Critical zone and environment

At the Earth’s surface, the critical zone supports the development of life and thus represents the primary site of interactions between mineral, organic, and living components. ISTerre’s scientific activity increasingly incorporates these interactions, examining the dynamics of contaminants (such as metallic elements and metalloids, organic contaminants, and micro- and nano-plastics) within the critical zone and their transfer to the biological compartment. This transfer is mediated by water, which is essential for environmental geophysics (as a resource) and geochemistry (as a measure of quality). Furthermore, the co-evolution of geological and biological continental surfaces over multiple time scales influences the reconstruction of paleoclimates (on geological scales) and paleo-ecosystems (on much shorter temporal scales). Bio-geological interactions, through themes such as the impact of living organisms on mineral processes (nucleation or mineral alteration) or the preservation of environmental DNA as a unique archive by the mineral compartment, are rapidly developing research areas at ISTerre. This activity broadens the laboratory’s expertise, fostering cross-disciplinary interactions within the local research ecosystem (e.g., LECA and Edytem) and benefiting from proximity to major local instruments (ESRF and ILL).