Objective
Much of the current discussion of the causes of global warming and mitigation of its impacts focuses on greenhouse gas emissions and net-zero CO2 targets. However, atmospheric aerosols also contribute significantly, and in ways that remain more poorly quantified, to the radiative balance that determines Earth’s climate. The PHAERO project addresses a major gap in our knowledge of the sunlight-driven photochemistry of organic aerosol particles in the lower atmosphere. For the first time, PHAERO will apply cutting-edge time-resolved spectroscopy and mass spectrometry methods to explore directly the photochemistry of organic compounds dissolved in aqueous aerosol droplets with picolitre volumes, and with femtosecond to microsecond time resolution. The chosen organic compounds represent chemical species proposed to be responsible for organic aerosol growth, as well as those present in brown-carbon aerosol particles formed by the burning of plants and trees, for example in wildfires and agricultural land clearance. This project is timely because of the increasing incidences worldwide of such fires and their associated emissions of particulate matter, as exemplified by poor air quality in many cities and major fires in Europe, north America and the Arctic. PHAERO will explore how the photochemical pathways of atmospherically important organic molecules are changed by confinement in micron-dimension aqueous aerosol droplets, for example through solute accumulation at the water-air interface, supersaturated concentrations in evaporating aerosols, and inhibited diffusion in viscous aerosol particles. The outcomes will advance our understanding of climate science and air quality. Applying the same methods to the photochemistry of droplets containing molecules of biological importance, the project will also provide new insights into the UV-induced degradation of the molecular components of pathogens in exhaled respiratory droplets by sunlight or germicidal UVC radiation.
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 physical chemistry photochemistry
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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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.1.1 - 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-2024-ADG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
BS8 1QU BRISTOL
United Kingdom
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.