Dr Kirstin Dähnke

Kirstin Dähnke is a biologist and Deputy Head of the Department Aquatic Nutrient Cycles at the Institute of Coastal Research. Her research foci are on the nutrient filter in the coastal zone, especially on N transformations in estuaries and marine and coastal sediments.

In the group, the scientists aim to evaluate the role of different processes regenerating or removing nitrogen, mainly using stable isotope analyses. The assessment of isotope signatures of N-bearing compounds during processing helps to unravel the impact of different processes in the marine/coastal system and also the effect of anthropogenic nutrient loads on an ecosystem.

Kirstin Dähnke leads the research in Germany for the EISPAC Project.

Biography

• April 2011 to present: Leader of the Helmholtz-Young Investigators Group “Sources, sinks and internal cycling of nitrogen in coastal waters – Identification of key processes using stable N isotopes” at Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht
• 03/2009 – 02/2011: Guest Researcher at NordCEE, Institute of Biology, University of Southern Denmark
• 09/2008 – 02/2009: Researcher at the Netherlands Institute for Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Department of Ecosystem Studies, Yerseke, Netherlands
• 07/2008: PhD thesis at HZG, Universität Hamburg

EISPAC is co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and by NERC.