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We study how Critical Zone processes and water balances differ in landscapes with contrasting bedrock but similar climatic and environmental histories.
News and Updates
New website provides information about water resources in the Luquillo Mountains check it out!
New Ecosystem Services project looks at land use changes in the El Yunque region. Go here to learn more.
View Presentations from the recent AGU 2011 fall meeting here!
New FDOM (proxy for dissolved organice carbon) and Turbidity sensor has been installed on the Icacos, see some initial results here!
LiDAR data for LCZO has been posted. check it out here!
NSF Biocomplexity Project resources for Northestern Puerto Rico are available online here. This presents a good source for information regarding the interaction of River and Road networks.
LCZO attends STEM Smart: Lessons Learned from Successful Schools 9/19/11 Photos available under highlights
Check out a video about the National CZO project created by Biosphere 2 here!
View the LCZO Data Repository
Learn more about our research here
Interested in Education and Outreach , Photos ?
Introduction
The Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory (LCZO) is located in Luquillo Mountains of northeastern Puerto Rico. The multi-disciplinary team of geoscientists working at the site are addressing a set of specific hypotheses that are related to the following overarching questions: How do critical zone processes and the flow and transformations of material differ in landscapes with contrasting bedrock but similar climates, land use, and geologic histories? What are the implications of these differences for the long term sustainability of water and soil resources? Research Overview
Specifically, the observatory is quantifying and comparing critical zone (CZ) processes in landforms and watersheds underlain by three different rock types, granodiorites, volcaniclastics, and their associated contact metamorphic rocks. Previous research has demonstrated that these are some of the most rapidly eroding watersheds in the world. There are also dramatic, but poorly quantified, contrasts in CZ processes between areas underlain by these bedrocks. Individual research project include studies of deep weathering, soil formation and soil carbon accumulation, riparian zone dynamics, fluvial geomorphology, and meteorology. Infrastructure includes weather stations, instrumented soil pits and riparian zones, and stream flow gages.
The principal researchers and students involve in the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory are from the UPENN, the Pennsylvania State University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Puerto Rico, the US Geological Survey, and the US Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry. The Observatory will also provide facilities for collaborators from a host of US and International Universities and Research Centers.
