eLTER-OZCAR / OZCAR-INRAE

The OZCAR RI (Critical Zone Observatories: Applications and Research) federates 22 labeled observatories financially supported by CNRS, IRD, INRAE, BRGM, and universities. These observatories document the Earth's critical zone over the long term, a thin layer between unaltered rocks and the top of the atmospheric boundary layer, which is our living environment. OZCAR observatories focus on water and matter flows across watersheds, aquifers, glaciers, and peatlands, with over 80 sites worldwide.

Within INRAE, OZCAR_INRAE includes eight observatories, covering diverse environments such as agricultural watersheds, peri-urban areas, and extreme conditions (floods and droughts). Some sites contribute to the Glacioclim National Observation Service, monitoring glaciers and snow covers.

The observatories serve as sentinels of global changes, providing extensive data, research opportunities, and interactions with local stakeholders. The infrastructure also incorporates cutting-edge equipment from the CRITEX program and promotes data modeling across watersheds to address scientific questions like vegetation's impact on hydrological balances.

OZCAR is part of CZNet, a global network of critical zone observatories, and participates in the European eLTER infrastructure, which aims to provide ecosystem and critical zone research services across Europe. In collaboration with RZA (Atelier Zones Network), it supports multidisciplinary long-term research on Nature-Society interactions in functional units like watersheds or agricultural landscapes.