Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory

南山脉关键区天文台

• 批准号: 1331939
• 负责人: Roger Bales
• 金额: $ 490万
• 依托单位: University of California - Merced
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-10-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1331939&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Southern; Sierra; Critical; Zone; Observatory

The Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory (SSCZO) is investigating how mountain soil and regolith properties develop over geologic time, and interact with shorter-term climate variability and ecosystem behavior. This understanding is used to predict how environmental change, including human disturbances, fire, pests and changes in climate influence water resources, material flows and forest health. We are pioneering low-cost, accurate measurement systems and use of the measurements to drive advanced earth systems modeling for predictions. We work closely with regional stakeholders and use our results to assess options available to resource managers to enhance management of forests, water and other ecosystem services, given environmental change.The SSCZO is also a community platform for research on critical-zone (CZ) processes, both locally and as part of the broader CZO national network. It lies along a steep elevation transect where precipitation grades from dominantly rain to dominantly snow and ecosystems range from oak savannah biomes to subalpine forests. Spatial gradients in CZ properties and processes permit substitution of space for time, making the SSCZO an excellent natural laboratory for studying how the CZ responds to disturbance and how the water cycle drives CZ processes. SSCZO research involves a core SSCZO team from 6 campuses, plus collaborators and cooperators from other institutions who use SSCZO data and other resources in their research. SSCZO resources include 4 focal sites spanning a 3000-meter elevation range with gradients in climate, regolith properties, soils, vegetation and material cycles. Measurements are intensive and detailed, including 4 flux towers, meteorological stations, soil lysimeters, groundwater wells, and over 1000 continuous sensors for snow depth, soil moisture, streamflow, water quality and sap flow.The SSCZO provides a platform for research in a landscape with vital importance to society, yet poorly understood in its potential response to climate warming. The twin threats of a changing climate and land-use practices raise fundamental questions about the sustainability of CZ services in the semi-arid U.S. West, which depends heavily on seasonally snow-covered mountains for many of these services. The Sierra Nevada provides ecosystem services, ranging from water to biodiversity, to a large fraction of California's and thus the nation's population. SSCZO partnerships with federal, state, and local resource-management agencies show the interest that decision makers have in using both research results and SSCZO technology to improve predictive capabilities. SSCZO will provide data and lessons to enhance the science experience of thousands of middle- and high-school students, several undergraduate students and the public.

南部塞拉利昂临界区观测站（SSCZO）正在调查山区土壤和风化层特性如何在地质时期发展，并与短期气候变化和生态系统行为相互作用。 这一认识被用来预测环境变化，包括人为干扰、火灾、虫害和气候变化如何影响水资源、物质流动和森林健康。 我们正在开拓低成本，精确的测量系统，并使用测量来驱动先进的地球系统建模进行预测。 我们与区域利益相关者密切合作，并利用我们的研究结果评估资源管理者的可用选项，以加强森林，水和其他生态系统服务的管理，考虑到环境变化。SSCZO也是一个社区平台，用于研究关键区（CZ）过程，无论是在当地还是作为更广泛的CZO国家网络的一部分。它位于沿着一个陡峭的海拔样带，那里的降水等级从主要的雨到主要的雪，生态系统从橡树萨凡纳生物群落到亚高山森林。CZ特性和过程的空间梯度允许用空间代替时间，使SSCZO成为研究CZ如何响应干扰以及水循环如何驱动CZ过程的绝佳天然实验室。SSCZO研究涉及来自6个校区的核心SSCZO团队，以及来自其他机构的合作者和合作者，他们在研究中使用SSCZO数据和其他资源。SSCZO资源包括跨越3000米海拔范围的4个焦点站点，具有气候，风化层特性，土壤，植被和物质循环的梯度。测量是密集和详细的，包括4通量塔，气象站，土壤蒸渗仪，地下水威尔斯，和超过1000个连续传感器的雪深，土壤水分，径流，水质和液流。SSCZO提供了一个平台，研究景观与社会至关重要，但在其对气候变暖的潜在反应知之甚少。气候变化和土地利用方式的双重威胁提出了关于半干旱美国西部CZ服务可持续性的根本问题，这些服务在很大程度上依赖于季节性积雪覆盖的山脉。内华达州山脉为加州的大部分地区乃至全国人口提供了从水资源到生物多样性的生态系统服务。SSCZO与联邦、州和地方资源管理机构的合作关系表明，决策者有兴趣利用研究成果和SSCZO技术来提高预测能力。SSCZO将提供数据和经验教训，以提高成千上万的初中和高中学生，一些本科生和公众的科学经验。