Project description
A closer look at the ocean’s tiniest climate defenders
Massive amounts of methane lie trapped in frozen sediments beneath the Arctic Ocean. As temperatures climb, some of that methane is beginning to seep out, raising concerns about its contribution to climate change. However, not all of it escapes into the air thanks to methane-consuming bacteria. The EU-funded ACUTE project aims to quantify how much methane these bacteria can consume before it enters the atmosphere. Specifically, it will examine Arctic sediments and seawater, monitor microbial activity, and simulate methane leaks under controlled laboratory conditions. The findings are expected to shed light on how microbes can help mitigate climate change, and what occurs as the Arctic approaches critical tipping points.
Objective
The Arctic Ocean is a hotspot of methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas stored in the form of gas hydrates, subsea permafrost, and underlying thermogenic gas. The sizes of these methane deposits are poorly constrained, but even the release of a small fraction could have significant effects on the global climate. The uncertainty is in part linked to microbial processes and especially little is known about aerobic methane oxidation of methane-oxidizing bacteria.
The research project’s overarching objective is to investigate the relevance of aerobic methane oxidation for the Arctic by combining biogeochemical parameters with genomic data. The project has three scientific work packages. The first work package will characterize the benthic microbial community, specifically methane-oxidizing bacteria, and link it to methane cycling in the porewater and biomarkers of Siberian Arctic sediments. The second work package investigates the carbon cycling and methane oxidation of methane-oxidizing bacteria in the water column of the Siberian Arctic Ocean. The third work package has an experimental approach to simulate methane release from subsea permafrost and seeps as future tipping point ecosystems.
ACUTE is an interdisciplinary project that will significantly advance our understanding of aerobic methane oxidation. This work relies on unique and valuable archived data, which minimizes the environmental impact of my research activities, conforming with the MSCA Green Charter, and significantly contributes to the few studies linking biogeochemistry and microbial communities across the Arctic Ocean. The excellent research facilities and work environment at Stockholm University promote a two-way transfer of knowledge. The generated results will be available through open science practices and of interest beyond the scientific community to policymakers and citizens, especially with rising awareness during the ongoing UN Ocean Decade.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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 biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
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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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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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10691 Stockholm
Sweden
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