Objective
"Water is fundamental to life as we know it, and the current strategy for the search of life on Mars is to “follow the water”. Much of the water on Mars exists today in the form of hydrated minerals that incorporate molecular water or hydroxyl into their crystalline structure. Hydrated minerals provide a tool for studying the past history of the hydrosphere on Mars as well as Earth. Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of hydration water in minerals record information about the conditions under which the minerals form and subsequently interact with fluids after deposition. This proposal outlines the technological and scientific basis for a new approach to the isotopic study of hydration water in minerals and mineraloids. The recent availability of tunable diode lasers now permits the measurement of water isotopes by laser absorption spectroscopy at a precision equal to or better than conventional methods. This development opens new opportunities for studying the isotope composition of mineral hydration water in novel ways, which hitherto has been difficult or impossible. I propose a five-year program to establish a research group at the University of Cambridge to study the nature of water isotopes in hydrated minerals: (1) how many different types of hydration states of water are present and how they are fixed into the mineral structure; (2) how the isotopic composition varies among the differently bound water in minerals; (3) how the type of bonding of water in minerals affects the rate of isotopic exchange with external water; and (4) whether or not any of the hydration water has retained its isotopic composition from the time of formation. The project will include both a theoretical (ab initio simulations) and empirical approach that has the potential to transform our understanding of mineral hydration water and its isotopic composition. The research has wide ranging application for addressing fundamental problems across many disciplines in Earth and Planetary sciences."
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 earth and related environmental sciences hydrology isotope hydrology
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy absorption spectroscopy
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
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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.
ERC-2013-ADG
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.
Host institution
CB2 1TN CAMBRIDGE
United Kingdom
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.