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EXC 2077:  The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface

Subject Area Atmospheric Science, Oceanography and Climate Research
Geology and Palaeontology
Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
Plant Sciences
Term since 2019
Website Homepage
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 390741603
 
The ocean floor is the largest interface in the Earth system, where geological, physical, biological, and chemical processes drive global biogeochemical element cycling and climate dynamics. The Cluster addresses key gaps in process understanding on the global role of the ocean floor by quantifying interconnected budgets of energy, carbon and other elements as well as their dynamically changing properties under warming conditions. In Phase I, we advanced our understanding on the resilience of the biological carbon pump, lateral ocean floor fluxes, biogeochemical coupling at vents, cold seeps and cold-water reefs, the evolution of Earth’s climatic state, and the climate dependence of community composition. We deciphered previously unknown roles of ocean life and its networks in seafloor dynamics, which calls for more holistic approaches towards abiotic and biological process coupling. Phase II will occur in a region with the unique breadth of marine research that allows addressing the key sustainability challenge to co-manage carbon and biodiversity on Earth. To understand the processes transforming the properties and fluxes of biogenic particles on their transit to the ocean floor (Objective O1), we will address the linkages between chemical composition and biological processes constraining the efficiency of the biological carbon pump. Adding new insights on lateral transport fluxes, we will quantify carbon and other element fluxes to and across the ocean floor under current and past states of the Earth system (O2). Analyses across spatial and temporal gradients of such environmental states will allow us to decipher the interrelationship between biodiversity and biogeochemistry at the ocean floor and above (O3) and to derive scenarios for warmer worlds by comprehensively decoding environmental and biodiversity signals from recent and past warm-climate conditions (O4). Forming three interdisciplinary Research Areas, RECEIVER deals with the pelagic processes affecting the seafloor, REACTOR with the processes at and underneath the seafloor and RECORDER with the ocean floor as an archive of Earth’s history. All three areas rely on advances in underwater technologies, ultra-sensitive chemical and biological analysis capabilities and comprehensive modeling frameworks (O5). A new SYNTHESIS HUB open to the global research community will integrate data and model outputs, and inform dialogues at the science-policy interface (O6). We will tap into the full potential of ocean-floor research across the partner institutions as an internationally recognized region of excellence in this field (O7). Simultaneously, we will pilot the structural implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in staff recruitment and working environment (O8) as well as the training and engagement of outstanding researchers across partners in the region (O9).
DFG Programme Clusters of Excellence (ExStra)
Applicant Institution Universität Bremen
 
 

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