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Volatile evolution on terrestrial planets

Project description

Reconstructing the origin and evolution of volatile elements on terrestrial planets

Volatile elements like water, carbon and nitrogen are crucial for habitable planetary conditions and regulate geodynamics and climate evolution. Their origins and evolution on terrestrial planets are unclear. The noble gases krypton and xenon serve as unique tracers of volatiles due to their inertness and isotopic signatures, yet their use – especially krypton’s – is limited by analytical challenges. The ERC-funded Kryptonis project aims to develop high-precision tools to analyse non-radiogenic krypton and xenon isotopes. By studying meteorites, including those from Mars, and sources of krypton and xenon in the Earth’s mantle, Kryptonis seeks to reveal the sources of planetary volatiles and their subduction-driven recycling in the Earth’s mantle.

Objective

Volatile elements, such as water, carbon and nitrogen, with low condensation temperatures, are needed to achieve and sustain habitable conditions. They also regulate planets geodynamics and climate evolution. However, how these volatiles were delivered to terrestrial planets and how they subsequently evolved is actively debated. Due to their inertness and high volatility, the noble gases krypton and xenon are unique geochemical tracers of volatiles. Their non-radiogenic isotopes have kept the signatures of the sources that delivered volatiles to planets and of the evolutionary processes subsequent to accretion, like recycling via subduction. Yet the non-radiogenic krypton and xenon isotopes have barely been used, in particular for krypton, due to major analytical challenges.
Here, I propose to develop an original geochemical tool, the non-radiogenic krypton and xenon isotopes. I will develop innovative analytical protocols to allow high precision measurements of these isotopes. The objectives are to determine the source(s) of volatiles for terrestrial planets and to assess when volatiles started being recycled into the Earths mantle via subduction. To achieve these goals, I will (i) determine the precise krypton and xenon compositions of different types of meteorites to evaluate whether one meteorite type can explain the signature of the Earths and Mars mantles, (ii) assess the volatile source(s) of the Martian mantle by studying the krypton and xenon compositions of the Martian meteorites shergottites and nakhlites, (iii) determine the krypton and xenon compositions of different Earths mantle sources, from the present-day to the Archean, by analyzing mid-ocean ridge basalts and granitoids. The analyses on granitoids will be combined with high-pressure high-temperature experiments to study the krypton and xenon elemental fractionation processes, which will be key to providing a global understanding of the measured fluid compositions in granitoids.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG

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Host institution

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
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.

€ 2 382 203,00
Total cost

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.

€ 2 382 203,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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