Laying the foundations for Australian Critical Zone Observatories
Understanding the resilience of Australia’s diverse critical zone requires an integrated scientific approach to monitoring. Image: Dr Suzanne Prober
AuScope is helping to lay the foundations for Australia’s Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs) by using shallow geophysical methods to generate detailed information on the Critical Zone (CZ) architecture at five core sites across Australia.
Overview
Led by Dr Matthias Leopold from The University of Western Australia, this two-year project employed Electric Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Seismic Refraction (SR) to determine depth to bedrock, water table depth, sedimentologic layering, and characteristics of the weathering profile at key CZO sites.
This project informed decisions about the best sites and depths to install expensive, permanent infrastructure to observe and test groundwater and vadose zone processes and design cross-site experiments and analyses.
The challenge
Understanding the CZ's structure is essential for effective groundwater and vadose zone monitoring.
The CZ is the surface environment where complex interactions between soil, water, air, and organisms help regulate natural ecosystems and life-sustaining resources. The unsaturated layer between the ground surface and the water table, known as the ‘vadose zone,’ is key in filtering pollutants, recharging groundwater, and supporting ecosystems.
Current data is limited and fragmented, so understanding the interactions across CZ's multiple spatial and temporal scales is incomplete. By improving monitoring capabilities, key environmental questions can be answered, including aiding in developing CZ science.
The outcomes
Determination of depth to bedrock at CZO sites.
Identification of water table depths.
Analysis of sedimentologic layering.
Characterisation of weathering profiles.
Informed decisions on infrastructure placement for groundwater and vadose zone observation.
Design of cross-site experiments to explore Critical Zone properties.
What are the benefits
Improved Data Quality: Filling in knowledge gaps of regional critical zones to determine the sustainability of water, mineral resources and ecosystem services.
Enhanced Research Infrastructure: provide advanced equipment and research infrastructure to improve monitoring capabilities and catalyse future critical zone research in Australia.
Supporting International Research: Project data will contribute to the expanding international CZ science field
Access
ERT and SR Data will be made available to interested parties upon request.
Data will eventually be transferred to the Oz-CZO-Data-Protocol for access (currently in development).
Field campaigns are open to interested parties. Discussions with the Leads for each study site will evaluate the possibility of direct student involvement during the field campaign. Interested parties can reach out here.
Research proposals seeking to use the infrastructure to support cross-domain science can reach out here.
Acknowledging AuScope
Acknowledging AuScope and NCRIS helps us demonstrate the value of our research infrastructure, ensuring continued support and resources for the research community. Please add this sentence to your research, publications, presentations, and events where possible.
This project was made possible by support from the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) through AuScope.
For more acknowledgment examples, please visit our ‘How to Acknowledge AuScope’ page.
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Project Name
Laying the foundations for Australian’s Critical Zone Observatories
Project Lead
Matthias Leopold
Timeframe
2021 to 2023
Status
Complete
Funding
AuScope Pilots 2
Host
The University of Western Australia
NCRIS Collaborators
Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN)
AuScope Programs
