Main Focus

Research Focus

  • Arctic and Marine environments
  • Representativeness metrics
  • Drivers and feedbacks of the carbon cycle
  • Catastrophic change in ecosystems
  • Open science


Research Interests

I’m fascinated by the complexity of natural systems and their myriad feedbacks, this is what drew me to ecology and earth system science. I’m particularly interested in marine and Arctic environments; they are still some of the least understood environments on earth and at the same time are most threatened by climate change. I love the challenge of programming, though I also thoroughly enjoy working under harsh conditions outdoors in nature to get the actual data.


Research Activities

Network evaluation

Evaluation of the current state of the Arctic atmospheric greenhouse gas monitoring network.My main research activities at this moment focus on the evaluation of the Arctic greenhouse gas monitoring network. In my project eddy covariance and atmospheric towers and satellite measurements play the largest part, though chamber measurements, aircraft campaigns are taken into account whenever possible. The approach is threefold:

  • Identifying past and present sites, measuring campaigns, and their characteristics.
  • Device and implement metrics to objectively assess the network's representatives.
  • Optimizations of the network for possible future expansions.

Here representativeness is an umbrella term for different kinds of performance metrics of the network's ability to properly portray GHG fluxes in the entire Arctic domain. These include distance and extrapolation metrics, signal detection and Observing system simulation experiments.

Arctic carbon flux interactive database

This high latitude carbon flux site mapping tool built in cooperation with Ted Schuur lab, aims to give a comprehensive view of all chamber, eddy covariance, and atmospheric tower sites in the Arctic domain. A plethora of selection and filter options are available to find sites matching the users criteria. Links to actual data are available and the final selection’s metadata can conveniently be downloaded. Where possible links to actual flux data are available.

Automatic flask sampler and fieldwork

The automatic flask sampler developed by ICOS central analytical lab is able to take flask samples autonomously. We cooperated in extending its triggered sample taking capabilities. Based on environmental conditions as measured by metrological and other GHG monitoring sensors triggers can be defined that prompt automatic sampling. We first prepared our sampling site in Ambarchik (North East Siberia) for the addition of this sampler, however due to unforeseen circumstances we had to redirect our efforts to Station Nord Greenland, where we installed the sampler in the summer of 2019.

Open science

As part of the open science working group of PhD net I co-organized the 2019 open access ambassador conference in the Harnack House in Berlin. This conference aimed at early career scientists explored open science practices and revived the open MPS open access ambassador program. In tandem to this we held an online survey among all MPS PhD’s on their knowledge of and disposition to open science. The results of this survey are published here.


Curriculum Vitae

Education

Current

PhD candidate - here at the International Max Planck Research School for Global Biogeochemical Cycles to defend at the Universität Hamburg, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences.

International Research stay - at NASA Goddard, global modeling and assimilation office.

Past

MSc - Climate studies with a specialization in earth system science, at Wageningen University & Research.

Internship with San Diego State University, at Utqiagvik (former Barrow).

BSc - Biology with a specialization in ecology, at Wageningen University & Research.

Minor - Marine Biology at University Groningen and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.


Projects

Current

INTAROS - Integrated Arctic Observation System
Collaborative project funded by the EU H2020 BG-09, 01-12-2016 to 30-11-2021
Participation in work packages:

  • 2 Evaluation of atmospheric monitoring networks.
  • 3 Installation and operation of ICOS flask sampler at Ambarchik site in Northeast Siberia.

Past

ICOS-INWIRE - ICOS improved sensors, network and interoperability for GMES
Collaborative project funded by the EU under FP7-SPACE, 01-01-2013 to 31-12-2015
Participation in work packages:

  • 4 Autonomous GHG ecosystem sensor systems.
  • 5 Enhanced operational capabilities of ICOS eddy covariance network.

CARVE - Carbon Arctic Reservoir Vulnerability Experiment
Earth Venture Sub-orbital mission funded in 2010 as part of NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Mission, 2011 to 2015
Participation in the ground based verification of fluxes.

Station Nord Greenland

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