Critical Zone Observatories
The Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) NSF national program is a NSF-funded network of nine observatories studying the Critical Zone. This zone is a living, breathing, constantly evolving boundary layer at Earth's surface where rock, soil, water, air, and living organisms interact. Each CZO is run by a team of cross-disciplinary scientists working at the catchment/watershed scale focused on the interconnected chemical, physical and biological processes shaping Earth's surface.