I'm interested in how elevated sea surface temperatures and increased ocean acidification affect marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry. My main research focus is on phytoplankton and associated processes, with a particular emphasis on carbon uptake, partitioning and elemental stoichiometry of organic matter. In order to investigate these questions I work in a combination of experiments (batch cultures, mesocosms) and modeling (0-D to earth system models). My modeling work mainly centers around sensitivity experiments, e.g. how ocean warming might directly and indirectly affect biological processes and thereby the marine ecosystem functioning and biogeochemical element cycling. The focus of my experimental work is on build-up and degradation of particulate (POM) and dissolved organic matter (DOM) by marine diatoms. The aim is to identify possible effects of increasing sea surface temperatures and seawater pCO2 on the amount of organic matter produced, its partitioning between dissolved and particulate pools and its quality (e.g. stoichiometric ratios). I've been carrying out my research both at GEOMAR (Kiel, Germany) and at the MSI at UCSB.