Objective
Carbon dioxide (CO2) from human activities is the main cause of today’s global warming. To tackle this challenge, we need to understand how Earth naturally stores carbon-especially in the ocean, the planet’s largest carbon sink. Coccolithophores, microscopic marine algae, are key players in this process. Through photosynthesis, they absorb atmospheric CO2 and convert it into organic carbon, while simultaneously forming protective tests (coccoliths) made of calcium carbonate, thereby fixing inorganic carbon. When they die, their carbonate plates sink to the seafloor, accumulating over time (a process known as carbonate flux) and becoming part of the fossil record. Today, coccolithophores dominate marine carbonate fluxes (50–90%), but the carbonate contribution of their fossil counterparts, calcareous nannofossils (CN), in past oceans is largely unknown.
COCO-PRO addresses this gap by calculating, for the first time, how much carbonate was produced and exported to the seafloor by individual CN species during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 million years ago), a past global warming event considered the closest analogue to today’s climate change. The project combines precisely dated marine reference sections, quantitative species counts, morphometric and geometric measurements to calculate species-specific carbonate flux with unprecedented taxonomic and temporal resolution.
By integrating approaches from paleoclimatology, micropaleontology, biogeochemistry, marine biology and geometry, COCO-PRO will reveal how CN species responded to past warming and ocean acidification, while producing the first-ever species-specific CN carbonate flux data for a hyperthermal event. These results will improve climate models, guide mitigation strategies, and directly support EU priorities and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 13, 14, 12, 4 and 5), thereby enhancing Europe's capacity for climate action, ocean sustainability, gender equality, and knowledge transfer.
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 earth and related environmental sciences palaeontology paleoclimatology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology phycology
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry inorganic compounds
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geochemistry biogeochemistry
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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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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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.
35122 PADOVA
Italy
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.