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Coupled climate and Greenland ice sheet evolution:past, present and future

Objective

The Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) is losing mass at an increasing pace, in response to atmospheric and ocean forcing. The mechanisms leading to the observed mass loss are poorly understood. It is not clear whether the current trends will be sustained into the future, and how they are affected by regional and global climate variability. In addition, the impacts of Greenland deglaciation on the local and global climate are not well known. This project aims to explain the relationship between GrIS surface melt trends and climate variability, to determine the timing and impacts of multi-century deglaciation of Greenland, and to explain the relationship between ongoing and previous deglaciations during the last interglacial and the Holocene. For this purpose, we will use the Community Earth System Model (CESM), the first full-complexity global climate model to include interactive ice sheet flow and a realistic and physical-based simulation of surface mass balance (the difference between surface accumulation and losses from runoff and sublimation). This tool will include for the first time a large range of temporal and spatial scales of ice sheet-climate interaction in the same model. Previous work has been done with oversimplified and/or uncoupled representations of ice sheet and climate processes, for instance with simplified ocean and/or atmospheric dynamics in Earth System Models of Intermediate Complexity, with fixed topography and prescribed ocean components in Regional Climate Models, or with highly parameterized snow albedo and/or melt schemes in General Circulation Models. This project will provide new insights into the coupling between the GrIS and climate change, will lead widespread integration of ice sheets as a new and indispensable component of complex Earth System Models, and will advance our understanding of present and past climate dynamics.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

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.

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.

ERC-STG - Starting Grant

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2015-STG

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Host institution

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 677 282,00
Total cost

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.

€ 1 677 282,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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