Project acronym ACCI
Project Atmospheric Chemistry-Climate Interactions
Researcher (PI) John Adrian Pyle
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARSOF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary Global change involves a large number of complex interactions between various earth system processes. In the atmosphere, one component of the earth system, there are crucial feedbacks between physical, chemical and biological processes. Thus many of the drivers of climate change depend on chemical processes in the atmosphere including, in addition to ozone and water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide, the halocarbons as well as a range of inorganic and organic aerosols. The link between chemistry and climate is two-way and changes in climate can influence atmospheric chemistry processes in a variety of ways.
Previous studies have looked at these interactions in isolation but the time is now right for more comprehensive studies. The crucial contribution that will be made here is in improving our understanding of the processes within this complex system. Process understanding has been the hallmark of my previous work. The earth system scope here will be ambitiously wide but with a similar drive to understand fundamental processes.
The ambitious programme of research is built around four interrelated questions using new state-of-the-art modelling tools: How will the composition of the stratosphere change in the future, given changes in the concentrations of ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases? How will these changes in the stratosphere affect tropospheric composition and climate? How will the composition of the troposphere change in the future, given changes in the emissions of ozone precursors and greenhouse gases? How will these changes in the troposphere affect the troposphere-stratosphere climate system?
ACCI will break new ground in bringing all of these questions into a single modelling and diagnostic framework, enabling interrelated questions to be answered which should radically improve our overall projections for global change.
Summary
Global change involves a large number of complex interactions between various earth system processes. In the atmosphere, one component of the earth system, there are crucial feedbacks between physical, chemical and biological processes. Thus many of the drivers of climate change depend on chemical processes in the atmosphere including, in addition to ozone and water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide, the halocarbons as well as a range of inorganic and organic aerosols. The link between chemistry and climate is two-way and changes in climate can influence atmospheric chemistry processes in a variety of ways.
Previous studies have looked at these interactions in isolation but the time is now right for more comprehensive studies. The crucial contribution that will be made here is in improving our understanding of the processes within this complex system. Process understanding has been the hallmark of my previous work. The earth system scope here will be ambitiously wide but with a similar drive to understand fundamental processes.
The ambitious programme of research is built around four interrelated questions using new state-of-the-art modelling tools: How will the composition of the stratosphere change in the future, given changes in the concentrations of ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases? How will these changes in the stratosphere affect tropospheric composition and climate? How will the composition of the troposphere change in the future, given changes in the emissions of ozone precursors and greenhouse gases? How will these changes in the troposphere affect the troposphere-stratosphere climate system?
ACCI will break new ground in bringing all of these questions into a single modelling and diagnostic framework, enabling interrelated questions to be answered which should radically improve our overall projections for global change.
Max ERC Funding
2 496 926 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2017-04-30
Project acronym AMOPROX
Project Quantifying Aerobic Methane Oxidation in the Ocean: Calibration and palaeo application of a novel proxy
Researcher (PI) Helen Marie Talbot
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary Methane, a key greenhouse gas, is cycled by microorganisms via two pathways, aerobically and anaerobically. Research on the
marine methane cycle has mainly concentrated on anaerobic processes. Recent biomarker work has provided compelling
evidence that aerobic methane oxidation (AMO) can play a more significant role in cycling methane emitted from sediments than
previously considered. AMO, however, is not well studied requiring novel proxies that can be applied to the sedimentary record. A
group of complex lipids biosynthesised by aerobic methanotrophs known as aminobacteriohopanepolyols represent an ideal target
for developing such poxies. Recently BHPs have been identified in a wide range of modern and recent environments including a
continuous record from the Congo deep sea fan spanning the last 1.2 million years.
In this integrated study, the regulation and expression of BHP will be investigated and calibrated against environmental variables
including temperature, pH, salinity and, most importantly, methane concentrations. The work program has three complementary
strands. (1) Pure culture and sedimentary microcosm experiments providing an approximation to natural conditions. (2) Calibration
of BHP signatures in natural marine settings (e.g. cold seeps, mud volcanoes, pockmarks) against measured methane gradients.
(3) Application of this novel approach to the marine sedimentary record to approximate methane fluxes in the past, explore the age
and bathymetric limits of this novel molecular proxy, and identify and potentially 14C date palaeo-pockmarks structures. Crucial to
the success is also the refinement of the analytical protocols to improve both accuracy and sensitivity, using a more sensitive
analytical instrument (triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer).
Summary
Methane, a key greenhouse gas, is cycled by microorganisms via two pathways, aerobically and anaerobically. Research on the
marine methane cycle has mainly concentrated on anaerobic processes. Recent biomarker work has provided compelling
evidence that aerobic methane oxidation (AMO) can play a more significant role in cycling methane emitted from sediments than
previously considered. AMO, however, is not well studied requiring novel proxies that can be applied to the sedimentary record. A
group of complex lipids biosynthesised by aerobic methanotrophs known as aminobacteriohopanepolyols represent an ideal target
for developing such poxies. Recently BHPs have been identified in a wide range of modern and recent environments including a
continuous record from the Congo deep sea fan spanning the last 1.2 million years.
In this integrated study, the regulation and expression of BHP will be investigated and calibrated against environmental variables
including temperature, pH, salinity and, most importantly, methane concentrations. The work program has three complementary
strands. (1) Pure culture and sedimentary microcosm experiments providing an approximation to natural conditions. (2) Calibration
of BHP signatures in natural marine settings (e.g. cold seeps, mud volcanoes, pockmarks) against measured methane gradients.
(3) Application of this novel approach to the marine sedimentary record to approximate methane fluxes in the past, explore the age
and bathymetric limits of this novel molecular proxy, and identify and potentially 14C date palaeo-pockmarks structures. Crucial to
the success is also the refinement of the analytical protocols to improve both accuracy and sensitivity, using a more sensitive
analytical instrument (triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer).
Max ERC Funding
1 496 392 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-11-01, End date: 2016-04-30
Project acronym ATMOPACS
Project Atmospheric Organic Particulate Matter, Air Quality and Climate Change Studies
Researcher (PI) Spyridon Pandis
Host Institution (HI) IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary Despite its importance for human health and climate change organic aerosol (OA) remains one of the least understood aspects of atmospheric chemistry. We propose to develop an innovative new framework for the description of OA in chemical transport and climate models that will be able to overcome the challenges posed by the chemical complexity of OA while capturing its essential features.
The objectives of ATMOPACS are: (i) The development of a new unified framework for the description of OA based on its two most important parameters: volatility and oxygen content. (ii) The development of measurement techniques for the volatility distribution and oxygen content distribution of OA. This will allow the experimental characterization of OA in this new “coordinate system”. (iii) The study of the major OA processes (partitioning, chemical aging, hygroscopicity, CCN formation, nucleation) in this new framework combining lab and field measurements. (iv) The development and evaluation of the next generation of regional and global CTMs using the above framework. (v) The quantification of the importance of the various sources and formation pathways of OA in Europe and the world, of the sensitivity of OA to emission control strategies, and its role in the direct and indirect effects of aerosols on climate.
The proposed work involves a combination of laboratory measurements, field measurements including novel “atmospheric perturbation experiments”, OA model development, and modelling in urban, regional, and global scales. Therefore, it will span the system scales starting from the nanoscale to the global. The modelling tools that will be developed will be made available to all other research groups.
Summary
Despite its importance for human health and climate change organic aerosol (OA) remains one of the least understood aspects of atmospheric chemistry. We propose to develop an innovative new framework for the description of OA in chemical transport and climate models that will be able to overcome the challenges posed by the chemical complexity of OA while capturing its essential features.
The objectives of ATMOPACS are: (i) The development of a new unified framework for the description of OA based on its two most important parameters: volatility and oxygen content. (ii) The development of measurement techniques for the volatility distribution and oxygen content distribution of OA. This will allow the experimental characterization of OA in this new “coordinate system”. (iii) The study of the major OA processes (partitioning, chemical aging, hygroscopicity, CCN formation, nucleation) in this new framework combining lab and field measurements. (iv) The development and evaluation of the next generation of regional and global CTMs using the above framework. (v) The quantification of the importance of the various sources and formation pathways of OA in Europe and the world, of the sensitivity of OA to emission control strategies, and its role in the direct and indirect effects of aerosols on climate.
The proposed work involves a combination of laboratory measurements, field measurements including novel “atmospheric perturbation experiments”, OA model development, and modelling in urban, regional, and global scales. Therefore, it will span the system scales starting from the nanoscale to the global. The modelling tools that will be developed will be made available to all other research groups.
Max ERC Funding
2 496 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31
Project acronym BPT
Project BEYOND PLATE TECTONICS
Researcher (PI) Trond Helge Torsvik
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITETET I OSLO
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary Plate tectonics characterises the complex and dynamic evolution of the outer shell of the Earth in terms of rigid plates. These tectonic plates overlie and interact with the Earth's mantle, which is slowly convecting owing to energy released by the decay of radioactive nuclides in the Earth's interior. Even though links between mantle convection and plate tectonics are becoming more evident, notably through subsurface tomographic images, advances in mineral physics and improved absolute plate motion reference frames, there is still no generally accepted mechanism that consistently explains plate tectonics and mantle convection in one framework. We will integrate plate tectonics into mantle dynamics and develop a theory that explains plate motions quantitatively and dynamically. This requires consistent and detailed reconstructions of plate motions through time (Objective 1).
A new model of plate kinematics will be linked to the mantle with the aid of a new global reference frame based on moving hotspots and on palaeomagnetic data. The global reference frame will be corrected for true polar wander in order to develop a global plate motion reference frame with respect to the mantle back to Pangea (ca. 320 million years) and possibly Gondwana assembly (ca. 550 million years). The resulting plate reconstructions will constitute the input to subduction models that are meant to test the consistency between the reference frame and subduction histories. The final outcome will be a novel global subduction reference frame, to be used to unravel links between the surface and deep Earth (Objective 2).
Summary
Plate tectonics characterises the complex and dynamic evolution of the outer shell of the Earth in terms of rigid plates. These tectonic plates overlie and interact with the Earth's mantle, which is slowly convecting owing to energy released by the decay of radioactive nuclides in the Earth's interior. Even though links between mantle convection and plate tectonics are becoming more evident, notably through subsurface tomographic images, advances in mineral physics and improved absolute plate motion reference frames, there is still no generally accepted mechanism that consistently explains plate tectonics and mantle convection in one framework. We will integrate plate tectonics into mantle dynamics and develop a theory that explains plate motions quantitatively and dynamically. This requires consistent and detailed reconstructions of plate motions through time (Objective 1).
A new model of plate kinematics will be linked to the mantle with the aid of a new global reference frame based on moving hotspots and on palaeomagnetic data. The global reference frame will be corrected for true polar wander in order to develop a global plate motion reference frame with respect to the mantle back to Pangea (ca. 320 million years) and possibly Gondwana assembly (ca. 550 million years). The resulting plate reconstructions will constitute the input to subduction models that are meant to test the consistency between the reference frame and subduction histories. The final outcome will be a novel global subduction reference frame, to be used to unravel links between the surface and deep Earth (Objective 2).
Max ERC Funding
2 499 010 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2016-04-30
Project acronym CODEMAP
Project COmplex Deep-sea Environments: Mapping habitat heterogeneity As Proxy for biodiversity
Researcher (PI) Veerle Ann Ida Huvenne
Host Institution (HI) NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary Human impact on the deep ocean is rapidly increasing, with largely unknown consequences. Effective management and conservation, based on an ecosystem approach, is hampered by our poor understanding of the deep-sea environment. Measuring biodiversity, the main indicator of ecosystem status and functioning, is a major challenge in deep water: traditional sampling schemes are expensive and time-consuming, and their limited coverage makes it difficult to relate the results to regional patterns. Complex deep-sea environments are especially problematic. Ecosystem hotspots such as canyons or coral reefs contain true 3D morphology that cannot be surveyed with conventional techniques. CODEMAP will quantify habitat heterogeneity in complex deep-sea terrains, and will evaluate its potential as a proxy for benthic biodiversity at a variety of scales. Habitat heterogeneity has been suggested as a major driver for deep-sea biodiversity, but is rarely quantified in a spatial context in the marine realm.
To achieve its goal, CODEMAP will combine the fields of marine geology, ecology, remote sensing and underwater vehicle technology to establish an integrated, statistically robust and fully 3D methodology to map complex deep-sea habitats. Statistical techniques will be developed to extrapolate quantitative habitat information from fine-scale surveys to broad-scale maps. The optimal parameters to measure habitat heterogeneity will be defined, and their potential as biodiversity indicators tested through correlation with traditional approaches. The project focuses on submarine canyons, but the techniques will also be transferred to other environments. CODEMAP is expected to have a strong impact on the fundamental understanding of the deep sea and on ecosystem-based deep-sea management.
Summary
Human impact on the deep ocean is rapidly increasing, with largely unknown consequences. Effective management and conservation, based on an ecosystem approach, is hampered by our poor understanding of the deep-sea environment. Measuring biodiversity, the main indicator of ecosystem status and functioning, is a major challenge in deep water: traditional sampling schemes are expensive and time-consuming, and their limited coverage makes it difficult to relate the results to regional patterns. Complex deep-sea environments are especially problematic. Ecosystem hotspots such as canyons or coral reefs contain true 3D morphology that cannot be surveyed with conventional techniques. CODEMAP will quantify habitat heterogeneity in complex deep-sea terrains, and will evaluate its potential as a proxy for benthic biodiversity at a variety of scales. Habitat heterogeneity has been suggested as a major driver for deep-sea biodiversity, but is rarely quantified in a spatial context in the marine realm.
To achieve its goal, CODEMAP will combine the fields of marine geology, ecology, remote sensing and underwater vehicle technology to establish an integrated, statistically robust and fully 3D methodology to map complex deep-sea habitats. Statistical techniques will be developed to extrapolate quantitative habitat information from fine-scale surveys to broad-scale maps. The optimal parameters to measure habitat heterogeneity will be defined, and their potential as biodiversity indicators tested through correlation with traditional approaches. The project focuses on submarine canyons, but the techniques will also be transferred to other environments. CODEMAP is expected to have a strong impact on the fundamental understanding of the deep sea and on ecosystem-based deep-sea management.
Max ERC Funding
1 401 012 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2017-01-31
Project acronym DESERTSTORMS
Project Desert Storms - Towards an Improved
Representation of Meteorological Processes in
Models of Mineral Dust Emission
Researcher (PI) Peter Knippertz
Host Institution (HI) KARLSRUHER INSTITUT FUER TECHNOLOGIE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary This project aims at revolutionizing the way the emission of mineral dust from natural soils is treated in numerical models of the Earth system. Dust significantly affects weather and climate through its influences on radiation, cloud microphysics, atmospheric chemistry and the carbon cycle via the fertilization of ecosystems. To date, quantitative estimates of dust emission and deposition are highly uncertain. This is largely due to the strongly nonlinear dependence of emissions on peak winds, which are often underestimated in models and analysis data. The core objective of this project is therefore to explore ways of better representing crucial meteorological processes such as daytime downward mixing of momentum from nocturnal low-level jets, convective cold pools and small-scale dust devils and plumes in models. To achieve this, we shall undertake (A) a detailed analysis of observations including station data, measurements from recent field campaigns, analysis data and novel satellite products, (B) a comprehensive comparison between output from a wide range of global and regional dust models, and (C) extensive sensitivity studies with regional and large-eddy simulation models in realistic and idealized set-ups to explore effects of resolution and model physics. In contrast to previous studies, all evaluations will be made on a process level concentrating on specific meteorological phenomena. Main deliverables are guidelines for optimal model configurations and novel parameterizations that link gridscale quantities with probabilities of winds exceeding a given threshold within the gridbox. The results will substantially advance our quantitative understanding of the global dust cycle and reduce uncertainties in predicting climate, weather and impacts on human health.
Summary
This project aims at revolutionizing the way the emission of mineral dust from natural soils is treated in numerical models of the Earth system. Dust significantly affects weather and climate through its influences on radiation, cloud microphysics, atmospheric chemistry and the carbon cycle via the fertilization of ecosystems. To date, quantitative estimates of dust emission and deposition are highly uncertain. This is largely due to the strongly nonlinear dependence of emissions on peak winds, which are often underestimated in models and analysis data. The core objective of this project is therefore to explore ways of better representing crucial meteorological processes such as daytime downward mixing of momentum from nocturnal low-level jets, convective cold pools and small-scale dust devils and plumes in models. To achieve this, we shall undertake (A) a detailed analysis of observations including station data, measurements from recent field campaigns, analysis data and novel satellite products, (B) a comprehensive comparison between output from a wide range of global and regional dust models, and (C) extensive sensitivity studies with regional and large-eddy simulation models in realistic and idealized set-ups to explore effects of resolution and model physics. In contrast to previous studies, all evaluations will be made on a process level concentrating on specific meteorological phenomena. Main deliverables are guidelines for optimal model configurations and novel parameterizations that link gridscale quantities with probabilities of winds exceeding a given threshold within the gridbox. The results will substantially advance our quantitative understanding of the global dust cycle and reduce uncertainties in predicting climate, weather and impacts on human health.
Max ERC Funding
1 355 025 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-10-01, End date: 2015-09-30
Project acronym DINOPRO
Project From Protist to Proxy:
Dinoflagellates as signal carriers for climate and carbon cycling during past and present extreme climate transitions
Researcher (PI) Appy Sluijs
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary I propose to develop and apply a novel method for the integrated reconstruction of past changes in carbon cycling and climate change. This method will be based on combining a well-established sensitive paleoclimate proxy with a recent discovery: the stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of marine dinoflagellates (algae) and their organic fossils (dinocysts) reflects seawater carbonate chemistry, particularly pCO2. Biological (culture) experiments will lead to new insights in dinoflagellate carbon acquisition, and enable quantification of the effect of carbon speciation on dinoflagellate δ13C. The rises in CO2 concentrations during the last century, and at the termination of the last glacial period will be used to test and calibrate the new method. The δ13C of fossil dinoflagellate cysts will subsequently be used to reconstruct surface ocean pCO2 and ocean acidification during a past analogue of rapidly rising carbon dioxide concentrations, 55 million years ago. My research will shed new light on processes such as ocean acidification and the marine carbon cycle as a whole. Past analogues of rapid carbon injection can aid in the quantification of climate change and identification of vulnerable biological groups, critical to identify ‘tipping points’ in system Earth. The study of dinoflagellate carbon isotopes comprises the initiation of a new research field and will provide constraints on ocean acidification in the past and its consequences in the future.
Summary
I propose to develop and apply a novel method for the integrated reconstruction of past changes in carbon cycling and climate change. This method will be based on combining a well-established sensitive paleoclimate proxy with a recent discovery: the stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of marine dinoflagellates (algae) and their organic fossils (dinocysts) reflects seawater carbonate chemistry, particularly pCO2. Biological (culture) experiments will lead to new insights in dinoflagellate carbon acquisition, and enable quantification of the effect of carbon speciation on dinoflagellate δ13C. The rises in CO2 concentrations during the last century, and at the termination of the last glacial period will be used to test and calibrate the new method. The δ13C of fossil dinoflagellate cysts will subsequently be used to reconstruct surface ocean pCO2 and ocean acidification during a past analogue of rapidly rising carbon dioxide concentrations, 55 million years ago. My research will shed new light on processes such as ocean acidification and the marine carbon cycle as a whole. Past analogues of rapid carbon injection can aid in the quantification of climate change and identification of vulnerable biological groups, critical to identify ‘tipping points’ in system Earth. The study of dinoflagellate carbon isotopes comprises the initiation of a new research field and will provide constraints on ocean acidification in the past and its consequences in the future.
Max ERC Funding
1 498 800 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-09-01, End date: 2016-08-31
Project acronym EARLY EARTH
Project Early Earth Dynamics: Pt-Re-Os isotopic constraints on Hadean-Early Archean mantle evolution
Researcher (PI) Ambre Luguet
Host Institution (HI) RHEINISCHE FRIEDRICH-WILHELMS-UNIVERSITAT BONN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary This project aims to directly constrain the melting history and composition of the mantle of the Earth
for the first 750 Ma of its history. So far, our limited knowledge hinges on isolated detrital zircons from
Archean crustal rocks. They indicate crustal extraction as early as 4.4 Ga with peaks at 4.0 and 4.3 Ga but
reveal conflicting models for the composition of the Hadean mantle. Both the timing and extent of these
early crust formation events and the composition of the Hadean mantle have crucial implications for our
understanding of the Early Earth’s chemical evolution and dynamics as well as crustal growth and thermal
cooling models. Sulfides (BMS) and platinum group minerals (PGM) may hold the key to these fundamental
issues, as they are robust time capsules able to preserve the melting record of their mantle source over
several billion years.
I propose to perform state-of-the-art in-situ Pt-Re-Os isotopic measurements on an extensive
collection of micrometric BMS and PGM from Archean cratonic peridotites and chromite deposits, and
paleoplacers in Archean sedimentary basins. For the first time, < 20 μm minerals will be investigated for Pt-
Re-Os. The challenging but high-resolution micro-drilling technique will be developed for in-situ sampling
of the PGM and BMS with subsequent high-precision 187Os-186Os isotopic measurements by NTIMS. This
highly innovative project will be the first to constrain Hadean Earth history from the perspective of the
Earth’s mantle. By opening a new window towards high-precision geochemical exploration for micrometric
minerals, this project will have long-term implications for the understanding of the micro to nano-scale
heterogeneity of isotopic signatures in the Earth’s mantle and in extra-terrestrial materials.
Summary
This project aims to directly constrain the melting history and composition of the mantle of the Earth
for the first 750 Ma of its history. So far, our limited knowledge hinges on isolated detrital zircons from
Archean crustal rocks. They indicate crustal extraction as early as 4.4 Ga with peaks at 4.0 and 4.3 Ga but
reveal conflicting models for the composition of the Hadean mantle. Both the timing and extent of these
early crust formation events and the composition of the Hadean mantle have crucial implications for our
understanding of the Early Earth’s chemical evolution and dynamics as well as crustal growth and thermal
cooling models. Sulfides (BMS) and platinum group minerals (PGM) may hold the key to these fundamental
issues, as they are robust time capsules able to preserve the melting record of their mantle source over
several billion years.
I propose to perform state-of-the-art in-situ Pt-Re-Os isotopic measurements on an extensive
collection of micrometric BMS and PGM from Archean cratonic peridotites and chromite deposits, and
paleoplacers in Archean sedimentary basins. For the first time, < 20 μm minerals will be investigated for Pt-
Re-Os. The challenging but high-resolution micro-drilling technique will be developed for in-situ sampling
of the PGM and BMS with subsequent high-precision 187Os-186Os isotopic measurements by NTIMS. This
highly innovative project will be the first to constrain Hadean Earth history from the perspective of the
Earth’s mantle. By opening a new window towards high-precision geochemical exploration for micrometric
minerals, this project will have long-term implications for the understanding of the micro to nano-scale
heterogeneity of isotopic signatures in the Earth’s mantle and in extra-terrestrial materials.
Max ERC Funding
1 306 743 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-10-01, End date: 2016-09-30
Project acronym EARLYHUMANIMPACT
Project How long have human activities been affecting the climate system?
Researcher (PI) Carlo Barbante
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary Human activities are altering the global climate system at rates faster than ever recorded in geologic time. Ample observational evidence exists for anthropogenic climate change including measured increased in atmospheric CO2, temperature and sea level rise. Biomass burning causes CO2 emissions of ~50% of those from fossil-fuel combustion and so are highly likely to influence future climate change. However, aerosols continue to be the least understood aspect of the modern climate system and even less is known about their past influence. Anthropogenic aerosols may have altered the global climate system for thousands of years as suggested by comparing late-Holocene greenhouse-gas concentrations to those from previous interglacials. The decrease in the spatial extent of forests beginning ~8000 yrs BP may be related to early agricultural activity including forest clearance through burning which should leave a quantifiable signal in climate proxies.
We pioneered a ground-breaking technique for determining a specific molecular marker of biomass burning (levoglucosan) which can record past fire in ice cores and lake sediments. The research incorporates continuous ice and lake core climate records from seven continents with parallel histories of fire regime. These can provide essential insight into the interplay between climate and human activity, especially with the advent of agriculture. Key objectives include:
1) How does biomass burning change through time and space?
2) How do climate parameters respond to or correlate with changes in biomass burning?
3) Did fires increase ~8000 and/or ~5000 years ago?
4) Can natural and anthropogenic fires be differentiated? If so, how do fires and associated climate change ascribed to human activity differ from natural biomass burning?
Summary
Human activities are altering the global climate system at rates faster than ever recorded in geologic time. Ample observational evidence exists for anthropogenic climate change including measured increased in atmospheric CO2, temperature and sea level rise. Biomass burning causes CO2 emissions of ~50% of those from fossil-fuel combustion and so are highly likely to influence future climate change. However, aerosols continue to be the least understood aspect of the modern climate system and even less is known about their past influence. Anthropogenic aerosols may have altered the global climate system for thousands of years as suggested by comparing late-Holocene greenhouse-gas concentrations to those from previous interglacials. The decrease in the spatial extent of forests beginning ~8000 yrs BP may be related to early agricultural activity including forest clearance through burning which should leave a quantifiable signal in climate proxies.
We pioneered a ground-breaking technique for determining a specific molecular marker of biomass burning (levoglucosan) which can record past fire in ice cores and lake sediments. The research incorporates continuous ice and lake core climate records from seven continents with parallel histories of fire regime. These can provide essential insight into the interplay between climate and human activity, especially with the advent of agriculture. Key objectives include:
1) How does biomass burning change through time and space?
2) How do climate parameters respond to or correlate with changes in biomass burning?
3) Did fires increase ~8000 and/or ~5000 years ago?
4) Can natural and anthropogenic fires be differentiated? If so, how do fires and associated climate change ascribed to human activity differ from natural biomass burning?
Max ERC Funding
2 370 767 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-07-01, End date: 2016-12-31
Project acronym EARTHGROWTH
Project The construction of Planet Earth
Researcher (PI) Bernard John Wood
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary The first 150 M.yrs of Earth evolution were the most dramatic in the history of the planet, setting the scene for the development of plate tectonics, the Earth’s magnetic field and the origin of life. By the end of this period Earth had separated into core, mantle, crust and atmosphere and the Moon had formed by, it is presumed, a giant impact near the end of accretion. The aim of this project is to quantify the processes by which, during Earth’s earliest evolution, the chemical elements were distributed into different geological reservoirs, to determine the timings and conditions under which this partitioning occurred and to determine how Earth’s interior reached its current composition and oxidation state. The principal method involves experiments at high temperatures (1400-3000K) and high pressures (0-25 GPa, equivalent to 0-700 km depth) in which the silicate materials of Earth’s mantle, crust and core are equilibrated with one another and with a gas phase under controlled conditions. Elements which constrain the major processes of growth and differentiation of the Earth are added to each experiment in trace concentrations similar to those found on Earth. After the experiment the products (typically 2-60 mgm) are sectioned and their chemical compositions determined by microanalysis. By varying the experimental conditions the dependence of the geochemical behaviour of the different elements on physical conditions such as pressure, temperature and oxidation state will be determined. These measurements of chemical fractionations between different phases are complemented by experimentally-measured isotopic fractionations between the same phases. These will enable us to interpret the observed isotopic differences between Earth and primitive planetary material (as represented by chondritic meteorites) in terms of the processes which formed our planet.
Summary
The first 150 M.yrs of Earth evolution were the most dramatic in the history of the planet, setting the scene for the development of plate tectonics, the Earth’s magnetic field and the origin of life. By the end of this period Earth had separated into core, mantle, crust and atmosphere and the Moon had formed by, it is presumed, a giant impact near the end of accretion. The aim of this project is to quantify the processes by which, during Earth’s earliest evolution, the chemical elements were distributed into different geological reservoirs, to determine the timings and conditions under which this partitioning occurred and to determine how Earth’s interior reached its current composition and oxidation state. The principal method involves experiments at high temperatures (1400-3000K) and high pressures (0-25 GPa, equivalent to 0-700 km depth) in which the silicate materials of Earth’s mantle, crust and core are equilibrated with one another and with a gas phase under controlled conditions. Elements which constrain the major processes of growth and differentiation of the Earth are added to each experiment in trace concentrations similar to those found on Earth. After the experiment the products (typically 2-60 mgm) are sectioned and their chemical compositions determined by microanalysis. By varying the experimental conditions the dependence of the geochemical behaviour of the different elements on physical conditions such as pressure, temperature and oxidation state will be determined. These measurements of chemical fractionations between different phases are complemented by experimentally-measured isotopic fractionations between the same phases. These will enable us to interpret the observed isotopic differences between Earth and primitive planetary material (as represented by chondritic meteorites) in terms of the processes which formed our planet.
Max ERC Funding
2 498 761 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2017-03-31
