Encyclopedia of Geobiology

About

Dr. Joachim Reitner is Professor of Paleontology Head of the Department of Geobiology and Managing Director of the Museum Collections and Geopark at the University of Goettingen Germany. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences (Springer) Co-Editor of Facies (Springer) and Associate Editor of the Geomicrobiology Journal (Taylor & Francis).Dr. Reitner''''s research focuses on the interplay between organisms and their metabolic processes with various abiotic parameters. Many geological processes can be understood as geo-physiological processes allowing chemical reactions that would never run under standard thermodynamic conditions. Therefore a major thrust of Dr. Reitner''''s research activities is the investigation of the evolution of these processes visible in biosignatures and biomineralization patterns and their interaction with biogeochemical cycles.Among his many honors and accolades Dr. Reitner is the recipient of the G. W. Leibniz Award from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.Dr. Volker Thiel is Professor of Organic Geochemistry in the Geoscience Center at the University of Goettingen Germany. Dr. Thiel has been involved in geobiological research for some 15 years with a focus on the use of organic molecules as chemical tracers (biomarkers) for biogeochemical pathways.His research interests include lipid biomarkers as indicators for biogeochemical processes; molecular fossils biological formation and turnover of methane; and microbial control on mineral formation. The results of his studies have significantly contributed to identifying the microbial processes associated with methane turnover in modern and ancient environments. Much of Dr. Thiel''''s current work is devoted to new approaches to enhance the spatial resolution of biomarker analysis in geobiological systems.