ASSESSING LAND SUITABILITY FOR THE COSMIC EXPLORER OBSERVATORY NEAR BEND, OREGON USING BOOLEAN SPATIAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study evaluated the suitability of locations near Bend, Oregon, analyzing approximately 36,269 km2 of land, for the construction of the 40 km by 40 km Cosmic Explorer, a next generation gravitational wave observatory, using a Boolean analysis. Site selection prioritized areas with flat, geologically stable terrain with minimal environmental risk and low human disturbance. Terrain suitability was assessed using Local Moran’s I spatial autocorrelation with 40 nearest neighbors to identify clusters of similar slope values, while the Topographic Position Index classified landforms representing valleys, ridges and flat areas. Raster reclassification was applied to the land cover raster data. Buffer analyses were used for active oil wells, buildings, major roads, railroads, hydrological flowlines, wind farms, mines and national historic places. Rasterization was applied to pipelines, FEMA flood zones, and protected wildlife areas. Each analysis produced a Boolean layer with values of 1 for locations meeting suitability criteria and 0 for locations considered inadequate. All Boolean layers were combined using raster math to produce a consolidated suitability map. The final analysis determined that approximately 24,826 km2 (~70% of the study area) met all criteria for potential Cosmic Explorer construction. These results provide a reproducible framework for identifying potential locations for large-scale observatories, combining terrain, infrastructure, hydrology, and cultural data to address scientific, environmental, and societal considerations.