The Ocean Floor

Anthropogenic particulate carbon from source to sink: quantifying the fluxes of plastic and black carbon from coastal environments to the deep ocean floor

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Project Description

Anthropogenic particulate carbon originated from plastic and combustion (black carbon) are essential components of the carbon cycle. Rivers are the main conducts of anthropogenic carbon to the open ocean, but it is still unknown which proportion remains buried in coastal environments and what are the fluxes to the deep ocean floor. In this project we aim to better understand the processes that control the transport and burial of plastics and black carbon and to quantify the anthropogenic carbon fluxes from their source to their final sink in coastal and/or deep marine environments. We will focus on an estuarine system located in NW Spain and its related continental margin.

The relatively small river catchment, diverse oceanographic conditions and active anthropogenic activities makes it an ideal setting to investigate the transport and burial of pollutants. Microplastics and black carbon will be identified and quantified in water and sediment samples from the different compartments of the source-to-sink system: river, estuary, continental shelf, continental slope and abyssal plain. The analysis will consider particle dynamics and will include the characterization of the main sediment deposits in order accurately quantify the total carbon anthropogenic budget in the coastal and marine compartments.

Further Reading

Modalities

The doctoral project will be supervised by Elda Miramontes (University of Bremen) and Thorsten Dittmar (University of Oldenburg). Depending on the personal expertise of the doctoral candidate, it will be supervised within the working group “Organic Geochemistry” (Bremen) or the working group “Marine Geochemistry” (Oldenburg). The remuneration corresponds to pay group TV-L 13 with 75% of the weekly working hours for a fixed-term period of 4 years, starting January 1st 2026 the earliest and until at most December 31, 2029 (according to § 2 WissZeitVG) with the aim of obtaining a doctorate.

The project mentoring team also includes: Florence Schubotz (MARUM), Barbara Scholz-Böttcher (UOL) and Marcus Elvert (MARUM).

Main Tasks

• Scientific research in the field of:
  Marine Geosciences, Palaeoceanography, Sedimentology, Hydroacoustics
  
  
• Analysis of:
  Microplastics and black carbon in water and sediments from fluvial, coastal and deep-sea environments and quantification of their contribution to the carbon cycle.
• Writing of scientific publications
• Participation in ship expeditions
• Participation in international conferences

Formal Requirements:

Completed scientific university degree (Master/University diploma or comparable) in Geosciences, Marine Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Chemistry or related field.

Further questions?

Questions about the project can be addressed to Elda Miramontes ([Bitte aktivieren Sie Javascript]) or Thorsten Dittmar ([Bitte aktivieren Sie Javascript]).