Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet LIGHTEN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Doctoral Networks - Industrial Doctorates
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Clean energy transition imposes a drastic change of paradigm in the building construction technology. Among the several anthropogenic sources of pollution, building construction industry produces the highest environmental footprint, with massive global energy consumption and vast CO2 emission. Moreover, the enormous demand for buildings in rapidly developing countries characterised by extreme climates can cause an environmental shock, which can hardly be tolerated by our planet. LIGHTEN project aims to foster a new generation of highly qualified scientists and engineers to become experts in advanced design methods for a sustainable built environment. Novel fully recyclable and low-carbon structural membranes offer a thinner and green alternative to glass and other transparent cladding materials when implemented in lightweight buildings, resulting in significant weight savings in the envelope and supporting structures, thus drastically reducing the environmental impact. The remarkably incomplete scientific and technological understanding of the thermomechanical behaviour of such innovative structural membranes requires the development of engineering models capable of predicting their performances and allowing their rational use in ultralightweight buildings with enhanced energy efficiency and resilience. Experimental characterisation, mechanical modelling, computer simulation, and structural design will be taught and developed to educate the researchers through a tailored and integrated doctoral program jointly supervised by industrial and academic partners. The trained researchers will be equipped with unprecedented technical abilities and environmental sensitivity, to exploit the opportunities provided by the built environment sustainability challenge, in response to the Paris Climate Act for highly efficient and fully decarbonising buildings by 2050.

Mots clés : solid mechanics, structural mechanics, computational mechanics

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 303172.56 €
- University of Trento (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 261499.68 €
- Caemate srl (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 261499.68 €
- Delft University of Technology (Pays-Bas) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 214192.92 €
- Tensys limited (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 202115.04 €
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (Suisse) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 139935.13 €
Projet EXTINCT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Climate and habitat change are accelerating the loss of biodiversity at unprecedented rates. To prevent this loss it is critical to understand species extinction patterns globally. Several studies have linked species extinctions with their intrinsic lifehistory and ecological traits. However, the predictive power of the models is weak generating great uncertainty for applied conservation strategies on the ground. An important factor that is often forgotten is that species extinctions are the culmination of a sequence of local population declines or extirpations, each of which may present distinct trait-environment dynamics. There is still little knowledge on how factors related to species traits and those related to the environmental conditions occurring at the population level interact to drive species declines. Neither is well known how these processes scale up to determine community homogenisation. EXTINCT will use citizen-based data of ca. 175 butterfly species collected over >18 years along three countries (UK, South Finland and NE Spain) to test how the species traits and the environmental conditions interact in driving population declines and extirpations, and the consequent community homogenisation. Specifically, EXTINCT will use butterfly intrinsic traits found to be key in the species ecology and representative of wider taxa, and it will test how they interact with the environmental conditions in terms of climate (aridity) and landscape heterogeneity (topography and landcover heterogeneity). EXTINCT covers six out of the ten bioclimatic regions and three main biomes along Europe, ensuring the generalisations of the findings. It will use modern Bayesian Hierarchical models to correct the ecological inferences from the error inherent to data collected by volunteers. With an applied perspective, it will also inform on the level of local landscape heterogeneity (and thus, management) required to preserve the species, which comprise the local community.

Mots clés : species extinctions, community homogenisation, species traits, population trends, climate change, environmental heterogeneity, citizen science, bayesian hierarchical models

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

Climate change and biodiversity loss are one of the biggest threats facing the world in the next decade. Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the most important direct drivers of biodiversity loss. While evolutionary processes and rapid adaptation have recently been linked with the increase of invasive capacity of IAS, still there is little known about the mechanisms involved in their success. EvoTox is an interdisciplinary project that seeks to address how IAS populations can evolve and adapt rapidly in response to environmental stressors. EvoTox focuses more particularly on the study of the mechanisms that facilitate the rapid adaptation of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii in aquatic areas with high-level of anthropogenic pollutants. The study involves both field and laboratory approaches using technics from several scientific fields such as evolutionary biology, toxicology, physiology, ethology and molecular biology. The studied populations come from three sampling stations, with freshwater and brackish water bodies, around the French Mediterranean coastline and adjacent aquatic areas, where P. clarkii has successfully established and environmental characteristics such as salinity and chemical pollutant concentrations differ. Understanding the mechanisms that contributes to the rapid and adaptive evolution in P. clarkii is important for identifying candidate genes involved in invasiveness, and, more generally, predicting future invasion scenarios, improving management and risk assessment of IAS in Europe and worldwide. EvoTox also contributes to the European Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 by addressing IAS issues and their ecological and economic repercussions. EvoTox includes the training and the two-way transfer of knowledge between the researcher and the host institution. The research, scientific and transferable skills acquired during the EvoTox project will have a direct impact in the development of my scientific career.

Mots clés : invasive alien species, rapid evolution, transcriptomics, physiology, morphology, ecology

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 196707.84 €
Projet MultiCAST (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Climate change and global warming are widely recognized as primary challenges in the next years. Indeed, despite several international agreements, CO2 and global heating continue growing and, in urban areas, increase of temperatures and frequency of heat waves, threaten health and well-being of citizens. Here, the loss of natural areas, morphological and thermal properties of materials, critically affect urban climate, causing city to be warmer than surrounding areas. This phenomenon, known as Urban Heat Island (UHI), needs to be carefully addressed. To address public health and well-being, soft mobility and public transport are increasingly promoted by Cities. Also, the current sanitary contingency has further urged such policies. But, longer and hotter summers are a deterrent for citizens to living outdoors. MultiCAST will implement a thermal comfort-related urban Decision Support System (DSS) to inform pedestrian oriented climate planning and design. The DSS will rely on a user-friendly Web-GIS as mainstreaming tool to respond the UHI into urban programs, policies and instruments. A novel approach to incorporate geo-referenced outdoor climate and walkability into pedestrian flows modelling will be developed. It will rely on replicable methods for automatic acquiring and mapping precise and updated thermal-related urban climate data, estimate walkability based on Google Street View urban-scapes, then introducing climate and walkability into street network analysis. MultiCAST will support modelling walking routes to interest points such as commuter-rail and -metro stations, or ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ islands. A simulation function will allow estimate scenarios, compare and visualize the effects of different urban climates. Three urban areas will be tested in Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and Milan. Open climate datasets will be available through the Web-GIS. Besides, a framework of GIS data, procedures, scripts, and manuals will be provided to allow replicate the methodology.

Mots clés : giscience, remote sensing, urban climate, urban heat island, outdoor comfort, pedestrian flows modelling, walkability, climate planning, climate design, decision support system, climate change

Participants :
- Politecnico di Milano (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 251002.56 €
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet ABRUPT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Climate change in the 21st century is predicted to push ecosystems across ecological thresholds, potentially resulting in abrupt ecosystem change into new and irreversible states. Ecological theory proposes that non-linear biotic responses are the result of a complex interplay of feedbacks, thresholds and interactions that operate over decades to thousands of years. As a result, standard ecological research methods are generally unable to quantify key ecological dynamics that are relevant for forecasting abrupt ecological change and there is a critical need to integrate long-term ecological data with process-based models. This will result in improved forecasting of climate-change impacts on ecosystems at both local- to global-scales. Such studies will play a critical role in understanding the ‘intrinsic’ factors (e.g. climate-vegetation feedbacks) that can result in non-linear biotic responses to climate change. Sediments are natural data-loggers that preserve the remains of plants and animals over thousands of years. They provide a unique resource for answering current high priority questions related to predicting future ecosystem change because they are the only way to obtain empirical information relevant for understanding long-term ecological dynamics and functioning. In this project I will develop an interdisciplinary framework that integrates state-of-the-art process-based modelling with new high-quality palaeoecological information to quantify the factors that result in non-linear responses to climate change. I will apply the framework to a major vegetation transition in the past: the sclerophyll-rainforest transition in north-east Australia that occurred between 10 and 7 thousand years ago. I will develop this case study for proof-of-concept of a new interdisciplinary framework. This will result in a greater understanding of non-linear biotic responses to climate change.

Mots clés : dynamic vegetation modelling, ecological thresholds, climate change, leaf wax isotope ratios, water stress, rainforest, holocene, atherton tableland, bayesian statistics

Participants :
- Leibniz Association (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 159460.8 €
Projet TTMCC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Climate change increases tree mortality worldwide, and in tropical forests in particular. While it is established that tropical tree mortality increases under hot and dry conditions, key questions regarding why and how remain unresolved. Which traits predispose trees to mortality? How does drought and heat interact to affect tropical tree growth and survival under field conditions? The overall goal of my project is to determine the sensitivity of tropical tree species to heat and drought, and based on this knowledge develop a trait-based tree mortality model that can be used to provide recommendations on which trees are suitable to different climatic regions in Rwanda, central Africa. Such recommendations are crucial for reforestation programs and climate change adaptation in Rwanda, a low-income country which has been heavily deforested in the past. To achieve this goal, I will identify which tree traits (structural, hydraulic, physiological, biochemical) that control the vitality and survival of tropical trees in multi-species plantations established at three sites in Rwanda. The sites exhibit large natural variation in precipitation and temperature, and experimental manipulations of water supply (irrigation, rainfall exclusion) are imposed at each site. Traits will be determined using a broad range of gas exchange, hydraulic and biochemical methods in the field as well as in the lab. A multi-trait model of drought- and heat-induced tree mortality will be derived based on data from the experimental sites, and evaluated using independent data from additional sites with larger trees. Based on this model, I will provide tree plantation recommendations to relevant stakeholders in Rwanda and the region. By bringing together perspectives from experimental ecology and vegetation modelling to address critical knowledge gaps this projects will make original contributions to improve the understanding and predictability of tropical tree mortality in a changing climate.

Mots clés : climate change, tropical rainforests, trait based model, warming, drought

Participants :
- University of Gothenburg (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191852.16 €
Projet Urb-TWin (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Climate change induces warmer summers and more frequent and intense heat waves, increasing human mortality and energy demand for cooling purpose. This is particularly critical in urban areas where climate variables such as temperature, humidity, wind and radiation are modified by the urban morphology, the lack of pervious soils and the human activities. While the urban population is likely to grow, it is urgent to make cities cooler. The overall goal of my project is to determine the urban fabric characteristics (mainly the morphology, vegetation cover and land-type) affecting the air temperature and the wind speed spatial variability. This new knowledge will be integrated in the Geographical Information System software QGIS in order to make it easily available to researchers working with urban issues as well as urban planners. First, empirical models will be developed to relate observed air temperature and simulated wind speed values to geographical indicators characterizing an observed or a simulated location (e.g. distance to building facade, vegetation or building density, etc.). Second, these models will be integrated in the QGIS software and thus will be available for interdisciplinary research purposes. Third, I will investigate the coupling of the urban climate models with energy models devoted to building energy estimation or solar energy production which are developed by the University Savoie Mont-Blanc (USMB - partner organization). The models developed during Urb-TWin will be useful for the urban climate research community since they could be used to speed up CFD simulations used in urban climate models. Moreover, they will also be available for urban planning applications from the widely known QGIS plat-form. Last, thanks to the Urb-TWin training and secondment, I will also increase my probability to get a permanent position as leader of an urban climate research axis at the partner organisation in the next years.

Mots clés : outdoor thermal comfort, building energy

Participants :
- University of Gothenburg (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203852.16 €
Projet CLIMACY (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Climate change is a concern for states both at home and abroad. However, disparities often exist between the picture painted by climate diplomacy and domestic policy measures, be it in the level of priority afforded to climate action, or the integration of climate concerns across policy silos. A key area of work for climate diplomacy is human mobility in the context of climate change, which brings into stark relief the cross-border reach of climate change impacts and is billed as one of the biggest societal challenges of climate change. Much of the focus until now has been on the vulnerabilities and resilience of individuals, communities, and states in the Global South most likely to be affected. However, little is known about the political sphere and the climate diplomatic practices of states in the Global North in relation to climate change and human mobility, and in turn how these diplomatic efforts tally with domestic climate action. This project therefore asks the following question: How are nation-states developing practices of international climate diplomacy in relation to climate change and human mobility and to what extent do these align or discord with their practices at the state level? This question will be answered with a comparative case study of five European nation-states. In the first work package, the international climate diplomacy practices of these states will be examined, with the second work package concentrating on domestic policymaking. In the third and fourth work packages within-case and cross-case comparisons will be undertaken respectively, to ascertain whether practices at the international level align or discord with practices at the state level and to compare these findings across cases. The fifth work package will conduct a critical analysis of the findings to feed into conceptual and political debates on climate change and human mobility.

Mots clés : climate change, politics, policy, human mobility, austria, germany, denmark, sweden, norway

Participants :
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 174167.04 €
Projet THEcore (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Climate change is an energy problem, says the conclusion of studies related to global warming. Aware of this “inconvenient truth”, Europe launched strategies, with precise energy savings and gas emissions reductions, to be reached by 2020 and an ultimate sustainable energy system by 2050. As a large share of energy consumption is spent by the household sector (heating, air conditioning, refrigeration), advanced thermal insulation products give a crucial contribution to better energy efficiency. Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIPs) are currently the most effective solution. By offering ten times higher thermal insulation than traditional materials of the same thickness, VIPs use less material, thus saving usable spaces. Besides the high insulation capacity, volume reduction by the use of VIPs eases waste disposal, lowers extra logistic costs and transport emissions while reducing the energy needed to keep the temperature at a desired level. On the other hand, high performance VIPs are still unaffordable for the majority of customers mainly due to the costly fumed silica core (~50% of the VIP cost). The search for cost-effective core materials is a challenge for the scientific community but, revolutionary and cheap nanostructured polystyrene foam (SUMFOAM), recently developed by Sumteq GmbH, may fill this gap in VIP technology. This project focuses on the unique combination of SUMFOAM with VIP. The vast experience in VIP technology by va-Q-tec will be fundamental to achieve higher thermal efficiency at much lower production costs than previously reached. Also, SUMFOAM offers the possibility of accurately shaping and tailoring solutions for the intended application. In addition to setting a new figure-of-merit in VIP, the ultimate goal of the project is to contribute to the EU strategy of reducing energy impact by establishing advanced, application-tailored VIP products with a higher thermal efficiency and a reduced weight at an affordable price compared to existing VIPs.

Mots clés : lightweight nanostructured foam, vacuum insulation panels, thermal efficiency, cost efficiency, energy reduction

Participants :
- Va-Q-tec (Germany) (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 159460.8 €