HS8.2.8 | Global Perspectives on Critical Zone Science: Groundwater Dynamics, Innovations, and Collaborative Insights in a Changing World
EDI
Global Perspectives on Critical Zone Science: Groundwater Dynamics, Innovations, and Collaborative Insights in a Changing World
Co-organized by ESSI4/GI4/SSS6
Convener: Agnès RivièreECSECS | Co-conveners: Jeffrey Munroe, Anne Jost, Bhavna Arora, Claudia VoigtECSECS, Ronan AbhervéECSECS

The Critical Zone (CZ), the Earth's outer layer extending from the top of the vegetation canopy to the bottom of circulating groundwater, is essential for sustaining life, supporting ecosystems, and maintaining environmental health. Understanding this complex system requires collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches that integrate diverse perspectives and innovative methodologies, involving observations, modelling, and integration of the two. This session will highlight advances in understanding the interplay between soils, hydrology, and biogeochemical cycling, as well as the complex interactions between groundwater flow and other CZ components at different spatial scales. Drawing on data from established CZ observatories and networks, it will illustrate how diverse climates, geological settings, vegetation, and land-use practices influence groundwater processes and CZ evolution. Particular emphasis will be placed on the value of international collaboration and the importance of understanding how rapid surface processes interact with the slower dynamics of groundwater to collectively shape the CZ over time. Discussions will also address the potential impacts of climate change, extreme weather events, and wildfires on groundwater recharge, discharge patterns, and water quality. The overall goal is to enhance appreciation of collaborative research approaches and emphasise groundwater’s central role in CZ functioning.