Project description
Shedding light on the Baltic Sea’s radioactive enigma
The Baltic Sea, now grapples with radioactive contamination, stemming from various sources including the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. This environmental crisis poses a formidable challenge in comprehending the intricate distribution patterns of radioactive materials, particularly anthropogenic radioactive contamination. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CHRONUS project will use state-of-the-art accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) techniques to unravel the complexities of radioactive pollutants in the Baltic Sea and pave the way for a sustainable environmental future. By analysing sediment cores from across the Baltic Sea, CHRONUS promises groundbreaking developments in Applied Nuclear Physics, enhancing our ability to tackle environmental challenges.
Objective
The CHRONUS project aims at providing new insights into the distribution of a complete set of anthropogenic actinides (233U, 236U, 237Np, 239Pu, 240Pu, 241Pu, 242Pu, 244Pu) in the Baltic Sea using the ultra-sensitive Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) technique, representing a needful step forward in the field of Applied Nuclear Physics to address environmental problems. The Baltic Sea is one of the most contaminated marine environments in the world regarding radioactive materials, being exposed by multiple contamination sources in such a way that understanding the different inputs and distribution patterns of the radioactive contaminants has become a major challenge. Specifically, there are still many open questions regarding the distribution of the actinide fallout from the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Understanding the distribution of radionuclides in this marine environment may be crucial for many environmental applications as well as future radioactivity emergencies. This action would include the analysis of the extremely low abundance 233U and 244Pu, providing novel tools to identify local contamination inputs from the baseline radioactivity levels imposed by the atmospheric nuclear weapon tests (1945-1980). Sediment cores collected from stations covering the whole Baltic Sea will be used to this end. Novel sample preparation and AMS measurement techniques will be developed to perform all those analyses using the compact 1MV AMS system at the Centro Nacional de Aceleradores (CNA), an international centre for accelerator science and technology of the host institution (University of Seville, USE, Spain). This action will involve the integration of the researcher, Dr. Mercedes López-Lora, at the Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics (FAMN) and within the very active and multidisciplinary group of Applied Nuclear Physics (GFNA) at the USE, under the supervision of Dr. Elena Chamizo, a high-recognised expert in AMS techniques and applications.
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.
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences oceanography
- natural sciences chemical sciences nuclear chemistry radiation chemistry
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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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
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41004 Sevilla
Spain
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