The Workshop on Radar Investigations of Planetary and Terrestrial Environments will be held February 7–10, 2005, at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), housed in the Center for Advanced Space Studies at 3600 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston, Texas.

Ground-penetrating radar has been identified as an important tool in understanding the subsurface geology and distribution of water on the Earth, Moon, Mars, and Europa. Additionally, it is a key investigation for understanding the paleohydrology of planetary surfaces and for identifying potential subsurface habitats capable of sustaining primitive life forms.

During the coming decade a variety of radar tools will be used to address these tasks, with a particular emphasis on assessing the distribution and state of subsurface water. This workshop will focus on the capabilities of radar sounding and imaging systems to address these issues.

The three-and-a-half day workshop will be comprised of a mix of invited and contributed talks, panel discussions, and poster presentations, with a substantial amount of time reserved for discussion and debate. These presentations and discussions will be supplemented by special sessions and social events to be held throughout the meeting.

A key focus of discussion will be to consider a "best effort" approach to mapping the global distribution and state of subsurface water on Mars. Specifically, if there was an opportunity to fly two dedicated geophysical missions to address this task, what would they be? What instruments would they include? What potential would they have to improve on the results obtained from the Mars Odyssey GRS instrument, MARSIS and SHARAD? And what other types of science (as identified in the latest MEPAG science document) would they be capable of addressing?

The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. (with registration at 7:30 a.m.) on Monday, February 7, 2005, and will conclude at noon on Thursday, February 10, 2005.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Invited oral presentations will be scheduled to allow approximately 22 minutes for speaking and 13 minutes for discussion. Contributed oral presentations will be scheduled to allow 15 minutes for speaking and 10 minutes for discussion.

Audio-visual equipment available for oral presentations will include one LCD projector and two overhead projectors.

NOTE: A 35-mm carousel slide projector will NOT be available.

All electronic presentations must be uploaded to the meeting laptop pc in advance of the speaker's session. For more details, please read the Instructions for Electronic Presentations.

POSTER PRESTENTATIONS
Authors must be present to discuss their poster in the scheduled session on Tuesday evening, February 8. Poster presentations can be installed on Monday morning, February 7, and can remain up through noon on Thursday, February 10.

Each poster display space is 44" × 44". Two presenters will share one side of one panel, so it is important that displays are confined to the 44" × 44" limit. Posters must be designed to be attached to the panel with pushpins. Due to space limitations, computer demonstrations, VCR players, or tables with handout materials cannot be accommodated as a part of a poster display.

SPECIAL EVENTS
A welcome reception consisting of a buffet of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres with an assortment of beverages will be served Monday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. On Tuesday evening, February 8, there will be a poster session from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. A dinner is scheduled for Wednesday evening, February 9.

A special section of JGR Planets will be devoted to papers on radar investigation of planetary and terrestrial environments. Papers should be submitted by August 31, 2005 to http://jgr-planets-submit.agu.org. Attendance at the workshop is not a requirement for submission. If you are planning to contribute to this section, please send your name and the title of your contribution to Essam Heggy ([email protected]).

A fee of $150.00 ($100.00 for students) will be assessed each participant to cover workshop services. You must preregister and prepay by January 21, 2005, to avoid a $25.00 late fee.

Please return the downloadable registration form with your payment before January 21, 2005, to avoid a $25.00 late fee, or you may use the electronic registration form if paying by credit card. Foreign participants who state on the registration form that they have a currency exchange problem may pay in cash at the meeting (and avoid a $25.00 late fee) if the form is returned by January 21, 2005.

Cancellations with requests for refunds will be accepted through Friday, January 28, 2005. Please note that a $15.00 fee will be charged on all cancellations.

Participants are responsible for making their own travel and hotel reservations. For your convenience, we have provided a list of local hotels and a local area map showing their locations.

For further information regarding the format and scientific objectives of the meeting, contact
    Essam Heggy
    Lunar and Planetary Institute
    phone: 281-486-2113
    e-mail: [email protected].

For information regarding meeting logistics, contact
    Kimberly Taylor
    phone: 281-486-2151;
    fax: 281-486-2125;
    e-mail: [email protected].