To all those interested in attending the upcoming NSF Workshop “Drilling, Sampling, and Imaging the Depths of the Critical Zone:

The time has come to register! The deadline for applying is Sept. 23, 2013!

Please visit the workshop website:http://csdworkshops.geo.arizona.edu/Denver_CO.html

Workshop details 

The goal in hosting this workshop is to build a community-wide consensus on strategies for investigating critical zone processes below the depths that are easily accessed with a shovel and hand auger. The workshop will be highly informative, involving presentations by experts in drilling, sampling, and geophysical imaging of near-surface Earth materials. The organizers also expect it to be highly productive, leading to research proposal development and a written commentary to be published in AGU Eos or similar outlet.

Workshop organizers invite participation by scientists at all career levels, from students through senior professors. Expected representation will cover diverse disciplines, including engineering, near-surface geophysics, geochemistry, geobiology, geomorphology, soil science, and hydrology.

You will find links to the workshop schedule and the official registration form, which you can fill out and submit online. Please read all instructions carefully. In particular, we call your attention to important details about lodging, including instructions for those who plan to stay in Denver after the workshop for the GSA meeting. 

Note: You must fill out a form if you wish to attend. We will make every effort to approve your registration and will provide as many participants as possible with financial support. However, please realize that funds and space are limited. We will inform you of our decision about your registration application as soon as we can.

If you plan on attending, please submit a white paper! The main goals of this workshop are to (1) foster discussion about drilling, sampling and imaging of the critical zone, and (2) coordinate possible follow-up actions to advance understanding of deep CZ science. We ask that all participants come prepared to contribute to the discussion. To this end, we strongly encourage participants to prepare and submit a short, 1-2 page white paper that highlights a key science objective or a specific drilling target or a conceptual approach that addresses the workshop objectives. White papers can be uploaded during the online application process or they can be submitted to one of the workshop organizers later. We will amalgamate them later into a master document that will be available to the community at large.

Broad overview of schedule

Thursday, 24 October 2013
Participants arrive by late afternoon and attend icebreaker dinner and introductory presentations at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Friday, 25 October 2013
All day workshop at the Hilton Garden Inn, with presentations by invited speakers and breakout groups

Saturday, 26 October 2013
More presentations by invited speakers and breakout groups at the Hilton Garden Inn, concluding late afternoon.

Contact Cliff Riebe or Jon Chorover if with any questions.