Project description
A solution for airborne microplastic contamination
Plastic debris, ranging from large items to microscopic particles, known as microplastics, is a global environmental concern due to its widespread contamination of ecosystems and harm to both wildlife and human health. With sizes ranging from 1 μm to 1 mm, microplastics are particularly alarming as they can infiltrate even the most remote regions via atmospheric transport. This pervasive distribution poses challenges for environmental sustainability and ecosystem safety worldwide. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the FLOAT project will simulate the emission, atmospheric transport, and deposition of microplastics across Central Europe. By integrating direct measurements from passive sampling devices and lake water samples, FLOAT will quantify airborne microplastic contamination on land and lacustrine surfaces.
Objective
Plastics contaminate the environment at global level and are a major concern for ecosystem safety and human health. In particular, plastics of smaller size called microplastics (1 m < plastics < 1 mm; MPs) are considered a higher risk for organisms due to the combination of widespread distribution and toxicity. Indeed, MPs can contaminate every ecosystem, even remote regions on the globe, for which the atmospheric transport plays a pivotal role.
The aim of this project FLOAT is creating a model to simulate MP emissions in the atmosphere, their dispersal, and deposition for assessing the contamination of terrestrial and water surfaces by airborne MPs at local scale and large scale, i.e. Central Europe.
Specific objectives are:
1) to generate simulations of MP emissions from densely populated areas, their atmospheric transport and deposition to remote regions in Central Europe;
2) to quantify the contribution of the deposition from the atmosphere on MP concentrations in land and lacustrine surface water by direct measurements;
3) to validate the model by the measurements, then use the tuned model to upscale the measurement outputs from the local scale to Central Europe.
The FLEXPART model will be used for simulations. Direct data on airborne MP deposition will be measured by stationary passive sampling devices and lake water surface sampling. Microplastic contamination will be characterized in terms of polymer type, shape, size, mass, colour and abundance. By the end of the project, FLOAT will provide a tuned model for the dispersal of airborne MPs at large scale, which will be used quantify the deposition of airborne MPs on lakes in Central Europe.
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 chemical sciences polymer sciences
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
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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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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
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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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1010 Wien
Austria
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.