Investigating the terrestrial carbon and water cycles with a multi-tracer approach

Objective

The aim of COSIRIS is to isolate the simultaneous fluxes of photosynthesis and respiration of the terrestrial biosphere. With explicit knowledge of the component fluxes, we will: 1) test process based models of photosynthesis and respiration, 2) determine the sensitivity of each flux to environmental conditions, and 3) derive predictions of their responses to climate change. Specifically, COSIRIS aims to build a research facility to integrate a new tracer, carbonyl sulfide (COS) with CO2, water and their stable isotopes in a multi-tracer framework as a tool to separately investigate photosynthesis and respiration. In terrestrial ecosystems, CO2 is often taken up and released at the same time. Similar to CO2, COS is taken up during photosynthesis, but unlike CO2, concurrent COS emissions are small. Parallel COS and CO2 measurements thus promise to provide estimates of gross photosynthetic fluxes – impossible to measure directly at scales larger than a few leaves. The use of COS to derive CO2 fluxes has not been verified yet, but enough is known about their parallel pathways to suggest that COS, CO2 and its isotopes can be combined to yield powerful and unique constraints on gross carbon fluxes. COSIRIS will develop the expertise necessary to achieve this goal by providing: 1. an in-depth analysis of processes involved in COS uptake by vegetation, and of potentially interfering influences such as uptake by soil, 2. a novel process-based multi-tracer modelling framework of COS, CO2, water and their isotopes at the ecosystem scale, 3. extensive datasets on concurrent fluctuations of COS, CO2, water and their isotopes in ecosystems. This innovative approach promises advances in understanding and determining gross carbon fluxes at ecosystem to continental scales, particularly their variations in response to climate anomalies.

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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

• natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences meteorology biosphera
• natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
• natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
• natural sciences biological sciences botany

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

• Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
• Carbonyl Sulfide
• Stable Isotopes
• Terrestrial Gross Carbon and Water Fluxes

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

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.

• ERC-SG-PE8 - ERC Starting Grant - Products and process engineering

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

ERC-2007-StG
See other projects for this call

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.

ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant

Host institution

Beneficiaries (1)