PA11A-01 INVITED
Geoscientists Without Borders: a new SEG Foundation program sponsoring humanitarian applications of geophysics
Despite the depth of knowledge and technology in the geosciences today, it is unfortunate that direct impact
from the geosciences on improving the lives of the world's underserved people still is lacking – particularly in
the case of the geoscientists and technology residing in the energy sector. This somewhat abstract concept
took on real meaning when, as President of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) in 2004 - 2005, I
was accountable for the response of the SEG to the terrible 2004 Tsunami. This event proved to be a
catalyst and as a result of the continuing efforts of many, at the beginning of 2008, the SEG Foundation
accepted a $1,000,000 donation from Schlumberger to found Geoscientists without Borders. This program
will make grants on the order of $100,000 per year over the next five years for projects involving
humanitarian applications of geophysics. The distinguishing characteristics of this program are that
proposed projects must involve the application of geophysics to humanitarian needs and must include
geoscience students and institutions in a significant way. Thus, the program seeks not only to accomplish
significant humanitarian goals, but also to plant seeds for the future by involving next-generation scientists in
worthy causes and to foster communications on this topic among all geoscientists. Moreover, cultural and
other types of diversity are highly valued.
In this talk I will illustrate the issues involved in developing such a program and discuss ways in which it could
be strengthened by collaboration. Already, the program has made two project awards and has received
more worthwhile proposals than can be funded at this time. Although it is early days, I will discuss briefly the
funded projects as an indication of what can happen in a very short time period. We hope and expect that by
demonstrating the value of this program with early successes, it will attract significant funding to continue
beyond its initial five year funding, with permanent endowment as the ultimate goal. Judging from the initial
response to Geoscientists without Borders, this is a realistic goal.
http://www.seg.org/gwb
PA11A-02 INVITED
Educating the Engineer for Sustainable Community Development
More than ever before, we are confronting the challenges of limited resources (water, food, energy and
mineral), while also facing complex challenges with the environment and related social unrest. Resource
access problems are exacerbated by multi-scale geopolitical instability. We seek a balance that will allow
profit but also leave a world fit for our children to inherit. Many are working with small groups to make positive
change through finding solutions that address these challenges. In fact, some say that in sum, it is the
largest human movement that has ever existed.
In this talk I will share our experiences to alleviate vulnerabilities for populations of humans in need while
working with students, corporate entities and non governmental organizations. Our main focus is to educate a
new cadre of engineers that have an enhanced awareness of and better communication skills for a different
cultural environment than the one in which they were raised and are hungry to seek new opportunities to
serve humanity at a basic level.
The results of a few of the more than forty humanitarian engineering projects completed since 2003 will be
superimposed on a theoretical framework for sustainable community development. This will be useful
information to those seeking a social corporate position of responsibility and a world that more closely
approaches a sustainable equilibrium.
http://humanitarian.mines.edu/
PA11A-03
Initiatives to Reduce Earthquake Risk of Developing Countries
The seventeen-year-and-counting history of the Palo Alto-based nonprofit organization GeoHazards
International (GHI) is the story of many initiatives within a larger initiative to increase the societal impact of
geophysics and civil engineering.
GHI's mission is to reduce death and suffering due to earthquakes and other natural hazards in the world's
most vulnerable communities through preparedness, mitigation and advocacy. GHI works by raising
awareness in these communities about their risk and about affordable methods to manage it, identifying and
strengthening institutions in these communities to manage their risk, and advocating improvement in natural
disaster management.
Some of GHI's successful initiatives include: (1) creating an earthquake scenario for Quito, Ecuador that
describes in lay terms the consequences for that city of a probable earthquake; (2) improving the curricula of
Pakistani university courses about seismic retrofitting; (3) training employees of the Public Works
Department of Delhi, India on assessing the seismic vulnerability of critical facilities such as a school, a
hospital, a police headquarters, and city hall; (4) assessing the vulnerability of the Library of Tibetan Works
and Archives in Dharamsala, India; (5) developing a seismic hazard reduction plan for a nonprofit
organization in Kathmandu, Nepal that works to manage Nepal's seismic risk; and (6) assisting in the
formulation of a resolution by the Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) to promote school earthquake safety among OECD member countries.
GHI's most important resource, in addition to its staff and Board of Trustees, is its members and volunteer
advisors, who include some of the world's leading earth scientists, earthquake engineers, urban planners
and architects, from the academic, public, private and nonprofit sectors.
GHI is planning several exciting initiatives in the near future. One would oversee the design and construction
of an earthquake- and tsunami-resistant structure in Sumatra to house a tsunami museum, a community
training center, and offices of a local NGO that is preparing Padang for the next tsunami. This facility would
be designed and built by a team of US and Indonesian academics, architects, engineers and students.
Another initiative would launch a collaborative research program on school earthquake safety with the
scientists and engineers from the US and the ten Islamic countries that comprise the Economic Cooperation
Organization. Finally, GHI hopes to develop internet and satellite communication techniques that will allow
earthquake risk managers in the US to interact with masons, government officials, engineers and architects in
remote communities of vulnerable developing countries, closing the science and engineering divide.
http://www.geohaz.org
PA11A-04
A First-pass Natural Hazard Risk Assessment for the Asia-Pacific Region
The high risk of natural disasters in developing nations has considerable implications for international aid programs. Natural disasters can significantly compromise development progress and reduce the effectiveness of aid investments. In order to better understand the threat that natural disasters may pose to its development aid program, AusAID commissioned Geoscience Australia to conduct a broad natural hazard risk assessment of the Asia-Pacific region. The assessment included earthquake, volcanic eruption, tsunami, cyclone, flood, landslide and wildfire hazards, with particular attention given to countries the Australian Government considered to be of high priority to its development aid program. Geoscience Australia's preliminary natural hazard risk assessment of the region aimed to help AusAID identify countries and areas at high risk from one or more natural hazards. The frequency of a range of sudden-onset natural hazards was estimated and, allowing for data constraints, an evaluation was made of potential disaster impact. Extra emphasis was placed on relatively rare but high-impact events, such as the December 2004 tsunami, which might not be well documented in the historical record. While a detailed risk assessment was well beyond the scope of this study, it was recognized that some understanding of the potential impact of natural disasters could be achieved through the simple means of developing appropriate overlays of population and hazard. For example, given an estimate of the frequency and magnitude (VEI) at which volcanic eruptions in a certain region occur, the populations impacted could be roughly estimated by considering the average population close enough to a volcano to receive a significant impact from ash fall. Our preliminary assessment of natural hazard risk in the Asia–Pacific region highlights the potential for the region to experience a megadisaster affecting millions of people during the coming century. While the scale of such a disaster may seem greater than any recorded so far, we reached this conclusion not only because the Asia–Pacific region is home to intense geological and meteorological activity, but also because of the region's burgeoning population, which has increased more than fivefold during the 20th century. People in the region are increasingly vulnerable because of trends such as rapid urbanisation and their tendency to concentrate in areas especially prone to natural hazards. Because of the threat natural disasters pose to the progress of development, natural hazard risk management will continue to increase in importance in international development policy in the Asia–Pacific region. Our study also demonstrates how the application of very 'broad-brush' science can address important policy issues.
PA11A-05 INVITED
Can Service Learning be a Component of the Geoscience PhD?
Service learning in the science and engineering has traditionally been conducted through student clubs, or student involvement with non-profit organizations such as Engineers Without Borders or Chemists Without Borders. The newly created foundation, Geoscientists Without Borders (GWB), demonstrates that the geoscience industry and professional societies are also increasingly interested in supporting philanthropic efforts. GWB proclaims that its role is to 11Connect universities and industries with communities in need through projects using applied geophysics to benefit people and the environment around the world." In 2007, NSF convened a workshop on Humanitarian Service Science and Engineering to examine research issues and how they are being addressed. Clearly, the scientific community is eager to increase its involvement. The graduate program of Temple University's Department of Earth and Environmental Science is planning to offer a PhD degree option starting in 2009. Temple University has a long history of service learning, and our department deliberating over how to make service learning a component of a geoscience PhD. Attempting to incorporate humanitarian project formally into a PhD degree program, however, raises a number of difficult questions: Is it possible to sustain a graduate program focused on research funding and publishable results while simultaneously pursuing projects of practical humanitarian benefit? Would such a program be more effective if designed in partnership with graduate studies in the social sciences? Will graduates be competitive in industry or as candidates for new faculty positions, and will such a degree open non-traditional employment opportunities within government and non-government agencies? We hope to answer these questions by studying existing degree programs, polling service learning groups and non-profit agencies, and organizing workshops and meeting sessions to discuss service learning with the geosciences community.
PA11A-06
Eduction and outreach for the global energy challenge
Energy is the life-blood of the modern world. According to the Energy Information Administration, global
energy consumption is expected to grow by about 70% in the coming 25 years. Much of this growth is driven
by developing countries, whose inhabitants seek a standard of living that more closely resembles that of the
western world. Petroleum provides about 40% of the world-wide energy demand, and, although estimates
vary, oil production is expected to peak in the relatively near-future. The combination of increased energy
demand and declining petroleum supply can be a threat to political stability and is likely to lead to a shift
towards coal and non-conventional oil. This will further increase CO2 emissions and thus accelerate global
warming and life-altering regional climate changes. Many actions can be taken now to begin to reduce
energy demand, diversify our energy portfolio, and reduce costs of energy supplies, with lower greenhouse
gas emissions. This will not happen, however, without a plan and the willingness to implement such a plan.
Public engagement and education in dealing with the pressing challenges and opportunities are the key to
getting started now. In order to foster such engagement I have prepared the presentation "The Global
Energy Challenge." This Powerpoint presentation is freely available and aims to be appealing and
understandable for a broad audience. The comment-boxes in the Powerpoint presentation give ideas for a
narrative. The presentation sketches the tension between increased energy demand, peak oil, the
associated challenge in curbing climate change, and actions that we can take towards a sustainable energy
system. The presentation gives ideas for positive action that teachers, students, businessmen, consumers,
and citizens can take, and it conveys that the challenges related to our energy supply come with career
opportunities, a point that is especially appealing to a young audience. I invite to help making a difference by
education the public about energy by giving this lecture. More information can be found at:
http://www.mines.edu/~rsnieder/Global_Energy.html
PA11A-07
Improving groundwater management in rural India using simple modeling tools with minimal data requirements
Water scarcity is a crisis in central India that impacts the health, productivity, and quality of life of millions of people. The use of water harvesting structures (WHS) to capture runoff and enhance groundwater recharge is widely seen as a viable solution to this problem. As a result, there has been an explosion of small dam construction to extend community access to groundwater in the dry season by government agencies, non- governmental organizations, and villagers. Local perceptions of increased groundwater availability resulting from WHS infiltration, however, may produce changes in patterns of water use that shift the delivery of WHS benefits from the community to individuals. The development of policy to prevent this shift of benefits is difficult to achieve, because limited resources prohibit the widespread use of watershed assessment and monitoring tools needed to quantify the impact of any given WHS on groundwater storage. Therefore, it is essential that easily implemented assessment tools with low data needs are made available to support science-based policy making from the village to state level. This study uses a simple approach for estimating WHS contributions to subsurface infiltration in a small watershed (2.6km2) near the village of Salri, Madhya Pradesh. The infiltration is estimated using an analytical mass balance model for the WHS reservoir calibrated with water level observations. The reservoir water level was selected as calibration data because it can be monitored easily and inexpensively with community-based monitoring programs or remote sensing. Fluxes to the reservoir considered in the model are surface runoff, groundwater inflows and outflows, evaporation, and villager withdrawals. Surface runoff and villager withdrawals must be estimated from independent data sources, but in this case were found to be of minor relevance; the calibrated model suggests that most runoff contributions to the reservoir are lost through the dam overflow shortly after the start of the monsoon and villager water use is small compared to the other fluxes. Groundwater fluxes were accounted for by conceptualizing the contributing areas upstream and downstream of the reservoir as one dimensional flow tubes. This description of the flow system allows for the definition of physically-based parameters making the model useful for investigating WHS infiltration under a variety of management scenarios. To address concerns regarding the uniqueness of the model parameters, 10,000 independent model calibrations were performed using randomly selected starting parameters. Based on this Monte Carlo analysis, it was found that the mean volume of water contributed by the WHS to infiltration over the study period (Sept.-Dec., 2007) was 48.1x103m3 with a 95% confidence interval of 43.7-53.7x103m3. This volume represents 17-21% of the total natural groundwater recharge contributed by the entire watershed, which was determined independently using a surface water balance. Despite the fact that the model is easy to use and requires minimal data, the results obtained provide a powerful quantitative starting point for managing groundwater withdrawals in the dry season.
PA11A-08
Geophysical Summer Field Camp: Answering questions about the subsurface for the local community
Summer Geophysics Field Camp is part of the core requirement for undergraduate Geophysics majors at Boise State University (CSM), as well as at Colorado School of Mines (CSM). We have found it to be most effectively taught when the target of the camp involves answering questions, which impact society. For example, currently the CSM/BSU geophysics summer camp focuses on ground water resources and geothermal potential in the Upper Arkansas River Basin, a part of the Rio Grande Rift system in Chaffee County, Colorado. A prime goal is to train students how to combine diverse sources of information into a unified interpretation: Students examine lithologies and structures on the periphery of the basin. Cross sections are constructed to predict the geophysical signature. Geophysical tools then are used to ascertain the gross structure and examine subsurface conditions in greater detail. These tools include surveying, regional gravity, deep and shallow seismic surveys, magnetics, DC resistivity, Ground Penetrating Radar, electromagnetics, hydrochemistry, and karaoke. While BSU and CSM own a considerable amount of geophysical hardware, our field camps are only possible because of extensive support by corporations and governmental agencies. In addition, the Society of Exploration Geohysics (SEG) Foundation provides financial support, Chaffee County assists with housing costs, and local land owners provide open access. In turn, the field camp results aid the community of Chaffee County in assessing their water resources for long term growth planning, as well as understanding the geothermal potential for hydroelectric power generation. BSU is currently exploring with the SEG Foundation under the Geophysicists Without Borders program to apply this model of combined education and social outreach in the form a geophysics camp for Southeast Asia, where we propose to study geohazards,geoarcheology and groundwater issues.