Thorsten Dittmar

Assistant Professor

Chemical Oceanography
Ph.D., University of Bremen, Germany, 1999

My research focuses on the dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the ocean. I use molecular methods to resolve environmental questions regarding DOM.

Why DOM?

DOM is important in many aspects. DOM contains several chemical elements which are essential for the growth of algae in the ocean (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorous or iron). Bacteria can release these nutrients from DOM and in this way promote the growth of algae which in turn serve as food for fishes and other animals living in the ocean. Thus DOM is important for marine food webs and, ultimately, for fishery. DOM also contains large amounts of carbon. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is an important greenhouse gas which has strongly increased in the atmosphere mainly due the burning of fossil fuels. The man-made increase in CO₂ has already warmed our atmosphere, and the expected global warming over the next century will be a major challenge for mankind. If, for any reason, only 1% of the carbon in DOM was released each year to the atmosphere, this would double the warming rate on earth. Unfortunately, we don't know whether this can happen, or whether we can protect ourselves from the greenhouse gas by turning more CO₂ into DOM. We do not yet know for sure where the large amounts of DOM in the ocean come from and why some compounds are accumulating in the deep ocean. It is not clear why bacteria don't feed on the DOM in the deep-sea and turn it into CO₂. We need to answer these important questions in order to better understand the cycling of carbon on earth and better predict global climate.

I am also involved in the new Biogeochemical Dynamics Program at FSU. The Biogeochemical Dynamics Program is an interdisciplinary research-oriented, graduate-only program within the FSU College of Arts and Sciences which focuses on environmental biogeochemistry.