Ecologist Marek Stibal takes on Greenland challenge ****************************************************************************************** * Ecologist Marek Stibal takes on his biggest challenge yet in Greenland ****************************************************************************************** “I have actually never done anything else,” is how Marek Stibal, who has been studying bio in glacial ecosystems for almost 20 years, sums up his career as a scientist. Stibal, from Science at Charles University is the co-author of a study published in Nature that brought release of methane from the melting Greenland Ice Sheet during the summer period. Further research of biological processes under the ice sheet have been made possible by an Consolidator Grant worth CZK 58 million. As the scientist admits, this will be the greatest challenge he has ever faced. At the sam are plenty of reasons to be excited: the boost in funding means he will be able to hire th colleagues for his team. The project will start on 1 July 2020. Kilometre-deep boreholes The project will be split into several phases: during the first, six sections of the weste the Greenland Ice Sheet will be mapped for methane release. To be able to answer fundament regarding the release of greenhouse gases, he and colleagues will need to obtain samples o subglacial sediments. That means taking samples not only from easily accessible areas at t ice sheet which have been used for research so far, but from places where sediments are no example, by the presence of oxygen. “It is this sampling that is potentially going to be the most interesting part of the rese Stibal, adding “we will have to get through a layer of ice that in some places is up to a Due to the demands of the drilling process, this is where we face the greatest risks and h the greatest care, but we will at least give it a try”. If the scientists succeed in getti needed, the field phase will be followed by laboratory work with incubation experiments, a modelling. The presence of methane under the Greenland Ice Sheet has been confirmed: its release was 2015 by a team of scientists from eight institutions including Charles University. The con dissolved methane in samples of meltwater from a 600 km2 ice sheet catchment were determin analysed. The measured amount of six tonnes per melting season corresponds to the methane hundred cows. The new project should provide deeper insight into how much greenhouse gas c be released from the entire ice sheet. “We want to find out whether the rapid melting of the ice sheet may contribute to an incre concentration in the atmosphere and so constitute a positive climate warming feedback”. Th microbiologist sees one of the benefits of the research, to which he adds immediately “We’ We already know that there are much more significant anthropogenic methane sources. The am coming from Greenland’s subglacial ecosystem will probably be negligible globally, but sti be ignored.” The team led by Marek Stibal will also be interested in how and when methane appeared unde approximately million-year-old glacier, whether it has been produced continuously or wheth released due to accelerating melting. “I am mostly interested in the microbial processes o the glacier,” he says. The international team is being assembled “It does look like a significant amount of money,’ Stibal agrees with a smile in answer to about what he is going to do with the 58 million crowns he was granted by the Ministry of Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic. That was based on submitting the project to the E Council. A simple calculation, however, reveals that about a half of the amount will cover of the team members, including three postdocs, two Ph.D. students, a logistics manager (wh transportation and coordinate the field work), and a project manager responsible for admin Team members will be recruited in several steps, as required by the project structure. The of national expertise in the subject will likely result in an international team. “A subst of the grant amount will be required to cover the drilling itself as well as flight hours transport,” Stibal says. He made dozens of trips to Greenland, especially during the time Copenhagen – he would just take his backpack and fly there for a weekend. To do science, n A return to science... and the band Marek has not seen a glacier for almost two years. Not that they have lost their charm for it; the reason is prosaic – he became a father in last August and wants to spend as much t with his son. “Gradually, I am starting to focus more on science again. What other choice now that the project’s been funded?” he asks. The microbiologist is a little reluctant to his hobby, playing in a band; he says that he and his fellow musicians are rather lazy, al children, and their plans have also been affected by the coronavirus. This year, they have times in the rehearsal room and not more. “Don’t ask me about the musical style - it is di time,” Marek laughs, concluding: “I won’t tell you the band’s name -- you could google us! ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Mgr. Marek Stibal, Ph.D. [ URL "http://www.cryoeco.eu/marek_stibal/"] Marek Stibal is a microbial ecologist interested in cryospheric ecosystems (especially gla the University of South Bohemia and obtained his PhD in glacial biogeochemistry at the Uni Although his ERC Consolidator project was not funded directly by the ERC, it received the programme. ERC grants are awarded by the European Research Council and funded from the EU budget. The entirely new revolutional ideas with the potential of influencing the given field signific Presently, it is possible to apply for 5 types of ERC grants: Starting (early-career resea researchers), Synergy (groups of 2 to 4 researchers), and Proof-of-Concept (support in the ERC CZ grants are awarded by the Ministry of Education to researchers who have achieved gr Original story at Czech iForum [ URL "https://iforum.cuni.cz/IFORUM-16761.html"]