Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Mohorovičić discontinuity and Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary

Objective

The Moho and lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) are two of the most important boundaries in the Earth. The Moho is the greatest manifestation of the chemically differentiated Earth, separating light rocks in the crust from dense rocks in the mantle whereas the LAB is fundamental for plate tectonics, defining the boundary between the floating rigid lithosphere and the weak, deformable asthenosphere. They are both first born at mid-ocean ridges, where two-thirds of the Earths crust and lithosphere are formed, and then evolve with the age, but what happens during the early part of their lives remains an enigma. Together, they serve as the location where coupling and exchange take place between the shallow and deep mantle, and therefore, it is fundamental to understand their formation and evolution during the early stages of their existence. Here, I propose to acquire exceptional seismic data using the most advanced technology available in industry, >2500 Ocean Bottom Nodes, and subject them to the advanced analysis techniques of full waveform inversion, to quantify the nature of the Moho and the LAB during the first 5 Ma of their lives at the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise. This new technology will allow us to record multi-component seismic reflection and refraction data continuously up to 400 km offset at ~200 m interval, thus opening up a new frontier of research. These new seismic data will provide quantitative P-wave and S-wave velocities of the whole crust, the Moho, the upper mantle and the LAB at unprecedented resolution, which combined with petrological studies will allow us to develop a comprehensive geodynamical model for mantle melting, melt migration, crustal accretion, and lithospheric evolution. The quantitative imaging of structures down to 20-30 km depth on a few hundred metre scale would be a revolution, develop synergy between academic and industrial research, and open up new horizons for deep seismic imaging for upper mantle studies.

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.

You need to log in or register to use this function

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.

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

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

(opens in new window) ERC-2023-ADG

See all projects funded under this call

Host institution

INSTITUT DE PHYSIQUE DU GLOBE DE PARIS
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.

€ 3 498 250,00
Address
RUE JUSSIEU 1
75238 Paris
France

See on map

Region
Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
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.

€ 3 498 250,00

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0