91探花

Prof. Dr. Katja Matthes

Office: 
Phone  +49 431 600 2800
Fax +49 431 600 2805
E-Mail: office-director(at)geomar.de 

Address
91探花 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Wischhofstr. 1-3
D-24148 Kiel

 

Katja Matthes is Director of the 91探花 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Professor of Atmospheric Physics. She received her doctorate in meteorology from the Free University of Berlin in 2003 in the Department of Geosciences, research stays took her to Japan and as a Marie Curie Fellow at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, USA. In 2007, she returned to Germany and took up teaching and management positions at the Free University of Berlin and at the GFZ (Helmholtz Centre Potsdam German Research Centre for Geosciences), where she headed a Helmholtz University Junior Research Group. In 2012, she moved to the 91探花 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel as a full professor of atmospheric physics. Since 2020, she has served as Director of 91探花 and as an expert in the field of climate variability and climate change on numerous committees. Katja Matthes is co-author of the current 6th IPCC report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Her commitment to the goals of the UN Ocean Decade and as a board member of the German Alliance for Marine Research is of great importance to the national and international marine research community. Katja Matthes is married and has three children.

 

Expertise | Committes and Cooperations | Academic Background

 

Expertise

• The ocean as a solution option for climate change: marine carbon storage, technical solutions such as CO2 storage under the seabed, carbon capture and storage (CCS), natural solutions such as renaturalisation

• Role of the ocean in climate and climate change: role of the atmosphere and the ocean in future climate development and climate variations

• Protection and sustainable use of the ocean: solutions to protect marine ecosystems, such as rock flour to protect coral reefs

• Man-made and natural climate fluctuations: Focus on triggers for climate variability in the ocean

• International cooperation, agreements, legal situation in the field of ocean research: IPCC, 鈥業ntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change鈥�, Partnership with West Africa (FUTURO), Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO), SeaBed for mapping the seabed

• Deep-sea mining and international law of the sea: environmental impacts of deep-sea mining, JPIO MiningImpact, legal foundations such as the International Seabed Authority (ISA), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS)
  Protected area Baltic Sea, munitions in the sea, ocean observation (Shaping an Ocean of Possibilities (SOOP), underway data

• Female Leadership

鈻� Overview lectures
鈻� Overview scientific publications

 

Committees and Cooperations

• 2025 鈥� Member Scientific Committee of the (OCEANO)
• 2024 鈥� Member German Committee of the (IOC-UNESCO)
• 2023 鈥� Co-Lead POGO Advocacy Workgroup (PAWG)
• 2023 鈥� Member Board of Trustees (PIK)
• 2023 鈥� Coordinator Steering Board
• 2022 鈥� Member Senate
• 2021 鈥� Member Management Board (DAM)
• 2021 鈥� Member (EMB)
• 2021 鈥� Partner of the Observation of the (POGO)
• 2022-2023: Helmholtz Vice President
• 2006-2022: Coordination (SOLARIS-HEPPA) for WCRP-SPARC
• 2020-2021: Co-chair of SCOSTEP's next program (PRESTO)
• 2019-2020: Chairwoman of the Audit Committee Climate Physics (MSc)
• 2018-2020: Chairwoman of the Scientific Advisory Board (IAP)
• 2017-2020: Member of the Scientific Steering Board of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)
• 2016-2021: Member and Vice Chairwoman (SCOSTEP)
• 2016-2018: Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the (IAP)
• 2013-2019: Member of the Scientific Advisory Board (KIT)
• 2013-2017: Chairwoman 91探花 Women's Executive Board (WEB)
• 2012-2014: Co-Lead "What is the solar influence on the Earth's climate"
• 2011-2015: Vice-chair  鈥淭owards a more complete assessement of the impact of solar variability on the Earth鈥檚 climate (TOSCA)鈥�
• 2011-2019: Member (ICMA)"
• 2011-2020: Co-Chair of WG II-D 鈥溾�� of IAGA
• 2008-2012: Scientific Representative (SCOSTEP)
• 2001-2004: Co-Lead (GRIPS) for the World Climate Research Programme 鈥� Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate (WCRP-SPARC)

 

Academic Background

Research Interests

• Stratosphere-troposphere-ocean modeling with special focus on chemistry-climate modeling
• Role of the middle atmosphere for (natural) climate variability
• Mechanisms for Sun-climate connections
• Decadal climate variability and predictability
• Processes in the UTLS (Upper Troposphere Lower Stratosphere)
• Development of and contribution to international model intercomparison studies of climate variability and climate change

 

Honors and Awards

• 2019: Contributing author,   (WG I, Chapter 2)
• 2010: Admission to the AcademiaNet (http://www.academia-net.de/), a German online platform to enhance the visibility of excellent women in science
• 2009 - 2010: Selected participant of the Helmholtz-Mentoring program for women 鈥淚n F眉hrung gehen鈥� (鈥濸reparing for Leadership鈥�)
• 2004: Ernst-Reuter Award of the Freie Universit盲t Berlin
• 2001: Award for the best young scientist from the 鈥淪tiftung Umwelt und Schadensvorsorge der SV Geb盲udeversicherung, Stuttgart鈥� at the DACH-Meteorologentagung in Vienna, Austria

 

Professional Experience

• Since October 2020: Director, 91探花 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
• 2018-2020: Head of Research Division 1: Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics
• Since 2012: W3-Professorship for General Meteorology at the Christian-Albrechts Universit盲t zu Kiel and the 91探花 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Head of the Working Group "Physics of the Atmosphere"
• 2012-2015: Head of the Helmholtz-University Young Investigators Group (Quantification of Natural Climate Variability in the Atmosphere-Hydrosphere System with Data Constrained Simulations) at the 91探花 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
• 2010 - 2011: W2-Professorship for Atmosphere-Hydrosphere Systems at the Faculty of Geosciences at the Freie Universit盲t Berlin and the Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam, the German Centre for Geosciences (GFZ)
• 2009-2011: Head of the Helmholtz-University Young Investigators Group (Quantification of Natural Climate Variability in the Atmosphere-Hydrosphere System with Data Constrained Simulations), Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam, German Centre for Geosciences and
• 2004鈥�2008: PostDoc, Institut f眉r Meteorologie, Freie Universit盲t Berlin
• 2007鈥�2008: Reintegration phase of a (OIF) SOLVO (The Influence of Solar Variability on Climate) within the 6th framework of the European commission
• 2004鈥�2007: PostDoc , Boulder/CO, USA, Outgoing phase of the Marie Curie Fellowship
• 2003: Dr. rer. nat., Institut f眉r Meteorologie, Freie Universit盲t Berlin
• Topi: The influence of the 11-Year Solar Cycle and the QBO on the Atmosphere. a Model Study (summa cum laude, Prof. Dr. K. Labitzke, Prof. Dr. U. Cubasch) 
• 2000鈥�2003: PhD student, Institut f眉r Meteorologie, Freie Universit盲t Berlin (Stratospheric Research Group)
• 1998鈥�2000: Diploma student, Institut f眉r Meteorologie, Freie Universit盲t Berlin (Stratospheric Research Group)
• 2000: Diploma in Meteorology (with distinction)
• 1995鈥�2000: Freie Universit盲t Berlin (Studies of Meteorology)

 

Teaching

鈻� Overview Teaching

Expertise | Committes and Cooperations | Academic Background