Daniela N. Schmidt is a German earth scientist and professor at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. Her research investigates the impact of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

on marine ecosystems. She is the lead author for the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) a ...

(IPCC) report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability for Europe.

Early life and education

Schmidt completed her undergraduate training at the University of Bremen, where she specialised in

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

and

palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

. During her degree she took part in a RV Polarstern mission to the

Bellingshausen Sea The Bellingshausen Sea is an area along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula between 57°18'W and 102°20'W, west of Alexander Island, east of Cape Flying Fish on Thurston Island, and south of Peter I Island (there the southern ''Vostokkyste ...

. She earned her

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

where she studied the macroecology of planktic

foraminifer Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly an ...

s. Her thesis was awarded the ETH Zurich Medal, and Schmidt was awarded a Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowship.

Research and career

After earning her doctorate in 2002 she moved to

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

as a

German Research Foundation The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

Fellow. Schmidt started her independent scientific career as a

Royal Society University Research Fellow __NOTOC__ The Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF) is a research fellowship awarded to outstanding early career scientists in the United Kingdom who are judged by the Royal Society to have the potential to become leaders in their fie ...

at the

in 2006. Schmidt was awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Research Fellowship in 2015. Her research investigates the causes and impacts of increased

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

on marine ecosystems. Anthropological carbon dioxide emissions impact the ocean in many ways, resulting in processes such as

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH value of the Earth’s ocean. Between 1751 and 2021, the average pH value of the ocean surface has decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. The root cause of ocean acidification is carbon dioxid ...

and warming. Damage to the ocean directly and indirectly impacts the environment, and ecosystem shifts can present considerable challenges to surrounding communities. Schmidt has investigated various ocean ecosystems, with a focus on bivalves, bryozoans and formanifers. In general, her research combines understanding climate events with modern activity to understand and assess risk. She was a lead author for the

Working Group on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.

Awards and honours

* Elected a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Royal Society of Biology The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), previously called the Society of Biology, is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education, and research. Fo ...

(FRSB) * 2015 Elected to

AcademiaNet AcademiaNet is an international database containing profiles of women scientists. It is a non-profit project with the goal to raise the share of women in leadership positions in academia. AcademiaNet was initiated in 2010 in Germany by the Robert B ...

* 2016 Elected to the

Young Academy of Europe The Young Academy of Europe (YAE) is a pan-European non-governmental academy of top young scientists and scholars. The YAE was founded in 2012, with a mission to provide input to scientific exchange and science policy across all member states of ...

Select publications

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Daniela Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Bremen alumni ETH Zurich alumni Academics of the University of Bristol Fellows of the Royal Society of Biology German earth scientists 21st-century German women scientists German emigrants to the United Kingdom Royal Society University Research Fellows Women earth scientists 21st-century German scientists 21st-century earth scientists