In the premier of the American Geophysical Union’s journal Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists, University of Nevada, Reno Professor Emeritus Scott Tyler and marketing and communications director Jennifer Kent lead a “deep dive” into the responsibilities of earth scientists and engineers to lead and diversify the field of hydrology. What was supposed to be a casual “meet and greet” between fellows of the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Hydrology Section meeting in June 2022 quickly became much more. Due to ongoing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the session was hosted online and recorded.

Tyler, the former president of the AGU’s Hydrology Section, moderated the conversation. As the conversations continued and deepened, Tyler began to recognize that they highlighted some of the pressing issues that the field and the broader scientific community face.

“It’s quite obvious and will be obvious to all those who watch this that our AGU Fellows are deep thinkers and are thinking about current issues,” Tyler said. “I think there is an evolution coming along, and I’m very proud to see that coming from…our AGU Fellows.”

The AGU is the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to earth and space science. AGU Fellowship recognizes outstanding contributions to science and constitutes only 0.1% of the Union’s membership each year.

The conversation included AGU Hydrology Fellows Suzanne Anderson (University of Colorado, Boulder), Paul Brooks (University of Utah), Aaron Packman (Northwestern University), Remko Uijlenhoet (Delft University of Technology), Andrew Western (University of Melbourne) and Xubin Zeng (University of Arizona).

Zeng spoke about the importance of innovation in research and added that scientists should share their failed ideas.

“There is no such thing as a failure, but just ideas you have tried that never worked,” Zeng said. “If we are open, if we take the lead in sharing our unsuccessful stories, that will help accelerate the science.”

The fellows spoke about issues facing the field such as the lack of socioeconomic diversity, the gains made in gender representation, the intersection between research that is impactful and interesting, and recognizing success outside of metrics like citations or academic legacy.

The video, slightly edited for time by Kent, is about one hour long. In that hour, researchers discuss the philosophies of their research and the importance of community, along with other themes. The full video is available to as an open access publication.

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A new children’s book is centered in the Critical Zone, the thin outer layer of Earth’s surface from the tops of the trees down to bedrock where life exists and interacts with rock, soil, water, and air. Designed for 8 to 12-year olds, the book is by INSTAARs Eric Parrish and Suzanne Anderson and is published by Muddy Boots Books.

follows a young girl on a hike in the mountains. A fallen tree becomes a gateway for her to explore the ways air, water, plants, animals, soil, and rock cycle and affect each other. Naturalistic illustrations and informational text let readers follow her through her adventure. The story treats the landscape in an integrated way that is rare in children’s literature.

Cover of the Living Landscape

The book emerged from the (Boulder Creek CZO), a research program that ran from 2007 through 2020 to study the critical zone from the Continental Divide to the western edge of the plains. Working with short stretches of time between other efforts and with small pieces of funding, creating the book took several years.

Parrish, an illustrator and designer, worked for the Boulder Creek CZO as a communicator. He conceived the idea for The Living Landscape and wrote a first draft in 2015. He also created all the illustrations. Anderson, an INSTAAR Fellow, Professor of Geological Sciences, and director of the Boulder Creek CZO, signed on to add scientific content.

“We were really wordsmithing, making sure that concepts were appropriate, that we had the right number of words on the page [or] appropriate vocabulary. We were tuning in concepts,” said Anderson. The goal was to bridge between scientific concepts and most people's lived experiences as they spend time outdoors.

Eric developed a new illustration style over the course of working on the book. “I transitioned from traditional media—oil and watercolor—to digital painting,” said Parrish. “I entered a 100 illustrations in 100 days challenge during COVID, and I made a jump at illustration number 50 to digital.”

The new techniques helped Parrish rework his illustrations to show the details of the natural environment. “Being part of the Critical Zone Observatory, I know the nuance. I got to study dirt,” said Parrish. “It definitely has variations in color and sedimentary layers. Showing that is all about light and texture and artistic tools.”

“I think my favorite page is the one about cycles,” said Anderson. “I love Eric’s graphic that connects the water cycle—which is taught widely—to the carbon cycle and plants, and this all connects to this big, slowly-turning rock cycle. This is how soil is made, at the interface between hydrosphere (water cycle) and lithosphere (rock cycle).”

  It’s important to understand how connected everything is. We all think we’re separate, but we’re not.
--- Eric Parrish

The search for an agent or publisher took years, and eventually ended at the door of , an imprint of Globe Pequot, the trade division of Rowman & Littlefield. Ironically, a previous incarnation of Muddy Boots had published a series of children’s books from the Long-Term Ecological Research program, including some with INSTAAR ties: the series and . “They understand science,” said Anderson.

In the meantime, the Boulder Creek CZO program concluded and was succeeded by the in 2020. The , part of the Critical Zone Network led by Holly Barnard, is supporting The Living Landscape as part of its public engagement activities.

While the book isn’t specific to a particular landscape, Colorado readers may recognize scenes from Rocky Mountain National Park, Elk Meadow, and Gordon Gulch.

Example pages of the Living Landscape

The book is designed for 8 to 12-year olds. “They’re at an age where they’re asking questions about how things work and connections between things,” said Anderson. She added, “We still have questions too.”

“When I came into the CZO, I didn’t think I’d ever love the Critical Zone,” said Parrish. But the principles of connection soon had him hooked. “It’s important to understand how connected everything is. We all think we’re separate, but we’re not.”

Parrish said, “The underlying message of my projects—if I am successful anyway—is all things are connected. Life, love and caring for our world and each other.”

The Living Landscape is available wherever books are sold, including Rowman & Littlefield, Tattered Cover, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and local retailers.

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