Objective
Glaciers have been conventionally viewed as lifeless bodies that have little impact on biogeochemical cycles. It is now known that liquid water is present under all large ice masses. In Antarctica, subglacial lakes and rivers have been discovered. One of these subglacial lakes, Subglacial Lake Whillans, was accessed in 2013, and supports a diverse and metabolically active microbial ecosystem. This raises questions about biogeochemical cycling within these ecosystems. Specifically, the sources, concentrations, flows, modifications and interactions between life essential nutrients. The nutrients sourced from these environments might have an impact on downstream ecosystem productivity. This is of particular importance as the Southern Ocean, which surrounds Antarctica, is the world’s largest high nutrient low chlorophyll region, where iron is the primary limiting element for life. Organic matter is thought to play a major role in regulating the flux and bioavailability of iron, and may also be an important source of bioavailable carbon.
The main objective of ICICLES is to investigate the cycling and interactions between iron and carbon (as organic matter) in these unique environments. Iron and organic matter in waters and sediment samples from three sites at the bottom of the Antarctic Ice Sheet will be characterised using state-of-the-art spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Diatom culturing using these samples will be used to determine potential iron bioavailability to downstream marine organisms, and the effects of organic matter complexation. A new budget of iron and organic matter export, and associated bioavailability, from the Antarctic Ice Sheet will be constructed and utilised with a global ocean model to postulate the impact of subglacial meltwaters on marine productivity. This combination of techniques will provide unprecedented insight into nutrient cycling in unique subglacial ecosystems, and the potential of ice sheets to fertilise surrounding oceans.
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.
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
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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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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF-GF - 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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017
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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.
14473 POTSDAM
Germany
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.