Stefan Sievert is an Associate Scientist in the Biology Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). He is a microbial oceanographer who studies the composition, diversity, and function of microbial communities, with the objective of understanding the relationship between microorganisms and their role in the ocean’s biogeochemical cycles. Dr. Sievert is particularly interested in the microbiology and biogeochemistry of hydrothermal systems, chemolithoautotrophic processes, and microorganisms involved in the sulfur cycle, using a combination of cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent approaches targeted at the organismal and ecosystem level.
He received his B.S. in Biology at the University of Mainz (Germany), and then moved to the University of Bremen (Germany) to pursue his graduate work in Biological Oceanography. He obtained is PhD at the Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology and the University of Bremen (Germany). He came to WHOI as a postdoctoral scholar, and he joined the scientific staff in 2002.
Stefan has made frequent visits to the deep-sea hydrothermal vent field at 9ºN on the East Pacific Rise, including a number of cruises on R/V Atlantis as chief scientist using either HOV Alvin or ROV Jason. He has completed more than 20 dives in Alvin. On this cruise, which is his first with SOI, he and his team will be characterizing the diversity and function of bacteria and archaea in the subseafloor.
Cruises:
