Biosignatures

A particular focus of our group is on the analysis of lipid biomarkers extracted from sedimentary rocks, recent sediments and organisms.

Biomarkers commonly derive from the building blocks of lipids and show molecular weights below 1500 amu. These often source-specific molecules can reveal important information about many geoscientific problems, for instance:

• (paleo-)biocommunities in aquatic environments
• (paleo-)distribution of organic matter sources (e.g. terrigenous vs. planktonic)
• environmental setting (e.g. paleotemperature, -salinity,-redox conditions)
• biogeochemical processes phylogeny (chemotaxonomy)
• postsedimentary processes (biodegradation, thermal maturation)

Our current research concentrates on the molecular signatures of chemolithotrophically based ecosystems (e.g. methane-seeps) and possible fossil counterparts (fig. 1). We are also working on the lipid chemistry of ancestral metazoans (namely porifera, sponges), and their phylogenetic variability (fig. 2).

contact:

Prof. Dr. Volker Thiel
Prof. Dr. Joachim Reitner
Dr. Martin Blumenberg