A common geoscience paradigm holds that the Earth’s surface is shaped mainly by climate (eroding soil) and tectonics (building mountains). The EarthShape project challenges this paradigm to explore in one of the most spectacular climate and vegetation gradients (the Chilean coastal range) how biologic processes form soil, influence topography, and thereby shape the Earth’s surface and modulate the impact of climate change.

The new and innovative aspect of this Priority Programme is the integration of different bio- and geoscience communities (geosciences, ecology, soil sciences, hydrology, microbiology, or geography) that work on different temporal and spatial scales. Emphasis is placed on non-anthropogenic and non-glacial geomorphic processes.

Individual research projects should contribute to at least one of the following five scientific goals, to which an application should explicitly refer:

• Cluster 1: Micro-biota as the “weathering engine”.
• Cluster 2: Bio-mediated redistribution of material within the weathering zone.
• Cluster 3: Biotic modulation of erosion and sediment routing at the catchment-scale.
• Cluster 4: Depositional legacy of coupled biogenic and Earth surface systems.
• Cluster 5: Bridging time scales with coupled system modelling.

Termin: 12.02.2018 (registration: 29.01.2018, information about project coordination: 15.12.2017 to earthshape@geo.uni-tuebingen.de)
Adresse: DFG, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn
Kontakt: Dr. Ismene Seeberg-Elverfeldt, Tel.: 0228/885-2825, ismene.seeberg-elverfeldt@dfg.de, Astrid Ferworn, Tel.: 0228/885-2478, astrid.ferworn@dfg.de
Weitere Informationen: Ausschreibung