OCTOPUS: An Open Cosmogenic Isotope and Luminescence Database

Sabine Kraushaar March 13, 2018

The OCTOPUS web interface. Overlaying an adaptively scalable Google Terrain Map, sampling points and catchment polygons can be interactively interrogated, and studies of interest can be selected for download (credit: Henry Munack, University of Wollongong).

– written by Henry Munack, University of Wollongong –

In geomorphology, radiometric dating methods have been on the rise during the past decades. Notably cosmogenic nuclide applications and luminescence dating gained great popularity because they quantitatively capture geomorphic processes on their process-inherent timescales.

To date, globally more than 4,200 in situ detrital catchment-averaged 10Be data are available, forming a highly variable, statistically resilient dataset that represents substantial effort of both capital and labour.

However, published data are often still inaccessible to researchers, are frequently subject to lacking crucial information, and are commonly different in underlying calculation and standardisation algorithms. Resulting data disharmony has confounded the purposeful (re)use of published 10Be-derived data, for instance for inter-study comparison, for looking at the greater picture of Earth surface’s downwearing or for innovative data revaluation.

Aiming to do away with these problems, OCTOPUS: An Open Cosmogenic Isotope and Luminescence Database has been made available online under the lead of the University of Wollongong (UOW) and with support from the Australian National Data Service (ANDS). Data are hosted and maintained at UOW and are available to the research community via an OGC compliant Web Map Service.

The cosmogenic radionuclide part of the database consists of 10Be and 26Al measurements in fluvial sediment samples along with ancillary geospatial vector and raster layers, including sample site, basin outline, digital elevation model, gradient raster, flow direction and flow accumulation rasters, atmospheric pressure raster, and nuclide production scaling and topographic shielding factor rasters. The database further includes comprehensive metadata and all necessary information and input files for the recalculation of denudation rates using CAIRN (Mudd et al., 2016), an open source program for calculating catchment-averaged denudation rates from 10Be and 26Al data.

The luminescence part of the database consists of thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) measurements in fluvial sediment samples from stratigraphic sections and sediment cores from across the Australian continent and includes ancillary vector and raster geospatial data.

OCTOPUS can be accessed at: https://earth.uow.edu.au

A manuscript describing the database in detail is available from the open access journal Earth System Science Data (Discussions). The preprint is now accessible and open for interactive public discussion until 01 May 2018 at: https://www.earth-syst-sci-data-discuss.net/essd-2018-32/

You are invited to download the data and take part in the discussion.

– written by Henry Munack, University of Wollongong –

Young Geomorphologists’ Workshop 2018

Sabine Kraushaar February 28, 2018

11th International Young Geomorphologists Meeting 2017 near Munich (credit to YG Germany)

Since 2007, the German Young Geomorphologists organize annual workshops in order to support networking amongst early career geomorphology enthusiasts. The meetings provide a platform for open discussions on a wide range of problems that might have emerged within a particular research project.

This year, we invite all interested young researchers / students in geomorphology and related fields to join the 12th international Young Geomorphologists’ workshop at Stadtoldendorf, Germany, held from 25th-27th May 2018. The venue is located at a lake ca. 1 hour southwest of Hildesheim. In a mixture of oral presentations, posters, a keynote and a short fieldtrip, we will have the opportunity to discuss in an open and informal environment.

The workshop fee will probably be ~50 € for full board. Please find more information on the meeting in the flyer.

Please fill in the registration form and send it to jgtreffen@googlemail.com until April 6th. Please note that the number of participants is limited to c. 45 this year. We will send you an e-mail until April 17th to let you know if you can participate. This e-mail will include all further details and the account information for the workshop fee.

European Critical Physical Geography – or how power relations can be considered during research set ups

Sabine Kraushaar April 10, 2017

– written by Christian Schneider (University of Leipzig) and Sabine Kraushaar (University of Vienna) –

Group of Critical Physical Geography Scientist from around Europe. Organizers left frist row: Prof. Rebecca Lave (Indiana University) and behind her Prof. Stuart Lane (Université de Lausanne).

In March this year the first European Critical Physical Geography (CPG) Workshop took place in Berlin bringing together 19 scholars from different European and American research institutions and backgrounds under the lead of Rebecca Lave and Stuart Lane and the financial support by their affiliations Indiana University and the Université de Lausanne.

The workshop intended to:

(i) support the exchange between scientists who follow – or want to follow – a critical approach in their research,

(ii) create a legible base for their proposals and

(iii) promote the ideas.

But let’s start slowly first – What is CPG?

CPG research aims at “critical attention to power relations with deep knowledge of biophysical science or technology in the service of social and environmental transformation” (Lave et al. 2013).

So far scholars who consider themselves part of CPG are engaged in hydrological modeling, geomorphology, critiques on ecosystem services assessments, food sciences, timber production and land use change assessments. Most of the works are influenced by political ecology, science and technology studies, integrative approaches in geography as well as systems theory and critical approaches from political and human geography.

Additionally the workshop made clear that for many scholars in Europe CPG means as well:

a space to discuss scientific and activist approaches to dismantle power relations embodied in biophysical systems and/or the perspectives on as well the use of biophysical systems, rather than a new scientific discipline next to political ecology, human geography, physical geography etc.
a cooperative and integrative platform to critically reflect on the own work in physical geography as well as in other natural sciences.
a school of thought influenced by critical geographical thinkers like David Harvey, Doreen Massey and Neil Smith.
Scholars in CPG might also consider themselves as part of societal decision making rather than an objective scientists only providing facts to stakeholders.

Session on the intellectual roots of CPG? How is CPG different from existing interdisciplinary research traditions, such as socio-ecological systems? How is it different from political ecology?

An elementary question of the workshop was how to transform science into CPG research?

Firstly, we as scholars who are interested in CPG need to reflect which epistomologies and onthologies are used in our fields of research, and what kind of knowledge counts and who benefits from the knowledge and data we are producing. Following these considerations, one might stumble over research questions that do not only focus on the measurement of slope instabilities and natural hazards in a certain area but ask for the political and economic factors influencing the spatial distribution of these hazards. Or who suffers from it in what way? Moreover, it became clear that CPG is hard to imagine without a transdisciplinary approach. Many will say at this point that they include stakeholders already in their research through leaflets, presentations or a homepage. However, CPG meant for all the participants that we allow the researched to “talk back to us” and include stakeholders in a way that they are not only informed but actually shape the way how research is done, this way valuing local knowledge and researching an actual demand beside the fundamental interests in a research object.

Let’s put critical into physical geography!

Discussing How do we actually do this? How can we embed critical perspectives in physical models? How can we investigate the co-constitution of eco-social systems? What are the material substances through which structural inequalities are (re)produced?

Most – if not all – of our current environmental challenges cannot be fully understood from only one disciplines perspective. In order to understand urging problems of our time we need to know about the relevant processes and flows of matter and energy as well as about the structures of power which cause and shape the impacts of biophysical phenomena. We need to understand and incorporate critical social and political geographical approaches to analyze social power relations in order to design new critical approaches and foci to assess biophysical systems.

And a lot of work has been done already if we look at Political Ecology, Critical Geography as well as the discourses about a social-ecological transformation and DeGrowth.

The CPG workshop in Berlin also fed into recent attempts to establish a more natural science oriented branch of Critical Geography during the annual meetings of the Critical Geography Network in Germany. Therefore, feel free to contribute to the Research Workshop for Critical Geography 2017 in Bremen or the current initiative to organize a Conference on Critical Geography in Tübingen this year. If you are interested in this topic let’s have a meeting at the EGU 2017 and let’s think about a session on critical physical geography at the EGU 2018.

Interested? Please feel free to contact us!

Christian Schneider: Christian.Schneider@uni-leipzig.de

Sabine Kraushaar: Sabine.Kraushaar@univie.ac.at

– written by Christian Schneider (University of Leipzig) and Sabine Kraushaar (University of Vienna) –

7th Young Geomorphologists’ Day in Naples/ Italy

Sabine Kraushaar March 14, 2017

The Italian Young Geomorphologists represented by Irene Bollati (front row, green jacket) and Francesca Vergari invite you to join their event in June 2017. Group shot taken during the fieldtrip in Sardinia at the 6th Young Geomorphologists’ Day in 2015

IMPORTANT NOTICE! All those who tried to subscribe to the VII Young Geomorphologists Day 2017, should re-send all the documentation to the mail address convaigeonapoli17@gmail.com because of technical problems that are now fixed!

We are glad to invite You to the “7th Young Geomorphologists’ Day” that will be held in Naples (Italy) on 15th-16th June 2017

The main topic is “Innovative technologies for monitoring and digitally modeling past and present geomorphological processes”.

During the first day there will be the Oral and Poster Session.

During the second day a fieldtrip including a short course on monitoring systems for submerged and emerged sandy beach monitoring is organized.

All the information (timetable, registration form etc.) are available here!!!

Waiting for your participation, we remain at disposal for all the information you need (italianyounggeomorphologists@gmail.com)

– Irene Bollati, University degli Studi in Milan

& Francesca Vergari, University “La Sapienza” in Rome –

The Real Museo Mineralogico in Naples, location of the first day of the Congress.

The Garigliano River Mouth and sandy coast, where the fieldtrip of the second day will take place.