Critical Zone Science: A Workshop on the Biological Aspects of Weathering; October 3-5, 2009; Washington, D.C.

临界区是地球上岩石与生命相遇的区域：因此，该区域支持人类社会的运作。由于持续的人为活动，该区域的健康，包括水圈、生物圈、岩石圈和大气，现在面临压力。土壤整合并记录了临界区发生的化学、生物和物理过程，因此提供了长期的变化历史。为了了解临界区的长期和近期变化，全球和跨学科的临界区社区已经成立，以收集、跟踪和传播由重要环境变量变化驱动的临界区过程的数据。随着地下水化学家、土壤化学家、地貌学家、生态学家、微生物学家和其他人试图了解临界区的耦合过程，这个社区继续发展。为了指导和推进临界区科学未来的研究计划，支持者计划组织一个研讨会，？临界区：关于风化的生物学方面的研讨会，？约20至25名地球科学、土壤科学、生态学和微生物学领域的顶尖科学家将参加会议。这次跨学科研讨会将由宾夕法尼亚州立大学的苏珊·L·布兰特利和史密森学会环境研究中心的帕特里克·梅戈尼格尔组织，并将在史密森学会S国家自然历史博物馆举行。讲习班的目标将是阐明未来10年风化科学生物学方面的研究议程。这些讨论将导致一份关于这个主题的出版物，其中将列出多达10个重要的研究问题。在这项提案中，我们要求NSF补贴会议费用。研讨会的参与者将来自大学和政府组织，并将来自不同的学科。研讨会的目标将产生广泛影响，因为研讨会将：？促进关键领域科学家之间的多学科合作？确定关键区域科学的新方法？确定目前资金不足、介于地球科学和生物科学之间的研究领域？制定风化科学的研究重点？阐明与临界区科学有关的地球化学-生物学界面的十年研究议程？出版一份突出未来研究重点的出版物

The Critical Zone is the zone on Earth where rocks meet life: as such, this zone supports the functioning of human society. Due to ongoing anthropogenic activity, the health of this Zone, including the hydrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere, is now under stress. Soils integrate and record the chemical, biological, and physical processes occurring in the Critical Zone, and as such provide a long-term history of change.To understand long-term and recent change in the Critical Zone, a global and interdisciplinary Critical Zone community has formed to collect, track, and disseminate data on Critical Zone processes that are driven by changes in important environmental variables. This community continues to grow as groundwater chemists, soil chemists, geomorphologists, ecologists, microbiologists, and others seek to understand the coupled processes in the Critical Zone.To guide and advance future research programs in Critical Zone science, the proponents plan to organize a workshop, ?The Critical Zone: A Workshop on the Biological Aspects of Weathering,? to be held in October 2009 in Washington, D.C. Approximately 20 to 25 leading scientists in the fields of geosciences, soil sciences, ecology and microbiology will participate. This cross-disciplinary workshop will be organized by Susan L. Brantley, Pennsylvania State University, and Patrick Megonigal, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and will be held at the Smithsonian Institute?s National Museum of Natural History. The goal of the workshop will be to articulate a research agenda for the biological aspects of weathering science for the next 10 years. The discussions will lead to a publication on the topic that will lay out up to 10 important research questions.Broader Impacts. In this proposal, we ask NSF to subsidize the costs of the meeting. Workshop participants will derive from university and government organizations and will derive from a variety of disciplines. The goals of the workshop will have broad impact because the workshop will:? Foster multidisciplinary collaboration among Critical Zone scientists? Identify new approaches to Critical Zone science? Identify research areas that are currently underfunded and that lie between geosciences and biological sciences? Develop research priorities for weathering science? Articulate a 10-year research agenda for the interface of geochemistry-biology as it pertains to Critical Zone science? Produce one publication highlighting future research priorities