Objective
Compositional variations in coral skeletons are widely used as proxies of environmental change and are powerful archives of past ocean conditions. However, a limit is placed on their accuracy by ‘vital effects’ – a black box of species- and colony-specific processes tied to coral physiology and biomineralisation that mask and distort the environmental control on skeletal composition. Despite knowing about vital effects for >70 years, progress to overcome them has been frustratingly slow because the composition of the fluid used for skeleton construction is unknown.
UNLOCK will go beyond the state-of-the-art by developing a novel cryo-analytical toolkit to directly measure the chemical and isotopic composition of the calcifying fluid for the first time. This will be integrated with other innovative techniques to address four core objectives: 1) determine how environment influences the composition of the calcifying fluid and hence skeleton; 2.) identify the role of metastable phases and precipitation rate in controlling proxy sensitivity; 3.) quantify how skeletal construction processes shape spatial heterogeneity and the recording of environmental signals; and 4.) develop numerical models of coral vital effects to underpin the next-generation of palaeoclimate reconstructions and provide a robust frame-work for using skeletal geochemistry to quantify the environmental sensitivity of coral physiology.
By UNLOCKing the chemistry of the calcifying fluid, we will transform our understanding of vital effects to deliver unprecedented accuracy in palaeoclimate reconstructions on centennial to millennial timescales and revealing how coral physiology responds to a rapidly changing ocean.
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Keywords
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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)
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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
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
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-ADG
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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.
SO17 1BJ SOUTHAMPTON
United Kingdom
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