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Headwater catchments (HWC), the uppermost drainage area of stream networks draining about 60% of the continental surface, are the main sources of freshwater for downstream hydrological systems, influencing natural and human ecosystem services. Despite their importance, current predictions of future

Determine the impact of natural climate variability on the evolution of Himalayan glaciers is crucial regarding their current retreat and their future. Past glacial extents from moraines records make it possible to identify associated climatic forcings. We will document the Holocene evolution of 40

This 3 year project investigates the oxidation chemistry of near-source volcanic plumes by combining a novel model of the chemical processing from the emitted hot magmatic gases to the cooled plume, with drone-based observations of size-resolved aerosols and gases in volcanic plumes (sulfur, halogen

The ocean is an essential component in the Earth’s oxygen and carbon cycles. Ocean oxygen content is central to marine ecosystems, affecting health of fisheries when its lacking, and has consequent impacts on global economics and food security. Normally regarded as a carbon sink, the ocean is import

The Amazon rainforest hosts the richest terrestrial biodiversity on Earth, is one of the largest surface carbon pools in the world and has historically been a major sink for anthropogenic CO2 emissions. However, anthropogenic changes in climate and land-use may push the Amazon rainforest towards irr

Planktonic organisms play crucial roles in biogeochemical cycles that regulate Earth's climate. Within planktonic communities, Rhizaria are diverse protists that build complex mineralized skeletons, for some, of biogenic silica. As their skeletons sink, they carry biogenic elements to the deep ocean

Knowledge of past and present air pollution is essential for understanding human-environment interactions and assessing their impact on health, ecosystems and cultural heritage. However, direct measurements of air quality are recent and sporadic. To go back into the past, pollution proxies need to b

The scientific analysis of trace elements and isotopes (TEIs) data in the ocean, obtained through GEOTRACES cruises, is often conducted using simplified tools such as box models, one-dimensional models, or optimal multiparametric analyses. These approaches generally do not allow for the full integra

Organic matter in the atmosphere is found in the form of gases and of primary and secondary aerosols. Carbonaceous aerosols, especially those generated by increasingly frequent and intense wildfire events, are expected to alter heterogeneous reaction rates, typically based on sulfur chemistry in glo

In the late Holocene, the forests of the northern margins of Central Africa disappeared. Recently, a decline in their greenness has been observed. While the climatic origin of the late Holocene forest crisis is disputed, the question of a further destabilisation of these forests as result of climate

As ocean waves break in the nearshore, they generate intense currents, contribute to storm surges by elevating mean water levels (the wave « setup ») and eventually run up beaches, playing a key role in erosion and inundation hazards. Although it is critical for coastal hazard predictions, the spect

Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) presents a promising solution for carbon dioxide removal with co-benefits for other land use targets. Current ERW research focuses on the formation of soil inorganic carbon and application in croplands. This project aims to address knowledge gaps regarding co-benefits

The main objective of the BIODARS project is to study the impact of the optical properties of biomass burning aerosols obtained from laboratory measurements on the improvement of the characterization and monitoring of fires by remote sensing. Indeed, fires are recognized as one of the main sources o

Air pollution has been recognized as a major worldwide public health problem by the World Health Organization. Pollution mitigation policies have proved effective in reducing exposition to primary pollutants but are insufficiently effective in reducing secondary pollutants. This underlines the need

The REXEL project is conceived as a conceptual project to reconcile the need for independence of national mineral resources with local environmental regulations governing mining. The project is based on the past and present environmental impacts and the history of mining activities to inspire new st

A tidal bore is the tidal wave front forming in macrotidal estuaries, and traveling up in the river. Depending on tidal ranges, fluvial discharge and channel morphologies, the tidal bore development differ when the tidal wave front meets the river flow. Estuaries are morphological systems adapting t

What was the composition of oceans during the Precambrian? Was seawater generally warmer or colder than today? How do past oceanic reservoirs record changes in biogeochemical cycles, paleoclimatic changes, and early Earth's habitability? To address these questions, the OceaNIF project aims to invest

Mineral dust aerosols reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (CO2atm) by fertilising iron (Fe)-limited oceans and enhancing primary productivity. However, the resulting perturbation to Earth's radiation budget is highly uncertain, as the scientific understanding of this dust-climate intera

Due to the cold and extreme environmental conditions prevailing in the Arctic Ocean (AO), its primary production mainly relies on algae associated with sea ice (sympagic algae) and those that develop in open waters (pelagic algae). These microalgae play an essential role in sustaining the food web,

Some particularly toxic metals, such as Hg, Ag, Cd and emerging contaminants like Pt and Pd, have a strong affinity for thiol functional groups (-SH) in organic matter (OM). Despite, -SH groups are omitted in models that predict the fate and bioavailability of metals. Indeed, -SH groups have long be

Phages, viruses that infect bacteria and archaea, are the most abundant biological entities on Earth. In soils, they can have an impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes by infecting microorganisms involved in the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles. However, these phage-host interactions remain poorly

Glacier retreat is one of the most iconic impacts of ongoing climate change, affecting sea level and water resources. Yet, many glaciers in central Asia (Pamirs, West Kunlun, and Karakoram ranges) have shown stable or positive mass changes since 2000, in contrast to global trends of glacier wastage.

The SOSIE project will quantify the budget and identify the causes of the temporal and spatial variability of diffuse volcanic CO2 emissions. Diffuse CO2 emissions from the soil over large volcanic regions represent more than the emissions from permanently degassing craters and during eruptions. Bet

Both the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice are currently retreating and are predicted to further shrink into the 21st century. Reductions in sea ice have major implications on the climate, the ecosystems, and on human societies. Reliable projections of sea ice are thus crucial to help our societies in ma

Methane (CH4), the simplest organic carbon molecule, is key to carbon cycling in deep-sea hydrothermal systems. Methane-producing micro-organisms (Archaea) are found widespread in hydrothermal settings, from cold basaltic substrates to warm hydrothermal chimneys. However, distinguishing their contri

HARMONIE aims to enhance our understanding of the 2018-2021 Fani Maoré submarine volcanic eruption near Mayotte, Mozambique Channel. Submarine eruptions pose significant challenges due to limited access to eruption sites and high-resolution data. The Fani Maoré eruption provides a unique opportunity

The FLUXARC project aims at contributing to the monitoring of rapid climate-driven changes currently occurring in the Arctic Ocean. More specifically, FLUXARC’s general goal is to tackle the sources and sinks of chemical elements to the Arctic Ocean, which remain poorly constrained despite their inv