The Role of Critical Zone Observatories in Critical Zone Science

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has pioneered an integrated approach to the study of Earth's Critical Zone by supporting a network of Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs). The CZOs are intensively studied and monitored sites with a focus on a range of Critical Zone processes that are well represented at the various sites. The initial network (beginning in 2007) consisted of 3 CZOs, expanded to 6 in 2009, and is currently expanding to a total of 10 in 2014. The investment in financial and human resources into the CZOs has enabled a range of new scientific investigations that were not accessible under traditional funding mechanisms, and this is leading to novel and exciting advances in scientific understanding of a fundamentally important part of the Earth system. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

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Author Daniel D. Richter Earth and Climate Sciences