Dr Sebastian Steigenberger

Contact details

Group: 
Ocean Technology and Engineering
Site: 
Southampton
Email: 
s.steigenberger at noc.ac.uk
Telephone: 
+44 (0)23 8059 6220

Profile

Biography

I am supporting the scientists and engineers of the Ocean Technology and Engineering group in their scientific work on sensor development and as the group’s H&S advisor.

My own scientific work focuses on developing a method for the detection of dissolved organic nutrients (DON, DOP) for a lab on a chip (LOC) application.

Previously I have worked on the speciation of iron in seawater (flow injection analysis, voltammetry, ID–ICPMS) and how it is affected biologically (TEP, polysaccharides) and photochemically (UV, H2O2). The speciation of iron is important for the availability of this essential trace element to phytoplankton. Via photosynthetic carbon uptake phytoplankton plays a major role in the CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean. However, in large regions of the ocean phytoplankton growth is partly limited by iron. In Eric Achterberg’s work group I have been working (2008–2012) in a NERC funded project, which focuses on the Iron Biogeochemistry in the High Latitude North Atlantic Ocean. This project aims to assess whether community productivity in parts of the high latitude N Atlantic is Fe limited following the annual spring bloom and determine the factors which lead to this situation.

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