H2020Individual fellowship2015–2017

ICE-OTOPE · “Weathering and nutrient export from subglacial environments: A novel stable isotope approach”

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration: 2015-11-02 → 2017-11-01
EU contribution: €183,455
Participants: 2
Scheme: MSCA-IF-EF-ST

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

“Weathering and nutrient export from subglacial environments: A novel stable isotope approach”

Glaciated catchments are one of the most vulnerable environments to climate change, and ice-sheet retreat is presently taking place at an unprecedented level. Processes occurring at the glacier bed (the subglacial environment) turn bedrock into a cocktail of potentially bioavailable elements such as iron (Fe). The addition of Fe in a bioavailable form to the oceans can result in plankton blooms which drawdown atmospheric carbon dioxide. Therefore the release of bioavailable Fe from glacial settings has the potential to act as a fertilizer of Fe-poor circumpolar seas. As global temperatures rise and ice-sheets retreat, it is critical to constrain the roles that subglacial processes play in controlling such elements in biogeochemical cycles. Predicting the impact of future ice-sheet and glacier behavior depends upon a clear understanding of how glacier dynamics relate not only to climatic driving forces but also to subglacial processes. The overarching goal of ICE-OTOPE is to investigate the subglacial conditions that control elemental release through a study of glacial outflows which vary fundamentally in size, hydrology and bedrock composition. To achieve this goal I proposed to use a novel multidisciplinary framework utilizing cutting-edge geochemical techniques, fieldwork and geochemical modeling to investigate the chemistry of subglacial systems. Through ICE-OTOPE new constraints on element cycling in glacial systems have been produced which can be used to enhance our understanding of the key processes that have governed the Earth’s chemical evolution and biogeochemical cycling.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The Earth’s surface has been dominated by cycles of glacial advance for more than two million years. Processes occurring at the glacier bed exert a fundamental control on the release of bioavailable elements to rivers and oceans and the evolution of the Earth’s surface, hydrosphere and atmosphere. As global temperatures rise and ice-sheets retreat, it is critical to constrain the roles that subglacial weathering processes play in controlling global biogeochemical cycles. The overarching goal of this project is to investigate the redox conditions that control vital nutrient and elemental release through a study of glacial outflows from contrasting subglacial environments. I will achieve this goal using a novel multidisciplinary framework incorporating cutting-edge redox sensitive stable isotope proxies (Mo, Fe and Se isotopes) of iron and sulphur cycling and oxidation state to unique glaciated regions. Using a combination of archived samples and focused field campaigns I will study subglacial outflow environments that differ in bedrock geology, regional climate and type of individual glacier drainage basins (e.g. ice cap, ice sheet and alpine glacier) in order to evaluate the importance of these parameters in weathering processes and ultimately the release of bio-available elements from the sub-glacial environment to rivers and oceans. Key questions I am to answer are how is the release of bioavailable elements a function of the redox state of the subglacial environment? Which of the three key parameters plays the most significant role? To what extent is this reflected in the enrichments of elements in solid/liquid phases? and how does this affect biogeochemical cycling downstream and nutrient supply?

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE · CAMBRIDGECoordinatorUnited Kingdom
UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM · DURHAMUnited Kingdom

ICE-OTOPE · “Weathering and nutrient export from subglacial environments: A novel stable isotope approach”

Results in brief

“Weathering and nutrient export from subglacial environments: A novel stable isotope approach”

Project objective

Participants

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