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Antje Boetius

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Antje Boetius
Boetius in 2018
Born(1967-03-05)5 March 1967(age 57)
Frankfurt am Main,West Germany(now Germany)
Alma materUniversity of Hamburg
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsMarine biology
InstitutionsUniversity of Bremen

Antje Boetius(born 5 March 1967) is aGermanmarine biologist.She is a professor ofgeomicrobiologyat theMax Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology,University of Bremen.[1]Boetius received theGottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prizein March 2009 for her study of sea bed microorganisms that affect the global climate.[2]She is also the director of Germany's polar research hub, theAlfred Wegener Institute.[3]

Boetius was the first person to describeanaerobic oxidation of methane,[2]and believes the Earth's earliest life forms may have subsisted onmethanein the absence of molecular oxygen (instead reducing oxygen-containing compounds such asnitrateorsulfate).[4]She has also suggested such life forms may be able to reduce the rate of climate change in future.[4]She is one of the laureates of the 2018Environment Prize (German Environment Foundation)[5]Boetius also won theErna Hamburger Prizein 2019.[6]

Career

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Boetius received her biology degree from theUniversity of Hamburgin 1992.[7]Prior to undertaking graduate research, she spent time at theScripps Institution of Oceanographyin Southern California, where she drew inspiration from marine microbiologists includingFarooq Azam.[8]While at Scripps, Boetius worked with sediments collected from theClarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone,examining the small seafloor animals (copepods, nematodes) therein,[8]but ultimately decided to study even smaller organisms: microbes.

Boetius carried out her doctorate research in biology advised by Victor Smetacek, working to create the field she ultimately wanted to study: deep-sea environmental microbiology.[8]While working on her doctoral research, she undertook 14 deep-sea expeditions across the7 seas.[8]She earned a doctor of philosophy (PhD) from theUniversity of Bremenin 1996,[7]publishing a dissertation titled "Mikrobieller enzymatischer Abbau organischer Substanzen in Tiefseesedimenten" (Microbial enzymatic degradation of organic substances in deep sea sediments).[9]

Boetius joined theMax Planck Institute for Marine Microbiologyas a postdoctoral researcher, and became an assistant professor in 2001[7]and an associate professor in 2003.[7]Her research interests are in the marinemethane cycle,the ecology of chemosynthetic habitats, microbial processes of early diagenesis in deep-sea sediments, pressure and temperature effects on microbial processes, microbial symbiosis,geomicrobiologyand the globalcarbon cycle.[1][7]In addition to her role as Professor of Geomicrobiology, which she has held since March 2009,[10]she is also leader of the HGF-MPG Bridge Group on Deep Sea Ecology and Technology[10]and leader of the "Microbial Habitat Group" that researches biogeochemistry, transport processes and microbial processes in benthic environments.[10]She took over as director of theAlfred Wegener Institute[3]in November 2017.[11]

Boetius is also engaged in research and conversations around "issues of deep-sea ecosystems, biodiversity, and our vision of how to live with a future ocean".[8]Recent projects examine the interplay betweendeep-sea mining,ecology, and sustainability.[8][12]Of deep-sea mining research published in the journalScience Advancesin April 2020,[13]Boetius has said "our experiment really shows that such physical processes will stop animals and microbes from returning to repopulate that habitat"[12]and has, relatedly, cited the need to "test if there are ways to make deep-sea mining somewhat sustainable, for example, by creating a protected area for each exploited area".[8]

Awards

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Other activities

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Personal life

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Boetius grew up inFrankfurt, Germany,and took frequent vacations to the seaside as a child.[8]She spend time inSouthern Californiawhile studying and working at Scripps Institute of Oceanography.[8]

Mission Medico describe her interests as "La bonne cuisine, le bon vin, la bonne compagnie, la bonne musique, la mode et la vie citadine"(in French)"Good food, good wine, good company, good music, fashion and city life" ).[19]

Her grandfather Eduard Boëtius worked as a navigator on theHindenburg zeppelinand was one of the few surviving crew members of theLakehurst disaster.

References

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  1. ^abAntje Boetius,profile at the University of Bremen webpage, retrieved 28 May 2010.
  2. ^ab2009 Leibniz prizewinners,Eurekalert, retrieved 28 May 2010.
  3. ^ab"Management – AWI".awi.de.Retrieved20 March2021.
  4. ^abMethane-Eating Life Form May Halt Global Warming,The Guardian,published 9 August 2002, retrieved 28 May 2010.
  5. ^"German Environmental Prize goes to Marine Biologist Boetius and Leipzig Waste Water Experts".dbu.de.Archived fromthe originalon 8 February 2021.Retrieved29 October2018.
  6. ^ab"Erna Hamburger 2019".wishfoundation-2.Retrieved20 March2021.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^abcde"Jacobs University Bremen: Prof. Dr. Antje Boetius".jacobs-university.de.12 June 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 12 June 2008.Retrieved26 April2022.
  8. ^abcdefghiMarlow, J. (1 May 2018). "Antje Boetius: exploring the living infinite". In Whitaker; Barton (eds.).Women in Microbiology.American Society of Microbiology. pp. 9–18.doi:10.1128/9781555819545.ISBN978-1-55581-953-8.
  9. ^Boetius, Antje (1996).Mikrobieller enzymatischer Abbau organischer Substanzen in Tiefseesedimenten(Thesis). S.l.: [s.n.]OCLC841757104.
  10. ^abcAntje BoetiusArchived19 July 2011 at theWayback Machine,curriculum vitae at the University of Bremen, retrieved 28 May 2010.
  11. ^PDF Curriculum Vitae available at:"Employees – AWI".awi.de.Retrieved20 March2021.
  12. ^abAckerman, Daniel."Deep-Sea Mining: How to Balance Need for Metals with Ecological Impacts".Scientific American.Retrieved20 March2021.
  13. ^Vonnahme, T. R.; Molari, M.; Janssen, F.; Wenzhöfer, F.; Haeckel, M.; Titschack, J.; Boetius, A. (1 May 2020)."Effects of a deep-sea mining experiment on seafloor microbial communities and functions after 26 years".Science Advances.6(18): eaaz5922.Bibcode:2020SciA....6.5922V.doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaz5922.ISSN2375-2548.PMC7190355.PMID32426478.
  14. ^"Robert L. and Bettie P. Cody Award in Ocean Sciences".Scripps Institution of Oceanography.Retrieved20 March2021.
  15. ^"Professor Antje Boetius Receives German Environmental Award 2018".uni-bremen.de.24 August 2018.Retrieved20 March2021.
  16. ^"Antje Boetius".European Geosciences Union (EGU).Retrieved20 March2021.
  17. ^"Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize – Universität Bremen".uni-bremen.de.Retrieved20 March2021.
  18. ^Scientific Advisory BoardArchived19 September 2018 at theWayback MachineSenckenberg Nature Research Society.
  19. ^Boetius,(in French)Mission Medico, retrieved 28 May 2010.
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