Scientists and Public: Is the Information Flow Direction Starting to Change?

Abstract:

Over half of the population of the UK own a smartphone, and about the same number of people uses social media such as Twitter. For the British Geological Survey (BGS) this means millions of potential reporters of real-time events and in-the-field data capturers, creating a new source of scientific information that could help to better understand and predict natural processes.

BGS first started collecting citizen data, using crowd-sourcing, through websites and smartphone apps focused on gathering geological related information (e.g. mySoil and myVolcano). These tools ask volunteers to follow a guided form where they can upload data related to geology and geological events; including location, description, measurements, photos, videos, or even instructions on sending physical samples. This information is used to augment existing data collections.

Social media provides a different channel for gathering useful scientific information from the public. BGS is starting to explore this route with the release of GeoSocial-Aurora , a web mapping tool that searches for tweets related to aurora sightings and locates them as markers on a map. Users are actively encouraged to contribute by sending tweets about aurora sightings in a specific format, which contains the #BGSaurora hashtag, the location of the sighting, and any comments or pictures. The tool harvests these tweets through the Twitter REST API and places them on the map, enabling the user to generate clusters and heatmaps.

GeoSocial-Aurora provides scientists with a potential tool for gathering useful data for scientific analysis. It collects actual aurora sighting locations, enabling users to check where the aurora is taking place in real time. This may, in time, help scientists to improve future predictions of when and where auroras are visible.