Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Logo
Menu
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Organizational Charts
    • Virtual Tours
    • EESA Strategic Vision
  • Our People
    • A-Z People
    • Alumni Network
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • IDEA Working Group
    • Paul A. Witherspoon
    • Postdocs & Early Careers
    • Search by Expertise
  • Careers & Opportunities
    • Careers
    • Intern Pilot w/CSUEB
    • Mentorship Program
    • Recognition & Funding Opps
    • EESA Mini Grants
    • S&E Metrics for Performance and Promotion
    • Student Opportunities
    • Supervisor EnRichment (SupER) Program
    • Promotion Metrics (Scientific)
  • Research
    • Area-Wide Program Domain
      • Earth AI & Data
    • Our Divisions
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
      • Environmental & Biological Systems Science
        • Programs
        • Environmental Remediation & Water Resources
        • Ecosystems Biology Program
        • Bioenergy
      • Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
        • Terrestrial Ecosystem Science
      • Climate & Atmosphere Processes
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
      • Earth Systems & Society
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
    • Energy Geosciences Division
      • Discovery Geosciences
        • Programs
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geophysics
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geochemistry
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Isotope
      • Energy Resources and Carbon Management
        • Programs
        • Carbon Removal & Mineralization Program
        • Carbon Storage Program
        • Geothermal Systems
        • Hydrocarbon Science
        • Nuclear Energy & Waste
      • Resilient Energy, Water & Infrastructure
        • Programs
        • Water-Energy
        • Critical Infrastructure
        • Environmental Resilience
        • Grid-Scale Subsurface Energy Storage
        • National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI)
    • Projects
    • Research at a Glance
    • Publication Lists
    • Centers and Resources
    • Technologies & National User Programs
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
    • Operations
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Earth & Environment Newsletter
  • Intranet
  • Safety
    • EESA Safety
  • FoW
  • Search

  • all
  • people
  • events
  • posts
  • pages
  • projects
  • publications

International Early-Career Cohort Seeks to Enhance Collaboration Among Critical Zone Researchers3 min read

by Christina Procopiou on August 6, 2021

Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division

The DOE watershed site at East RIver Colorado, one of the many research observatories taking part in the effort to develop, organize, and advance modes of collaboration across CZ networks through an effort called International Critical Zone Network-of-Networks.

Earth’s critical zone spans from the top of the tree canopy to the depths of the subsurface. Researchers across the world study instrumented critical zone observatories and equivalent watershed sites to examine hydrological fluxes, energy matter, and biogeochemical cycles for insights into how factors like land use and climate change are affecting Earth systems.

Now EESA researchers with expertise in hydrology, biogeochemistry, climate science, and geophysics have teamed up with colleagues across the world to develop, organize, and advance modes of collaboration across CZ networks through an effort called International Critical Zone Network-of-Networks. EESA Research Scientist Bhavna Arora is leading the effort with peer early-career researchers James Stegen, Pamela L. Sullivan, Adam Wymore, Sylvain Kuppel, Jannis Groh, Christopher Wellen, and Claire Oswald who represent academic and scientific institutions such as Institute of Research for Development,  France to Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. Later this month, the group will launch the first of two webinar series designed to enhance collaboration and integration across different international critical zone observatories and watershed sites. 

“Very little is understood about how population growth, urbanization, and industrialization are affecting Earth’s critical zones and watersheds, let alone how climate change will leave its imprint,” Arora said. “Our goal in forming the international early career cohort is to provide a foundation to do together what would be impossible to do alone.”

The goals of the International Critical Zone Network-to-Network program are to accelerate the process of scientific discovery and prepare the next generation of Critical Zone scientists. With strategic linkages among DOE watershed sites, US NSF critical zone observatories, and complementary networks abroad, this network of early-career scientists is aiming to expedite and facilitate the sharing of data, tools, insights, and models beyond individual sites and networks. 

Arora points to one example of tool sharing: AI/machine learning approaches are being used for microbial datasets by researchers from very different research backgrounds. Others are sharing insights on the similarity and diversity of the impact of precipitation variability on ecohydrological processes within montane environments.

“What our International Critical Zone Network-of-Networks has done so far is build relationships with different communities and networks. This foundation holds the potential to transform our ability to address complex critical zone  questions and to develop transferable insights and consequential solutions.

This first webinar series will provide an overview of the different Critical zone/watershed sites, followed by a discussion of where synergies exist and where they are most needed to  respond to the challenges of understanding and predicting such systems. The second series will focus on existing tools and transformative approaches for integration and synthesis including but not limited to AI/machine learning.

Several individuals from the Department of Energy (DOE) will participate as speakers in the upcoming seminar series that takes place every Tuesday starting August 24. Learn more or register here. 

 

 

News & Events

EESA Scientists Investigate How Tropical Soil Microbes Might Respond to Future Droughts2 min read

March 14, 2023

As the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, tropical rainforests are just as critical to sustaining environmental and human systems as they are beautiful. Their unique climate with high temperatures, humidity, and precipitation promotes high primary productivity, which offsets high respiration, resulting in these ecosystems being one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth,…

Doubling Protected Lands for Biodiversity Could Require Tradeoffs With Other Land Uses, Study Finds4 min read

March 3, 2023

This article first appeared on lbl.gov. Scientists show how 30% protected land targets may not safeguard biodiversity hotspots and may negatively affect other sectors – and how data and analysis can support effective conservation and land use planning Although more than half the world’s countries have committed to protecting at least 30% of land and oceans…

Six Berkeley Lab Scientists Named AAAS Fellows6 min read

This article first appeared at lbl.gov Six researchers have been elected into the 2022 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced their 2022 Fellows, including six scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This lifetime honor, which follows…

Kenichi Soga named to National Academy of Engineers1 min read

February 23, 2023

Faculty scientist Kenichi Soga was named to the National Academy of Engineering (NA), one of the highest honors that can be achieved as an American engineer. Soga is the Donald H. McLaughlin Chair in Mineral Engineering and a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and has conducted groundbreaking research from infrastructure sensing to…

  • Our People
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • Organizational Charts
    • Postdocs
    • Staff Only
    • Search by Expertise
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
  • Research
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
    • Energy Geosciences Division
    • Program Domains
      • Programs
    • Projects
  • Contact
    • 510 486 6455
    • eesawebmaster@lbl.gov
    • Our Identity

Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo DOE Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo UC

A U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory Managed by the University of California

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · Earth and Environmental Sciences Area · Privacy & Security Notice