Project description
Deciphering Earth’s oxygenation processes during the Precambrian Era
Despite existing geochemical proxies to reconstruct the Precambrian marine phosphorus reservoir, the mineralogical controls on redox-driven phosphorus cycling in the Precambrian ferruginous ocean are hampered by uncertainties. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PaleoNutrient project will explore how iron minerals controlled phosphorus cycling in Precambrian oceans, focusing on how iron-phosphorus interactions influenced Earth’s transition to an oxygenated and habitable world. To do so, it will conduct controlled experiments under Precambrian ferruginous conditions to simulate iron-phosphorus interactions and validate the findings against the geochemical and mineralogical composition of select Precambrian marine rocks. These new insights will then be integrated into existing biogeochemical models.
Objective
Earths early oxygenation history played a pivotal role in the evolution of complex life. Phosphorus (P) is widely recognised as the ultimate limiting nutrient on geological time scales, and hence P exerted a fundamental role in regulating global marine primary productivity, organic carbon burial, and ultimately the oxygen flux to the ocean-atmosphere system throughout the Precambrian Era (~4.60.541 billion years ago). Several geochemical proxies have been developed to reconstruct the Precambrian marine P reservoir and links to Earths oxygenation history, but all have inherent limitations linked to uncertainty over key processes involved in P cycling. In particular, mineralogical controls on P cycling under anoxic ferruginous (Fe(II)-containing) conditions, which reflect the dominant redox state of the ocean throughout most of the Precambrian, are very poorly understood. One such process concerns the extent of P uptake to (meta)stable, mixed-valence green rust, which has emerged as a key mineral precipitating in Precambrian ferruginous oceans, and the subsequent behaviour of P upon ageing to magnetite and Fe-rich clay minerals. Therefore, the PaleoNutrient project will investigate these key processes by a series of carefully controlled experiments performed under Precambrian ferruginous ocean conditions. These experimental results will then be validated by geochemical and mineralogical investigation of select Precambrian marine rocks deposited under varying types of ferruginous oceanic conditions. The new insight gained from experiments and the evaluation of the rock record will then be used to update existing biogeochemical models, with an ultimate aim to revolutionise our understanding of bioavailable P, primary productivity, and hence Earths oxygenation history across critical intervals of the Precambrian Era that dictated the trajectory of Earths habitability.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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)
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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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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.
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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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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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LS2 9JT Leeds
United Kingdom
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