LiDAR in its Many Forms (DEM, DSM, DTM)

October 27, 2023September 27, 2024 / Riley B.

DEM: Digital Elevation model - any digital representation of any kind of elevation. Lidar can produce multiple DEMs in one pass DSM: Digitial Surface Model - the elevation map produced with primarily "first return" data. That is, a digital map of the first thing that the laser reaches. This usually includes objects like treetops, buildings, … Continue reading LiDAR in its Many Forms (DEM, DSM, DTM)

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR): An Image of the Near-Surface

September 8, 2023September 21, 2023 / Riley B.

Introduction Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a powerful tool that can help us understand what lies beneath the surface. GPR works by sending high-frequency electromagnetic waves into the ground and measuring the reflections that bounce back. The frequency of these electromagnetic waves is in the same general range of frequencies used by cell phones. The … Continue reading Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR): An Image of the Near-Surface

Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) Geophysics

August 2, 2023October 20, 2023 / Riley B.

What is ERT? Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is a geophysical technique that uses electrical currents to image the subsurface. Don't let the name intimidate you, let's break it down: Electrical: an electrical field is passed through the ground (and measured along the way) Resistivity: we are interested in knowing how different materials "resist" that current … Continue reading Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) Geophysics

Earth Sciences on the Divide

March 11, 2021 / Riley B.

Today marks the one-year anniversary since the WHO declared a pandemic around the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. This has changed the way we work, live, and socialize. In the short term, this has created a tremendous burden of pain and hardship for people around the world. In the long term, I imagine it will change … Continue reading Earth Sciences on the Divide

Earth Sciences: The World is at Your Feet

January 8, 2020March 11, 2021 / Riley B.

To finish out their semester, I facilitated a presentation at Monticello Middle School's Science Cafe in Monticello, IL in December 2019. Science Cafe is an excellent program that allows students to bring their lunch into one of the science classrooms to hear a presentation from a practicing science about what they do and why it matters to the students.