The Caltech Critical Zone Initiative

The Caltech Critical Zone Initiative

PIs: Christian Frankenberg, Michael Lamb, Ruby Fu, Woodward Fischer, and Michael Alvarez
Research Team: Josh Anadu, Samantha Baker, Hannah Dion-Kirschner, Danny Ebanks, Emily Geyman, Harrison Martin, Beatrice Magistro, Adrian Moure Rosende, Jocelyn Reahl, Alexis Renchon, and Bryn Stewart
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, Division of Engineering and Applied Science, and Division of Humanities and Social Sciences
Climate Science and Water Resources Initiatives

Earth's near surface environment—the top few meters of soil, rock and organic material—is known as the critical zone because it supports life. It is a complex system that is changing in known and unknown ways due to climate and anthropogenic influences. We will develop, test and apply a new state-of-the-art, multi-scale numerical model—the Critical Zone Model (CZM)— that will bridge the gap between process-based land-surface models at local scales and the Earth system models used to predict climate change at the global scale. We will predict and measure the transport, storage, and cycling of water, carbon and sediment, and model their coupling to predict the impact of anthropogenic and climate change on landscape sustainability, the carbon cycle, and the surface energy balance that feeds back to the global climate. Field measurements will focus on two critical environments at the frontline of climate change: permafrost floodplains of Arctic Alaska and a conservation laboratory in a last remaining stronghold of coastal California wilderness. We will integrate social science data and modeling to predict how social systems impact and are impacted by the critical zone under a changing climate, with a focus on understanding stakeholder perceptions and the opportunities for persuasion to take specific actions that work toward sustainability.

The outcome of this effort will be new measurement and modeling capabilities, including novel datasets from field observations, which are needed for government and non-profit groups to monitor and predict human impacts on the environment, and implement strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change in coastal California and in Native Alaskan communities within the next 10-50 years.