Abstract
Most perceptions regarding the risks to physical, intellectual, and emotional health encountered in the field by members of the geoscience community engaging in course-related trips, field camps, research fieldwork are based on little more than anecdotal evidence. In addition, remarkably little is known regarding the ratio between incidents involving physical (e.g., injuries and illnesses) and non-physical (events related to gender, race, sexual orientation, disability status) traumas encountered by geoscientists and the number of incident-free person-hours spent by our community members in the field. As a result, we base perceptions of risk on incomplete information, which leads to failures of leadership (inappropriate activities, insufficient training, inadequate protocols) and barriers to inclusivity and diversity. Quantifying safety is a challenge for all epidemiological studies of outdoor activities, but results suggest the most representative data are obtained by prospectively recording incidents at the time of occurrence by trained leaders using standardized forms and terms. Accurate characterizations of both the numerator (incidents) and denominator (time spent operating in a range of environments) of the field-safety ratio are critical for understanding the actual range and probability of risks faced by geoscientists in the field. To address this need, we are developing a new app-based system for participants (instructors, staff, students) to report incidents of physical and psychological traumas and their causal factors (the Simple Accessible Field Experience Reporting system: SAFER). These reports will capture data on the range, type, and frequency of safety-related incidents in field environments that will provide a foundation for expanding the focus on field safety for all participants. These data are critical for enabling effective planning, training, and interventions targeted at the most significant problems and effective use of limited resources. Such comprehensive understandings of field safety are also essential for keeping geoscientists, especially those from groups and identities commonly marginalized in the discipline, actively learning and working towards program completion and successful participation in the workforce.