Project description
Trace metal cycling in modern anoxic environments
The ongoing decrease in oceanic oxygen concentrations will impact the cycling and availability of bio-essential trace metals in the ocean, which may have consequences for marine life. Intervals of widespread ocean anoxia are relatively common in Earth's history. These periods represent major environmental disturbances and are often associated with mass extinctions. However, the impact of ocean deoxygenation on global trace metal cycles and availability of these micronutrients is poorly understood. The EU-funded BioGeoMetal project will study trace metal cycling in modern anoxic environments and establish new geochemical tracers for the reconstruction of past trace metal cycling during intervals of major global deoxygenation and environmental change. Ultimately, the aim is to better predict the consequences of modern ocean deoxygenation.
Objective
The global oceanic oxygen content has decreased by more than 2% since 1960 and is projected to drop further in the near future. This decline could drastically impact ocean nutrient cycles and marine life, but the exact progression of ocean anoxia and its impacts are hard to predict. Earth's history is punctuated by intervals of widespread ocean anoxia that manifest themselves in the sedimentary record as specific intervals of enhanced organic-carbon burial. These intervals last for 10,000-100,000s years, are marked by perturbations to global climate and biogeochemical cycles, represent major environmental disturbances, and are often associated with mass extinctions. The study of such past climate disturbances can improve projections of future ocean anoxia and environmental change by providing better constraints on the model boundary conditions. However, this requires the detailed reconstruction of past environmental parameters based on the sedimentary record. This project aims to develop and apply new ways of using geochemical tracers for past ocean environments. The focus is on the role of trace metals in anoxic waters and their impact on marine life and biogeochemical cycles.
Trace metals are essential to life and are taken up in phytoplankton cells but are also reactive towards dissolved sulphide. Though such processes leave diagnostic geochemical imprints on the isotope composition of the marine sedimentary record, their interpretation is often complicated as a result of this dual sensitivity. This research project will establish new methods to distinguish between these two controls. These methods will then be applied to samples from a variety of modern environments to establish a thorough understanding of trace metal cycling in anoxic waters. Combined with biogeochemical modelling, these new methods will then be used to reconstruct the interplay between global warming and biogeochemical cycles during an interval of widespread anoxia in the Cretaceous.
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.
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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-EF-ST - Standard EF
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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-2018
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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.
8092 Zuerich
Switzerland
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.