Project acronym ABACUS
Project Ab-initio adiabatic-connection curves for density-functional analysis and construction
Researcher (PI) Trygve Ulf Helgaker
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITETET I OSLO
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE4, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary Quantum chemistry provides two approaches to molecular electronic-structure calculations: the systematically refinable but expensive many-body wave-function methods and the inexpensive but not systematically refinable Kohn Sham method of density-functional theory (DFT). The accuracy of Kohn Sham calculations is determined by the quality of the exchange correlation functional, from which the effects of exchange and correlation among the electrons are extracted using the density rather than the wave function. However, the exact exchange correlation functional is unknown—instead, many approximate forms have been developed, by fitting to experimental data or by satisfying exact relations. Here, a new approach to density-functional analysis and construction is proposed: the Lieb variation principle, usually regarded as conceptually important but impracticable. By invoking the Lieb principle, it becomes possible to approach the development of approximate functionals in a novel manner, being directly guided by the behaviour of exact functional, accurately calculated for a wide variety of chemical systems. In particular, this principle will be used to calculate ab-initio adiabatic connection curves, studying the exchange correlation functional for a fixed density as the electronic interactions are turned on from zero to one. Pilot calculations have indicated the feasibility of this approach in simple cases—here, a comprehensive set of adiabatic-connection curves will be generated and utilized for calibration, construction, and analysis of density functionals, the objective being to produce improved functionals for Kohn Sham calculations by modelling or fitting such curves. The ABACUS approach will be particularly important in cases where little experimental information is available—for example, for understanding and modelling the behaviour of the exchange correlation functional in electromagnetic fields.
Summary
Quantum chemistry provides two approaches to molecular electronic-structure calculations: the systematically refinable but expensive many-body wave-function methods and the inexpensive but not systematically refinable Kohn Sham method of density-functional theory (DFT). The accuracy of Kohn Sham calculations is determined by the quality of the exchange correlation functional, from which the effects of exchange and correlation among the electrons are extracted using the density rather than the wave function. However, the exact exchange correlation functional is unknown—instead, many approximate forms have been developed, by fitting to experimental data or by satisfying exact relations. Here, a new approach to density-functional analysis and construction is proposed: the Lieb variation principle, usually regarded as conceptually important but impracticable. By invoking the Lieb principle, it becomes possible to approach the development of approximate functionals in a novel manner, being directly guided by the behaviour of exact functional, accurately calculated for a wide variety of chemical systems. In particular, this principle will be used to calculate ab-initio adiabatic connection curves, studying the exchange correlation functional for a fixed density as the electronic interactions are turned on from zero to one. Pilot calculations have indicated the feasibility of this approach in simple cases—here, a comprehensive set of adiabatic-connection curves will be generated and utilized for calibration, construction, and analysis of density functionals, the objective being to produce improved functionals for Kohn Sham calculations by modelling or fitting such curves. The ABACUS approach will be particularly important in cases where little experimental information is available—for example, for understanding and modelling the behaviour of the exchange correlation functional in electromagnetic fields.
Max ERC Funding
2 017 932 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-03-01, End date: 2016-02-29
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 BYPASSWITHOUTSURGERY
Project Reaching the effects of gastric bypass on diabetes and obesity without surgery
Researcher (PI) Jens Juul Holst
Host Institution (HI) KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS4, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary Gastric bypass surgery results in massive weight loss and diabetes remission. The effect is superior to intensive medical treatment, showing that there are mechanisms within the body that can cure diabetes and obesity. Revealing the nature of these mechanisms could lead to new, cost-efficient, similarly effective, non-invasive treatments of these conditions. The hypothesis is that hyper-secretion of a number of gut hormones mediates the effect of surgery, as indicated by a series of our recent studies, demonstrating that hypersecretion of GLP-1, a hormone discovered in my laboratory and basis for the antidiabetic medication of millions of patients, is essential for the improved insulin secretion and glucose tolerance. But what are the mechanisms behind the up to 30-fold elevations in secretion of these hormones following surgery? Constantly with a translational scope, all elements involved in these responses will be addressed in this project, from detailed analysis of food items responsible for hormone secretion, to identification of the responsible regions of the gut, and to the molecular mechanisms leading to hypersecretion. Novel approaches for studies of human gut hormone secreting cells, including specific expression analysis, are combined with our advanced and unique isolated perfused gut preparations, the only tool that can provide physiologically relevant results with a translational potential regarding regulation of hormone secretion in the gut. This will lead to further groundbreaking experimental attempts to mimic and engage the identified mechanisms, creating similar hypersecretion and obtaining similar improvements as the operations in patients with obesity and diabetes. Based on our profound knowledge of gut hormone biology accumulated through decades of intensive and successful research and our successful elucidation of the antidiabetic actions of gastric bypass surgery, we are in a unique position to reach this ambitious goal.
Summary
Gastric bypass surgery results in massive weight loss and diabetes remission. The effect is superior to intensive medical treatment, showing that there are mechanisms within the body that can cure diabetes and obesity. Revealing the nature of these mechanisms could lead to new, cost-efficient, similarly effective, non-invasive treatments of these conditions. The hypothesis is that hyper-secretion of a number of gut hormones mediates the effect of surgery, as indicated by a series of our recent studies, demonstrating that hypersecretion of GLP-1, a hormone discovered in my laboratory and basis for the antidiabetic medication of millions of patients, is essential for the improved insulin secretion and glucose tolerance. But what are the mechanisms behind the up to 30-fold elevations in secretion of these hormones following surgery? Constantly with a translational scope, all elements involved in these responses will be addressed in this project, from detailed analysis of food items responsible for hormone secretion, to identification of the responsible regions of the gut, and to the molecular mechanisms leading to hypersecretion. Novel approaches for studies of human gut hormone secreting cells, including specific expression analysis, are combined with our advanced and unique isolated perfused gut preparations, the only tool that can provide physiologically relevant results with a translational potential regarding regulation of hormone secretion in the gut. This will lead to further groundbreaking experimental attempts to mimic and engage the identified mechanisms, creating similar hypersecretion and obtaining similar improvements as the operations in patients with obesity and diabetes. Based on our profound knowledge of gut hormone biology accumulated through decades of intensive and successful research and our successful elucidation of the antidiabetic actions of gastric bypass surgery, we are in a unique position to reach this ambitious goal.
Max ERC Funding
2 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-01-01, End date: 2021-12-31
Project acronym CIRCUIT
Project Neural circuits for space representation in the mammalian cortex
Researcher (PI) Edvard Ingjald Moser
Host Institution (HI) NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS5, ERC-2008-AdG
Summary Neuroscience is one of the fastest-developing areas of science, but it is fair to say that we are still far from understanding how the brain produces subjective experience. For example, simple questions about the origin of thought, imagination, social interaction, or feelings lack even rudimentary answers. We have learnt much about the workings of individual cells and synapses, but psychological phenomena cannot be understood only at this level. These phenomena all emerge from interactions between large numbers of diverse cells in intermingled neural circuits. A major obstacle has been the absence of concepts and tools for investigating neural computation at the circuit level. The aim of this proposal is to combine new transgenic methods for cell type-specific intervention with large-scale multisite single-cell recording to determine how a basic cognitive function self-localization is generated in a functionally well-described mammalian neural circuit. We shall use our recent discovery of entorhinal grid cells as an access ramp. Grid cells fire only when the animal moves through certain locations. For each cell, these locations define a periodic triangular array spanning the whole environment. Grid cells co-exist with other entorhinal cell types encoding head direction, geometric borders, or conjunctions of features. This network is thought to form an essential part of the brain s coordinate system for metric navigation but the detailed wiring, the mechanism of grid formation, and the function of each morphological and functional cell type all remain to be determined. We shall address these open questions by measuring how dynamic spatial representation is affected by transgene-induced activation or inactivation of the individual components of the circuit. The endeavour will pioneer the functional analysis of neural circuits and may, perhaps for the first time, provide us with mechanistic insight into a non-sensory cognitive function in the mammalian cortex.
Summary
Neuroscience is one of the fastest-developing areas of science, but it is fair to say that we are still far from understanding how the brain produces subjective experience. For example, simple questions about the origin of thought, imagination, social interaction, or feelings lack even rudimentary answers. We have learnt much about the workings of individual cells and synapses, but psychological phenomena cannot be understood only at this level. These phenomena all emerge from interactions between large numbers of diverse cells in intermingled neural circuits. A major obstacle has been the absence of concepts and tools for investigating neural computation at the circuit level. The aim of this proposal is to combine new transgenic methods for cell type-specific intervention with large-scale multisite single-cell recording to determine how a basic cognitive function self-localization is generated in a functionally well-described mammalian neural circuit. We shall use our recent discovery of entorhinal grid cells as an access ramp. Grid cells fire only when the animal moves through certain locations. For each cell, these locations define a periodic triangular array spanning the whole environment. Grid cells co-exist with other entorhinal cell types encoding head direction, geometric borders, or conjunctions of features. This network is thought to form an essential part of the brain s coordinate system for metric navigation but the detailed wiring, the mechanism of grid formation, and the function of each morphological and functional cell type all remain to be determined. We shall address these open questions by measuring how dynamic spatial representation is affected by transgene-induced activation or inactivation of the individual components of the circuit. The endeavour will pioneer the functional analysis of neural circuits and may, perhaps for the first time, provide us with mechanistic insight into a non-sensory cognitive function in the mammalian cortex.
Max ERC Funding
2 499 112 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-01-01, End date: 2013-12-31
Project acronym CLUNATRA
Project Discovering new Catalysts in the Cluster-Nanoparticle Transition Regime
Researcher (PI) Ib CHORKENDORFF
Host Institution (HI) DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE4, ERC-2016-ADG
Summary The purpose of this proposal is to establish new fundamental insight of the reactivity and thereby the catalytic activity of oxides, nitrides, phosphides and sulfides (O-, N-, P-, S- ides) in the Cluster-Nanoparticle transition regime. We will use this insight to develop new catalysts through an interactive loop involving DFT simulations, synthesis, characterization and activity testing. The overarching objective is to make new catalysts that are efficient for production of solar fuels and chemicals to facilitate the implementation of sustainable energy, e.g. electrochemical hydrogen production and reduction of CO2 and N2 through both electrochemical and thermally activated processes.
Recent research has identified why there is a lack of significant progress in developing new more active catalysts. Chemical scaling-relations exist among the intermediates, making it difficult to find a reaction pathway, which provides a flat potential energy landscape - a necessity for making the reaction proceed without large losses. My hypothesis is that going away from the conventional size regime, > 2 nm, one may break such chemical scaling-relations. Non-scalable behavior means that adding an atom results in a completely different reactivity. This drastic change could be even further enhanced if the added atom is a different element than the recipient particle, providing new freedom to control the reaction pathway. The methodology will be based on setting up a specifically optimized instrument for synthesizing such mass-selected clusters/nanoparticles. Thus far, researchers have barely explored this size regime. Only a limited amount of studies has been devoted to inorganic entities of oxides and sulfides; nitrides and phosphides are completely unexplored. We will employ atomic level simulations, synthesis, characterization, and subsequently test for specific reactions. This interdisciplinary loop will result in new breakthroughs in the area of catalyst material discovery.
Summary
The purpose of this proposal is to establish new fundamental insight of the reactivity and thereby the catalytic activity of oxides, nitrides, phosphides and sulfides (O-, N-, P-, S- ides) in the Cluster-Nanoparticle transition regime. We will use this insight to develop new catalysts through an interactive loop involving DFT simulations, synthesis, characterization and activity testing. The overarching objective is to make new catalysts that are efficient for production of solar fuels and chemicals to facilitate the implementation of sustainable energy, e.g. electrochemical hydrogen production and reduction of CO2 and N2 through both electrochemical and thermally activated processes.
Recent research has identified why there is a lack of significant progress in developing new more active catalysts. Chemical scaling-relations exist among the intermediates, making it difficult to find a reaction pathway, which provides a flat potential energy landscape - a necessity for making the reaction proceed without large losses. My hypothesis is that going away from the conventional size regime, > 2 nm, one may break such chemical scaling-relations. Non-scalable behavior means that adding an atom results in a completely different reactivity. This drastic change could be even further enhanced if the added atom is a different element than the recipient particle, providing new freedom to control the reaction pathway. The methodology will be based on setting up a specifically optimized instrument for synthesizing such mass-selected clusters/nanoparticles. Thus far, researchers have barely explored this size regime. Only a limited amount of studies has been devoted to inorganic entities of oxides and sulfides; nitrides and phosphides are completely unexplored. We will employ atomic level simulations, synthesis, characterization, and subsequently test for specific reactions. This interdisciplinary loop will result in new breakthroughs in the area of catalyst material discovery.
Max ERC Funding
2 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-09-01, End date: 2022-08-31
Project acronym COMTESSA
Project Camera Observation and Modelling of 4D Tracer Dispersion in the Atmosphere
Researcher (PI) Andreas Stohl
Host Institution (HI) NORSK INSTITUTT FOR LUFTFORSKNING STIFTELSE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2014-ADG
Summary COMTESSA will push back the limits of our understanding of turbulence and plume dispersion in the atmosphere by bringing together full four-dimensional (space and time) observations of a (nearly) passive tracer (sulfur dioxide, SO2), with advanced data analysis and turbulence and dispersion modelling.
Observations will be made with six cameras sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and three cameras sensitive to infrared (IR) radiation. The UV cameras will be built specifically for this project where high sensitivity and fast sampling is important. The accuracy of UV and IR retrievals will be improved by using a state-of-the art-3D radiative transfer model.
Controlled puff and plume releases of SO2 will be made from a tower, which will be observed by all cameras, yielding multiple 2D images of SO2 integrated along the line of sight. The simultaneous observations will allow - for the first time - a tomographic reconstruction of the 3D tracer concentration distribution at high space (< 1 m) and time (>10 Hz) resolution. An optical flow code will be used to determine the eddy-resolved velocity vector field of the plume. Special turbulent phenomena (e.g. plume rise) will be studied using existing SO2 sources (e.g. smelters, power plants, volcanic fumaroles).
Analysis of the novel campaign observations will deepen our understanding of turbulence and tracer dispersion in the atmosphere. For instance, for the first time we will be able to extensively measure the concentration probability density function (PDF) in a plume not only near the ground but also at high-er altitudes; quantify relative and absolute dispersion; estimate the value of the Richardson-Obukhov constant, etc. We will also use the data to evaluate state-of-the-art LES and Lagrangian dispersion models and revise their underlying parameterizations.
COMTESSA’s vision is that the project results will lead to large improvements of tracer transport in all atmospheric models.
Summary
COMTESSA will push back the limits of our understanding of turbulence and plume dispersion in the atmosphere by bringing together full four-dimensional (space and time) observations of a (nearly) passive tracer (sulfur dioxide, SO2), with advanced data analysis and turbulence and dispersion modelling.
Observations will be made with six cameras sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and three cameras sensitive to infrared (IR) radiation. The UV cameras will be built specifically for this project where high sensitivity and fast sampling is important. The accuracy of UV and IR retrievals will be improved by using a state-of-the art-3D radiative transfer model.
Controlled puff and plume releases of SO2 will be made from a tower, which will be observed by all cameras, yielding multiple 2D images of SO2 integrated along the line of sight. The simultaneous observations will allow - for the first time - a tomographic reconstruction of the 3D tracer concentration distribution at high space (< 1 m) and time (>10 Hz) resolution. An optical flow code will be used to determine the eddy-resolved velocity vector field of the plume. Special turbulent phenomena (e.g. plume rise) will be studied using existing SO2 sources (e.g. smelters, power plants, volcanic fumaroles).
Analysis of the novel campaign observations will deepen our understanding of turbulence and tracer dispersion in the atmosphere. For instance, for the first time we will be able to extensively measure the concentration probability density function (PDF) in a plume not only near the ground but also at high-er altitudes; quantify relative and absolute dispersion; estimate the value of the Richardson-Obukhov constant, etc. We will also use the data to evaluate state-of-the-art LES and Lagrangian dispersion models and revise their underlying parameterizations.
COMTESSA’s vision is that the project results will lead to large improvements of tracer transport in all atmospheric models.
Max ERC Funding
2 800 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-11-01, End date: 2020-10-31
Project acronym COULOMBUS
Project Electric Currents in Sediment and Soil
Researcher (PI) Lars Peter Nielsen
Host Institution (HI) AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2011-ADG_20110209
Summary "With COULOMBUS I will explore the new electronic world I recently found in marine sediment; a living world featuring transmission of coulombs of electrons over long distances through a grid of unknown origin and composition. This is a great challenge to science, and I will specifically
- Unravel function, expansion, resilience, and microbial engineering of the conductive grid
- Identify microbial and geological processes related to long distance electron transfer today and in the past
- Introduce the electron as a new element in biogeochemical and ecological models.
- Map the range of sediment and soil habitats featuring biogeoelectric currents
Incubations of marine sediment will serve as the “base camp” for the surveys. Here I consistently observe that current sources extending centimetres down deliver electrons for most of the oxygen consumption, and here my array of advanced microsensors and biogeochemical methods works well. My team will record electric currents and biogeochemical changes as we manipulate mechanical, chemical, and biological conditions, thereby getting to an understanding of the interplay between conductors, microorganisms, electron donors, electron acceptors, and minerals. Next we take the methods out in the sea to evaluate biogeoelectricity in situ using robots. Other aquatic environments will also be screened. The ultimate outdoor challenge will come as I lead the team into soils where surface potentials suggest biogeoelectric currents deep down. All observations, experiments, and models will be directed to answer the groundbreaking questions: What physics and microbial engineering can explain long distance electron conductance in nature? How do electric microbial communities evolve and how do they shape element cycling? What signatures of biogeoelectricity are left in the geological record of earth history? If I succeed I will have opened up many new exciting research routes for the followers."
Summary
"With COULOMBUS I will explore the new electronic world I recently found in marine sediment; a living world featuring transmission of coulombs of electrons over long distances through a grid of unknown origin and composition. This is a great challenge to science, and I will specifically
- Unravel function, expansion, resilience, and microbial engineering of the conductive grid
- Identify microbial and geological processes related to long distance electron transfer today and in the past
- Introduce the electron as a new element in biogeochemical and ecological models.
- Map the range of sediment and soil habitats featuring biogeoelectric currents
Incubations of marine sediment will serve as the “base camp” for the surveys. Here I consistently observe that current sources extending centimetres down deliver electrons for most of the oxygen consumption, and here my array of advanced microsensors and biogeochemical methods works well. My team will record electric currents and biogeochemical changes as we manipulate mechanical, chemical, and biological conditions, thereby getting to an understanding of the interplay between conductors, microorganisms, electron donors, electron acceptors, and minerals. Next we take the methods out in the sea to evaluate biogeoelectricity in situ using robots. Other aquatic environments will also be screened. The ultimate outdoor challenge will come as I lead the team into soils where surface potentials suggest biogeoelectric currents deep down. All observations, experiments, and models will be directed to answer the groundbreaking questions: What physics and microbial engineering can explain long distance electron conductance in nature? How do electric microbial communities evolve and how do they shape element cycling? What signatures of biogeoelectricity are left in the geological record of earth history? If I succeed I will have opened up many new exciting research routes for the followers."
Max ERC Funding
2 155 300 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-03-01, End date: 2017-02-28
Project acronym DEEPTIME
Project Probing the history of matter in deep time
Researcher (PI) Martin BIZZARRO
Host Institution (HI) KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2018-ADG
Summary The solar system represents the archetype for the formation of rocky planets and habitable worlds. A full understanding of its formation and earliest evolution is thus one of the most fundamental goals in natural sciences. The only tangible record of the formative stages of the solar system comes from ancient meteorites and their components some of which date back to the to the birth of our Sun. The main objective of this proposal is to investigate the timescales and processes leading to the formation of the solar system, including the delivery of volatile elements to the accretion regions of rocky planets, by combining absolute ages, isotopic and trace element compositions as well as atomic and structural analysis of meteorites and their components. We identify nucleosynthetic fingerprinting as a tool allowing us to probe the history of solids parental to our solar system across cosmic times, namely from their parent stars in the Galaxy through their modification and incorporation into disk objects, including asteroidal bodies and planets. Our data will be obtained using state-of-the-art instruments including mass-spectrometers (MC-ICPMS, TIMS, SIMS), atom probe and transmission electron microscopy. These data will allow us to: (1) provide formation timescales for presolar grains and their parent stars as well as understand how these grains may control the solar system’s nucleosynthetic variability, (2) track the formation timescales of disk reservoirs and the mass fluxes between and within these regions (3) better our understanding of the timing and flux of volatile elements to the inner protoplanetary disk as well as the timescales and mechanism of primordial crust formation in rocky planets. The novel questions outlined in this proposal, including high-risk high-gain ventures, can only now be tackled using pioneering methods and approaches developed by the PI’s group and collaborators. Thus, we are in a unique position to make step-change discoveries.
Summary
The solar system represents the archetype for the formation of rocky planets and habitable worlds. A full understanding of its formation and earliest evolution is thus one of the most fundamental goals in natural sciences. The only tangible record of the formative stages of the solar system comes from ancient meteorites and their components some of which date back to the to the birth of our Sun. The main objective of this proposal is to investigate the timescales and processes leading to the formation of the solar system, including the delivery of volatile elements to the accretion regions of rocky planets, by combining absolute ages, isotopic and trace element compositions as well as atomic and structural analysis of meteorites and their components. We identify nucleosynthetic fingerprinting as a tool allowing us to probe the history of solids parental to our solar system across cosmic times, namely from their parent stars in the Galaxy through their modification and incorporation into disk objects, including asteroidal bodies and planets. Our data will be obtained using state-of-the-art instruments including mass-spectrometers (MC-ICPMS, TIMS, SIMS), atom probe and transmission electron microscopy. These data will allow us to: (1) provide formation timescales for presolar grains and their parent stars as well as understand how these grains may control the solar system’s nucleosynthetic variability, (2) track the formation timescales of disk reservoirs and the mass fluxes between and within these regions (3) better our understanding of the timing and flux of volatile elements to the inner protoplanetary disk as well as the timescales and mechanism of primordial crust formation in rocky planets. The novel questions outlined in this proposal, including high-risk high-gain ventures, can only now be tackled using pioneering methods and approaches developed by the PI’s group and collaborators. Thus, we are in a unique position to make step-change discoveries.
Max ERC Funding
2 495 496 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-01-01, End date: 2024-12-31
Project acronym DIME
Project Disequilibirum metamorphism of stressed lithosphere
Researcher (PI) Bjørn Jamtveit
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITETET I OSLO
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2014-ADG
Summary Most changes in mineralogy, density, and rheology of the Earth’s lithosphere take place by metamorphism, whereby rocks evolve through interactions between minerals and fluids. These changes are coupled with a large range of geodynamic processes and they have first order effects on the global geochemical cycles of a large number of elements.
In the presence of fluids, metamorphic reactions are fast compared to tectonically induced changes in pressure and temperature. Hence, during fluid-producing metamorphism, rocks evolve through near-equilibrium states. However, much of the Earth’s lower and middle crust, and a significant fraction of the upper mantle do not contain free fluids. These parts of the lithosphere exist in a metastable state and are mechanically strong. When subject to changing temperature and pressure conditions at plate boundaries or elsewhere, these rocks do not react until exposed to externally derived fluids.
Metamorphism of such rocks consumes fluids, and takes place far from equilibrium through a complex coupling between fluid migration, chemical reactions, and deformation processes. This disequilibrium metamorphism is characterized by fast reaction rates, release of large amounts of energy in the form of heat and work, and a strong coupling to far-field tectonic stress.
Our overarching goal is to provide the first quantitative physics-based model of disequilibrium metamorphism that properly connects fluid-rock interactions at the micro and nano-meter scale to lithosphere scale stresses. This model will include quantification of the forces required to squeeze fluids out of grain-grain contacts for geologically relevant materials (Objective 1), a new experimentally based model describing how the progress of volatilization reactions depends on tectonic stress (Objective 2), and testing of this model by analyzing the kinetics of a natural serpentinization process through the Oman Ophiolite Drilling Project (Objective 3).
Summary
Most changes in mineralogy, density, and rheology of the Earth’s lithosphere take place by metamorphism, whereby rocks evolve through interactions between minerals and fluids. These changes are coupled with a large range of geodynamic processes and they have first order effects on the global geochemical cycles of a large number of elements.
In the presence of fluids, metamorphic reactions are fast compared to tectonically induced changes in pressure and temperature. Hence, during fluid-producing metamorphism, rocks evolve through near-equilibrium states. However, much of the Earth’s lower and middle crust, and a significant fraction of the upper mantle do not contain free fluids. These parts of the lithosphere exist in a metastable state and are mechanically strong. When subject to changing temperature and pressure conditions at plate boundaries or elsewhere, these rocks do not react until exposed to externally derived fluids.
Metamorphism of such rocks consumes fluids, and takes place far from equilibrium through a complex coupling between fluid migration, chemical reactions, and deformation processes. This disequilibrium metamorphism is characterized by fast reaction rates, release of large amounts of energy in the form of heat and work, and a strong coupling to far-field tectonic stress.
Our overarching goal is to provide the first quantitative physics-based model of disequilibrium metamorphism that properly connects fluid-rock interactions at the micro and nano-meter scale to lithosphere scale stresses. This model will include quantification of the forces required to squeeze fluids out of grain-grain contacts for geologically relevant materials (Objective 1), a new experimentally based model describing how the progress of volatilization reactions depends on tectonic stress (Objective 2), and testing of this model by analyzing the kinetics of a natural serpentinization process through the Oman Ophiolite Drilling Project (Objective 3).
Max ERC Funding
2 900 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym DNAMET
Project "DNA methylation, hydroxymethylation and cancer"
Researcher (PI) Kristian Helin
Host Institution (HI) KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS4, ERC-2011-ADG_20110310
Summary "DNA methylation patterns are frequently perturbed in human diseases such as imprinting disorders and cancer. In cancer increased aberrant DNA methylation is believed to work as a silencing mechanism for tumor suppressor genes such as INK4A, RB1 and MLH1. The high frequency of abnormal DNA methylation found in cancer might be due to the inactivation of a proofreading and/or fidelity system regulating the correct patterns of DNA methylation. Currently we have very limited knowledge about such mechanisms.
In this research proposal, we will focus on elucidating the biological function of a novel protein family, which catalyzes the conversion of 5-methyl-cytosine (5-mC) to 5-hydroxymethyl cytosine (5-hmC). By catalyzing this reaction the TET proteins most likely work as DNA demethylases, and they might therefore have a role in regulating DNA methylation fidelity. Interestingly, accumulated data has in the last 2 years shown that TET2 is one of the most frequently mutated genes in various hematological cancers. We propose to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which TET2 regulates normal hematopoiesis, how its inactivation leads to hematopoietic malignancies and how the protein contributes to the regulation of DNA methylation patterns and transcription. Furthermore, we propose several experimental approaches for identifying proteins required for the recruitment of TET proteins to target genes and to analyze their role in the regulation of DNA methylation patterns and in cancer. Finally, we will investigate the potential functional role of 5-hmC and explore the potential mechanisms by which this modification could be erased.
We expect to provide new insights into the biology of DNA methylation, hydroxymethylation and contribute to unravel the roles of TET proteins in normal physiology and cancer."
Summary
"DNA methylation patterns are frequently perturbed in human diseases such as imprinting disorders and cancer. In cancer increased aberrant DNA methylation is believed to work as a silencing mechanism for tumor suppressor genes such as INK4A, RB1 and MLH1. The high frequency of abnormal DNA methylation found in cancer might be due to the inactivation of a proofreading and/or fidelity system regulating the correct patterns of DNA methylation. Currently we have very limited knowledge about such mechanisms.
In this research proposal, we will focus on elucidating the biological function of a novel protein family, which catalyzes the conversion of 5-methyl-cytosine (5-mC) to 5-hydroxymethyl cytosine (5-hmC). By catalyzing this reaction the TET proteins most likely work as DNA demethylases, and they might therefore have a role in regulating DNA methylation fidelity. Interestingly, accumulated data has in the last 2 years shown that TET2 is one of the most frequently mutated genes in various hematological cancers. We propose to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which TET2 regulates normal hematopoiesis, how its inactivation leads to hematopoietic malignancies and how the protein contributes to the regulation of DNA methylation patterns and transcription. Furthermore, we propose several experimental approaches for identifying proteins required for the recruitment of TET proteins to target genes and to analyze their role in the regulation of DNA methylation patterns and in cancer. Finally, we will investigate the potential functional role of 5-hmC and explore the potential mechanisms by which this modification could be erased.
We expect to provide new insights into the biology of DNA methylation, hydroxymethylation and contribute to unravel the roles of TET proteins in normal physiology and cancer."
Max ERC Funding
2 298 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-07-01, End date: 2017-06-30
