EQUIP · Elemental quota in marine phytoplankton for effective carbon sequestration, clean energy and biogeochemical modelling
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2015-05-07 → 2017-05-06
- EU contribution
- €195,455
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-CAR
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Results in brief
Elemental quota in marine phytoplankton for effective carbon sequestration, clean energy and biogeochemical modelling
The EQUIP Project seeks to address the use of phytoplankton for the development of effective phytoplankton-based biotechnology strategies. In the oceans, phytoplankton are responsible for ~50% of the atmospheric carbon fixed on earth, and they have contributed substantially to the mitigation of the negative effects caused by the human-driven increase in atmospheric CO2. This natural phenomenon can be engineered for carbon sequestration, and to produce 3rd generation biofuels. The aim of the EQUIP Project is to exhaustively describe the element composition of representatives from 3 key phytoplankton groups, and relate it to phytoplankton biochemical composition, to understand how the organisms behave in environmental conditions with respect to resource availability and element assimilation and allocation. This project focuses on diatoms, dinoflagellates and coccolitophores because they are key biogeochemical players in the ocean, in terms of primary production and carbon export, as well as because of their ability to impact the pelagic system through blooms. This project also aims to give visibility to a novel single-cell methodology, X-Ray Microanalysis (XRMA), for the analysis of elemental composition at a single-cell level. In order to predict climate scenarios using biogeochemical models, accurate conversion factors (e.g. element/volume ratios) are needed. Biogeochemical models enable the study of exchanges among C pools or reservoirs (e.g. between hydrosphere and atmosphere) in order to know whether a system is a source or a sink of CO2, and to predict primary production and carbon export. Up to now, the study of conversion factors has been addressed using bulk analysis methods that overestimate C and N, mostly, because debris, dead cells and other organic excretion products are included with the plankton samples. The use of single-cell XRMA to determine the elemental composition of plankton will overcome this drawback.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Understanding element assimilation and allocation in marine phytoplankton is key to developing effective strategies for phytoplankton based clean energy generation and carbon sequestration. It is also fundamental to the development of biogeochemical models for predicting climate change. In this project, we will describe the element composition of diatoms, dinoflagellates and coccolithophores that are key players in global biogeochemical cycles, and have the potential to be used for carbon sequestration and as clean energy feedstock. We will use a novel single-cell method that employs X-ray microanalysis (XRMA) to overcome current pitfalls of overestimations and non-specificities in determining element compositions. The results will be corroborated with time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), as a novel complementary approach for the purpose, expertise for which is available at the host laboratory that the fellow will get trained in. We will study element assimilation in monocultures under controlled conditions and relate it to field phytoplankton samples obtained from the Western Channel. Outcomes of the proposed work include: ranking of the three phytoplankton groups for use in clean energy generation and carbon sequestration; assessment of the degree of divergence in element composition between the representative species, environmental conditions and physiological states; first-of-its-kind single-cell analysis of phytoplankton, both cultured and from the field; accurate conversion factors to be used in global biogeochemical models; expertise imparted to the host laboratory in XRMA analysis, phytoplankton biogeochemistry and ecological perspectives for bioenergy generation and carbon sequestration; expertise imparted to the fellow in ToF-SIMS analysis, biochemical characterisations and laboratory culturing of phytoplankton, along with several professional skills available at the host organisation for development as an independent researcher.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD · SHEFFIELDCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union