@article{atkins_byrne_bohnenstiehl_wegmann_2022, title={A Morphometric Investigation of Large-Scale Crustal Shortening on Mars}, volume={127}, ISSN={["2169-9100"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JE007110}, DOI={10.1029/2021JE007110}, abstractNote={AbstractMars' surface exhibits abundant topographic expressions of large thrust fault‐related folds that have been attributed to global planetary contraction. Morphometric analyses of such structures provide insight into their growth history. With global THEMIS imagery and HRSC–MOLA topographic data, 49 thrusts with lengths between 35 and 544 km were mapped across Mars' surface. Assuming planar fault geometries with dips of 30°, the average maximum displacement‐length ratio (Dmax/L) of these structures is 6.1 × 10−3 ± 1.4 × 10−3, with smaller ratios observed for faults within the northern lowlands (2.9 × 10−3 ± 0.9 × 10−3) compared to the southern highlands (9.2 × 10−3 ± 1.9 × 10−3). However, these differences may be accounted for if mechanical layering in the northern lowland crust promotes either a shallowing of the fault dip angle relative to the southern highlands or the development of ramp‐flat geometries such that the topographic scarp height may under‐estimate the total fault displacement or a combination of these two scenarios together. Alternatively, these Dmax/L patterns may reflect hemispheric differences in the brittle‐ductile transition (BDT) depth; however, the observed pattern is stratigraphically inconsistent with the Martian crustal dichotomy, whereby the northern lowlands have thinner (or denser) crust and therefore presumably a deeper BDT than the southern highlands. Fault displacement‐length profiles are commonly asymmetric, with multiple local minima observed along their lengths. Spectral analysis of these profiles, using Fourier‐ and S‐Transforms, indicates power at a range of spatial frequencies, reflecting complex growth and linkage histories, with peak spectral frequency, or number of segments, being negatively correlated with the Dmax/L ratios.}, number={5}, journal={JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS}, publisher={American Geophysical Union (AGU)}, author={Atkins, R. M. and Byrne, P. K. and Bohnenstiehl, D. R. and Wegmann, K. W.}, year={2022}, month={May} }
 @article{atkins_wegmann_bohnenstiehl_2022, title={Channel head response to anthropogenic landscape modification: A case study from the North Carolina Piedmont, USA, with implications for water quality}, volume={48}, ISSN={0197-9337 1096-9837}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.5495}, DOI={10.1002/esp.5495}, abstractNote={AbstractEuropean‐American settlement of the south‐eastern United States introduced agricultural practices that included extensive clearing of forested hillslopes to support food and cash‐crop agriculture. This land disturbance has long‐term effects on stream morphology by displacing channel heads down‐valley, impacting downstream sediment and nutrient supply as channel heads migrate back up‐valley towards their pre‐disturbance locations. This study investigates 40 stream channels in William B. Umstead State Park in the Piedmont of North Carolina using relationships between local slope and contributing drainage areas to predict channel head locations and compare these to their observed positions. Further, expected eroded sediment and nutrient contributions are quantified using migration distances and sampled soils near channel heads. Of the 40 investigated channel heads, 23 are located down‐valley from their predicted location by an average of 174.4 m ± 109.6 (1 − σ). Using this distance and average channel cross‐sectional area, 1.6 ± 1.4 m2 (1 − σ), the expected future erosion per channel is 282.6 ± 177.6 m3 (1 − σ). Drainage density was used to extrapolate volumes to the 23 km2 park using a conservative estimate that 50% of the first‐order channel heads will migrate up‐valley, implying an additional 90.4 ± 56.8 × 103 m3 (1 − σ) of sediment is expected to erode from the study area. Finally, scaling these volume estimates to sampled soil nutrient values indicates that approximately 1053 ± 662 t (68% confidence) of carbon, 51 ± 32 t of total nitrogen, and 15 ± 9 t of phosphorus are anticipated to enter the fluvial system in response to channel head migration from within the confines of this state park, representing only 1% of the land area in Wake County. These findings suggest that regional water quality challenges posed by suspended sediments and nutrients will persist for hundreds to perhaps thousands of years from non‐point sources as first‐order channels continue to erode headward towards their equilibrium landscape positions.}, number={2}, journal={Earth Surface Processes and Landforms}, publisher={Wiley}, author={Atkins, Rachel M. and Wegmann, Karl W. and Bohnenstiehl, Del Wayne R.}, year={2022}, month={Oct}, pages={433–451} }
 @article{kling_byrne_atkins_wegmann_2021, title={Tectonic Deformation and Volatile Loss in the Formation of Noctis Labyrinthus, Mars}, volume={126}, ISSN={["2169-9100"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JE006555}, DOI={10.1029/2020JE006555}, abstractNote={AbstractNoctis Labyrinthus is a little‐studied and structurally complex area situated between the Tharsis Rise and Valles Marineris on Mars. Noctis Labyrinthus is dissected by normal faults that form horst and graben, pit craters situated inside the graben, and large troughs that cross‐cut both graben and pit craters. Mass wasting, periglacial, and some erosive fluvial features are observed at the bases of the troughs, suggesting that the troughs hosted liquid and perhaps even ice at some point in the past. We mapped and analyzed these structural and morphological features in Noctis Labyrinthus to establish the region's formational history. Fault throw profiles, combined with morphometric data from pit craters, were used to assess how the pit craters relate to the much larger troughs in the region and whether those troughs were formed by extensional tectonic deformation alone. This comparative analysis suggests that some pit craters grew deeper than the amount of throw accommodated by their bounding faults. We hypothesize that layers with subsurface volatiles (such as ground ice) were intersected and exposed by the larger Noctis Labyrinthus pit craters, enabling sublimation that further promoted mass wasting and the growth and coalescence of pits and graben into the large troughs. Under this scenario, subsurface volatiles played an important role in forming this structurally complex region, and may still be present there.}, number={11}, journal={JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS}, publisher={American Geophysical Union (AGU)}, author={Kling, Corbin L. and Byrne, Paul K. and Atkins, Rachel M. and Wegmann, Karl W.}, year={2021}, month={Nov} }
 @article{gold_atkins_mcneal_2021, title={Undergraduates' Graph Interpretation and Scientific Paper Reading Shift from Novice- to Expert-like as a Result of Participation in a Summer Research Experience: A Case Study}, volume={5}, ISSN={["2476-101X"]}, DOI={10.18833/spur/5/2/2}, abstractNote={Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) programs often introduce students to scientific research and STEM career possibilities. However, the program impact on students and their research skill development is not well understood. In a case study with 10 REU students, the authors used eye-tracking and self-report data to determine student strategies for reading scientific papers and interpreting graphs at the beginning and end of the program. The strategies of REU students and science experts were then compared. The REU students changed their strategies and performed more like experts at posttest. These findings indicate that, during the REU, students acquired expert-like strategies necessary to engage with scientific articles and extract key information from graphs. The study demonstrates that eye-tracking can document skill growth in REU students.}, number={2}, journal={SPUR-SCHOLARSHIP AND PRACTICE OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH}, author={Gold, Anne U. and Atkins, Rachel and McNeal, Karen S.}, year={2021}, pages={7–19} }
 @article{maudlin_mcneal_dinon-aldridge_davis_boyles_atkins_2020, title={Website Usability Differences between Males and Females: An Eye-Tracking Evaluation of a Climate Decision Support System}, volume={12}, ISSN={["1948-8335"]}, DOI={10.1175/WCAS-D-18-0127.1}, abstractNote={ABSTRACTDecision support systems—collections of related information located in a central place to be used for decision-making—can be used as platforms from which climate information can be shared with decision-makers. Unfortunately, these tools are not often evaluated, meaning developers do not know how useful or usable their products are. In this study, a web-based climate decision support system (DSS) for foresters in the southeastern United States was evaluated by using eye-tracking technology. The initial study design was exploratory and focused on assessing usability concerns within the website. Results showed differences between male and female forestry experts in their eye-tracking behavior and in their success with completing tasks and answering questions related to the climate information presented in the DSS. A follow-up study, using undergraduate students from a large university in the southeastern United States, aimed to determine whether similar gender differences existed and could be detected and, if so, whether the cause(s) could be determined. The second evaluation, similar to the first, showed that males and females focused their attention on different aspects of the website; males focused more on the maps depicting climate information while females focused more on other aspects of the website (e.g., text, search bars, and color bars). DSS developers should consider the possibility of gender differences when designing a web-based DSS and include website features that draw user attention to important DSS elements to effectively support various populations of users.}, number={1}, journal={WEATHER CLIMATE AND SOCIETY}, author={Maudlin, Lindsay C. and McNeal, Karen S. and Dinon-Aldridge, Heather and Davis, Corey and Boyles, Ryan and Atkins, Rachel M.}, year={2020}, month={Jan}, pages={183–192} }
 @article{mcneal_ryker_whitmeyer_giorgis_atkins_ladue_clark_soltis_pingel_2020, title={A multi-institutional study of inquiry-based lab activities using the Augmented Reality Sandbox: impacts on undergraduate student learning}, volume={44}, ISSN={["1466-1845"]}, DOI={10.1080/03098265.2019.1694875}, abstractNote={ABSTRACT We developed and tested different pedagogical treatments using an Augmented Reality (AR) Sandbox to teach introductory geoscience students about reading topographic maps at five institutions in both pilot and full implementation studies. The AR Sandbox treatments were characterized as 1) unstructured play, 2) a semi-structured lesson, and 3) a structured lesson. The success of each was contrasted with the control condition of a traditional topographic map lab without the AR Sandbox. Students completed a subset of questions from the Topographic Maps Assessment (TMA) and a series of mental rotation questions post-implementation. No significant differences were found on TMA post-test scores between groups who used the unstructured Sandbox play treatment compared to the control condition. Semi-structured and structured lesson formats similarly failed to produce a statistically significant difference on the TMA post-test. This indicates that no single treatment worked universally better than another. However, regression analysis showed two factors significantly predicted performance on the TMA, including spatial performance and self-assessed knowledge (or confidence) of topographic maps. Of the groups that used the Sandbox, students with low and high scores on the mental rotation test performed best on the TMA following the structured treatment.}, number={1}, journal={JOURNAL OF GEOGRAPHY IN HIGHER EDUCATION}, author={McNeal, Karen S. and Ryker, Katherine and Whitmeyer, Shelley and Giorgis, Scott and Atkins, Rachel and LaDue, Nicole and Clark, Christine and Soltis, Nick and Pingel, Thomas}, year={2020}, month={Jan}, pages={85–107} }
 @article{atkins_mcneal_2018, title={Exploring Differences Among Student Populations During Climate Graph Reading Tasks: An Eye Tracking Study}, volume={5}, ISSN={["2374-6254"]}, DOI={10.19030/jaese.v5i2.10219}, abstractNote={Communicating climate information is challenging due to the interdisciplinary nature of the topic along with compounding cognitive and affective learning challenges. Graphs are a common representation used by scientists to communicate evidence of climate change. However, it is important to identify how and why individuals on the continuum of expertise navigate graphical data differently as this has implications for effective communication of this information. We collected and analyzed eye-tracking metrics of geoscience graduate students and novice undergraduate students while viewing graphs displaying climate information. Our findings indicate that during fact-extraction tasks, novice undergraduates focus proportionally more attention on the question, title and axes graph elements, whereas geoscience graduate students spend proportionally more time viewing and interpreting data. This same finding was enhanced during extrapolation tasks. Undergraduate novices were also more likely to describe general trends, while graduate students identified more specific patterns. Undergraduates who performed high on the pre-test measuring graphing skill, viewed graphs more similar to graduate students than their peers who performed lower on the pre-test.}, number={2}, journal={JOURNAL OF ASTRONOMY AND EARTH SCIENCES EDUCATION}, author={Atkins, Rachel M. and McNeal, Karen S.}, year={2018}, month={Dec}, pages={85–114} }