معرفی
Prof. Dr. Eileen Eckmeier serves as Director of the Institute for Ecosystem Research at Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel and holds a W3 Professorship in Geoarchaeology and Environmental Risks. She concurrently acts as Co-spokesperson of the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence (since October 2023), Spokesperson of the ROOTS subcluster "Socio-Environmental Hazards," Vice President of DEUQUA (German Quaternary Association), and Board member of multiple academic organizations including the Soil and Archaeology Working Group of the German Soil Science Society.
Her educational background includes a Dr. sc. nat. from the University of Zurich (2007) with award from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences for her dissertation "Detecting prehistoric fire-based farming using biogeochemical markers," and a Diploma in Geography from the University of Cologne (2002) with minors in Soil Science, Prehistory and Early History, and History.
Eckmeier's research centers on soil geography and geoarchaeology, particularly human-environment relationships during the Holocene where soils serve as both resources and archives of human activity. Her work investigates changes in soil properties due to land use and climate change across spatial and temporal scales, with geographical focus spanning European and Asian loess/steppe landscapes (Central Europe, Middle East, Mongolia), North Frisian Islands, the Alps, and African savannahs. She employs interdisciplinary approaches combining soil science, archaeology, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction.
Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals strong emphasis on paleoenvironmental reconstruction through soil archives, with significant contributions to understanding prehistoric agriculture, loess-paleosol sequences, and human impacts on landscapes. Key thematic clusters include Neolithic fertilization practices, ridge and furrow cultivation systems, wildfire impacts on soils, and tectonic-landscape-human interactions in critical regions like the Kenya Rift and European loess belts.
- Award from Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Zurich
As Director of the Institute for Ecosystem Research and Co-spokesperson of the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence, Eckmeier leads major research initiatives examining societal, environmental, and cultural change. Her leadership extends to the Scientific Advisory Board of the Stone Age Park Dithmarschen and multiple institutional boards focused on Quaternary research and soil-archaeology integration. Current projects investigate socio-environmental hazards through the ROOTS framework while maintaining active fieldwork in diverse global landscapes from European loess regions to African savannahs.
Eckmeier directs research teams within the Institute for Ecosystem Research's Geoarchaeology and Environmental Risks group, coordinating work across multiple specialized units including Geobotany, Environmental History and Archives, Applied Ecology and Paleoecology, and Technical Platform teams. Her ROOTS Cluster leadership integrates these efforts into a comprehensive framework examining human responses to environmental change over millennia.
