Explore the Boulder Creek CZO, an environmental laboratory focused on the interconnected chemical, physical and biological processes shaping Earth's surface. Boulder Creek is part of a network of six Critical Zone Observatories, each working toward a common set of resources that will allow scientists to compare carbon, energy, and mass balances across a variety of settings.
The videos include
- A short introduction to the Boulder CZO
- Standing in the middle of the Boulder Creek natural laboratory, Dr. Suzanne Anderson gives a tour.
- Dr. Suzanne Anderson on why we do what we do - which landscape processes we are trying to understand because they matter most.
- Sampling water quality in Boulder Creek after a recent storm hit the Four Mile Canyon Fire area.
- How rock climbing is related to geology and climate science.
- Field Manager Nate Rock shows how we collect data 24/7 - what we measure, and the instruments, sensors, and dataloggers we use to do it.
- Dr. Robert Anderson on how the signal of past climate variations are etched into the local landscape.
- Dr. Suzanne Anderson on how climate has shaped the landscape in the Rocky Mountains.
- Dr. Suzanne Anderson standing on a knickpoint in Boulder Creek, showing some of the geological processes that have shaped Boulder Canyon.
- Dr. Suzanne Anderson chases down the signals left by water in the local mountains.
- Dr. Suzanne Anderson shows how Boulder bedrock gradually turns into saprolite and soil.
- Patrick Kelley explains what we do to study rock, and why.