The biogeochemical modelling group aims at achieving an understanding of diverse feedbacks between environmental conditions, biological activity and element fluxes, with a special interest in the polar regions. To achieve this aim, the group develops, runs and analyses global ocean biogeochemistry models, with a special interest in the polar regions. A special focus is on feedbacks between climate change and the ocean carbon cycle.

The group hosts the Helmholtz Young Investigator Group MarESys. The MarESys group investigates Marine Carbon and Ecosystem Feedbacks in the Earth System, primarily over the historical and climate-change time-scales. Other research foci of the group are modelling of iron in seawater and its interactions with other biogeochemical cycles, the carbon cycle on glacial-interglacial time-scales and phytoplankton physiology (see Research). 

We contribute to and coordinate the ocean carbon sink estimate in the Global Carbon Budget, particularly the ensemble of Global Ocean Biogeochemistry Models that includes FESOM-REcoM."

We combine the unstructured mesh ocean model FESOM in the stand-alone version and in the AWI-ESM versions (FESOM coupled to an atmospheric model) with our non-Redfield ecosystem model REcoM. We incorporate recent process-understanding of biological processes (phytoplankton sensitivity to multiple stressors, zooplankton grazing) in collaboration with phytoplankton and zooplankton experts at the AWI and University of Bremen. We apply this model to simulate the historical period and the coming decades as well as past climate states. We analyze the model results to understand the processes behind feedbacks in the carbon cycle and in the marine ecosystem, with a special interest in the Arctic and the Southern Oceans.