SPP 2404:  Reconstructing the deep dynamics of planet Earth over geologic time (DeepDyn)

• Subject Area: Geosciences ; Biology ; Computer Science, Systems and Electrical Engineering ; Materials Science and Engineering ; Physics
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 500707704

On 29 March 2022, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft announced the acceptance of Priority Programme 2404-- Reconstructing the Deep Dynamics of Planet Earth over Geologic Time (DeepDyn). The fundamental goal of DeepDyn is to exploit the exceptionally long paleomagnetic record, and especially changes in reversal frequency, to reconstruct the evolution of the core-mantle system. Numerical simulations indicate that the lower mantle has a manifold impact on the dynamo where the absolute value and pattern of the heat flux through the core-mantle boundary affects the field strength, field geometry and reversal rate. However, neither the long-term evolution of the lower mantle and the dynamo nor the coupling between the two are well understood, which forms the starting point of DeepDyn. Solving this puzzle will be tackled through the collaboration of five distinct scientific disciplines. (1) Paleomagnetism, to provide information about the long-term evolution of Earth’s magnetic field. (2) Dynamo models, to explore how this record can be explained, using input from material scientists and mantle dynamicists. (3) Mantle dynamics, to define the long-term evolution of the mantle and, in particular, to reconstruct the lower-mantle state based on input from material scientists and seismologists. (4) Mineral physics, to constrain the material properties relevant to the lower mantle and core. (5) Biomagnetism, to supplement the geomagnetic record by understanding the sensitivity of magnetoreceptive organisms to magnetic fields and using magnetofossils from magnetotatic bacteria as a paleofield proxy. Ensuring close integration between these five themes is a challenging task that lies at the heart of this coordination proposal. Achieving the goals of SPP2404 begins with facilitating a good communication network among the 60-70 scientists who will work individually, in small groups and in concert. Effective coordination ensures gender equality, assisting early careers scientists, and to promote the results and raise awareness of our unique endeavor within local, national, and international communities. Successful coordination of the SPP critically depends on having a Science and Administration (SA) Manager. The SA Manager will insure the cooperation and scientific exchange within and between different working groups together with the coordinator and theme leaders. The SA Manager will also coordinate the yearly colloquia, monthly seminar series and topical workshops, oversee the project budget, maintain a website, and integrate invited international experts. This proposal requests funds to hire the SA Manager and to support the activities typical of priority programs.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: Australia, Austria, China, Czech Republic, France, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, USA

Projects

• Contributions to the understanding of the Earth’s magnetic field from detailed mineral magnetic and palaeomagnetic analyses of high-resolution, high-latitude lake sediment cores (Applicant Scheidt, Stephanie )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Gilder, Stuart Alan )
• Coupling the Dynamics of Earth's Core and Mantle / Core-Mantle-Coup (Applicants Bunge, Ph.D., Hans-Peter ;  Wicht, Johannes )
• Deep mantle processes and core-mantle interaction: a novel geochemical perspective (Applicant Münker, Carsten )
• Double diffusive convection in stable layers within Earth’s core (Applicant Stellmach, Stephan )
• Double diffusive finger convection at the top of the core (Applicant Tilgner, Andreas )
• Electrical conductivity measurements on lower mantle phases to illuminate structures at the core-mantle boundary region (Applicant Sanchez-Valle, Ph.D., Carmen )
• Geomagnetic field behaviour and geodynamo characterisation at the end of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (Applicant Lhuillier, Florian )
• Global characteristics of geomagnetic field reversals from data and numerical simulations (Applicant Korte, Monika )
• Global time-averaged reconstructions of the geomagnetic field through deep geological times and their implications on the Earth's deep interior (Applicant Panovska, Sanja )
• HighWInD: High Frequency Wave INteraction with the D'' Layer (Applicants Friederich, Wolfgang ;  Sens-Schönfelder, Christoph )
• How significant is radiative heat transport at the core-mantle boundary? (Applicant Lobanov, Ph.D., Sergey )
• Influence of the plate motion reference frame on lowermost mantle structure, evolution, and core-mantle boundary heat flow (Applicant Schuberth, Bernhard )
• Magnetofossilisation: Formation and preservation of magnetosomes in subsurface sediments (Applicant Orsi, Ph.D., William )
• Magnetotactic bacteria, cosmogenic beryllium and the Earth's magnetic field: obtaining high-quality records of magnetofossil preservation and relative paleointensity over the last 1.1 million years (Applicant Savranskaia, Tatiana )
• Microevolutionary adaptations of magnetotactic bacteria to reversals of the geomagnetic field (Applicant Pfeiffer, Daniel )
• Properties of Fe-bearing geomaterials at conditions close to the core-mantle boundary (Applicants Appel, Karen ;  Sieber, Ph.D., Melanie ;  Sternemann, Christian )
• The co-evolution of mantle and core over Earth’s history (Applicant Tosi, Nicola )
• The new core paradox, the stable layer, and double diffusive convection in Earth’s core (Applicants Wicht, Johannes ;  Zhu, Ph.D., Xiaojue )
• The role of light elements at the core-mantle boundary – partitioning, demixing, and transport (Applicants Redmer, Ronald ;  Steinle-Neumann, Gerd )
• Thermal transport properties of lowermost mantle minerals - Insights from atomic-scale simulations (Applicant Jahn, Sandro )
• Tracing the food chain from magnetotactic bacteria to protozoa under laboratory and environmental conditions (Applicant Orsi, Ph.D., William )
• Understanding the influence of deep seismic mantle structures at the core-mantle boundary on intense magnetic flux regions (Applicants Ritter, Joachim ;  Thomas, Christine )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Stuart Alan Gilder