Project acronym TUVOLU
Project Tundra biogenic volatile emissions in the 21st century
Researcher (PI) Riikka Tiivi Mariisa Rinnan
Host Institution (HI) KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2017-COG
Summary Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) influence atmospheric oxidation causing climate feedback thought to be especially significant in remote areas with low anthropogenic emissions, such as the Arctic. Still, we do not understand the dynamics and impact of climatic and biotic BVOC emission drivers in arctic and alpine tundra, which are highly temperature-sensitive BVOC sources.
TUVOLU will redefine tundra BVOC emission estimates to account for rapid and dramatic climate warming accompanied by effects of vegetation change, permafrost thaw, insect outbreaks and herbivory using multidisciplinary, established and novel methodology.
We will quantify the relationships between leaf and canopy temperatures and BVOC emissions to improve BVOC emission model predictions of emission rates in low-statured tundra vegetation, which efficiently heats up. We will experimentally determine the contribution of induced BVOC emissions from insect herbivory in the warming Arctic by field manipulation experiments addressing basal herbivory and insect outbreaks and by stable isotope labelling to identify sources of the induced emission. Complementary laboratory assessment will determine if permafrost thaw leads to significant BVOC emissions from thawing processes and newly available soil processes, or if released BVOCs are largely taken up by soil microbes. We will also use a global network of existing climate warming experiments in alpine tundra to assess how the BVOC emissions from tundra vegetation world-wide respond to climate change.
Measurement data will help develop and parameterize BVOC emission models to produce holistic enhanced predictions for global tundra emissions. Finally, modelling will be used to estimate emission impact on tropospheric ozone concentrations and secondary organic aerosol levels, producing the first assessment of arctic BVOC-mediated feedback on regional air quality and climate.
Summary
Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) influence atmospheric oxidation causing climate feedback thought to be especially significant in remote areas with low anthropogenic emissions, such as the Arctic. Still, we do not understand the dynamics and impact of climatic and biotic BVOC emission drivers in arctic and alpine tundra, which are highly temperature-sensitive BVOC sources.
TUVOLU will redefine tundra BVOC emission estimates to account for rapid and dramatic climate warming accompanied by effects of vegetation change, permafrost thaw, insect outbreaks and herbivory using multidisciplinary, established and novel methodology.
We will quantify the relationships between leaf and canopy temperatures and BVOC emissions to improve BVOC emission model predictions of emission rates in low-statured tundra vegetation, which efficiently heats up. We will experimentally determine the contribution of induced BVOC emissions from insect herbivory in the warming Arctic by field manipulation experiments addressing basal herbivory and insect outbreaks and by stable isotope labelling to identify sources of the induced emission. Complementary laboratory assessment will determine if permafrost thaw leads to significant BVOC emissions from thawing processes and newly available soil processes, or if released BVOCs are largely taken up by soil microbes. We will also use a global network of existing climate warming experiments in alpine tundra to assess how the BVOC emissions from tundra vegetation world-wide respond to climate change.
Measurement data will help develop and parameterize BVOC emission models to produce holistic enhanced predictions for global tundra emissions. Finally, modelling will be used to estimate emission impact on tropospheric ozone concentrations and secondary organic aerosol levels, producing the first assessment of arctic BVOC-mediated feedback on regional air quality and climate.
Max ERC Funding
2 347 668 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-04-01, End date: 2023-03-31
Project acronym ULTRAFASTEUVPROBE
Project Ultrafast EUV probe for Molecular Reaction Dynamics
Researcher (PI) Daniel Strasser
Host Institution (HI) THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE4, ERC-2012-StG_20111012
Summary "This research is aimed at developing and validating a novel approach for time resolved imaging of structural dynamics, using single photon Coulomb explosion imaging (CEI) with ultrafast extreme UV (EUV) pulses to probe laser initiated ultrafast structural rearrangement and fragmentation dynamics. The emerging field of ultrafast EUV pulses attracts increasing amount of scientific attention, predominantly concentrated on understanding aspects of the generation process, as well as on measuring record breaking attosecond pulses at increasingly high photon energies and photon flux. I propose to direct the unique properties of ultrafast EUV pulses towards time resolved studies of molecular reaction dynamics that are inaccessible with conventional ultrafast laser systems. Time resolved single photon CEI will make possible the visualization of complex dynamics in polyatomic systems; specifically, how laser driven electronic excitation couples into nuclear motion in a wide range of molecular systems. In contrast to earlier attempts, in which CEI was driven with intense near-IR pulses that can alter the observed dynamics, the proposed single photon CEI will remove the masking intense field effects and provide a simple and general probe. A comprehensive experimental effort is proposed - to conduct a direct comparison of intense field CEI to the proposed single EUV photon approach. Successful implementation of this research will endow us with a new way to visualize and understand the underlying quantum mechanisms involved in chemical reactions. With this new technology I hope to be able to provide unique insight into molecular fragmentation and rearrangement dynamics during chemical reactions and to resolve long standing basic scientific questions, such as the concerted or sequential nature of double proton transfer in DNA base-pair models. Finally, the ""table top"" techniques developed in my lab will mature and become applicable to the emerging ultrafast EUV user facilities."
Summary
"This research is aimed at developing and validating a novel approach for time resolved imaging of structural dynamics, using single photon Coulomb explosion imaging (CEI) with ultrafast extreme UV (EUV) pulses to probe laser initiated ultrafast structural rearrangement and fragmentation dynamics. The emerging field of ultrafast EUV pulses attracts increasing amount of scientific attention, predominantly concentrated on understanding aspects of the generation process, as well as on measuring record breaking attosecond pulses at increasingly high photon energies and photon flux. I propose to direct the unique properties of ultrafast EUV pulses towards time resolved studies of molecular reaction dynamics that are inaccessible with conventional ultrafast laser systems. Time resolved single photon CEI will make possible the visualization of complex dynamics in polyatomic systems; specifically, how laser driven electronic excitation couples into nuclear motion in a wide range of molecular systems. In contrast to earlier attempts, in which CEI was driven with intense near-IR pulses that can alter the observed dynamics, the proposed single photon CEI will remove the masking intense field effects and provide a simple and general probe. A comprehensive experimental effort is proposed - to conduct a direct comparison of intense field CEI to the proposed single EUV photon approach. Successful implementation of this research will endow us with a new way to visualize and understand the underlying quantum mechanisms involved in chemical reactions. With this new technology I hope to be able to provide unique insight into molecular fragmentation and rearrangement dynamics during chemical reactions and to resolve long standing basic scientific questions, such as the concerted or sequential nature of double proton transfer in DNA base-pair models. Finally, the ""table top"" techniques developed in my lab will mature and become applicable to the emerging ultrafast EUV user facilities."
Max ERC Funding
1 499 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-11-01, End date: 2018-10-31
Project acronym ULTRANMR
Project Ultrafast Hyperpolarized NMR and MRI in Multiple Dimensions
Researcher (PI) Lucio Frydman
Host Institution (HI) WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE4, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary Multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (nD NMR) plays a unique role in Science as a primary tool for the characterization of biomolecules, as part of drug-discovery processes, and in clinical imaging (MRI). Further progress in NMR is hampered by this spectroscopy s low sensitivity, arising from the weak interactions that it involves. The prospects of solving this problem by continuing with incremental bigger machines approaches are poor, given the high maturity reached by existing technologies. The present Project deals with this issue by departing from traditional concepts, and relying on two incipient but highly promising developments in the field. One of these pertains ex situ dynamic nuclear hyperpolarization, an approach capable of eliciting liquid state NMR signals that surpass those afforded by the highest-field spectrometers by factors e10,000. While capable of providing super-signals hyperpolarization has the drawback of involving irreversible changes in the physical state of the sample. This makes it incompatible with nD NMR technologies, requiring the collection of multiple scans identical to one another except for systematic delay variations. As second component in this high-risk/high-gain Project we propose merging hyperpolarization with "ultrafast" methods that we have recently developed for completing arbitrary nD NMR/MRI acquisitions within a single scan. The resulting synergy could increase sensitivity by orders of magnitude, while demanding negligibly small amounts of spectrometer/scanner time to complete nD acquisitions. This should provide an ideal starting point for the analysis of a variety of organic and structural biology problems, and provide new tools to explore in vivo metabolism focusing on cancer biomarkers.
Summary
Multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (nD NMR) plays a unique role in Science as a primary tool for the characterization of biomolecules, as part of drug-discovery processes, and in clinical imaging (MRI). Further progress in NMR is hampered by this spectroscopy s low sensitivity, arising from the weak interactions that it involves. The prospects of solving this problem by continuing with incremental bigger machines approaches are poor, given the high maturity reached by existing technologies. The present Project deals with this issue by departing from traditional concepts, and relying on two incipient but highly promising developments in the field. One of these pertains ex situ dynamic nuclear hyperpolarization, an approach capable of eliciting liquid state NMR signals that surpass those afforded by the highest-field spectrometers by factors e10,000. While capable of providing super-signals hyperpolarization has the drawback of involving irreversible changes in the physical state of the sample. This makes it incompatible with nD NMR technologies, requiring the collection of multiple scans identical to one another except for systematic delay variations. As second component in this high-risk/high-gain Project we propose merging hyperpolarization with "ultrafast" methods that we have recently developed for completing arbitrary nD NMR/MRI acquisitions within a single scan. The resulting synergy could increase sensitivity by orders of magnitude, while demanding negligibly small amounts of spectrometer/scanner time to complete nD acquisitions. This should provide an ideal starting point for the analysis of a variety of organic and structural biology problems, and provide new tools to explore in vivo metabolism focusing on cancer biomarkers.
Max ERC Funding
2 499 780 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-03-01, End date: 2015-02-28
Project acronym VALURED
Project Value Judgments and Redistribution Policies
Researcher (PI) Paolo Giovanni PIACQUADIO
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITETET I OSLO
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH1, ERC-2018-STG
Summary Heterogeneity and diversity are a pervasive aspect of modern societies. Differences in individuals’ preferences, needs, skills, and information are key to explain variation in individuals’ behavior and to anticipate individuals’ responses to policy changes. There is no consensus, however, about how to take these differences into account when evaluating policies.
Project VALURED will reexamine this ethical challenge by characterizing the mapping between value judgments—i.e. principles of distributive justice—and redistribution policies. This mapping is tremendously important for welfare analysis and policy design. First, it associates the most desirable policy to each set of value judgments, providing an “ethical menu” to policy design. Second, it gives an ethical identity of each policy proposal, that is, it identifies the value judgments a policymaker endorses when proposing a specific policy.
The main objectives of VALURED are to:
1) identify transparent and compelling value judgments that accommodate heterogeneity and diversity;
2) show the implications of these value judgments for the evaluation and design of redistribution policies;
3) characterize welfare criteria that respect individuals’ preferences and account for individuals’ differences in needs, skills, and information;
4) provide new insights for the design of income, capital, and inheritance taxation;
5) develop simple formulas that express optimal policies as a function of observable heterogeneity and ethical parameters.
Project VALURED combines welfare economics with public economics. The first part deals with income taxation and addresses the ethical challenges related to individuals’ heterogeneity in preferences, needs, and skills. The second part focuses on capital taxation and addresses individuals’ differences in risk preferences and information. The third part analyses the design of inheritance taxation and addresses the social concerns for intergenerational and intragenerational equity.
Summary
Heterogeneity and diversity are a pervasive aspect of modern societies. Differences in individuals’ preferences, needs, skills, and information are key to explain variation in individuals’ behavior and to anticipate individuals’ responses to policy changes. There is no consensus, however, about how to take these differences into account when evaluating policies.
Project VALURED will reexamine this ethical challenge by characterizing the mapping between value judgments—i.e. principles of distributive justice—and redistribution policies. This mapping is tremendously important for welfare analysis and policy design. First, it associates the most desirable policy to each set of value judgments, providing an “ethical menu” to policy design. Second, it gives an ethical identity of each policy proposal, that is, it identifies the value judgments a policymaker endorses when proposing a specific policy.
The main objectives of VALURED are to:
1) identify transparent and compelling value judgments that accommodate heterogeneity and diversity;
2) show the implications of these value judgments for the evaluation and design of redistribution policies;
3) characterize welfare criteria that respect individuals’ preferences and account for individuals’ differences in needs, skills, and information;
4) provide new insights for the design of income, capital, and inheritance taxation;
5) develop simple formulas that express optimal policies as a function of observable heterogeneity and ethical parameters.
Project VALURED combines welfare economics with public economics. The first part deals with income taxation and addresses the ethical challenges related to individuals’ heterogeneity in preferences, needs, and skills. The second part focuses on capital taxation and addresses individuals’ differences in risk preferences and information. The third part analyses the design of inheritance taxation and addresses the social concerns for intergenerational and intragenerational equity.
Max ERC Funding
1 033 771 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-01-01, End date: 2023-12-31
Project acronym VIN
Project Video-rate Scanning Probe Microscopy Imaging of Nanostructures on Surfaces
Researcher (PI) Flemming Besenbacher
Host Institution (HI) AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE4, ERC-2008-AdG
Summary The goal of this ERC proposal VIN is to develop the next generation of scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) The microscopes will set new standards in the field through their ability to acquire images at video-rate frequency, while retaining high (atomic) resolution capability. This new instrumental platform will be implemented both under ultra-high vacuum conditions, in a high-pressure gas cell, and under liquid-phase conditions. It will be utilized to create and explore novel research avenues for the study of physical, chemical, and biological surface processes at the single-atom/molecule level with the highest possible spatial and temporal resolution. In particular I will study dynamic phenomena in surface nanostructures, focusing on three mutually synergetic and interdisciplinary priority areas: i) Catalytic reactivity of nanostructures, ii) Self-organisation of organic molecules at surfaces, iii) Biomolecular structures, processes and interactions under physiological conditions. The adsorption, diffusion and interaction of molecules are the basic steps involved in reactions at surfaces. All of them are dynamic processes, where high temporal resolution can provide new groundbreaking insight into e.g. the mechanisms underlying catalysis. Video-rate SPMs will also facilitate investigations of the kinetic aspects of molecular self- organisation at surfaces such as diffusion, intra-molecular conformational dynamics, nucleation and growth of structures. The effort will build upon the world-leading expertise in design, construction and use of SPMs in my research group at the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Denmark. To achieve the ambitious research goals, I will bring together an interdisciplinary team of highly talented younger scientists.
Summary
The goal of this ERC proposal VIN is to develop the next generation of scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) The microscopes will set new standards in the field through their ability to acquire images at video-rate frequency, while retaining high (atomic) resolution capability. This new instrumental platform will be implemented both under ultra-high vacuum conditions, in a high-pressure gas cell, and under liquid-phase conditions. It will be utilized to create and explore novel research avenues for the study of physical, chemical, and biological surface processes at the single-atom/molecule level with the highest possible spatial and temporal resolution. In particular I will study dynamic phenomena in surface nanostructures, focusing on three mutually synergetic and interdisciplinary priority areas: i) Catalytic reactivity of nanostructures, ii) Self-organisation of organic molecules at surfaces, iii) Biomolecular structures, processes and interactions under physiological conditions. The adsorption, diffusion and interaction of molecules are the basic steps involved in reactions at surfaces. All of them are dynamic processes, where high temporal resolution can provide new groundbreaking insight into e.g. the mechanisms underlying catalysis. Video-rate SPMs will also facilitate investigations of the kinetic aspects of molecular self- organisation at surfaces such as diffusion, intra-molecular conformational dynamics, nucleation and growth of structures. The effort will build upon the world-leading expertise in design, construction and use of SPMs in my research group at the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Denmark. To achieve the ambitious research goals, I will bring together an interdisciplinary team of highly talented younger scientists.
Max ERC Funding
1 324 983 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-12-01, End date: 2013-11-30
Project acronym WATERUNDERTHEICE
Project Where is the water under the Greenland ice sheet?
Researcher (PI) Dorthe Dahl-Jensen
Host Institution (HI) KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary Recent analysis of radar-depth sounder data has shown that many areas of the Greenland ice sheet have melt water under the base. The extent of the wet base and distribution of melt water are poorly known. Also lakes under the ice have not been discovered in contrast with those in Antarctica. The effect of the water beneath the ice, however, is well documented: it lubricates the bed and removes the friction between the basal ice and underlying bedrock. The ice with a wet bed flows faster, reacts rapidly to changes in climate and the basal-melt water contributes to the fresh-water supply to the ocean from the Greenland ice sheet. The primary objectives of the project are to map melt water extent of the Greenland ice sheet and its impact by tracing internal layers and analyzing bedrock returns from airborne radio-echo sounding data, and use mapping results in conjunction with ice-sheet and hydrostatic models for the movement of the basal water to predict the ice-sheet s response to climate change. The information derived from deep ice-cores that reach the bed will be used to constrain models. We will also study the basal material (dust, DNA and microbiological material) and bedrock properties from the deep-ice core sites. This will add a further dimension to the study and provide opportunities to look for life under the ice and constrain the age of the Greenland ice sheet. The proposed research is a high risk project because of the difficulty in accessing basal conditions under 3-km of ice with a potential for high payoff science. The team will consist of scientists and engineers with expertise in the palaeoclimate, radar sounding and signal processing, and ice-sheet models.
Summary
Recent analysis of radar-depth sounder data has shown that many areas of the Greenland ice sheet have melt water under the base. The extent of the wet base and distribution of melt water are poorly known. Also lakes under the ice have not been discovered in contrast with those in Antarctica. The effect of the water beneath the ice, however, is well documented: it lubricates the bed and removes the friction between the basal ice and underlying bedrock. The ice with a wet bed flows faster, reacts rapidly to changes in climate and the basal-melt water contributes to the fresh-water supply to the ocean from the Greenland ice sheet. The primary objectives of the project are to map melt water extent of the Greenland ice sheet and its impact by tracing internal layers and analyzing bedrock returns from airborne radio-echo sounding data, and use mapping results in conjunction with ice-sheet and hydrostatic models for the movement of the basal water to predict the ice-sheet s response to climate change. The information derived from deep ice-cores that reach the bed will be used to constrain models. We will also study the basal material (dust, DNA and microbiological material) and bedrock properties from the deep-ice core sites. This will add a further dimension to the study and provide opportunities to look for life under the ice and constrain the age of the Greenland ice sheet. The proposed research is a high risk project because of the difficulty in accessing basal conditions under 3-km of ice with a potential for high payoff science. The team will consist of scientists and engineers with expertise in the palaeoclimate, radar sounding and signal processing, and ice-sheet models.
Max ERC Funding
2 499 999 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31
