Objective
The vadose zone is the unsaturated region connecting the land surface to groundwater, acting as a filter for nutrients and contaminants and controlling their access to aquifers. Reactive transport in unsaturated porous media is of central importance to our understanding of nutrient cycles and applications such as soil and groundwater remediation. Geological media are heterogeneous across scales, and desaturation leads to complex patterns of air and water and preferential flow channels, enhancing structural heterogeneity. Resolving all scales is unfeasible, severely limiting the capacity of current models to predict field-scale reactivity and the spatial distribution of dissolved reactant plumes in the vadose zone. Uplift proposes a shift in perspective from empirical parameterization to the development of upscaled models rooted in a firm understanding of pore-scale dynamics. The underlying hypothesis is that a framework capable of quantifying subscale mixing limitations, combined with a coarse field-scale description of flow, can significantly improve current models. This requires a better understanding of pore-scale dynamics under unsaturated conditions, along with a theoretical framework capable of capturing their impact at larger scales. Uplift aims to address these challenges by connecting stochastic models of transport to statistical pore-scale features, and combining them with a novel population dynamics framework for reactive transport connecting effective reaction rates to delays due to transport limitations. To support the theoretical developments and complement available data, resolved simulation tools developed in the project will be employed to assess the role of degree of saturation, pore-scale structure, and transient forcings on phase distribution statistics and solute mixing. The proposed framework and its numerical implementation are expected to result in new reactive transport models for the vadose zone with significantly improved predictive power.
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)
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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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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) ERC-2023-STG
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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.
28006 MADRID
Spain
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.