Antje Boetius
Encyclopedia
Antje Boetius is a German marine biologist
presently serving as professor of geomicrobiology at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
, University of Bremen
. She received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
, with 2.5 million euros in funding, in March 2009 for her study of sea bed microorganisms that affect the global climate. She was the first person to describe anaerobic oxidation of methane
, and believes the Earth's earliest life forms may have subsisted on methane
in the absence of molecular oxygen (instead reducing oxygen-containing compounds such as nitrate
or sulfate
). She has also suggested such life forms may be able to reduce the rate of climate change in future.
Boetius received her biology degree from the University of Hamburg
in 1992, her doctorate in biology from the University of Bremen in 1996, became an Assistant Professor in 2001 and an Associate Professor in 2003. Her research interests are in the marine methane cycle, the ecology of chemosynthetic habitats, microbial processes of early diagenesis in deep-sea sediments, pressure and temperature effects on microbial processes, microbial symbiosis, geomicrobiology and the global carbon cycle. In addition to her current role as Professor of Geomicrobiology, which she has held since March 2009, she is also leader of the HGF-MPG Bridge Group on Deep Sea Ecology and Technology and leader of the "Microbial Habitat Group" that researches biogeochemistry, transport processes and microbial processes in benthic environments.
Mission Medico describe her interests as "La bonne cuisine, le bon vin, la bonne compagnie, la bonne musique, la mode et la vie citadine" ( "Good food, good wine, good company, good music, fashion and city life").
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
presently serving as professor of geomicrobiology at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
The Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology is located in Bremen, Germany. It was founded in 1992, almost a year after the foundation of its sister institute, the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology at Marburg. In 1996, the institute moved into new buildings at the campus of the...
, University of Bremen
University of Bremen
The University of Bremen is a university of approximately 23,500 people from 126 countries that are studying, teaching, researching, and working in Bremen, Germany...
. She received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize is a research prize awarded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft every year since 1985 to scientists working in Germany. This highest German research prize consists of a research grant of 2.5 million euro, to be used within seven years...
, with 2.5 million euros in funding, in March 2009 for her study of sea bed microorganisms that affect the global climate. She was the first person to describe anaerobic oxidation of methane
Anaerobic oxidation of methane
Anaerobic oxidation of methane is a microbial process occurring mainly in anoxic marine sediments. During AOM methane is oxidized with sulfate as the terminal electron acceptor: CH4 + SO42- → HCO3- + HS- + H2O...
, and believes the Earth's earliest life forms may have subsisted on methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
in the absence of molecular oxygen (instead reducing oxygen-containing compounds such as nitrate
Nitrate
The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...
or sulfate
Sulfate
In inorganic chemistry, a sulfate is a salt of sulfuric acid.-Chemical properties:...
). She has also suggested such life forms may be able to reduce the rate of climate change in future.
Boetius received her biology degree from the University of Hamburg
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
in 1992, her doctorate in biology from the University of Bremen in 1996, became an Assistant Professor in 2001 and an Associate Professor in 2003. Her research interests are in the marine methane cycle, the ecology of chemosynthetic habitats, microbial processes of early diagenesis in deep-sea sediments, pressure and temperature effects on microbial processes, microbial symbiosis, geomicrobiology and the global carbon cycle. In addition to her current role as Professor of Geomicrobiology, which she has held since March 2009, she is also leader of the HGF-MPG Bridge Group on Deep Sea Ecology and Technology and leader of the "Microbial Habitat Group" that researches biogeochemistry, transport processes and microbial processes in benthic environments.
Mission Medico describe her interests as "La bonne cuisine, le bon vin, la bonne compagnie, la bonne musique, la mode et la vie citadine" ( "Good food, good wine, good company, good music, fashion and city life").