Project description
Examining snow evolution provides an understanding of glacier, ice sheets, and climate
Snow is a pillar of the Earth’s climate system, affecting all its components with critical impacts for nature and human societies. Current snow models examine a limited number of physical processes, and none of them adequately takes snow microstructures into account. The EU-funded IVORI project will build a microstructure-based model encompassing all the relevant snow and firn physical variables. The model will provide a reliable assessment of snow-climate feedbacks in a changing climate and a rigorous appraisal of the modelling uncertainties. When completed, this work will pave the way for crucial advances in our understanding of glaciers, ice sheets and past climate through ice core records, in addition to providing insight into sea ice and permafrost evolution.
Objective
Snow is a pillar of the Earth’s climate system, affecting all its components with critical impacts for Nature and human societies. Perennial snow evolves to firn and ice, providing unique records of the past climate. Yet today no snow model adequately simulates relevant snow variables worldwide, not to mention their inability to represent firn processes and snow/permafrost interactions. I argue that this is because current models focus on a limited number of physical processes and none suitably consider snow microstructure. IVORI’s goal is to build a microstructure-based model encompassing all the relevant snow and firn physical variables. Drawing on advanced observations of snow and firn, the proposal has three objectives: (1) Understand the role of water vapour transport in snow and its subsequent impacts on the ground thermal regime governing permafrost evolution; (2) Understand how initial changes in surface snow microstructure are transferred deeper into the firn and affect ice core records; (3) Determine the contributions of snow-climate feedbacks, triggered by changes in the albedo and insulating capacity of snow to the past and future of snow cover and ground temperature. To this aim, I will build a microstructure-based model, with a novel physics core, unifying the evolution of snow and firn. IVORI will also deliver unprecedented season-long observations of snow microstructure in the Arctic, Alps and Antarctica using X-ray tomography. These observations will significantly advance our understanding of the physical processes involved and be used for a thorough evaluation of the model. The model will provide a reliable assessment of snow-climate feedbacks in a changing climate and a rigorous appraisal of the modelling uncertainties. When completed, this work will pave the way for crucial advances in our understanding of glaciers, ice sheets and past climate through ice core records, with many fallouts for sea ice and permafrost evolution.
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)
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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-STG - Starting 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-2020-STG
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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.
94165 Saint Mande Cedex
France
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