Nature to be commanded...Earth-science maps applied to land and water management
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Mobile laser scanning applied to the earth sciences
Lidar (light detection and ranging), a method by which the precise time of flight of emitted pulses of laser energy is measured and converted to distance for reflective targets, has helped scientists make topographic maps of Earth's surface at scales as fine as centimeters. These maps have allowed the discovery and analysis of myriad otherwise unstudied features, such as fault scarps, river channels, and even ancient ruins [Glennie et al., 2013b].
Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
The distribution of uranium over Europe: Geological and environmental significance
The variation of baseline levels of uranium in soil and stream sediments over Europe is described, based on new data prepared by the Forum of European Geological Surveys (FOREGS). The samples have been collected and analysed according to the protocols established for the International Union of Geological Sciences/International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry (IUGS/IAGC) Working Group on Global Geochemical Baselines. The baseline levels of U vary between 0??21 to 53 mg kg-1 in topsoils, 0??19 to 30 mg kg-1 in subsoils and < 1 to 59 mg kg-1 in stream sediments. There is generally good agreement between the levels of U in the three sample types, and the median concentration in all three media is approximately 2 mg kg-1. The most anomalous baseline levels occur over the Variscan orogen, especially areas into which late post-orogenic radiothermal high heat production (HHP) granites were emplaced. Spiderdiagrams based on trace element levels and rare earth element (REE) plots, confirm the association between the highest U anomalies and evolved radiothermal granites. High values are also associated with parts of the Alpine terrain especially in Slovenia, where there are historical U workings, and Southern Italy, where high values of U reflect contemporary volcanism. In contrast, much of the Caledonides of North West Europe and the Precambrian of the Baltic Shield and East European craton and its overlying sedimentary cover have very low values, generally < 4 mg kg-1. The results suggest that the main concern for the environment and human health from U, and the Th and K with which it is generally associated, is the naturally occurring total gamma radiation and radon potential associated with radiothermal granites. This is likely to be especially important where the granites are mineralised and have been worked historically, for example in the North West of the Iberian Peninsula where U and its decay products are likely to be more dispersed in the surface environment. The study also indicates the value of multi-element data in distinguishing between anthropogenic and naturally occurring anomalies.
Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Meta↗
Trace metal-rich Quaternary hydrothermal manganese oxide and barite deposit, Milos Island, Greece
The Cape Vani Mn oxide and barite deposit on Milos Island offers an excellent opportunity to study the three-dimensional characteristics of a shallow-water hydrothermal system. Milos Island is part of the active Aegean volcanic arc. A 1 km long basin located between two dacitic domes in northwest Milos is filled with a 35-50 m thick section of Quaternary volcaniclastic and pyroclastic rocks capped by reef limestone that were hydrothermally mineralized by Mn oxides and barite. Manganese occurs as thin layers, as cement of sandstone and as metasomatic replacement of the limestone, including abundant fossil shells. Manganese minerals include chiefly δ-MnO2, pyrolusite and ramsdellite. The MnO contents for single beds range up to 60%. The Mn oxide deposits are rich in Pb (to 3.4%), BaO (to 3.1%), Zn (to 0.8%), As (to 0.3%), Sb (to 0.2%) and Ag (to 10 ppm). Strontium isotopic compositions of the Mn oxide deposits and sulphur isotopic compositions of the associated barite show that the mineralizing fluids were predominantly sea water. The Mn oxide deposit formed in close geographical proximity to sulphide-sulphate-Au-Ag deposits and the two deposit types probably formed from the same hydrothermal system. Precipitation of Mn oxide took place at shallow burial depths and was promoted by the mixing of modified sea water (hydrothermal fluid) from which the sulphides precipitated at depth and sea water that penetrated along faults and fractures in the Cape Vani volcaniclastic and tuff deposits. The hydrothermal fluid was formed from predominantly sea water that was enriched in metals leached from the basement and overlying volcanogenic rocks. The hydrothermal fluids were driven by convection sustained by heat from cooling magma chambers. Barite was deposited throughout the time of Mn oxide mineralization, which occurred in at least two episodes. Manganese mineralization occurred by both focused and diffuse flow, the fluids mineralizing the beds of greatest porosity and filling dilatational fractures along with barite.
Milos Island↗
Abstracts for the symposium on the application of neural networks to the earth sciences
Artificial neural networks are a group of mathematical methods that attempt to mimic some of the processes in the human mind. Although the foundations for these ideas were laid as early as 1943 (McCulloch and Pitts, 1943), it wasn't until 1986 (Rumelhart and McClelland, 1986; Masters, 1995) that applications to practical problems became possible. It is the acknowledged superiority of the human mind at recognizing patterns that the artificial neural networks are trying to imitate with their interconnected neurons. Interconnections used in the methods that have been developed allow robust learning. Capabilities of neural networks fall into three kinds of applications: (1) function fitting or prediction, (2) noise reduction or pattern recognition, and (3) classification or placing into types. Because of these capabilities and the powerful abilities of artificial neural networks, there have been increasing applications of these methods in the earth sciences. The abstracts in this document represent excellent samples of the range of applications. Talks associated with the abstracts were presented at the Symposium on the Application of Neural Networks to the Earth Sciences: Seventh International Symposium on Mineral Exploration (ISME–02), held August 20–21, 2002, at NASA Moffett Field, Mountain View, California. This symposium was sponsored by the Mining and Materials Processing Institute of Japan (MMIJ), the U.S. Geological Survey, the Circum-Pacific Council, and NASA. The ISME symposia have been held every two years in order to bring together scientists actively working on diverse quantitative methods applied to the earth sciences. Although the title, International Symposium on Mineral Exploration, suggests exclusive focus on mineral exploration, interests and presentations have always been wide-ranging—abstracts presented here are no exception.
Open-File Report↗
Some results from ModEM3DMT, the freely available OSU 3D MT inversion code
At the 3DEM-5 workshop in 2013, we presented a paper entitled "ModEM: developing 3D EM inversion for the masses", outlining our then recent development of a modular system for inversion of EM geophysical data, called ModEM. As promised in that presentation, we made a version of the code that is suitable for 3D modeling and inversion of magnetotelluric data freely available for academic use shortly thereafter. There are now over 250 registered users, of ModEM3DMT from around the globe. To date at least 50 publications cite use of ModEM for 3D inversion of real MT datasets to address diverse problems in applied and basic Earth Science research at a range of scales. Here we present an overview of some of these results, focusing on studies that the authors have been involved in, and are thus most familiar to us.
Conference Paper↗
National preparedness strategy & action plan for potentially hazardous near-Earth objects and planetary defense
Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun, but have orbits that can bring them into Earth’s neighborhood—within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. Planetary defense is “applied planetary science” to address the NEO impact risks on Earth. This National Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan for Near-Earth Objects and Planetary Defense (2023 Planetary Defense Strategy) updates the United States’ first comprehensive Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan, released in 2018. The 2023 Planetary Defense Strategy builds on existing efforts by Federal Departments and Agencies to address the hazard of near-Earth object impacts, includes evaluation of where progress has been made since 2018, and focuses future work on planetary defense across the U.S. government. The 2023 Planetary Defense Strategy maintains and updates the core five goals of the 2018 Strategy and Action Plan, while adding a sixth goal to improve governance and interagency coordination on planetary defense issues across Federal Departments and Agencies for the decade ahead. The 2023 Planetary Defense Strategy focuses on six goals: • Goal 1: Enhance NEO detection, tracking, and characterization capabilities. • Goal 2: Improve NEO modeling, prediction, and information integration. • Goal 3: Develop technologies for NEO deflection and disruption missions. • Goal 4: Increase international cooperation on NEO preparation. • Goal 5: Strengthen and routinely exercise NEO impact emergency procedures and action protocols. • Goal 6: Improve U.S. governance of planetary defense through new interagency collaboration.
Report↗
An overview on current fluid-inclusion research and applications
This paper provides an overview of some of the more important developments in fluid-inclusion research and applications in recent years, including fluid-inclusion petrography, PVTX studies, and analytical techniques. In fluid-inclusion petrography, the introduction of the concept of 'fluid-inclusion assemblage' has been a major advance. In PVTX studies, the use of synthetic fluid inclusions and hydrothermal diamond-anvil cells has greatly contributed to the characterization of the phase behaviour of geologically relevant fluid systems. Various analytical methods are being developed and refined rapidly, with the Laser-Raman and LA-ICP-MS techniques being particularly useful for volatile and solute analyses, respectively. Ore deposit research has been and will continue to be the main field of application of fluid inclusions. However, fluid inclusions have been increasingly applied to other fields of earth science, especially in petroleum geology and the study of magmatic and earth interior processes.
Acta Petrologica Sinica↗
Climate Change Research at USGS Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS)
Research and development projects at EROS apply unique resources to support the USGS mission of developing understanding, monitoring, and modeling of climate variability and change and their human, physical, and biological impacts. Remote sensing resources, both new and archived, form the core of our ability to determine changes in the state or condition of the Earth’s surface and its dynamic landscape and ecosystem processes. This rich resource provides powerful biophysical information for local to global areas. Archival data form the basis for assessing human and climate impacts on the land surface, trends of land use, and an understanding of climate and management impacts. Biophysical information from satellite data is assimilated into quantitative models that allow all disciplines of the USGS to understand impacts on ecosystem processes. Major processes and problems we address include: carbon fluxes, hydrological processes, albedo changes and regional climates, mangroves and wetland protection of coastal environments, natural and manmade hazards (e.g., fire and drought), ecosystem change and succession, land use and land cover change, and more. The integration of remote sensing, modeling, and multidisciplinary approaches fosters international scientific leadership across all disciplines for the USGS.
Fact Sheet↗
Probing the Earth's strength: Can we measure small stress at high pressure?
Simulating the conditions and processes that occur in the Earth's deep interior has been a major goal of experimental geophysics since the 1920s. In particular, pioneers such as P. W. Bridgman, David Griggs, Hugh Heard, Mervyn Paterson, William Brace, and their colleagues sought to establish the basic relations between differential stresses and rock and mineral deformation under pressure-temperature conditions that favor such inelastic processes as brittle fracture, frictional sliding, plastic deformation, and dynamic metamorphism. This work has been applied to diverse problems in the Earth sciences, including the physical nature of earth quake sources, the forces that drive and resist plate movement, deformation under partial-melting conditions at the tops of mantle plumes, the flexure of the lithosphere, post-glacial rebound, and the origin of the preferred orientation of minerals and the resultant seismic anisotropy and metamorphic textures.
Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
Measuring sustainability of seed-funded Earth science informatics projects
Short term funding is a common funding model for informatics projects. Funders are interested in maximizing the sustainability and accessibility of the outputs, but there are no commonly accepted practices to do so in the Earth sciences informatics field. We constructed and applied a framework for sustainability drawing from other disciplines that have more published work in sustainability of projects. This framework had seven sustainability influences (outputs modified, code repository used, champion present, workforce stability, support from other organizations, collaboration/partnership, and integration with policy), and three ways of defining sustainability (at the individual-, organization-, and community-level). Using this framework, we evaluated outputs of projects funded by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Community for Data Integration (CDI). We found that the various outputs are widely accessible, but not necessarily sustained or maintained. Projects with most of the sustainability influences often became institutionalized, and met a required need of the community. Even if proposed outputs were not delivered or sustained, knowledge of lessons learned could be spread to build community capacity in a topic, which is another type of sustainability. We conclude by summarizing lessons for individuals applying for short-term funding, and for organizations running programs that provide such funding, in terms of maximizing sustainability of their projects.
PLoS ONE↗
Selected papers in the applied computer sciences 1992
This compilation of short papers reports on technical advances in the applied computer sciences. The papers describe computer applications in support of earth science investigations and research. This is the third volume in the series "Selected Papers in the Applied Computer Sciences." Listed below are the topics addressed in the compilation: Integration of geographic information systems and expert systems for resource management, Visualization of topography using digital image processing, Development of a ground-water data base for the southeastern Uited States using a geographic information system, Integration and aggregation of stream-drainage data using a geographic information system, Procedures used in production of digital geologic coverage using compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) technology, and Automated methods for producing a technical publication on estimated water use in the United States.
Bulletin↗
The digital archivist: Automating legacy macroseismic data processing using large language models
Macroseismic data are a key resource to investigate shaking and damage from preinstrumental and early instrumental eras. However, data are often stored as inconsistently formatted reports describing observed shaking and damage, making manually parsing and interpreting accounts labor‐intensive. We introduce a novel workflow using Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro large language model (LLM) to automate the extraction and structuring of macroseismic observations from summary reports. We apply this workflow to the 22 March 1957 M 5.3 Daly City, California, earthquake as a case study. We used Gemini to extract addresses, originally assigned modified Mercalli intensity values, and descriptions from each report. To address coordinate precision limits, addresses were geocoded via Google’s Geocoding application programming interface. This workflow yielded over 2300 geocoded intensity reports for the Daly City earthquake. We use the geocoded accounts, with the original report intensity assignments, to develop a shaking intensity map that in some respects rivals modern Did You Feel It? Maps. We also extract and present data for the 9 February 1971 M L 6.7 Sylmar, California, earthquake. Our results demonstrate the potential of LLMs for reliably extracting and analyzing large, unstructured macroseismic datasets. LLMs offer a scalable solution for rapidly digitizing macroseismic archives, enabling their broader use to constrain ground‐motion models in modern seismic hazard analysis and to improve our understanding of site effects in urban areas. The concepts explored here may also be applied to the handling of other legacy seismological and earth science data.
Seismological Research Letters↗
Human-in-the-Loop segmentation of earth surface imagery
Segmentation, or the classification of pixels (grid cells) in imagery, is ubiquitously applied in the natural sciences. Manual methods are often prohibitively time-consuming, especially those images consisting of small objects and/or significant spatial heterogeneity of colors or textures. Labeling complicated regions of transition that in Earth surface imagery are represented by collections of mixed-pixels, -textures, and -spectral signatures, can be especially error-prone because it is difficult to reliably unmix, identify and delineate consistently. However, the success of supervised machine learning (ML) approaches is entirely dependent on good label data. We describe a fast, semi-automated, method for interactive segmentation of N-dimensional (x, y, N) images into two-dimensional (x, y) label images. It uses human-in-the-loop ML to achieve consensus between the labeler and a model in an iterative workflow. The technique is reproducible; the sequence of decisions made by human labeler and ML algorithms can be encoded to file, so the entire process can be played back and new outputs generated with alternative decisions and/or algorithms. We illustrate the scientific potential of segmentation of imagery of diverse settings and image types using six case studies from river, estuarine, and open coast environments. These photographic and non-photographic imagery consist of 1- and 3-bands on regular and irregular grids ranging from centimeters to tens of meters. We demonstrate high levels of agreement in label images generated by several labelers on the same imagery, and make suggestions to achieve consensus and measure uncertainty, ideal for widespread application in training supervised ML for image segmentation.
Earth and Space Science↗
Users and uses of Landsat 8 satellite imagery—2014 survey results
Executive Summary In 2013, Landsat 8 began adding high quality, global, moderate-resolution imagery to the more than 40-year archive of Landsat imagery. To assess the potential effects of the availability of Landsat 8 imagery on users and their work, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Land Remote Sensing Program (LRS) initiated a survey of Landsat users. The objectives of the survey were to 1. Characterize various Landsat user groups, such as United States (U.S.) and international users and Landsat 8 and non-Landsat 8 users; 2. Identify any differences among user groups in uses and preferences; 3. Measure the importance of and satisfaction with Landsat 8 attributes; 4. Assess the importance to users of the frequency of usable imagery; and 5. Determine any challenges in using Landsat 8. The online survey was sent to 51,617 Landsat users registered with USGS in May 2014. Almost 13,000 people responded to the survey for a response rate of 25 percent (n = 12,966). Current Landsat users (users who had used Landsat in their work in the year prior to the survey) composed 89 percent of the sample (n = 11,549) and past Landsat users composed 11 percent (n = 1,417). The results reported here apply to current Landsat users registered with the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. Users from 161 countries responded to the survey. Of those, 19 percent were citizens or permanent residents of the United States and 81 percent resided in other countries. More than 70 percent of current users had used Landsat 8 in the year prior to the survey. The majority of Landsat 8 users (65 percent) were established users who used Landsat imagery regularly both before and after Landsat 8 imagery became available. The average current Landsat user was male, 36 years old, and highly educated, with 9 years of experience using satellite imagery or geographic information system (GIS) software. Landsat 8 users had, on average, two more years of experience than non-Landsat 8 users. Users were employed predominantly by academic institutions (65 percent), followed by private businesses (13 percent), Federal governments (10 percent), State and local governments (6 percent), and nonprofit organizations (6 percent). Of the Landsat imagery obtained in the past year by current users, on average 31 percent came from a Landsat 8 sensor. An equivalent amount came from the Landsat 7 ETM+ sensor (33 percent); slightly less came from Landsats 4 and 5 TM sensors (27 percent). Much less came from Landsats 1 through 5 MSS sensors (5 percent). Overall, more than a third of users’ work used Landsat imagery (38 percent). Of this work, on average, 37 percent of the work was operational. Landsat 8 users considered a greater proportion of their work operational than non-Landsat 8 users (39 percent compared with 29 percent). Environmental sciences and management were the most commonly selected primary applications (selected by 42 percent of users). Land use/land cover (23 percent) was the second most commonly selected primary application, followed by education (12 percent), agriculture (9 percent), and planning and development (6 percent). Landsat 8 users were asked to rank the importance of certain attributes in determining whether to use Landsat 8 imagery in their work. The archive was ranked most important, followed by cost, spatial resolution, extent of coverage, data quality, and frequency of revisit. Users were asked how satisfied they were with these same attributes as they currently apply to Landsat 8 imagery. On average, users were most satisfied with lack of cost, extent of coverage, data quality, and the archive, but they were satisfied with all attributes. Users were asked how often they needed Landsat imagery to meet various requirements for their primary application. The survey question specifically asked how often users needed usable imagery, which differs from how often they would like the Landsat satellites to acquire an image. Users were asked to identify their needed frequency of usable imagery for the following levels: 1. Threshold level—the minimum frequency of usable imagery needed to be of any value to their primary application. 2. Breakthrough level—the frequency of usable imagery that would result in a significant improvement for their primary application of the imagery. 3. Target level—the frequency of usable imagery that would only provide a limited additional increase in the expected performance for their primary application. To meet the threshold level, three-quarters of users needed usable imagery every 17 days or less frequently. At the breakthrough level, two-thirds of users (64 percent) needed a usable image every 5–16 days. The current constellation of two satellites (Landsat 7 and 8) is capable of meeting the threshold and breakthrough needs of most users at least some of the time, but a single satellite would be highly unlikely to do so. Two-fifths of users (40 percent) felt that usable imagery provided every 4 days or more frequently would meet their target level which the current Landsat constellation cannot provide. Landsat 8 users were significantly more likely than non-Landsat 8 users to need usable imagery more frequently to meet their target levels. Additionally, U.S. Landsat 8 users were significantly more likely than other Landsat users to need usable imagery more frequently in order meet both their breakthrough and target levels. To explore the effect of the availability of Landsat 8 imagery on Landsat imagery use in general, established users (those who had consistently used Landsat imagery both before and after Landsat 8 imagery became available) using Landsat 8 imagery were asked about changes in the amount of Landsat imagery they used. The majority of established users using Landsat 8 imagery (60 percent) reported an average increase of 51 percent in the number of scenes obtained after Landsat 8 imagery became available. Landsat 8 users were asked if they had encountered challenges in using Landsat 8 whereas non-Landsat 8 users were asked if such challenges had played a role in why they were not using Landsat 8 imagery. Although many users did not encounter challenges when using or trying to use Landsat 8 data, slightly less than 30 percent did encounter issues with processing the data to a usable point. The most common issue reported was not being able to create or have access to a surface reflectance corrected product. Other challenges were related to the file sizes of images being too large to download, store, or analyze. There were no statistically significant differences between Landsat 8 and non-Landsat 8 users in terms of challenges encountered when using or trying to use the imagery, which indicates that users were not unduly discouraged by the challenges they may have encountered. When asked about potential consequences of not using Landsat 8, more than half of the non-Landsat 8 users did not report detrimental effects on their work from not using the imagery. Of those who did report detrimental effects, decreased quality of work, decreased scope of work, and increased time spent on work were the most common.
Open-File Report↗
Digital terrain modelling and industrial surface metrology - Converging crafts
Quantitative characterisation of surface form, increasingly from digital 3-D height data, is cross-disciplinary and can be applied at any scale. Thus, separation of industrial-surface metrology from its Earth-science counterpart, (digital) terrain modelling, is artificial. Their growing convergence presents an opportunity to develop in surface morphometry a unified approach to surface representation. This paper introduces terrain modelling and compares it with metrology, noting their differences and similarities. Examples of potential redundancy among parameters illustrate one of the many issues common to both disciplines. ?? 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufac↗
Nature . . . an environmental yardstick
To one who has spent his professional career in geologic science, conservation always has had special meaning. In the measurements so necessary to his work the geologist develops an integrity in the use of numbers and in the qualifications attending the validity of numbers. Scientific analysis of geologic events and sequence develops a keen sense of what is coincidental, correlative, and consequential. The geologist applies his science in evaluating hazards to man as natural catastrophes and/or benefits to man such as earth materials that form the resource base of his society. But more than these the geologist has acquired a deep appreciation for the planet as a whole, its inner structure, its landscape, and the living things that abound.
Information and Technology Report↗
The spatially adaptable filter for error reduction (SAFER) process: Remote sensing-based LANDFIRE disturbance mapping updates
LANDFIRE (LF) has been producing periodic spatially explicit vegetation change maps (i.e., LF disturbance products) across the entire United States since 1999 at a 30 m spatial resolution. These disturbance products include data products produced by various fire programs, field-mapped vegetation and fuel treatment activity (i.e., events) submissions from various agencies, and disturbances detected by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS)-based Remote Sensing of Landscape Change (RSLC) process. The RSLC process applies a bi-temporal change detection algorithm to Landsat satellite-based seasonal composites to generate the interim disturbances that are subsequently reviewed by analysts to reduce omission and commission errors before ingestion them into LF’s disturbance products. The latency of the disturbance product is contingent on timely data availability and analyst review. This work describes the development and integration of the Spatially Adaptable Filter for Error Reduction (SAFER) process and other error and latency reduction improvements to the RSLC process. SAFER is a random forest-based supervised classifier and uses predictor variables that are derived from multiple years of pre- and post-disturbance Landsat band observations. Predictor variables include reflectance, indices, and spatial contextual information. Spatial contextual information that is unique to each contiguous disturbance region is parameterized as Z scores using differential observations of the disturbed regions with its undisturbed neighbors. The SAFER process was prototyped for inclusion in the RSLC process over five regions within the conterminous United States (CONUS) and regional model performance, evaluated using 2016 data. Results show that the inclusion of the SAFER process increased the accuracies of the interim disturbance detections and thus has potential to reduce the time needed for analyst review. LF does not track the time taken by each analyst for each tile, and hence, the relative effort saved was parameterized as the percentage of 30 m pixels that are correctly classified in the SAFER outputs to the total number of pixels that are incorrectly classified in the interim disturbance and are presented. The SAFER prototype outputs showed that the relative analysts’ effort saved could be over 95%. The regional model performance evaluation showed that SAFER’s performance depended on the nature of disturbances and availability of cloud-free images relative to the time of disturbances. The accuracy estimates for CONUS were inferred by comparing the 2017 SAFER outputs to the 2017 analyst-reviewed data. As expected, the SAFER outputs had higher accuracies compared to the interim disturbances, and CONUS-wide relative effort saved was over 92%. The regional variation in the accuracies and effort saved are discussed in relation to the vegetation and disturbance type in each region. SAFER is now operationally integrated into the RSLC process, and LANDFIRE is well poised for annual updates, contingent on the availability of data.
Fire↗