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Abstract The StraboSpot data system provides field-based geologists the ability to digitally collect, archive, query, and share data. Recent efforts have expanded this data system with the vocabulary, standards, and workflow utilized by the sedimentary geology community. A standardized vocabulary that honors typical workflows for collecting sedimentologic and stratigraphic field and laboratory data was developed through a series of focused workshops and vetted/refined through subsequent workshops and field trips. This new vocabulary was designed to fit within the underlying structure of StraboSpot and resulted in the expansion of the existing data structure. Although the map-based approach of StraboSpot did not fully conform to the workflow for sedimentary geologists, new functions were developed for the sedimentary community to facilitate descriptions, interpretations, and the plotting of measured sections to document stratigraphic position and relationships between data types. Consequently, a new modality was added to StraboSpot—Strat Mode—which now accommodates sedimentary workflows that enable users to document stratigraphic positions and relationships and automates construction of measured stratigraphic sections. Strat Mode facilitates data collection and co-location of multiple data types (e.g., descriptive observations, images, samples, and measurements) in geographic and stratigraphic coordinates across multiple scales, thus preserving spatial and stratigraphic relationships in the data structure. Incorporating these digital technologies will lead to better research communication in sedimentology through a common vocabulary, shared standards, and open data archiving and sharing.
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Improving the Practice of Geology through Explicit Inclusion of Scientific Uncertainty for Data and Models
The field of geology is poised to make a fundamental transition in the quality, character, and types of science that are possible for practitioners. Geologists are developing data systems—consistent with their workflow—to digitally collect, store, and share data. Separately, geologists and cognitive scientists have been working together to develop tools that can characterize the level of uncertainty of both data and models. The transformational change comes from the simultaneous combination of these two approaches: digital data systems designed to capture and convey scientific uncertainty. This approach promotes better data collection practice, improves reproducibility, and increases trust in community-based digital data. We applied these methods—attending to uncertainty and its incorporation into digital repositories—to the Sage Hen Flat pluton in eastern California, USA, where two published maps provide different interpretations. Incorporating uncertainty into our workflow, from field data collection to publication, allows us to move beyond binary choices (e.g., is this data/model right or wrong?) to a more nuanced view (e.g., what is my level of uncertainty about the data/model?) that is shareable with the larger community.
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- PAR ID:
- 10474709
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Geological Society of America
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- GSA Today
- Volume:
- 33
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 1052-5173
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 4 to 9
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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he StraboSpot data system provides field-based geologists the ability to digitally collect, archive, query, and share data. Recent efforts have expanded this data system with the vocabulary, standards, and workflow utilized by the sedimentary geology community. A standardized vocabulary that hon-ors typical workflows for collecting sedimentologic and stratigraphic field and laboratory data was developed through a series of focused workshops and vetted/refined through subsequent workshops and field trips. This new vocabulary was designed to fit within the underlying structure of StraboSpot and resulted in the expansion of the existing data structure. Although the map-based approach of StraboSpot did not fully conform to the workflow for sedimentary geologists, new functions were developed for the sedimen-tary community to facilitate descriptions, interpretations, and the plotting of measured sections to document stratigraphic position and relationships between data types. Consequently, a new modality was added to StraboSpot—Strat Mode—which now accommodates sedimentary workflows that enable users to document stratigraphic positions and relationships and automates construction of measured stratigraphic sections. Strat Mode facilitates data collection and co-location of multiple data types (e.g., descriptive observa-tions, images, samples, and measurements) in geographic and stratigraphic coordinates across multiple scales, thus preserving spatial and stratigraphic relationships in the data structure. Incorporating these digital technologies will lead to better research communication in sedimentology through a common vocabulary, shared standards, and open data archiving and sharing.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1130/GSATG560A.1
