Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (» Postal address)
Dr. Jens Meyerjürgens
My research focuses on (sub-)mesoscale processes and vertical heat transport at fronts and filaments. I investigate these processes as key drivers of hydrodynamic dynamics in coastal regions, which differ significantly from those in the open ocean and are shaped by complex interactions such as tidal forces and (sub-)mesoscale flow patterns. Additionally, I examine their role in the formation and dynamics of marine heatwaves. Another key aspect of my work is the accumulation of anthropogenic pollutants, as well as biological and chemical substances at the sea surface, influenced by (sub-)mesoscale dynamics.
Curriculum vitae
Academic Degrees
2021 Doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) with honors in Natural Sciences from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg.
2016 Master of Science in Marine Sensors from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg.
2012 Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg.
Academic Career
2021 – Present Research Associate at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg in the project "Sailing Intelligent Micro Drifter Swarms."
2016 – 2020 Doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) with distinction in Natural Sciences from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg.
2015 Student Assistant in the Physical Oceanography group under Prof. Dr. Monika Rhein at the University of Bremen.
2013 – 2016 Student Assistant in the Marine Sensor Systems group under Prof. Dr. Oliver Zielinski at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg
International Experience in Academia
2024/01 – 2024/04 Research fellow at the Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina.
2023/11 – 2024/01 Research fellow at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile, including field research at the Professor Julio Escudero Base on King George Island, Antarctica.
2020/05 – 2021/01 Research fellowship at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (Canceled due to COVID-19).
Teaching
2020 – Present Lecturer with full teaching responsibility in Regional Oceanography at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg.
2023 – Present Mentor and co-supervisor of a PhD student within the BASS project, contributing substantially to scientific development and academic progress.
2020 – 2023 Lecturer with full teaching responsibility in Environmental Monitoring and Data Streams at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg.
2023 Lecturer at the Research Training Workshop on Data Analysis and Management for PhD students and postdocs at GEOMAR Kiel.
2016 – Present Supervision of exercises and practical courses at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg and Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven, as well as training students on research vessels.
2016 – Present Teaching activities in Marine Sensors at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg.
2016 – Present Teaching activities in Environmental Sciences at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg.
2014 – 2020 Teaching activities in Marine Technology at Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven.
Research activities
2024 Founding member of the European Skagerrak-Mixing-Experiment (SkaMix) consortium, collaborating with scientists from Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany.
2019 – Present Peer reviewer for Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, Geophysical Research Letters, Environmental Research Letters, Ocean Science Discussions, Frontiers in Marine Science.
2017 – Present Scientific involvement and contributions to the projects: Saimidris (MWK), Carbostore (BMBF), BASS (DFG), Ewarp (DFG), NorthSat-X (MWK), Macroplastics (MWK), FreshOcean (DFG), Create (MWK), CoastCarb (EU), FACTS (EU).
2010 – Present Participation in 17 research cruises aboard RV Sonne, RV Maria S. Merian, RV Alkor, and RV Heincke, including:
- Chief Scientist on three research cruises
- Deployment of various instruments for measuring hydrodynamic and optical parameters
- Laboratory work, e.g., CFC tracer analysis
Lectures
Winter term 2024 / 2025
Publications
Wurl, O & Meyerjürgens, J (2024) Intense Cooling of the Upper Ocean with the Merging of Tropical Cyclones: A Case Study in the Southeastern Indian Ocean. Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography, 76(1). doi.org/10.16993/tellusa.4083
Goßmann, I; Meyerjürgens, J; Albinus, M; Achtner, C; Robinson, B. T; Held, A; Lehners, C; Gassen, L; Ayim, SM; Badewien, TH; Scholz-Böttcher, BM; Wurl, O (2025) What influences the distribution of microplastics in the marine environment? An interdisciplinary study reveals key factors driving microplastic in the North Sea. Science of The Total Environment, 964, 178589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178589
Wurl, O; Gassen, L; Badewien, TH; Braun, A; Emig, S; Holthusen, LA; Lehners, C; Meyerjürgens, J & Ribas, MR (2024) HALOBATES: An autonomous surface vehicle for high-resolution mapping of the sea-surface microlayer and near-surface layer on essential climate variables. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology. https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-24-0021.1
Villa Castrillón, L; Ricker, M; Staneva, J; Meyerjürgens, J; Badewien, TH & Stanev, EV (2024). Relative dispersion and relative diffusivities in an ocean-wave coupled model of the North Sea. Ocean Dynamics, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-024-01619-6
Deyle, L; Badewien, TH; Wurl, O; and Meyerjürgens, J (2024) Lagrangian surface drifter observations in the North Sea: an overview of high-resolution tidal dynamics and surface current, Earth System Science Data, 16, 2099-2112, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2099-2024
Milke, F; Meyerjürgens, J; Simon, M (2023) Ecological mechanisms and current systems shape the modular structure of the global oceans’ prokaryotic seascape. Nat Commun 14, 6141. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41909-z
Meyerjürgens, J; Ricker, M; Aden, C; Albinus, M; Barrelet, J; Freund, H; Hahner, F; Lettmann, KA; Mose, I; Schaal, P; Schleich-Argent, RI; Stanev, EV; Wolff, JO; Zielinski, O and Badewien, TH (2023). Sources, pathways, and abatement strategies of macroplastic pollution: An interdisciplinary approach for the southern North Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 727, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1148714
Martín, J; Alonso, G; Dragani, W; Meyerjürgens, J; Giesecke, R; Cucco, A.; and Fenco, H (2023). General circulation and tidal wave propagation along the Beagle Channel. Journal of Marine Systems, 103889, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2023.103889
Belkin, I. M., Aliani, S., Alkire, M. B., Badewien, T. H., Berta, M., Durán Gómez, G. S., Meyerjürgens, J., ... & Stanev, E. V. (2022). Introduction to the Chemical Oceanography of Frontal Zones. In: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2022_894
Meyerjürgens, J; Schöneich-Argent, RI; Badewien, TH (2022) An exploratory analysis of seabed litter dynamics in the SE German Bight. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 177, 113515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113515
Ricker, M., Meyerjürgens, J., Badewien, T.H., Stanev, E.V. (2022). Lagrangian Methods for Visualizing and Assessing Frontal Dynamics of Floating Marine Litter with a Focus on Tidal Basins. In: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2021_812
Villa Castrillion, L; Ricker, M; Meyerjürgens, J; Grayek, S; Staneva, J (2022) Relative dispersion and relative diffusivities of model-runs in the North Sea, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-8861, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-8861
Zielinski, O; Pieck, D; Schulz, J; Thölen, C; Wollschläger, J; Albinus, M; Badewien, TH; Braun, A; Engelen, B; Feenders, C; Fock, S; Lehners, C; Löhmus, K; Lübben, A; Massmann, G; Meyerjürgens, J; Nicolai, H; Pollmann, T; Schwalfenberg, K; Stone, J; Waska, H; Winkler, H (2022) The Spiekeroog Coastal Observatory: A scientific infrastructure at the land-sea transition zone (southern North Sea), Frontiers in Marine Science, 8 (February), DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.754905
Meyerjürgens, J. (2021). Observations of Processes Governing the Dynamics of Marine Litter in the North Sea (Doctoral dissertation, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg).
Giebel, HA; Arnosti, C; Badewien, TH; Bakenhus, I; Balmonte, JP; Billerbeck, S; Dlugosch, L; Henkel, R; Kuerzel, B; Meyerjuergens, J; Milke, F; Voss, D; Wienhausen, G; Wietz, M; Winkler, H; Wolterink, M; Simon, M (2021) Microbial growth and organic matter cycling in the Pacific Ocean along a latitudinal transect between subarctic and subantarctic waters. Front. Mar. Sci., 13 Dec. 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.764383
Meyerjürgens, J; Ricker, M; Schakau, V; Badewien, TH; Stanev, EV (2020) Relative dispersion of surface drifters in the North Sea: The effect of tides on mesoscale diffusivity. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125(8), https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015925
Ricker, M; Stanev, EV; Badewien, TH; Freund H; Meyerjürgens, J; Wolff, JO; Zielinski, O (2020) Drifter observations and Lagrangian tracking of the 2018 easterly wind event in the North Sea. In: Copernicus Marine Service Ocean State Report, Issue 4, Journal of Operational Oceanography, 13 (sup1), s155-s160, https://doi.org/10.1080/1755876X.2020.1785097
Stanev, EV; Badewien, TH; Freund, H; Grayek, S; Hahner, F; Meyerjürgens, J; Ricker, M; Schöneich-Argent, RI; Wolff, JO; Zielinski, O (2019) Extreme westward surface drift in the North Sea: Public reports of stranded drifters and Lagrangian tracking. Continental Shelf Research (177), 24-32, doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2019.03.003
Meyerjürgens, J; Badewien, TH; Garaba, SP; Wolff, JO; Zielinski, O (2019) A state-of-the art compact surface drifter reveals pathways of floating marine litter in the German Bight. Frontiers Marine Science, doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00058. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00058/full