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Isotopic signatures in crystalline carbonates: the role of amorphous precursors

Project description

Deciphering past environmental conditions with crystalline carbonates

Past environmental conditions, such as temperature, cannot be directly measured so scientists utilise paleoclimate proxies – physical, chemical, and biological materials found in tree rings, ice cores and sediment layers. Carbonates are vital for paleoenvironmental studies and can be harnessed to understand environmental conditions. However, their usefulness depends on the preservation of original signatures. Recent evidence suggests that carbonates can form from amorphous precursors, questioning their effectiveness as climate proxies. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the IsotopAmor project aims to understand how different transformation pathways of amorphous precursors affect the isotopic composition of the final crystalline phases. The research team will employ mineralogical, microbiological, and geochemical methods to enhance paleoenvironmental reconstructions.

Objective

Past environmental conditions (e.g. temperature) cannot be directly measured. However, they are recorded in a measurable way in paleoclimate proxies, which are physical, chemical and biological materials preserved within the geological record in paleoenvironmental archives, and that can be analyzed and correlated with environmental parameters. Carbonates are one of the most important paleoenvironmental archives as they record the formation environmental conditions in their chemical and isotopic composition. However, to use them as paleoenvironmental proxies is essential that the original signatures are preserved.
It has been reported that the formation of many carbonates from different geological settings involves the precipitation of amorphous precursors (non-classical nucleation pathways) and their subsequent transformation into crystalline phases. This formation pathway could modify the original signatures restricting the use of carbonates as paleoenvironmental proxies. Yet, the effects on the isotopic composition of carbonate minerals due to phase transitions from amorphous precursors have been largely overlooked compared to the modifications due to diagenetic or depositional processes. Then, the main goal of the project is understanding how different pathways and transformation mechanisms of amorphous precursors control the isotopic composition of the final crystalline
polymorph. This aim will be tackled under two approaches abiotic and biogenic conditions and combining mineralogical, microbiological and geochemical tools. The results could generate new guidelines for optimizing paleoclimate reconstructions using ancient carbonate minerals. This project, its impact and outcome, as well as the training in cutting-edge techniques I will get in the host and secondment host laboratories, complementary to my expertise and transferable skills, will transform me in an independent, highly competitive researcher helping me to obtain a stable scientific position.

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 165 312,96
Address
CUESTA DEL HOSPICIO SN
18071 GRANADA
Spain

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Region
Sur Andalucía Granada
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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