AGU OSPA Winners and Honorable Mention
For this month's Early Career Spotlight, we caught up with some of the winners and honorable mentions of the 2021 Fall Meeting Outstanding Student Presentation Award to hear more about their research and their tips for making effective presentations. Click on the name of each student to get more information about their research.
Chloé Bouscary (University of Lausanne)What is the objective and major findings of the research you presented at AGU? In AGU, I presented two research results. One on the luminescence thermochronometry method, and the other on the application of luminescence thermochronometry to exhumation rates in the Himalayas. In the research for which I received the OSPA Honorable mention, the objective was to validate and improve the luminescence thermochronometry method by using samples with independently known thermal histories, together with synthetic thermal history samples and unknown-thermal history samples, to investigate how different parameters can influence the luminescence signals and the temperatures recovered from them. Our results propose a new, more efficient protocol to recover accurate temperatures, and by doing so, it also validates the multi-luminescence thermochronometer approach for feldspars. Developing and optimizing luminescence thermochronometry is important as it allows for improved reconstructions of the Earth's recent history by gaining a better understanding of tectonics, earth surface processes and landscape evolution at timescales not as accessible with other thermochronometers.
What tips do you have for making effective presentations? Effective presentations are really subjective. Personally, there are not necessarily guidelines to follow. It is just important to know your subject and to do what you would like to see in presentations. But for conferences, having different levels of reading / understanding is necessary. Someone that knows nothing about your subject should be able to understand the big picture, but someone that is an expert should also have their curiosity entertained by more detailed explanations. Nice, clear figures and a good knowledge of your subject do most of the work, after that it is up to you how you bring people along on the journey that is your presentation.
Kayla Cahoon (Virginia Institute of Marine Science) (@KaylaCahoon)What is the objective and major findings of the research you presented at AGU? Ice sheets are large, static, heavy masses that push down on the continental crust; that pressure displaces the liquid mantle and forces proximal regions to be uplifted; when those ice sheets melt, the process reverses and the formerly uplifted region, subsides. Today, post GIA subsidence, following the last glacial maximum (~21,000 year ago), is responsible for about 50% of the relative sea-level rise observed along the US Mid-Atlantic. Predicting the amount and rate of remaining subsidence is critical to develop future sea-level rise projections. The main objective of this project is to develop a relative sea-level curve for the southern Delmarva Peninsula, within the US Mid-Atlantic, spanning 120,000 – 30,000 years to better understand the role of GIA processes in this region. This was completed through field observations (sediment cores, geochemical analysis, and ground penetrating radar) of paleo coastal systems that were deposited during times when relative sea-level was higher than today. This work revealed three key findings. Firstly, we identified a new geologic that was deposited ~55,000 years ago which represents the last time relative sea-level was higher than today; this also has implications for the depositional history of the Delmarva Peninsula. Secondly, relative sea-level highstands consistently return to roughly the same elevation (4 – 8 m MSL) in this region despite global mean sea-level highstand elevations ranging from 8 to -40 m MSL. Finally, we found that GIA processes act on 10
4 year time scales in this region resulting in a >20,000 year time lag between global sea-level change and relative sea-level change; this is likely consistent across all regions with similar proximities to past ice sheets.
What tips do you have for making effective presentations? To make my poster, I relied on graphic design elements that guide the eye through the poster and highlight the key elements. Don’t shy away from a bold color pallet or big graphics, but use those elements sparingly; make the figures that you want people to see first centered, large, and bold while complementary figures are placed on the side of the poster, have a softer color pallet, and smaller. My poster adapted the “Better Poster” format which placed my key findings right up front for discussion in short telegraphic text. This went over well with those that visited my poster and allowed individuals to approach me with specific questions about my work that also related to their research interests. This streamlined the presentation and helped me highlight the elements of my project that were most interesting to each individual. Finally, I approached my poster presentation as a conversation. Not all science communication is formal! In a poster session, you have the freedom to respectfully loosen your tone which makes your poster and presentation stand out from the crowd.
Evan Greenberg (University of California Santa Barbara)What is the objective and major findings of the research you presented at AGU? I presented work examining global-scale controls on the dynamics of meandering rivers. I’m interested in what sets the rate at which meandering rivers migrate across their floodplains. An array of factors ranging from internal dynamics like channel curvature to external factors like bank vegetation are proposed to influence meander migration rates. We found that the amount of sediment the river was receiving relative to the river’s size, is the primary external control in setting migration rates across our global dataset.
What tips do you have for making effective presentations? For any presentation or poster, I try to rely on big, digestible figures. I find it a bit easier to talk through a figure than list out pre-written text. I also practice my presentations a good bit to help with the nerves.
Jacob Hirschberg (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL)
What is the objective and major findings of the research you presented at AGU? Sediment production and transfer processes are affected by climate change. It is debated, however, if such environmental signals can be detected in sediment yield records or if they are destroyed due to storage processes, for example. We used numerical modeling tools, which are well-suited to study cause-and-effect relations between sediment supply and sediment yield. We focused on mountain basins and found that particularly supply-limited basins tend to have underestimated sediment yields if estimated from short records (<30 years). We also find that sediment yield is affected by sediment supply and storage but that the exact timing of sediment-supply events (e.g. hillslope landslides) is not reflected in the sediment yield.
What tips do you have for making effective presentations? Present as often as possible and collect feedback. In scientific conferences, I try to be clear with the methods. Many listeners will be aware of the challenges of answering a particular research question but curious about how you approach it and what you find. When preparing the slides, I repeat to myself that less is more. I sometimes have a long list of points I want to make in one slide but instead of adding a long list of bullet points with long text (where they will stop listening to you and start reading), it's easier for the audience if they can look at the slide and immediately see your main message and then listen to you as you expand upon this message.
John Malito (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)What is the objective and major findings of the research you presented at AGU? In recent decades, declining Arctic sea ice has led to increasingly energetic waves that persist for longer periods throughout the year, thereby accelerating coastal erosion and posing a threat to coastal communities and ecosystems. We developed a morphodynamic model to test how present-day and projected future waves can impact the evolution of the continental shelf, and how shelf geometry can influence the character of waves reaching the coast. Our results, presented in a poster at the AGU 2021 meeting, showed that a relatively steep Arctic shelf section was more sensitive to the growing wave climate. Enhanced waves drove greater erosion on the inner shelf and deposition of these sediments on middle shelf. This redistribution led to a regulatory feedback loop in which the changing shape of the profile dampened the impact of waves at the coast, slowing morphologic change. In contrast, a relatively flat shelf section damped wave energy, and reduced the potential for changes in the continent shelf shape. These results suggest that the shape of a continental shelf profile can play a key role in coastal evolution, impacting how increasingly large Arctic waves are felt at the coastline.
What tips do you have for making effective presentations? First off, aesthetics are everything! Creating a visually welcoming poster/slides is a great way to reach out to your audience and pull them in. By having clear and effective visuals, you increase the audiences ability to consume the graphics in tandem with your speech. For example, always have a friendly color scheme, large font sizes, a clear research question (put this in bold font, front and center!), efficient text, and axis labels. Also, practicing drafts the poster or powerpoint presentation is a great way to help design the graphics, as you can learn which parts of the figures, tables, and schematics are most important.
Mishel Melendez-Bernardo (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)What is the objective and major findings of the research you presented at AGU? My main objective was to bring some understanding of the lateral response of the Lillooet River, a gravel-bed braided river, after experiencing a major landslide in 2010 triggering a sediment pulse into the river system. From our preliminary results, we could identify a transient increase in lateral erosion which also seems to be highly heterogeneous in space. We also identified peak flows and valley context – especially constrictions - as important factors influencing the lateral response.
What tips do you have for making effective presentations? From this learning experience, I think practicing, rehearsing, and receiving continuous feedback from peers and mentors (e.g., advisors) are very helpful for delivering a talk. Especially non-native English speakers like me, I would say rehearsing is a critical key to keep in mind :)
Monica Rasmussen (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)What is the objective and major findings of the research you presented at AGU? We aim to understand how mechanical weathering (cracking) proceeds through time, and which internal (rock) and external (stressors and environment) factors impact these rates. Significant cracking happens over geologic time and cannot be measured over human timescales, so we used a space-for-time approach to quantify cracking evolution on over 2000 surficial boulders from modern deposits back to ~150ka. While fracture mechanics theory predicts an individual crack will grow more rapidly over time, we found that cracking rates for granitoid, carbonate, and volcanic rocks across climates actually slow down over time. Our data show that hotter climates lead to a higher intensity of cracking, and rock types crack in different ways, producing different sediment shapes and sizes throughout the exposure history of the rocks. We are continuing to investigate the mechanisms behind non-linear, time-dependent cracking trends and will be presenting deeper investigations at the GSA PRF 2022 Penrose conference.
What tips do you have for making effective presentations? Bigger is better and simpler is easier! Never use font size under 20 unless it's for references, and fill your slide with images. If the slide looks busy, add one photo per slide and talk while you show the pretty pictures. Remember, no matter what you are presenting, you're selling an idea. Tell the story of your biggest idea. Don't add anything to your presentation that doesn't address your one biggest point. If you want someone to "buy" the concept that you're "selling" (your big conclusion), you need to show that it's important to them specifically, valuable to the community overall, and that you know what you're talking about. Structure your talk to get everyone as excited about your research as you are, and keep returning to your main point so they don't get lost!
Aaron Steelquist (Stanford University)What is the objective and major findings of the research you presented at AGU? We sought to determine if a threshold shear stress model of drainage initiation was observable in bedrock landscapes. Our work at Raplee Ridge monocline in southeast Utah demonstrated that slope-upstream area analyses are consistent with a shear stress control on channelization, however geomorphic observation of the area suggests multiple processes operating at different shear stress conditions are responsible for the observed channel morphologies. We also proposed a conceptual model for drainage development at Raplee Ridge based on observation of variably incised channels across the monocline surface.
What tips do you have for making effective presentations? Consider what information/context your audience needs to understand the final conclusions and limit yourself to those topics. There are plenty of cool things you may have learned along the way or new methods that took a while to develop, but if they aren't specifically relevant to the immediate findings/conclusions, leave them out!