International Workshop: Critical Zone Observatories for Sustainable Soil Development and Beyond

Miami University, Oxford OH

Investigators

Abstract

Earth's Critical Zone (CZ) refers to the thin layer of earth from the bottom of the ground water to the top of the vegetation upon which humanity is so utterly dependent for life support. This layer provides vital ecosystem services to sustain our economy. With projected human population growth and associated environmental change in the future, it is imperative to understand the impacts of anthropogenic activities and climate change on CZ biogeochemical processes and rates. In response to this pressing global need, a global network of observatories, called Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs), have been established over the course of the past five years primarily in the United States and Europe. These observatories are to provide an unprecedented intensity and scale of scientific observations, where interdisciplinary scientists come together to test hypotheses, identify ecosystem processes and measure their rates, develop mathematical models, and make use of multiple sensors and sampling methods. By now, 60 observatories are established in 25 countries and scientists from diverse disciplines are now actively engaged in developing a concerted international research effort that explicitly links CZOs and Critical Zone research to the global sustainability agenda. This proposal requests support to hold an international workshop on CZ processes in China to promote collaboration between Chinese and US scientists. For this, the meeting will also promote the CZO concept among Chinese scientists, involving Chinese funding agencies in supporting the CZ research. The second objective is to train young scientists and students in the CZ science. The third objective is to identify possible CZO sites in China so that they can join the international network. The principal investigator (PI) will work closely with the Chinese counterparts to arrange logistics. Following 2-3 day plenary sessions and small group discussions, the participants will visit a red soil field site in Jiangxi Province, China. The PI and Chinese collaborators will implement various methods to sustain the international activities for the long term. The workshop will address globally significant research questions and will greatly advance our understanding of the complex interactions between the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. These topics are of interest to geologists, microbiologists, geochemists, hydrologists, civil and environmental engineers, and the general public with broad theoretical and practical implications. The workshop is most likely to stimulate integrated multidisciplinary research among the US, the European, and Chinese scientists. The workshop report will be placed on the workshop website. The site will also contain important information such as faculty and student exchange opportunities, any new program announcements, job opportunities, joint proposal opportunities, meeting announcements, etc.