Descripción del proyecto
Formación en ciclos biogeoquímicos del mercurio
El Convenio de Minamata de 2013 del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA) definió el mercurio como un metal tóxico y de interés mundial. Se trata de un contaminante mundial muy utilizado en la vida diaria y liberado en la atmósfera, el suelo y el agua, que afecta tanto a la salud humana como a la salud de los ecosistemas. Sin embargo, los ciclos biogeoquímicos del mercurio resultan complejos. En este contexto, el proyecto financiado con fondos europeos GMOS-Train ofrecerá formaciones en ciencia del mercurio según el Convenio de Minamata del PNUMA. El proyecto también colmará importantes brechas del conocimiento sobre los ciclos biogeoquímicos del mercurio que impiden la optimización de las políticas ambientales nacionales acerca de las emisiones de mercurio. GMOS-Train ofrecerá una formación complementaria en difusión mediante los principios de la ciencia abierta, la comunicación, la explotación y la divulgación para transformar los logros científicos en la formulación de políticas eficaces.
Objetivo
With the signing of the UNEP Minamata Convention in 2013, governments have globally accepted that Hg is global relevance and toxic; scientific needs will therefore shift towards best implementation practices of the Convention. With most Hg emissions emanating from the energy-industrial sector this means that governments have to balance economic and environmental interests. How does one asses that balance? Biogeochemical Hg cycling is complex: superimposed on the strongly perturbed inorganic Hg cycle is the natural process of biomethylation that generates the bioaccumulating monomethyl-Hg form that we are all exposed to when we consume fish. Today, comprehensive multimedia models of the biogeochemical Hg cycle are being developed and capture this complexity to try and evaluate the effectiveness of environmental policy scenarios. For the models to work however, they must include realistic descriptions of fundamental Hg transformations and fluxes across Earth’s surface environments. Despite decades of Hg science, we still lack answers to some of the most basic questions on those fundamental Hg transformations and fluxes. The objectives of the GMOS-TRAIN network are (1) to provide urgently needed training in mercury science within the context of the UNEP Minamata convention, and (2) to bridge key knowledge gaps on biogeochemical mercury cycling that currently hamper the optimization of national environmental policy regarding mercury emissions. The process of training a pool of 15 Early Stage Researchers represents an excellent capacity building needed for the implementation of the Minamata Convention. Being trained in highly relevant research topic will enhance researchers career prospective and employability. Moreover, complimentary training in dissemination using Open science principles, communication, exploitation and outreach will enforce the transfer of science results to effective policy making.
Ámbito científico
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Régimen de financiación
MSCA-ITN - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN)Coordinador
1000 Ljubljana
Eslovenia