UPP Publications
USGS researcher Scott Bennett alongside a team of researchers recently published, "High-resolution marine seismic imaging of the Seattle fault zone: Near-surface insights into fault zone geometry, quaternary deformation, and long-term evolution." The research team employed cutting-edge modeling techniques alongside a good old-fashioned boat to map out a nearly invisible, "blind," fault line which runs nearby downtown Seattle, WA. The fault is estimated to produce earthquakes of between M7-7.5 and its proximity to a dense urban environment paired with its still-debated recurrence rate makes this fault one of the highest risk hazards in the Pacific Northwest. Combining knowledge of surface geology, topography, and subsurface observations, which looks something like magic to a layman like me, Scott's team classified the fault line as a fault propagation fold that is moving north over time, and the scholars are confident their findings will help to pin down the recurrence rate of this hidden threat. Check out the article to learn all about the techniques and findings used by this brilliant team. Thanks for your work, Scott!
From PSU's Department of Geography, Andrés Holz appeared on a team of more than 110 researchers who are working to "Reimagine fire science for the Anthropocene." The team outlines five challenge/opportunity areas that can contribute to the advancement of fire science and may enable us to shift from an observational study of wildfires to a more "integrative and predictive approach" capable of guiding mitigation and social adaptation measures to reduce the impacts of fires. These opportunity areas include: integration across scientific disciplines; the inclusion and participation of diverse ontologies and epistemologies; a deeper exploration of how we can use fire to answer questions of ecology, evolution, and socio-technical dynamics; tools and techniques to harness the immense amount of data being gathered; and the development of improved models that can account for human variables alongside non-human variables. Each of these opportunity areas is the subject of intensive discussion within this article, and the nearly 200 sources are an ocean of useful materials. Thank you, Andrés for continuing to represent PSU around the nation in these conversations of ever-increasing importance.
Arun Pallathadka, a PhD student in PSU's Department of Geography, published a research article alongside their advisor and UPP affiliate, Heejun Chang, and Daikwon Han from Texas A&M University's School of Public Health. The article, "What explains spatial variations of COVID-19 vaccine Hesitancy?: A social-ecological-technological systems approach," analyzed vaccination rates in almost all the counties of the contiguous United States to understand variables influencing vaccine hesitancy. They found that a county's population of Republican voters and Black residents have a significant negative correlation with vaccination rates. While access to healthcare facilities and the county's population of residents with college degrees, among other variables, have significant positive correlations with vaccination rates. For each variable, the authors were able to dig deeper into the data to show how the spatial distribution influences correlation. For example, they found the Black population's vaccine hesitancy varies across the nation and likely depends on the local political context, access to healthcare facilities, and average education level. Overall the team's findings suggest a need for health communication campaigns to take local variables into account to find targeted ways to combat misinformation and connect with populations who are cautious about vaccines. The article covered so much more material than I can touch on here, so head over to the article to learn about all the interesting findings. I'm sure your guidance in researching this hot-topic area was invaluable, Heejun. Strong work!
Junjie Chen, another PhD student in Geography, co-published an article with their advisor, Heejun Chang, titled "A review of spatial statistical approaches to modeling water quality." Junjie and Heejun performed a literature review to understand the state of the science concerning post-wildfire influences on stream turbidity and stream temperature, citing a general tendency for research to focus on water quantity and quality and neglect these variables. Their analysis of the literature on post-fire stream turbidity focuses on wildfire extent and severity, landscape characteristics, forest characteristics, pre-fire management practices, post-fire management practices, and precipitation. While their analysis of literature on stream temperature explores fire characteristics, hydroclimate characteristics, watershed characteristics, and the implications for aquatic ecology. Suggestions for ecosystem management and future research areas are then outlined. Great job mentoring the next generation of researchers Heejun, keep it up!