Geophysical Research Articles

Measurement of Science Literacy Skills of Elementary School Teacher Education Students: Development and Validity Testing of Assessment Instruments

This study aims to develop and test the validity and reliability of a scientific literacy instrument for students of the Elementary School Teacher Education (PGSD) Program. The instrument was designed to measure three dimensions of scientific literacy: content knowledge, procedural knowledge, and epistemic knowledge, focusing on Earth and Space Science topics. A total of 18 questions were constructed based on indicators that assess the ability to explain scientific phenomena, evaluate scientific investigations, and interpret scientific data. The instrument was tested on 33 PGSD students at Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) and analyzed using the Content Validity Index (CVI) and reliability tests via SPSS software. The results indicated that most items were valid, with an S-CVI/Ave value of 0.981 and an S-CVI/UA value of 0.8333. However, one item was found invalid with an I-CVI score of 0.67. The reliability test showed that some questions had a good level of reliability, while others required revision due to low reliability. Additionally, analysis using the Item Response Theory (IRT) revealed that the questions varied in difficulty and discrimination, with most questions having positive discrimination values and a range of difficulty levels. Overall, the instrument was found to be valid and reliable for assessing the scientific literacy of PGSD students, although some questions need revision to improve consistency and accuracy.

Distributed network of optically pumped magnetometers for space weather monitoring.

Spatial variation in the intensity of magnetospheric and ionospheric fluctuations during solar storms creates ground-induced currents, of importance in both infrastructure engineering and geophysical science. This activity is presently measured using a network of ground-based magnetometers, typically consisting of extensive installations at established observatory sites. We show that this network can be enhanced by the addition of remote quantum magnetometers which combine high sensitivity with intrinsic calibration. These nodes utilize scalable hardware and run independently of wired communication and power networks. We demonstrate that optically pumped magnetometers, utilizing mass-produced and miniaturized components, offer a single scalable sensor with the sensitivity and stability required for space weather observation. We describe the development and deployment of an off-grid magnetic sensing node, powered by a solar panel, present observed data from periods of low and high geomagnetic activity, and compare it to existing geomagnetic observatories.

A crustal Pb isotope map of southeastern Australia.

Lead isotopes are a powerful geochemical tracer and a popular tool applied across a broad range of scientific fields, e.g., earth sciences, archaeology, and forensic sciences. Here we present a Pb isotope dataset collected from 232 igneous samples, spanning a ca. 2.3 million km2 area in southeastern Australia, and over 3 billion years of Earth history. This contribution provides a range of isotopic maps showing the spatial variability of Pb isotopes (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb), magma source U/Pb and Th/U, and model ages. The samples selected for this study encompass U- and Th-poor media (i.e., K-feldspar), and U- and Th-bearing sampling media (i.e., whole-rock), providing a temporally and spatially resolved image of U and Th distribution in the crust, and their influence on crustal Pb through radiogenic ingrowth. This dataset has the potential to benefit a wide variety of different disciplines and is an important resource for addressing earth science questions ranging from unravelling crustal differentiation and architecture, through tracing magma source U- and Th-enrichment, to mineral deposit genesis.

Geology: The Once and Future Crown Jewel of Science?

As a field geologist, I have been involved in the overwhelming excitement of three scientific revolutions—a mini revolution in structural geology, the impact-extinction revolution that freed geology from uncompromising uniformitarianism, and the plate tectonic revolution that turned the routine field of geology into one of the most exciting and essential sciences of the present time. I have also worked across several discipline boundaries, an activity I call scientific trespassing. My career has unfolded in such unexpected ways that, like anyone's life and like the history of our planet, it can only be seen as a most improbable journey. A focus on these three concepts and on the history of geology (a traditional name used here for all the Earth sciences) leads to the understanding that geology was once the crown jewel of sciences, and that after a century of necessary but routine geologic mapping, geology now needs to resume its crown jewel role because the understanding and care of our planet is becoming humanity's most urgent task.

Predicting trends in atmospheric CO2 across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition using existing climate archives

Abstract. During the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT), ca. 1200–800 000 years ago (ka), the Earth's glacial cycles changed from 41 to 100 kyr periodicity. The emergence of this longer ice age periodicity was accompanied by higher global ice volume in glacial periods and lower global ice volume in interglacial periods. Since there is no known change in external orbital forcing across the MPT, it is generally agreed that the cause of this transition is internal to the Earth system. Resolving the climate, carbon cycle, and cryosphere processes responsible for the MPT remains a major challenge in Earth and palaeoclimate science. To address this challenge, the international ice core community has prioritised recovery of an ice core record spanning the MPT interval. Here we present results from a simple generalised least-squares (GLS) model that predicts atmospheric CO2 out to 1.8 Myr. Our prediction utilises existing records of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) from Antarctic ice cores spanning the past 800 kyr along with the existing LR04 benthic δ18Ocalcite stack (Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005; hereafter “benthic δ18O stack”) from marine sediment cores. Our predictions assume that the relationship between CO2 and benthic δ18O over the past 800 000 years can be extended over the last 1.5 million years. The implicit null hypothesis is that there has been no fundamental change in feedbacks between atmospheric CO2 and the climate parameters represented by benthic δ18O, global ice volume, and ocean temperature. We test the GLS-model-predicted CO2 concentrations against observed blue ice CO2 concentrations, δ11B-based CO2 reconstructions from marine sediment cores, and δ13C of leaf-wax-based CO2 reconstructions (Higgins et al., 2015; Yan et al., 2019; Yamamoto et al., 2022). We show that there is no clear evidence from the existing blue ice or proxy CO2 data to reject our predictions or our associated null hypothesis. A definitive test and/or rejection of the null hypothesis may be provided following recovery and analysis of continuous oldest ice core records from Antarctica, which are still several years away. The record presented here should provide a useful comparison for the oldest ice core records and an opportunity for further constraints on the processes involved in the MPT.

Using Google Earth Engine open-source code for land surface temperature estimation from Landsat data in Chuong My district, Hanoi city, Vietnam

Land surface temperature (LST) in association with urbanization has significantly influenced on local climates and terrestrial surface processes. By using multi-temporal Landsat data in the GEE platform, the study has found that there have been changes in land covers due to the main drivers of industrial development, urban and built-up expansion. This study estimated land surface temperature (LST) in Chuong My district from Landsat 5, 7, 8 and 9 thermal infrared sensors, using different surface emissivity sources. The Google Earth Engine (GEE), an advanced earth science data and analysis platform, offers the estimation of LST products, covering the time period from 2000 to 2024 in study site. RF algorithm for land cover classification and mapping is suggested to be applied in Chuong My district, with overall accuracy of land cover mapping in 2024 being 91.9% with Kappa coefficient of 0.89. The period 2000-2010 showed that 327.0 ha of land were converted to land for industrial development, urban and residential land, while the period 2010-2024 continued to witness a continued conversion of land to other land use purposes, with a decrease in agricultural land area (65.7 ha) and an increase in industrial land use (65.2 ha), but the rate of conversion was much lower than the previous period (2000-2024). The periods of 2000-2010 and 2010-2024 showed that there have been significant changes in land surface temperature. Most of the surface temperature in the entire region increased by over 20C, especially in the period 2003-2015 when a total area of 1424 ha had the temperature increased by above 30C. This is a consequence of the process of urbanization and industrialization, which began to take place in 2008, along with the process of changing the land cover status of the study area. Further studies are needed to better understand the thermal conductivity of surface materials and to plan how to reduce LST in such areas.

Evolution and Research Trends in Physical Culture. A Longitudinal Analysis of Student Diploma Theses from the Didactic Team of Physical Culture Sciences, formerly the Department of Physical Culture, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, 2017-2024

Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive analysis of diploma theses produced in the Department of Physical Culture at the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management between 2017-2024, to identify main research trends, thematic evolution, and assess the impact of external factors on research directions in the field of physical culture. Material and Methods: The analysis included 95 diploma theses (82 bachelor's and 13 master's). Mixed research methods were applied, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis. Content analysis, statistical analysis (including chi-square tests, analysis of variance, linear regression), and advanced data analysis methods (LDA topic modeling, social network analysis, SARIMA time series analysis) were conducted. Additionally, measures of thematic diversity and supervisor specialization indicators were applied. Results: A statistically significant upward trend in the number of theses (β = 1.1875, p = 0.0134) and significant seasonality of defenses were found. Five main thematic areas were identified: physical activity and health (29.5%), tourism (23.2%), sport (21.1%), health (15.8%), and recreation (10.5%). LDA analysis revealed more detailed categories, indicating growing interdisciplinarity of research. A significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on thesis topics was observed in 2020-2021. Social network analysis showed a key role of certain supervisors in shaping research directions (highest eigenvector centrality = 1.00). Conclusions: The study revealed dynamic development of the physical culture discipline, with growing emphasis on interdisciplinarity and health aspects. Adaptation of research topics to current social and technological challenges was observed. Results indicate the need for further expansion of the thematic scope of theses, particularly in areas of new technologies and long-term effects of physical activity. The analysis provides valuable information for strategic planning of study program development and research directions in the field of physical culture, tourism, and recreation.

120 Years of earth and environmental sciences in the South African Journal of Science

120 Years of earth and environmental sciences in the South African Journal of Science

A short introduction to neural networks and their application to Earth and Materials Science

A short introduction to neural networks and their application to Earth and Materials Science

Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowships (NSF)

Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowships (NSF)

Calculating ‘climate migrants’: An emerging topology of power

On what basis can it be said that climate change contributes to human migration? What are we to make of new statistical models used to construct the relationship between these two epochal phenomena? This article proposes Collier’s conception of topology to characterize the novel politics of gravity modelling, a technique increasingly used to calculate numeric estimates of ‘climate migrants’. These models do not simply signify a revival or repetition of political sovereignty, nor an affirmation of biopower, but a novel recalibration of power arising in response to the climate crisis. This recalibration signals the early stages of a new topology of power organized around intuitive calculation. To make this claim, the article draws on recent discussions in geography on the relationship between calculation, number and the political to first situate the models within contemporary critical scholarship on climate change and migration. It then examines the models’ statistical logics, in particular how intuition, inference and the incalculable shape three facets of this emerging topology: the correlation of Earth science data with population-level economic data; the calculation of mobile populations; and the unique spatiality at stake in gravity modelling.

Is It Always Advisable to Promote Geodiversity and Geoheritage in a Traditional Recreational Area? A Case Study from Brno Reservoir and Its Surroundings (Czechia)

Geodiversity and geoheritage represent an important resource for geotourism and subsequent economic development both in remote natural areas and in traditional, frequently visited recreational areas. Identification, assessment, and suitable management of particular geosites may contribute to the development of sustainable forms of tourism and attract more people to the topics of geodiversity and geoheritage. However, if there is only one aim represented by geotourism development, there can be a danger of overexploitation of geoheritage, especially if the sites are promoted less adequately and not provided suitable protection. This paper is focused on the assessment of particular sites, in terms of their Earth science interest, regarding their geotourist and geoeducational potential; it is also focused on an assessment of possible risks and threats which may be related to the higher promotion and more intensive use of these sites. Based on this, proposals for sustainable management, both for geotourism and geoeducational development and nature conservation, are presented and discussed.

AI-Enhanced Remote Sensing Applications in Earth Science Processes for Enhancing Sanitation Workers’ Safety

AI-Enhanced Remote Sensing Applications in Earth Science Processes for Enhancing Sanitation Workers’ Safety

Report on the “National Conference on Women in Geosciences: Opportunities, Challenges and Accomplishments”, (2- 4 September, 2024) National Centre for Earth Science Studies, MoES, Thiruvananthapuram

Report on the “National Conference on Women in Geosciences: Opportunities, Challenges and Accomplishments”, (2- 4 September, 2024) National Centre for Earth Science Studies, MoES, Thiruvananthapuram

The Rise of AI for Earth Science: A Call for Deeper Scientific Deliberation—Insights from the Climate, Weather, and Water Forum 2024

The Rise of AI for Earth Science: A Call for Deeper Scientific Deliberation—Insights from the Climate, Weather, and Water Forum 2024

Comprehensive carbon footprint of Earth, environmental and space science laboratories: Implications for sustainable scientific practice

To limit global warming below 2°C, a drastic overall reduction from current green-house gas emissions is needed. Scientists should also participate in this effort in their professional activity and especially Earth scientists, on the grounds of maintaining credibility and leading by example. The strategies and measures to reach a low-carbon scientific activity require detailed estimates of the current footprint of laboratories. Here, we present the footprint of six laboratories in Earth, environmental and space sciences, with a comprehensive scope also including international research infrastructures. We propose a novel method to attribute a part of the footprint of any research infrastructure to the laboratory using it. Our results highlight that most laboratories have annual footprints reaching 10–20 tonnes CO2equivalent per person (tCO2e p-1), dominated by infrastructures and specifically satellites in three cases (with footprints up to 11 tCO2e p-1), while air-travels and purchases remain within the top three sources in all cases (2–4 tCO2e p-1 each). Consequently, footprints related to commuting and laboratory functioning, about 2 tCO2e p-1 or less, are relatively modest compared to infrastructures, purchases and air-travels. Thus, reduction measures ignoring infrastructures may not be able to achieve reductions larger than 20 to 35% even with flight quotas and a substantial reduction of purchases. Finally, we also discuss how a deeper transformation of scientific practices, away from competitive, grant-based and innovation-oriented current practices, could make Earth and environmental sciences more sustainable and at the forefront of rapid and drastic changes in the whole society toward environment and climate preservation.

Role of chemical processes and porous media in thermal transport of Casson nanofluid flow: A study with Riga plates

A Riga plate is an electro-magnetic instrument working with anodes and magnets on plates. The Riga plate has numerous advantages in geophysical sciences, the field of engineering, sensors,and astrophysics.The present work investigated the transitory Electromagnetohydrodynamic radiative squeezing unsteady motion of Casson nanofluid through a parallel channel impacted by the Riga plate with endothermic/exothermic chemical processes and porous media. The PDEs transform into non-linear ODEs using the appropriate similarity transformations. The RKF-45 method and Shooting techniques are utilized to compute the solutions to these non-linear ODEs and related boundary conditions. The consequences of non-dimensional parameters on the corresponding profiles are illustrated graphically. And also studied some significant engineering coefficients. The primary findings of the present study are a rise in the thermal relaxation time parameter, temperature increases for the exothermic chemical reaction case, and opposite behavior in the endothermic chemical reaction case. Enhancement in activation energy parameter, the temperature drops for exothermic and increases for the endothermic case. The value of the modified Hartmann number rises, the velocity profile is also increased in the lower plate and the opposite behavior in the upper plate. Increase in Biot number, temperature decreases in the exothermic case and increases in the endothermic case.

Experimental investigation of the interplay between transverse mixing and pH reaction in porous media

Abstract. pH-induced reactive transport in porous environments is a critical factor in Earth sciences, influencing a range of natural and anthropogenic processes, such as mineral dissolution and precipitation, adsorption and desorption, microbial reactions, and redox transformations. These processes, pivotal to carbon capture and storage (CCS) applications to groundwater remediation, are determined by pH transport. However, the uncertainty in these macroscopic processes’ stems from pore-scale heterogeneities and the high diffusion value of the ions and protons forming the pH range. While practical for field-scale applications, traditional macroscopic models often fail to accurately predict experimental and field results in reactive systems due to their inability to capture the details of the pore-scale pH range. This study investigates the interplay between transverse mixing and pH-driven reactions in porous media. It focuses on how porous structure and flow rate affect mixing and chemical reaction dynamics. Utilizing confocal microscopy, the research visualizes fluorescently labeled fluids, revealing variations in mixing patterns from diffusive in homogeneous to shear-driven in heterogeneous media. However, pH-driven reactions show a different pattern, with a faster reaction rate, suggesting quicker pH equilibration between co-flowing fluids than predicted by transverse dispersion or diffusion. The study highlights the unique characteristics of pH change in water, which significantly influences reactive transport in porous media.

Characterizing and communicating uncertainty: lessons from NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System

Abstract Navigating uncertainty is a critical challenge in all fields of science, especially when translating knowledge into real-world policies or management decisions. However, the wide variance in concepts and definitions of uncertainty across scientific fields hinders effective communication. As a microcosm of diverse fields within Earth Science, NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) provides a useful crucible in which to identify cross-cutting concepts of uncertainty. The CMS convened the Uncertainty Working Group (UWG), a group of specialists across disciplines to evaluate and synthesize efforts to characterize uncertainty in CMS projects. This paper represents efforts by the UWG to build a heuristic framework designed to evaluate data products and communicate uncertainty to both scientific and non-scientific end users. We consider four pillars of uncertainty: addressing its origins, severity, stochasticity versus incomplete knowledge, and spatial and temporal autocorrelation. Using a common vocabulary and a generalized workflow, the framework introduces a graphical heuristic accompanied by a narrative, exemplified through contrasting case studies. Envisioned as a versatile tool, this framework provides clarity in reporting uncertainty, guiding users and tempering expectations. Beyond CMS, it stands as a simple yet powerful means to communicate uncertainty across diverse scientific communities.

Structural geological surveys and improvement of tectonic understating of the Pre-Ordovician/Tertiary Graben boundary in vicinity of Nicolaus Copernicus Polar Station, Svalbard

Researchers around the globe are on a quest to develop solutions to mitigate and prevent global warming and climate change. This includes facilitating the switch to renewable energies. Assistant Professor Slawomir Jack Giletycz, Director of the Polar Research Station in Svalbard and part of the Structural Geomorphology Research Group, Department of Earth Sciences at National Central University in Taiwan, is interested in glacial retreat in Svalbard, Norway. As the Earth warms, glaciers are melting and land that was previously buried by glaciers is being exposed. By studying this land, researchers can glean new insights. For example, Giletycz and his collaborators are performing geological mapping of areas that have been recently exposed to subaerial conditions due to the glacial retreat. They are working to develop new geological maps and interpret tectonic and structural settings. The researchers are also investigating fluvial system development and surveying particular glaciers. They are using unmanned aerial vehicles to capture aerial images of entire glacier river systems and can use the images to build a digital surface model that can be used in applications such as QGiS or ArcGiS. In the long tem, they can monitor the development of glacier fluvial systems such as sediment discharge. Another focus for the researchers is conducting plaeocoast surveys of the Kaffiøyra plain in western Svalbard. Excitingly, the researchers are the first humans to study Svalbard in this way and, through this work, they will make significant contributions to geological mapping and underpin geology, tectonics and structures.