Earth Sciences Department Research Articles

Follow the Trace: Becoming a Seismo-Detective with a Campus-Based Raspberry Shake Seismometer

Abstract Seismic signals, whether caused by earthquakes, other natural phenomena, or artificial noise sources, have specific characteristics in the time and frequency domains that contain crucial information reflecting their source. The analysis of seismic time series is an essential part of every seismology-oriented study program. Enabling students to work with data collected from their own campus, including signals from both anthropogenic and natural seismic sources, can provide vivid, practical examples to make abstract concepts communicated in classes more concrete and relevant. Data from research-grade broadband seismometers enable us to record time series of vibrations at a broad range of frequencies; however, these sensors are costly and are often deployed in remote places. Participation in the Raspberry Shake citizen science network enables seismology educators to record seismic signals on our own campuses and use these recordings in our classrooms and for public outreach. Yale University installed a Raspberry Shake three-component, low-cost seismometer in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department building in Summer 2022, enabling the detection of local, regional, and teleseismic earthquakes, microseismic noise, and anthropogenic noise sources from building construction, an explosive event in a steam tunnel, and general building use. Here, we discuss and illustrate the use of data from our Raspberry Shake in outreach and education activities at Yale. In particular, we highlight a series of ObsPy-based exercises that will be used in courses taught in our department, including our upper-level Introduction to Seismology course and our undergraduate classes on Natural Disasters and Forensic Geoscience.

SiLiBA: Building the geological chert lithotheque

Lithotheques collect and exhibit raw material used by human communities for the manufacturing of objects during the Prehistory and represents an important tool of their knowledge. These collections are essential in the procuring and provenance study of archaeological lithic industries. 
 This paper aims, firstly, to introduce SiLiBA, the lithotheque of the Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences Department of the University of Bari Aldo Moro (Italy), as reference collection in the archaeological field studies, and secondly to propose guidelines and rules to build a lithotheque. The collection consists of about 900 pieces of geological cherts, which are the result of an expanded collecting action of primary and secondary cherts across Italy (Apulia, Basilicata, Sicily), Croatia, and Switzerland, belonging to formations from the Cretaceous to the Quaternary Period. All the chert samples were described according to the non-destructive multiparametric protocol for chert investigation (NM-PCI), providing a modular dataset of binary, ordinal and continuous variables which integrates petrographycal, micropaleontological, chemical and physical data. Such results were summarized in suitable reports, with also geographic coordinates, geological description and photographic documentation, in a digital database, which will be soon online. Cherts are grouped in 37 suitable boxes, following geographic hierarchical organisation and reporting informative labels. Some representative samples are exposed in the Earth Sciences Museum of the same University. Furthermore, the lithotheque is equipped by a dedicated laboratory which includes optical microscopes, a glossmeter and a spectrophotocolorimeter. The promotion in the last years was guaranteed by dissemination activities for educational and academic communities, including an interactive laboratory of experimental archaeology.

Quantitative datasets reveal marked gender disparities in Earth Sciences faculty rank in Africa

As in most disciplines of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM), gender disparity is prevalent in the ranking of Earth Sciences faculties at senior and advanced levels. (i.e., Associate and Full Professors). In this study, a robust database was mined, created, and analyzed to assess the faculty compositions of 142 Earth Science departments in 39 countries across Africa. The data were collected from verifiable online resources focusing on ranks and gender ratios within each department. The studied earth science departments cut across universities in northern, southern, central, eastern, and western Africa. Our data revealed that female faculty members are predominantly underrepresented in most of the departments documented and are markedly uncommon in senior positions such as Professors, associate Professors, and senior researchers compared to their male counterparts. On the contrary, female faculty members are predominant in the lower cadres, such as lecturers, teaching, and graduate assistants. The observed male to female ratio is 4:1. At the base of this gender gap is the lower enrolment of female students in Earth Science courses from undergraudate to graduate studies. To achieve gender equality in Earth Science faculty composition in Africa, we recommend increasing female students' enrollment, mentoring, awareness, timely promotion of accomplished female researchers, and formulation of enabling government policies. More work-related policies that guarantee work-life balance for female earth science academic professionals should be formulated to attract and retain more women into Earth Sciences careers.

Developing a Collaborative Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Guide: A Library-Department Partnership in the Earth Sciences

Earth Science is one of the least diverse scientific fields, but libraries can play a role in assisting their liaison departments’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts by diversifying our collections and supporting research practices that promote their use. In 2020, the University of California, Berkeley’s Earth & Planetary Science Department graduate students created an impressive Call to Action directed toward the faculty of the department. The Call to Action included a plan for advancing the department’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, particularly important in a department with only 17% of students from underserved backgrounds enrolled in the graduate program. Stemming from this effort, the Earth Sciences & Map Library at UC Berkeley, developed a guide (https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/geo_dei) to provide resources to further educate departmental faculty, staff, and students on the topic of DEI. The guide encourages researchers to expand their engagement with scholarship and citation practices intentionally while working on these DEI efforts. Although Earth Science is highlighted in this particular LibGuide, the strategies are universal, especially as applied to science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) fields. The development of this guide, as well as partnerships with active student groups, can serve as a tool for other academic departments creating and promoting DEI efforts.

Towards a National-Scale Dataset of Geotechnical and Hydrological Soil Parameters for Shallow Landslide Modeling

One of the main constraints in assessing shallow landslide hazards through physically based models is the need to characterize the geotechnical parameters of the involved materials. Indeed, the quantity and quality of input data are closely related to the reliability of the results of every model used, therefore data acquisition is a critical and time-consuming step in every research activity. In this perspective, we reviewed all official certificates of tests performed through 30 years at the Geotechnics Laboratory of the Earth Science Department (University of Firenze, Firenze, Italy), compiling a dataset in which 380 points are accurately geolocated and provide information about one or more geotechnical parameters used in slope stability modeling. All tests performed in the past (in the framework of previous research programs, agreements of cooperation, or to support didactic activities) were gathered, homogenized, digitalized, and geotagged. The dataset is based on both on-site tests and laboratory tests, it accounts for 40 attributes, among which 13 are descriptive (e.g., lithology or location) and 27 may be of direct interest in slope stability modeling as input parameters. The dataset is made openly available and can be useful for scientists or practitioners committed to landslide modeling.

A Place for Volunteers in Field Sciences

A Place for Volunteers in Field Sciences

EARTH SCIENCES AND GEOMORPHOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF KYIV UNIVERSITY: A XXI CENTURY PERSPECTIVE

The historiographical article is devoted to the analysis of the 70-year history and development of the Kyiv University Earth Sciences and Geomorphology Department and the formation of its educational, scientific and applied area activities. The presented list of educational and research areas and description of their essential principles testifies not only to the existence of certain stages in the department history, but also to formation of trends in scientific preferences of the teaching and research staff. Over the course of the Department’s work many theoretical and practical aspects of Earth Sciences have been developed including general and theoretical geomorphology, geomorphological mapping and zoning, Quaternary sedimentology and palaeogeography, structural geomorphology and morphostructural analysis, engineering and anthropogenic geomorphology, palaeogeomorphology and ecology, scientific principles of remote and expeditionary relief research. Modern applied scientific and educational areas of the Department are geomorphology and nature tourism (geotourism), and soil science, land management and spatial planning. The development of scientific principles of nature tourism as a factor of sustainable development will not only spread the scientific worldview, understanding of the society laws and environmental ideas, but will also attract national and foreign investment, facilitate the development of territorial communities and tourism as a highly profitable sector of Ukraine's economy. Soil science, land management and spatial planning as areas of theoretical and applied geographical research are crucial to meet the current challenges of decentralization and land reform. It covers the development of multi-level spatial planning methodologies for sustainable spatial development, methods of scientific substantiation of urban projects, land management project planning, soil protection measures, engineering protection of the territory to create a favourable human habitat, preservation of landscape diversity and natural and cultural heritage. In recent years, the research interests of the Department have also included management of eco-projects and geoarchaeological studies, which were formed on multidisciplinary approaches and provide a thorough scientific and practical base for training of future professionals. Key words: Kyiv University Earth Sciences and Geomorphology Department; palaeogeomorphology; ecological geomorphology; morphostructural analysis; nature tourism; soil science; land management; spatial planning; eco-project management; geoarchaeology.

Lessons learned at the biology–geology interface

Geoscience is increasingly transdisciplinary, requiring researchers from many different scientific backgrounds to work together. Jayme Feyhl-Buska, a biologist pursuing a doctoral degree in an Earth Science department, highlights lessons that she learned on the cusp of the two fields, and urges collaborators to convey lines of thinking and define terminology upfront.

Застосування механізмів проєктного управління у вирішенні екологічних проблем (на прикладі створення природопізнавальної туристичної мапи Голосіївського району міста Києва)

Eco-projects have a high capacity to harmonize relations between three major sustainable development components: economical, ecological and social. The use of project management mechanisms provide opportunities for stakeholder partnership in addressing environmental problems. An essential part of this process is a shared vision of the possible scenarios for spatial development, team-based approach, techniques and procedures of eco-project implementation, along with experience of engaging with the crew. All of the eco-project management aspects mentioned above are the purpose of this work. We intended to summarise the case study that students from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Earth science and geomorphology Department have been doing as a part of their curriculum “Ecoproject management and international cooperation in the field of nature protection”. The case study raises the problem of fragmented, irrelevant, unreliable or missing information on natural heritage and green areas, which are a foundation of recreational activities and natural-cognitive tourism. The problem has been selected due to COVID-19 pandemic that has been raising awareness of local tourist attractions, environmental security, sustainable development and environment protection. Essentially, creating a comprehensive natural heritage catalogue and guides is the first step towards local tourism promotion and reaching local sustainable development goals. The Project’s vision is to provide a product that offers free, clear and descriptive GIS-based materials on natural heritage and green areas of Kyiv. The mission is to design and publish information materials on natural heritage and green areas using available GIS applications. Final Natural-Cognitive Tourist Map of the Holosiivsky District of Kyiv is an outcome of the work.

Geologia Urbana: itinerari in centro città per scoprire la geodiversità litologica

During the last years the interest towards urban areas as possible sites for educational activities concerning the Earth Sciences has been growing. The “Urban Geology” project developed by the Earth Sciences Department of the Universita degli Studi di Milano offers to high school teachers a model of a low-cost outdoor geological activity, with a particular focus on the importance of rocks as georesources and heritage stones in architecture.In a first phase, a pilot itinerary in the centre of Milan for discovering rocks in architecture was structured involving the undergraduate students of Natural Sciences and then proposed to teachers attending the TFA (Tirocinio Formativo Attivo) and in the frame of the “Piano Lauree Scientifiche”. The Milan city centre is characterized by a lithological geodiversity that allows the observation of a great number of rocks of different origin and provenance, most of which are also widespread in the neighbouring cities. For each of the identified rocks, a short guide is made available to the teachers, with lithological description, petrographic classification and additional information on the origin, provenance and use in historical buildings. The guide may be used as preparatory material before the guided excursion, or as a support for more detailed studies after the visit, also offering ideas for interdisciplinary connections (art and architecture, history, economy). The supplied material may also help the teachers in organizing their own itinerary.The itinerary was proposed as didactic activity guided by Department tutors to high school classes (around 190 students up to now), as well as to the general public during the “Settimana del Pianeta Terra 2018” (80 participants).After the first positive experiences with the guided excursion, the project was further developed in the framework of the “Progetti Alternanza Scuola – Lavoro” (School – Work Alternance Projects) and was carried out by a total of 75 students from high schools located in Milan, San Donato Milanese, Bergamo and Lecco. The data collection on the field was performed using a specific multimedial tool, the GeoODK Collect App (http://ona.io/mzucali; http://ona.io/ibollati) for Smartphone. Through such projects, groups of students were able to create itineraries of Urban Geology in their own cities, illustrate their work to the public and share the data online. A workflow to reproduce the activity also in other areas is finally proposed.

Macro-Energy Systems: Toward a New Discipline

Patricia J. Levi is a doctoral candidate in the Management Science and Engineering department at Stanford University. Her research uses tools from economics and operations research to improve regulations and policy that reduce environmental impacts in the electricity sector. She earned a SM in Technology & Policy (2016) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was also a researcher at the MIT Energy Initiative. Simon Davidsson Kurland is a postdoctoral researcher at Chalmers University of Technology, where he explores the potential for decarbonizing energy and transport systems and their associated energy and material flows. He was previously a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University, focusing on net energy analysis of photovoltaics and battery systems. He has an MSc in Energy Systems Engineering and a PhD in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from Uppsala University, Sweden. Michael Carbajales-Dale heads the Energy-Economy-Environment (E3) Systems Analysis group. He joined Clemson University in August 2014 as an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences department. Before joining Clemson, Mik was an Energy Systems Analyst with Stanford’s Environmental Assessment & Optimization Lab and with the Global Climate & Energy Project (GCEP). His research focuses on the long-term, large-scale evolution and dynamics of the energy-economy system, especially how development of energy resources affects social development and the effects of a future transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy technologies. John P. Weyant is Professor of Management Science and Engineering, Director of the Energy Modeling Forum (EMF), a Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy, and an affiliated faculty member in the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford University. His current research focuses on developing improved methods for diagnostics and uncertainty characterization in energy and environmental modeling, energy technology assessment, and strategic planning methods. He serves on many scientific advisory boards and has been awarded lifetime achievement awards by the US Institute for Energy Economics, the International Association for Energy Economics, and the Integrated Assessment Modeling Consortium. Dr. Adam R. Brandt is an Associate Professor in the Department of Energy Resources Engineering at Stanford University. His research focuses on reducing the greenhouse gas impacts of energy production and consumption. Primary research interests include life cycle assessment of petroleum production and natural gas extraction, with a particular interest in unconventional fossil fuel resources such as oil sands, oil shale, and hydraulically fractured oil and gas resources. He also researches computational optimization of low-emissions technologies, such as carbon dioxide capture, solar thermal, and solar photovoltaic output prediction. Dr. Brandt received his PhD from the Energy and Resources Group, UC Berkeley. Sally M. Benson is a professor of energy resources engineering in the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, co-director of the Precourt Institute for Energy, and Director of the Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford University. Formerly, Benson was at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where she held a variety of key positions, including Deputy Director, Associate Director for Energy Sciences, and Director of the Earth Sciences Division. Benson is regarded as an authority on carbon capture and storage. She also uses energy systems analysis to help guide decisions about the most promising pathways for clean energy development.

The Lyell Collection at the Earth Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London (UK).

BackgroundThis paper provides a quantitative and general description of the Lyell Collection kept in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum of London. This collection started to be built by the eminent British geologist Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) in 1846 when the first specimen reached the Museum. The last one entered in 1980 donated by one of Lyell’s heirs. There are more than 1700 specimens, mainly hand specimens with 93% of the fauna and flora from the Cenozoic of the Macaronesian archipelagos of the Canaries and Madeira. Those specimens that belong to the Lyell Collection with certainty have been databased and imaged. Currently they are being geo-referred automatically with the rest of the site geo-references at the NHM. This collection could be increased by a couple of dozen more specimens with those specimens located in the same drawers, but they do not have collector details. The work of data collection of these specimens was implemented over a year from 2016 to 2017, including annelids; brachiopods; bryozoans; echinoderms; scyphozoans; bivalves; gastropods; scaphopods; trilobites; plants; reptiles; fishes; and mammals.New informationAccess to the specimen-level data is available through the NHM data portal with the images associated. This is the first time that a description of the Fossil Lyell Collection dataset is available in the literature.

GeoDidaLab: a laboratory for environmental education and research within the Ivrea Morainic Amphitheatre (Turin, NW Italy)

Research and practical activities concerning environmental education are the main goals of the GeoDidaLab, a laboratory founded in the ‘90s by a couple of school teachers, since 2012 led by the Earth Science Department of the Torino University (Italy). It is located at the core of the Ivrea Morainic Amphitheatre (IMA), whose glacial landforms and deposits constitute an extraordinary landscape and a geoheritage site of international value.Over the years, schools from more than 50 municipalities of the Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta Regions adhered to the activities proposed by the laboratory. Today, its educational offer includes more than 20 interdisciplinary workshops, suitable for students from kindergarten to university level. Particular attention is also devoted in training preand in-service teachers.Thanks to agreements with local communities and schools, new strategies for spreading Earth Science knowledge and environmental education are constantly developed and tested.

Attività di laboratorio per le scuole ad integrazione della didattica tradizionale

The paper describes laboratory activities on minerals and rocks organized by the Earth Sciences Department of the University of Milan, with the collaboration of its “Museo delle Collezioni mineralogiche petrografiche e giacimentologiche”. Following a “hands-on” approach, the students observe and describe the characters and properties of a large number of mineral and rock samples. The teacher and the researcher continuously stimulate the discussion and help to establish connections between the observed characters and the physical properties or processes causing them. Particular emphasis is given to minerals and rocks of common use in industryand applied technology as well as in the everyday life. The activities may be calibrated according to the level of knowledge of the class and the age of the students.The outcomes are mainly positive, since the practical activities represent a pleasant integration to the classical theoretical lessons and stimulate much interest in the study of minerals and rocks, often seen as boring arguments, as they are learned in a schematic and mnemonic way.

Impact of Tropical Volcanic Eruptions on Hadley Circulation Using a High-Resolution AGCM

I thank Earth Science and Engineering Department, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia for providing computational facilities that were used to conduct model simulations. The observational and simulation results are available from the author upon request

Western Faculty Profile: Dr. Burns Cheadle

Dr. Burns Cheadle is an Associate Professor of Petroleum Geology in the Earth Sciences Department at Western University, and the Director of Science Professionalism and Entrepreneurship in the Faculty of Science. Dr. Cheadle believes in responsible development, and that current industry practices must be informed by good science. WURJ member Wilson Ho had the opportunity to interview him and investigate his career and research.

A multi-analytical approach for the assessment of the provenience of geological amber: the collection of the Earth Sciences Museum of Bari (Italy).

The Earth Sciences Museum of the University of Bari Aldo Moro (Italy) exhibits a wide collection of amber samples. These have been catalogued as Baltic amber (succinite), Sicilian amber (simetite), amber from New Jersey, Apennine amber and New Zealand copaline. However, some samples revealed to be erroneously classified as a consequence of incorrect information on the labels or in the museum catalogue. This may be due to historical forgeries, as is often the case of simetite, or to a possible exchange of samples that probably occurred during the displacement of the museum collection from the Central University Building to the Geo-environmental and Earth Sciences Department. In this study, all amber samples were systematically investigated with long wave UV rays, attenuated total reflectance (ATR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) using on-line thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation. The combined use of the latter two analytical techniques allowed for a complete characterisation of the ambers, whereas UV fluorescence showed to be of little value. The compositional data could be used for a better classification and valorisation of the amber samples of the museum collection. Two of the purported amber samples were shown to be copal, while four others are ambers but had been wrongly classified. Moreover, for some samples, it could be established that they had been subjected to treatment with a drying oil.

Building an Effective and Affordable K–12 Geoscience Outreach Program From the Ground Up: A Simple Model for Universities

ABSTRACTUniversity earth science departments seeking to establish meaningful geoscience outreach programs often pursue large-scale, grant-funded programs. Although this type of outreach is highly successful, it is also extremely costly, and grant funding can be difficult to secure. Here, we present the Geoscience Education Outreach Program (GEOP), a small-scale, very affordable model tested for 5 y in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). GEOP provides in-class presentations for local K–8 classrooms; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics mentoring for middle and high school students; day-long events on the UCR campus for middle and high school students; and it allows UCR Department of Earth Sciences to participate in a wide range of community events. The program is managed by UCR graduate students, affects ~4,000 people (K–12 students, UCR students, the Riverside community at large) and operates for less than $3,000 U.S. annually. The GEOP model prioritizes simplicity, flexibility, and affordability to best meet the educational needs of Riverside County, California.

Application of Infrared Thermography for landslide mapping: the Rotolon DSGDS case study

On November 4th 2010, after several days of intense rainfall, a huge mass (about 225000 m3) detached from the debris cover of the Rotolon landslide, converging within the Rotolon Creek river bed, and evolving into a mobile debris flow that damaged various infrastructures, putting on high risk three villages located along the creek banks. After this event the National Department of Civil Protection (DPC) appointed the Earth Sciences Department of the Firenze University (DST-UNIFI) to start a ground based interferometric radar (GBInSAR) monitoring activity, in order to support the local authorities for the emergency management by analyzing the landslide displacements and evaluating the residual risk. During this phase accurate geomorphological and infrared thermographic (IRT) surveys were also carried out, in order to study the landslide morphological features, with the aim of improving the radar displacement data interpretation.

Clean and renewable energy from the Arno River: a feasibility study in the Province of Florence (northern Italy)

During a joint project between the Provincia di Firenze Administration and the Earth Sciences Department of the University of Firenze, the Arno riverbed was studied from the terminal portion of the Upper Valdano up to the Middle Valdarno (about 75 km). In particular, we analysed the preservation status of the existing weirs, which are nowadays the most important hydraulic works as concern the profile riverbed conservation and the fluvial dynamics. Such research was oriented to perform a practical analysis useful for a complete recovery of the hydraulic functionality and also for a possible renovation of some structures in order to produce clean electricity, following the current sensitivity in many national and international institutions. This analysis resulted in the determination of a different degree of feasibility, identifying from a technical point of view the most suitable weir and its annex for a quick recovery intervention and highlighting their economic impact on potential investors that might be attracted to the economic income related to the sale of electricity to the local network.