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Abstract Critical Zone (CZ) scientists have advanced understanding of Earth's surface through process‐based research that quantifies water, energy, and mass fluxes in predominantly undisturbed systems. However, the CZ is being increasingly altered by humans through climate and land use change. Expanding the scope of CZ science to include both human‐ and non‐human controls on the CZ is important for understanding anthropogenic impacts to Earth's surface processes and ecosystem services. Here, we share perspectives from predominantly U.S.‐based, early career CZ scientists centered around broadening the scope of CZ science to focus on societally relevant science through a transdisciplinary science framework. We call for increased training on transdisciplinary methods and collaboration opportunities across disciplines and with stakeholders to foster a scientific community that values transdisciplinary science alongside physical science. Here, we build on existing transdisciplinary research frameworks by highlighting the need for institutional support to include and educate graduate students throughout the research processes. We also call for graduate‐student‐led initiatives to increase their own exposure to transdisciplinary science through activities such as transdisciplinary‐focused seminars and symposiums, volunteering with local conservation groups, and participating in internships outside academia.
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Carbonates in the Critical Zone
Abstract Earth's Critical Zone (CZ), the near‐surface layer where rock is weathered and landscapes co‐evolve with life, is profoundly influenced by the type of underlying bedrock. Previous studies employing the CZ framework have focused primarily on landscapes dominated by silicate rocks. However, carbonate rocks crop out on approximately 15% of Earth's ice‐free continental surface and provide important water resources and ecosystem services to ∼1.2 billion people. Unlike silicates, carbonate minerals weather congruently and have high solubilities and rapid dissolution kinetics, enabling the development of large, interconnected pore spaces and preferential flow paths that restructure the CZ. Here we review the state of knowledge of the carbonate CZ, exploring parameters that produce contrasts in the CZ in different carbonate settings and identifying important open questions about carbonate CZ processes. We introduce the concept of a carbonate‐silicate CZ spectrum and examine whether current conceptual models of the CZ, such as the conveyor model, can be applied to carbonate landscapes. We argue that, to advance beyond site‐specific understanding and develop a more general conceptual framework for the role of carbonates in the CZ, we need integrative studies spanning both the carbonate‐silicate spectrum and a range of carbonate settings.
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- PAR ID:
- 10443017
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Earth's Future
- Volume:
- 11
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2328-4277
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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