From Japan: Critical Training in Critical Zones

During summer 2023, Professor Emeritus Bill McDowell and Research Assistant Professor Adam Wymore, both in the department of natural resources and the environment, taught a course at the University of Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, about land-use impacts on the water and soils within the Critical Zone.

The Critical Zone refers to the topmost section of Earth’s crust, from the lowest extent of circulating groundwater to the tops of the vegetation where water, air, soil, rock and living organisms interact. Because it’s where humans have the most impact on the planet’s environment and climate, this zone is important to researchers, especially those studying ecosystem dynamics and climate science.

The two-week summer course — part of the National Science Foundation-funded ABRESO project — draws international faculty to teach a global group of postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and researchers. Students visited key Critical Zone and watershed observatory sites in Japan and explored topics including soil geochemistry, ecosystem and geological processes, and biodiversity as they relate to the Critical Zone and sustainability.

This year, Wymore and McDowell were accompanied by three UNH graduate students: master’s student Alicia Dixon ’24G and doctoral candidates Clarisse Ishimwe and Eric Parker.