As part of the collaboration of O-ZNS and PRIME platforms of the PIVOTS program, a workshop is organized on April 5, 2019 from 10:30 to 12:00 at the BRGM Aquarium (3 avenue Claude Guillemin 45100 Orléans).
On this occasion a lecture will be given by Dr. Yuxin Wu (Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division, Earth & Environmental Sciences Area, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley CA 94720, US) on “Cross-scale Geophysical Signals of Hydro-Biogeochemical Processes in the Critical Zone“.
Originally developed for Earth exploration and mineral prospecting, geophysical technologies have seen increased utilizations in shallow subsurface studies to help understand hydrological and biogeochemical processes in the Earth’s critical zone. Example processes include moisture dynamics, elemental cycling, contaminant migration, mineral weathering as well as rhizosphere processes. Developed for field scale applications, geophysical tools are superior for visualizing large scale structures of the subsurface. However, because geophysical signals are often indirect, their interpretation can be ambiguous and non-unique in terms of the underlying hydrological and biogeochemical drivers. How to establish robust links between microscopic mechanistic processes with macroscopic geophysical variables to better understand key hydro-biogeochemical processes in the critical zone is an ongoing key challenge. In this presentation, we will discuss our research to understand how geophysical signals can be used to better understand key processes in the vadose zone. Examples of reactive processes in the soil and hydrological/rhizosphere dynamics at both lab and field scales will be discussed. We will also focus on novel applications of geophysical methods for root quantification, and how geophysical methods can be used jointly with other measurement techniques at mesoscales to better understand the hydro-biogeochemical dynamics of the complex soil system.
