Non-Foreboding Coding: Empowering Underrepresented Undergraduate Researchers through Leveraging R and GitHub in Conjunction with International Field Work.

Coding and data visualization are essential tools for success in geosciences. Free and open-source languages such as R and the increase in accessibility of computing power also mean that these skills are now more accessible to a wider range of the population, especially students. We report on international fieldwork in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador led by five undergraduate students who come from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in STEM. While training in field observations and measurements is fundamental in geosciences, it is equally important to complement such experiences with data processing and synthesis. We present an approach to teaching R and GitHub in tandem, closely tied with an international hydrological field research campaign. Using a combination of R and GitHub, students learned to code while making their work accessible and editable by the rest of the group. The result was the ability of all team members to work collaboratively on code, data processing, and data analysis while in the field. Real-time collaboration allowed for a team approach at problem solving while building off each other's strengths. Through reusable and publicly available code, students quickly and accurately downloaded, processed, and analyzed data collected in the field on a daily basis. This team approach in turn led to high engagement with field tasks, meaningful discussions after each field day, and thorough understanding of the biophysical processes subject of our study.