Project description
Round and round it goes: scientists find a novel proxy to help monitor the carbon cycle
The global carbon cycle, in which carbon is exchanged between reservoirs in the atmosphere, oceans and land, plays a role in the earth's climate. Oceans can absorb a tremendous amount of CO2, and marine organisms are critical to this process via the biological carbon pump (BCP). On the surface, photosynthesisers such as phytoplankton transform dissolved CO2 into organic carbon. Most of it is converted back to CO2 via respiration in animals, plants and bacteria, and it re-enters the atmosphere on short time scales. When plants and animals die, they transport a small fraction to the depths with them, where decomposition slowly releases it. The BCP plays a critical role in climate processes, yet it is poorly understood. The EU-funded SCrIPT project is developing a proxy to evaluate changes in the BCP over time, both past and future.
Fields of science
- humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistory
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metals
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivity
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
Host institution
1015 Lausanne
Switzerland
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Beneficiaries (2)
1015 Lausanne
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3012 Bern
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