What kind of work do critical zone scientists do? Who are some of the scientists working at Critical Zone Observatories across the country? How does their work inform our understanding and management of critical zone resources, such as water, soil, and food?

These brief profiles feature just a few of the 250+ senior scientists, university faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students who work at the nine CZO sites currently funded by the National Science Foundation. CZO people are cross-disciplinary scientists who have expertise in fields including hydrology, geochemistry, geomorphology, ecology, biology, and climatology. More profiles will be added over time, as new scientists join the CZO teams.

The profiles provide a non-technical introduction to the work CZO people do. Each scientist was asked to respond to the following questions:

1. What is the goal of your work?
2. How is your work relevant to the science community and to the larger human communities in which we live?
3. Why is studying the critical zone important?
4. How has the CZO network been valuable to you in your work?
5. How can the CZOs help improve our understanding and management of natural resources?

Profiles:  Grad Students | Early Career |  Boulder | Calhoun | Catalina-Jemez | Eel | IML | Luquillo | Reynolds | Shale Hills | Southern Sierra | and more profiles coming

INTENSIVELY MANAGED LANDSCAPES (IML) CZO

ANDREW STUMPF (Quaternary geologist, senior investigator)

Through field studies and associated laboratory testing, Andrew Stumpf seeks to quantify the processes that have influenced Earth's surface. Using a variety of high-resolution geological, geophysical, hydrogeological, and geochemical methods, Stumpf creates conceptual and dynamic models that describe the evolution of landscapes. Recently, Stumpf has been collaborating with colleagues to determine the legacy of glaciated landscapes.  Visit Andrew's profile > 

LAURA KEEFER (fluvial geomorphologist, senior investigator)

Laura Keefer is a senior investigator for the Intensively Managed Landscapes (IML) CZO and serves as the Upper Sangamon River Site Coordinator. Most of Laura’s research involves assessing and quantifying the movement of water, sediment, and nutrients as they are transported through a network of streams and rivers. The methods and approaches Laura develops to measure and quantify the movement of water, sediment, and nutrients are designed to better understand the transport processes. Visit Laura's profile >

The IML CZO has an ongoing series of investigator profiles that include video interviews and text articles.  The format of the investigator profiles differs from those above.

ART BETTIS (University of Iowa)

The massive transformation of the landscape of Iowa and other Midwestern states is a large part of what is being studied by IML-CZO investigators such as Dr. Art Bettis. Dr. Bettis –professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Iowa –largely focuses on soils and geologic deposits with his involvement in the IML-CZO. Visit Art's profile >

NEAL BLAIR (Northwestern University)

While urban and rural areas are seemingly polar opposites, the two different areas depend greatly on one another according to IML-CZO investigator and Northwestern University professor Dr. Neal Blair. Visit Neal's profile >

ADAM WARD (Indiana University)

My work centers around how water and dissolved solutes, such as nitrate, move through landscapes. Our work directly addresses the relative roles of transport and transformation in agricultural landscapes. Visit Adam's profile >

Additional video profiles

Seven investigators were asked questions about their research goals and results as well as more general questions about the IML CZO.  Each interview is about 2 minutes long.  

Participants: Praveen Kumar, Thanos Papanicolaou, Neal Blair, Art Bettis, Timothy Filley, Doug Schnoebelen, and Chris Wilson.

To select a particular profile, click the menu/list icon in the upper left of the video window.