Citation by Alex Morelan
The Burwell paper award is given to the “author(s) of a peer-reviewed publication of distinction that advances knowledge concerning principles or practice of environmental and (or) engineering geology…” and this year’s selection is well described by that definition. The paper chosen for this year’s award is titled “Analysis of Landslide Kinematics Using Multi-temporal Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery, La Honda, California. (2019) Environmental and Engineering Geoscience, 25(4), 301-317.” Authored by Jordan Carey (master’s degree student) and Nicholas Pinter (thesis advisor) at the University of California, Davis (Jordan is now at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA) and Alexandra Pickering, Carol Prentice, and Stephen DeLong at the USGS Earthquake Science Center in Moffett Field. Note that this paper was also selected for the AEG publication award in 2020.
In this paper the authors develop a novel and rigorous approach to quantify landslide motion on a damaging slide using low-altitude UAV imagery. Using survey-grade GPS, terrestrial lidar, and UAV photogrammetric models, the authors were able to assemble a complete picture of the landslide behavior and motion. Their clever combination of methods allowed for both temporally- and spatially-dense data collection while retaining precision and accuracy, no small feat using optical imagery in a challenging vegetated environment. They imaged – in three-dimensions – an active landslide seven times over the course of five months, with four of the observations in January alone. In the time between each date of data collection the authors tracked features to quantify horizontal displacements and displacement rates as well as volume and mass redistribution patterns by observing the spatial distribution of vertical changes in the slide mass. This resulted in a time-series dataset which allows for the detection of changing rates, which reveals much more insight than change-detection studies limited to “before-and-after” event observations. This high level of observation allowed the authors to quantify how the slide movement co-varies with precipitation, an important contribution to the field. This paper is an excellent example of how new tools and methods can be developed, validated, and implemented simultaneously while also being used to significantly increase our ability to make accurate observations that can be used to address engineering geologic problems. Additionally, this study demonstrates the quality of applied research that can be produced by collaboration between academic and government scientists.
Response by Nicholas Pinter
I've been asked to accept this year's Burwell Award on behalf of all of the co-awardees, in particular acknowledging the 1st author of the study. Jordan Carey is currently a geology instructor at Central Washington University. He did his MS degree at UC Davis with me, and with a wealth of guidance from Steve DeLong at the USGS and others.
Looking back, this project speaks to the value of serendipity in the geosciences, and in field-based geology in particular. "Serendipity" refers to finding something of value – treasure even – at unexpected times or places. Across the sciences, serendipity has led to discoveries ranging from radioactivity to the invention of the microwave oven. In the geosciences, the fish-tetrapod transition and the discovery of the K-T impact are famous examples. A study of success rates in oil exploration wells found that 61% of success correlated with skill and 39% with luck – in mature oil fields; in frontier fields, success rates were 100% attributable to luck (Mikov and Navidi, 2019).
Jordan Carey was a new grad student at UC Davis in 2016, as the most intense El Niño ever was brewing in the Pacific. We instrumented several burned watersheds in anticipation of copious rain. It did rain in central California that winter, a bit, and never with any intensity. With growing anxiety, Jordan found Jeremy Lancaster at the California Geological Survey and Steve DeLong, who were working on a slow-moving landslide slowly digesting a neighborhood in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Long story short, Jordan completed multiple drone surveys that thoroughly documented the progressive movement of the Scenic Drive Landslide in beautiful GIS-rendered detail; he completed his thesis and published in the journal, Environmental & Engineering Geoscience. Serendipity then started kicking in.
When we heard that the article was named the journal's paper of the year, we were pleased and honored ... and more than a little surprised. When the project received the 2022 Burwell Award, the question was – "do they realize that this was a student project??" I applaud GSA and the Environmental & Engineering Geology Division for recognizing solid and meaningful work, regardless of the seniority of the 1st author.
Serendipity, by definition, involves a lucky break. But I argue that most serendipitous discoveries are not accidents, but happen by being in the right place at the right time and sometimes hard work getting there. Every successful geology field project starts with driving every road, hiking every trail, and checking out every outcrop.
As an example, my students and I went to Catalina Island to assess a century-long debate about whether or not the island had Quaternary marine terraces and therefore has been actively uplifting. One recent study concluded that – if only the island had pholad borings to settle this long debate. Our group was on Catalina for less than a day, and not 100 meters from the field vehicle, when we started finding the first of hundreds of pholad-bored cobbles and boulders. The next summer, we had parked the vehicle and were hiking up a rugged trail when, on the next ridge, we saw the unequivocal planar contact between bedrock below and several meters of pholad-bored terrace gravels above (McInnis and Pinter, 2019). A century of debate, and the issue was settled by good boots and strong legs.
The take-away messages here are: (1) get into the field, and (2) when you do, get out of the car. Every geological research project is an exploration. Don't start with a pre-conceived blueprint of what you will find, but do the legwork with an open mind and plenty of water in your pack, and wait for the serendipity to happen.
McInnis, M., and Pinter, N., 2021. Uplifted marine terraces on Santa Catalina Island, California, USA. Geology, https://doi.org/10.1130/G48219.1
Milikov, A.V., and W.C. Navidi, 2019. Randomness, serendipity, and luck in petroleum exploration. AAPG Bulletin, 104: 145-176.