The 3rd OZCAR-TERENO conference, jointly organized by the OZCAR research network in France and TERENO in Germany, was held from September 29 to October 2, 2025, in Paris at FIAP Jean Monnet.
Like the previous editions held in Strasbourg in 2021 and Bonn in 2023, it was a great success, bringing together nearly 260 participants on site and around 20 participants remotely. More than 30 nationalities were represented, with a significant participation of doctoral and postdoctoral students, who accounted for nearly 40% of those registered.
The scientific program was organized around 15 sessions based on disciplines such as hydrology, hydrogeology, geophysics, soil science, geochemistry, ecology, and socio-ecology, but also aimed at showing how interdisciplinarity can be used to study the functioning of the critical zone and its future in the Anthropocene. These sessions also demonstrated the value of critical zone observatories, highly instrumented field sites where different disciplines interact and produce data and models for an integrated understanding of the critical zone. For each session, keynote speakers presented cutting-edge research on different topics, while remaining accessible to non-specialists. Each session was followed by oral presentations and poster sessions, all of which were very well attended.
Furthermore, the 3rd OZCAR-TERENO conference also featured several events that allowed for more informal exchanges, facilitating the establishment of collaborations.
Monday, September 29 was dedicated to a visit to the OZCAR site in the Orgeval watershed, an intensively agricultural basin located west of Paris. The various presentations organized by the local team illustrated the different research themes from the observatory and associated observations (high-frequency monitoring of river chemistry, ecotoxicology, plastic monitoring, use of geophysics to characterize infiltration into the aquifer, or river/groundwater exchanges).
3rd OZCAR TERENO Conference. Gauche: Visite de terrain sur le bassin de l’Orgeval. Droite: Présentation par les acteurs du territoire. @C. Dejean
The icebreaker at the end of the evening gave participants the opportunity to get to know each other over a drink. Jeff Munroe, from Middlebury College (USA), presented the ongoing Critical Zone Network of Networks initiative, with which the OZCAR and TERENO networks are associated (https://sites.middlebury.edu/cznon/ ).
On Wednesday evening, a gala dinner was held at the Maison des Polytechniciens. After an aperitif with a glass of champagne, participants enjoyed a vegetarian dinner and continued their discussions and networking, which was particularly beneficial for young scientists.
We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of this conference (the scientific committee, session conveners, keynote speakers, and organizing committee), as well as the institutional and industrial partners who provided financial support. Finally, we would like to thank all the participants for their involvement in making this event a success.
More information: https://ozcartereno2025.sciencesconf.org/
Access to presentations and posters: https://nextcloud.inrae.fr/s/Qw5ad3fRjyE5Piz
Access to the videos of the keynote speakers presentations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5q_nMCSksH6lLRRtootmp-qsiDOoleZz
See you in Berlin in 2028 for the next edition of the TERENO-OZCAR conference.
