the Iwami Ginzan Siliver Mine and the related sites, and return late in the afternoon. Tour buses will be chartered. The tour cost is 8,000 JPY, including lunch. Maximum enrollment is 40 people. Registration will be accepted in order of receipt.

Registration for post-conference field trips can be made at the Registration site.

The registration fee does NOT include abstract fees. Please pay the abstract fee ($55.00 USD per abstract) when submitting your abstract.

REGISTRATION FEES (JPY)
		Through June 30, 2008		July 1–7, 2008
Society Member		25,000		30,000
Non-member		30,000		36,000
Student Member		13,000		16,000
Student Non-member		16,000		20,000
Guest		13,000		16,000

Cancellation Policy:  A 2,000 JPY cancellation fee will be charged on any cancellations received by July 7, 2008. No refunds will be given after July 7, 2008.

Antarctic Meteorites:  Search, Recovery, and Classification
Dates:  July 26–27, 2008
Venue:  Kunibiki Messe (same as that of the annual meeting)
Conveners:  Hiroshi Kaiden (NIPR) and Kevin Righter (NASA-JSC)

Many groups are recovering large numbers of meteorites from Antarctica. The purpose of the workshop is to gather meteoriticists to discuss issues relating to these collections, and how to allow these new discoveries to have the largest impact on our field. The workshop format will allow discussion of topics not usually covered during the regular sessions of the Meteoritical Society meeting. Specifically, the topics of interest will include the search, recovery, classification, weathering and curation of Antarctic meteorites. The workshop precedes the annual meeting of the Meteoritical Society. Travel grants will be made available to qualified students and recent Ph.D.s.

    Keiji Misawa
    National Institute of Polar Research
    Tokyo 173-8515, Japan
    Phone: +81-3-3962-4353
    Fax: +81-3-3962-5711
    E-mail: [email protected]

For information regarding meeting logistics and announcements, contact

    Kimberly Taylor
    Lunar and Planetary Institute
    Phone: 281-486-2151
    E-mail: [email protected]

For information regarding meeting abstract submission, contact

    Linda Tanner
    Lunar and Planetary Institute
    Phone: 281-486-2142
    E-mail: [email protected]