2020

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NSF Blog: No soils, no life

27 Oct 2020 - They’re beneath our feet, but we seldom hear important signals in the soils

2020 CZO Webinar Series on Sustainability

17 Jun 2020 - For an updated listing of these talks, including abstracts, see /national/education-outreach/sustainability-2020/ The U.S....

2019

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Penn State students, citizen scientists take snapshot of Shaver’s Creek

11 Nov 2019 - Penn State researchers and citizen scientists took a Snapshot of the Shaver's Creek watershed in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.

Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory Hosts SciWri19 Field Tour

29 Oct 2019 - Members of the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory gave a tour of the CZO to nearly 30 science writers during the SciWri19 conference he

Graduate Student Critical Zone Reading Group Wraps the Semester with a Field Trip to Calhoun CZO

12 Jun 2019 - Five students travelled to Union, South Carolina for a two-day site visit June 6 – June 8 at the Calhoun CZO. This site visit was the...

Two week field experience kick-off for the 2019 GeoPATHs cohort

18 May 2019 - Fifteen undergraduates from seven regional institutions arrived at University Park, along with graduate student mentors and faculty experts, to...

2019 SSHCZO All-Hands Meeting at Penn State

10 May 2019 - The 2019 All-Hands Meeting brought together our core team, our off-campus collaborators, and our outreach partners at Shaver's Creek in a new...

TeenShale evaluates Wallace Run near abandoned well using macroinvertebrate surveys

07 May 2019 - On a warm and sunny day in May, the 2018-2019 cohort took to the field!  Along with Centre County Pennsylvania Senior Environmental Corp member...

Geophysics of the critical zone - geoscience majors focus thesis projects this year

24 Apr 2019 - From characterising flow pathways in outcrops and the shallow subsurface to examining weathering processes and soil formation, three geoscience...

GEOPATHS:  A Near Surface Geophysics Field Experience

29 Jan 2019 - Are you interested in a career with a social impact?  Do you have an interest in Earth & Environmental Sciences?  Apply for...

TeenShale dives into stream test kits by HACH for water quality analyses

24 Jan 2019 - Without a winter warmup, students forgo the field for the classroom to discover what is in the HACH box.  The 2018-2019 TeenShale cohort...

2018

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2018 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting - What Science Stands For

14 Nov 2018 - The Annual Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union is a worldwide conference for geophysical sciences, which brings together space scietists,...

Eissenstat laboratory group shares ecology research with Franklin & Marshall College class

20 Oct 2018 - Visiting Professor of Biology, Dr. J.B. Moon (Penn State Alumna, Ecology - 2012), toured the Shale Hills catchment with BIO 323 – Ecological...

The 2018-2019 TeenShale cohort engages with CCPaSEC for first field campaign

09 Oct 2018 - Building upon the abandoned well water quality investigations of Wallace Run, this year’s cohort plans to engage with the Centre County...

REU students with the Visualizing Forest Futures (ViFF) program visit the CZO

16 Jul 2018 - Trail walks on the Menominee Indian Reservation and through Pennsylvania Forestlands around the CZO (Penn State Stone Valley Forest, Rothrock State...

Catchment characteristics to be modeled by Laura Clemente-Harding, PhD student Geography

19 Jun 2018 - Over three days in the Shale Hills catchment, Clemente-Harding along with her colleagues at the Geospatial Research Laboratory Engineer Research and...

Large scale 3D seismic survey explores the deep CZ of Shale Hills

04 Jun 2018 - One of the first ever academically-led large scale 3D seismic refraction survey uses the Shale Hills watershed to capture high-resolution imaging of...

GeoPATHS field experience explores the CZO

31 May 2018 - As part of the GEOPATHS Field Experience, first and second year undergraduate students worked together to explore the shallow subsurface of the...

Dr. Ying Fan Reinfelder visits for the 2018 All-Hands Meeting at Penn State

10 May 2018 - Over the course of two days each May, the SSHCZO comes together for the annual All-Hands science meeting at Penn State.  This year, Dr. Ying...

Four geoscience majors present senior thesis projects on CZO topics

25 Apr 2018 - From agricultural practices to geophysical characterizations, four seniors in the Department of Geosciences at Penn State have completed their...

Water Resources Extension Educators tour the CZO

19 Apr 2018 - Water Resources Extension Educators visited Penn State for three days for the Penn State Extension Annual Conference.  During their visit to...

Collaborators use Cole Farm to demonstrate geophysical techniques to undergraduate students

14 Apr 2018 - Students enrolled in near surface geophysics classes at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (10 students), Dickinson College (14 students), Rutgers...

TeenShale 2017-2018 cohort complete the field season with a “mock” spill experiment

11 Apr 2018 - New this year, the TeenShale Network participants teamed with members of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to observe the...

Discussion paper open till April 5th in Biogeosciences

06 Mar 2018 - A discussion is open for the manuscript, "Elevating the biogeosciences within environmental research networks".

Undergraduate course curriculum, “Introduction to Critical Zone Science,” available free online

01 Jan 2018 - A 15-week semester-long upper-level undergraduate course curriculum entitled “Introduction to Critical Zone Science” is now available free online.

2017

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CZOs at AGU 2017

05 Dec 2017 - Information on CZO award recipients, events, presentations, etc. at the 2017 AGU Fall Meeting.

Delegation from China Geologic Survey visits Shale Hills CZO

03 Nov 2017 - During the week of October 30th, Penn State and SSHCZO hosted 15 scientists from the China Geological Survey, with interests ranging from saltwater...

Water Resources Research Special Collection: Concentration-discharge relations in the critical zone

30 Oct 2017 - Water Resources Research published a new special collection in September 2017 featuring concentration-discharge research from multiple CZOs.

CZNews: Fall 2017

25 Oct 2017 - The CZO National Office's quarterly newsletter CZNews: Fall 2017.

The 2017 – 2018 cohort of TeenShale meets for first in-house & in-field experience

17 Oct 2017 - This year’s cohort of TeenShale Network consists of eight returning participants (10th – 12th graders) and eight new team members (8th...

82nd Annual Field Conference of PA Geologists tour the CZO

05 Oct 2017 - Just under 250 geologists from across the state of Pennsylvania spent three days (Oct 5-7) exploring outcrops and research sites in Blair, Centre...

Earth Science Week 2017 Video Contest

15 Aug 2017 - For Earth Science Week 2017, the American Geosciences Institute invites you to enter the Earth Connections video contest. Submit a brief, 30-90...

CZNews: Summer 2017

27 Jul 2017 - CZO National Office's quarterly newsletter CZNews: Summer 2017.

Hydrogeophysics Workshop Returns to CZO for field campaign

30 Jun 2017 - Over two days, the catena in Garner Run was home base for the Rutgers 2017 Hydrogeophysics Workshop.  Faculty, graduate students, and three...

Joanmarie Del Vecchio delivers engaging presentation for M.S. Geosciences defense

25 May 2017 - Joanmarie Del Vecchio, MS Candidate in Geosciences, delivered an engaging public presentation on her thesis research "A Record of Coupled Hillslope...

Contribute a classroom/field activity to NAGT’s Teach the Earth

22 May 2017 - Contribute a classroom or field activity to Teach the Earth.

2017 CZO Webinar Series: Critical Zone and Society

06 Apr 2017 - 2017 CZO Webinar Series: Critical Zone and Society.

K-12 Soil Science Teacher Resources

24 Mar 2017 - The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is a professional scientific society, made up of soil scientists, educators, and consultants focused on...

TeenShale participants present at the 2017 NE/NC GSA Joint Section Meeting in Pittsburgh

21 Mar 2017 - Twelve of the fifteen TeenShale high school students from State High traveled to Pittsburgh, PA and presented results from the ongoing multi-year...

2016

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TeenShale Network participants take to the stream

09 Nov 2016 - The 2016-2017 TeenShale cohort begins fifth year of water quality monitoring along Black Moshannon Creek, from Black Moshannon State Park to the...

Shale Hills hosts eight-member delegation from China

09 Sep 2016 - To further their knowledge in critical zone research, a delegation of geologists from the China Geological Survey (CGS) and students from the China...

Math Modeling Workshop participants tour the CZO

04 Aug 2016 - A cohort of twenty international graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and early career faculty spent five days at Penn State for an intense,...

TeenShale faculty mentors at State High “Spend a Summer Day” in the field

20 Jul 2016 - Early on a cool, clear, morning, five earth science faculty with State College Area High School gather with CZO team members to embark on a summer...

Penn State Weather Campers visit the CZO

30 Jun 2016 - Each year, the Department of Meteorology hosts Weather Camp and Advanced Weather Camp over two weeks in June.  The Penn State Weather camps...

Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center hosts “What is the Critical Zone Observatory?”

27 May 2016 - To kick off the CZO summer display in the Lower Classroom at Shaver’s Creek, the Environmental Center hosted a poster session to learn about...

Fourteen participants engage in the PIHM developers workshop

26 May 2016 - The Penn State Integrated Hydrologic Model (PIHM) developer workshop aimed to help developers understand the PIHM code and learn how to contribute...

Poster presentation at Shale Network Workshop wraps up 2015-2016 TeenShale

19 May 2016 - The fourth year of the TeenShale Network water quality monitoring project closes this evening with a poster presentation of their research at the...

Shale Hills CZO hosts Jorden Hayes for All-Hands 2016

16 May 2016 - Jorden Hayes (Southern Sierra CZO) was an invited speaker and visitor to the Shale Hills CZO All-Hands meeting in May 2016

DCNR Environmental Educators visit the CZO

21 Apr 2016 - New this Year:  Educators from state parks around Pennsylvania traveled to Shale Hills (Wednesday, April 20th) for a half day introduction to...

TeenShale Network State College Chapter to hold first fundraiser

18 Feb 2016 - Earth Science students at State College Area High School will hold a fundraiser next week to help offset the expense of field trip transportation...

2015

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Introduction to TeenShale Network draws 28 student participants

28 Sep 2015 - For the 2015-2016 academic year, researchers at Penn State provided the program introduction at State College Area High to 28 student Learning...

Youth from Petersburg Bethel Presbyterian Church learn “What’s in the water?”

27 Sep 2015 - On Sunday after services, members from the SSHCZO met with two youth groups from Petersburg Bethel Church to teach about water quality.  The...

Summer research program boosts confidence, shapes careers

18 Sep 2015 - “Hydrosphere! Lithosphere! Atmosphere! Biosphere!” students and teachers shouted during orientation for this summer’s Critical...

Seed grant funded for 2015-2016 research at Shale Hills CZO

20 Aug 2015 - The Spring 2015 Request for Seed Grant Proposals in Support of Critical Zone Science in the Susquehanna Shale Hills CZO has resulted in the...

2015 CZO REUs and RETs present summer research

17 Aug 2015 - The Critical Zone Observatory Research Experience for Undergraduates and Research Experience for Teachers program traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to...

Joint AGU-ESA Event Brings Together Collaborative Networks

17 Aug 2015 - Members of AGU and the Ecological Society of America came together in their first joint event to discuss opportunities for research collaboration.

Research Experience for Teachers Culminates with a Workshop at Shavers Creek

03 Aug 2015 - Summer research experience for teachers provided hands-on activities to learn about Critical Zone science.  The two teachers were paired with...

Instrumentation at the CZO Sandstone Catena nearing completion

26 Jun 2015 - Four landscape positions have been selected and instrumented along a sandstone catena in Garner Run.  This research site, predominantly...

Salon on Deep Critical Zone Architecture held June 14-18, 2015

26 Jun 2015 - An international group of 17 researchers met at Snow Mountain Ranch, Granby, Colorado for 3.5 days of presentations and discussions on the nature of...

Summer REU/RET students expand sampling protocols to include methane

25 Jun 2015 - Three summer students join with Earth and Environmental Systems Institute scientists to learn water quality field sampling techniques.  Two of...

Penn State Weather Campers visit the CZO

19 Jun 2015 - Ken Davis and Bill Syrett demonstrated the instrumentation used to collect atmospheric data in the CZO with 36 rising 8th – 10th...

The 2015 CZO REU/RET orientation begins at Penn State

10 Jun 2015 - Funded by the National Science Foundation, eight REU/RET participants with Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory joined seven...

State High Chapter of TeenShale Network culminates with presentations at two workshops

15 May 2015 - For the 2014-2015 academic year, the State High chapter of TeenShale Network expanded the water quality monitoring program to include one additional...

Katie Gaines recognized with Intercollege Graduate Student Outreach Achievement Award

03 Apr 2015 - Gaines, nearing completion of year five in the Ecology graduate program, has been awarded the Intercollege Graduate Student Outreach Achievement...

Shale Hills hosts Environmental Geophysics students for field based class project

25 Mar 2015 - Students enrolled in Environmental Geophysics (Geosc 483) at the University Park Penn State campus will spend the next month applying principles and...

2014

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Using a CZO network to explore the architecture, dynamics and evolution of the Critical Zone

03 Nov 2014 - The US CZO National Office has organized a webinar on December 8, 2014 at 11AM - 12:30 PM ET.

CZO REUs and RETs present research at 2014 CUAHSI Biennial Meeting

26 Aug 2014 - The Critical Zone Observatory Research Experience for Undergraduates and Research Experience for Teachers program participants traveled to...

Summer REUs use seismic techniques to gather data on subsurface structure

11 Aug 2014 - To improve understanding of the shallow critical zone structure at Shale Hills, two REU students along with CZO post-doc scholar Nicole West and...

State High Science Faculty Experience the Field for the TeenShaleNetwork

28 Jul 2014 - The CZO and TeenShaleNetwork researchers geared up on a July morning  with five State High School earth science teachers to demonstrate water...

Penn State “Weather Campers” get hands-on experience in the CZO

25 Jun 2014 - The Department of Meteorology at Penn State hosted two “Weather Camps” this summer, one for students who will be entering grades 8-10...

CarbonEARTH fellows provide catchment tour to Philipsburg-Osceola Middle School 6th grade students

04 Jun 2014 - PhD candidates Katie Gaines and Ashlee Frederick led a group of 6th grade students from the Philipsburg-Osceola Middle School on a field trip to the...

Poster presentation capstone for State College TeenShaleNetwork Spring 2014

17 May 2014 - State College Area High School students who participated in TeenShaleNetwork during the spring semester of 2014 completed their portion of the...

State College TeenShaleNetwork publish student article in local newspaper

04 May 2014 - Teen Shale Network studies effects of fracking on water quality at Black Moshannon State Park By Hannah Good, Cole Klima and Hanna Yu For the...

2014 All Hands Meeting

24 Apr 2014 - Information for the 2014 All Hands Meeting for the CZO Network on 21-14 September, including registration information and abstract submission.

Kent State University Department of Geology’s Watershed Hydrology class visits the CZO

09 Apr 2014 - Kent State University Department of Geology's Watershed Hydrology class visited the Susquehanna-Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory on April...

Request for Seed Grant Proposals in Support of Critical Zone Science in the Susquehanna Shale Hills

03 Apr 2014 - The Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSHO) is pleased to be able to offer 1 year grants to facilitate scientific investigations...

“What’s so critical about the Critical Zone?” webinar

02 Apr 2014 - March 31, 2014. Dr. Enriqueta Barrera (NSF CZO program director) and Dr. Gordon Grant (USFS; CZO Steering Committee chairperson)

State College Area High School TeenShaleNetwork begin monitoring water quality at local state park

17 Feb 2014 - In the midst of a very active winter weather season, 16 State College Area High School students along with 2 faculty mentors joined Andrew Neal, CZO...

2013

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Geoscience students investigate the catchment and beyond

16 Nov 2013 - Each fall, Techniques in Environmental Geochemistry (GEOSC 413W) students take on a project of their own development to answer an environmental...

Forestry students tour the Shale Hills Catchment

01 Oct 2013 - Twenty students visited the CZO today from Forestry 475 with the purpose to teach the students about links between soils and forest...

CZ-tope: Using multiple isotopes to understand watersheds

08 Aug 2013 - We would like to introduce CZ-tope, an international effort the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory is initiating to promote isotopic...

Climate Science REU students tour the Shale Hills catchment with Chris Duffy

12 Jul 2013 - Five undergraduate students along with PSU faculty mentors, Dr. Jose Fuentes and Dr. Jon Nese, Professors of Meteorology at PSU University Park,...

Discoveries in the Critical Zone: Where Life meets Rock

11 Jul 2013 - The National Science Foundation's Cheryl Dybas recently finalized a new report entitled "Discoveries in the Critical Zone: Where Life meets...

Catchment-wide model predictions lead to animation of the CZO

17 Jun 2013 - Flux-PIHM, the Penn State Integrated Hydrologic Model which includes a land surface component, is able to provide good predictions of the...

Fifth and final seed grant proposal funded for collaborative research in the catchment

13 Jun 2013 - We proudly announce the fifth and final award has been granted on the 2012 RFP seed grant for collaborative research at Shale Hills.  The...

InTeGrating CZO Science

06 Jun 2013 - During the week of May 19, five faculty members interested in Critical Zone science traveled to Northfield, MN to participate in an InTeGrate...

Two REU students will work on CZO seismic surveying this summer

06 May 2013 - Geology undergraduate Greg Bailey (B.S. Dec 2013) and recent geology graduate Alexander Neely (B.S. May 2013) have been awarded summer 2013 Research...

Four seniors present CZO research during Senior Thesis Presentation Week Spring 2013

26 Apr 2013 - Utilizing the Shale Hills CZO and beyond, four senior geosciene majors from the College of Earth and Mineral Science at Penn State presented...

Susquehanna Shale Hills CZO Videos

16 Apr 2013 - Watch and learn about research at Susquehanna Shale Hills CZO

CZO welcomed Dr. Dan Richter to PSU and the catchment

05 Apr 2013 - The Penn State Annual Critical Zone Seminar series welcomed Dr. Dan Richter, Professor of Soils and Forest Ecology at Duke University, for the...

TeenShale Network students learn “How to Use HydroDesktop” with Shale Hills CZO personnel

28 Feb 2013 - The Earth and Environmental Systems Institute hosted Jonathan Pollak, Support Specialist with CUAHSI - Consortium of Universities for the...

SSHCZO still seeking proposals for collaborative research in the catchment

28 Feb 2013 - The RFP for 2013 collaborative and complimentary research within the CZO or along the shale transect is still active, with a current period of...

Fourth seed grant proposal funded for complimentary research along the shale transect

27 Feb 2013 - It is with great pleasure we announce a fourth award has been granted on the RFP seed grant for collaborative research at Shale Hills.  The...

2012

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Funds available for seed grant proposals to collaborate with SSHCZO

14 Dec 2012 - Educators and researchers are encougaged to submit proposals for collaborative research within the CZO.  We are pleased to be able to offer...

Second seed grant proposal funded through SSHCZO

11 Dec 2012 - A second award has been granted on the RFP seed grant program for collaborative research at the SSHCZO.  The proposal entitled "Geophysical...

CZO Presentations at 2012 AGU

03 Dec 2012 - A listing of more than 125 CZO-related presentations for the 2012 annual meeting of the AGU.

First seed grant proposal funded through SSHCZO

28 Nov 2012 - We are pleased to announce the funding of the first seed grant proposal which was awarded to Dr. Lixin Jin, Department of Geological Sciences,...

SEG student chapter at Rutgers organizes NSF visit, SSHCZO research presented

05 Nov 2012 - Students present benefits of collaborating with CZOs for their annual geophysics field trip.

Two PhD. Candidates receive CarbonEARTH Fellowships

04 Sep 2012 - The NSF sponsored CarbonEARTH (Educators and Researchers Together for Humanity) Fellowship Program teams Penn State STEM graduate students with...

CZO PI takes Penn State Hydrologic Model to Chania, Crete

19 Jul 2012 - In a four day workshop focused on reactive transport modeling, PI Chris Duffy and his research group teach the finer points of the Penn State...

Collaborating Undergrad Awarded Society of Exploration Geophysicists Scholarship

04 Jun 2012 - Derek Lichtner, undergraduate at Temple University, has recently been awarded the David C. Bartel Scholarship from SEG. Lichtner has participated in...

PSU Altoona Biologists and Temple University Geophysicists join the catchment

29 May 2012 - Dr. Jonathan Nyquist and undergraduate student, Derek Lichtner, both of Temple University, have begun a summer research project in conjunction with...

The catchment hosts members of Penn State satellite campuses, Mont Alto and Altoona

14 May 2012 - Students from PSU Mont Alto Forestry Academy, one of the first forestry schools in the nation, were given an overview of the CZO, past and present,...

CZO to join PHENOCAM - An ecosystem phenology web camera network

21 Mar 2012 - Dr. Andrew Richardson (http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/richardson/) has provided a high resolution video camera (StarDot NetCam SC Megapixel...

The Penn State Environmental Geophysics class (Geosc 483) goes to the catchment

15 Mar 2012 - The Geosc 483 geophysics course, taught by Dr. Andrew Nyblade, will begin work in the catchment today for hands on experience using geophysical...

2011

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January edition of CSA News features the Critical Zone Observatories

21 Dec 2011 - The January 2012 cover story of CSA News investigates the Critical Zone Observatories.

NSF article highlights new research project stemming from SSHCZO

12 Dec 2011 - Progress in Critical Zone research at the Susquehanna Shale Hills CZO has provided “a better interpretation of the chemistry and flow of...

Science Nation video features Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory

01 Nov 2011 - Resources like water can be taken for granted until changes in supply are observed. As global warming accelerates, some areas experience increases...

CUAHSI to feature Earth Observatories in this year’s cyberseminar series

11 Oct 2011 - The online seminar series will feature speakers from all six CZOs and cover themes like Water, Sustainability and Climate Studies

Nine Undergraduates Complete the 3rd Annual Hydrogeophysics Field Camp

04 Jun 2011 - The 3rd annual hydrogeophysics field camp, offered by Dr. Kamini Singha, has come to completion. Nine undergraduate participants, from rising...

CZO REU Summer Field School Brings 7 Undergraduates from Collaborating Institutions

01 Jun 2011 - This summer, the CZO Field School adds a new dimension with two weeks of field work followed by one week of data analysis. Undergraduate...

2010

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State College Area School District teams with PSU for STEM studies

10 Aug 2010 - The SCASD has formed a summer STEM Academy, a new initiative that uses field and experiential instructional techniques to engage our students in...

1st CZO Field School Brings 16 Participants from 14 Institutions across 9 Countries

01 Jun 2010 - The first week of a two week field school opened on Monday with 16 participants, including both undergraduates and graduates/post-docs. Field school...

Collaborations with outside institutions to begin Spring 2011

25 May 2010 - Princeton scientists, Dr. Francois Morel and Dr. Anne Kraepiel, will collaborate at Shale Hills to advance our understanding of nitrogen fixation in...

Hydrogeophysics Field Camp Returns for 2nd year

16 Apr 2010 - This summer, nine undergraduate students will be taking Geosc 397A: The Hydrogeophysics Field Experience with Dr. Kamini Singha from May 17 to June...