Objectif It is widely acknowledged that polar sea ice plays a critical role in global climate change. As such, sea ice reconstructions are of paramount importance in establishing climatic evolution of the geological past. In the current project, some well characterised organic chemicals (biomarkers) from microalgae will be used as proxy indicators of current and past sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. These biomarkers, so-called highly branched isoprenoids (HBIs), possess a number of characteristics that make them attractive as sea ice proxies. Firstly, some HBIs are unique to sea ice diatoms, so their presence in polar sediments can be directly correlated with the previous occurrence of sea ice. Secondly, they are relatively resistant to degradation, which extends their usefulness in the geological record. Thirdly, their relative abundance makes them straightforward to measure with a high degree of geological resolution. One component of this project will consist of performing regional calibrations of the proxies. Concentrations of selected biomarkers in recent Arctic and Antarctic sediments will be correlated with the sea ice abundances determined using satellite technology over the last 30 years. The successful calibration of the proxies will then enable reconstructions of past sea ice extents to be performed at unprecedented high resolution. Sediment cores will be obtained from key locations across both of the Arctic and Antarctic regions and the data derived from these studies will be used for climate modelling studies. As a complement to these physico-chemical studies on sea ice, a second component of the project will investigate the use of these biomarkers for studying sea ice-biota interactions and, by examining the transfer of these chemicals through food chains, new tools for determining the consequences of future climate change on polar ecosystems will be established. Champ scientifique engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringsatellite technologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculeslipidsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes Mots‑clés Algae Biomarkers Sea-ice Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Thème(s) ERC-SG-PE8 - ERC Starting Grant - Products and process engineering Appel à propositions ERC-2007-StG Voir d’autres projets de cet appel Régime de financement ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant Institution d’accueil CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS Contribution de l’UE € 1 888 593,60 Adresse RUE MICHEL ANGE 3 75794 Paris France Voir sur la carte Région Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Type d’activité Research Organisations Contact administratif Louis Avigdor (Mr.) Chercheur principal Guillaume Masse (Dr.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée Bénéficiaires (1) Trier par ordre alphabétique Trier par contribution de l’UE Tout développer Tout réduire CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS France Contribution de l’UE € 1 888 593,60 Adresse RUE MICHEL ANGE 3 75794 Paris Voir sur la carte Région Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Type d’activité Research Organisations Contact administratif Louis Avigdor (Mr.) Chercheur principal Guillaume Masse (Dr.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée
