Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Social and Behavioral Sciences
POSSIBILITIES OF CHANGE DETECTION OF TREE AND FOREST ATTRIBUTES BY COMBINING TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING BASED 3D POINT CLOUDS WITH UAV DATA
Published: 2020-04-01
Subjects: Forest Management, Forest Sciences, Geography, Life Sciences, Remote Sensing, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Exact and up-to-date information about forest resources is needed for decision makers when planning the use of forests. Knowledge about changes in forest environment and tree growth is a key factor for example when predicting the effects of climate change and estimating the amount of biomass and sequestered carbon in forests. New technologies, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), allow one to [...]
International disparities in open access practices of the Earth Sciences community
Published: 2020-03-31
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Glaciology, Hydrology, Library and Information Science, Mineral Physics, Other Earth Sciences, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Soil Science, Speleology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
Short communication on international disparities in open access practices of the Earth Sciences community
On the potential of preprints in geochemistry: the good, the bad and the ugly
Published: 2020-03-21
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Library and Information Science, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Short communication on the use of preprint in geochemistry
Editorial: Geoscience in a time of pandemics
Published: 2020-03-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geography, Medical Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
We, the Executive Editors at Geoscience Communication, sincerely hope that this message finds you and your loved ones in good health. We are in the midst of yet another global health crisis, the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). This affects all of us, and we truly hope that you are remaining safe and taking all necessary precautions. We all are facing difficult times ahead, and we hope that we [...]
Integrating UAV photogrammetry with terrestrial laser scanning to characterize managed forest stands
Published: 2020-03-04
Subjects: Forest Sciences, Geography, Life Sciences, Remote Sensing, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) provides detailed three-dimensional representation of the surrounding forest structure. However, due to close-range hemispherical scanning geometry the ability of TLS technique to comprehensively characterize the upper parts of forest canopy is often limited. To overcome challenges in upper canopy characterization, TLS point cloud were complemented with a point [...]
The what, how and why of human coprolite analysis in archaeology
Published: 2020-02-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Life Sciences, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Coprolites are a highly informative but still underutilized proxy for understanding past environments, palaeodiets, and ancient human health. Here we provide a critical review of the history and current state of research in human coprolite analysis encompassing, macroscopic, microscopic, and biomolecular approaches. We present new data from a number of key sites which demonstrates how new [...]
‘Scallywag Bunkers’: Geophysical Investigations of WW2 Auxiliary Unit Operational Bases (OBs) in the UK
Published: 2020-02-05
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Education, Geography, Other Earth Sciences, Other Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
In 1940, with the fall of France imminent, Britain prepared for invasion. After Dunkirk, with most armour and transport lost, a defence ‘stop line’ (GHQ Line) was prepared. Local Defence Volunteers (later Home Guard) were raised to buy time for the Home Army to deploy. Secret ‘Auxiliary Units’ were also formed, tasked with ‘Scallywagging’ – guerrilla activities ––in the invading army’s rear. 4-8 [...]
Risk Assessment for Scientific Data
Published: 2020-01-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Library and Information Science, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
This is a preprint draft of the paper that was officially published in the Data Science Journal. Please quote from the published version: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-010. Abstract: Ongoing stewardship is required to keep data collections and archives in existence. Scientific data collections may face a range of risk factors that could hinder, constrain, or limit current or future data use. [...]
Economic incentives for raising coastal flood defenses in Europe
Published: 2020-01-09
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Extreme sea levels (ESLs) in Europe could rise by as much as one meter or more due to climate change by the end of this century. Without adaptation measures, annual damages from coastal flooding in Europe could increase sharply from €1.4 billion nowadays to at least €90 billion by 2100. While damages will be lower than those figures as countries continue to protect their coast, there has been no [...]
Coastal flooding will disproportionately impact people on river deltas
Published: 2020-01-09
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Studies, Geography, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Climate change is intensifying tropical cyclones, accelerating sea-level rise, and increasing coastal flooding. Coastal flooding will not affect all environments equally, and river deltas are especially vulnerable because of their low elevations, densely populated cities, and river channels that propagate coastal floods inland. Yet, we do not know how many people live on deltas and their exposure [...]
The economic implications of using a truly preindustrial climate baseline
Published: 2019-12-04
Subjects: Climate, Geography, Human Geography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
The pervasive impacts of climate change can result in scientific decisions having unforeseen societal implications. To demonstrate this, we explore the global and regional economic implications of adopting an earlier preindustrial baseline of 1400-1800 for climate policy targets instead of the commonly used early industrial period of 1850-1900 for which we have observational data. Because of [...]
Low-cost electronic sensors for environmental research: pitfalls and opportunities
Published: 2019-11-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Repeat observations underpin our understanding of environmental processes but financial constraints often limit scientists’ ability to deploy dense networks of conventional commercial instrumentation. Rapid growth in the Internet-Of-Things (IOT) and the maker movement is paving the way for low-cost electronic sensors to transform global environmental monitoring. Accessible and inexpensive sensor [...]
Constructing statutory energy goal compliant wind and solar PV infrastructure pathways
Published: 2019-10-31
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Geography, Meteorology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Spatial Science
Concerns over climate change have led governments around the world to establish a range of renewable, low-carbon energy goals. Plans for meeting these targets vary widely in their ambition, specificity, and time horizons. Wind and solar electricity generation will feature prominently in future energy systems that meet these renewable, low-carbon energy goals. Implementing large-scale wind and [...]
Hydropower dependency and climate change in sub-Saharan Africa: A nexus framework and evidence-based review
Published: 2019-09-06
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, International and Area Studies, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
In sub-Saharan Africa, 160 million grid-connected electricity consumers live in countries where hydropower accounts for over 50% of total power supply. A warmer climate with more frequent and intense extremes could result in supply reliability issues. Here, (i) a robust framework to highlight the interdependencies between hydropower, water availability, and climate change is proposed, (ii) the [...]
Communicating with public audiences about the geological subsurface: thinking inside the box.
Published: 2019-08-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Community concerns over resource extraction and public anxieties about insertion of waters and waste are creating a growing societal unease about geological exploitation of the subsurface. Addressing these emergent areas of socially contested subsurface geoscience is difficult for many academic and industrial geologists, not least because translating unfamiliar concepts of the geological [...]