Earth Science Community Research Articles

Collaboration between artificial intelligence and Earth science communities for mutual benefit

Collaboration between artificial intelligence and Earth science communities for mutual benefit

Towards practical artificial intelligence in Earth sciences

AbstractAlthough Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects are common and desired by many institutions and research teams, there are still relatively few success stories of AI in practical use for the Earth science community. Many AI practitioners in Earth science are trapped in the prototyping stage and their results have not yet been adopted by users. Many scientists are still hesitating to use AI in their research routine. This paper aims to capture the landscape of AI-powered geospatial data sciences by discussing the current and upcoming needs of the Earth and environmental community, such as what practical AI should look like, how to realize practical AI based on the current technical and data restrictions, and the expected outcome of AI projects and their long-term benefits and problems. This paper also discusses unavoidable changes in the near future concerning AI, such as the fast evolution of AI foundation models and AI laws, and how the Earth and environmental community should adapt to these changes. This paper provides an important reference to the geospatial data science community to adjust their research road maps, find best practices, boost the FAIRness (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) aspects of AI research, and reasonably allocate human and computational resources to increase the practicality and efficiency of Earth AI research.

A Phanerozoic gridded dataset for palaeogeographic reconstructions

Global Plate Models are widely used in the Earth Sciences to reconstruct the past geographic position of geological and palaeontological samples. However, the application of Global Plate Models to retrieve ‘palaeocoordinates’ is not trivial. Different Global Plate Models exist which vary in their complexity, spatiotemporal coverage, reference frame, and intended use. Consequently, careful consideration of which models are appropriate for any given research question is required. Here, we document and provide access to reconstruction datasets for five Global Plate Models in the palaeomagnetic reference frame. These datasets provide ‘true’ palaeolatitudes for three discrete global grids reconstructed at one-million-year intervals throughout the Phanerozoic (540–0 Ma), offering three key benefits for the Earth Science community: (1) allow users to look up palaeocoordinates for their samples (e.g. fossil occurrences) through simple indexing without having to learn additional software packages; (2) provide palaeocoordinates which have been generated consistently with thorough documentation; (3) provide static files which preserve model output and which can be used to evaluate palaeogeographic differences between Global Plate Models.

PENGARUH MODEL PEMBELAJARAN EARTHCOMM PADA MATA PELAJARAN GEOGRAFI TERHADAP KEMAMPUAN BERPIKIR SPASIAL SISWA DI SMA NEGERI 2 KOTA KUPANG

Earth Science System In The Community Learning Model is a model that is oriented towards problems that occur in the earth that can be solved within the scope of the community (society). The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the Earth Science Community (EarthComm) learning model i n geography subjects on students' spatial thinking skills at SMA Negeri 2 Kota Kupang. The type of research used is quantitative research, the method used is quasi-experimental with the form of research design is Nonequivalent Control Group Design. The population of this study is all students of class XI IPS with sampling techniques using saturated sampling techniques. The results of this study indicate that the average value of the experimental class is higher than the control class. It is known that the average value of the control class is 69.57 and the experimental class is 75.86 so that there is a difference between the two. Based on the results of data analysis of the Independent Sample T-Test test, there is an effect of the Earth Science System in the Community (EarthComm) learning model in geography subjects on students' spatial thinking skills compared to the control class using the conventional model. The EarthComm learning model is recommended to be used as a variation of teacher learning in the application of the learning model. This model can also be develo ped by other researchers by adding moderator variables or other media.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion in paleolimnology: insights from the 2022 IAL-IPA symposium

This report provides insights into ways that paleolimnology is becoming, and can continue to be more diverse, equitable and inclusive. Ideas presented here came during the organization, and in part, out of a special session held during the Joint Meeting of the International Association of Limnogeology (IAL) and the International Paleolimnology Association (IPA), conducted virtually (27–29 April 2022) and in-person, in Bariloche, Argentina (27 November to 1 December 2022). It was the first time in 55 years that the combined IAL-IPA meeting (held separately prior to 2018) hosted a special session to address issues beyond the value of scientific information in lake sediments. That session, “Beyond just research data: the value of outreach, education, equality, and inclusion around lakes,” included topics such as Third Mission activities, i.e., the economic and social missions of universities and how they contribute to the broader community. It also addressed challenges to diversifying our Earth Science community, which is still characterized by underrepresentation of women, especially at the highest academic levels, suffers from the “parenthood effect,” which affects both women and men, and often fails to adequately support dual-career couples, especially in Europe. Efforts to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) included: (1) a virtual IAL-IPA meeting for Early Career Researchers (ECRs), conducted months before the in-person conference in Argentina, (2) a special session on DEI challenges and values, (3) financial support for ECRs and attendees from low-income countries, (4) equitable ECR awards, (5) consideration of gender equity during plenary and oral presentations, (6) remote presentations, including both live and pre-recorded talks, (7) utilization of multiple communication platforms to disseminate information to conference participants, and organization of science-communication activities, and (8) pre- and post-conference courses and workshops. These efforts were supported by the local organizing committee and by the establishment of the first DEI Working Group. ECRs dominated the in-person Joint Meeting (200 of 300 attendees), which we view as an opportunity to promote changes in our discipline. We encourage members of our community to work collaboratively to shape diverse research groups and identify leaders who will promote more equitable and inclusive workplaces.

In situ X-ray and IR probes relevant to Earth science at the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

Access to synchrotron X-ray facilities has become an important aspect for many disciplines in experimental Earth science. This is especially important for studies that rely on probing samples in situ under natural conditions different from the ones found at the surface of the Earth. The non-ambient condition Earth science program at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, offers a variety of tools utilizing the infra-red and hard X-ray spectrum that allow Earth scientists to probe Earth and environmental materials at variable conditions of pressure, stress, temperature, atmospheric composition, and humidity. These facilities are important tools for the user community in that they offer not only considerable capacity (non-ambient condition diffraction) but also complementary (IR spectroscopy, microtomography), and in some cases unique (Laue microdiffraction) instruments. The availability of the ALS’ in situ probes to the Earth science community grows especially critical during the ongoing dark time of the Advanced Photon Source in Chicago, which massively reduces available in situ synchrotron user time in North America.

Testing Approximate Infrared Scattering Radiative-transfer Methods for Hot Jupiter Atmospheres

The calculation of internal atmospheric (longwave) fluxes is a key component of any model of exoplanet atmospheres that requires radiative-transfer (RT) calculations. For atmospheres containing a strong scattering component such as cloud particles, most 1D multiple-scattering RT methods typically involve numerically expensive matrix inversions. This computational bottleneck is exacerbated when multitudes of RT calculations are required, such as in general circulation models (GCMs) and retrieval methods. In an effort to increase the speed of RT calculations without sacrificing too much accuracy, we investigate the applicability of approximate longwave scattering methods developed for the Earth science community to hot Jupiter atmospheres. We test the absorption approximation and variational iteration method (VIM) applied to typical cloudy hot Jupiter scenarios, using 64-stream DISORT calculations as reference solutions. We find the four-stream VIM variant is a highly promising method to explore for use in hot Jupiter GCM and retrieval modeling, and it shows excellent speed characteristics, with typical errors ∼1% for outgoing fluxes and within ∼50%, but with larger errors in the test case of a deep cloud layer, for vertical heating rates. Other methods explored in this study were found to typically produce similar error characteristics in vertical heating rates.

Global Seismic Networks Operated by the U.S. Geological Survey

Abstract The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Global Seismographic Network (GSN) Program operates two thirds of the GSN, a network of state-of-the-art, digital seismological and geophysical sensors with digital telecommunications. This network serves as a multiuse scientific facility and a valuable resource for research, education, and monitoring. The other one third of the GSN is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the operations of this component are overseen by EarthScope. This collaboration between the USGS, EarthScope, and NSF has allowed for the development and operations of the GSN to be a truly multiuse network that provides near real-time open access data, facilitating fundamental discoveries by the Earth science community, supporting the earthquake hazards mission of the USGS, benefitting tsunami monitoring by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and contributing to nuclear test monitoring and treaty verification. In this article, we describe the installation and evolution of the seismic networks operated by the USGS that ultimately led to the USGS portion of the GSN (100 stations under network codes IU, IC, and CU) as they are today and envision technological advances and opportunities to further improve the utility of the network in the future. This article focuses on the USGS-operated component of the GSN; a companion article on the GSN stations funded by the NSF and operated by the Cecil and Ida Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego by Davis et al. (2023) appears in this volume.

How the Marsden Fund has failed to achieve its full potential in the ESA panel: evidence of limitations in scope, biased outcomes, and futile applications

We have analysed the scope of proposals funded by the ‘Earth Sciences and Astronomy’ (ESA) panel of the Marsden Fund for the period 2004 to 2013. The scope of proposals funded is very limited and does not reflect the full remit of the panel: the successful projects fail to encompass the quality and quantity of research being undertaken within the Earth sciences community in New Zealand, and a number of sub-disciplines that seek to address fundamental and important problems within the Earth sciences are largely excluded. Moreover, nearly 50% of the funded proposals for the past decade have been made to just two institutions. To address these limitations, we suggest that: (1) a review is undertaken to examine and widen the scope of the panel to encompass sub-disciplines that demonstrably are never or rarely funded; (2) the composition of panel members be examined and modified to reflect a much wider scope of sub-disciplines within the Earth sciences; and (3) a review of the wide discrepancies in funding distributions on an institutional basis be undertaken. We want to ensure that a more representative range of sub-disciplines, in keeping with modern and realistic definitions of the Earth sciences, is funded through this panel, and so we also recommend the formation of a new panel for ‘Environmental and Earth-system Sciences’ that could encompass the research involving modern-day processes so that applications in these sub-disciplines are not pointless. In addition, it is clear that a very substantial increase in funding to the Marsden Fund must be sought.

Reaching Further with Earth Science Data

Earth Sciences cover a broad spectrum of research fields such as petrology, sedimentology, structural geology, seismology, and geomorphology, to name a few, which aim to understand interrelated processes on the surface and in the interior of our planet. Many of the research questions studied in the Earth sciences, such as, understanding past climates, the human impact on the Critical Zone*1, or the co-evolution of the geo- and biosphere, require interdisciplinary approaches, employing methodologies and integrating observations from diverse subdisciplines such as geochemistry, mineralogy, geophysics, and paleontology, but also increasingly from other disciplines, specifically biology and genomics. The use of data and samples in multi- and interdisciplinary research is substantially facilitated by consistent metadata including schemas and vocabularies, data formats, and data exchange protocols. The association of Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) with the Earth Science part of the Natural Sciences has, until recently, been largely limited to palaeontology, primarily due to its close affinity with biology. Standards have been developed that support the taxonomy of fossils and include terms for "deep time" intervals (chrono- and bio-stratigraphy) and "paleo-surface environment" (sedimentology). Other important and highly relevant fields such as mineralogy, geochemistry, meteoritics, and soil sciences have not been included or coordinated with so far. Although some progress is being made with the ongoing development of the Mineral Extension for Darwin Core and the inclusion of some geological terms in Latimer Core (Woodburn et al. 2022), more effort should be made to link and align with existing and emerging data standards in these Earth Science communities. These Earth Science communities are very active, building their own domain-specific FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data standards and infrastructures with data systems such as EarthChem, the Astromaterials Data System, Mindat, and WoSIS. We will introduce the users, data systems, and community standards and best practices, including metadata, vocabularies, and persistent identifiers for data and samples being used and developed in the subdisciplines of the Earth Sciences mentioned above. We advocate for collaboration and coordination with these fields to make TDWG more inclusive, expand accessible resources, and provide an opportunity for TDWG to link to these other communities. Broader networking within an interdisciplinary research framework has the potential to address more fundamental and over-arching issues of both scientific and public relevance.

Bridging Computational Stratigraphy and Reservoir Simulation for Geologically Realistic High-Resolution Reservoir Modeling

Summary Computational stratigraphy (CompStrat) is a state-of-the-art Earth-modeling method that captures the key heterogeneities in subsurface reservoirs through modeling of the detailed flow and sediment transportation processes in various depositional environments. The method is fully based on physics and generates high-resolution 3D Earth models that are much more geologically realistic than those generated by traditional Earth-modeling methods. It can accurately predict and preserve those spatially continuous but vertically thin and volumetrically insignificant layers, such as shale layers, thus enabling a much more accurate representation of natural reservoir connectivity. In the past few years, CompStrat has been studied mainly within the Earth science community and has not been broadly applied yet in reservoir simulation research and practices. Our objective is to bridge this gap and allow this frontier technology to offer geologically realistic Earth models for reservoir simulation to better understand how various geological features contribute and control subsurface flow patterns and performance, subsequently leading to better integration among Earth modeling, flow simulation, and more reliable reservoir performance predictions. CompStrat models often have large numbers of cells (hundreds of millions or more). A large proportion of them are related to thin shale layers. These thin cells can often cause convergence difficulties in reservoir simulations. We developed a grid coarsening method to dramatically reduce the cell number and the simulation time with minimal alteration of the overall model connectivity characteristics. The method reduces the cell number by 85% (to 93%) and the simulation time by 94% (to 99%) with limited loss of accuracy for representative examples. Without this method, the simulation may take impractically long time to run for large models with complex multiphase flow dynamics. The successful removal of the computational bottleneck enables the application of this frontier Earth-modeling method in high-fidelity reservoir simulation. It also facilitates a detailed understanding of the connection between geology and flow to offer valuable insight for reservoir modeling, production forecast uncertainty analysis, and history matching. We developed a method to label, evaluate, and rank geological features based on their influence on flow performance, with shale layers being the specific focus. The labeling is performed semiautomatically, and the evaluation and ranking are done efficiently with a reduced-physics solver. The result is statistically consistent across multiple realizations. The fluvial-deltaic CompStrat sector model on which our grid coarsening and shale analysis methods were tested is shared in the Supplementary Materials.

10Be at iThemba LABS using a silicon nitride membrane stack as absorber for isobar suppression

10Be is an important isotope for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) because of the demand for cosmogenic radionuclide dating methods in the earth science and paleo-sciences community. At the iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Science (iThemba LABS) we implemented full suppression of the interfering isobar 10B using a silicon nitride foil-stack, utilizing the 2+ charge state for high efficiency. We demonstrate the performance of this newly established AMS system using standards and test samples. We further present the results of an inter-comparison between iThemba LABS and the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, on AMS samples prepared from purified quartz at the University of Vermont. The results for 10Be from the laboratories are in close agreement, fully consistent with cross-calibration between them. AMS results for 26Al are in similarly good agreement, demonstrating the performance and accuracy of iThemba LABS for the most commonly measured in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides.

International Geodiversity Day: from grassroots geoscience campaign to UNESCO recognition

Abstract The paper documents the process of proclaiming International Geodiversity Day as a grassroots initiative of the Earth science community for the benefit of our present civilization and for future generations. The huge support that this initiative has gained among scientists around the world has contributed to the rapid circulation of documents necessary to establish an international day at the UNESCO Forum. The paper presents the timeline of this process of proclaiming International Geodiversity Day, its implications and the course of the first celebrations in 2022.

Toward Earth system modeling with resolved clouds and ocean submesoscales on heterogeneous many-core HPCs.

With the aid of the newly developed 'Sunway' heterogeneous-architecture supercomputer, which has world-leading HPC (high-performance computer) capability, a series of high-resolution coupled Earth system models (SW-HRESMs) with up to 5km of atmosphere and 3km of ocean have been developed. These models can meet the needs of multiscale interaction studies with different computational costs. Here we describe the progress of SW-HRESMs development, with an overview of the major advancements made by the international Earth science community in HR-ESMs. We also show the preliminary results of SW-HRESMs with regard to capturing major weather-climate extremes in the atmosphere and ocean, stressing the importance of permitted clouds and ocean submesoscale eddies in modeling tropical cyclones and eddy-mean flow interactions, and paving the way for further model development to resolve finer scales with even higher resolution and more realistic physics. Finally, in addition to increasing model resolution, the development procedure for a non-hydrostatic cloud and ocean submesoscale resolved ESM is discussed, laying out the major scientific directions of such a huge modeling advancement.

Development of the Miniature Robotic Electrodialysis (MR ED) System for Small‐Scale Desalting of Liquid Samples With Recovery of Organics

AbstractWhile liquid environments with high salt content are of broad interest to the Earth and Planetary Science communities, instruments face challenges in detecting organics in hypersaline samples due to the effects of salts. Therefore, technology to desalt samples before analysis by these instruments would be enabling for liquid sampling on missions to Mars or ocean worlds. Electrodialysis (ED) removes salt from aqueous solutions by applying an electric potential across a series of ion‐selective membranes, and is demonstrated to retain a significant percentage of dissolved organic molecules (DOM) in marine samples. However, current electrodialysis systems used for DOM recovery are too large for deployment on missions or for use in terrestrial fieldwork. Here, we present the design and evaluation of the Miniature Robotic Electrodialysis (MR ED) system, which is approximately 1/20th the size of heritage instruments and processes as little as 50 mL of sample at a time. We present tests of the instrument efficiency and DOM recovery using lab‐created solutions as well as natural samples taken from an estuary of the Skidaway River (Savannah, GA) (Verity, 2002) and from South Bay Saltworks (San Diego, CA) (Roseman & Watry, 2008; Survey, 2011). Our results show that the MR ED system removed 97%–99% of the salts in most samples, with an average DOC recovery range from 53% to 77%, achieving similar capability to tabletop instruments. This work both demonstrates MR ED as a possible field instrument and increases the technology readiness level of miniaturized electrodialysis systems for future missions.

Deconstructing plate tectonic reconstructions

The evolving mosaic of tectonic plates across the surface of the Earth sets boundary conditions for the evolution of biotic and abiotic processes and helps shape the dynamics of its interior. Reconstructing plate tectonics back through time allows scientists from a range of disciplines (such as palaeobiology, palaeoclimate, geodynamics and seismology) to investigate Earth evolution through these spatiotemporal dimensions. However, the variety and complexity of plate reconstructions can lead to some of their limitations being overlooked. In this Technical Review, we discuss the domain-specific knowledge underpinning modern quantitative plate reconstructions and convey a set of principles on how to use (but not abuse) the software or results. Open-source plate tectonic reconstruction software, like GPlates, has led to a major shift in working practices, handing non-specialists the tools to develop and integrate reconstructions based on their own datasets and expertise. However, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ and users need to understand what data and underlying assumptions go into making different, sometimes competing reconstruction models. It is therefore essential to consider the many ways reconstructions simplify reality when interpreting them to avoid circular reasoning. Although many aspects of deep-time reconstructions remain unresolved, future work on intercomparisons between models and uncertainty quantification is an essential pathway towards next-generation plate reconstructions. The advent of advanced plate tectonic reconstruction software has instigated an explosive growth in their generation and use by the wider Earth science community. This Technical Review provides a best-practice guide for quantitative plate reconstructions and their applications.

Remotely Sensed Soil Moisture Can Capture Dynamics Relevant to Plant Water Uptake

AbstractA frequently expressed viewpoint across the Earth science community is that global soil moisture estimates from satellite L‐band (1.4 GHz) measurements represent moisture only in a shallow surface layer (0–5 cm) and consequently are of limited value for studying global terrestrial ecosystems because plants use water from deeper rootzones. Using this argumentation, many observation‐based land surface studies avoid satellite‐observed soil moisture. Here, based on peer‐reviewed literature across several fields, we argue that such a viewpoint is overly limiting for two reasons. First, microwave soil emission depth considerations and statistical considerations of vertically correlated soil moisture information together indicate that L‐band measurements carry information about soil moisture extending below the commonly referenced 5 cm in many conditions. However, spatial variations of effective depths of representation remain uncertain. Second, in reviewing isotopic tracer field studies of plant water uptake, we find a prevalence of vegetation that primarily draws moisture from these upper soil layers. This is especially true for grasslands and croplands covering more than a third of global vegetated surfaces. Even some deeper‐rooted species (i.e., shrubs and trees) preferentially or seasonally draw water from the upper soil layers. Therefore, L‐band satellite soil moisture estimates are more relevant to global vegetation water uptake than commonly appreciated (i.e., relevant beyond only shallow soil processes like soil evaporation). Our commentary encourages the application of satellite soil moisture across a broader range of terrestrial hydrosphere and biosphere studies while urging more rigorous estimates of its effective depth of representation.

A New Scope and Aims for Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists

AbstractThe journal Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists has expanded both its aims and its scope to better serve the community of Earth and space scientists and represent its diverse range. Perspectives is now adding several new article formats to better meet the needs of the Earth and space science community. These include memorials, commentaries, debates, opinion pieces, and news updates. The journal remains fully open access with publication costs borne by the American Geophysical Union, but is no longer by‐invitation‐only and welcomes submissions from all segments of the geophysical community to better represent the diversity in nationality, ethnicity, culture, gender, and career stage of Earth and space scientists.

FAIR Research Objects for realizing Open Science with RELIANCE EOSC project

FAIR Research Objects for realizing Open Science with RELIANCE EOSC project

In situ Lu–Hf geochronology of calcite

Abstract. The ability to constrain the age of calcite formation is of great utility to the Earth science community, due to the ubiquity of calcite across a wide spectrum of geological systems. Here, we present the first in situ laser ablation inductively coupled tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS/MS) Lu–Hf ages for calcite, demonstrating geologically meaningful ages for iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) and skarn mineralisation, carbonatite intrusion, and low-grade metamorphism. The analysed samples range in age between ca. 0.9 and ca. 2 Ga with uncertainties between 1.7 % and 0.6 % obtained from calcite with Lu concentrations as low as ca. 0.5 ppm. The Lu–Hf system in calcite appears to be able to preserve primary precipitation ages over a significant amount of geological time, although further research is required to constrain the closure temperature. The in situ approach allows calcite to be rapidly dated while maintaining its petrogenetic context with mineralisation and other associated mineral processes. Therefore, LA-ICP-MS/MS Lu–Hf dating of calcite can be used to resolve the timing of complex mineral paragenetic sequences that are a feature of many ancient rock systems.