Project description
Exploring the last of the ‘big five’ mass extinctions
The most recent mass extinction happened more than 60 million years ago during the the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary. This is the last of the ‘big five’ that occurred during the Phanerozoic (the current geological eon that began approximately 541 million years ago). The EU-funded EPROAMA project will shed light on the short to long-term effects of this event on the global environmental system, including the reestablishment of pre-extinction environmental conditions and marine biological productivity. For instance, how did primary productivity and the biological pump change and how did that impact the source and character of organic matter reaching the seafloor? The project will also study how these interlinked processes recovered after this extinction event.
Objective
The mass extinction marking the Cretaceous/Palaeogene boundary (KPgB), 66.02 million years ago. It was one of the most devastating events in the history of life, as well as the most recent and best studied of the ‘big five’ mass extinctions that occurred during the Phanerozoic. After decades of research, one of the most critical lines of inquiry is understanding the short- to long-term effects of this impact on the global environmental system, including the re-establishment of pre-impact environmental conditions and marine biological productivity. After characterizing how the recovery of palaeoenvironmental conditions were by the analysis of inorganic geochemical proxies, critical questions were raised about the nature of and recovery after the event. how did primary productivity and the biological pump change and how did that impact the source and character of organic matter reaching the seafloor? And crucially, how did these interlinked processes recover after the impact event? The Caravaca section is amongst the most continuous, well-preserved, and well-studied KPgB distal sections in the world. This allows these questions to be explored using molecular fossils (or biomarkers) – for the first time in this section and consequently at unprecedented stratigraphic resolution. The approach will broadly encompass several methods, all of which will be carried out in the OGU (Organic Geochemistry Unit) at Bristol University. These will include but are not limited to, the determination of total organic carbon (TOC) contents; the extract and analysis of the biomarkers from ground samples; the determination of key biomarker abundances and distributions by GC and GC-MS in order to ascertain changes in organic matter (OM) source, algal assemblages, terrestrial biomarkers, redox state (pristane/phytane ratio; homohopane index) and microbial inputs (hopanes); and finally, to explore changes in ‘apparent thermal maturity’ which could reflect changes in reoworked OM input.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences oceanography ocean chemistry
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geochemistry organic geochemistry
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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)
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.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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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.
BS8 1QU BRISTOL
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.