ECSA 37 - ERF 2004 Conference, Australia
"Estuaries and Change"

First Announcement and Call for Special Sessions


Conference Highlights

o  International Line-up of Plenary Speakers - hear about the current
knowledge, cutting-edge research and future directions of a range of
estuarine topics;

o Novel and stimulating scientific program

o Great social program including:
 - Aussie BBQ at the beach/ estuary (conference dinner)
 - Local, and not-so-local, "tastes of Australia" poster
session
- Discovering the natural beauty and scientific interest of the
region (field trips)

o Stay post-conference and explore Australia

Conference Overview
Southern Cross University will host the next joint Estuarine and Coastal
Sciences Association (ECSA) and Estuarine Research Federation (ERF)
International Conference in June 2004. Assoc. Prof. Bradley Eyre,
[log in to unmask] is the conference chair. The aim of the conference is to
bring together scientists and managers with an interest in estuaries and
change. Global change is one of the most pressing environmental issues
facing humans as we enter the new millennium (IGBP, 2001). No where is this
change being seen more than in estuaries. Located at the boundary of the
land, sea and atmosphere, estuaries are affected by changes occurring in
all three adjacent systems. Estuaries have always been in a continuous
state of natural change in response to forcings on diurnal (e.g
productivity), daily (e.g. tides), seasonal (e.g. river flow), episodic
(e.g. floods), annual (e.g. biological communities), decadal (e.g. ENSO),
and longer (e.g. sea level rise) time scales. More recently h!
owever, anthropogenic change due to intense pressure from human use has
been superimposed on, and in some cases is over-riding, these scales of
natural change (LOICZ 2003). One of the most difficult tasks facing
estuarine scientists is discerning natural change from anthropogenic
change; an essential task required for management of human impacts.

The conference theme "Response of tropical, temperate and polar estuaries
to natural and anthropogenic changes" identifies that estuaries are subject
to both natural and anthropogenic change and that both the forcings and
responses may be different at different latitudes. For example,
eutrophication is a major problem in temperate estuaries, increased
sediment loading due to intense land clearing is significantly impacting
tropical estuaries and adjacent nearshore ecosystems such as reefs, and the
effects of climate change are being manifested most strongly in polar
estuaries. To reflect these differences five international plenary speakers
have been invited to address changes in each of the three latitudinal
regions as well as to present a global overview. The plenary sessions will
be followed by concurrent oral and poster sessions organised into special
themes.



Call for Special Sessions
The organising committee invites proposals for special oral, poster and
workshop sessions that relate to the conference theme "Response of
tropical, temperate and polar estuaries to natural and anthropogenic
changes". It is expected that proponents of special sessions will chair and
help organise the session. Please send your special session proposals (a
short paragraph) to the Conference Secretary Michelle Eyre,
[log in to unmask]

Conference Location
The conference will be held at the Ballina Conference Centre in the Ballina
RSL, Northern NSW, Australia, June 20-25, 2004. The Ballina Conference
Centre is located on the banks of the Richmond River Estuary making it an
ideal conference venue. Northern NSW is renown for its natural beauty and
as a holiday destination with a climate rated as one of the best in the
world, world-class pristine beaches and sub-tropical rainforest and a
relaxed atmosphere.

Plenary Speakers
Prof. Michael Kemp, University of Maryland CES, USA
Prof. Robert Twilley, University of Louisiana, USA
Assoc. Prof. Ronnie Glud, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Prof. Victor de Jonge, University of Groningen, Netherlands
Dr. Mike Elliott, University of Hull, UK

Important Dates
May 2003  First Announcement and Call for Special Sessions
October 31, 2003 Deadline for Special Session Proposals
November  2003 First Call for Abstracts
February 22, 2004  Abstract Submission Deadline
April 2004  Notification of Conference Program
May 3, 2004  Early Registration Deadline
June 20-25, 2004 Conference

Sponsorship Opportunities
A number of sponsorship opportunities are available and a sponsorship
package can be obtained from Karen Hanna (Ph. +61 2 6620 3932 or email:
[log in to unmask] ) or can be down loaded from the conference web site at
www.scu.edu.au/ecsa37ecsa2004conference.

More Information
www.scu.edu.au/ecsa37erf2004conference