Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-06-18

Ice ages, Sea level, and Magmatism: Coupled oscillations

Objective

There is widespread recognition of the connectivity of different components of the Earth system, but many of these connections have not been studied. This is certainly true of connections between climate and the solid Earth. A thorough understanding of the climatic variations recorded in the geologic record cannot be obtained by studying climate in isolation from the solid Earth, and a complete understanding of the volcanic record requires consideration of the effects of climate variation. This is a proposal to investigate the coupling between climate and the solid Earth, and hence to better understand climate history and its impact on volcanism. The proposed work will use computational models of two-phase magma/mantle dynamics and petrology to explore links between glacial cycles and mid-ocean ridge volcanism. Glacial cycles redistribute water between the oceans and continents, changing sea level and hence varying the load on mid-ocean ridges. Melting beneath ridges responds to pressure changes, and should produce observable variation in crustal thickness and concentration of incompatible elements. Carbon dioxide is one such incompatible element, and pressure-induced variations in out-gassing rate from the mid-ocean ridge system to the climate system may provide the negative feedback that gives rise to glacial oscillations. The plausibility of this hypothesis depends on details of the response functions of the coupled systems. The proposed research group will develop a set of independent but synergistic projects that employ computational simulation to assess these responses, make testable geochemical and geophysical predictions, and validate models against observational data. This investigation has the potential to transform our understanding of mid-ocean ridge volcanism and of Quaternary ice ages.

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.

You need to log in or register to use this function

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.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

ERC-2011-StG_20101014
See other projects for this call

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.

ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant

Host institution

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
EU contribution
€ 1 358 793,00
Address
WELLINGTON SQUARE UNIVERSITY OFFICES
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom

See on map

Region
South East (England) Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Oxfordshire
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

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.

No data

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0