IR OZCAR: links between hydrological diversity and critical zone heterogeneity

Scientific result

6 March 2024

The critical zone is the most superficial part of our planet where water, rocks, air and life come together to shape our environment. In order to better understand how regional differences in the structure and evolution of the critical zone modulate the water cycle, scientists from 12 French laboratories, in which CNRS Terre & Univers is involved (see box), have cooperated to carry out a comparative study in three IR OZCAR observatories (AgrHyS, Naizin catchment, in Brittany; Auradé, Montoussé catchment, in the Gers; OHGE, Strengbach catchment, in Alsace; Figure 1).

Read more on the CNRS Terre & Univers website

GET contact: Sylvain Kuppel

Sources :

Ackerer, Kuppel, et al., Exploring the Critical Zone Heterogeneity and the Hydrological Diversity Using an Integrated Ecohydrological Model in Three Contrasted Long-Term Observatories, AGU, 2023.

More news

Deciphering ancient oceans using pyrite and iron isotopes

Iron isotopes in pyrite are frequently used to better understand environmental conditions throughout our planet’s history, going back to sedimentary archives dating back billions of years. A team of researchers […]

A temperature jump of 400°C at a depth of 2 km—it’s possible in Krafla to cook a steak!

This study explains the heat transfer between a magma reservoir and the surrounding rock in the high-enthalpy geothermal exploration area of Krafla, Iceland. Thermomechanical numerical models explain the sudden jump […]

Life on Earth represents only a tiny fraction of possible biological forms

What forms does life take on Earth? This is the question asked by scientists from the University of Toulouse and the CNRS, who are exploring the morphological limits of life […]

Search