Thomas Reinthaler

Thomas Reinthaler is a researcher at the Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, specializing in microbial oceanography and biogeochemical processes. His work investigates the role of prokaryotic organisms in marine carbon cycling, the influence of environmental factors like temperature and UV irradiation on microbial activity, and metabolic adaptations in deep-sea environments under in situ pressure conditions.

Research Interests

Reinthaler's research spans microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, and oceanography. Key areas include dark ocean carbon cycling, anaplerotic carbon fixation, hydrostatic pressure effects on microbial communities, and the interplay between prokaryotic gene expression and environmental stressors like UV radiation. His work also addresses microbial contributions to the biological pump and nutrient recycling in mesopelagic zones.

Publication Trends

Recent publications highlight metaproteomic analyses of dark ocean trophic interactions, sulfur cycling dynamics, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in coastal systems. He has advanced methodologies for in situ pressure experiments and contributed to resolving paradoxes in carbon budget calculations through studies on heterotrophic autotrophy and microbial substrate utilization patterns.

Projects and Activities

• BASS Project: Biochemical processes and air-sea exchange in the sea surface microlayer (active 2022–2025).
• Prokaryoten Project: Funded research on prokaryotic activity in the North Atlantic (2011–2016).
• Organized the 2024 Symposium on Microbial Oceanography and presented at the ECOTIP Photoexhibit (2024).