ABSTRACT I’ve enjoyed a rich career of four decades in academia as a Chinese American sedimentary geology professor. From the start, I was a clear minority, being nonwhite and a woman, but somehow with strong mentors and good fortune, I survived, persevered, and flourished. Despite discrimination and marginalization, there have been many positives, and the superb students and colleagues I have met on my journey have enriched my life immensely. I want to see geoscience change to become one of the most inclusive sciences because it is really a capstone science that needs broad and diverse perspectives. I hope my story can encourage others and also highlight how we should continue to create opportunities for inclusive participation. The future of our Earth and the balance of nature and society depend on it!

ABSTRACT In this story, I share with you my identities that have contributed to my feelings of otherness, alienation, and marginalization. These identities are my gender—broadly nonbinary, ranging from agender to genderflux—and mental illness diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder. At various times in my life, these identities have been more prominent and played a greater role in my career path as a geoscientist. This chapter is loosely structured chronologically, beginning with memories from childhood and how they shaped who I am and my interest in science. I discuss my experiences in the educational system, beginning in public schools, taking more than 15 years to complete my M.S., and then earning my Ph.D. as a nontraditional student. I now use that position to advocate for others. In sharing the lessons that I have learned along the way, I hope that my story will help someone feel less alone and ease their path. Additionally, these lessons are intended to support advocates for equity, diversity, and inclusion to become stronger allies for LGBTQ+ folks and people with nonapparent disabilities, such as some mental illnesses.

ABSTRACT With the exception of summer trips to visit my grandparents, I spent most of my growing-up years 150 miles away from my tribe, the Penobscot Indian Nation on Indian Island, Maine. I obtained a bachelor’s degree in earth science at the University of Southern Maine and spent three years in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. I landed a summer job on a gold project crew with Mobil Minerals Division as I was finishing up my M.S. in economic geology. In 1980, the Penobscot Nation, together with the Passamaquoddy Tribe, regained 300,000 acres in what, at the time, was the largest land claim settlement in U.S. history, the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. In 1984, I went to work for my tribe on the minerals assessment program. The fieldwork encompassed extensive soil surveys, geophysical surveys, and bedrock drilling. About a decade into my work for the tribe, my career began to change as the funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs ended and the minerals assessment on the trust lands was wrapping up. In 1993, I co-founded and headed the Indigenous arts, non-profit Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance (MIBA). This work would become my most rewarding and meaningful as it had a deep relationship to my own values system. In addition, I had become a serious basket maker and relied upon a network of other Indigenous practitioners. My evolution from a practicing geologist to an award-winning artist and Native American arts leader and advocate speaks to having a strong sense of identity and belief in myself. Throughout my career, I learned to observe my environment and listen to advice, but ultimately charted my own course.

ABSTRACT Underrepresentation is a significant issue in the geoscience profession, particularly in academia. At the time I was pursuing my Ph.D. degree in the geosciences, I was one of only a handful of black women doing so. I will recount events in my life that led me to geoscience, but also those that helped me want to continue to work in this field. The fact that my professional journey contains so many situations where I was a “first” and/or an “only” seemed to me to be less an accomplishment than simply a condition that needed to be changed. If not me, it would have been somebody else. I have surmised through discussions with other women of color in geoscience over the course of my career that seeing my path as merely a condition to navigate may have significantly contributed to my ability to overcome obstacles. There were things I wanted to do, and I was determined to figure out a way to do them. I share my life story because I did not take a straight line to geology, or even a straight line through school. I had to juggle family and career in the way that many women do, I met and got to know many unique and interesting people, and I had the opportunity to travel to many parts of the world. I will name names to acknowledge my significant mentors. It is because of many positive experiences and support from them that I have such a difficult time coming up with negative experiences. I hope my unique path may help readers to develop a deeper understanding of some of the subtle obstacles that have been keeping the numbers of black women in geoscience so low for decades, illuminate the ways that those obstacles can be traversed, and contribute to a little bit of change for the future.

Abstract Some significant geological sites are inaccessible. Among the most inaccessible sites are the hydrothermal vents and their associated biological communities located deep in the ocean. These prime geoheritage sites, hosting what may be the most primordial life on Earth, are vulnerable to mineral and fishing exploitation. Many lie in international waters, protected only by non-binding agreements with no clearly defined means of enforcement. The discovery of these vents in 1977 fundamentally altered scientists’ view of basic Earth processes and the extreme conditions under which life can exist. The discovery of the vents was a group effort and required technological accomplishments not available to previous generations of researchers. Often overlooked in the credits for this discovery was the persistence and determination of Kathleen Crane, a graduate student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Many women of her era faced significant challenges as they attempted to break into an often-unwelcoming field, marine geology. The challenges were not unique to geology; women were not welcomed in many other disciplines, both scientific and non-scientific. In spite of the obstacles, few people have made as remarkable a geoscience discovery as Dr Crane.

Abstract This chapter reviews the various developments in geomorphology in terms of institutions, journals, textbooks, research stations, etc. Among the institutions discussed are the Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium, the Geological Society of America Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division, the Association of American Geographers Geomorphology Specialty Group, the British Geomorphological Research Group, the IGU Commission on Measurements, Theory and Application in Geomorphology (COMTAG), the International Association of Geomorphologists, the European Geosciences Union (EGU), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the International Quaternary Association, and the International Conference on Aeolian Research. Many countries established their own national bodies. A number of new journals appeared, including Catena , Earth Surface Processes and Landforms , Géomorphologie , and Geomorphology . In addition, during the closing decades of the twentieth century there was a proliferation of textbooks in geomorphology. One development was that geomorphological research was promoted by the establishment of research stations. These permitted long-term monitoring and provided bases for sustained investigations. The study of fluvial processes was much encouraged in the United States at USDA Forest Service research basins (known as ‘watersheds’ in the USA) such as the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (New Hampshire), Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory (North Carolina) and the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (Oregon). The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) organized ambitious research projects in collaboration with host nations. Various US government departments supported much geomorphological research in various parts of the world. Some European countries fostered overseas geomorphological research and created missions. Notable was the work of ORSTOM (Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-mer) in former francophone colonies. In the post-war years, and as independence approached and then occurred, new universities were established in Africa. These employed expatriate geomorphologists and also trained up a new generation of indigenous scholars. The decades since the 1960s have been a period of space exploration and the development of remote sensing. This has had important implications for geomorphology. The period also saw the onset of the digital age and the beginning of the World Wide Web's influence on teaching and research. Applied research became increasingly important. A major cause for international and cross-disciplinary co-operation during the period was the emergence of geoarchaeology. Finally, since the 1950s, an increasing number of women have made important contributions to the discipline.

ABSTRACT Under the direction of Henry Fairfield Osborn, Charles Knight helped shape popular images of the prehistoric past in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although he was the most famous, Charles Knight was not the only paleoartist working at the American Museum of Natural History at this time. Behind the scenes, there were several women paleoartists who made significant contributions to museum displays and publications illustrating the prehistoric world. Often overlooked, this chapter highlights the contributions of Elisabeth Rungius Fulda, Helen Ziska, Lindsey Morris Sterling, and Margret Joy Flinsch Buba.

ABSTRACT Women have contributed to “paleoart” working in collaboration with scientists, using vertebrate fossils to reconstruct vanished worlds, and directly shaping the way humans imagine the distant past. “Backboned” animals of former times have been portrayed singly or in groups and were often set in landscape scenes. Women paleoartists in America and Europe began working in the nineteenth century often through family association, such as pioneers Orra White Hitchcock, Graceanna Lewis, and Mary Morland Buckland. Mainly using traditional two-dimensional styles, they portrayed ancient vertebrate fossils in graphite and ink drawings. Paleoartist Alice Bolingbroke Woodward introduced vibrant pen and watercolor reconstructions. Although female paleoartists were initially largely unrecognized, in the twentieth century they gained notice by illustrating important books on prehistoric vertebrate life. Paid employment and college and university training increased by the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, with larger institutions providing stable jobs. The “Dinosaur Renaissance” of the late 1960s gave a boost to new paleo-artistry. Women paleoartists became more prominent in the later twentieth to twenty-first centuries with the development of new art techniques, computer-based art, and use of the internet. Increasingly, there is encouragement and support for women paleoartists through the Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) movement.

Abstract Developing an advanced understanding of the Earth's fundamental processes and resources is essential to fulfil the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) is the oldest and most successful example of scientific co-operation between a non-governmental organization, the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), and an intergovernmental organization, UNESCO. During almost 50 years, this programme has been the gateway to successful scientific careers in pioneering research for thousands of IGCP project scientists. After almost 50 years of evaluating IGCP projects, the programme itself was evaluated through statistical analysis of the annual progress report during four periods: 1981–82, 1991–92, 2001–02 and 2011–12. Subsequently, these trends were compared to the trends of the last four years (2015–18). This study provided insight into trends and changes in the location of studies, participating countries, involvement of developing countries, gender equality, etc. To fully understand the added value of the IGCP brand identity and its seed funding, project leaders over a period of five years (2008–12) were asked to complete a survey about its work. Overall, both studies confirmed the value of the main aim of the IGCP: enabling and facilitating international collaboration between Earth scientists. Even though IGCP funding has been reduced, the IGCP brand still opens doors to new collaborators, new research and national funding agencies, often impacting the career of the involved researchers very positively.

Abstract This chapter explores the interaction between Archibald Geikie and female geologists in their many different roles and within the social context of his life and time (1835–1924). The roles adopted by female geologists altered around 1875 when there was a change in the educational and legal background. Geikie’s attitude to female fieldwork and research publications changes through time too. His life is divided up into five different stages according to his ability to support and influence female geologists in their roles as researchers, lecturers, wife assistants and students. Case studies of both single and married women are explored looking at the influence and interaction they had with Archibald Geikie. They include Maria Ogilvie Gordon, Catherine Raisin, Annie Greenly, Gertrude Elles, Ethel Skeat and Ethel Wood. Geikie seems to have accepted most of the roles that women undertook and supported them wherever he could.