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How a Chance Internship and GIS Shaped My Career in Planetary Science

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ShareUser
Esri Community Manager
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My name is Karla Nunez, Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Maryland, and in this blog post I share how I became a planetary scientist through taking an internship where I used GIS in geology.

My interest in becoming a planetary scientist began in my second year at Middlebury College. During that time, my academic advisor mentioned applying to research internships. Knowing how competitive these programs were, I applied to anything that remotely mentioned space and hoped for the best.

Since I was a physics major, I ideally wanted an internship that focused on cosmology and far-space objects. So, when I was notified that I was given an internship at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, I was a bit apprehensive. This internship had nothing to do with cosmology but rather geology.

I had never taken a geology course nor knew anything about the planets and moons in our solar system. But I knew that if I didn't take this opportunity, it would mean I would lose valuable research skills. So, I took it and I am glad I did as this was the start of learning my interest in Geographic Information Systems (GIS)!

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Figure 1. Working on a density map of microchaos during my first internship at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

 

From Cosmologist to Planetary Scientist

 

My internship project was focused on identifying and mapping microchaos on Europa, Jupiter's fourth-largest moon. Microchaos are these small circular-ovoid-shaped features that disrupt the surface of Europa. It's hypothesized that these features are created by the upwelling of material directly disrupting the surface or by the injection of sills under the icy crust. Europa is hypothesized to have a liquid global ocean, and missions like the Europa Clipper aim to detect and test the moon's habitability. Due to their proposed formation mechanism, microchaos are thought to provide clues on how the subsurface ocean may interact with the surface. 

I began my project by checking references for previous microchaos maps. It mattered a lot to me that I thoroughly understood how microchaos were defined in different studies. The goal was to create a robust cross-referenced microchaos database. My mosaic data came from Astropedia, a lunar and planetary cartographic catalog. Astropedia is an incredible data source for GIS-ready mosaics of planetary bodies. Due to resolution limitations, I could only map two large swaths of Europa. By the end of my internship, I had mapped nearly 500 features and used the kernel density analysis tools in GIS to create near-surface heat maps of the surface of Europa.  

This project catapulted me into a field of study I hadn't known existed. Before this internship, I wanted to study quasars and black holes to piece together our universe's history. What made me love planetary science so much was that I was doing just that: I was using images from Galileo to hypothesize a history of Europa's geologic activity. The maps I created became puzzle pieces I tried to make sense of. Doing this type of research also allowed me to be creative with my science and learn how to maximize limited datasets. In a span of 3 months, my career aspirations had changed from cosmologist to planetary scientist.

Over the last 6 years, I completed additional research internships, presented at national conferences, and started graduate school at the University of Maryland. My research has evolved to include surface features on Venus and Earth. Just this December, I was able to give a talk on my Venus research at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference. My thesis studies features across the solar system believed to form via diapirism. I map these features and calculate their orientations to test how regional or global stress fields impact their morphologies.

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 Figure 2. Map of microchaos and ridges on Europa. This area is located in the trailing hemisphere of Europa.  

 

Advice to Students and Emerging Scientists

 

I am now in the last semester of my Ph.D. in geology and have looked at my academic journey warmly. My advice to anyone interested in using GIS with a planetary science focus is to familiarize yourself with the types of data sets available.

GIS has many coordinate systems for planetary bodies across the solar system. This makes it easy for anyone to import planetary mosaics. However, it is essential to understand how to create projections as some planetary mosaics may not be in projections that are useful for scientific objectives. For example, in my research, I ensure that my mosaics are in Mercator projections to preserve the orientation of features.

My general advice for those looking to continue their studies in graduate school is to take opportunities whenever possible. I found my passion by pure happenstance. If I had let my uneasiness about geology deter me from my first internship, I would've never learned of my interest in GIS.

During the initial weeks of my first internship, I stumbled through understanding introductory geology and GIS terms. But those weeks were the ones that I grew and learned the most. GIS has a wonderful community where learning is celebrated, and support is readily available. Even now, as my graduation looms near, I know that the GIS community is one I can always lean on.

Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or leave any comments or questions below. You can email me at knunez12@umd.edu as well. Thank you for reading!

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Figure 3. Presenting at AGU 2024. I gave a talk on my research on coronae on Venus.

4 Comments
ShareUser
Esri Community Manager

Hey @knunez12 

Thank you for posting the great blog! This was a fantastic read and definitely inspiring, your journey taking different paths did not stop your growth and desire to work with space information!

I definitely align with your interests, slightly different degrees as I'm a Computer Science student, but I'm also in GIS! I can say that GIS has really taught me more about what my interests are and how they fall into place with my degree, hopefully I can follow in your steps and end up in a space related spot during my PhD.!

Cody

ShareUser
Esri Community Manager

Very cool, I think it's awesome when people apply GIS techniques to interplanetary topics and projects. Just curious, how did you make the leap from cosmologist to planetary scientist, and what has surprised you about where it has taken you on your journey as a GIS professional or a PHD candidate?

You've probably heard this before, but your project sounds, simply, out of this world!

ShareUser
Esri Community Manager

Hey Karla, congratulations on your PhD project, it looks amazing! I just finished my master's and I'm unsure whether I should apply for a PhD. Do you plan to stay in academia after you graduate, or do you intend to transition to a job in the private industry?

ShareUser
Esri Community Manager

@CodyPatterson Its so exciting to hear that you're a computer science major! I wish I had taken more CS courses when I had the time. I think coding and GIS play so nicely with one another that it advances the research that you can participate in. It such a great time to enter planetary science with all of the new missions that have launched! 

@MadMapper24  To answer your question, I think the most surprising place that this journey has taken me is finding out how much I love statistics! My bachelor's degree in physics has given me to confidence to use statistics in a way that helps inform my mapping. My background has also helped in the moments during my research when I need to take a step back and look at the grand picture instead of getting stuck in the details! I also wouldn't say I took a leap between cosmology into planetary science. I truly would say I stumbled into it. The internship really opened my eyes to this field and I never looked back since. 

@Natdiasc Currently I am looking at both industry and academia. I love the teaching aspect of academia the most, so I have been looking for lecture positions at universities. Since I have a strong mathematical background, I have been marketing myself as a statistician when looking for positions in industry. I think the most important thing as a Ph.D. student that I have learn is how I market myself. During a Ph.D. you learn so much that it does yourself an injustice to limit what roles you can take on. Best of luck in your journey!