Objective
Vast communities of microorganisms in the sub-seafloor biosphere are responsible for the degradation of deeply buried organic matter (OM) and drive complex metabolic processes of OM mineralization. It remains unknown how the microorganisms subsist at the available energetic limits for life with extremely slow turnover. This project aims to determine the energetic and kinetic controls on the major metabolic processes, in particular the role of small organic acids. These occur in a broad range of concentrations in the pore fluid of recent and old sediments and are key intermediates in the microbial food web. The research will develop and apply new and highly sensitive analytical techniques, including 2-dimensional ion chromatography combined with mass spectrometric detection (2D IC-MS). With new analytical capabilities, combined with measurements of microbial substrate turnover rates, we can analyze both the thermodynamic and the kinetic regulation of predominant microbial processes. In international collaboration, including the molecular biological expertise at the Center for Geomicrobiology, it is the ambitious goal to determine, for the first time, the mean cellular energy flux throughout all biogeochemical zones of a sediment column, from the highly active oxic surface to the deep subsurface and from substrate rich to substrate poor sediments. We will focus on three systems of study: A) Coastal marine sediment of Aarhus Bay, an easily accessible and intensively studied test site. B) The North Pacific where IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program) Expedition 337 will drill two km deep sediment harboring Eocene lignite layers. The low-mature OM encountered here is expected to support diverse microbial communities in spite of the 50 million year age. C) The Baltic Sea where IODP Expedition 347 will drill through several glacial-interglacial sequences with extreme variations in past environmental conditions including OM depleted sedimentary layers.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry organic acids
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences meteorology biosphera
- 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
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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
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
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.