Down To Earth: A podcast for Geoscientists by Geoscientist

S05E04 Down to Earth: Aerosols

Methane is a dangerous gas has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Methane is a major contributor to global warming. But the good news is, unlike CO₂, methane has a very short atmospheric lifespan – around 10 years to be exact. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Ritesh Gautam who is an expert in atmospheric sciences, explores the impact of methane as a potent greenhouse gas and shares news of a new satellite mission that will help us cut methane emissions in half by 2030!

S05E03 Down to Earth: Permafrost

Whenever we think of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is top of mind. But a more nefarious gas is gaining notoriety: Methane. Not just restricted to agricultural emissions, methane is also found in the Earth’s permafrost, which is melting at an increased rate due to climate change. It’s a vicious cycle that we seriously need to interrupt. So in this episode, we delve into the critical issue of permafrost thaw and its implications for methane release with Dr. Annett Bartsch. Dr. Bartsch, a leading researcher of permafrost, shares the satellite observations and modeling techniques used to track permafrost thaw and highlights the consequences of methane emissions on our climate system.

S5E02 Down to Earth: Wetlands

Wetlands are the Earth’s greatest natural carbon stores, however, since 1900, we have lost 64% of our wetlands due to both human activity and climate change. Coastal wetlands and deltas–wetlands that form as rivers–are particularly vulnerable due to their position at the land-sea interface and many are, in fact, sinking. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Marc Simard about the crucial role of wetlands in climate regulation and adaptation. We also dig into his Delta-X project to look at how he and his team are combining remote sensing and in situ measurements to understand how the Mississippi River Delta is growing and sinking, and how we can apply this research to protecting deltas around the world.

S5E01 Down to Earth: Forest Ecosystems

The Global Carbon Cycle refers to the continuous flow of carbon from the land and water, through the atmosphere and living organisms. Within the cycle there are carbon sinks and carbon emitters. As one of the largest reservoirs of carbon on Earth, forests play a huge role in the global carbon cycle. But how do we know? In this episode, we speak to geoscientist Dr. Ralph Dubayah to explore the applications of GEDI and NISAR in assessing carbon capture in Earth's forests. Dr. Dubayah sheds light on the incredible capabilities of GEDI, a lidar-based instrument on the International Space Station, which measures forest structure in three dimensions, providing precise estimates of biomass and carbon content. He also shares insights into NISAR, a forthcoming joint NASA-ISRO mission that uses synthetic aperture radar to track surface deformation and offer a comprehensive understanding of forest biomass changes. Throughout the episode, Dr. Dubayah showcases exciting discoveries made possible by these technologies, highlighting their potential for revolutionizing our understanding of forest carbon capture and its crucial role in mitigating climate change.

Down to Earth: Season 5 Trailer

In a world grappling with the pressing challenges of climate change, I bring you stories of optimism, resilience, and scientific insight: Welcome to Season five of Down to Earth: A podcast for geoscientists, by geoscientists!

This season is being sponsored by The Remote Sensing Environment, Analysis and Climate Technologies technical committee of the I-Triple-E Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society. Together, we'll be speaking with some amazing geoscientists who have dedicated their lives to understanding the intricate workings of our planet's climate system.

From uncovering the secrets behind the stunning rate of glacier melt in our polar regions, to unraveling the climate impacts on our food systems, their work provides us with the knowledge and insight to change our current trajectory towards a much brighter future.

I also gather tips from these brilliant minds for how we can each contribute, one change at a time, to our survival in the face of global warming!

So, get ready to be inspired, enlightened, and empowered as we bridge the gap between scientific research and the urgent action needed to protect our home.

Tune in this fall to the Down to Earth podcast and be part of the global movement to create a sustainable and resilient future for generations to come.

S4E10 Down to Earth: Training for culture change in Open Science

The open science movement is an experiment, but it’s an experiment that has a lot of merit when it comes to its vision of equitable transparency, accessibility and collaboration for better science, and a better world. So how do we begin to transition our own practices towards those of open science? In this episode, we speak with Julia Stewart Lowndes, Founding Director of Openscapes, and her collaborator, Erin Robinson, CEO and Co-Founder of Metadata Game Changers, about Openscapes, an organization that engages, empowers, and amplifies researchers with open habits and mindsets for data-intensive science.

S4E09 Down to Earth: Getting the Green for Open Science

Open science has been an almost exclusively voluntary endeavor for the past two decades, with passionate individuals piecing together collaboratives, nonprofits, grants, and donations to support their work of ensuring science is open and accessible. A relief to these dedicated individuals, as the concept of open science has gained in popularity, so too has new funding started to emerge. However, alongside the boon of no longer having to do open science as a side hustle, there are also unanticipated consequences to funding what was originally a voluntary endeavor. In this episode, we speak to Kaitlin Thaney, Executive Director of the nonprofit initiative, Invest in Open Infrastructure about the exciting opportunities and potential pitfalls of building financial capacity for open science.

S4E08 Down to Earth: Demystifying the Scientific Process with Data Management, FAIR, and Science Communication

Part of the thinking behind the open science movement is that, if science is open, more people will trust the scientific process. But, as previous guests have pointed out, opening up science requires more than just the act of making it open. It also requires letting people know the science is out there, and ensuring it is findable, accessible, and reproducible! In today's episode, we speak with Professor Christopher Jackson, Director of Sustainable Geoscience at Jacobs, Visiting Professor of Basin Analysis at Imperial College, and regular face on the BBC, about how we can use science communication to increase the general public's understanding of science. We also talk to Dr. Sara El-Gebali, Project leader at SciLifeLab-Data Centre and co-founder of FAIRPoints, about applying the FAIR principles to ensure that the science we communicate about is ethical and findable!

S4E07 Down to Earth: Artificial Intelligence: Boon or Bane for Open Science?

There’s a technological revolution happening right now that is having a massive impact on our interactions with each other, and the world around us. That revolution? Artificial Intelligence. Touted as a tool that will enable the average individual to generate groundbreaking developments for the betterment of humanity, AI is being seen as a panacea for many of our challenges in healthcare, education, agriculture, and transport. But as the saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility”. What are the ethical implications of AI and what are we doing to address these? Further, how does AI fit into the Open Science movement? In this episode, we chat with Dr. Sasha Luccioni, Research Scientist, Hugging Face an organization focused on democratizing AI through open methods, to get some answers.

S4E06 Down to Earth: Breaking Barriers with Open Education and Open Peer Review

It’s all well and good to have open source software, but if end-users have no clue how to operate it, open data becomes useless. That’s why Open Education is another important component of open science. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Leah Wasser, Executive Director of pyOpenSci, who developed a publicly accessible curriculum to teach python and R to anyone who wants to learn!