Project description
Did Mars once have a protective ozone layer?
In recent years, Mars has attracted increasing interest due to its potential habitability, evidence of past or present life, atmosphere, climate, and other factors. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the AREOZONE project will investigate whether Mars once had a protective ozone layer. Such a layer could have shielded surface life from DNA-damaging UV radiation and influenced the planet’s temperature structure and climate. The project will use well-established photochemical models, constrained by observations from complementary missions, build on advances in ozone layer science, and examine the significance of three oxygen isotope ratios. These are key to understanding oxidative chemistry and atmospheric composition changes on Earth.
Objective
For decades, Mars exploration has focused on evidence for life to answer the fundamental question: Are we alone in the universe? I will investigate the possibility of life on early Mars by leveraging decades of research on Earth’s atmosphere to understand that of the red planet. I will use a well-established photochemical model constrained by observations from complementary missions to explore whether ancient Mars ever had a protective ozone layer that could have shielded surface-dwelling life.
The ozone layer is critical on Earth, securing surface habitability from DNA-damaging UV radiation and controlling the temperature structure of the middle atmosphere, with important climatic effects. Our understanding of how Earth’s ozone levels have changed has quickly expanded in recent decades. Here, I will apply lessons learned from Earth to the evolution of a second system—Mars—which will provide unique insights into factors that control planetary atmospheres and the search for life in the universe.
Specifically, I will investigate the utility of ratios of the three oxygen isotopes, used extensively to understand oxidative chemistry and atmospheric composition changes on Earth, to constrain Mars ozone densities through the following three objectives. I will:
1) predict triple oxygen isotope signatures for the present-day Mars atmosphere and compare to observations, to better understand controls on isotope composition;
2) determine realistic palaeo-atmospheric conditions conducive to an ozone layer; and
3) predict the oxygen isotope composition of select geological materials for potential early Mars conditions and prioritise options for future exploration.
We are in the midst of a revolutionary accumulation of spacecraft data and unprecedented Mars exploration, making this work perfectly timed. Preparation for interpretation of measurements from Mars via my proposed modelling is critical to focus future observational efforts from space agencies globally.
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.
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering aerospace engineering astronautical engineering spacecraft
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
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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)
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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
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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
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
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