Project acronym ADAPT
Project Autoxidation of Anthropogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (AVOC) as a Source of Urban Air Pollution
Researcher (PI) Matti Rissanen
Host Institution (HI) TAMPEREEN KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Country Finland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2020-COG
Summary Previous efforts to raise living standards have been based on relentlessly increasing combustion, causing environmental destruction at all scales. In addition to climate-warming CO2, fossil fuel combustion also produces a large number of organic compounds and particulate matter, which deteriorate air quality.
The atmosphere is cleansed from such pollutants by gas-phase oxidation reactions, which are invariably mediated by peroxy radicals (RO2). Oxidation transforms initially volatile and water-insoluble hydrocarbons into water-soluble forms (ultimately CO2), enabling scavenging by liquid droplets. A minor but crucially important alternative oxidation pathway leads to oxidative molecular growth, and formation of atmospheric aerosols. Aerosols impart a huge influence on the atmosphere, from local air quality issues to global climate forcing, yet their formation mechanisms and structures of organic aerosol precursors remains elusive.
In a paradigm change, RO2 was recently found to undergo autoxidation, enabling rapid aerosol precursor formation even at sub-second time-scales – in stark contrast to the long processing times (days - weeks) previously assumed to be necessary. We have shown how abundant biogenic hydrocarbons (BVOC) autoxidize, but due to key structural differences, the same pathways are not available for anthropogenic hydrocarbons (AVOC), and thus they were not expected to autoxidize. My preliminary experiments reveal that AVOCs do autoxidize, but the mechanism enabling this remain unknown. Crucially, the co-reactants shown to inhibit BVOC seem to enforce AVOC autoxidation – potentially explaining the recent mysterious discovery of new-particle formation in polluted megacities. In ADAPT, I will use a combination of novel mass spectrometric detection methods fortified by theoretical calculations, to solve the mechanism of AVOC autoxidation. This will directly assist both air quality management, and the design of cleaner fuels and engines.
Summary
Previous efforts to raise living standards have been based on relentlessly increasing combustion, causing environmental destruction at all scales. In addition to climate-warming CO2, fossil fuel combustion also produces a large number of organic compounds and particulate matter, which deteriorate air quality.
The atmosphere is cleansed from such pollutants by gas-phase oxidation reactions, which are invariably mediated by peroxy radicals (RO2). Oxidation transforms initially volatile and water-insoluble hydrocarbons into water-soluble forms (ultimately CO2), enabling scavenging by liquid droplets. A minor but crucially important alternative oxidation pathway leads to oxidative molecular growth, and formation of atmospheric aerosols. Aerosols impart a huge influence on the atmosphere, from local air quality issues to global climate forcing, yet their formation mechanisms and structures of organic aerosol precursors remains elusive.
In a paradigm change, RO2 was recently found to undergo autoxidation, enabling rapid aerosol precursor formation even at sub-second time-scales – in stark contrast to the long processing times (days - weeks) previously assumed to be necessary. We have shown how abundant biogenic hydrocarbons (BVOC) autoxidize, but due to key structural differences, the same pathways are not available for anthropogenic hydrocarbons (AVOC), and thus they were not expected to autoxidize. My preliminary experiments reveal that AVOCs do autoxidize, but the mechanism enabling this remain unknown. Crucially, the co-reactants shown to inhibit BVOC seem to enforce AVOC autoxidation – potentially explaining the recent mysterious discovery of new-particle formation in polluted megacities. In ADAPT, I will use a combination of novel mass spectrometric detection methods fortified by theoretical calculations, to solve the mechanism of AVOC autoxidation. This will directly assist both air quality management, and the design of cleaner fuels and engines.
Max ERC Funding
2 689 147 €
Duration
Start date: 2021-02-01, End date: 2026-01-31
Project acronym AGENSI
Project A Genetic View into Past Sea Ice Variability in the Arctic
Researcher (PI) Stijn DE SCHEPPER
Host Institution (HI) NORCE NORWEGIAN RESEARCH CENTRE AS
Country Norway
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2018-COG
Summary Arctic sea ice decline is the exponent of the rapidly transforming Arctic climate. The ensuing local and global implications can be understood by studying past climate transitions, yet few methods are available to examine past Arctic sea ice cover, severely restricting our understanding of sea ice in the climate system. The decline in Arctic sea ice cover is a ‘canary in the coalmine’ for the state of our climate, and if greenhouse gas emissions remain unchecked, summer sea ice loss may pass a critical threshold that could drastically transform the Arctic. Because historical observations are limited, it is crucial to have reliable proxies for assessing natural sea ice variability, its stability and sensitivity to climate forcing on different time scales. Current proxies address aspects of sea ice variability, but are limited due to a selective fossil record, preservation effects, regional applicability, or being semi-quantitative. With such restraints on our knowledge about natural variations and drivers, major uncertainties about the future remain.
I propose to develop and apply a novel sea ice proxy that exploits genetic information stored in marine sediments, sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA). This innovation uses the genetic signature of phytoplankton communities from surface waters and sea ice as it gets stored in sediments. This wealth of information has not been explored before for reconstructing sea ice conditions. Preliminary results from my cross-disciplinary team indicate that our unconventional approach can provide a detailed, qualitative account of past sea ice ecosystems and quantitative estimates of sea ice parameters. I will address fundamental questions about past Arctic sea ice variability on different timescales, information essential to provide a framework upon which to assess the ecological and socio-economic consequences of a changing Arctic. This new proxy is not limited to sea ice research and can transform the field of paleoceanography.
Summary
Arctic sea ice decline is the exponent of the rapidly transforming Arctic climate. The ensuing local and global implications can be understood by studying past climate transitions, yet few methods are available to examine past Arctic sea ice cover, severely restricting our understanding of sea ice in the climate system. The decline in Arctic sea ice cover is a ‘canary in the coalmine’ for the state of our climate, and if greenhouse gas emissions remain unchecked, summer sea ice loss may pass a critical threshold that could drastically transform the Arctic. Because historical observations are limited, it is crucial to have reliable proxies for assessing natural sea ice variability, its stability and sensitivity to climate forcing on different time scales. Current proxies address aspects of sea ice variability, but are limited due to a selective fossil record, preservation effects, regional applicability, or being semi-quantitative. With such restraints on our knowledge about natural variations and drivers, major uncertainties about the future remain.
I propose to develop and apply a novel sea ice proxy that exploits genetic information stored in marine sediments, sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA). This innovation uses the genetic signature of phytoplankton communities from surface waters and sea ice as it gets stored in sediments. This wealth of information has not been explored before for reconstructing sea ice conditions. Preliminary results from my cross-disciplinary team indicate that our unconventional approach can provide a detailed, qualitative account of past sea ice ecosystems and quantitative estimates of sea ice parameters. I will address fundamental questions about past Arctic sea ice variability on different timescales, information essential to provide a framework upon which to assess the ecological and socio-economic consequences of a changing Arctic. This new proxy is not limited to sea ice research and can transform the field of paleoceanography.
Max ERC Funding
2 615 858 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-08-01, End date: 2024-07-31
Project acronym ANTSIE
Project ANTarctic Sea Ice Evolution from a novel biological archive
Researcher (PI) Erin Louise MCCLYMONT
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2019-COG
Summary Antarctic sea ice is a critical component of Earth’s climate system. Seasonal fluctuations support unique ecosystems and impact planetary albedo, ocean-atmosphere exchanges of heat and climatically-active gases (e.g. CO2), and formation of intermediate and deep water masses which create the world’s largest sink of heat and carbon. The properties of the sea-ice pack are complex: despite its climatic significance, Antarctic sea ice is challenging to observe and to model, leading to low confidence in future projections in a warming climate.
The geological record offers a longer-term context for recent trends. At the last glacial maximum (LGM) a likely doubling of Antarctic sea-ice extent relative to today is hypothesised to have driven an ocean drawdown of atmospheric CO2. However, a combination of sparse empirical datasets and uncertainties in sea-ice modelling means that the properties and climatic impacts of the LGM Antarctic sea-ice pack are poorly understood. The narrow focus of the geological record on key primary producers and grazers further limits our understanding of Antarctic ecosystem responses to changes in sea ice.
ANTSIE will exploit a unique biological archive of Antarctic sea-ice conditions to generate a novel ecosystem perspective on the patterns and properties of sea ice during and since the LGM. ‘Antarctic mumiyo’ sequences are preserved remains of regurgitated stomach contents from snow petrels, which feed within and at the edges of the sea-ice pack. A network of mumiyo sequences, which sample across the climatically important Weddell Sea region, will be geochemically analysed to determine snow petrel diet and sea-ice properties with unprecedented century-scale resolution. The results will be used to evaluate new state-of-the-art simulations of the LGM sea-ice pack. By integrating multi-disciplinary perspectives, ANTSIE will provide new understanding of Antarctic sea-ice controls and impacts, to facilitate improved confidence in future project.
Summary
Antarctic sea ice is a critical component of Earth’s climate system. Seasonal fluctuations support unique ecosystems and impact planetary albedo, ocean-atmosphere exchanges of heat and climatically-active gases (e.g. CO2), and formation of intermediate and deep water masses which create the world’s largest sink of heat and carbon. The properties of the sea-ice pack are complex: despite its climatic significance, Antarctic sea ice is challenging to observe and to model, leading to low confidence in future projections in a warming climate.
The geological record offers a longer-term context for recent trends. At the last glacial maximum (LGM) a likely doubling of Antarctic sea-ice extent relative to today is hypothesised to have driven an ocean drawdown of atmospheric CO2. However, a combination of sparse empirical datasets and uncertainties in sea-ice modelling means that the properties and climatic impacts of the LGM Antarctic sea-ice pack are poorly understood. The narrow focus of the geological record on key primary producers and grazers further limits our understanding of Antarctic ecosystem responses to changes in sea ice.
ANTSIE will exploit a unique biological archive of Antarctic sea-ice conditions to generate a novel ecosystem perspective on the patterns and properties of sea ice during and since the LGM. ‘Antarctic mumiyo’ sequences are preserved remains of regurgitated stomach contents from snow petrels, which feed within and at the edges of the sea-ice pack. A network of mumiyo sequences, which sample across the climatically important Weddell Sea region, will be geochemically analysed to determine snow petrel diet and sea-ice properties with unprecedented century-scale resolution. The results will be used to evaluate new state-of-the-art simulations of the LGM sea-ice pack. By integrating multi-disciplinary perspectives, ANTSIE will provide new understanding of Antarctic sea-ice controls and impacts, to facilitate improved confidence in future project.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 929 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-06-01, End date: 2025-11-30
Project acronym APPELS
Project A Probe of the Periodic Elements for Life in the Sea
Researcher (PI) Rosalind Emily Mayors Rickaby
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary "Chemical elements are the building blocks of life. The major elements, C, H. O, N, P, S are easily recognised as essential nutrients, but their use by life relies on metalloproteins. The identity of the metal centres of these metalloproteins and even the broader palette of trace elements fundamental to life are remarkably poorly known. Whole genomes remain opaque to decoding of this bioinorganic dimension, and optimal trace element concentrations for physiological function. Defining the elemental requirements for maximum growth rate of photosynthesising phytoplankton in the ocean, is critical to understanding Earth's climate. Although microscopic in stature, phytoplankton exert a gigantic influence on the biological pumping of carbon from the atmosphere to the deep ocean. Yet their metal requirements are poorly constrained, being inferred from cellular quotas and ""nutrient-like"" ocean metal distributions, susceptible to ambiguity between mistaken cellular uptake and use.
APPELS will undertake a two-pronged approach to define the modern marine metallome/metalloproteome. I will explore the expanse of the periodic table for novel required elements by growing phytoplankton, representative of the broadest chemotypes, in manipulated media, to delineate optimal conditions for growth whereby any limitation at lowered concentrations implies use. The second prong uses cutting-edge techniques that unite methods from proteomics with geochemical mass-spectrometry to allow both metals and their associated proteins to be examined comprehensively. APPELS will transform our understanding of the essential elements in the ocean and how the biological pump of carbon is geared to ocean chemistry in an evolving world. More broadly, APPELS will provide a step change in documented protein-metal binding centres, with implications for discovery of novel biochemical pathways, and optimal nutrition."
Summary
"Chemical elements are the building blocks of life. The major elements, C, H. O, N, P, S are easily recognised as essential nutrients, but their use by life relies on metalloproteins. The identity of the metal centres of these metalloproteins and even the broader palette of trace elements fundamental to life are remarkably poorly known. Whole genomes remain opaque to decoding of this bioinorganic dimension, and optimal trace element concentrations for physiological function. Defining the elemental requirements for maximum growth rate of photosynthesising phytoplankton in the ocean, is critical to understanding Earth's climate. Although microscopic in stature, phytoplankton exert a gigantic influence on the biological pumping of carbon from the atmosphere to the deep ocean. Yet their metal requirements are poorly constrained, being inferred from cellular quotas and ""nutrient-like"" ocean metal distributions, susceptible to ambiguity between mistaken cellular uptake and use.
APPELS will undertake a two-pronged approach to define the modern marine metallome/metalloproteome. I will explore the expanse of the periodic table for novel required elements by growing phytoplankton, representative of the broadest chemotypes, in manipulated media, to delineate optimal conditions for growth whereby any limitation at lowered concentrations implies use. The second prong uses cutting-edge techniques that unite methods from proteomics with geochemical mass-spectrometry to allow both metals and their associated proteins to be examined comprehensively. APPELS will transform our understanding of the essential elements in the ocean and how the biological pump of carbon is geared to ocean chemistry in an evolving world. More broadly, APPELS will provide a step change in documented protein-metal binding centres, with implications for discovery of novel biochemical pathways, and optimal nutrition."
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-06-01, End date: 2022-11-30
Project acronym ASIBIA
Project Arctic sea ice, biogeochemistry and impacts on the atmosphere: Past, present, future
Researcher (PI) Roland Von Glasow
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary The Arctic Ocean is a vast expanse of sea ice. Most of it is snow covered as are large continental regions for about half of the year. However, Global Change is arguably greatest in the Arctic, where temperatures have risen more than anywhere else in the last few decades. New record lows occurred in snow extent in June 2012 and sea ice extent in September 2012. Many observations show that widespread and sustained change is occurring in the Arctic driving this unique environmental system into a new state. This project focuses on the biogeochemical links between sea ice and snow and the composition and chemistry of the troposphere (the lowest ~10km of the atmosphere). This is an important topic because the concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosol particles, which scatter sunlight directly and influence cloud properties, play key roles for our climate. Additionally, changes in the composition of the troposphere also affect the so-called oxidation capacity, the capability of the atmosphere to cleanse itself from pollutants.
This project aims to deliver a step change improvement in our quantitative understanding of chemical exchanges between ocean, sea ice, snow and the atmosphere in polar regions, especially the Arctic and of Arctic tropospheric chemistry. Answering these fundamental questions is essential to predict future change in the Arctic and globally. To this end a unique sea ice chamber will be constructed in the laboratory and used to quantify exchange processes in sea ice. Furthermore a hierarchy of numerical models will be used, operating at different spatial and temporal scales and degree of process description from a very detailed 1D to a global Earth System model. This will allow a breakthrough in our understanding of the importance of the changes for the composition and oxidation capacity of the atmosphere and climate and will allow us to calculate adjusted Greenhouse Warming Potentials that include these processes.
Summary
The Arctic Ocean is a vast expanse of sea ice. Most of it is snow covered as are large continental regions for about half of the year. However, Global Change is arguably greatest in the Arctic, where temperatures have risen more than anywhere else in the last few decades. New record lows occurred in snow extent in June 2012 and sea ice extent in September 2012. Many observations show that widespread and sustained change is occurring in the Arctic driving this unique environmental system into a new state. This project focuses on the biogeochemical links between sea ice and snow and the composition and chemistry of the troposphere (the lowest ~10km of the atmosphere). This is an important topic because the concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosol particles, which scatter sunlight directly and influence cloud properties, play key roles for our climate. Additionally, changes in the composition of the troposphere also affect the so-called oxidation capacity, the capability of the atmosphere to cleanse itself from pollutants.
This project aims to deliver a step change improvement in our quantitative understanding of chemical exchanges between ocean, sea ice, snow and the atmosphere in polar regions, especially the Arctic and of Arctic tropospheric chemistry. Answering these fundamental questions is essential to predict future change in the Arctic and globally. To this end a unique sea ice chamber will be constructed in the laboratory and used to quantify exchange processes in sea ice. Furthermore a hierarchy of numerical models will be used, operating at different spatial and temporal scales and degree of process description from a very detailed 1D to a global Earth System model. This will allow a breakthrough in our understanding of the importance of the changes for the composition and oxidation capacity of the atmosphere and climate and will allow us to calculate adjusted Greenhouse Warming Potentials that include these processes.
Max ERC Funding
1 192 911 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-05-01, End date: 2016-09-30
Project acronym ASICA
Project New constraints on the Amazonian carbon balance from airborne observations of the stable isotopes of CO2
Researcher (PI) Wouter Peters
Host Institution (HI) WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY
Country Netherlands
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary Severe droughts in Amazonia in 2005 and 2010 caused widespread loss of carbon from the terrestrial biosphere. This loss, almost twice the annual fossil fuel CO2 emissions in the EU, suggests a large sensitivity of the Amazonian carbon balance to a predicted more intense drought regime in the next decades. This is a dangerous inference though, as there is no scientific consensus on the most basic metrics of Amazonian carbon exchange: the gross primary production (GPP) and its response to moisture deficits in the soil and atmosphere. Measuring them on scales that span the whole Amazon forest was thus far impossible, but in this project I aim to deliver the first observation-based estimate of pan-Amazonian GPP and its drought induced variations.
My program builds on two recent breakthroughs in our use of stable isotopes (13C, 17O, 18O) in atmospheric CO2: (1) Our discovery that observed δ¹³C in CO2 in the atmosphere is a quantitative measure for vegetation water-use efficiency over millions of square kilometers, integrating the drought response of individual plants. (2) The possibility to precisely measure the relative ratios of 18O/16O and 17O/16O in CO2, called Δ17O. Anomalous Δ17O values are present in air coming down from the stratosphere, but this anomaly is removed upon contact of CO2 with leaf water inside plant stomata. Hence, observed Δ17O values depend directly on the magnitude of GPP. Both δ¹³C and Δ17O measurements are scarce over the Amazon-basin, and I propose more than 7000 new measurements leveraging an established aircraft monitoring program in Brazil. Quantitative interpretation of these observations will break new ground in our use of stable isotopes to understand climate variations, and is facilitated by our renowned numerical modeling system “CarbonTracker”. My program will answer two burning question in carbon cycle science today: (a) What is the magnitude of GPP in Amazonia? And (b) How does it vary over different intensities of drought?
Summary
Severe droughts in Amazonia in 2005 and 2010 caused widespread loss of carbon from the terrestrial biosphere. This loss, almost twice the annual fossil fuel CO2 emissions in the EU, suggests a large sensitivity of the Amazonian carbon balance to a predicted more intense drought regime in the next decades. This is a dangerous inference though, as there is no scientific consensus on the most basic metrics of Amazonian carbon exchange: the gross primary production (GPP) and its response to moisture deficits in the soil and atmosphere. Measuring them on scales that span the whole Amazon forest was thus far impossible, but in this project I aim to deliver the first observation-based estimate of pan-Amazonian GPP and its drought induced variations.
My program builds on two recent breakthroughs in our use of stable isotopes (13C, 17O, 18O) in atmospheric CO2: (1) Our discovery that observed δ¹³C in CO2 in the atmosphere is a quantitative measure for vegetation water-use efficiency over millions of square kilometers, integrating the drought response of individual plants. (2) The possibility to precisely measure the relative ratios of 18O/16O and 17O/16O in CO2, called Δ17O. Anomalous Δ17O values are present in air coming down from the stratosphere, but this anomaly is removed upon contact of CO2 with leaf water inside plant stomata. Hence, observed Δ17O values depend directly on the magnitude of GPP. Both δ¹³C and Δ17O measurements are scarce over the Amazon-basin, and I propose more than 7000 new measurements leveraging an established aircraft monitoring program in Brazil. Quantitative interpretation of these observations will break new ground in our use of stable isotopes to understand climate variations, and is facilitated by our renowned numerical modeling system “CarbonTracker”. My program will answer two burning question in carbon cycle science today: (a) What is the magnitude of GPP in Amazonia? And (b) How does it vary over different intensities of drought?
Max ERC Funding
2 269 689 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2021-02-28
Project acronym ATUNE
Project Attenuation Tomography Using Novel observations of Earth's free oscillations
Researcher (PI) Arwen Fedora Deuss
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Country Netherlands
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary Tectonic phenomena at the Earth's surface, like volcanic eruptions and earthquakes,are driven by convection deep in the mantle. Seismic tomography has been very successful in elucidating the Earth's internal velocity structure. However, seismic velocity is insufficient to obtain robust estimates of temperature and composition, and make direct links with mantle convection. Thus, fundamental questions remain unanswered: Do subducting slabs bring water into the lower mantle? Are the large low-shear velocity provinces under the Pacific and Africa mainly thermal or compositional? Is there any partial melt or water near the mantle transition zone or core mantle boundary?
Seismic attenuation, or loss of energy, is key to mapping melt, water and temperature variations, and answering these questions. Unfortunately, attenuation has only been imaged using short- and intermediate-period seismic data, showing little similarity even for the upper mantle and no reliable lower mantle models exist. The aim of ATUNE is to develop novel full-spectrum techniques and apply them to Earth's long period free oscillations to observe global-scale regional variations in seismic attenuation from the lithosphere to the core mantle boundary. Scattering and focussing - problematic for shorter period techniques - are easily included using cross-coupling (or resonance) between free oscillations not requiring approximations. The recent occurrence of large earthquakes, increase in computer power and my world-leading expertise in free oscillations now make it possible to increase the frequency dependence of attenuation to a much wider frequency band, allowing us to distinguish between scattering (redistribution of energy) versus intrinsic attenuation. ATUNE will deliver the first ever full-waveform global tomographic model of 3D attenuation variations in the lower mantle, providing essential constraints on melt, water and temperature for understanding the complex dynamics of our planet.
Summary
Tectonic phenomena at the Earth's surface, like volcanic eruptions and earthquakes,are driven by convection deep in the mantle. Seismic tomography has been very successful in elucidating the Earth's internal velocity structure. However, seismic velocity is insufficient to obtain robust estimates of temperature and composition, and make direct links with mantle convection. Thus, fundamental questions remain unanswered: Do subducting slabs bring water into the lower mantle? Are the large low-shear velocity provinces under the Pacific and Africa mainly thermal or compositional? Is there any partial melt or water near the mantle transition zone or core mantle boundary?
Seismic attenuation, or loss of energy, is key to mapping melt, water and temperature variations, and answering these questions. Unfortunately, attenuation has only been imaged using short- and intermediate-period seismic data, showing little similarity even for the upper mantle and no reliable lower mantle models exist. The aim of ATUNE is to develop novel full-spectrum techniques and apply them to Earth's long period free oscillations to observe global-scale regional variations in seismic attenuation from the lithosphere to the core mantle boundary. Scattering and focussing - problematic for shorter period techniques - are easily included using cross-coupling (or resonance) between free oscillations not requiring approximations. The recent occurrence of large earthquakes, increase in computer power and my world-leading expertise in free oscillations now make it possible to increase the frequency dependence of attenuation to a much wider frequency band, allowing us to distinguish between scattering (redistribution of energy) versus intrinsic attenuation. ATUNE will deliver the first ever full-waveform global tomographic model of 3D attenuation variations in the lower mantle, providing essential constraints on melt, water and temperature for understanding the complex dynamics of our planet.
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-06-01, End date: 2022-05-31
Project acronym AUGURY
Project Reconstructing Earth’s mantle convection
Researcher (PI) Nicolas Coltice
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITE LYON 1 CLAUDE BERNARD
Country France
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 BIGSEA
Project Biogeochemical and ecosystem interactions with socio-economic activity in the global ocean
Researcher (PI) Eric Douglas Galbraith
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA
Country Spain
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary The global marine ecosystem is being deeply altered by human activity. On the one hand, rising concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases are changing the physical and chemical state of the ocean, exerting pressure from the bottom up. Meanwhile, the global fishery has provided large economic benefits, but in so doing has restructured ecosystems by removing most of the large animal biomass, a major top-down change. Although there has been a tremendous amount of research into isolated aspects of these impacts, the development of a holistic understanding of the full interactions between physics, chemistry, ecology and economic activity might appear impossible, given the myriad complexities. This proposal lays out a strategy to assemble a team of trans-disciplinary expertise, that will develop a unified, data-constrained, grid-based modeling framework to represent the most important interactions of the global human-ocean system. Building this framework requires solving a series of fundamental problems that currently hinder the development of the full model. If these problems can be solved, the resulting model will reveal novel emergent properties and open the doors to a range of previously unexplored questions of high impact across a range of disciplines. Key questions include the ways in which animals interact with oxygen minimum zones with implications for fisheries, the impacts fish harvesting may have on nutrient recycling, spatio-temporal interactions between managed and unmanaged fisheries, and fundamental questions about the relationships between fish price, fishing cost, and multiple markets in a changing world. Just as the first coupled ocean-atmosphere models revealed a wealth of new behaviours, the coupled human-ocean model proposed here has the potential to launch multiple new fields of enquiry. It is hoped that the novel approach will contribute to a paradigm shift that treats human activity as one component within the framework of the Earth System.
Summary
The global marine ecosystem is being deeply altered by human activity. On the one hand, rising concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases are changing the physical and chemical state of the ocean, exerting pressure from the bottom up. Meanwhile, the global fishery has provided large economic benefits, but in so doing has restructured ecosystems by removing most of the large animal biomass, a major top-down change. Although there has been a tremendous amount of research into isolated aspects of these impacts, the development of a holistic understanding of the full interactions between physics, chemistry, ecology and economic activity might appear impossible, given the myriad complexities. This proposal lays out a strategy to assemble a team of trans-disciplinary expertise, that will develop a unified, data-constrained, grid-based modeling framework to represent the most important interactions of the global human-ocean system. Building this framework requires solving a series of fundamental problems that currently hinder the development of the full model. If these problems can be solved, the resulting model will reveal novel emergent properties and open the doors to a range of previously unexplored questions of high impact across a range of disciplines. Key questions include the ways in which animals interact with oxygen minimum zones with implications for fisheries, the impacts fish harvesting may have on nutrient recycling, spatio-temporal interactions between managed and unmanaged fisheries, and fundamental questions about the relationships between fish price, fishing cost, and multiple markets in a changing world. Just as the first coupled ocean-atmosphere models revealed a wealth of new behaviours, the coupled human-ocean model proposed here has the potential to launch multiple new fields of enquiry. It is hoped that the novel approach will contribute to a paradigm shift that treats human activity as one component within the framework of the Earth System.
Max ERC Funding
1 600 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-07-01, End date: 2021-12-31
Project acronym BLACARAT
Project "Black Carbon in the Atmosphere: Emissions, Aging and Cloud Interactions"
Researcher (PI) Martin Gysel Beer
Host Institution (HI) PAUL SCHERRER INSTITUT
Country Switzerland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "Atmospheric aerosol particles have been shown to impact the earth's climate because they scatter and absorb solar radiation (direct effect) and because they can modify the microphysical properties of clouds by acting as cloud condensation nuclei or ice nuclei (indirect effects). Radiative forcing by anthropogenic aerosols remains poorly quantified, thus leading to considerable uncertainty in our understanding of the earth’s climate response to the radiative forcing by greenhouse gases. Black carbon (BC), mostly emitted by anthropogenic combustion processes and biomass burning, is an important component of atmospheric aerosols. Estimates show that BC may be the second strongest contributor (after CO2) to global warming. Adverse health effects due to particulate air pollution have also been associated with traffic-related BC particles. These climate and health effects brought BC emission reductions into the political focus of possible mitigation strategies with immediate and multiple benefits for human well-being.
Laboratory experiments aim at the physical and chemical characterisation of BC emissions from diesel engines and biomass burning under controlled conditions. A mobile laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art aerosol sensors will be used to determine the contribution of different BC sources to atmospheric BC loadings, and to investigate the evolution of the relevant BC properties with atmospheric aging during transport from sources to remote areas. The interactions of BC particles with clouds as a function of BC properties will be investigated with in-situ measurements by operating quantitative single particle instruments behind a novel sampling inlet, which makes selective sampling of interstitial, cloud droplet residual or ice crystal residual particles possible. Above experimental studies aim at improving our understanding of BC’s atmospheric life cycle and will be used in model simulations for quantitatively assessing the atmospheric impacts of BC."
Summary
"Atmospheric aerosol particles have been shown to impact the earth's climate because they scatter and absorb solar radiation (direct effect) and because they can modify the microphysical properties of clouds by acting as cloud condensation nuclei or ice nuclei (indirect effects). Radiative forcing by anthropogenic aerosols remains poorly quantified, thus leading to considerable uncertainty in our understanding of the earth’s climate response to the radiative forcing by greenhouse gases. Black carbon (BC), mostly emitted by anthropogenic combustion processes and biomass burning, is an important component of atmospheric aerosols. Estimates show that BC may be the second strongest contributor (after CO2) to global warming. Adverse health effects due to particulate air pollution have also been associated with traffic-related BC particles. These climate and health effects brought BC emission reductions into the political focus of possible mitigation strategies with immediate and multiple benefits for human well-being.
Laboratory experiments aim at the physical and chemical characterisation of BC emissions from diesel engines and biomass burning under controlled conditions. A mobile laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art aerosol sensors will be used to determine the contribution of different BC sources to atmospheric BC loadings, and to investigate the evolution of the relevant BC properties with atmospheric aging during transport from sources to remote areas. The interactions of BC particles with clouds as a function of BC properties will be investigated with in-situ measurements by operating quantitative single particle instruments behind a novel sampling inlet, which makes selective sampling of interstitial, cloud droplet residual or ice crystal residual particles possible. Above experimental studies aim at improving our understanding of BC’s atmospheric life cycle and will be used in model simulations for quantitatively assessing the atmospheric impacts of BC."
Max ERC Funding
1 992 015 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-03-01, End date: 2019-02-28
