Our team

Alex's research combines molecular and biogeochemical approaches to determine microbial functionality and activity in the cryosphere. His previous research demonstrated that microbial activity at the surface of glaciers and ice sheets are responsible for significant carbon with implications for biogeochemical cycles at local and global scales. As part of DEEP PURPLE, he is particularly interested in how the different actors in the ice microbial community (viruses, bacteria, fungi and algae) interact with each other and with their physical and chemical environment to build an ice sheet biome.

Email; ama@envs.au.dk

Liane leads the interface-geochemistry group at GFZ Potsdam, which studies molecular level microbe-mineral-fluid interactions. Her team’s work in the Arctic focuses on understanding the kinetics and mechanisms of mineral – organic matter – microbe inter-transformations in inorganic and biological particulates in snow and ice. For DEEP PURPLE, the GFZ team will focus on questions related to how cryogenic algae colonise and bio-mine mineral surface for crucial nutrients. They will quantify the role of algal-driven particulate / mineral-nutrient utilisation in organic carbon cycling and assess the effect of such processes on the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. 

Email; benning@gfz-potsdam.de

Martyn has a long-standing interest in the rock-water-microbe interactions, a spectrum of which occur within the different microbiological niches on the surface of the ice sheet. He is particularly interested in how the microbes acquire and recycle nutrient from atmospheric and snow/ice sources, which following the presence of liquid water, is likely to be one of the key drivers, of microbial growth and pigmentation. He also has an interest in understanding how the architecture of the rotting surface ice impacts on the mobility and concentration of particulates and glacier algae, which in turn impacts on the albedo of the surface ice.

Email; martyn.tranter@envs.au.dk

Runa’s interests lie in exploring the interplay between microbial metabolism and the carbon cycle in glacial systems at different spatial and temporal scales. She uses an interdisciplinary approach combining bulk- and molecular-level analyses of dissolved organic matter, major ions, cell counts, microbial diversity and their metabolic capacity to explore the dynamics of carbon and nutrients in these systems and to understand the functional role of resident microbes in these dynamics. Her interests within the DEEP PURPLE project are to assess the storage, dynamics and fate of organic carbon, especially particulate organic matter on the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Runa aims to improve our knowledge of the nature, sources, on-ice microbial processing and fluxes of organic matter on ever-changing ice surfaces during melting and provide novel, holistic insights on the interplay between microbial metabolism, carbon cycling and surface melting. This way she aims to help fine tune the response of Greenland’s ice masses to future climate warming scenarios in global predictive models.

Joseph is responsible for the overall work package strategy and has particular expertise in albedo measurement and modelling. He has developed the BioSNICAR models for calculating the albedo-reducing effects of glacier algae and published extensively on the interactions between biological and  physical processes on ice surfaces. His field work experience includes >15 on-ice camps in Greenland in all seasons and he has explored deep beneath the ice sheet surface in a series of ice caving expeditions.

Helen is interested in understanding the cellular mechanisms underpinning algal adaption to stressful and changing environments. For her PhD, she studied daily energy rhythms in a model green alga, investigating how cells rhythmically alter their metabolism to anticipate the environmental changes imposed by day and night. Within DEEP PURPLE, she will focus on the eukaryotic algae present on the Greenland Ice Sheet by studying diurnal and seasonal changes in algal community and function, as well as algal responses to various abiotic stressors. For this, she will combine environmental sampling and incubation experiments both in the field and in controlled laboratory settings, with a focus on quantifying changes in gene expression. She hopes this will give us a better understanding of how these algal species both respond to and anticipate dynamic environmental change.

Pablo is a geologist and has been studying mineral replacement mechanisms since the end of his bachelor. His PhD thesis investigated which parameters control the viability and kinetics of fluid-driven mineral replacement reactions. Pablo is 50% part of Deep Purple and is in charge of the mineralogical characterization of the samples. His job within the project will be to identify and quantify the mineral species in the samples. This may help to understand i) the role of minerals in albedo variations and ii) the role of minerals in the release of essential nutrients that algae need to survive and grow.

Laura was a Marie Curie PhD fellow at the University of Ljubljana, within the MicroArctic project, studying the abundance and diversity of fungal and bacterial communities inhabiting different glacial habitats of the Arctic region. Her research interests focus on extremophile microorganisms, including psychrophilic and psychrotolerant fungi, bacteria, and algae, and understanding their dynamics. Laura's goal in DEEP PURPLE will be to identify which type of interactions exist between microbial communities thriving on the surface ice of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Microcosm experiments will be performed to clarify how algal physiology is affected by bacterial activity and fungal secondary metabolites production. Furthermore, additional experiments will enable to assess the role of zoosporic fungi and viruses as ‘top-down’ controls on the glacier algal community.

Pamela’s research focuses on the analysis of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from a wide range of systems. She has been assessing their variability in relation to environmental drivers and the present bacterial communities. In the last years, part of her work has been performed with sediments and porewaters of the deep Arctic Ocean. Because she continues to be captivated by the Arctic region, she has recently joined the DEEP PURPLE team. Her goal in the project is to study DOM cycled on the glaciers. She will use untargeted mass spectrometric approaches in combination with contextual data from cryogenic systems in order to reveal the biogeochemical processes regulating the variability of dissolved organic species and their potential contribution to the melting of Greenland ice sheet.

Lou studied energy and environmental engineering in France before finding her way into natural sciences. She has always been fascinated by the role of polar regions in our climate system and concerned about the dramatical changes ongoing in the Arctic, accelerating global warming. As part of Deep Purple she will be looking into trying to disentangle the albedo-reduction effect of the different components of the rotting ice environment, combining field measurements and modelling experiments. In particular, she will work on refining numerical models to better reproduce and understand the role of glacier algae among the other light absorbing particles and within the changing ice structure. 

Mirjam studies microbiology with a focus on marine environments and was always fascinated by polar regions. During my master’s thesis she studied microbial communities found in cryoconite holes on glaciers and ice sheets using molecular biological methods such as RNA sequencing combined with traditional microbiological analysis. In the DEEP PURPLE project, Mirjam will turn her attention to the glacier ice algae involved in ice surface darkening, as these species are a remarkable example of life adapted to the most extreme conditions. She will investigate how light and nutrient stress in supraglacial environments affect these algae using a combination of field sampling and laboratory-based experiments, including for example growth studies, photophysiological characterization, microscopy and sequencing. 

Elisa joins the DEEP PURPLE team as a PhD student in Liane Benning's research group. She brings a background in pharmaceutical and food chemistry, focusing on the analysis and production of natural compounds from plants and fungi using liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and bioprocess engineering. Driven by her curiosity for a largely unexplored ecosystem, Elisa is excited to investigate the adaptation, interaction and dynamics of microbial communities on the Greenland Ice Sheet and their impact on albedo reduction and glacier melting.