Scientists in environmental geophysics and geotechnical engineering study underground conditions that influence groundwater resources, landslide risks and the stability of critical infrastructure.

As climate change increases flooding and other extreme weather events, understanding what goes on beneath the Earth's surface is becoming more important.

To do that, researchers collect large volumes of information using seismic surveys, ground-penetrating radar, environmental sensors, satellite observations and borehole testing. Each source provides different information. Integrating and interpreting those datasets, however, can be a complex and time-consuming challenge.

"We now collect large amounts of geophysical, geotechnical and environmental data, but these datasets are often analyzed separately," says Akingboye, whose research in EUC focuses on climate-related hazards and infrastructure resilience.

That is one reason AI is steadily being applied in the field, he says. The technology improves how researchers merge datasets, analyze results and identify patterns. This provides a clearer understanding of subsurface conditions to assess landslide risks, monitor infrastructure and evaluate groundwater systems.

With AI expanding into environmental geophysics and geotechnical engineering, Akingboye paused to assess how the technology was being used.

"A question I had been thinking about for some time was, with the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, are we actually using it in the most meaningful way in environmental geophysics and geotechnical engineering?" he says.

That question became the starting point for a new co-authored by Akingboye and Professor Adeyemi Oludapo Olusola, who supervises his work in EUC. The paper examined hundreds of recent studies to assess how AI is being used in environmental geophysics and geotechnical engineering, evaluating both the progress being made and the challenges that remain.

鈥淭he sheer range of AI applications was surprising. We found AI being used for subsurface imaging, groundwater assessment, soil-rock characterization, landslide and slope instability prediction, and infrastructure monitoring, among many other applications,鈥� says Akingboye.

The review shows AI improves subsurface research by integrating multiple data streams to deliver detailed underground maps and efficient estimates of soil, rock and groundwater properties.

For Akingboye, documenting AI's growth was only part of the story; it was also about whether the technology could be trusted in environmental and engineering decision-making.

鈥淎 high-performing model is not automatically a useful or trustworthy one. We wanted to ask broader questions: Does the result agree with what we know about the subsurface? Can we explain it? Can we account for the uncertainty?鈥� says Akingboye.

The answer, the review found, is not always clear-cut. Across studies from around the world, researchers encountered recurring challenges including limited data, uncertainty, difficulty applying models across different geological settings and understanding how AI systems arrived at their conclusions.

Akingboye notes the challenges identified in the review are not simply technical problems. Inaccurate or poorly understood predictions can influence decisions about environmental hazards and critical infrastructure, making reliability as important as performance.

鈥淭hese are important gaps because a wrong interpretation can have serious consequences for environmental and engineering decision-making,鈥� says Akingboye. 鈥淭he impacts can be catastrophic and are often felt most severely by vulnerable and marginalized communities with fewer resources to prepare for, respond to and recover from environmental or infrastructure failures.鈥�

As well as identifying challenges, the authors also sought to outline a path forward. They advocate for future AI-driven tools that merge diverse environmental and geological datasets, account for uncertainty and respect established scientific laws governing geological systems.

To advance AI tools, the authors recommend developing systems with more robust prediction rationale and stronger validation benchmarks. They also call for closer collaboration between researchers, industry and policymakers to ensure future models combine sensor and monitoring data to provide near real-time pictures of changing underground conditions.

Ultimately, the review argues that the next step lies in engineering complex AI models capable responding beyond the datasets and conditions on which they were trained.

鈥淭here is still a significant gap between a model that performs well in a research study and one that can be trusted and applied in real-world practice,鈥� says Akingboye. 鈥淚 think closing that gap, while ensuring that these technologies ultimately support safer, more resilient and equitable communities, is one of the most important areas for future work.鈥�

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Colla, a former professor at the (EUC) and a founding member of 91亚色's Centre for Bee Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (BEEc), died in July 2025 at the age of 43. She was among the first scientists in North America to document the decline of wild bee populations, and her work contributed to the rusty-patched bumblebee being federally listed as an endangered species in both Canada and the U.S.

The garden, named "A Flower Patch for Sheila," grew from an idea rooted in Colla's own wishes: her obituary invited those seeking to honour her to plant a flower or tree native to where they live. Led by Laura Newburn of BEEc and Phyllis Novak of EUC, the pollinator garden at 91亚色 U was planted on World Bee Day, May 20, with 91亚色 colleagues and the broader community in attendance.

The choice of a native plant garden as a tribute was not incidental. Sandra Rehan, professor of biology and firector of BEEc, says Colla was as passionate about native plants as she was about native bees, and often pushed back against the focus on non-native species in the public and garden culture.

"She was a strong advocate for native biodiversity in all capacity," Rehan says. "By implementing and expanding on wildflower plantings to support wild bees, it's exactly the kind of thing she would have wanted."

The plants were chosen by current and former lab members, colleagues, collaborators and community members who knew both her science and her personal preferences: goldenrod, coneflower, asters, milkweed and flowering edible plants such as blueberries and raspberries.

Briann Dorin, a former PhD student and now postdoctoral researcher in Colla's lab, says the selection and layout reflect principles Colla spent her career advancing. Bloom times in the garden are staggered so bees have food from spring through fall, species are planted in clusters to support efficient foraging, and flower colours are varied to attract different bees.

"Every flower that was planted for Sheila is known to be pollinator-supporting for our native pollinators," Dorin says. "We designed the garden in a way that is based on the science for what pollinators like."

The Maloca Community Garden was a natural site for the tribute. Colla conducted research there with students and brought classes to the garden to connect them with living ecosystems beyond the lecture hall. The garden carries an Indigenous focus that resonated with her cross-disciplinary values, and was one of the sites connected to her collaboration with EUC professor Lisa Myers on the Finding Flowers project, which explored the intersections of ecology, Indigenous artistic practice and conservation.

The garden was funded by World Wildlife Fund-Canada, BEEc, EUC and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through a collaboration involving former members of Colla鈥檚 lab, colleagues and the wider 91亚色 community.

On June 25, from noon to 2 p.m., the garden will be acknowledged with a formal dedication during a public event co-hosted by BEEc and EUC. EUC Dean Alice Hovorka will speak, as will Victoria MacPhail, a longtime collaborator and former PhD student in Colla鈥檚 lab.

Other presenters include Myers and researchers from both BEEc and Colla's former lab. Topics will cover pollinator conservation, native plants and the intersection of art, ecology and Indigenous practices.

Rehan says the event is an opportunity for the public to learn how to support pollinators in their own spaces 鈥� from identifying local wild bees to choosing native plants and designing gardens that are ecologically useful and visually appealing. The event is open to the 91亚色 community and the public.

MacPhail says the tribute reflects what Colla herself would have valued: a living space that supports pollinators, educates the public and carries her work forward.

"This is a nice way to continue her legacy," MacPhail says. "By continuing to educate people, and share knowledge, enthusiasm and love for these creatures."

Colla鈥檚 work continues to shape bumblebee conservation through research, public education materials and the students she trained. BumbleBeeWatch.org, the community science initiative she co-founded in 2011, continues to track bumblebee sightings across the continent. And the Maloca garden, now planted, will keep flowering year after year.

Learn more about Colla and her work through the .

Visit A Flower Patch for Sheila for more information about the garden.

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