Function and Responsibilities:

Senior Scientist  

Research Interests:

My research is aimed at understanding the variability of biogeochemical cycles - in particular the carbon cycle - over different timescales (decades to millions of years), as the basis of life, human societies and ecosystems. 

My research focusses broadly paleoclimate and carbon cycle dynamics. In particular, I'm interested the mechanisms and consequences of past abrupt climatic changes to the hydrological cycle on regional spatial scales, and the influence of surface processes (erosion, riverine transport, mass wasting) and tectonics (mountain range uplift) on the short-term and long-term development of the carbon cycle.In connection with natural carbon cycle dynamics, I am also investigating, how anthropogenic activities during the last several millennia have altered geological carbon cycle dynamics. Here I explore, how natural and anthropogenic landscapes act as sinks, reactors and sources of carbon. I develop concepts for a sustainable (carbon neutral or carbon negative) use of future landscapes.

To achieve these goals, I apply and develop organic geochemical methods and use molecular and isotopic information extracted from geological archives (lake sediments, floodplain sediments etc.) to detect changes in these cycles and quantify fluxes.

Career:

• 2023 - today: Professor for Organic Geochemistry of the Earth's Surface System at Humboldt University Berlin
• 2021 - today: Director Topic 5, Future Landscapes at GFZ
• 2014 - today: Senior Scientist at GFZ Section 4.6 Geomorphology [tenured], Head of Organic Surface Geochemistry Lab 
• 2009 - 2014:  Emmy-Noether Research Group Leader at University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany, Institute for Earth Sciences and Leibniz Center for Surface Process and Climate Studies  
• 2007 - 2009:  Postdoc, Leibniz Center for Surface Process and Climate Studies at University of Potsdam, Germany
• 2006 - 2007:  Postdoc, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
• 2005 - 2006:  Postdoc Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA  
• 2005              Feodor-Lynen Research Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation to work with: Prof. Julian P. Sachs (MIT/ University of Washington) and Prof. Stjepko Golubic (Boston University)

Education:

• 2005                PhD in Biogeochemistry, University of Jena
• 2002 - 2005    PhD student, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
• 2002                Diploma in Geology, University of Jena, Germany
• 1997 - 1998    Studies in Geology and spanish language, Universidad de Granada, Spain
• 1995 - 2002    Studies in Geology, University of Jena, Germany

Projects:

Rain 6K Assessing paleohydrological changes through the Holocene in northeastern Africa (with Cecile Blanchet and PhD student Björn Hohmeier) [DFG funded]

WarmHydro Regional  paleohydrological change in the Levant during the termination of the penultimate glaciation (125 ka ago) (with Rik Tjallingi, Cecile Blanchet and PhD student Anais Urban) [DFG ICDP funded]

STEEPclim - Spatiotemporal evolution of the hydrological cycle throughout the European continent during past abrupt climate changes (initial funding through ERC consolidator grant STEEPclim until 2020)

Research Boards and Committees:

Chair of the  INTIMATE (INtegrating Ice core, MArine and TErrestrial records) network (2019 - 2023)

Awards:

2014 - Isotope Prize of the Karleugen-Habfast-Foundation