Dr. Barbara Deutsch
Marine biologist, Postdoc
Section Biological Oceanography(at the Baltic Sea Research Institute Warnemünde since 2001)
Contact
Postal address:
Baltic Sea Research Institute Warnemünde
Section Biological Oceanography
Seestrasse 15
D-18119 Rostock
Federal Republic of Germany
Fon: (+49) 0381 5197 417
Fax: (+49) 0381 5197 225
E-mail: barbara.deutsch@io-warnemuende.de
Research experience
- Identification and quantification of anthropogenic N inputs into rivers and estuaries
- Aquatic nitrogen cycle
- Separation of the two Baltic Sea cod stocks by means of stable isotope measurements in muscle and otoliths
Projects
"Quantification of Nitrogen sinks of the Baltic Sea and dependence on various environmental parameters"
(N sinks Baltic) , DFG funded (2007-2009)
The Baltic Sea is the largest brackish water body of the world and because of its enclosed position and
the hydrographical conditions very sensible to nutrient inputs. Whereas the main sources of nitrogen are
well known (nitrogen fixation and atmospheric deposition for the central Baltic; direct and riverine
inputs for the coastal areas) there is still a lack of knowledge about the losses of reactive nitrogen
via processes like denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox; fig. 1). The microbial
processes in the water column and the sediments are manifold and still less understood.
The DFG funded project "N sinks Baltic" deals with the quantification of these N losses. By means of the isotope
pairing method the rates of denitrification and anammox are measured in different sediment types
(mud, silt, sand) and the water column. The investigations are carried out at different seasons.
Additional determinations of nutrient and oxygen profiles in the water column and the sediment as well
as other sediment parameters should provide further information about the controlling factors.
By means of sediment maps the measured rates should be extrapolated to the whole area of the Baltic Sea.
Fig. 1: Simplified N-cycle with the major microbial pathways denitrification (blue arrows), nitrification (red arrows), and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (black arrows). Redrawn after Jetten (2001) and Altabet (2001).
Publication list
- Deutsch, B, Liskow, I, Kahle, P, Voss, M, 2005. Variations in the δ15N and δ18O values of nitrate in drainage water of two fertilized fields in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany). Aquatic Sciences 759: 156-165.
- Deutsch, B, Voss, M, 2006. Anthropogenic nitrogen input traced by means of δ15N values in macroalgae: Results from in-situ incubation experiments. Science of the Total Environment 366: 799-808.
- Deutsch, B, Mewes, M, Liskow, I, Voss, M, 2006. Quantification of diffuse nitrate inputs into a small river system using stable isotopes of oxygen and nitrogen in nitrate. Organic Geochemistry 37: 1333-1342.
- Deutsch, B, Berth U, 2006. Differentiation of western and eastern Baltic Sea Cod stocks (Gadus morhua) by means of stable isotope ratios in muscles and otoliths. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 22: 538-539.
- Voss, M, Deutsch, B, Elmgren, R, Humborg, C, Kuuppo, P, Pastuszak, M, Rolff, C, Schulte, U, 2006. River biogeochemistry and source identification of nitrate by means of isotopic tracers in the Baltic Sea catchments. Biogeosciences discussions 3, 475-511.
- Deutsch, B, Kahle, P, Voss, M. 2006. Assessing the source of nitrate pollution in water using stable N and O isotopes. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 26, 263-267.
Lecture und Poster presentations
- Deutsch, B, Voss, M. Sources of Nitrogen Inputs in Coastal Waters of the Southern Baltic Sea: Project Concept and First Results. 9th Canadian Continuous-Flow Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry Workshop; 25.-28. Aug. 2002; Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada (Poster).
- Deutsch, B, Liskow, I, Voss, M. Sources of Eutrophication for the coastal waters of the southern Baltic Sea. Investigations by means of stable isotope ratios of nitrogen and oxygen in nitrate. Annual meeting of the German Association for Stable Isotope Research (GASIR); 25.- 27. Sept. 2002; Baltic Sea Research Institute Warnemuende, Germany (Poster).
- Deutsch, B, Liskow, I, Voss, M. Sources of nitrogen inputs in coastal waters of the southern Baltic Sea using stable isotope ratios of nitrogen and oxygen in nitrate. Regional Student Conference; 8 - 10 Oct. 2004; Palanga, Lithuania (oral presentation)
- Deutsch, B, Liskow, I, Voss, M. Identification and Quantification of Diffuse Nitrogen Inputs Into a River System Using Stable Isotopes of Nitrogen and Oxygen in Nitrate. AGU Fall Meeting; 13.- 17. Dec. 2004; San Francisco, USA (Poster).
- Deutsch, B, Liskow, I, Voss, M. Identification and Quantification of Diffuse Nitrogen Inputs Into a River System Using Stable Isotopes of Nitrogen and Oxygen in Nitrate. Oral presentation at the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Menlo Park, USA, 14. Dec. 2004.
- Deutsch, B, Voss M. Stabile Isotope von Stickstoff und Sauerstoff im Nitrat als Anzeiger von Landnutzung und Nitratquellen. Gewässersymposium des Landesamtes für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Geologie (LUNG); 9. June 2005, Güstrow, Germany (oral presentation).
- Deutsch, B. δ15N values in macroalgae as an indicator for anthropogenic nitrogen inputs: Results from in-situ incubation experiments. 5th Baltic Sea Science Congress; 20. - 24. June 2005; Sopot, Poland (Poster).
- Deutsch, B, Kahle P, Voss, M. Impact of drainage water nitrate on adjacent surface waters: A stable isotope approach. Annual meeting of the German Association for Stable Isotope Research (GASIR); 10.- 12. Oct. 2005; Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry; Jena, Germany (Poster).