CZO: Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory--Weathered Profile Development in a Rocky Environment and Its Influence on Watershed Hydrology and Biogeochemistry

CZO：博尔德溪关键区观测站——岩石环境中的风化剖面发展及其对流域水文和生物地球化学的影响

• 批准号: 0724960
• 负责人: Suzanne Anderson
• 金额: $ 425万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-15 至 2013-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0724960&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CZO; Boulder; Creek; Critical; Zone

This project will implement a new Critical Zone Observatory in the Boulder Creek watershed (BcCZO) in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The Earth's critical zone lies between the top of the vegetation and unweathered rock (NRC, 2001); it is in essence our living environment. Design and instrumentation of the BcCZO is driven by a suite of Earth science investigations to understand the transformation of rock into soil, and to quantify how the relevant processes are modulated by and coupled to both external forcings (e.g. climate) and intrinsic properties of the critical zone. The BcCZO extends from the continental divide to the range front, encompassing slightly more than 1000 km2 (~400 square miles) and a range of 2600 m (~8500 ft) in altitude. The relatively large drop in elevation within a single watershed provides an important contrast in climate and ecological regimes, which in turn provides a critical contrast in erosional processes. As a consequence, the properties and structure of the critical zone vary across the watershed, constituting a natural experiment on critical zone evolution and function. Three subcatchments of the BcCZO representing different states of critical zone development will be densely monitored via a networked infrastructure of geophysical, geochemical, and hydrological instrumentation. Intrinsic properties of the rock-soil column, including microbial biomass and activity, will be measured at multiple localities. The BcCZO will also leverage extant data and instrumentation from partners in the same and neighboring watersheds (e.g., NSF's Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) site, Niwot Ridge), including the unparalleled 50-year Mountain Climate Program. These data, coupled with high-resolution digital topography, cosmogenic nuclide analyses, and numerical hydrochemical models will allow development of the first mechanistic and quantitative description of processes that generate the critical zone. Simulations will be developed to explore the effect of critical zone properties on hydrologic and biogeochemical fluxes. The BcCZO will exploit intersections with the Niwot Ridge LTER site (which is the National Ecological Observatory Network Core Site, and with the Community Surface Dynamic Modeling System. The observatory will position itself as a resource to the broader scientific community through competitive graduate field fellowships, open science meetings, and maintenance of accessible data and sample archives. Results will be disseminated widely in journal publications, presentations at scientific meetings, and through web pages. The observatory will support the community-based BASIN.org environmental information network, viewed by more than 150,000 unique visitors per year. Through partnership with Science Discovery at UC Boulder, K-12 classroom, field programs, and curriculum will be developed for elementary-middle schoolers. A graduate level course using BcCZO field sites, and a field trip offered during the Geological Society of America annual meeting will extend the impact of the BcCZO within the scientific community.

该项目将在科罗拉多落基山脉前岭的博尔德溪流域（BcCZO）建立一个新的临界区观测站。 地球的临界带位于植被顶部和未风化岩石之间（NRC，2001）;它本质上是我们的生活环境。 BcCZO的设计和仪器由一系列地球科学调查驱动，以了解岩石转化为土壤，并量化相关过程如何受到外部强迫（例如气候）和临界区内在特性的调制和耦合。 BcCZO从大陆分水岭延伸到山脉前沿，包括略超过1000平方公里（约400平方英里）和海拔2600米（约8500英尺）的范围。 在一个单一的流域内相对较大的海拔下降提供了一个重要的对比，在气候和生态制度，这反过来又提供了一个关键的对比侵蚀过程。 因此，临界区的性质和结构在整个流域中各不相同，构成了一个关于临界区演变和功能的自然实验。 三个子流域的BcCZO代表不同状态的关键区的发展将密集监测通过网络基础设施的地球物理，地球化学和水文仪器。 将在多个地点测量岩-土柱的内在特性，包括微生物生物量和活性。BcCZO还将利用来自同一流域和邻近流域的合作伙伴的现有数据和仪器（例如，美国国家科学基金会的长期生态研究（LTER）网站，尼沃特岭），包括无与伦比的50年山区气候计划。 这些数据，加上高分辨率的数字地形，宇宙成因核素分析和数值水化学模型，将允许开发的第一个机制和定量描述的过程中产生的临界区。 将进行模拟，以探索临界区特性对水文和地球化学通量的影响。 BcCZO将利用与尼沃特岭LTER站点（国家生态观测站网络核心站点）和社区地表动态建模系统的交叉点。 该观测站将通过竞争性研究生领域研究金、公开科学会议以及维护可访问的数据和样本档案，将自己定位为更广泛的科学界的资源。 研究结果将通过期刊出版物、科学会议上的报告和网页广泛传播。该观测站将支持以社区为基础的环境信息网络BASIN.org，每年有150，000多名独立访问者访问该网络。 通过与加州大学博尔德分校的科学发现合作，将为中小学生开发K-12课堂，实地项目和课程。 使用BcCZO现场的研究生课程，以及在美国地质学会年会期间提供的实地考察，将扩大BcCZO在科学界的影响。