The CZ-TOP project seeks to understand how reactive pathways in the Critical Zone respond to changing hydrologic and climatic forcings.  By combining high-resolution data on stream chemistry and isotopic tracers with reactive transport and non-steady-state hydrologic models we hope to build a better understanding of the CZ processes that control water chemistry and quality. The Critical Zone and water resources are experiencing increasing pressure from climate change. Yet our ability to predict the response of the CZ in general and the potential impacts on water availability and water quality remains incomplete. We seek to develop an improved understanding of the processes that control the flux and composition of water in the Critical Zone so that we may be better able to assess how water and water quality could change in a rapidly changing global environment.

The project is financed by the Agence National de la Recherche (France) as part of the Make Our Planet Great Again program and is primarily hosted at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris IPGP.