Project description
A closer look at Earth’s 4.4 billion years of history
Researchers will take an unprecedented look at the evolution of Earth from 4.4 billion years ago to today, and from the atmosphere to the core. The ERC-funded MEET project will check the evolution of the composition of the mantle, which lies over Earth’s core, and the crust composition. It will study crust formation, crust-mantle recycling, and crust-hydrosphere exchange based on composition of melt inclusions and host-minerals typical for mantle (olivine) and crust (zircon). Merging geodynamic modelling with surface and climate models, the project will further explore the rate of crustal growth and recycling through time, the concentration and origin of H2O and halogens in the deep mantle, and the origin and controls of plate tectonics on Earth.
Objective
Efforts to reconstruct the early Earth evolution lack critical information on the contents of mobile and volatile elements and their isotope signatures in the mantle and crust. Fortunately, this information is preserved in inclusions of melt in relicts of olivine from komatiites and picrites, and zircons from mafic and felsic rocks. In Aim I, we will use compositions and temperatures of primary mantle-derived melts reconstructed from the study of melt inclusions in olivine from komatiites and picrites to constrain the evolution of mantle composition. We will further study crust-formation, crust-mantle recycling, and crust-hydrosphere exchange based on composition of melt inclusions and host zircons. We will analyse a wide range of volatile elements and their isotopes in homogenized melt inclusions and the elemental and isotopic compositions of host olivines and zircons. The samples come from 24 localities of komatiites and picrites originating at different cratons between 3.7 and 0.06 Ga, and detrital and magmatic zircons with ages from 4.4 Ga to present. We will apply published and new models to constrain the temperatures and compositions of mantle and crustal sources. In Aim II, geodynamic modelling will relate our observations to the evolution of mantle convection, crustal production and recycling, and plate tectonics (PT). We will couple geodynamic modelling with surface and climate models and use derived geochemical proxies to test our hypotheses on the importance of surface processes in evolution of PT. We will thus address several fundamental issues: the rate of crustal growth and recycling through time; the cause and timing of the onset of large-scale subduction and PT, and factors controlling its evolution; concentration and origin of H2O and halogens in the deep mantle, and the extent (if any) of core-mantle interaction. MEET will, therefore, offer an unprecedented look at the evolution of Earth from 4.4 Ga to today, and from the atmosphere to the core.
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.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry halogens
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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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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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.
ERC-SyG - Synergy grant
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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) ERC-2019-SyG
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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.
38058 GRENOBLE
France
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.