Project description
A closer look at how mineral weathering is controlled
Mineral weathering is a natural process that leads to the release of nutrients in the soil and removes CO2 from the atmosphere. These weathering reactions are vital for life, the regulation of atmospheric CO2 concentrations and climate. Climate change, however, is impacting this process. The EU-funded DryCO2 project aims to enhance understanding of the physical and chemical control of mineral weathering induced by the gas phase in the unsaturated zone to evaluate the evolution of the climate during the history of Earth; moreover, it aims to optimise the artificial removal of CO2 for climate change mitigation and predict the impact of future anthropogenic climate change on the weathering reactions of minerals that store CO2 and release nutrients.
Objective
Chemical reactions in the unsaturated zone in Earth's shallow subsurface, where pores are filled with a mixture of fluid and gas, support life on our planet and have a profound influence on the global carbon cycle and climate. Gas-driven mineral weathering reactions not only provide nutrients essential to life but serve to regulate atmospheric CO2 concentrations and climate, and are facilitated in the unsaturated zone where reactive gases like CO2 and O2 are readily transported. Earth's climate has experienced major fluctuations over its history, and is currently changing rapidly due to human activities. Climate change impacts the size and water content of the unsaturated zone, and therefore the rates of mineral weathering. At present, prediction of the impacts of changes in water saturation, CO2 concentration, and temperature on mineral weathering rates is hindered by an incomplete understanding of the controls on mineral weathering in the unsaturated zone. DryCO2 will elucidate the physical and chemical controls on gas-driven mineral weathering in the unsaturated zone to evaluate climate evolution over Earth's history, to optimize engineered CO2 removal for climate change mitigation, and to forecast the impact of future anthropogenic climate change on the mineral weathering reactions that store CO2 and release nutrients. DryCO2 will comprise five work packages, and combines experimental studies at multiple scales in the laboratory and field, analysis of key field samples, and multi-scale reactive transport modelling. This multi-scale, multi-tool approach will allow DryCO2 to quantify the effects of CO2 concentration and changes in water availability on mineral weathering reactions from the mineral surface to the global scale in a comprehensive fashion.
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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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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
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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
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-STG
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75794 PARIS
France
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