#geospatial science

[hotzimbabwejobs]

Job Opportunity: Chief Technician - Geography, Geospatial Science, and Earth Observation at the University of Zimbabwe! - February 2025

The University of Zimbabwe’s Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Geospatial Science, and Earth Observation, is seeking a dynamic and experienced Chief Technician to lead their technical team! If you have a strong background in geospatial sciences and leadership skills, this is a fantastic opportunity to advance your career. About the Role: As the Chief Technician, you will provide…

[kolepsi]

To keep myself from comparing myself to others, I chose a niche ass field to major in that no one knows anything about so they have no idea what I do and have no preconceived notions about what my actual job title is

[underdogarts]

Yknow for someone who is entirely art oriented I think it’s funny how I’m slowly building a resume of working with STEM majors

[jennaflare]

i really thought the society & sustainability class would be my fave this quarter but NAY. map city baby.

[sheweptamongtheoak]

Ya'll I need a laptop good for writing, so nice keyboard and not a loud fan, AND have enough RAM to support arcgis/other GIS software. I was thinking about a thinkpad but not sure???

[longroadstonowhere]

the funny thing about reading stuff for school is i realize that i don't think i would've enjoyed being a scientist, because i dislike designing experiments

[mariacallous]

Cuts made by the Trump administration are threatening the function of a tiny but crucial office within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that maintains the US’s framework of spatial information: latitudes, longitudes, vertical measurements like elevation, and even measurements of Earth’s gravitational field.

Staff losses at the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), the oldest scientific agency in the US, could further cripple its mission and activities, including a long-awaited project to update the accuracy of these measurements, former employees and experts say. As the world turns more and more toward operations that need precise coordinate systems like the ones NGS provides, the science that underpins this office’s activities, these experts say, is becoming even more crucial.

The work of NGS, says Tim Burch, the executive director of the National Society of Professional Surveyors, “is kind of like oxygen. You don’t know you need it until it’s not there.”

“NOAA remains dedicated to providing timely information, research, and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience,” NOAA spokesperson Alison Gillespie told WIRED in an email when asked about the downsizing of NGS.

NGS was formed in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson, the son of a surveyor and cartographer. Originally called the Survey of the Coast, the organization, led by a young Swiss immigrant named Ferdinand Hassler, was tasked with mapping the coastlines of the new country. Over the next 200 years, its mission expanded to cover the practice of geodesy: the science of calculating the shape of the Earth, its orientation in space, and its gravitational field.

“Hassler understood that before you put pen to paper and make a chart or a map, if you wanted to [know how] things relate accurately one to another, especially if you’re going to do that over a large area like the United States, then you have to have a very strong mathematical foundation to put all these pieces together,” says Dave Doyle, a former chief geodetic surveyor at NGS. “That is, in a very simple way, what the science of geodesy brings to the nation.”

NGS is currently responsible for maintaining and updating what’s known as the National Spatial Reference System, a consistent system of physical coordinates used across federal and local governments, the private sector, and academia. This includes not only latitude and longitude, but also measurements of depth and height as well as calculations around Earth’s gravitational field—crucial mathematics that inform much of the basic infrastructure around us, from constructing bridges to mapping out water and electric lines. NGS also maintains and operates more than 1,700 federally owned satellite receivers across the US, which provide publicly available geospatial information.

While individual surveyors can compare heights and distances in smaller areas, it’s far more difficult to compare mountains thousands of miles from each other, or know exactly how sea level rise may be affecting different areas of the country that have vastly different coastlines. Having a coordinated frame of reference across the entire country—both latitude and longitude as well as depth and height—underpins the accurate positioning of locations across the US in relation to each other, as well as in relation to other geospatial measurement systems across the world.

The Earth is also constantly shifting: the motion of tectonic plates causes latitude and longitude coordinates to slowly move, mandating that they be updated every few decades. In some places—like the coast of Louisiana, where subsidence is causing between 25 to 35 square feet of land loss each year—these shifts manifest much quicker.

“Most people can stand on the beach and see the water and turn around and look at a dune behind them and go: ‘Oh, yeah. That’s about 5 or 6 feet above sea level,’” says Doyle. But when it comes to building things, you need to be able to accurately take measurements at scale. “You have to have some system of heights that is standardized across a large geographic body. I want consistent heights from New York to Maryland so we can build highways, so we can build utility infrastructure. You want to make sure water is always flowing in the appropriate direction.”

The US is currently working with a particularly outdated set of coordinate systems. The current measurements contained in the National Spatial Reference System—including latitude, longitude, and vertical heights, a set of reference systems called datums—were established in the 1980s, shortly after the US launched the world’s first GPS satellites. In the years since those datums were created, increasingly advanced satellite technology has enabled geodesists to more accurately measure the shape and orientation of the Earth, and to better position their measurements. As a result, each point of measurement in the US datums is now, on average, around two meters off from its actual, accurate location. In some locations, it’s even more extreme.

As anyone who has tried to go for a run with a glitchy Garmin watch knows, current GPS technology has limits in terms of on-the-ground precision. For everyday navigation, exact locations aren’t truly necessary—but for a variety of activities, from mapping floodplains to building bridges to measuring sea level rise, every centimeter becomes crucial. Ensuring hyper-accurate location is also becoming increasingly important as more and more industries are building up around automation that relies on precise spatial measurements.

“Do you want to get in an autonomous taxi that is plus or minus two and a half meters going down the road?” says Burch. “I don’t. That is part of the critical piece here: all these systems have to be this tight and this precise moving forward.”

In order to update the US’s datums to be in line with satellite data, land shifts, and accurate measurements of the Earth, staff at NGS were planning on rolling out a long-awaited modernization of the National Spatial Reference System, bringing it into the 21st century and making it easier to update moving forward. Originally scheduled to be completed in 2022, the agency posted a notice in the federal register last fall detailing its updated timeline for rolling out the new datums and associated products in 2025 and 2026.

But three former staffers who left NGS in the past month say this planned rollout may be pushed even farther behind by staff losses, thanks to employees like them who took retirements, left their jobs, or were laid off as part of federal restructuring. According to former staff, NGS was sitting at 174 employees at the start of the year, with staff looking to fill an additional 15 positions to help with rolling out the new datums and educating federal agencies and local governments on their use. Since January 20, the agency has lost nearly a quarter of its staff and has had to freeze planned hiring. (When asked about the accuracy of these numbers, Gillespie, the NOAA spokesperson, told WIRED that the agency has a “long-standing practice not to discuss personnel or internal management matters.”)

The remaining staff are in an “all hands on deck” situation with the rollout, says Brett Howe, the former geodetic services division chief at NGS, who opted to retire at the end of April. Despite a dedicated staff, Howe says that the loss of many in senior leadership with decades of experience and institutional knowledge means that the agency can’t afford to go through any more cuts.

“If we get to hire back some people, we are still going to have trouble meeting that timeline of 2025 and 2026 [for the rollout], but we’ll be able to make it work,” he says. “If there are further cuts, or we’re not able to execute our [National Spatial Reference System] modernization plan, and then we get to a year, a year and a half from now, and we lose more people—either through other layoffs or they just retire—then I think we’re in real trouble. Then I wonder how we function as an agency.”

“At this time, the ongoing NSRS modernization plans are still aligned with the dates in the Federal Register notice,” Gillespie told WIRED. “NGS will be releasing foundational data and supporting products for testing and feedback in 2025.”

The fate of NGS under the Trump administration is unclear. A NOAA budget proposal from the White House Office of Management and Budget sent to the agency in April cuts the budget for the National Ocean Service, which houses NGS, by more than half. Project 2025 does not mention NGS by name, but it does mandate moving NOAA’s surveying capabilities to other agencies.

“We don’t speculate about things that may or may not happen in the future,” Gillespie said when asked about potential upcoming changes to the agency. “NOAA will continue to deliver weather information, forecasts and warnings, and conduct research pursuant to our public safety mission.”

The sharp drop in staff numbers at NGS is the tail end of a long decline for the practice of geodesy in the US. In 2022, a group of leading geodesic experts authored a paper on what they dubbed the US’s “geodesy crisis,” detailing how other world powers have invested in training geodesists over the past three decades while the US has wound down funding and training. China has invested particularly heavily in creating more geodesists: the country graduates between 9,000 and 12,500 geodesy students per year, many of whom are then employed by the government. By contrast, around 20 students graduated with advanced degrees in geodesy from US universities over the past decade.

This, the authors argue, has contributed to China rapidly overtaking the US in geospatial technologies and disciplines of all kinds. Nowhere is this clearer than with China’s satellite navigation system, BeiDou, which has been gaining on the US’s GPS system in accuracy. In 2023, a US government advisory board on GPS stated in a memo that GPS is now “substantially inferior” to BeiDou.

Like other cuts to public science made under the Trump administration, the losses from blows to this agency could be substantial. A 2012 analysis found that every taxpayer dollar spent on NGS’s coastal mapping program returned $35 in benefits, while a 2019 report found that the NGS program that models gravitational fields would provide between $4.2 and $13.3 billion worth of benefit over 10 years. The private sector also relies heavily on public data provided by NGS. Some analyses project that the geospatial economy will grow to $1 trillion by the end of the decade. It’s even more crucial, experts say, to have an updated spatial reference system in the US, as well as institutional knowledge of the basic science of how to measure and understand our Earth.

Many industries now “want that high accuracy positioning” that comes with advanced geospatial technology, Doyle says, “yet they don’t understand the basics of the science. Now you’ve got all these people punching buttons and getting numbers, and only a tiny percentage of them really understand what the numbers mean, and how one set of numbers relates to another.”

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from EcoWatch:

Scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have for the first time compiled a map of groundwater variables to understand which aquifers in the United States are most vulnerable to being contaminated by “orphan wells” — gas and oil wells that have no active owner and are no longer producing, but have not yet been plugged.

The study, “A geospatial analysis of water-quality threats from orphan wells in principal and secondary aquifers of the United States,” was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

“Throughout the history of oil and gas production in the United States, millions of wells have been drilled for exploration and energy production. Hundreds of thousands of unplugged wells are no longer actively producing and are currently under orphan status, with no responsible party obligated for plugging,” the authors wrote in the findings. “Orphan wells can pose threats to water resources by providing pathways for contaminants such as hydrocarbons and brines to migrate into water-supply aquifers.”

Plugging the orphan wells seals off potential pathways for the contaminants, reported Inside Climate News.

USGS scientists Joshua Woda, Nicholas Gianoutsos, Kalle Jahn, Kristina Gutchess and Karl Haase found that large concentrations of older orphan wells, along with other factors, make aquifers in California, Appalachia and the Gulf Coast susceptible to contamination.

The researchers examined 117,672 documented orphan wells across the U.S. and found that 54 percent of them are located within aquifers that provide 94 percent of the country’s groundwater.

“No matter where you live across the nation, you can go look at what’s happening in your backyard, how your aquifers compare to other aquifers and what the threats are,” Gianoutsos said, as Inside Climate News reported.

The research team used datasets from Geographic Information Systems to map the orphan wells’ locations over both principal and secondary aquifers. Their analysis of the aquifers was based on factors — like average age of the wells — that could contribute to how vulnerable to contamination the groundwater was.

Older wells are more failure-prone and less regulated. The “maximum confluence” of risk factors was found in Pennsylvanian aquifers, which span multiple states in Appalachia, including Pennsylvania, where the first of the country’s oil wells were drilled.

Orphan wells can be more than a century old and found near coal seams as well as residential water wells.

The team found that aquifers along the Gulf Coast, including the aquifer system known as Coastal Lowlands, were susceptible partially because the wells are found in areas such as open water and wetlands, which are more contamination-prone.

In Coastal California and the Central Valley, there is a high density of abandoned orphan wells that overlaps with areas that have been urbanized and rely heavily on groundwater for agriculture. In these areas, the researchers considered pumping rates from each aquifer in their analysis.

[hotzimbabwejobs]

Job Opportunity: Senior Technician - Geography, Geospatial Science, and Earth Observation at the University of Zimbabwe! - February 2025

The University of Zimbabwe’s Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Geospatial Science, and Earth Observation, is seeking a qualified Senior Technician to join their team! If you have a background in environmental science, cartography, geomatics, or related geospatial sciences, and a passion for supporting practical education, this is a great opportunity for you. About the Role: As a…

[pinyonrice]

"I make maps sometimes" being in most of my social media descriptions gives me imposter syndrome sometimes (arguably The dumbest case of it) because I don't recreationally make maps that frequently, and neither do I post them anywhere.

But also ☝️ I'm going back to school to get a BS in geology/geospatial science so hopefully I can more frequently make much cooler maps after the fact and actually share them.

[mskwtz]

e.li is going to uc berkeley college of environmental design, majoring in architecture with a minor in geospatial information science and technology. he didn’t want to leave california, not wanting to be too far from home, but going to berkeley gives him space to be independent at almost 6 hours away from encino. the campus has a martial arts program which he takes full advantage of, always wanting to hone his craft and learn new skill sets. he’s going to school 20/30 minutes away from mo.on so they spend a whole lot of time together. he probably stays over at her apartment with ri.ver more often than not. college is a very scary new experience, and he has a lot of anxious moments at the start, but it’s also a good place for him to find himself and go explore who he really is and really wants to be outside of the craziness that became his life the last few years of high school. he’s going to be the happiest he’s ever been.

[communistkenobi]

oy as a linguist linguistics is more a science than any of the social sciences in that poll. our research is replicable and our methods actually work. the only reason we haven't solved all of linguistics is because the forbidden experiment is, well, forbidden, so we have to engage in roundabout guessing games, and the comparative method isn't good enough to reconstruct proto-world.

but the field's still colonial as all hell i mean look up the summer institute for linguistics.

no it’s definitely my bad I should have included it. however this is funny because every social science discipline on that poll also thinks its the most scientific - ime economics is often described as the oldest most well established social science (lol), polisci has it in the name, sociology is credited with inventing statistics for the social world (and with standardised datasets like census data you can make the same claim about replicability), geography has cadastrals & land surveys & geospatial analysis (also replicable), psychology loves inventing diagnostic manuals, and anthropology’s big research method (ethnography) is normatively positioned as like academic journalism, it’s the ‘deepest’ form of qualitative research

[campus-vibes]

🌟 Life at Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka: A Journey Beyond Academics

🔗 Official Website: https://www.sab.ac.lk/

Nestled in the beautiful hill country of Belihuloya, the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka (SUSL) is not just an institution for higher education—it’s a complete ecosystem for knowledge, innovation, and personal growth. With a unique blend of nature, academic excellence, cultural diversity, and student engagement, SUSL has established itself as one of the most vibrant universities in Sri Lanka.

Let’s explore what makes this university a truly holistic learning experience.

🎓 Academic Excellence Through Diverse Faculties

SUSL houses several faculties, each tailored to deliver industry-relevant, research-based, and skill-oriented education. Here’s a deeper look:

🧑‍🌾 Faculty of Agricultural Sciences

Preparing students for climate-resilient and technology-driven agriculture, this faculty integrates practical fieldwork, lab-based research, and modern agritech practices.

Specialized areas: Agribusiness Management, Plantation Management, and Crop Science.

Facilities include a university farm, greenhouses, and plant tissue labs.

💼 Faculty of Management Studies

This faculty is a hub of innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

Offers degrees in Marketing, Accounting, Business Management, and Tourism.

Strong industry links, internship programs, and a business incubation center help bridge theory and practice.

🖥️ Faculty of Computing

A newly established and rapidly growing faculty, offering degrees in cutting-edge areas like:

Software Engineering

Computer Science

Data Science

Information Systems Students benefit from modern computing labs, coding competitions, and project-based learning in collaboration with the tech industry.

⚙️ Faculty of Applied Sciences

Focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education and research.

Departments include Physical Sciences, Environmental Sciences, and Biological Sciences.

Advanced laboratory facilities and field studies enhance hands-on learning.

🧪 Faculty of Geomatics

Unique to SUSL, this faculty specializes in geospatial technologies and earth sciences.

Offers degrees in Surveying Sciences and GIS (Geographic Information Systems).

Prepares students for careers in surveying, urban planning, disaster management, and remote sensing.

🌍 Faculty of Social Sciences & Languages

Equipping students to address social, cultural, economic, and political challenges through:

Degrees in Sociology, Political Science, and Languages (English, Sinhala, Tamil).

Cultural awareness programs, language labs, and public speaking forums.

🛠️ Faculty of Technology

Focusing on future-ready technology disciplines, including:

Biosystems Technology

Engineering Technology

Construction Technology

Mechatronics This faculty emphasizes problem-solving, research, and design thinking in all its programs.

🌱 A Campus That Breathes Sustainability

SUSL is set amidst lush greenery, forests, and a reservoir, promoting a deep respect for the environment.

Sustainable practices include rainwater harvesting, waste management, and plastic-free zones.

Nature trails, eco-clubs, and conservation projects give students opportunities to learn from nature while preserving it.

🧑‍🎓 Student Life: Balance Between Study and Fun

✨ Daily Life

Classes in the morning

Study groups under trees or by the lake

Canteen meals with friends

Sports and clubs in the evening

Quiet study or hostel activities at night

🌐 Cultural Diversity

With students from all over the island, SUSL celebrates:

Sinhala & Tamil New Year festivals

Multilingual debates

Intercultural nights and exhibitions This diversity builds respect, unity, and lifelong friendships.

🏆 Extra-Curricular Excellence

SUSL students shine beyond the classroom. The university supports:

Sports

Cricket, rugby, badminton, athletics, martial arts, and more

Regular inter-faculty competitions and national-level representation

Clubs & Societies

Gavel Club – for public speaking

IEEE & IT Clubs – for coding and tech

Environmental Society – for sustainability

Music, Dance, Drama Societies – for cultural expression

Rotaract & Leo Clubs – for leadership and volunteering

🏛️ Facilities & Campus Life

🏠 Hostels with a peaceful and secure environment

📚 A fully-equipped library with digital and physical resources

🧪 Modern laboratories and research centers

🍛 Affordable and clean canteens

🚌 Campus shuttle and scenic walking paths

🧑‍⚕️ Health Center with medical and counseling services

📶 Wi-Fi zones and tech support

🔮 Looking Ahead

Sabaragamuwa University is committed to global expansion and academic innovation:

Partnerships with international universities

Smart classrooms and e-learning systems

Plans for new faculties and programs

Research funding and student entrepreneurship support

💬 Final Words

Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka is more than a place to earn a degree—it's a place to grow, lead, and inspire. From nature lovers to tech enthusiasts, from business leaders to language experts, SUSL has something for everyone.

✅ Visit the official website to explore more: https://www.sab.ac.lk/

— Written by Rashmi Tharaka Sewwandi

[hasinichamalka]

Sabaragamuwa University: Where Education Meets Tranquility and Innovation

Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka (SUSL) is a renowned public university located in the scenic town of Belihuloya, Balangoda. Established in 1991 and officially recognized as a full university in 1995, SUSL has grown into a hub of academic excellence, research, and community development.

🌿 Campus & Environment

Nestled amidst the lush greenery of Sri Lanka’s central highlands, the university offers a peaceful and inspiring environment ideal for learning and research. The natural surroundings not only support academic activities but also provide a calming atmosphere for students and staff.

🎓 Academic Structure

SUSL consists of several faculties, each focusing on specialized fields of study:

Faculty of Agricultural Sciences – Focused on modern agricultural practices and innovation.

Faculty of Applied Sciences – Offers diverse programs in environmental science and technology.

Faculty of Geomatics – Specializes in surveying, mapping, and geospatial technologies.

Faculty of Management Studies – Provides business and management education.

Faculty of Social Sciences & Languages – Focuses on human behavior, societies, and languages.

Faculty of Medicine – Aims to develop skilled and compassionate healthcare professionals.

Faculty of Graduate Studies – Coordinates all postgraduate programs across faculties.

Faculty of Computing – Offers cutting-edge programs in Computer Science, Software Engineering, and Information Systems, preparing students for careers in the digital world.

Faculty of Technology – Focuses on technological education, integrating theory with hands-on experience in fields like Engineering Technology and Biosystems Technology.

🔬 Research & Innovation

SUSL is committed to advancing knowledge through impactful research. It supports interdisciplinary research, encourages innovation, and works with industry partners to bring new ideas to life. The university also values indigenous knowledge and promotes blending traditional wisdom with modern scientific practices.

🌐 Community Engagement & Outreach

The university actively contributes to society through various outreach initiatives. It offers distance learning opportunities, conducts career guidance programs, and supports local development through education and awareness campaigns. These efforts reflect SUSL’s mission to make higher education more inclusive and meaningful.

🏅 Student Life & Extracurriculars

Student life at SUSL is vibrant and enriching. The university supports a wide range of extracurricular activities, including sports, cultural events, and student-led clubs. Participation in national university games and inter-university events helps foster teamwork, leadership, and holistic development.

For more information, visit the official SUSL website.

[captain-academia]

Quotes from Aerospace Class

a collection of quotes from 8 semesters of aerospace engineering lectures

Spaceflight

“We have 20 chemical components in our rocket fuel. It’s like making a cake!” - Prof. for Rocket Propulsion

“So far everyone is calling it Project Gateway. For PR reasons it is illegal to call it little ISS” - Prof. for Human Spaceflight

“Why breathe?” - Prof. for Aerospace Medicine

“They also built Canadarm2 a little car - because why not?” - Prof. for Human Spaceflight

“And then they tell you: Boy! You are loosing bone mass!” - Prof. for Human Spaceflight

“It’s hard to be a combustion chamber” - Prof. for Rocket Propulsion

about model rocketry: “Never forget: Small boys have small toys and big boys have big toys to play with” - Prof. for Rocket Propulsion

“That’s the Combustion Chamber. You could easily hide in there!” - Prof. for Rocket Propulsion

question in class: "So what happens when there is an impending collision event between two satellites in orbit? Do the operators talk to each other or is it more like a high stakes games of chicken?"

Aviation:

"Now. How to make a small fortune? Easy. You first make a large fortune and then you buy an aircraft." - Prof. for Flight Operations

"An Animometer! It's quite obvious what that does!" - Prof. for Flight Operations "So I had to tell them: Sorry, I am a flight instructor. I would like to help but I don't have time to be your maintenance work slave." - Prof. for Flight Operations

Professor, shows video of an exploding aircraft: “The Pilots ejected safely, but the aircraft was not reusable” - Prof. for Structures and Elements

“Flying while unconscious is a bad idea in the long run” - Prof. for Aerospace Medicine

“I don’t remember what the light signals at airports mean... green is good red is bad and if they are shooting at you you flew into a military air zone” - Prof. for Flight Operations

Science & Theory

You don't care if I named this fluid particle Oscar or Barbara" - Prof. for Fluid Mechanics

"Computers are just annoying bullshit if you're trying to do computer science" - Prof. for Computer Science

Student: asks a question about an electric circuit Professor for Electrical Engineering: "There is no rule. It's just magic"

In an incredibly strong German accent: “I have to tell you a secret. When I was at uni - what like 52 years ago... is that right??? Nobody was using Tensors! And you see... I’m still alive! Tensors are not necessary for a happy life.” - Prof. for Mechanics

Prof. for Mechanics, explaining some formula: “What was that one guy called??” Someone: “Pythagoras?” Prof, delighted: YES!

“Electromagnetically speaking we live in a invisible world” - Prof. for Experimental Physics

"Math ASMR?" whispers “K-Vectorspace!” - Prof. for Linear Algebra

Bonus:

when asked about progress on his research: „There are also Business Guys… and they are really ugly! … YEAH! They don’t open their wallet! But I want [fancy carbon fiber material] for my project.“ - Prof. for Material Science

"They set in motion God and the World to support their cause. And by God I mean money and by World I also mean money" - Prof. for Geospatial Data

“Always google with open eyes” - Prof. for Computer Science

in strong Italian accent: “Guys... Why do you always need motivation? ... Are you depressed?” - Prof. for Basic Mathematics

[mariacallous]

There are more than 114,000 missing persons in Mexico, and that number is continuing to rise. Criminal violence in the country is at a record level, largely driven by gangs and drug cartels. Many of those missing are buried in clandestine graves all across the country.

To contribute to the solution of this complex problem, a group of scientists from the Center for Research in Geospatial Information Sciences (CentroGeo) put technology and data analysis at the service of the searches.

"I never thought I would have to work on this, but if this knowledge is of any use, now is the time to show it," says José Luis Silván, a geographer at CentroGeo. Years ago, as part of his doctoral work, he specialized in measuring forest biomass and human populations through satellite information. At that time, he was far from imagining the scientific work he is doing today: investigating the potential of drones, hyperspectral images, and protocols to detect clandestine graves.

In a recent article published in the International Journal of Forensic Research and Criminology, Jorge Silván and researcher Ana Alegre insist that studying the geographical environment is very important to understand in depth a crime such as disappearance. Thus, “due to its context and diversity of climates, the case of Mexico may represent an opportunity for the development of investigations.”

Finding burials requires hard work. All available information and resources must be optimized. Therefore, scientists have evaluated the use of remote sensing tools and have systematized information from previous findings. They seek to discover patterns in the behavior of the perpetrators and, with this, to find burials.

According to Red Lupa, 88% of the 114,000 cases of disappearances in Mexico occurred between 2000 and May 2024. 10,315 were registered in 2023, the most on record. This represents an average of 29 people per day. Jalisco, Tamaulipas, State of Mexico, Veracruz and Nuevo Leon are the entities with the highest incidences.

Justice is almost non-existent, with 99% impunity for this crime. For this reason, since 2007 alone, civil society has formed more than 300 search groups, mostly made up of family members who scour the land guided by witness statements or organized in general brigades. These groups have detected most of the 5,696 clandestine graves reported on Mexican soil.

The association United for Our Disappeared searches in the north of the country, in Baja California. One of its members, who preferred to remain anonymous, has been searching for his son for 18 years. He says they have been using pointed rods to detect graves for more than 10 years. This is one of the most widely used tools in Mexico for this purpose. "We fit the rod in where we suspect the earth was removed, insert it, pull it out and smell it. If there are bone remains or tissue, you can tell by the smell. It is a strong odor, easy to detect. It smells like organic matter in the process of decomposition."

Before, he says, they used a georadar—a device similar to a pruning shear that detects inconsistencies in the ground—but they abandoned this practice because it was not very useful. The radar responds to almost any kind of object, from chips to boats. The last time they used it, it returned 40 suspicious spots, but none were positive. In Mexicali, another group uses a drone to fly over areas and detect changes in the terrain. Others have used machines to dig holes instead of shovels. Some innovations are abandoned over time, but the use of rods remains.

In 2014, after the disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa normalistas in Mexico, Silván and other CentroGeo professionals joined the scientific advisory board on the case. During the search for the students, different civilian groups and government brigades detected dozens of illegal graves. In less than 10 months, the Mexican Attorney General's Office counted 60 sites and 129 bodies in the state of Guerrero. As a result of the raids, 300 illegal graves were revealed. Since then, the number of clandestine graves has only grown.

No one anticipated the size of this horror. The report "Searching between pain and hope: Findings of clandestine graves in Mexico 2020 - 2022", exposes with hemerographic data that in those two years, 1,134 clandestine graves were registered, with 2,314 bodies and 2,242 remains. In proportional terms, Colima reported the highest rate of illegal graves, with 10 per 100,000 inhabitants. It was followed by Sonora, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Sinaloa and Zacatecas.

By number of cases, Guanajuato, Sonora and Guerrero stand out. These three entities account for 42% of the records. By April 2023, a journalistic investigation by Quinto Elemento Lab reported that the number of illegal burials reached 5,696 clandestine graves, and that more than half of them were detected during the current federal administration.

Employing his field of study, remote sensing, José Luis Silván uses images captured with satellites, drones or airplanes, from which he extracts geospatial information using knowledge of the physics of light, mathematics and programming. Multispectral and hyperspectral images capture subsurface information using sensors that record wavelengths of light imperceptible to the human eye, making them useful for searching.

In 2016, during a first study by CentroGeo researchers, they simulated burials with pig carcasses to evaluate the potential of using hyperspectral cameras in searches and learn what information from the sensors was useful to them. The Mexican researchers knew from research in other countries that successful detection with these techniques depends, in part, on being able to recognize how carcasses (and their spectral images) change in different soils and climates.

The experiment was carried out on rented land in the state of Morelos. There they buried seven animals and evaluated the light reflected by the soil at different wavelengths for six months. They concluded that a hyperspectral camera, which provides more than a hundred layers of data, has the potential to detect clandestine burials, although the technique is only effective three months after burial. They tried to arrange for the acquisition of a camera and drone (valued at 5 million pesos) through the National Search Commission, but were unsuccessful.

Faced with this, they began to evaluate more affordable alternatives, such as multispectral devices. Today, despite the fact that spaces such as the Commission for the Search for Disappeared Persons of the State of Jalisco (COBUPEJ—-with which they have a partnership—has acquired this equipment, no national strategy exists to deploy these technologies systematically.

Some time later, the scientists took on a bigger challenge. When they briefed the National Search Commission on the usefulness of remote sensing for locating burials, officials told them that in some regions of the Northwest, the greatest need was to locate substances used to conceal crimes. "They dispose of them in caustic soda or with chemicals, char them and incinerate them in the open air or in crematoria; they throw the remains away or bury them," the researcher says.

So, in 2021, Silván's group did another experiment, this time in Hidalgo and with a spectroradiometer, which measures how different substances reflect light. For that study, they tested the trace of substances used in crimes. They found that diesel, muriatic acid and blood treated with anticoagulants require more precise imaging to be located, but that most substances, such as caustic soda, lime, blood and those resulting from open burning could be detected with multispectral sensors, which are less expensive.

CentroGeo has also participated in the development of complementary strategies to identify areas with a high probability of harboring clandestine graves. One example is the training of mathematical models with the coordinates of previous findings and the characteristics of the sites preferred by criminals, which they call clandestine spaces and which define as those which are easy to access for perpetrators and of low visibility to the population.

In addition, they have been using the signs that decomposing bodies leave on the vegetation for years. As a corpse decomposes, it releases nutrients into the soil, in particular increasing the concentration of nitrogen. In plants, this element is linked to chlorophyll, which gives them their greenness. In experiments with buried pigs, they have observed that a chlorophyll indicator can be quantified through satellite images. They measure how fast this index grows to detect sites with anomalies. This tool is available on the "Clandestine Space" platform.

Silván says that to interpret the nitrogen signal, they must consider that the gas signal can also vary due to the use of fertilizers or rains that carry nutrients. The presence of nitrogen, then, is not definitive proof of the existence of trenches, but it provides indications that justify paying attention in certain regions. The National Search Commission has been trained to use this indicator.

In Baja California, a northern state with 17,306 missing persons cases, these strategies have already been used. They first analyzed 52 locations of known graves and deduced that, because of the way they were distributed, there was a high probability of finding more graves at a distance of between 18 and 28 kilometers from those already known. They also looked for possible "clandestine spaces" and identified that 32% of the territory of Baja California had the potential to be used for that purpose. Finally, they reviewed the concentration of chlorophyll in satellite images. The result was a useful accompaniment for some family brigades.

Recently, Ana Alegre and José Silván analyzed geospatial models that could explain the distribution of graves in 10 states. They found that the travel time it would take an offender to get from urban streets to the grave is the factor that most influences the location of graves. "The secrecy sought by perpetrators seemed less important than reducing the effort they invest in creating the grave," their article says.

In addition to collaborating with the government, CentroGeo researchers work with civil associations such as Regresando a casa Morelos and Fuerzas unidas por nuestros desaparecidos en Nuevo León (FUNDENL). Some time ago, the former asked them to survey a site. "We collected thermal images and three-dimensional models to provide information," says Silván. In addition, they gave a workshop for visual interpretation. Silván describes the members of "Returning Home Morelos" as dedicated people. "They want to find their loved ones, they are willing to learn anything, to analyze an image or fly a drone. To everything."

With information from the FUNDENL collective and support from the American Jewish World Service, CentroGeo created "Huellas de vida", a platform that crosses the information of unfound persons and unidentified bodies with data from objects found in clandestine burial sites in Nuevo León. The intention is to detect coincidences that will help solve cases.

The geographer points out that the investigation is advancing, while the forms and numbers of disappearances are multiplying. Other countries, he says, are installing ground penetration radars on drones, or are planning to use electronic noses as indicators of methane, an element that corpses release at a certain stage of decomposition. To search for missing persons from the Spanish Civil War, for example, patterns in geographic data were tracked to narrow down search sites.

The big pending issue is to evaluate the real contribution that geographic information has had in uncovering crime scenes. "It is complicated to have feedback, even with the National Commission, because they are not obliged to tell us where they have findings." It will be until they have the new reports when they will be able to collate the results and measure the impact of their contributions. For now, "it is complicated to attribute the findings to our tools and information".

For his part, the member of United for our Disappeared assures that the search groups are the ones who have found most of the clandestine graves currently located. The usual thing, he says, is that the governments do not have departments for this work and only search when they have declarations that oblige them to do so. With the collectives it is different, because "we receive anonymous information, and even if we have no information, we still schedule searches and go out".

Finding graves is the beginning of another loss. When they have reason to excavate, they use picks and shovels and, if they find human remains, the authorities (who usually accompany them) cordon off the area and proceed with their work. If they are not present, they call them. "From there, many times we don't know what's going on, we don't get feedback from the authorities. We say that the person we found is lost again." The problem is general, "the collectives complain that people get lost in the bureaucratic process". In few cases, they say, the Prosecutor's Office restores the identity of the disappeared.

While technology is integrated into the systematic searches, collectives such as United for our Disappeared ask society to share the information they have on missing persons. "We only want to find them, all the information that reaches the collectives is anonymous," says the interviewee whose identity we reserve. The authorities have accepted this, he assures.

For his part, José Silván comments that, as a result of the collaboration with COBUPEJ and other institutions, they are about to publish a book to disseminate techniques for the detection of graves that they tested during their work.n de fosas que probaron durante un año en dos sitios de inhumación controlados en Jalisco, así como otras experiencias recogidas a nivel nacional a través de la ciencia ciudadana que hacen las madres buscadoras. The book is entitled Interpreting Nature to Find Them and is coordinated by Tunuari Chavez, head of the COBUPEJ context unit, and Jose Silvan under the direction of commissioner Victor Avila.