Project acronym A2C2
Project Atmospheric flow Analogues and Climate Change
Researcher (PI) Pascal Yiou
Host Institution (HI) COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary "The A2C2 project treats two major challenges in climate and atmospheric research: the time dependence of the climate attractor to external forcings (solar, volcanic eruptions and anthropogenic), and the attribution of extreme climate events occurring in the northern extra-tropics. The main difficulties are the limited climate information, the computer cost of model simulations, and mathematical assumptions that are hardly verified and often overlooked in the literature.
A2C2 proposes a practical framework to overcome those three difficulties, linking the theory of dynamical systems and statistics. We will generalize the methodology of flow analogues to multiple databases in order to obtain probabilistic descriptions of analogue decompositions.
The project is divided into three workpackages (WP). WP1 embeds the analogue method in the theory of dynamical systems in order to provide a metric of an attractor deformation in time. The important methodological step is to detect trends or persisting outliers in the dates and scores of analogues when the system yields time-varying forcings. This is done from idealized models and full size climate models in which the forcings (anthropogenic and natural) are known.
A2C2 creates an open source toolkit to compute flow analogues from a wide array of databases (WP2). WP3 treats the two scientific challenges with the analogue method and multiple model ensembles, hence allowing uncertainty estimates under realistic mathematical hypotheses. The flow analogue methodology allows a systematic and quasi real-time analysis of extreme events, which is currently out of the reach of conventional climate modeling approaches.
The major breakthrough of A2C2 is to bridge the gap between operational needs (the immediate analysis of climate events) and the understanding long-term climate changes. A2C2 opens new research horizons for the exploitation of ensembles of simulations and reliable estimates of uncertainty."
Summary
"The A2C2 project treats two major challenges in climate and atmospheric research: the time dependence of the climate attractor to external forcings (solar, volcanic eruptions and anthropogenic), and the attribution of extreme climate events occurring in the northern extra-tropics. The main difficulties are the limited climate information, the computer cost of model simulations, and mathematical assumptions that are hardly verified and often overlooked in the literature.
A2C2 proposes a practical framework to overcome those three difficulties, linking the theory of dynamical systems and statistics. We will generalize the methodology of flow analogues to multiple databases in order to obtain probabilistic descriptions of analogue decompositions.
The project is divided into three workpackages (WP). WP1 embeds the analogue method in the theory of dynamical systems in order to provide a metric of an attractor deformation in time. The important methodological step is to detect trends or persisting outliers in the dates and scores of analogues when the system yields time-varying forcings. This is done from idealized models and full size climate models in which the forcings (anthropogenic and natural) are known.
A2C2 creates an open source toolkit to compute flow analogues from a wide array of databases (WP2). WP3 treats the two scientific challenges with the analogue method and multiple model ensembles, hence allowing uncertainty estimates under realistic mathematical hypotheses. The flow analogue methodology allows a systematic and quasi real-time analysis of extreme events, which is currently out of the reach of conventional climate modeling approaches.
The major breakthrough of A2C2 is to bridge the gap between operational needs (the immediate analysis of climate events) and the understanding long-term climate changes. A2C2 opens new research horizons for the exploitation of ensembles of simulations and reliable estimates of uncertainty."
Max ERC Funding
1 491 457 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-03-01, End date: 2019-02-28
Project acronym ACCLIMATE
Project Elucidating the Causes and Effects of Atlantic Circulation Changes through Model-Data Integration
Researcher (PI) Claire Waelbroeck
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary Rapid changes in ocean circulation and climate have been observed in marine sediment and ice cores, notably over the last 60 thousand years (ky), highlighting the non-linear character of the climate system and underlining the possibility of rapid climate shifts in response to anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing.
To date, these rapid changes in climate and ocean circulation are still not fully explained. Two main obstacles prevent going beyond the current state of knowledge:
- Paleoclimatic proxy data are by essence only indirect indicators of the climatic variables, and thus can not be directly compared with model outputs;
- A 4-D (latitude, longitude, water depth, time) reconstruction of Atlantic water masses over the past 40 ky is lacking: previous studies have generated isolated records with disparate timescales which do not allow the causes of circulation changes to be identified.
Overcoming these two major limitations will lead to major breakthroughs in climate research. Concretely, I will create the first database of Atlantic deep-sea records over the last 40 ky, and extract full climatic information from these records through an innovative model-data integration scheme using an isotopic proxy forward modeling approach. The novelty and exceptional potential of this scheme is twofold: (i) it avoids hypotheses on proxy interpretation and hence suppresses or strongly reduces the errors of interpretation of paleoclimatic records; (ii) it produces states of the climate system that best explain the observations over the last 40 ky, while being consistent with the model physics.
Expected results include:
• The elucidation of the mechanisms explaining rapid changes in ocean circulation and climate over the last 40 ky,
• Improved climate model physics and parameterizations,
• The first projections of future climate changes obtained with a model able to reproduce the highly non linear behavior of the climate system observed over the last 40 ky.
Summary
Rapid changes in ocean circulation and climate have been observed in marine sediment and ice cores, notably over the last 60 thousand years (ky), highlighting the non-linear character of the climate system and underlining the possibility of rapid climate shifts in response to anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing.
To date, these rapid changes in climate and ocean circulation are still not fully explained. Two main obstacles prevent going beyond the current state of knowledge:
- Paleoclimatic proxy data are by essence only indirect indicators of the climatic variables, and thus can not be directly compared with model outputs;
- A 4-D (latitude, longitude, water depth, time) reconstruction of Atlantic water masses over the past 40 ky is lacking: previous studies have generated isolated records with disparate timescales which do not allow the causes of circulation changes to be identified.
Overcoming these two major limitations will lead to major breakthroughs in climate research. Concretely, I will create the first database of Atlantic deep-sea records over the last 40 ky, and extract full climatic information from these records through an innovative model-data integration scheme using an isotopic proxy forward modeling approach. The novelty and exceptional potential of this scheme is twofold: (i) it avoids hypotheses on proxy interpretation and hence suppresses or strongly reduces the errors of interpretation of paleoclimatic records; (ii) it produces states of the climate system that best explain the observations over the last 40 ky, while being consistent with the model physics.
Expected results include:
• The elucidation of the mechanisms explaining rapid changes in ocean circulation and climate over the last 40 ky,
• Improved climate model physics and parameterizations,
• The first projections of future climate changes obtained with a model able to reproduce the highly non linear behavior of the climate system observed over the last 40 ky.
Max ERC Funding
3 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31
Project acronym AIRSEA
Project Air-Sea Exchanges driven by Light
Researcher (PI) Christian George
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2011-ADG_20110209
Summary The scientific motivation of this project is the significant presence of organic compounds at the surface of the ocean. They form the link between ocean biogeochemistry through the physico-chemical processes near the water-air interface with primary and secondary aerosol formation and evolution in the air aloft and finally to the climate impact of marine boundary layer aerosols. However, their photochemistry and photosensitizer properties have only been suggested and discussed but never fully addressed because they were beyond reach. This project suggests going significantly beyond this matter of fact by a combination of innovative tools and the development of new ideas.
This project is therefore devoted to new laboratory investigations of processes occurring at the air sea interface to predict emission, formation and evolution of halogenated radicals and aerosols from this vast interface between oceans and atmosphere. It progresses from fundamental laboratory measurements, marine science, surface chemistry, photochemistry … and is therefore interdisciplinary in nature.
It will lead to the development of innovative techniques for characterising chemical processing at the air sea interface (e.g., a multiphase atmospheric simulation chamber, a time-resolved fluorescence technique for characterising chemical processing at the air-sea interface). It will allow the assessment of new emerging ideas such as a quantitative description of the importance of photosensitized reactions in the visible at the air/sea interface as a major source of halogenated radicals and aerosols in the marine environment.
This new understanding will impact on our ability to describe atmospheric chemistry in the marine environment which has strong impact on the urban air quality of coastal regions (which by the way represent highly populated regions ) but also on climate change by providing new input for global climate models.
Summary
The scientific motivation of this project is the significant presence of organic compounds at the surface of the ocean. They form the link between ocean biogeochemistry through the physico-chemical processes near the water-air interface with primary and secondary aerosol formation and evolution in the air aloft and finally to the climate impact of marine boundary layer aerosols. However, their photochemistry and photosensitizer properties have only been suggested and discussed but never fully addressed because they were beyond reach. This project suggests going significantly beyond this matter of fact by a combination of innovative tools and the development of new ideas.
This project is therefore devoted to new laboratory investigations of processes occurring at the air sea interface to predict emission, formation and evolution of halogenated radicals and aerosols from this vast interface between oceans and atmosphere. It progresses from fundamental laboratory measurements, marine science, surface chemistry, photochemistry … and is therefore interdisciplinary in nature.
It will lead to the development of innovative techniques for characterising chemical processing at the air sea interface (e.g., a multiphase atmospheric simulation chamber, a time-resolved fluorescence technique for characterising chemical processing at the air-sea interface). It will allow the assessment of new emerging ideas such as a quantitative description of the importance of photosensitized reactions in the visible at the air/sea interface as a major source of halogenated radicals and aerosols in the marine environment.
This new understanding will impact on our ability to describe atmospheric chemistry in the marine environment which has strong impact on the urban air quality of coastal regions (which by the way represent highly populated regions ) but also on climate change by providing new input for global climate models.
Max ERC Funding
2 366 276 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-04-01, End date: 2017-03-31
Project acronym ARCHEIS
Project Understanding the onset and impact of Aquatic Resource Consumption in Human Evolution using novel Isotopic tracerS
Researcher (PI) Klervia Marie Madalen JAOUEN
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2018-STG
Summary The onset of the systematic consumption of marine resources is thought to mark a turning point for the hominin lineage. To date, this onset cannot be traced, since classic isotope markers are not preserved beyond 50 - 100 ky. Aquatic food products are essential in human nutrition as the main source of polyunsaturated fatty acids in hunter-gatherer diets. The exploitation of marine resources is also thought to have reduced human mobility and enhanced social and technological complexification. Systematic aquatic food consumption could well have been a distinctive feature of Homo sapiens species among his fellow hominins, and has been linked to the astonishing leap in human intelligence and conscience. Yet, this hypothesis is challenged by the existence of mollusk and marine mammal bone remains at Neanderthal archeological sites. Recent work demonstrated the sensitivity of Zn isotope composition in bioapatite, the mineral part of bones and teeth, to dietary Zn. By combining classic (C and C/N isotope analyses) and innovative techniques (compound specific C/N and bulk Zn isotope analyses), I will develop a suite of sensitive tracers for shellfish, fish and marine mammal consumption. Shellfish consumption will be investigated by comparing various South American and European prehistoric populations from the Atlantic coast associated to shell-midden and fish-mounds. Marine mammal consumption will be traced using an Inuit population of Arctic Canada and the Wairau Bar population of New Zealand. C/N/Zn isotope compositions of various aquatic products will also be assessed, as well as isotope fractionation during intestinal absorption. I will then use the fully calibrated isotope tools to detect and characterize the onset of marine food exploitation in human history, which will answer the question of its specificity to our species. Neanderthal, early modern humans and possibly other hominin remains from coastal and inland sites will be compared in that purpose.
Summary
The onset of the systematic consumption of marine resources is thought to mark a turning point for the hominin lineage. To date, this onset cannot be traced, since classic isotope markers are not preserved beyond 50 - 100 ky. Aquatic food products are essential in human nutrition as the main source of polyunsaturated fatty acids in hunter-gatherer diets. The exploitation of marine resources is also thought to have reduced human mobility and enhanced social and technological complexification. Systematic aquatic food consumption could well have been a distinctive feature of Homo sapiens species among his fellow hominins, and has been linked to the astonishing leap in human intelligence and conscience. Yet, this hypothesis is challenged by the existence of mollusk and marine mammal bone remains at Neanderthal archeological sites. Recent work demonstrated the sensitivity of Zn isotope composition in bioapatite, the mineral part of bones and teeth, to dietary Zn. By combining classic (C and C/N isotope analyses) and innovative techniques (compound specific C/N and bulk Zn isotope analyses), I will develop a suite of sensitive tracers for shellfish, fish and marine mammal consumption. Shellfish consumption will be investigated by comparing various South American and European prehistoric populations from the Atlantic coast associated to shell-midden and fish-mounds. Marine mammal consumption will be traced using an Inuit population of Arctic Canada and the Wairau Bar population of New Zealand. C/N/Zn isotope compositions of various aquatic products will also be assessed, as well as isotope fractionation during intestinal absorption. I will then use the fully calibrated isotope tools to detect and characterize the onset of marine food exploitation in human history, which will answer the question of its specificity to our species. Neanderthal, early modern humans and possibly other hominin remains from coastal and inland sites will be compared in that purpose.
Max ERC Funding
1 361 991 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-03-01, End date: 2024-02-29
Project acronym AUGURY
Project Reconstructing Earth’s mantle convection
Researcher (PI) Nicolas Coltice
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITE LYON 1 CLAUDE BERNARD
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary Knowledge of the state of the Earth mantle and its temporal evolution is fundamental to a variety of disciplines in Earth Sciences, from the internal dynamics to its many expressions in the geological record (postglacial rebound, sea level change, ore deposit, tectonics or geomagnetic reversals). Mantle convection theory is the centerpiece to unravel the present and past state of the mantle. For the past 40 years considerable efforts have been made to improve the quality of numerical models of mantle convection. However, they are still sparsely used to estimate the convective history of the solid Earth, in comparison to ocean or atmospheric models for weather and climate prediction. The main shortcoming is their inability to successfully produce Earth-like seafloor spreading and continental drift self-consistently. Recent convection models have begun to successfully predict these processes (Coltice et al., Science 336, 335-33, 2012). Such breakthrough opens the opportunity to combine high-level data assimilation methodologies and convection models together with advanced tectonic datasets to retrieve Earth's mantle history. The scope of this project is to produce a new generation of tectonic and convection reconstructions, which are key to improve our understanding and knowledge of the evolution of the solid Earth. The development of sustainable high performance numerical models will set new standards for geodynamic data assimilation. The outcome of the AUGURY project will be a new generation of models crucial to a wide variety of disciplines.
Summary
Knowledge of the state of the Earth mantle and its temporal evolution is fundamental to a variety of disciplines in Earth Sciences, from the internal dynamics to its many expressions in the geological record (postglacial rebound, sea level change, ore deposit, tectonics or geomagnetic reversals). Mantle convection theory is the centerpiece to unravel the present and past state of the mantle. For the past 40 years considerable efforts have been made to improve the quality of numerical models of mantle convection. However, they are still sparsely used to estimate the convective history of the solid Earth, in comparison to ocean or atmospheric models for weather and climate prediction. The main shortcoming is their inability to successfully produce Earth-like seafloor spreading and continental drift self-consistently. Recent convection models have begun to successfully predict these processes (Coltice et al., Science 336, 335-33, 2012). Such breakthrough opens the opportunity to combine high-level data assimilation methodologies and convection models together with advanced tectonic datasets to retrieve Earth's mantle history. The scope of this project is to produce a new generation of tectonic and convection reconstructions, which are key to improve our understanding and knowledge of the evolution of the solid Earth. The development of sustainable high performance numerical models will set new standards for geodynamic data assimilation. The outcome of the AUGURY project will be a new generation of models crucial to a wide variety of disciplines.
Max ERC Funding
1 994 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-03-01, End date: 2020-02-29
Project acronym Calcyan
Project A living carbonate factory: how do cyanobacteria make rocks? (Calcification in Cyanobacteria)
Researcher (PI) Karim Benzerara
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2012-StG_20111012
Summary This interdisciplinary proposal stems from our recent discovery of deep-branching cyanobacteria that form intracellular Ca-Mg-Sr-Ba carbonates. So far, calcification by cyanobacteria was considered as exclusively extracellular, hence dependent on external conditions. The existence of intracellularly calcifying cyanobacteria may thus deeply modify our view on the role of cyanobacteria in the formation of modern and past carbonate deposits and the degree of control they achieve on this geochemically significant process. Moreover, since these cyanobacteria concentrate selectively Sr and Ba over Ca, it suggests the existence of processes that can alter the message conveyed by proxies such as Sr/Ca ratios in carbonates, classically used for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Finally, such a biomineralization process, if globally significant may impact our view of how an ecosystem responds to external CO2 changes in particular by affecting most likely a key parameter such as the balance between organic carbon fixed by photosynthesis and inorganic carbon fixed by CaCO3 precipitation.
Here, I aim to bring a qualitative jump in the understanding of this process. The core of this project is to provide a detailed picture of intracellular calcification by cyanobacteria. This will be achieved by studying laboratory cultures of cyanobacteria, field samples of modern calcifying biofilms and ancient microbialites. Diverse tools from molecular biology, biochemistry, mineralogy and geochemistry will be used. Altogether these techniques will help unveiling the molecular and mineralogical mechanisms involved in cyanobacterial intracellular calcification, assessing the phylogenetic diversity of these cyanobacteria and the preservability of their traces in ancient rocks. My goal is to establish a unique expertise in the study of calcification by cyanobacteria, the scope of which can be developed and broadened in the future for the study of interactions between life and minerals.
Summary
This interdisciplinary proposal stems from our recent discovery of deep-branching cyanobacteria that form intracellular Ca-Mg-Sr-Ba carbonates. So far, calcification by cyanobacteria was considered as exclusively extracellular, hence dependent on external conditions. The existence of intracellularly calcifying cyanobacteria may thus deeply modify our view on the role of cyanobacteria in the formation of modern and past carbonate deposits and the degree of control they achieve on this geochemically significant process. Moreover, since these cyanobacteria concentrate selectively Sr and Ba over Ca, it suggests the existence of processes that can alter the message conveyed by proxies such as Sr/Ca ratios in carbonates, classically used for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Finally, such a biomineralization process, if globally significant may impact our view of how an ecosystem responds to external CO2 changes in particular by affecting most likely a key parameter such as the balance between organic carbon fixed by photosynthesis and inorganic carbon fixed by CaCO3 precipitation.
Here, I aim to bring a qualitative jump in the understanding of this process. The core of this project is to provide a detailed picture of intracellular calcification by cyanobacteria. This will be achieved by studying laboratory cultures of cyanobacteria, field samples of modern calcifying biofilms and ancient microbialites. Diverse tools from molecular biology, biochemistry, mineralogy and geochemistry will be used. Altogether these techniques will help unveiling the molecular and mineralogical mechanisms involved in cyanobacterial intracellular calcification, assessing the phylogenetic diversity of these cyanobacteria and the preservability of their traces in ancient rocks. My goal is to establish a unique expertise in the study of calcification by cyanobacteria, the scope of which can be developed and broadened in the future for the study of interactions between life and minerals.
Max ERC Funding
1 659 478 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-02-01, End date: 2018-01-31
Project acronym CARB-City
Project Physico-Chemistry of Carbonaceous Aerosol Pollution in Evolving Cities
Researcher (PI) Alma Hodzic
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2018-COG
Summary Carbonaceous aerosols (organic and black carbon) remain a major unresolved issue in atmospheric science, especially in urban centers, where they are one of the dominant aerosol constituents and among most toxic to human health. The challenge is twofold: first, our understanding of the sources, sinks and physico-chemical properties of the complex mixture of carbonaceous species is still incomplete; and second, the representation of urban heterogeneities in air quality models is inadequate as they are designed for regional applications.
The CARB-City project proposes the development of an innovative modeling framework that will address both issues by combining molecular-level chemical constraints and city-scale modeling to achieve the following objectives: (WP1) to develop and apply new chemical parameterizations, constrained by an explicit chemical model, for carbonaceous aerosol formation from urban precursors, and (WP2) to examine whether urban heterogeneities in sources and mixing can enhance non-linearities in chemistry of carbonaceous compounds and modify their predicted composition. The new modeling framework will then be applied (WP3) to quantify the contribution of traditional and emerging urban aerosol precursor sources to chemistry and toxicity of carbonaceous aerosols; and (WP4) to assess the effectiveness of greener-city strategies in removing aerosol pollutants.
This work will enhance fundamental scientific understanding as to how key physico-chemical processes control the lifecycle of carbonaceous aerosols in cities, and will improve the predictability of air quality models in terms of composition and toxicity of urban aerosols, and their sensitivity to changes in energy and land use that cities are currently experiencing. The modeling framework will have the required chemical and spatial resolution for assessing human exposure to urban aerosols. This will allow policy makers to optimize urban emission reductions and sustainable urban development.
Summary
Carbonaceous aerosols (organic and black carbon) remain a major unresolved issue in atmospheric science, especially in urban centers, where they are one of the dominant aerosol constituents and among most toxic to human health. The challenge is twofold: first, our understanding of the sources, sinks and physico-chemical properties of the complex mixture of carbonaceous species is still incomplete; and second, the representation of urban heterogeneities in air quality models is inadequate as they are designed for regional applications.
The CARB-City project proposes the development of an innovative modeling framework that will address both issues by combining molecular-level chemical constraints and city-scale modeling to achieve the following objectives: (WP1) to develop and apply new chemical parameterizations, constrained by an explicit chemical model, for carbonaceous aerosol formation from urban precursors, and (WP2) to examine whether urban heterogeneities in sources and mixing can enhance non-linearities in chemistry of carbonaceous compounds and modify their predicted composition. The new modeling framework will then be applied (WP3) to quantify the contribution of traditional and emerging urban aerosol precursor sources to chemistry and toxicity of carbonaceous aerosols; and (WP4) to assess the effectiveness of greener-city strategies in removing aerosol pollutants.
This work will enhance fundamental scientific understanding as to how key physico-chemical processes control the lifecycle of carbonaceous aerosols in cities, and will improve the predictability of air quality models in terms of composition and toxicity of urban aerosols, and their sensitivity to changes in energy and land use that cities are currently experiencing. The modeling framework will have the required chemical and spatial resolution for assessing human exposure to urban aerosols. This will allow policy makers to optimize urban emission reductions and sustainable urban development.
Max ERC Funding
1 727 009 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-01-01, End date: 2024-12-31
Project acronym CLUSTER
Project organisation of CLoUdS, and implications for Tropical cyclones and for the Energetics of the tropics, in current and in a waRming climate
Researcher (PI) caroline MULLER
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2018-STG
Summary Few geophysical phenomena are as spectacular as tropical cyclones, with their eye surrounded by sharp cloudy eyewalls. There are other types of spatially organised convection (convection refers to overturning of air within which clouds are embedded), in fact organised convection is ubiquitous in the tropics. But it is still poorly understood and poorly represented in convective parameterisations of global climate models, despite its strong societal and climatic impact. It is associated with extreme weather, and with dramatic changes of the large scales, including drying of the atmosphere and increased outgoing longwave radiation to space. The latter can have dramatic consequences on tropical energetics, and hence on global climate. Thus, convective organisation could be a key missing ingredient in current estimates of climate sensitivity from climate models.
CLUSTER will lead to improved fundamental understanding of convective organisation to help guide and improve convective parameterisations. It is closely related to the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) grand challenge: Clouds, circulation and climate sensitivity. Grand challenges identify areas of emphasis in the coming decade, targeting specific barriers preventing progress in critical areas of climate science.
Until recently, progress on this topic was hindered by high numerical cost and lack of fundamental understanding. Advances in computer power combined with new discoveries based on idealised frameworks, theory and observational findings, make this the ideal time to determine the fundamental processes governing convective organisation in nature. Using a synergy of theory, high-resolution cloud-resolving simulations, and in-situ and satellite observations, CLUSTER will specifically target two feedbacks recently identified as being essential to convective aggregation, and assess their impact on tropical cyclones, large-scale properties including precipitation extremes, and energetics of the tropics.
Summary
Few geophysical phenomena are as spectacular as tropical cyclones, with their eye surrounded by sharp cloudy eyewalls. There are other types of spatially organised convection (convection refers to overturning of air within which clouds are embedded), in fact organised convection is ubiquitous in the tropics. But it is still poorly understood and poorly represented in convective parameterisations of global climate models, despite its strong societal and climatic impact. It is associated with extreme weather, and with dramatic changes of the large scales, including drying of the atmosphere and increased outgoing longwave radiation to space. The latter can have dramatic consequences on tropical energetics, and hence on global climate. Thus, convective organisation could be a key missing ingredient in current estimates of climate sensitivity from climate models.
CLUSTER will lead to improved fundamental understanding of convective organisation to help guide and improve convective parameterisations. It is closely related to the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) grand challenge: Clouds, circulation and climate sensitivity. Grand challenges identify areas of emphasis in the coming decade, targeting specific barriers preventing progress in critical areas of climate science.
Until recently, progress on this topic was hindered by high numerical cost and lack of fundamental understanding. Advances in computer power combined with new discoveries based on idealised frameworks, theory and observational findings, make this the ideal time to determine the fundamental processes governing convective organisation in nature. Using a synergy of theory, high-resolution cloud-resolving simulations, and in-situ and satellite observations, CLUSTER will specifically target two feedbacks recently identified as being essential to convective aggregation, and assess their impact on tropical cyclones, large-scale properties including precipitation extremes, and energetics of the tropics.
Max ERC Funding
1 078 021 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-06-01, End date: 2024-05-31
Project acronym COMBINISO
Project Quantitative picture of interactions between climate, hydrological cycle and stratospheric inputs in Antarctica over the last 100 years via the combined use of all water isotopes
Researcher (PI) Amaelle Israel
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2012-StG_20111012
Summary Climate change and associated water cycle modifications have a strong impact on polar ice sheets through their influence on the global sea-level. The most promising tool for reconstructing temperature and water cycle evolution in Antarctica is to use water isotopic records in ice cores. Still, interpreting these records is nowadays limited by known biases linked to a too simple description of isotopic fractionations and cloud microphysics. Another key issue in this region is the stratosphere-troposphere flux influencing both the chemistry of ozone and decadal climate change. Data are lacking for constraining such flux even on the recent period (100 years). COMBINISO aims at making use of innovative methods combining measurements of the 5 major water isotopes (H217O, H218O, HTO, HDO, H2O) and global modelling to address the following key points: 1- Provide a strongly improved physical frame for interpretation of water isotopic records in polar regions; 2- Provide a quantitative picture of Antarctica temperature changes and links with the tropospheric water cycle prior to the instrumental period; 3- Quantify recent variability of the stratosphere water vapor input.
The proposed method, based on strong experimental – modelling interaction, includes innovative tools such as (1) the intensive use of the recently developed triple isotopic composition of oxygen in water for constraining water isotopic fractionation, hydrological cycle organisation and potentially stratospheric water input, (2) the development of a laser spectroscopy instrument to accurately measure this parameter in water vapour, (3) modelling development including stratospheric tracers (e.g. HTO and 10Be) in addition to water isotopes in Atmospheric General Circulation Models equipped with a detailed description of the stratosphere, (4) a first documentation of climate, hydrological cycle and stratospheric input in Antarctica through combined measurements of isotopes in ice cores for the last 100 years.
Summary
Climate change and associated water cycle modifications have a strong impact on polar ice sheets through their influence on the global sea-level. The most promising tool for reconstructing temperature and water cycle evolution in Antarctica is to use water isotopic records in ice cores. Still, interpreting these records is nowadays limited by known biases linked to a too simple description of isotopic fractionations and cloud microphysics. Another key issue in this region is the stratosphere-troposphere flux influencing both the chemistry of ozone and decadal climate change. Data are lacking for constraining such flux even on the recent period (100 years). COMBINISO aims at making use of innovative methods combining measurements of the 5 major water isotopes (H217O, H218O, HTO, HDO, H2O) and global modelling to address the following key points: 1- Provide a strongly improved physical frame for interpretation of water isotopic records in polar regions; 2- Provide a quantitative picture of Antarctica temperature changes and links with the tropospheric water cycle prior to the instrumental period; 3- Quantify recent variability of the stratosphere water vapor input.
The proposed method, based on strong experimental – modelling interaction, includes innovative tools such as (1) the intensive use of the recently developed triple isotopic composition of oxygen in water for constraining water isotopic fractionation, hydrological cycle organisation and potentially stratospheric water input, (2) the development of a laser spectroscopy instrument to accurately measure this parameter in water vapour, (3) modelling development including stratospheric tracers (e.g. HTO and 10Be) in addition to water isotopes in Atmospheric General Circulation Models equipped with a detailed description of the stratosphere, (4) a first documentation of climate, hydrological cycle and stratospheric input in Antarctica through combined measurements of isotopes in ice cores for the last 100 years.
Max ERC Funding
1 869 950 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-01-01, End date: 2017-12-31
Project acronym CoreSat
Project Dynamics of Earth’s core from multi-satellite observations
Researcher (PI) Christopher FINLAY
Host Institution (HI) DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2017-COG
Summary Earth's magnetic field plays a fundamental role in our planetary habitat, controlling interactions between the Earth and the solar wind. Here, I propose to use magnetic observations, made simultaneously by multiple satellites, along with numerical models of outer core dynamics, to test whether convective processes can account for ongoing changes in the field. The geomagnetic field is generated by a dynamo process within the core converting kinetic energy of the moving liquid metal into magnetic energy. Yet observations show a region of persistently weak field in the South Atlantic that has grown in size in recent decades. Pinning down the core dynamics responsible for this behaviour is essential if we are to understand the detailed time-dependence of the geodynamo, and to forecast future field changes.
Global magnetic observations from the Swarm constellation mission, with three identical satellites now carrying out the most detailed ever survey of the geomagnetic field, provide an exciting opportunity to probe the dynamics of the core in exquisite detail. To exploit this wealth of data, it is urgent that contaminating magnetic sources in the lithosphere and ionosphere are better separated from the core-generated field. I propose to achieve this, and to test the hypothesis that core convection has controlled the recent field evolution in the South Atlantic, via three interlinked projects. First I will co-estimate separate models for the lithospheric and core fields, making use of prior information from crustal geology and dynamo theory. In parallel, I will develop a new scheme for isolating and removing the signature of polar ionospheric currents, better utilising ground-based data. Taking advantage of these improvements, data from Swarm and previous missions will be reprocessed and then assimilated into a purpose-built model of quasi-geostrophic core convection.
Summary
Earth's magnetic field plays a fundamental role in our planetary habitat, controlling interactions between the Earth and the solar wind. Here, I propose to use magnetic observations, made simultaneously by multiple satellites, along with numerical models of outer core dynamics, to test whether convective processes can account for ongoing changes in the field. The geomagnetic field is generated by a dynamo process within the core converting kinetic energy of the moving liquid metal into magnetic energy. Yet observations show a region of persistently weak field in the South Atlantic that has grown in size in recent decades. Pinning down the core dynamics responsible for this behaviour is essential if we are to understand the detailed time-dependence of the geodynamo, and to forecast future field changes.
Global magnetic observations from the Swarm constellation mission, with three identical satellites now carrying out the most detailed ever survey of the geomagnetic field, provide an exciting opportunity to probe the dynamics of the core in exquisite detail. To exploit this wealth of data, it is urgent that contaminating magnetic sources in the lithosphere and ionosphere are better separated from the core-generated field. I propose to achieve this, and to test the hypothesis that core convection has controlled the recent field evolution in the South Atlantic, via three interlinked projects. First I will co-estimate separate models for the lithospheric and core fields, making use of prior information from crustal geology and dynamo theory. In parallel, I will develop a new scheme for isolating and removing the signature of polar ionospheric currents, better utilising ground-based data. Taking advantage of these improvements, data from Swarm and previous missions will be reprocessed and then assimilated into a purpose-built model of quasi-geostrophic core convection.
Max ERC Funding
1 828 708 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-03-01, End date: 2023-02-28
