A headshot of Kai Ziervogel, a research assistant professor in the Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory.

Kai Ziervogel

Director - Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory / Research Associate Professor
Phone: (603) 862-5478
Office: Ocean Process Analysis Lab, Morse Hall Rm 136A, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:

I am a microbial oceanographer studying the role of marine microbes (mainly bacteria) in the ocean’s carbon cycle. My lab is measuring rates and activities of microbes in the water column, sediments, and sinking particles known as marine snow, to address the role of heterotrophic bacterial in the biological carbon pump, and microbial responses to anthropogenic impacts on marine environments such as oil spills, plastic pollution, and increasing sea surface temperature.

Courses Taught

  • ESCI 501: Introduction to Oceanography
  • INCO 590: Student Research Experience
  • INCO 790: Advanced Research Experience

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Rostock
  • M.S., University of Rostock

Research Interests

  • Biological Oceanography
  • Geochemistry

Selected Publications

  • Dykens, K., Letscher, R., Matsuoka, A., & Ziervogel, K. (2025). New insights on the deep alkaline phosphatase paradox from a site in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 215, 104419. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2024.104419

  • Ross, J., Kinner, N., Saupe, S., & Ziervogel, K. (2024). Sediment ballast accelerates sinking of Alaska North Slope crude oil measured ex situ with surface water from Cook Inlet. Environmental Research Communications, 6(7), 075032. doi:10.1088/2515-7620/ad6125

  • Ziervogel, K., Kehoe, S., De Jesus, A. Z., Saidi-Mehrabad, A., Robertson, M., Patterson, A., & Stubbins, A. (2024). Microbial interactions with microplastics: Insights into the plastic carbon cycle in the ocean. Marine Chemistry, 262, 104395. doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2024.104395

  • Caruso, G., & Ziervogel, K. (2022). Distribution and Metabolic Activities of Marine Microbes in Response to Natural and Anthropogenic Stressors. JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, 10(8). doi:10.3390/jmse10081119

  • Ziervogel, K., Kamalanathan, M., & Quigg, A. (2022). Hydrolysis of Methylumbeliferyl Substrate Proxies for Esterase Activities as Indicator for Microbial Oil Degradation in the Ocean: Evidence from Observations in the Aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (Gulf of Mexico). JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, 10(5). doi:10.3390/jmse10050583

  • Kleindienst, S., Seidel, M., Ziervogel, K., Grim, S., Loftis, K., Harrison, S., . . . Joye, S. B. (2015). Chemical dispersants can suppress the activity of natural oil-degrading microorganisms. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 112(48), 14900-14905. doi:10.1073/pnas.1507380112

  • Cardman, Z., Arnosti, C., Durbin, A., Ziervogel, K., Cox, C., Steen, A. D., & Teske, A. (2014). Verrucomicrobia Are Candidates for Polysaccharide-Degrading Bacterioplankton in an Arctic Fjord of Svalbard. APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, 80(12), 3749-3756. doi:10.1128/AEM.00899-14

  • Martinez-Garcia, M., Brazel, D. M., Swan, B. K., Arnosti, C., Chain, P. S. G., Reitenga, K. G., . . . Stepanauskas, R. (2012). Capturing Single Cell Genomes of Active Polysaccharide Degraders: An Unexpected Contribution of Verrucomicrobia. PLOS ONE, 7(4). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035314

  • Ziervogel, K., McKay, L., Rhodes, B., Osburn, C. L., Dickson-Brown, J., Arnosti, C., & Teske, A. (2012). Microbial Activities and Dissolved Organic Matter Dynamics in Oil-Contaminated Surface Seawater from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Site. PLOS ONE, 7(4). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034816

  • Passow, U., Ziervogel, K., Asper, V., & Diercks, A. (2012). Marine snow formation in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 7(3). doi:10.1088/1748-9326/7/3/035301

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  • Most Cited Publications