CZ RCN: Expanding knowledge of the Earth's Critical Zone: connecting data to models

地球的“临界区”包括地球从大气到地下水的部分。临界区的重要特征隐藏在其中：我们脚下的地面如何变化，它如何随着时间的推移而发展，以及我们如何预测可能发生的跨越时间和空间的变化。解决这些问题将影响我们如何管理食物、能源和水需求的预期增长，这些需求将伴随着人口到2050年增长到90亿而增加。这个项目是一个研究协调网络(RCN)，它将把科学专业知识和学生聚集在一起来探索这些主题。这个研究协调网络(RCN)旨在综合数据和模型来调查一个关键的研究问题：关键区域的结构在过去是如何演变的，它将如何应对日益密集的人类活动导致的未来扰动？对临界区过程的深度进行量化很重要，因为它连接了多个调查领域：水储存、风化、生物地球化学通量和社会需求。将模型与数据相结合是很困难的，因为不同的研究领域通过难以协调的条件变化来定义临界区。量化可能定义临界区下限的属性中的梯度需要注入来自不同学科的新思想、方法和人员。这个RCN围绕以下四个主题建立：1)有助于指导未来十年关键区域架构研究的综合努力；2)探索一套确定关键区域下边界及其对过程的影响的不同补充方法；3)培训多学科数据收集和建模方法的科学家；以及4)开发下一代关键区域模型的途径。这个RCN将涉及至少100名科学家，包括职业早期教师、博士后助理和研究生。参与者将从代表性不足的种族、社会经济、能力和性别认同群体中招募。除了参与者的大大小小的会议，这个RCN还将在年度会议上和通过网络研讨会提供研讨会，这些研讨会侧重于网络、多样化的研究技能和提案开发，将使更广泛的职业生涯早期专业人员受益。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The "Critical Zone" of the Earth includes the portion of the planet from the atmosphere through groundwater. Important characteristics of the Critical Zone are buried within it: how does the ground beneath our feet vary, how has it developed over time, and, how can we predict changes that may occur across time and space. Addressing these questions will affect how we manage the projected increase in demand for food, energy, and water that will accompany the growth in human population to 9 billion people by 2050. This project is a Research Coordination Network (RCN) that will bring together scientific expertise and students to explore these topics.This research coordination network (RCN) is intended to synthesize data and models to investigate a key research question: How has the structure of the Critical Zone evolved in the past and how will it respond to future perturbations resulting from increasingly intensive human activities? Quantifying the depth of Critical-Zone processes is important because it connects multiple areas of investigation: water storage, weathering, biogeochemical fluxes, and societal needs. Coupling models to data is difficult, since different research domains define the Critical Zone by changes in conditions that are hard to reconcile. Quantifying the gradient in properties that may define the lower boundary of the Critical Zone requires an injection of new ideas, methods, and people from across disciplines. This RCN is built around the following four topics: 1) synthesis efforts that help guide the coming decade of research on Critical-Zone architecture; 2) exploration of a diverse set of complimentary approaches for identifying the lower boundary of the Critical Zone and its influence on processes; 3) training of scientists in multidisciplinary data collection and modeling approaches; and 4) pathways to develop the next generation of Critical-Zone models. This RCN will involve at least 100 scientists, including early-career faculty, postdoctoral associates, and graduate students. Participants will be recruited from underrepresented ethnic, socio-economic, ability, and sexual identity groups. In addition to large and small meetings of the participants, this RCN will offer workshops at annual meetings and through webinars that focus on networking, diversifying research skills, and proposal development that will benefit a wider cross-section of early-career professionals.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.