Description du projet
Mesurer et comprendre l’impact des émissions tectoniques de CO2
Les changements climatiques passés et les variations du CO2 paléo-atmosphérique ont été fortement affectés par des processus géologiques. Des réservoirs de carbone profonds persistent et peuvent être activés dans la lithosphère faillée des rifts continentaux, créant des voies pour des émissions substantielles de CO2. Les recherches sur leur impact climatique passé et leur dégazage ont malheureusement été entravées par des techniques de mesure, des technologies et des cadres inefficaces. Le projet EMERGE, financé par l’UE, se propose de développer des solutions innovantes pour relever ces défis. Il entend notamment faire appel à des drones aéroportés pour mesurer les flux de CO2, à des techniques de modélisation numérique pour comprendre le contrôle géodynamique sur le transport du CO2 lithosphérique, et à l’étude et à l’intégration des données sur les rifts et le dégazage tectonique passés.
Objectif
Geological processes governed paleo-atmospheric CO2 variations and exerted major control on past climate change beyond the million-year time scale. Vast deep carbon reservoirs are known to be activated at continental rifts, where the faulted lithosphere provides CO2 pathways and where recent surveys detected massive CO2 emissions. However, progress in quantifying natural CO2 degassing and its impact on past climate is impeded for 3 reasons: (1) current CO2 flux measurement techniques require labourintensive field surveys that can cover only small areas; (2) a consistent framework uniting geodynamic processes and CO2 transport to the surface is missing; (3) past CO2 flux from rifts is difficult to quantify because compilations do not account for geodynamic characteristics.
EMERGE will enter uncharted territory by linking 3 innovative approaches. The project will: (1) advance airborne CO2 flux measurements via drones. Focusing on rifts in Kenya, Ethiopia, Czech Republic and Iceland, we will measure for the first time tectonic CO2 flux distributions of entire regions allowing unprecedented insight into subsurface CO2 pathways; (2) characterise geodynamic controls on lithospheric CO2 transport via novel numerical modelling techniques; and (3) integrate data of all known rifts since 540 million years ago to understand the role of tectonic degassing in shaping Earth’s climate through time.
Zooming in on the geosphere-atmosphere interface, this project integrates interdisciplinary ideas and methods from geodynamics, micrometeorology, petrology, and paleoclimatology. EMERGE may generate broad impact on scientific and societal level: dronebased CO2 flux measurements will be a game changer in understanding tectonic CO2 release at rifts and other plate boundaries worldwide. The methodological and scientific advances may be essential for establishing a solid baseline of tectonic CO2 emissions to accurately quantify controls on past and future climate change.
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencespalaeontologypaleoclimatology
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringroboticsautonomous robotsdrones
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeologypetrology
- social sciencespolitical sciencesgovernment systems
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régime de financement
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsInstitution d’accueil
14473 POTSDAM
Allemagne