Welcome to the Max Planck Research Group for Marine Geochemistry

The Max Planck Research Group for Marine Geochemistry was established at the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment in September 2008 in a collaborative effort with the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Bremen). The research group aims at a better understanding of global element cycles by using molecular tools. At least ten thousands of different organic molecules, known as dissolved organic matter (DOM), exist in each liter of seawater. DOM has persisted in the ocean for thousands of years and has accumulated to one of the largest pools of reduced carbon on earth's surface. DOM could provide an important feedback mechanism in the climate system, because minor changes in the DOM pool would considerably impact atmospheric CO₂ and the radiation balance on earth. Yet the cycling of DOM in the ocean is not well understood. Recent progress in analytical chemistry has allowed the characterization of DOM at the molecular level in unprecedented detail, revealing new insights into its source and history.