The quantification of past plate motions is of paramount importance to advancing our understanding of Earth’s evolution. Plate motions of the last ~130 Ma are well-resolved from magnetic isochrons and hotspot tracks, but as those records are progressively destroyed by subduction, they cannot be used in deeper time. Before 130 Ma, plate motions can only be quantified through the study of paleomagnetism, but analytical limitations have so-far prevented us from using this tool to its full potential. For example, owing to the axial symmetry of the Earth’s magnetic field, the determination of paleolongitude from paleomagnetic data –although theoretically possible– has long been considered an intractable problem. TANGO will capitalize on this untapped potential through an innovative and cross-disciplinary approach integrating modern data-science techniques into paleomagnetic research, thereby opening a new research frontier. Aiming to contribute towards the neglected issue of paleomagnetic precision, I will focus on state-of-the-art computer-intensive statistical methods to provide the conceptual basis for a much needed probabilistic framework for paleomagnetic research. These efforts will allow me to provide paleogeographic reconstructions with uncertainty estimates for the first time. With that framework, through application of unsupervised learning methods, I will also be able to tackle the outstanding problem of paleolongitude determination in deep geologic time, which remains one of the most important challenges in modern geophysics. Such novel and quantitative methods development is strongly complementary to the core research efforts at CEED (University of Oslo) to explore the missing links between plate tectonics and mantle evolution. In this pursuit, TANGO will reinforce the international and multidisciplinary dimension of my early stage career and will allow the European Union to remain at the cutting-edge of paleomagnetic and tectonic-related research.

TeCh-Coast aims to understand how past populations have used tools and what technological choices they have made to deal with the coastal environment. On the southern Norway seashore, the Late Mesolithic (6300-4500 cal BC) sites constitute a unique knowledge repository of coastal hunter-gatherer populations, in which stone-knapped tools are the most frequent artifacts. However, very little is known about the use of these to exploit coastal resources. How and for what were these tools used? How does their use reflect socially transmitted technological knowledge to exploit coastal resources? Through an innovative and interdisciplinary techno-functional approach, TeCh-Coast aims to bring new functional data on the use of lithic tools to further understand the technological choices of coastal populations. Analyses of the plastic deformations on the surface of the tools due to their use (i.e. use-wears) will be performed on three preselected lithic assemblages. In addition, an experimental analytical program will be set to identify quantifiable wear attributes in lithic tools resulting from the exploitation of marine animal resources by means of confocal scanning microscopy. Finally, by combining observations with a dynamic technological approach and landscape archaeology, the project will aim to identify the technological choices of the coastal groups. More widely, the present project will provide a broader perspective on the Atlantic European seashore, allowing cross-regional comparisons with other coastal groups. The TeCh-Coast project results will have an important impact on the research of the coastal Stone Age hunter-gatherer populations, as well as bring new methodological perspectives to use-wear studies. The results will be disseminated by open-access publications and outreach activities. Through a prehistoric perspective, the project aims to engage in the social debate about the role of technology in the exploitation of environmental resources in the present.

This project "Barents Sea Arctic Cenozoic Evolution and Paleogeographical Reconstructions (BRAVO)" aims to reconstruct the Barents Sea Gateway since the Cenozoic (the last 66 Myr). To do so, BRAVO’s objectives are to 1) reveal the effect of sediment loading–unloading, lithospheric strength, and surface-mantle processes on shaping the Cenozoic paleobathymetry-topography of Barents Sea, to 2) constrain the timing of the formation of the BSG, to 3) identify the interplay between climate dynamics and tectonics in erosion and deposition of sediments in the paleo-Barents Sea, and (4) compare the development of the BSG and Fram Strait, as well as the regional to global consequences of the Arctic-Atlantic shallow water connection. BRAVO will achieve these objectives by numerical modelling (inc. finite element and volumetric methods) using open-source platforms of pyGPlates, pyBadlands and high-resolution 2D–3D seismic, well, gravity and magnetic data analyses. BRAVO’s results will be self-consistent 4D Earth models (space and time) of paleobathymetry-topography of Barents Sea Gateway and corresponding sedimentary pathways and accumulation. BRAVO’s ambition is to provide the most reliable paleobathymetric-topographic reconstruction of the Barents Sea Gateway for the Cenozoic. BRAVO will quantify the role of Barents Sea Gateway in exchanging Atlantic–Arctic water, highlight the significance of erosion–deposition of sediments in shaping the gateway, and form the basis for updated global oceanographic and climatic simulations. BRAVO’s pioneering model of the complete Cenozoic source-to-sink analysis for the regional Barents Sea will be a breakthrough for Arctic seabed characterization for offshore wind turbines and mapping slope failure geohazards.