Near-Surface Geophysics in Latin American Contexts: Its Applications, Education and Societal Perspectives as a whole

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Background

We are pleased to launch this Research Topic welcoming contributions focussing on near-surface geophysics (NSGeo) in Latin American contexts, in terms of its applications, education, and attempts to establish equality at institutes. Given the scope of this Research Topic, we particularly encourage contributions from Latin American (LA) research groups, as well as globally. The scope of this Research Topic is not limited to any specific area of study, but instead welcomes contributions from any NSGeo application, such as geohazards, karst hydrogeology, epikarst detection, agrogeophysics, and forensic geoscience, among others. In addition, contributions targeting criticisms and improvement techniques for educational systems are also encouraged.

This Research Topic aims to explore the interplay between multi-parametric data, their processing, and presentation, with a specific emphasis on their applications in earth sciences. The following applications are of interest:

• The use of a combination of geophysical techniques, such as seismic, ambient noise, acoustics, and strain measurement, is common in earth sciences research. These techniques are applied in various branches, such as geohazards, archaeology, earth surface processes, and hydrogeology. However, there remains some uncertainty about the reliability of the results due to the complexity of the problems being studied. To address this, the integration of multiple techniques is recommended, as each technique may excel in capturing different aspects of the data.
• The sources of multiparametric data are not limited to the geophysical only but expanded to other forms such as in situ geotechnical testing, geological engineering approaches, and remote sensing, among others. The multi-method approach also covers multi-sensors and multi-algorithmic approaches.
• While the integration of these techniques increases the complexity of data processing and presentation, the use of geomodeling approaches can improve the clarity of the results. Additionally, the increasing availability of computer algorithms in various coding languages adds another layer of complexity that might also be considered.
• An important feature of this Research Topic is the inclusion of contributions dedicated to educational concerns in NSGeo, including efforts to eradicate gender-related biases in geophysical institutes in LA. This Research Topic also welcomes papers dedicated to problems associated with teaching in geoscience and suggestions for establishing diversity, equality, and inclusion in the education system.

The multi-method approach is not limited to wave-based techniques and this Research Topic also welcomes papers using other methods, such as electrical resistivity, seismic refraction tomography, multi-channel analysis of surface waves, and single station and array-based analysis. Publications should present a synergy among the techniques themselves and/or with data from other disciplines, such as engineering or remote sensing. This Research Topic encourages the adoption of techniques for effective communication and education to the masses.

Keywords: geohazards, karst, agrogeophysics, geomodeling, education systems, gender equality, multiparametric data

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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