Progresses on monitoring network construction of Earth’s Critical Zone in Jianghan Plain

Earth’s Critical Zone is one of the hot research fields in Earth science. In China, the research of Earth’s Critical Zone is still in the initial stage, and how to form the investigation and research mode of Earth’s Critical Zone with Chinese characteristics still needs to be explored at present. Jianghan Plain, located in the middle reaches of Yangtze River, is an important part of Yangtze River Economic Zone, and it’s also under the influence of different scales hydraulic projects. On the basis of several years’ investigation, the authors have established a systematic monitoring network in Jianghan Plain, covering various elements of Earth’s Critical Zone, such as water, soil, gas and biology. In the design of monitoring network, they not only considered the influence of different scales hydraulic projects, but also the enrichment characteristics of regional nutrient elements and heavy metals. In the monitoring technology, they have achieved the in-situ monitoring of some indexes and the field testing of most indexes. The next work is to enhance online monitoring and achieve remote data transmission in the near future. At present, the monitoring network of Earth’s Critical Zone in Jianghan Plain has been successfully incorporated into the global Earth’s Critical Zone research network, which is a preliminary exploration for the investigation and research of Earth’s Critical Zone in China. This research can not only provide demonstration for the investigation and research of Earth’s Critical Zone in Yangtze River Basin, but also provide strong theory and method support for the great protection strategy of Yangtze River.