Karin Lochte (born 20 September 1952) is a German

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...

, researcher, and

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 ...

specialist. She was director of German Polar Research

Alfred Wegener Institute The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (German: ''Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung'') is located in Bremerhaven, Germany, and a member of the Helmholtz Association o ...

from 2007 to 2017 as well as chairman of the management committee of

Jacobs University Bremen Constructor University is an international, private, residential research university located in Vegesack, Bremen, Germany. It offers study programs in engineering, humanities, natural and social sciences, in which students can acquire bachelor's ...

Biography

Lochte was born in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. She received her PhD in

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies s ...

at the

University College of North Wales , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

in 1984. After her PhD, she worked on deep sea microbiology at the Institut für Meereskunde,

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

. Earlier in her career, Lochte was a professor of

Biological Oceanography Biological oceanography is the study of how organisms affect and are affected by the physics, chemistry, and geology of the oceanographic system. Biological oceanography may also be referred to as ocean ecology, in which the root word of ecology ...

at the Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences at the

Christian-Albrechts University Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

where she led a research unit that focused on chemical cycles in the sea. She lectured

biological oceanography Biological oceanography is the study of how organisms affect and are affected by the physics, chemistry, and geology of the oceanographic system. Biological oceanography may also be referred to as ocean ecology, in which the root word of ecology ...

at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

and

from 1995 to 2000 and subsequently at the

Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research The Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research (german: Leibniz-Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde, abbreviated IOW) is a research institution located in Warnemünde (Rostock), Germany. It is part of the Leibniz-Association, cooperates wit ...

Warnemünde (, literally ''Mouth of the Warnow'') is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg, Germany. It is located on the Baltic Sea and, as the name implies, at the estuary of the river Warnow. is one of the world's busie ...

until 2007. She was also the project coordinator for the Atlantic Data Base for Exchange Processes at the Deep Sea Floor (ADEPD), a

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

funded marine research project from 1998 to 2000. Her involvement in polar research began in 2007, when she started work at the

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

. Lochte was appointed as the Director of the

in 2007 and hold that position to 2017. Her research focussed on the interactions between ocean nutrient cycles and climate. She has been the vice-president of Earth and Environment field research for the

Helmholtz Association The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (german: Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren) is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. ...

Affiliations

Lochte is a member of several national and international boards, scientific committees and research funding organizations. She was a member of the German Scientific Council, which advises the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Federal and state Governments and the on development of universities, science and research and is chair of the Scientific Commission of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. She is also a delegate of the

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is an interdisciplinary body of the International Science Council (ISC). SCAR coordinates international scientific research efforts in Antarctica, including the Southern Ocean. SCAR's scien ...

and chairperson of the Board of Governors of

Jacobs University Constructor University is an international, private, residential research university located in Vegesack, Bremen, Germany. It offers study programs in engineering, humanities, natural and social sciences, in which students can acquire bachelor's ...

. She is on the advisory board of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

Honours

* Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1st class, 2017, accepted by Lochte (see Hanseatic rejection)

References

External links

Karin Lochte profile
- on academia-net.org
Curriculum Vitae
- German language {{DEFAULTSORT:Lochte, Karin 1952 births Living people Scientists from Hanover German oceanographers German marine biologists German women academics German Antarctic scientists German women scientists Women Antarctic scientists Women oceanographers Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Environmental scientists