Biogeochemistry

Global change will likely result in an expansion of open ocean oxygen minimum zones, enhanced atmospheric deposition of nutrients and acidification of the surface ocean on very short, human time-scales. It is imperative that we quantitatively understand the pathways, interactions and environmental regulation of microbial processes that control oceanic nutrient cycling in the water column and sediments. To achieve these objectives a combination of chemical, microbiological, molecular and mathematical modeling techniques are used. NanoSIMS technology enables us to link the identity of microbial cells in a complex microbial community to cellular uptake rates and determine nutrient fluxes.

Working Area

Oxygen minimum zones, low-nutrient waters, Wadden Sea, Black Sea, North and South Atlantic Ocean

Methods

Experimental chemical, microbiological, and molecular-ecological methods to study processes in the water column and sediments. Quantification and mathematical modeling