Dr. Helmke Hepach

Scientist

Helmholtz Changing Earth Topic 6: Marine and Polar Life

Research Division 2: Marine Biogeochemistry
Research Unit: Biological Oceanography
WG Microbial Biogeochemistry

Office:
Room: 2.115
Tel.: +49 (0)431 600 4286
E-Mail: hhepach(at)geomar.de

Address:
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Wischhofstr. 1-3, ENB (Building 5)
24148 Kiel

Research interests

  • Linking continuous and discrete data using methods of Artificial Intelligence → project INSYST (AI-initiative of Schleswig-Holstein)
  • Organic matter, microbial cycling and long-term monitoring in the Baltic Sea and continuous measurements of biological variables → project CREATE (DAM research mission "sustainMare")
  • Assessment and development of indicators for the environmental status

Projects

  • CREATE II as part of the sustainMare research mission (WP-co-lead WP3)
  • INSYST (project lead)
  • MOIN4Herbie
  • GEOMAR-internal EngageComm-Funding "Co-Creation and Communication of AI Applications in Environmental Sciences" together with Dr. Joachim Dengg

Education

November 2009 – June 2014 PhD student at the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, topic: "Marine Emissions of Halogenated Trace Gases from the Tropical Ocean"

October 2004 – September 2009 Marine Environmental Sciences (German Diplom) at the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg

January – June 2009 Diplom thesis at the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences of the University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada

February – June 2008 Erasmus studies in Scienze ambientali at the Università degli studi di Perugia, Italy

Career

Since December 2024 Scientist st GEOMAR in the Biological Oceanography (working group of Prof. Dr. Anja Engel, project CREATE II, WP-co-lead WP3) 

Since September 2023 – Project lead project INSYST

December 2021 – November 2024 Scientist at GEOMAR in the Biological Oceanography (working group of Prof. Dr. Anja Engel, project CREATE) und the Chemical Ozeanography (working group of Dr. Birgit Quack, project CONNECT, and working group of Prof. Dr. Hermann Bange, project CREATE)

January 2021 – November 2021 Scientific coordinator of The Earth League at GERICS (Climate Service Center Germany - An institution of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon), Hamburg, Germany

May 2018 – December 2020 PostDoc at GEOMAR in the Biological oceanography (working group of Prof Dr Anja Engel), CoastSens project

August 2016 – December 2017 Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of York (Environment Department), working group of Dr Claire Hughes

July 2014 – July 2016 PostDoc at GEOMAR in the Chemical oceanography (Halocarbon working group)

November 2009 – June 2014 PhD student at GEOMAR in the Chemical oceanography (Halocarbon working group)

July 2007 – August 2009 Student assistant at the Postdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in the Research division III Sustainable Solutions

November – December 2008 Internship at the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Research division Potsdam) in the Atmospheric Circulation Section

Awards

  • August 2015 Kompass-prize for innovative, maritime, scientific works from Schleswig-Holstein (1st price) for the PhD-thesis 
  • March 2009 – June 2009 Scolarshio for "Short study stays for theses of students" from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Expeditions

  • Since 2018 – Several day cruises on RV Alkor and FK Littorina
  • December 2021 – January 2022: SO287-CONNECT (Las Palmas, Spain - Guayaquil, Equador, RV Sonne)
  • February – March 2019: Pos533 (Mindelo, Cape Verde - Las Palmas, Spain - Funchal, Portugal - Las Palmas, Spain, RV Poseidon)
  • October 2018: AL519 (Kiel, Germany - Kiel, Germany, RV Alkor, Chief Scientist)
  • October 2015: ASTRA-OMZ (Guayaquil, Ecuador - Antofagasta, Chile, RV Sonne)
  • July – August 2014: OASIS, SO234/2 (Durban, South Africa - Port Louis, Mauritius, RV Sonne), SO235 (Port Louis, Mauritius - Malé, Maldives, RV Sonne)
  • December 2012: M91 (Callao, Peru - Callao, Peru, RV Meteor)
  • November 2011: SHIVA-Sonne (Singapore, Singapore - Manila, Philippines, RV Sonne)
  • June – July 2011: MSM18/3 (Mindelo, Cape Verde - Libreville, Gabon, RV Maria S. Merian)
  • May – June 2010: Pos399/2 and 3 (Las Palmas, Spain - Mindelo, Cape Verde, Las Palmas, Spain - Vigo, Spain, RV Poseidon)

Important links

Publications

Hepach, H., Piontek, J., Bange, H. W., Barthelmess, T., von Jackowski, A. and Engel, A. (2024) Enhanced warming and bacterial biomass production as key factors for coastal hypoxia in the southwestern Baltic Sea.  Scientific Reports, 14 (1). Art.Nr. 29442. DOI 10.1038/s41598-024-80451-w.

Hodapp, D., Buschbaum, C., Dutz, J., Engel, A., Eskildsen, K., Hepach, H., Hinkel, J., Jacob, U., Jansen, F., Jürgens, K., Karez, R., Kleyer, M., Krause, J., Quaas, M., Neumann, B., Rick, J. J., Riekhof, M. C., Rohner, S., Scheiffarth, G., Sell, A., Siebert, U., von Weber, M., Wiltshire, K. and Hillebrand, H. (2024) Küste und Küstenschutz.  In: Faktencheck Artenvielfalt - Bestandsaufnahme und Perspektiven für den Erhalt der biologischen Vielfalt in Deutschland. , ed. by Wirth, C., Bruelheide, H., Farwig, N., Marx, J. M. und Settele, J.. oekom, München, pp. 647-785. ISBN 978-3-98726-095-7 DOI 10.14512/9783987263361.

Perner, M., Wallmann, K., Adam-Beyer, N., Hepach, H., Laufer-Meiser, K., Böhnke, S., Diercks, I., Bange, H. W., Indenbirken, D., Nikeleit, V., Bryce, C., Kappler, A., Engel, A. and Scholz, F. (2022) Environmental changes affect the microbial release of hydrogen sulfide and methane from sediments at Boknis Eck (SW Baltic Sea).  Frontiers in Microbiology, 13 . Art.Nr. 1096062. DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1096062.

Hepach, H., Hughes, C., Hogg, K., Collings, S. and Chance, R. (2020) Senescence as the main driver of iodide release from a diverse range of marine phytoplankton.  Biogeosciences (BG), 17 . pp. 2453-2471. DOI 10.5194/bg-17-2453-2020.

Hepach, H., Quack, B., Tegtmeier, S., Engel, A., Bracher, A., Fuhlbrügge, S., Galgani, L., Atlas, E., Lampel, J., Frieß, U. and Krüger, K. (2016) Biogenic halocarbons from the Peruvian upwelling region as tropospheric halogen source. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 16 . pp. 12219-12237. DOI 10.5194/acp-16-12219-2016.