Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Science Rendezvous > Posters
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Geophysical Investigation of the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory

Kevin Befus (1,2), Anne Sheehan (1), Matthias Leopold (3), Jorg Volkel (3)

CIRES (1), INSTAAR (2), Technical University of Munich (3)

The Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory (BcCZO) in the Front Range of Colorado, U.S.A. focuses on the control weathering and transport processes have on the structure of the critical zone and related impact of the critical zone structure on hydrological, geochemical and biological functions. Geophysical investigations are an important component of the Critical Zone Observatory, and will be applied to determine depth to bedrock, layering, and characteristics of weathered rock and soil in three subcatchments of Boulder Creek and will assist in hydrologic and geomorphological modeling. The goal of the geophysical investigations is to provide a 3-D image of the bedrock and soil layering surfaces, as well as constraints or estimates of subsurface physical properties throughout the 3-D model (density, porosity, fluid content, electrical resistivity and seismic velocity). This poster shows the proposed geophysical surveying methods and initial results from the Summer of 2008.