A team of investigators at the University of Arizona along with collaborators at other institutions have developed two critical zone observatories. One is focused on the Valles Caldera and the other on the Santa Catalina Mountains of sourthern Arizona. The purpose of the long term observatories is to investigate the coupled cycling of water and carbon in these systems and to explain co-evolution of the earth-biological system in response to inputs of Effective Energy and Mass Transfer (EEMT). The unifying concept of EEMT provides a unifying variable to describe the patterns and processes at play in the critical zone.

This talk will provide an overview of the observatory. It will also provide a specific focus on understanding the where and when of mineral weathering and biogeochemical processes in the catchments that are part of this particular curitical zone obvservatory.