Dr.
Helge Niemann
 
Helge.Niemann@unibas.ch
++41 61 267 36 15
 
Umweltgeowissenschaften
Departement Umweltwissenschaften
Universität Basel
 
Bernoullistrasse 30
4056 Basel

Research Interests

The interactions of life (the biosphere) with the planet (the geosphere) and its atmosphere are important processes maintaining the current habitual conditions on earth. However, since the industrialisation, atmospheric concentrations of green house gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) have dramatically increased most probably contributing to global warming. As a biogeochemist, I am interested to understand what the controlling processes of greenhouse gas production and consumption are. My particular research focus is on the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), one of the major sinks for methane on earth, mediated by microbes in oxygen-free, aquatic environments. My research aims are to identify and determine the distribution of methane consuming microbes using lipid biomarker and stable isotope assays as well as to budget the flux of methane with the aid of radio-isotope techniques. Study areas are the so-called cold seep systems in marine environments but also lacustrine systems such as lakes.

• Stable Isotope Geochemistry and Aquatic Biogeochemistry Group
  
• Methane cycling in the ocean and lakes
  

Teaching

Publications List

Professional and educational carrier

• Since Dec. 2007: Research Fellow at the Institute for Environmental Geoscience, University of Basel, Switzerland
  
• July 2005 – Nov. 2007: Postdoc of the Microbial Habitat Group, Biogeochemistry Department; Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany.
  
• Jan. 2002 – July 2005: PhD student of the International Max Planck Research School of Marine Microbiology (MARMIC), dissertation work at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Bremen, Germany) with the conferred academic degree “Dr. rer. nat” (University of Bremen, Germany).
  
• Sep. 99 – Sep. 2001:Completion of the Master course "ISATEC" (International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology) at the Center for Marine Tropical Ecology, Bremen, Germany with the conferred academic degree "Master of Science" (University of Bremen, Germany)
  
• Sep. 1996 – Sep. 2001: Studies in natural sciences (general level in biology and chemistry; RWTH Aachen, Germany and University of Bielefeld, Germany) and marine ecology (advanced level; University of Bremen and Center for Marine Tropical Ecology, Bremen, Germany)
  

Awards

• Annette Barthelt-Preis für Meeresforschung 2007 (award for junior researchers)
  
• DFG Kurzzeitstipendium (short term scholarship)