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# Accelerating Critical Zone Science with an International Network of Networks

Jeffrey Munroe, Bhavna Arora, Kevin Bishop, Theresa Blume, Heye Bogena, Elizabeth Boyer, Isabelle Braud, Jérôme Gaillardet, Ralf Kiese, Steffen Zacharias

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## To cite this version:

Jeffrey Munroe, Bhavna Arora, Kevin Bishop, Theresa Blume, Heye Bogena, et al. Accelerating Critical Zone Science with an International Network of Networks. EGU General Assembly 2025, Apr 2025, Vienne, Austria. 10.5194/egusphere-egu25-2917. hal-05397383

HAL Id: hal-05397383

https://hal.science/hal-05397383v1

Submitted on 4 Dec 2025

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EGU General Assembly 2025

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# Accelerating Critical Zone Science with an International Network of Networks

**Jeffrey Munroe**<fnref n="1" />, Bhavna Arora<fnref n="2" />, Kevin Bishop<fnref n="3" />, Theresa Blume<fnref n="4" />, Heye Bogena<fnref n="5" />, Elizabeth Boyer<fnref n="6" />, Isabelle Braud<fnref n="7" />, Jérôme Gaillardet<fnref n="8" />, Ralf Kiese<fnref n="9" />, and Steffen Zacharias<fnref n="10" />

The international Critical Zone Network of Networks (CZ-NoN) project, launched in January 2025 and funded by the US National Science Foundation, promotes the study of the Earth's Critical Zone (CZ), the vital near-surface environment where essential life-supporting processes converge. Building on previous investments in CZ research, CZ-NoN fosters collaboration and communication between existing and emerging environmental observatories and monitoring networks worldwide. By establishing a unified framework for collaboration and discussion, CZ-NoN addresses long-standing challenges such as fragmented methodologies, redundancies, poor communication, and barriers to data discoverability and accessibility. Key project components include planning meetings, workshops, and an online webinar series aimed at building community, showcasing new efforts, and increasing awareness of ongoing CZ research. In parallel, a global polling effort will compile a crowdsourced list of grand research questions to guide future CZ studies. By bringing together researchers from different countries and disciplines, and prioritizing cooperation over competition, CZ-NoN will accelerate scientific research and position the international research community for future funding opportunities to support complex, integrated study of the global CZ across diverse socio-environmental conditions.

<footnote n="1">¹Middlebury College, Earth & Climate Sciences, Middlebury, United States of America (jmunroe@middlebury.edu)</footnote>

<footnote n="2">²Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept. of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Hydrology Section, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵Agrosphere Institute (IBG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷INRAE, RiverLy, 5 rue de la Doua, 69625 Villeurbanne, France</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, 75238 Paris, France</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Campus Alpin, IMK-IFU, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany</footnote>

<footnote n="10">¹⁰Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany</footnote>