Objective
The advent of powerful new tools, the need to better understand the biodiversity, origins of life on Earth and on other planets, and the wide applications of the microbe-mineral interactions, have led to a rapid expansion of interest in subsurface environments. Recently reported results indicate signs of an early wet Mars and rather recent volcanic activity which suggest that Mars’s subsurface can house organic molecules or traces of microbial life, making the search for microbial life on Earth’s subsurface even more compelling. Caves on Earth are windows into the subsurface that harbor an especially interesting variety of mineral-utilizing microorganisms, which may contribute to the formation of unusual microstructures recognized as biosignatures. This proposal aims toward a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach to characterize the enigmatic microorganisms and unusual mineral features within black deposits found in limestone caves and lava tubes. A broad suite of tools from geology, mineralogy, geochemistry, hydrochemistry and molecular microbiology will be used: (i) To morphologically, geochemically and mineralogically characterize black deposits from Ardales Cave (Malaga, Spain) and lava tubes from Canary Islands; (ii) To identify and characterize the microbial communities within black deposits using powerful new molecular tools; (iii) To assess the microbe-mineral interactions associated with these cave deposits, permiting to elucidate on the role of microorganisms in the formation of secondary minerals and understand certain biomineralization and rock-weathering processes; (iv) To recognize biominerals, microbial fabrics or fossil bacteria as biosignatures valuable for astrobiology. Hence, the geomicrobiology of cave black deposits represents a research of great interest, which is likely to yield major advances on the identification of microbial biosignatures plausible to provide evidences on the origin of life on Earth and elsewhere in the Solar System.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geology mineralogy
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geology geomorphology speleology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
28006 MADRID
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.