Dr. Moritz Mathis
Research focus
• Global and regional ocean modeling
• Regionalization of global climate projections
• Carbon cycle in shelf and marginal seas
• Ocean-atmosphere interaction
• Exchange processes between the open ocean and the shelf
• Marine biogeochemistry
Projects
- CLICCS Climate, Climatic Change and Society
- APOC Anthropogenic impacts on particulate organic carbon cycling in the North Sea
- RACE Regional Atlantic Circulation and Global Change
RACE Synthese - ECODRIVE Ecosystem Change in the North Sea: Processes, Drivers, Future Scenarios
Research associate
• Since 2019
Postdoc at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Institute for Coastal Systems
• 2013-2019
Postdoc at the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology, Department Ocean in the Earth System
Education
• 2009-2013
PhD at the University of Hamburg, Institute of Oceanography
• 2001-2009
Diploma studies of Naval Architecture at the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg
• 2000
Graduation from high school
Moritz Mathis studied Naval Architecture at the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg with a main interest in computational fluid dynamics and marine engineering. His research at the University of Hamburg and the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology was based on the application of various high-resolution regional model systems to advance our understanding about the complex dynamics of the Northwest European Shelf region and its large-scale driving mechanisms including climate-induced changes. Since then, particular focus of his work is laid on physical and biogeochemical exchange processes between the shelf and the open Northeast Atlantic as well as coupled air-sea interaction. He further collaborates in interdisciplinary projects to assess and improve the predictive understanding of changes in the trophodynamic structure and functioning within the North Sea relative to different drivers of ecosystem change. At the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, he is leading the development of the global ocean-biogeochemistry model ICON-Coast, which enables for the first time a seamless two-way coupling of the open and coastal ocean via regional grid refinement and enhanced process representation. This new model system is considered an innovative and powerful tool to explore the role of the land-ocean transition zone in the global carbon cycle, and to narrow related uncertainties in global future projections.
- Mathis, M., Lacroix, F., Hagemann, S., Nielsen, D.M., Ilyina, T., & Schrum, C. (2024): Enhanced CO2 uptake of the coastal ocean is dominated by biological carbon fixation. Nat. Clim. Chang., doi:10.1038/s41558-024-01956-w
- Nielsen, D.M., Chegini, F., Maerz, J., Brune, S., Mathis, M., Dobrynin, M., Baehr, J., Brovkin, V., & Ilyina, T. (2024): Reduced Arctic Ocean CO2 uptake due to coastal permafrost erosion. Nat. Clim. Chang., doi:10.1038/s41558-024-02074-3
- Kossack, J., Mathis, M., Daewel, U., Zhang, Y.J., & Schrum, C. (2023): Barotropic and baroclinic tides increase primary production on the Northwest European Shelf. Front. Mar. Sci., Volume 10, doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1206062
- Kühn, B., Kempf, A., Brunel, T., Cole, H., Mathis, M., Sys, K., Trijoulet, V., Vermard, Y., & Taylor, M. (2023): Adding to the mix – Challenges of mixed-fisheries management in the North Sea under climate change and technical interactions. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 30, 360–377, doi:10.1111/fme.12629
- Mathis, M., Logemann, K., Maerz, J., Lacroix, F., Hagemann, S., Chegini, F., Ramme, L., Ilyina, T., Korn, P., & Schrum, C. (2022): Seamless integration of the coastal ocean in global marine carbon cycle modeling. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 14, doi:10.1029/2021MS002789
- Mayer, B., Mathis, M., Mikolajewicz, U., & Pohlmann, T. (2022): RCP8.5-projected changes in German Bight storm surge characteristics from regionalized ensemble simulations for the end of the twenty-first century. Front. Clim., 4:992119, doi:10.3389/fclim.2022.992119
- Weinert, M., Kröncke, I., Meyer, J., Mathis, M., Pohlmann, T., & Reiss, H. (2022): Benthic ecosystem functioning under climate change: modelling the bioturbation potential for benthic key species in the southern North Sea. PeerJ, 10:e14105, doi:10.7717/peerj.14105
- Wirtz, K., Smith, S.L., Mathis, M., & Taucher, J. (2022): Vertically migrating phytoplankton fuel high oceanic primary production. Nature Climate Change, 12, 750–756, doi:10.1038/s41558-022-01430-5
- Hátún, H., Larsen, K.M.H., Eliasen, S.K., & Mathis, M. (2021). Major Nutrient Fronts in the Northeastern Atlantic: From the Subpolar Gyre to Adjacent Shelves. In: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2021_794
- Lacroix, F., Ilyina, T., Mathis, M., Laruelle, G. G., & Regnier, P. (2021). Historical increases in land-derived nutrient inputs may alleviate effects of a changing physical climate on the oceanic carbon cycle. Global Change Biology, 27, 5491– 5513. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15822
- Weinert, M., Mathis, M., Kröncke, I., Pohlmann, T. , & Reiss, H. (2021): Climate change effects on marine protected areas: Projected decline of benthic species in the North Sea. Marine Environmental Research, Volume 163, 2021, 105230, doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105230
- de Souza, M.M., Mathis, M., Mayer, B., Noernberg, M.A., & Pohlmann, T. (2020): Possible impacts of anthropogenic climate change to the upwelling in the South Brazil Bight. Climate Dynamics (2020), doi:10.1007/s00382-020-05289-0
- Mathis, M., & Mikolajewicz, U. (2020): The impact of meltwater discharge from the Greenland ice sheet on the Atlantic nutrient supply to the northwest European shelf. Ocean Sci., 16, 167–193, doi:10.5194/os-16-167-2020
- de Souza, M.M., Mathis, M., & Pohlmann, T. (2019): Driving mechanisms of the variability and long-term trend of the Brazil–Malvinas confluence during the 21st century. Clim Dyn 53, 6453–6468, doi:10.1007/s00382-019-04942-7
- Núñez-Riboni, I., Taylor, M., Kempf, A., Püts, M., & Mathis, M. (2019): Spatially resolved past and projected changes of the suitable thermal habitat of North Sea cod (Gadus morhua) under climate change. ICES Journal of Marine Science, fsz132, 15 pp, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsz132
- Kotova, L., Jacob, D., Leissner, J., Mathis, M., & Mikolajewicz, U. (2019): Climate Information for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Needs and Challenges. In: Moropoulou, A., Korres, M., Georgopoulos, A., Spyrakos, C., & Mouzakis, C. (Eds.): Transdisciplinary Multispectral Modeling and Cooperation for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage. Communications in Computer and Information Science 961, 353-359, Springer, Cham, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12957-6_25
- Mathis, M., Elizalde, A., & Mikolajewicz, U. (2019): The future regime of Atlantic nutrient supply to the Northwest European Shelf. Journal of Marine Systems 189, 98-115, doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2018.10.002
- Mathis, M., Elizalde, A., & Mikolajewicz, U. (2018): Which complexity of regional climate system models is essential for downscaling anthropogenic climate change in the Northwest European Shelf? Climate Dynamics 50, 2637-2659, doi:10.1007/s00382-017-3761-3
- Hátún, H., Ólafsson, J., Azetsu-Scott, K., Somavilla, R., Rey, F., Johnson, C., Mathis, M., Mikolajewicz, U., Coupel, P., Tremblay, J. E., Hartman, S., Pacariz, S., & Salter, I. (2017): The subpolar gyre regulates silicate concentrations in the North Atlantic. Scientific Reports 7 (1), 14576, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14837-4
- Pätsch, J., Burchard, H., Dieterich, C., Gräwe, U., Gröger, M., Mathis, M., Kapitza, H., Bersch, M., Moll, A., Pohlmann, T., Su, J., Ho-Hagemann, H. T. M., Schulz, A., Elizalde, A., & Eden, C. (2017): An evaluation of the North Sea circulation in global and regional models relevant for ecosystem simulations. Ocean Modelling, doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2017.06.005
- Schrum, C., Lowe, J., Meier, H. E. M., Grabemann, I., Holt, J., Mathis, M., Pohlmann, T., Skogen, M. D., Sterl, A., & Wakelin, S. (2016): Projected Change - North Sea. In: Quante, M., & Colijn, F. (Eds.): North Sea Region Climate Change Assessment. Springer Berlin - Heidelberg, pp. 175-217, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-39745-0_6
- Weinert, M., Mathis, M., Kröncke, I., Neumann, H., Pohlmann, T., & Reiss, H. (2016): Modelling climate change effects on benthos: Distributional shifts in the North Sea from 2001 to 2099. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 175, 157-168, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2016.03.024
- Mathis, M., Elizalde, A., Mikolajewicz, U., & Pohlmann, T. (2015): Variability patterns of the general circulation and sea water temperature in the North Sea. Progress in Oceanography 135, 91-112, doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2015.04.009
- O'Driscoll, K., Mayer, B., Su, J., & Mathis, M. (2014): The effects of global climate change on the cycling and processes of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the North Sea. Ocean Science 10, 397-409, doi:10.5194/os-10-397-2014
- Su, J., Sein, D.V., Mathis, M., Mayer, B., O'Driscoll, K., Chen, X., Mikolajewicz, U., & Pohlmann, T. (2014): Assessment of a zoomed global model for the North Sea by comparison with a conventional nested regional model. Tellus A, 66, 23927, doi:10.3402/tellusa.v66.23927
- Mathis, M., & Pohlmann, T. (2014): Projection of physical conditions in the North Sea for the 21st century. Climate Research 61, 1-17, doi:10.3354/cr01232
- Mathis, M., Mayer, B., & Pohlmann, T. (2013): An uncoupled dynamical downscaling for the North Sea: Method and evaluation. Ocean Modelling 72, 153-166, doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2013.09.004
- Mathis, M. (2013): Projected Forecast of Hydrodynamic Conditions in the North Sea for the 21st Century. PhD Thesis, University of Hamburg, Germany, 178 pp, https://ediss.sub.uni-hamburg.de//volltexte/2013/6169/
- Alheit, J., Pohlmann, T., Casini, M., Greve, W., Hinrichs, R., Mathis, M., O'Driscoll, K., Vorberg, R., & Wagner, C. (2012): Climate variability drives anchovies and sardines into the North and Baltic Seas. Progress in Oceanography 96 (1), 128-139, doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2011.11.015