Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C516044/1
Closed system research in the Ecotron.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor P Ineson, University of York, Biology
- Grant held at:
- University of York, Biology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Atmospheric
- Overall Classification:
- Atmospheric
- ENRIs:
- Global Change
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Land - Atmosphere Interactions
- Biogeochemical Cycles
- Soil science
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- Scientists now believe that the very future of human life on the planet Earth is closeley linked to how we alter the global carbon cycle. The rate at which we are using fossil fuels and altering land use (e.g. cutting down rain forests) is causing carbon dioxide (CO2) gas to build up in the atmosphere at an alarming rate. Man's activities appear to be overwhelming the balance of Nature, and all the carbon uptake by the world's vegetation and oceans is not enough to remove the extra CO2 we are putting in the atmosphere; so, year-on-year the concentration of this gas is building up in the atmosphere. So, what are the consequences, if any? Build-up of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere would not really be a major problem except that this gas is a very important 'greenhouse gas', which means that, as it's concentration increases, the air temperature is rising. Some very important information about past climate have been gained from the detailed examination of air trapped in ice cores, drilled from up to 3kms below the current Antarctic ice surface. These cores tell us that the CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere have been fairly consistent over the last 400,000 years, steadily moving up and down between 200 and 300 ppm (parts per million), with the time between peaks of about 40,000 years. One of the most astonishing revelations from these cores is the incredibly tight link between these atmospheric CO2 concentrations and past air temperatures; as the CO2 concentration rises and falls, so does the temperature. Alarmingly, the ice cores also show us that we really have done something major to the atmospheric concentrations of CO2, pushing the CO2 concentrations to over 360 ppm, and we show no sign of slowing down. So, why are these factors so closely linked and how, exactly, does the Earth System work? Unfortunately, we are only just beginning to find out, and a major aim of the experiments described here is to see if we can work out exactly what is going on in the global C cycle and, more importantly, how it will behave in the future. The Earth is, essentially, like a sealed jar and, apart from the occasional space rocket or meteor, there is little overall material exchange of anything between the Earth and outer space. However, the energy from the sun does pass through our atmosphere, providing the driving force necessary for plants to fix CO2 from the atmosphere, through photosynthesis. At the same time, photosynthesis produces O2 which is vitally important for the other organisms living on the planet. In direct contrast to photosynthesis, the respiration of animals, micro-organisms (and the plants) actually performs the reverse reaction, producing CO2 and consuming the O2. It is this balance between CO2 and O2 uptake (and release) which keeps life on Earth going, and we can't afford to mess it up. We currently have gigantic computer models (they take weeks to run on super-computers) which try and mimic how these global cycles work, but we really aren't sure whether we can trust the models, or whether we have missed out some really important processes. At York University we have been trying an alternative modelling approach by building small 'model' gas-tight worlds in which we seal plants and soils in jars for months, and try to work out what is needed to make them sustainable. Opening the lid is not allowed! We have discovered that if we build these model systems based on the current global carbon cycle, they can survive for long periods (months to years); however, if we get the carbon cycle slightly out of balance the plants and animals die fairly quickly. We really need to know the rules for keeping these closed systems alive and how important altering the atmospheric concentrations of CO2, O2, temperature, types of plants, etc. are. Exactly how 'delicate' is the carbon cycle within a closed system? The work we are proposing uses one of the largest plant-growth experimental....
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C516044/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £196,327
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Staff | Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs | Total - Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £28,035 | £11,935 | £91,647 | £12,896 | £51,815 |
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