Summary
"The ""Isotope iMAGing for Ice Core Science"" (IMAGICS) project aims at pushing the resolution of water stable isotopes analysis of ice cores down to the millimiter-scale for detecting fast and abrupt climate signals imprinted in the 3D isotopic features of the ice. Recent studies on shallow cores and on snowfalls showed large variability of the snow isotopic composition during buildup of the snowpack. Such spatial and temporal features are then archived in the cross sectional and longitudinal components of the ice core. However, there are no published attempt aimed at investigating whether and how different climate conditions imprint both the horizontal and vertical isotopic composition variability of ice cores. Indeed, such high-resolution features can't be detected with current state-of-the-art techniques like Continuous Flow Analsys coupled to Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS), because the analysis can be performed only on the longitudinal component of the core with limited resolution. Instead, an innovative combination of CRDS and the micro-destructive technique Laser Ablation (LA) can be used to probe the isotopic composition of the ice both vertically and horizontally. An important feature given by LA is that almost the entire sample can be retained after analysis, allowing preservation of the ice for future analysis. IMAGICS will bridge CRDS and LA technologies to develop an innovative analytical framework to study ice cores. After an initial phase focused on coupling optimisation between the instruments, the project will be focused on detecting spatial features of the isotopic composition of real ice core samples from different historical periods. The results of IMAGICS will not only impact on the glaciology and paleoclimate research communities, by providing a better tool to identify past abrupt climate changes, but will also open the possibility to use different CRDS gas analysers with LA systems on different matrixes, such as speleothems and meteorites."
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More information & hyperlinks
| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101148707 |
| Start date: | 01-09-2025 |
| End date: | 31-08-2027 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | - 188 590,00 Euro |
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Original description
"The ""Isotope iMAGing for Ice Core Science"" (IMAGICS) project aims at pushing the resolution of water stable isotopes analysis of ice cores down to the millimiter-scale for detecting fast and abrupt climate signals imprinted in the 3D isotopic features of the ice. Recent studies on shallow cores and on snowfalls showed large variability of the snow isotopic composition during buildup of the snowpack. Such spatial and temporal features are then archived in the cross sectional and longitudinal components of the ice core. However, there are no published attempt aimed at investigating whether and how different climate conditions imprint both the horizontal and vertical isotopic composition variability of ice cores. Indeed, such high-resolution features can't be detected with current state-of-the-art techniques like Continuous Flow Analsys coupled to Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS), because the analysis can be performed only on the longitudinal component of the core with limited resolution. Instead, an innovative combination of CRDS and the micro-destructive technique Laser Ablation (LA) can be used to probe the isotopic composition of the ice both vertically and horizontally. An important feature given by LA is that almost the entire sample can be retained after analysis, allowing preservation of the ice for future analysis. IMAGICS will bridge CRDS and LA technologies to develop an innovative analytical framework to study ice cores. After an initial phase focused on coupling optimisation between the instruments, the project will be focused on detecting spatial features of the isotopic composition of real ice core samples from different historical periods. The results of IMAGICS will not only impact on the glaciology and paleoclimate research communities, by providing a better tool to identify past abrupt climate changes, but will also open the possibility to use different CRDS gas analysers with LA systems on different matrixes, such as speleothems and meteorites."Status
SIGNEDCall topic
HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01-01Update Date
22-11-2024
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