ENI-CNR Artico3 (DTA.AD001.402)

Thematic area

Earth system science and environmental technologies

Project area

Structure responsible for the research project

Institute of geosciences and earth resources (IGG)

Project manager

ANTONELLO PROVENZALE
Phone number: 0506212372
Email: antonello.provenzale@igg.cnr.it

Abstract

The Critical Zone (CZ), a term coined about ten years ago by the National Research Council in USA, denotes the living skin of the Earth from the top of vegetation canopy to the bottom of the surface aquifer. The CZ is the life-support system for all terrestrial life, and it includes living and non-living components, in line with the original definition of ecosystem by Tansley. In the CZ, physical, chemical, geological, hydrological and biological processes interact on several time and space scales, creating an extremely complex system that only now starts to be thoroughly explored through an international network of Critical Zone Observatories (www.czen.org).
In extreme environments, the CZ is especially important as it represents a thin and potentially fragile layer at the borders of life. This is particularly evident in the Arctic, a hotspot of climate change where temperatures are rising much faster than in any other area and glaciers and permafrost are rapidly deglaciating.

Start date of activity

01/01/2020

Keywords

cambiamento climatico, zona critica, modelli numerici

Last update: 16/06/2025