We are excited by NSF's commitment to the national CZO program.  The new program description and solicitation for proposals will likely expand the national CZO network to a total of eight CZOs.  This is an open solicitation -- the existing six CZOs will compete for renewal alongside proposals for new CZOs and two or more will be awarded to new teams.  In addition, NSF is soliciting proposals for a new national network office. 

To help current and aspiring CZO teams prepare their proposals, we have compiled the following resources that both describe the current CZO network and guide its future development and expansion.

NSF Documents Relevant to Solicitation 12-575 (Proposal Deadline: Feb. 5, 2013)

• NSF Critical Zone Observatories Program
• NSF CZO Solicitation 12-575, due February 5, 2013
• NSF CZO National Office Solicitation 12-595, due July 16, 2013
• NSF CZO - Additional Information
• NSF revised Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), effective Jan. 13, 2013.
  • Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Summar of Changes
  • Award & Administration Guide (AAG) Summary of Changes

CZO-PI Committee, shared text for proposals

• CZO National cross-network activities. Text prepared by CZO PIs to include in proposals to describe proposed cross-CZO network activities.

CZO Steering Committee Reports

• Steering Committee Report 2012
• Steering Committee Report 2011
• Steering Committee Report 2010

Supporting Documents

2012

An Introduction to the US Critical Zone Observatory National Program 
24 pp, International Innovation, 2012, includes several pages about SoilTrEC, a complementary European program.

Common Critical Zone Observatory Infrastructure and Measurements
3 pp, CZO Principal Investigators, 2012, whitepaper.

Sustaining Earth's Critical Zone
44 pp, Banwart, S., Chorover, J., Sparks, D., White, T.  2012.  Report of the International Critical Zone Observatory Workshop, 8th-11th November 2011, EC SoilTrEC Project and NSF Critical Zone Observatory Program.

New Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences (NROES)
132 pp, National Research Council, 2012, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

Investigating the Earth's Critical Zone
6 pp, CSA News, 2012 cover story.

2011

NSF Workshop Report: Towards a Unifying Theory of Critical Zone Structure, Function & Evolution
22 pp, National Critical Zone Observatories Program All Hands Meeting May 8‐12, 2011 Biosphere 2 University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona.

2010

Future Directions for Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) Science
6 pp, CZO Principal Investigators, 2010, whitepaper.

Landscapes on the Edge: New Horizons for Research on the Earth’s Surface
164 pp, National Research Council, 2010, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

2009

Monitoring Earth's Critical Zone
2 pp, Daniel deB. Richter Jr. and Megan L. Mobley, 20 November 2009, Science.

2005

Frontiers in Exploration of the Critical Zone: Report of a workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) 
30 pp, Brantley, S., White, T.S., White, A.F., Sparks, D., Richter, D., Pregitzer, K., Derry, L., Chorover, J., Chadwick, O., April, R., Anderson, S., Amundson, R., October 24-26 ,2005, Newark.

2001

Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science (BROES)
132 pp, National Research Council, 2001, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.