Advances in Field Collection of Tephra Data
Organisers:
- Matt Loewen (lead), U.S. Geological Survey, USA
- Kristi Wallace, U.S. Geological Survey, USA
- Doug Walker, University of Kansas, USA
- Steve Kuehn, Concord University, USA
- Andrei Kurbatov, University of Maine, USA
The global tephra community has rallied behind developing a framework of best practice recommendations and tephra data accessibility for the last decade (Wallace et al., 2022). To increase usability and to aid users in adopting the best practices into their workflow, we have collaborated with the developers of StraboSpot (https://www.strabospot.org/), a free, open- source tablet, phone, and web app for field data collection for the geologic community. The addition of tephra-specific fields to a new StraboSpot Tephra module enables users to consistently collect and report essential tephra data in the field which is then automatically saved to an online data repository. This workshop will provide hand-on training for setting up a field project using the Tephra module of StraboSpot. We will also demonstrate how collected stratigraphic and sample metadata can be linked to rapid post-field data analysis, community databases, and discuss community needs for future development.