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

该项目将在科罗拉多州落基山脉前缘的博尔德溪分水岭(BcCZO)建立一个新的临界区观测站。地球的临界区位于植被顶部和未风化的岩石之间(NRC，2001)；它本质上是我们的生活环境。BcCZO的设计和仪器设备是由一系列地球科学调查推动的，目的是了解岩石转化为土壤的过程，并量化相关过程如何受到外部作用力(例如气候)和临界区内在属性的调制和耦合。BcCZO从大陆分水岭延伸到山脉前沿，覆盖面积略高于1000平方公里(约400平方英里)，海拔范围为2600米(约8500英尺)。单一流域内相对较大的海拔下降在气候和生态制度上形成了重要的对比，这反过来又在侵蚀过程中提供了关键的对比。因此，临界区的性质和结构在整个流域内是不同的，构成了关于临界区演化和功能的自然实验。BcCZO的三个子流域代表着临界区发展的不同状态，将通过地球物理、地球化学和水文仪器的网络基础设施进行密集监测。岩土柱的内在特性，包括微生物生物量和活性，将在多个地点进行测量。BcCZO还将利用来自同一流域和邻近流域(例如，NSF的长期生态研究(LTER)站点Niwot Ridge)合作伙伴的现有数据和仪器，包括无与伦比的50年山地气候计划。这些数据，再加上高分辨率数字地形、宇宙成因核素分析和水化学数值模型，将使人们能够对产生临界区的过程进行第一次机械和定量的描述。将开发模拟来探索临界区属性对水文和生物地球化学通量的影响。BcCZO将利用与Niwot Ridge LTER站点(这是国家生态观测站网络核心站点)以及与社区表面动态建模系统的交叉点。天文台将通过竞争性的研究生实地奖学金、公开科学会议以及维护可获取的数据和样本档案，将自己定位为更广泛的科学界的资源。结果将在期刊出版物、科学会议上的演示文稿和网页上广泛传播。天文台将支持以社区为基础的BASIN.org环境信息网络，每年有超过15万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探索合作，将为中小学生开发K-12课堂、实地课程和课程。在美国地质学会年会期间提供的使用BcCZO野外场地的研究生水平课程和实地考察将扩大BcCZO在科学界的影响。

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.