Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet REDRAF (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding how anthropogenic aerosols impact the Earth’s climate system is a daunting challenge. Aerosol radiative effects are strongly dependent on the optical and microphysical properties of the particles. Uncertainties in the absorption coefficient and the single scattering albedo (SSA) contribute significantly to the overall uncertainties in the optical properties of aerosol and their radiative effect. Not only does hydration cause an increase in size, but it also alters the complex refractive index (RI) of the particle; the real part of the RI governs the scattering of light by the aerosol and the imaginary part the degree of absorption. Thus, quantifying the relationships of chemical composition, relative humidity (RH) and particle phase with complex RI is critical for predicting the aerosol radiative forcing. Since these optical properties determine the magnitude and even the sign of the effect of aerosol on the Earth’s energy balance, it is vital that we understand their range. Although techniques have been developed to measure the scattering and absorption cross-sections of ambient and laboratory particles, interpreting measurements can be challenging. Using a new technique to accurately determine the extinction cross-sections of single particles developed in the Bristol laboratory, we will provide a rigorous assessment of treatments used to characterise the optical properties of aerosol. Of particular emphasis, we will examine the optical properties of mixed-component aerosol and the influence of chemical aging of organic aerosol on light absorption. Crucially, the parameterisations for optical properties that result will then be used to refine (and assess sensitivities of direct forcing to) the treatment of aerosol properties in radiative transfer and global climate models. This work will also provide crucial information to improve our understanding of field and remote sensing instruments.

Mots clés : aerosol characterization, chemical composition, complex refractive index, radiative forcing

Participants :
- University of Bristol (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet PRENUCRNA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding how life evolved on Earth is widely regarded as one of the most formidable challenges in modern science. The exploration of the mechanisms regarding the origin of life not only expands our understanding of natural sciences, but also provides new clues regarding the search for life forms and Earth-like conditions on planets other than our own. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is widely regarded by the scientific community as the key molecule that gave rise to the origin of life. In order to support this “RNA World” hypothesis, scientists over the years have attempted to replicate the conditions present on the early-earth to afford nucleosides in a prebiotic manner. The lack of a uniform synthetic pathway affording canonical purine and pyrimidine nucleosides as well as non-canonical ones impedes our deeper understanding of the early evolution of RNA. Moreover, what has not been investigated in detail is the occurrence of a more primitive prebiotic molecule that might have evolved into RNA over the millennia. In this project, Dr. Okamura aims to study the prebiotic emergence of pyrimidine and pyrimidine-like nucleosides by developing a novel cyanoacetylurea pathway. This is expected to provide canonical as well as non-canonical pyrimidines under prebiotically plausible conditions. Using similar principles, novel pseudo-cyclic pyrimidines, inspired by the aforementioned pathway, will also be synthesized in order to examine their potential validity as candidates for primitive RNA. This project will provide new insight into the evolution of RNA as well as a deeper understanding of the origin of life. Moreover, it will aim to inspire novel approaches towards the European space exploration programs for the search of Earth-like conditions as well as life forms on other planets. This multidisciplinary field, where astrobiology meets prebiotic and nucleic acid chemistry will inspire and offer unique training to Dr. Okamura enabling him to embark on his own academic career.

Mots clés : prebiotic chemistry, nucleic acid chemistry, nucleoside synthesis, rna synthesis, oligonucleotides, rna evolution, origin of life, space exploration

Participants :
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 171460.8 €
Projet AgentSeal (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding movement is fundamental to animal ecology in areas such as foraging, predator avoidance, mate encounter, and migration. Moreover, movement responses of individuals to the changes in environment such as disturbance will affect their individual performance. Effective conservation of species in an altered habitat must, therefore, be built on an understanding of the link between environment and animal movement. Declines in local populations of UK Harbour seals give cause for concern and disturbance have been suggested as possible cause for the declines. The ways in which stressors influence animals may not be straightforward as they may show very non-linear responses. The main objective of the project is to build a realistic movement model and to predict the consequences of simultaneous and cumulative effect of different stressors on harbour seal movement based on biologically realistic processes. The proposal aims to develop an individual-based model (IBM) that takes into account individual variation in behaviour and simultaneous effect of a range of stressors operating at different spatial scales on movement of seals. IBMs are currently the most reliable ways to address combinatorial problems where essential processes such physiology, ecology, life cycle, and multiple stressors have to be included in order to get a realistic picture of the studied problem. The model will be based on the impressive amount of data already collected for Harbour seals during the last 20 years, fitting the 3Rs: replacement, reduction and refinement principle, and parameterised using most up-to-date statistical techniques. The model will be readily adaptable to take account of additional marine stressors, and to simulate long-term effects on movement of seals. Through simulations, it will then be possible to suggest answers to important ecological questions and to use the model as a management tool to meet demand from conservationists and developers for ‘what if’ scenario.

Mots clés : movement ecology, individual based modelling, marine mammals

Participants :
- University of St Andrews (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet TOMATO EXODERMIS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding plant development and responses to the environment is key for improving crop yields and ensuring food and fuel for the future. Many crop species have evolved adaptations that make them more tolerant against abiotic stresses, such as drought, flooding and soil salinity. One of these adaptations is the exodermis, a water- and air-proofed cell layer in the root that protects the root from drying and drowning. Although the importance of exodermis for crop yield has been shown, the development of exodermis is not understood on molecular level, likely due to its absence from the root model species Arabidopsis. TOMATO EXODERMIS aims to elucidate the genes involved in exodermal development and drought responses in tomato. To achieve this, novel tools are combined in an efficient way to study root development of a crop species in a short timeframe. These tools include e.g. bioinformatic analyses of new cell type-specific datasets, rapid hairy root cultures and genome editing. TOMATO EXODERMIS will lay a foundation for an exodermis research program in European Research Area and generate potential for agricultural applications.

Mots clés : root development, tomato, exodermis, gene regulatory network, genome editing, mutagenesis, hairy root cultures

Participants :
- Utrecht University (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177598.8 €
Projet STOCOVAR (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding plant responses to rising atmospheric CO2 is of major interest given the necessity to select and develop new crop cultivars that will perform better in a changing global climate. By regulating the exchange of water and CO2 between the interior of the leaf and the atmosphere, stomata -the pores at the leaf surface- play a major role in CO2-mediated processes. Stomatal aperture is constantly adjusted, in response to internal cues and external environmental signals, through turgor changes of the two guard cells that surround the pore. Plants respond to elevated CO2 levels by reducing stomatal aperture, and recent advances have shed light on the intracellular machinery responsible for this response. However, little is understood about the variability in stomatal responses to CO2, both among and within species. This project will decipher the main factors responsible for variations in stomatal responses to CO2. It will specifically address the roles of ABA-signalling, photosynthesis and stomatal morphology in the response of stomatal conductance (gs) to CO2 and how this impacts on plant performance. These will be investigated from the cellular to the level of the whole plant by using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and major European crops. Genetic diversity will be used in different forms (mutants, association studies, inter-specific comparison) to identify the causal factors of variation. The knowledge gained into gs responses will be integrated into predictive models for water-use efficiency to scale-up to whole plant performance.

Mots clés : stomata, carbon dioxide, water use efficiency, abscisic acid, photosynthesis

Participants :
- University of Bristol (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet ANAFAUNA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding soil processes and their role in ecosystem functioning is essential for effective protection, restoration and sustainable use of soils and terrestrial ecosystems. Forest ecosystem models dynamically simulate fluxes of carbon, water, nitrogen and other nutrients through a forest ecosystem. Only models that account for all key interactions between climate, soil and plants can become versatile and reliable tools to predict the effect of different management strategies or future global changes on forests and soils. The effect of soil fauna has been so far neglected in most of similar models. However, with our increasing understanding of the crucial role of fauna on many processes, there is a general consensus on the need to implement these effects into ecosystem models. The main research question of this project is: Does a model that includes an active role of soil fauna provide better prediction of soil processes than previous simpler models? ANAFORE is a stand-scale mechanistic forest model with a detailed soil model. The specific objectives of this project are 1) to develop a new soil submodel that will account for important effects of soil fauna on the simulated fluxes of water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus; and integrate it into the ANAFORE model. The modeled effects include fragmentation, bioturbation, aggregation, macropore formation and foodweb effects on soil organic matter decomposition, 2) to optimize and validate the new model using: i) historical experimental data obtained during long-term research at Sokolov post-mining ecosystems LTER site, ii) additional literature and original data collected during the project for modelling purposes; 3) to compare performance of the new ANAFORE soil submodel with the previous version of ANAFORE and the Yasso model as an example of a simple model that predicts organic matter decomposition only based on litter quality and abiotic factors.

Mots clés : modeling, soil fauna, earthworms, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, decomposition

Participants :
- University of Antwerp (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 160800.0 €
Projet DiMaS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding species responses to environmental changes is vital for conservation of biodiversity. In this respect, DNA from archived specimens represents an exclusive source of temporal genetic data. Although sharks are keystone apex predators in marine systems, there is a complete absence of temporal genetic studies for any species. DiMaS aims to investigate past and contemporary spatio-temporal patterns of effective population size (Ne), genetic diversity and population connectivity of shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus – SMA), using a comparative approach across the globe. Most shark species have experienced significant population decreases documented throughout their range, with SMA currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In this project, I will use archived skeletal material (jaws, vertebrae and teeth) and an exome capture method for generating high throughput data. The data will be analysed through and eco-evolutionary framework to understand the effects of past climatic changes and anthropogenic pressures on the recent micro-evolutionary history of the species, and to predict the most likely responses to future climatic changes. In this context, DiMaS has the potential to become a seminal work in marine population genomics, as it will help describe and understand micro-evolutionary and demographic effects in marine apex species, shaped by natural and anthropogenic-induced environmental processes. In addition, by using a training-through-research approach, DiMaS will greatly contribute to strengthen my theoretical knowledge on evolutionary theory, and acquire new skills in population genomics and bioinformatics analyses. These skills, in combination with training to enhance management and supervisory/teaching competencies, will significantly contribute to my career development.

Mots clés : retrospective genomics, exome capture, historical samples, selection, local adaptation, elasmobranchs, fisheries

Participants :
- Technical University of Denmark (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 207312.0 €
Projet RTSC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Economic Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Understanding the decision-making of smallholder households in low-income countries is a crucial step in the design of effective policy measures for development. This task is becoming increasingly complicated as more and more factors (e.g. urbanization, climate change) influence rural transformation processes. Economic research normally singles out individual mechanisms (e.g. income composition) and spatial variability thereof is represented by access to the most important economic center in a region. However, trade-offs between multiple decision factors can lead to complex spatial patterns in livelihoods, often further complicated by multiple accessible economic centers. RTSC proposes an innovative and interdisciplinary framework to capture such complex patterns by modeling decision-making based on the location of a household in two-dimensional space. This framework includes key features such as the development of a microeconomic model of location-dependent trade-offs in household decision-making, the application of advanced statistical techniques to capture them in an empirical analysis based on primary data from Myanmar, and the vision to use RTSC results for evidence-based policy design. Planned as a Global Fellowship, RTSC brings together UGOE, a leading European university in agricultural development economics, and IFPRI, an international key player in providing research-based policy support on matters such as poverty reduction and food security. These host institutions complement each other perfectly providing state-of-the-art expertise in applied economic research and policy support. These conditions can be used effectively by the experienced researcher (ER), as she brings skills in household modeling, fieldwork, and advanced statistical methods. RTSC will, thus, allow her to develop as an independent researcher by refining her research portfolio, acquiring skills in project management, and extending her professional network.

Mots clés : household models, development economics, agricultural economics, food security, myanmar

Participants :
- University of Göttingen (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 176036.16 €
- International Food Policy Research Institute (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet DEMODA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding the multidecadal variations of the Atlantic Equatorial Mode (EM) is important for climate prediction and climate services, because it is the first mode of variability in the tropical Atlantic in summer and has a worldwide impact on climate, including the West African Monsoon, rainfall in Nordeste (Brasil), European heat waves and ENSO phenomenon. Recently, two studies of the applicant and the group in which she is working, have pointed that the EM could present multidecadal variations in the configuration of its spatial pattern. Such changes would, in turn, have a direct effect in the climatic impacts of the EM stated above. Thus, a better understanding of such modulations is of great importance for the climate community and for climate services relevant for the general population. The main objective of this project is to better determine the multidecadal changes in the EM and the underlying mechanisms linked to its development, as well as the causes of the appearance of the different configurations of the EM, with special focus on state-of-the-art global climate models (GCMs). The project will address the investigation of how the mean state and errors in its representation affect the correct simulation of the variability in the tropical Atlantic, also focusing on the ability of seasonal forecasting systems in the simulation of the multidecadal modulation of the EM and its teleconnections. This project is original by itself, as it deals with a new aspect of the Atlantic EM variability that has not been addressed before, and can have important impacts in climate predictability and climate services.

Mots clés : tropical climate, air sea interactions, multidecadal variability and modulations, ocean variability, climate modelling

Participants :
- University of Bergen (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 208400.4 €
Projet EROS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding the near-surface and interior structure of asteroids is required in order to model changes to the asteroid’s trajectory, as may be necessary to deflect a hazardous asteroid, and for understanding the asteroid’s response to the landing of either humans or robots on the surface. Here, I propose to investigate the surface topography of asteroids to develop a surface slope metric that can probe the near-surface and interior structure of asteroids from shape models alone. This will provide a rapid and low-cost method to understand asteroid structure from flyby data rather than the more expensive and time-consuming rendezvous mission. By measuring the surface slopes of asteroids at the same horizontal scale we can see past vastly different asteroid sizes, which will allow many asteroids to be compared to one another in an independent manner. The proposed action is broken into three parts. The first part of the action is focused on developing a slope metric on the two asteroids that have been studied in the highest detail of any asteroids but have different interior structures, Eros and Itokawa. The second part involves investigating how sub-surface structure affects surface slope in a linked geomorphic seismic shaking model where we will be able to test the physical processes that affect surface slope. Finally, in the last part of the study, we will apply the slope metric to asteroids with low-resolution shape models to probe their interior and near-surface structure.

Mots clés : planetary science, asteroids, remote sensing

Participants :
- University of Bristol (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €