Project acronym LONGWOOD
Project Long-term woodland dynamics in Central Europe: from estimations to a realistic model
Researcher (PI) Peter Szabo
Host Institution (HI) BOTANICKY USTAV AV CR, V.V.I.
Country Czechia
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2011-StG_20101014
Summary The vegetation of Central Europe has been directly influenced by humans for at least eight millennia; the original forests have been gradually transformed into today’s agricultural landscape. However, there is more to this landscape change than the simple disappearance of woodland. Forests have been brought under various management regimes, which profoundly altered their structure and species composition. The details of this process are little known for two main reasons. The greatest obstacle is the lack of cooperation among the disciplines dealing with the subject. The second major problem is the differences in spatio-temporal scaling and resolution used by the individual disciplines. Existing studies either concern smaller territories, or cover large areas (continental to global) with the help of modelling-based generalizations rather than primary data from the past. Using an extensive range of primary sources from history, historical geography, palaeoecology, archaeology and ecology, this interdisciplinary project aims to reconstruct the long-term (Neolithic to present) patterns of woodland cover, structure, composition and management in a larger study region (Moravia, the Czech Republic, ca. 27,000 km2) with the highest spatio-temporal resolution possible. Causes for the patterns observed will be analyzed in terms of qualitative and quantitative factors, both natural and human-driven, and the patterns in the tree layer will be related to those in the herb layer, which constitutes the most important part of plant biodiversity in Europe. This project will introduce woodland management as an equal driving force into long-term woodland dynamics, thus fostering a paradigm shift in ecology towards construing humans as an internal, constitutive element of ecosystems. By integrating sources and methods from the natural sciences and the humanities, the project will provide a more reliable basis for woodland management and conservation in Central Europe.
Summary
The vegetation of Central Europe has been directly influenced by humans for at least eight millennia; the original forests have been gradually transformed into today’s agricultural landscape. However, there is more to this landscape change than the simple disappearance of woodland. Forests have been brought under various management regimes, which profoundly altered their structure and species composition. The details of this process are little known for two main reasons. The greatest obstacle is the lack of cooperation among the disciplines dealing with the subject. The second major problem is the differences in spatio-temporal scaling and resolution used by the individual disciplines. Existing studies either concern smaller territories, or cover large areas (continental to global) with the help of modelling-based generalizations rather than primary data from the past. Using an extensive range of primary sources from history, historical geography, palaeoecology, archaeology and ecology, this interdisciplinary project aims to reconstruct the long-term (Neolithic to present) patterns of woodland cover, structure, composition and management in a larger study region (Moravia, the Czech Republic, ca. 27,000 km2) with the highest spatio-temporal resolution possible. Causes for the patterns observed will be analyzed in terms of qualitative and quantitative factors, both natural and human-driven, and the patterns in the tree layer will be related to those in the herb layer, which constitutes the most important part of plant biodiversity in Europe. This project will introduce woodland management as an equal driving force into long-term woodland dynamics, thus fostering a paradigm shift in ecology towards construing humans as an internal, constitutive element of ecosystems. By integrating sources and methods from the natural sciences and the humanities, the project will provide a more reliable basis for woodland management and conservation in Central Europe.
Max ERC Funding
1 413 474 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-01-01, End date: 2016-12-31
Project acronym MILESTONE
Project Microseismicity Illuminates Subduction Zone Processes
Researcher (PI) Christian Sippl
Host Institution (HI) GEOFYZIKALNI USTAV AV CR, V.V.I.
Country Czechia
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE10, ERC-2020-STG
Summary Background microseismicity in subduction zones contains important information on the geometry, kinematics and dynamics of subduction systems. Low-magnitude earthquakes on the plate interface can outline highly locked asperities and thus define the locus of potential future large earthquakes. Rates of aseismic processes like creep or slow slip can be estimated using swarm-like seismicity and/or repeating events, thus complementing geodetic approaches. At depths beyond the megathrust, microseismicity can give important clues to the distribution and motion of fluids, ongoing mineral reactions, as well as the thermal and rheological structure of the downgoing slab.
In this project, I propose to use existing large seismic data sets from four subduction zone settings to systematically harvest microseismicity at an unprecedented scale through the use of an innovative automated approach that combines new machine learning approaches into a comprehensive earthquake detection and location framework. This effort will yield consistently picked and located microearthquake catalogs of superior event numbers and spatial resolution, which will be the base for several research avenues with the following outcomes:
- high-resolution seismicity catalogs and new 3D plate interface and slab surface geometry models
- a new generation of plate interface locking models from combining permanent GPS data inversion with seismicity constraints
- highly resolved regional-scale tomographic images of subduction zones
- new models of petrology, phase changes and thermal structure across several downgoing plates
- a framework for the comparison of seismicity features between different subduction zones
The results from the proposed project will be a big leap towards understanding the physics of subduction zone earthquakes as well as deep fluid circulation and mineral phase changes in downgoing lithosphere. They will also serve as valuable input for future models of earthquake and tsunami hazard.
Summary
Background microseismicity in subduction zones contains important information on the geometry, kinematics and dynamics of subduction systems. Low-magnitude earthquakes on the plate interface can outline highly locked asperities and thus define the locus of potential future large earthquakes. Rates of aseismic processes like creep or slow slip can be estimated using swarm-like seismicity and/or repeating events, thus complementing geodetic approaches. At depths beyond the megathrust, microseismicity can give important clues to the distribution and motion of fluids, ongoing mineral reactions, as well as the thermal and rheological structure of the downgoing slab.
In this project, I propose to use existing large seismic data sets from four subduction zone settings to systematically harvest microseismicity at an unprecedented scale through the use of an innovative automated approach that combines new machine learning approaches into a comprehensive earthquake detection and location framework. This effort will yield consistently picked and located microearthquake catalogs of superior event numbers and spatial resolution, which will be the base for several research avenues with the following outcomes:
- high-resolution seismicity catalogs and new 3D plate interface and slab surface geometry models
- a new generation of plate interface locking models from combining permanent GPS data inversion with seismicity constraints
- highly resolved regional-scale tomographic images of subduction zones
- new models of petrology, phase changes and thermal structure across several downgoing plates
- a framework for the comparison of seismicity features between different subduction zones
The results from the proposed project will be a big leap towards understanding the physics of subduction zone earthquakes as well as deep fluid circulation and mineral phase changes in downgoing lithosphere. They will also serve as valuable input for future models of earthquake and tsunami hazard.
Max ERC Funding
1 311 480 €
Duration
Start date: 2021-06-01, End date: 2026-05-31
