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SZ4D Workshop

by Christine Regalla (Northern Arizona University), Adam Kent (Oregon State University), Heather Savage (UC Santa Cruz), Nathan Niemi (University of Michigan)

Dec 15, 2022

A workshop for the field geoscience community to participate in SZ4D project design

Workshop on Field-Based SZ4D activities, Denver CO, October 8, 2022


SZ4D hosted an in person workshop at the fall GSA meeting, that provided an engaging opportunity for the field geoscience community to participate in SZ4D project design, and to network with members of the scientific community interested in similar research problems. Workshop participants consisted of ~35 student, early career, and established scientists from a range of disciplines with expertise in geomorphology, volcanology, structural geology, petrology, and geophysics covering field, experimental, and modeling approaches. The workshop included three breakout sessions, centered around:

  1. the needs of field geoscientists to perform safe, efficient, and effective research

  2. the data required from specific disciplines to answer SZ4D research questions, and

  3. potential strategies to collect SZ4D data and foster interdisciplinary collaboration centered around around field based activities.


The workshop also included guest presentations from IODP and CONVERSE to learn how these organizations coordinate, or plan to coordinate, community based geoscience research campaigns. 


A major outcome identified by those in attendance included the recognition that SZ4D research questions require integration of field-based studies from a large number of scientists from a range of disciplines, working in coordinated ways on specific research questions. Participants also recognized that the scale of work and coordination of scientists required to answer SZ4D science questions is much larger than can be accomplished through single PI projects alone, and that coordination of community activities would be required. Additional outcomes included specific recommendations for data collection needs to answer the key research questions that fall under the Landscapes and Seascapes, Magmatic Drivers of Eruption, and Faulting and Earthquake Cycles working groups. The workshop participants were enthusiastic about activities that would centralize and coordinate support for field logistics such as vehicles, safety, lodging, field safety, coordination with local stakeholders, land access, permissions, sample and equipment shipping. There was also support for adoption of standard practices in data collection, metadata, and archiving, including long term curation of physical samples. Workshop participants also identified the need for organized activities such as PI matching events, proposal writing workshops, field workshops, and coordinated field data collection expeditions to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and onboarding of new scientists. Such needs could be partially met through dedicated staff at an SZ4D center, and through support for SZ4D field stations or sample repositories. 


More

 

Visit the meeting webpage


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