Hella van Asperen, PhD

Name:                 Hella van Asperen
Institute:              University of Bremen
Department:        Remote Sensing
Phone:                 +49-(0)421-218 62115

Email:                  v_asperen@iup.physik.uni-bremen.de
Weblink:              http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de/

PhD project title: Biosphere-Atmosphere Gas Exchange Measurements using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectometry

Understanding and qualifying greenhouse gas exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere is important for our knowledge of greenhouse gas dynamics and necessary for improving climate models. Important natural greenhouse gases are CO2, CH4 and N2O. Also CO should be considered as an important indirect greenhouse gas. Fluxes between the biosphere and atmosphere of these gases are not all well known, especially not for remote areas. Nowadays, most flux data is derived from atmospheric measurements using inverse modelling and usually obtained for only one gas species at the time. Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectrometry has the advantage of being able to measure gas concentration of different gases simultaneously. Furthermore, it is possible to apply FTIR-spectrometry to different measurement techniques, such as the eddy flux correlation method or the flux chamber method. In combination with suitable software, FTIR is capable of independently executing measurements for longer time periods with minimum manual maintenance. Besides, because of the mobility of the FTIR-spectrometer, it is possible to quantify greenhouse gas fluxes in remote areas. One of the main targets of this PhD-project is to successfully apply FTIR-spectrometry for quantifying greenhouse gas exchange fluxes between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Research areas so far have been Himmelmoor (Quickborn, Germany), Roskilde (Denmark) and Viterbo (Italy).

Start of doctoral thesis: 01st September, 2011

Defence of doctoral thesis: 16th November, 2015 (view thesis)

PhD Committee:

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Notholt
Co-Supervisor:  Dr. Warneke
Further Members: Prof. Dr. Kutzbach

Presentations/Conferences:

    • InGOS international conference, Utrecht, Netherlands:  The role of photo- and thermal degradation for CO2 and CO fluxes in an arid ecosystem, Hella van Asperen, Thorsten Warneke, Simone Sabbatini, Giacomo Nicolini, Dario Papale, Justus Notholt; September 2015

    • EGU 2016, Vienna, Austria, oral presentation,  Diurnal variation in respiratory CO2 flux in an arid ecosystem, Hella van Asperen; Thorsten Warneke; Simone Sabbatini; Martin Höpker; Giacomo Nicolini; Tommaso Chiti; Dario Papale; Michael Böhm; Justus Notholt, April 2016

    • AGU 2014, San Francisco, USA, oral presentation, Field Measurements of Respiratory Del13CO2 and Photodegradation, Hella van Asperen, Simone Sabbatini, Thorsten Warneke, Giacomo Nicolini, Dario Papale, Justus Notholt, December 2014
    • Annual InGOS-project meeting, Florence, Italy: Oral presentation, FTIR-field measurements of respiratory del13CO2 and photodegradation, Hella van Asperen, Thorsten Warneke, Simone Sabbatini, Giacomo Nicolini, Dario Papale, Justus Notholt; October 2014
       
    • ICOS-science conference, Brussel Belgium, Respiratory CO2 & del13CO2-measurements in central-Italy, poster, Hella van Asperen, Simone Sabbatini, Thorsten Warneke, Giacomo Nicolini, Dario Papale, Justus Notholt, ICOS-science conference, Brussel, September 2014

    • EGU 2014, Vienna, Austria, poster, Respiratory CO2 & del13CO2-measurements in central-Italy, poster, Hella van Asperen, Simone Sabbatini, Thorsten Warneke, Giacomo Nicolini, Dario Papale, Justus Notholt, April 2014 
      • Ttorch summerschool, Finland, Poster, Greenhouse, Greenhouse gas emissions from a peatland in Northern Germany, Hella van Asperen, David Holl, Thorsten Warneke, Christian Wille, Lars Kutzbach, Justus Notholt, October 2013
      • EGU 2013, Vienna, Austria: PICO-presentation, Greenhouse gas emissions from a peatland in Northern Germany, Hella van Asperen, David Holl, Thorsten Warneke, Christian Wille, Lars Kutzbach, Justus Notholt, April 2013

      • Annual InGOS-project meeting, Bremen, Germany: Oral presentation, The use of FTIR-spectrometry for flux measurements, Hella van Asperen, Thorsten Warneke, Justus Notholt; March 2013
      • Helmholtz Research School on Earth System Science, Annual Retreat 2012, Bremerhaven, “Deutsches Auswandererhaus“, Talk: van Asperen, H et al., “Measurement of greenhouse gas emissions in a Northern German Peatland“ 30 November, 2012.
      • Annual InGOS-project meeting 2011, Haarlem, The Netherlands: Poster, The use of FTIR-spectrometry for quantifying greenhouse gas fluxes between the biosphere and the atmosphere, Hella van Asperen, Thorsten Warneke, Justus Notholt; November 2011

      Publications

      Research stays and field work

      • TTorch Summerschool, Challenges in measurement and modeling of greenhouse gas concentrations and fluxes, 30 september-11 October 2013, Hyytiälä, Finland

      • Exchange stay at Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, Italy; July-September 2013
      • Assissting in laboratory set up at ECN, Petten, Netherland, May 2013
      • Field measurements in Roskilde, Denmark, in collaboration with DTU RISØ, Roskilde, Denmark; April 2013
      • Field measurements in Himmelmoor, Quickborn, Germany, in collaboration with the institute for Soil Science, KlimaCampus, University of Hamburg, August-December 2012

      Distinctions

      Best presentation Award, Helmholtz Research School on Earth System Science Annual Retreat 2012, Helmholtz Research School on Earth System Science, Bremerhaven, “Deutsches Auswandererhaus“, Germany, 30 November 2012