Dr. Torben Windirsch

In 2013 I started to study Geoecology at the University of Potsdam. My Bachelor thesis dealt with permafrost genesis in northwestern Greenland. I continued my studies in a Master program, already focussing on Arctic and global development as well as the role of human involvement in these processes. During this time I worked at the permafrost research laboratories at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam, where I also wrote my Master thesis on Siberian permafrost genesis and carbon inventories in 2018. In the following I started my PhD in 2019, investigating the topic "Permafrost Carbon Stabilization by Recreating a Herbivore-Driven Ecosystem", looking into animal impacts on permafrost and especially permafrost carbon storage as well as potential strategies to preserve permafrost during global climate change. For this, I led three field campaigns (2019 to Chersky-Siberia; 2020 and 2022 to norhernmost Finland) and joined the Arctic Gouvernance Group at IASS in 2020. After finishing my PhD successfully in January 2024 I joined RIFS to develop land use strategies for soil carbon preservation in the Arctic together with local partners.