Speaker: Nicolas Barth

University of California

The last decade has seen considerable advances in technology that assists digital field mapping, which the geoscience community generally has been somewhat slow to embrace. This talk will introduce a few of the modern mapping platforms (devices, softwares) through a series of case studies highlighting mapping applications in teaching, research, geological mapping surveys, and scientific response to natural disasters. Discussion will spell out the most compelling reasons to embrace these new technologies in teaching and research, and suggest some of the greatest needs for future improvements. There may be a "choose-your-own-adventure" component that could allow the talk to devolve into an open discussion on mapping or deviate into active research topics depending on audience interest.

Nicolas is an Assistant Professor of Geology at the University of California, Riverside (PhD from Otago 2013). He has active projects on the Alpine Fault, the San Andreas Fault System, post-wildfire landscape response, Yucatan geomorphology, and lidar-derived landslide inventories. He recently received the 2019 GSA/ExxonMobil Field Camp Excellence Award in part for his innovative use of technology in UCR's summer field camp. See https://geopad.ucr.edu/ for more info.