Dr. Enno Schefuß

Contents of this page

• Personal
• Research Topics
• Projects
• Laboratory
• Publications

Research Interests

Organic Geochemistry (lipid biomarkers as environmental indicators, transport and preservation of organic fractions)

Isotope Geochemistry (molecular 13C, D/H, 14C signals and their significance)

Paleo-climatology (hydrology und temperature, water and carbon cycling, dust transport)

Paleo-oceanography (coupling of oceanic and continental climate changes, salinity and river discharge)

Curriculum Vitae

Expeditions

RV Maria S. Merian 20/3: "Response of Amazon sedimentation to deforestation, landuse and climate variability", February/March 2012

RV Meteor 63/1: “Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology of the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers”, January/February 2005

RV Marion Dufresne MD134 “Long Calypso coring of African tropical rivers”, July/August 2003

RV Meteor 56B: “Paleoceanography and Gashydrates of the Congo deep-sea fan”, December 2002

RV Pelagia P178 “Somali Upwelling and Paleoceanography”, April/May 2001

Nature, Nature Geosciences, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Geology, Geophysical Research Letters, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Organic Geochemistry, Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), National Environment Research Council (NERC), National Science Foundation (NSF)

Session “Novel molecular & isotopic approaches in modern and paleo systems” at the Goldschmidt Conference Cologne, Germany, 19-24 August 2007
Session "Water isotopes in hydrological processes" at the EGU General Assembly 2009, Vienna, Austria, 19-24 April 2009 and EGU 2010, 2-7 May 2010, session joined with "Stable isotopes in biogeosciences" at EGU 2011, 3-8 April 2011

- MSc. course "Marine environmental archvies"
- Isotope laboratory exercise within MSc. course "Marine geological Methods"
- Lipid isotope lecture in BSc. course "Molecular Paleontology"

Sebastian Hoetzel (GLOMAR)
Francesca Valle (GLOMAR)
Rony Kuechler (GLOMAR)
Arne Leider (GLOMAR)
Karin Gesierich (GLOMAR)
Wenwen Chen (GLOMAR)
Barbara Haese (POLMAR)
Astrid Contreras Rosales (GLOMAR)
Katja Hockun (GLOMAR)

Michael Lappe (Cologne, Diploma)
Katharina Siedenberg (Bremen, Bachelor)
Vera Meyer (Bremen, Master)
Christian Lippstreu (Bremen, Master)
Meral Yavuz (Bremen, Bachelor)

Hans-Cloos Prize 2005 of the Geologischen Vereinigung

American Geophysical Union (AGU)
European Association of Organic Geochemists (EAOG)
Geologische Vereinigung (GV)
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences

Current projects:

Completed projects:

Preparative organic-geochemical laboratory

I operate an organic-geochemical laboratory providing 2 fume hoods, a Dionex ASE 200 Automated Solvent Extractor for automated extraction of various sample materials under high pressure and elevated temperature using programmable solvent mixtures, a rotation evaporator to remove large quantities of solvents from extracts, a Flexivap nitrogen blow-down device for small vials, a ThermoFisher Scientific Focus gas-chromatograph with flame-ionisation-detector (GC-FID) for checking lipid fractions on purity and lipid quantification, and a large muffle furnace for effective combustion-cleaning of glassware. Some photos below:

Journal articles:

2012:

Vogts, A., Schefuß, E., Badewien, T., Rullkötter, J.: n-Alkane parameters from a deep sea sediment transect off southwest Africa reflect continental vegetation and climate conditions. Organic Geochemistry 47, 109-119.

Rampen S.W., Willmott, V., Kim, J.-H., Uliana, E., Mollenhauer, G., Schefuß, E., Sinninghe Damste, J.S., Schouten, S.: Long chain 1,13- and 1,15-diols as a potential proxy for palaeotemperature reconstruction. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 84, 204-216.

2011:

Schefuß, E., Kuhlmann, H., Mollenhauer, G., Prange, M., Paetzold, J.: Forcing of wet phases in southeast Africa over the past 17,000 years. Nature, doi:10.1038/nature10685.

Rommerskirchen, F., Condon, T., Mollenhauer, G., Dupont, L., Schefuß, E.: Miocene to Pliocene development of surface and sub-surface temperatures in the Benguela Current System. Paleoceanography 26, PA3216.

Dupont, L.M, Linder, H.P., Rommerskirchen, Schefuß, E.: Climate-driven rampant speciation of the Cape flora. Journal of Biogeography 38: 1059-1068.

Collins, J.A., Schefuß, E., Heslop, D., Mulitza, S., Prange, M., Zabel, M., Tjallingii, R., Dokken, T.M., Huang, E.Q., Mackensen, A., Schulz, M., Tian, J., Zarriess, M., Wefer, G.: Interhemispheric symmetry of the tropical African rainbelt over the past 23,000 years. Nature Geoscience 4, 42-45.


2010:

Castañeda, I.S., Schefuß, E., Pätzold, J., Damste, J.S.S., Weldeab, S., Schouten, S.: Millennial-scale sea surface temperature changes in the eastern Mediterranean (Nile River Delta region) over the last 27,000 years. Paleoceanography 25, PA1208.

Kusch, S., Rethemeyer, J., Schefuß, E., Mollenhauer, G.: Controls on the age of vascular plant biomarkers in Black Sea sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 74, 7031-7047.

Lopes dos Santos, R. A., M. Prange, M., Castañeda, I.S., Schefuß, E., Mulitza, S., Schulz, M., Niedermeyer, E.M., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S., Schouten, S.: Glacial-interglacial variability in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and thermocline adjustments in the tropical North Atlantic. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 300, 407-414.

Niedermeyer, E.M., Schefuß, E., Sessions, A.L., Mulitza, S., Mollenhauer, G., Schulz, M., Wefer, G.: Orbital- and millennial-scale changes in the hydrologic cycle and vegetation in the western African Sahel: insights from individual plant wax delta D and delta C-13. Quaternary Science Reviews 29, 2996-3005.


2009:

Bouimetarhan. I., Dupont, L.M., Schefuß, E., Mollenhauer,G., Mulitza, S., Zonneveld, K.: Palynological evidence for climatic and oceanic variability off NW Africa during the late Holocene. Quaternary Research 72, 188-192.

Castañeda, I.S., Mulitza, S., Schefuß, E., Lopes dos Santos, R.A., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S., Schouten, S.: Wet phases in the Sahara/Sahel region and human migration patterns in North Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106, 20159-20163

Niedermeyer, E., Prange, M., Mulitza, S., Mollenhauer, G., Schefuß, E., Schulz, M.: Extratropical forcing of Sahel aridity during Heinrich stadials, Geophysical Research Letters 36, L20707.

Rampen, S.W., Schouten, S., Schefuß, E., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.: Impact of temperature on the long-chain diol and mid-chain hydroxy methyl alkanoate composition in Proboscia diatoms: Results from culture and field studies. Organic Geochemistry 11, 1124-1131.

Weijers, J.W.H., Schouten, S., Schefuß, E., Schneider, R.R., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2009): Disentangling marine, soil and plant organic carbon contributions to continental margin sediments: A multi-proxy approach in a 20,000 year sediment record from the Congo deep-sea fan. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73, 119-132.


2008:

De Deckker, P., Abed, R.M.M., de Beer, D., Hinrichs, K.-U., O’Loingsigh, T., Schefuß, E., Stuut, J.B., Tapper, N.J., van der Kaars, S. (2008): Geochemical and microbiological fingerprinting of airborne dust that fell in Canberra, Australia, in October 2002. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, doi:10.1029/2008GC002091

Kaiser, J., Schefuß, E., Lamy, F., Hebbeln, D., Mohtadi, M. (2008): Glacial to Holocene coastal vegetation, sea surface temperature and productivity changes off central Chile: high versus low latitude forcing. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, 2064-2075.


2007:

Weijers, J. W. H., Schefuß, E., Schouten, S. & Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. (2007): Coupled thermal and hydrological evolution of tropical Africa over the last deglaciation. Science 315, 1701-1704.

2005:

Schefuß, E., Schouten, S. & Schneider, R. R. (2005): Central African hydrologic changes during the past 20,000 years. Nature 437, 1003-1006.

Scourse, J., Marret, F., Versteegh, G. J. M., Jansen, J. H. F., Schefuß, E., van der Plicht, J. (2005): High resolution last deglaciation record from the Congo fan reveals significance of mangrove pollen end biomarkers as indicators of shelf transgression. Quaternary Research 64, 57-69.

Stuut, J.-B. W., Zabel, M., Ratmeyer, V., Helmke, P., Schefuß, E., Lavik, G., & Schneider, R. R. (2005): Provenance of present-day eolian dust collected off NW Africa. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres Vol. 110, D04202, doi:10.1029/2004JD005161.

Schefuß, E., Sinninghe Damsté, J. S., & Jansen, J. H. F. (2005): Correction to “Forcing of tropical Atlantic sea-surface temperatures during the Mid-Pleistocene transition”. Paleoceanography, PA1019, doi:10.1029/2005PA001134.


2004:

Schefuß, E., Sinninghe Damsté, J. S., & Jansen, J. H. F. (2004): Forcing of tropical Atlantic sea-surface temperatures during the Mid-Pleistocene transition. Paleoceanography, PA4029, doi:10.1029/2003PA000892.

Hopmans, E. C., Weijers, J. W. H., Schefuß, E., Herfort, L., Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. & Schouten, S. (2004): A novel proxy for terrestrial organic matter in sediments based on branched and isoprenoid tetraether lipids. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 224, 107-116.

Schefuß, E., Versteegh, G. J. M., Jansen, J. H. F., & Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. (2004): Lipid biomarkers as major source and preservation indicators in SE Atlantic surface sediments. Deep-Sea Research Part I 51, 1199-1228.

Versteegh, G. J. M., Schefuß, E., Dupont, L. M., Marret, F., Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. & Jansen, J.H.F. (2004): Taraxerol and Rhizophora pollen as proxies for tracking past Mangrove ecosystems, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 68, 411-422.

2003:

Schefuß, E., Schouten, S., Jansen, J. H. F. & Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. (2003): African vegetation controlled by tropical sea surface temperatures in the mid-Pleistocene. Nature 422, 418-421.

Schefuß, E., Ratmeyer, V., Stuut, J.-B. W., Jansen, J. H. F. & Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. (2003): Carbon isotope analysis of n-alkanes in dust from the lower atmosphere over the central eastern Atlantic. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 67, 1757-1767.


2002:

Schouten, S., Hopmans, E. C., Schefuß, E. & Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. (2002): Corrigendum to “Distributional variations in marine crenarchaeotal membrane lipids: a new tool for reconstructing ancient sea water temperatures?” Earth and Planetary Science Letters 211, 205-206.

Schouten, S., Hopmans, E. C., Schefuß, E. & Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. (2002): Distributional variations in marine crenarchaeotal membrane lipids: a new tool for reconstructing ancient sea water temperatures? Earth and Planetary Science Letters 204, 265-274.

Book sections:

Schefuß, E., Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. & Jansen, J. H. F. (2005): Low-latitude effects of the Mid-Pleistocene climate transition: insights from lipid biomarkers in the tropical Atlantic. In: M.J. Head and P.L. Gibbard (Eds.), Early-Middle Pleistocene Transitions: The Land-Ocean Evidence. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 247, 35-64.

Schefuß, E. (2003): Paleo-environmental effects of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition in the tropical Atlantic and equatorial Africa. Geologica Ultraiectina, Ph.D. thesis, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, pp. 187.

Schefuß, E., Versteegh, G. J. M., Jansen, J. H. F. & Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. (2001): Marine and terrigenous lipids in South-East Atlantic sediments (ODP Leg 175) as paleo-environmental indicators. In: Wefer, G., Berger, W.H., and Richter, C. (Eds.), Scientific Results Volume ODP Leg 175, Proceedings ODP 175, 1-34 [http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/175_SR/chap_10/chap_10.htm].

Data @ Pangaea

Invited Presentations

- "Small shifts, large impacts: global climate change & regional hydrology" German-American Frontiers of Science Symposium, Potsdam, Germany, 10-13 May 2012

- "Rain in south-east Africa: orbital, oceanic and/or atmospheric control" Department of Earth Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany, 16 April 2012

- "African paleo-climatology from a marine molecular-isotopic perspective" Isocompound, Potsdam, Germany, 1-5 June 2009

- "Molecular-isotopic insights in vegetation, hydrology & continental residence times" Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, 16 May 2008

- "Temperature evolution of tropical Africa and effects on continental hydrology" International Conference and Annual Meeting of the Geologische Vereinigung, Bremen, Germany, 3-5 October 2007

- "Novel molecular and isotopic approaches to assess continental climate changes" IFM-Geomar Seminar, Kiel, Germany, 25 June 2007

- "Assessing past continental hydrologic and temperature changes with novel molecular-isotopic approaches" PAGES-IMAGES-NSF Workshop “Intra- and interhemispheric variability of SST and the hydrological cycle over the last 4 Myr”, Trins, Austria, 30 May – 2 June 2007

- "Isotopic signals in plant organic matter: continental climate, vegetation and carbon export" International Conference and Annual Meeting of the Geologische Vereinigung, Potsdam, Germany, 25-28 September 2006

- "Central African hydrologic changes during the past 20,000 years" Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, USA, 1 May 2006

- "Central African hydrologic changes during the past 20,000 years" Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook, USA, 18-19 April 2006

- "Lipid biomarkers as climatic indicators: African examples" Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, USA, 11-12 April 2006

- "Tropical environmental changes at the mid-Pleistocene transition: a lipid biomarker perspective" NedQUA-meeting, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 24 October 2003

- "Tropical environmental changes at the mid-Pleistocene transition: a lipid biomarker perspective" INQUA meeting: Early/Middle Pleistocene Transitions: The Land-Ocean Evidence, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 4 April 2003

- "Advances in tracing sea surface temperatures, marine productivity and vegetation changes with organic proxies" Gordon Research Conference on Chemical Oceanography, Oxford, United Kingdom, 11-16 August 2002