Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

“Weathering and nutrient export from subglacial environments: A novel stable isotope approach”

Objective

The Earth’s surface has been dominated by cycles of glacial advance for more than two million years. Processes occurring at the glacier bed exert a fundamental control on the release of bioavailable elements to rivers and oceans and the evolution of the Earth’s surface, hydrosphere and atmosphere. As global temperatures rise and ice-sheets retreat, it is critical to constrain the roles that subglacial weathering processes play in controlling global biogeochemical cycles. The overarching goal of this project is to investigate the redox conditions that control vital nutrient and elemental release through a study of glacial outflows from contrasting subglacial environments. I will achieve this goal using a novel multidisciplinary framework incorporating cutting-edge redox sensitive stable isotope proxies (Mo, Fe and Se isotopes) of iron and sulphur cycling and oxidation state to unique glaciated regions. Using a combination of archived samples and focused field campaigns I will study subglacial outflow environments that differ in bedrock geology, regional climate and type of individual glacier drainage basins (e.g. ice cap, ice sheet and alpine glacier) in order to evaluate the importance of these parameters in weathering processes and ultimately the release of bio-available elements from the sub-glacial environment to rivers and oceans. Key questions I am to answer are how is the release of bioavailable elements a function of the redox state of the subglacial environment? Which of the three key parameters plays the most significant role? To what extent is this reflected in the enrichments of elements in solid/liquid phases? and how does this affect biogeochemical cycling downstream and nutrient supply?

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

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

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.

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.

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

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

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2014

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 137 845,64
Address
TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS
CB2 1TN CAMBRIDGE
United Kingdom

See on map

Region
East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC
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.

€ 137 845,65

Participants (1)

My booklet 0 0