Marine Geophysics and Hydroacoustics

Dr. Christoph Böttner

Scientific Staff, ICDP Coordination

Otto-Hahn-Platz 1, R. 14
Phone: +49 431 880-5791
Telefax: +49 431 880-4432
christoph.boettner@ifg.uni-kiel.de

ORCID

ResearchGate      

Research Interests

As a marine geoscientist with a background in qualitative and quantitative geophysics, structural geology and geomorphology, I have a diverse set of skills that enables me to explore a wide range of Earth science processes. I am motived by a desire to understand the inextricable links between active tectonics, fluid flow, carbon cycling and seafloor morphology including the investigation of focused fluid flow in marine sediments, crustal faulting, as well as subaqueous landslides. The involved geological processes are often intertwined and shape the morphology of continental slopes, sedimentary basins and volcanic islands but also are often associated with grand challenges for today’s society in the upcoming century.

  • Sub-seafloor fluids including hydrocarbon and submarine freshened water systems
  • Activity and character of offshore fault zones
  • Subaqueous landslides and volcanic flank collapses
  • Quantitative geomorphology and digital geology

 

Resume

  • Nov. 2016 – Feb. 2020: Dr. rer. Nat. (Ph.D.) in “Natural Sciences”.
    Doctoral researcher in Marine Geophysics at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel funded by the EC-funded “STEMM-CCS” project.
    Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Christian Berndt, Prof. Dr. Lars Rüpke
    Thesis: Natural and anthropogenic fluid migration pathways in marine sediments
  • Apr. 2014 – Oct. 2016 :M.Sc. “Geophysics” at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany
    Thesis: Seismic attribute analysis of faults and fluid migration pathways underneath a landslide: New insight from high-resolution P-Cable seismic data at the Tuaheni Landslide Complex, offshore New Zealand
  • Oct. 2010 – Mar. 2014 : B.Sc. “Physics of the Earth system: Oceanography, Meteorology, and Geophysics” at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany
    Thesis: Sediment waves and their relevance for mass wasting along the Moroccan shelf-break: An analysis of seismic and hydroacoustic data

 

Academic experience and internships

  • Jan. 2021- present: ICDP Germany Coordination and postdoctoral researcher at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Marine Geophysics and Hydroacoustics, Germany
  • Jun.-Sept. 2020: Postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Marine Geophysics and Hydroacoustics, Germany
  • Jan. - Oct. 2016: Student assistant at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, AG Krastel / Marine geophysics and Hydroacoustics
  • Aug.-Dec. 2015: Erasmus+ student abroad at the University of Iceland, Reykjavik
  • Apr. 2013-Jul. 2015: Student assistant at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, RD4 / Marine geophysics
  • Sept. 2012: Internship at Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany, Tsunami Early Warning System

 

Funding and Projects

  • Jun. 2021 PI for funded proposal APOC (Dynamics and variability of POC burial in depocenters of the North Sea), RV Alkor, 12 days.
  • Feb. 2021  PI for funded proposal WAVETEAM (Sediment wave formation processes at NW African margin), RV Maria S. Merian, 28 days.
  • Jan. 2021  PI for funded proposal HELGOLAND POCKMARKS (Emergence of pockmarks near Helgoland), RV Maria S. Merian, 9 days.
  • Jun. 2019 – Aug. 2019   PI for funded project: GRAPA (UAV-based photogrammetry of pipe structures in Varna, Bulgaria), 10 days field work.
  • Jun. 2017  Scholarship ECORD – ESSAC. ECORD scholarship and travel grant for the ECORD Petrophysics Summer School 2017, Leicester, UK.

 

Honors and Prizes

  • “Prof. Dr. Werner Petersen”-Award 2020 for distinct doctoral dissertations, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany
  • "BRIESE - Award for Marine Research 2020" for distinct doctoral dissertations, Warnemünde, Germany

Expeditions

  • Aug. 2021 R/V Alkor (AL561), APOC, Skagerrak, North Sea, PI & Hydroacoustics lab leader
  • Mar. 2021 - Apr. 2021 R/V Merian (MSM99/2), German Bight of the North Sea, PI & Co-Chief Scientist.
  • Apr.2019 – May 2019 R/V Meteor (M154), Montserrat, Lesser Antilles, Hydroacoustics – Lab leader
  • Oct. 2018 R/V Maria S. Merian (MSM78), Central North Sea, UK, Hydroacoustics – Lab leader
  • Jul. 2018 R/V Alkor (AL512), Southern North Sea, Germany, Hydroacoustics – Lab-Co-leader
  • Sep. 2017 – Oct. 2017 R/V Poseidon (POS518), Southern and Central North Sea, Hydroacoustics - Lab leader
  • Apr. 2017 – May 2017 R/V Maria S. Merian (MSM63), Central North Sea, Hydroacoustics - Lab leader
  • Nov. 2016 – Dec. 2016 R/V Sonne (SO252), Ritter Island, Papua-New Guinea, Hydroacoustics - Lab co-leader
  • Sep. 2016 – Oct. 2016 R/V Maria S. Merian (MSM58), Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Azores Islands, Hydroacoustics – Assistant
  • Jun. 2015 – Jul. 2015 R/V Sonne (SO241), Guaymas Basin, Offshore Mexico, Hydroacoustics - Lab leader
  • Sep. 2014 – Oct. 2014 R/V Ocean Researcher V (OR5.2), Offshore Taiwan, 3-D P-Cable Seismic - Assistant
  • Sept. 2013 – Oct. 2013 R/V Maria S. Merian (MSM32), Agadir Canyon Offshore Morocco, Seismic & Hydro-acoustic - Assistant
  • Nov. 2012 R/V Alkor (AL404), Baltic Sea, Germany. Hydroacoustics & Seismic – Assistant

 

Work at sea included planning, acquisition and processing of bathymetric, echosounder, and seismic data as well as sediment sampling. During several cruises, I led the hydroacoustic group in charge of the scientific strategy.

Peer-reviewed publications

  1. Callow, B., Bull, J. M., Provenzano, G., Böttner, C., Birinci, H., Robinson, A. H., Henstock, T. J., Minshull, T. A., Bayrakci, G., Lichtschlag, A., Roche, B., Yilo, N., Gehrmann, R., Karstens, J., Falcon-Suarez, I. H., & Berndt, C. (2021). Seismic chimney characterisation in the North Sea – Implications for pockmark formation and shallow gas migration. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 105301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2021.105301
  2. Schramm, B., Berndt, C., Dannowski, A., Böttner, C., Karstens, J., & Elger, J. (2021). Seismic imaging of an active fluid conduit below scanner pockmark, Central North Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 105302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2021.105302
  3. Gehrmann, R. A., Provenzano, G., Böttner, C., Marín-Moreno, H., Bayrakci, G., Tan, Y. Y., Yilo, N. K., Djanni, A. T., Weitemeyer, K. A., Minshull, T. A., Bull, J. M., Karstens, J., & Berndt, C. (2021). Porosity and free gas estimates from controlled source electromagnetic data at the scanner pockmark in the North Sea. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 109, 103343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2021.103343
  4. Böttner, C., Callow, B. J., Schramm, B., Gross, F., Geersen, J., Schmidt, M., ... & Berndt, C. (2021). Focused methane migration formed pipe structures in permeable sandstones: Insights from UAV‐based digital outcrop analysis in Varna, Bulgaria. Sedimentology.Open Access
  5. Robinson, A. H., Callow, B., Böttner, C., Yilo, N., Provenzano, G., Falcon-Suarez, I. H., Marín-Moreno, H., Lichtschlag, A., Bayrakci, G., Gehrmann, R., Parkes, L., Roche, B., Saleem, U., Schramm, B., Waage, M., Lavayssière, A., Li, J., Jedari-Eyvazi, F., Sahoo, S., . . . Reinardy, B. (2021). Multiscale characterisation of chimneys/pipes: Fluid escape structures within sedimentary basins. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 106, 103245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2020.103245
  6. Flohr, A., Schaap, A., Achterberg, E. P., Alendal, G., Arundell, M., Berndt, C., Blackford, J., Böttner, C., ... & Connelly, D. (2021). Towards improved monitoring of offshore carbon storage: A real-world field experiment detecting a controlled sub-seafloor CO2 release. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 106, 103237.
  7. Böttner, C., Haeckel, M., Schmidt, M., Berndt, C., Vielstädte, L., Karstens, J., & Weiß, T. (2020). Greenhouse gas emissions from marine decommissioned hydrocarbon wells: leakage detection, monitoring and mitigation strategies. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 100, 103119.Open Access
  8. Couvin, B., Georgiopoulou, A., Mountjoy, J. J., Amy, L., Crutchley, G. J., Brunet, M., Cardona, S., Gross, F., Böttner, C., Krastel, S., & Pecher, I. (2020). A new depositional model for the Tuaheni Landslide Complex, Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 500.
  9. Böttner, C., Berndt., C., Reinardy, B.T.I., Geersen, J., Karstens, J., Bull., J.M., Callow, B.J., Lichtschlag, A., Schmidt, M., Elger, J., Schramm, B., Haeckel, M. (2019). Pockmarks in the Witch Ground Basin, Central North Sea. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 20(4), 1698-1719.Free Access
  10. Karstens, J., Berndt, C., Morelia, M., Watt, S.F.L., Micallef A., Ray, M., Klaucke, I., Kühn, M., Kläschen, D., Muff, S., Roth, T., Böttner, C., Schramm, B., Elger, J., Brune, S. (2019). From gradual spreading to catastrophic collapse–Reconstruction of the 1888 Ritter Island volcanic sector collapse from high-resolution 3D seismic data. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 517, 1-13.
  11. Watt, S.F.L., Karstens, J., Micallef A., Berndt, C., Morelia, M., Ray, M., Desau, A., Sammartini, M., Klaucke, I., Böttner, C., Day, S., Downes, H. (2019). From catastrophic collapse to multi-phase deposition: Flow transformation, seafloor interaction and triggered eruption following a volcanic-island landslide. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 517, 135-147.
  12. Böttner, C., Gross, F., Geersen, J., Crutchley, G. J., Mountjoy, J. J., & Krastel, S. (2018). Marine Forearc Extension in the Hikurangi Margin: New Insights From High‐Resolution 3‐D Seismic Data. Tectonics, 37(5), 1472-1491.Free Access
  13. Gross, F., Mountjoy, J. J., Crutchley, G. J., Böttner, C., Koch, S., Bialas, J., ... & Huhn, K. (2018). Free gas distribution and basal shear zone development in a subaqueous landslide–Insight from 3D seismic imaging of the Tuaheni Landslide Complex, New Zealand. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 502, 231-243.
  14. Krastel, S., Wynn, R. B., Feldens, P., Schürer, A., Böttner, C., Stevenson, C., ... & Unverricht, D. (2016). Flow behaviour of a giant landslide and debris flow entering Agadir Canyon, NW Africa. In Submarine Mass Movements and their Consequences (pp. 145-154). Springer, Cham.
  15. Berndt, C., Hensen, C., Mortera-Gutierrez, C., Sarkar, S., Geilert, S., Schmidt, M., Liebetrau, V., Kipfer, R., Scholz, F., Doll, M., Muff, S., Karstens, J., Planke, S., Petersen, S., Böttner, C., Chi, W. C., Moser, M., Behrendt, R., Fiskal, A., Lever, M. A., Su, C. C., Deng, L., Brennwald, M. S. and Lizarralde, D. (2016). Rifting under steam – how rift magmatism triggers methane venting from sedimentary basins. Geology, 44 (9), 767-770.

 

Scientific communication

Gehrmann, R., Provenzano, G., Böttner, C., Yilo, N.,Bayrakci, G., Marin-Moreno, H., Bull, J., Minshull, T., & Berndt, C. (2020).Porosity estimates from marine controlled source electromagnetic dipole-dipole data at the Scanner Pockmark in the North Sea. [Display] In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts (EGU2020-21066), Vienna, Austria. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21066.

Böttner, C., Haeckel, M., Schmidt, M., Berndt, C., Vielstädte, L., Karstens, J., & Weiß, T. (2019). Decommissioned hydrocarbon wells as a source for greenhouse gas release: sources, rates, and mitigation strategies. [Poster] In: AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 08.12.-13.12.2020, San Francisco, USA

Elger, J., Crutchley, G. J., Böttner, C., Gross, F., Mountjoy, J. J., Krastel, S., ... & Pecher, I. A. (2019). Fluid migration along reactivated normal faults in the gas hydrate system of the Tuaheni Landslide Complex off New Zealand. [Poster] In: AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 08.12.-13.12.2020, San Francisco, USA.

Schramm, B., Bayrakci, G., Dannowski, A., Berndt, C., Böttner, C., Bull, J., ... & Minshull, T. A. (2019). Imaging the 3D seismic velocity structure of the Scanner pockmark, central North Sea. [Poster] In: AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 08.12.-13.12.2020, San Francisco, USA.

Böttner, C., Callow, B.J., Gross, F., Vasilev, A., Petsinski, P., Karstens, J., Berndt, C., Bull, J. (2019). GRAPA – Quantifying features of a fluid flow systems using customer-grade UAV imagery. [Talk] In STEMM-CCS ECR Meeting, 04.11.-7.11.2019, Winchester, United Kingdom.

Böttner, C., Schramm, B., Berndt, C., Karstens, J., Bull, J., Callow, B.J., & Gross, F. (2019). GRAPA–Quantifying fractures using drone imagery. [Poster] In: STEMM-CCS 3. Annual Meeting, 27.2.-1.3.2019, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Schramm, B., Berndt, C. , Dannowski, A. , Bayrakci, G., Böttner, C. und Minshull, T. (2019). Imaging the 3D seismic velocity structure of the Scanner pockmark, central North Sea. [Poster] In: STEMM-CCS 3. Annual Meeting, 27.2.-1.3.2019, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Schramm, B., Berndt, C., Dannowski, A., Bayrakci, G., Minshull, T. und Böttner, C. (2019). Imaging the 3D seismic velocity structure of the Scanner pockmark, central North Sea. [Poster] In: 79. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Geophysikalischen Gesellschaft (DGG), 5.3. - 8.3.2019, Braunschweig, Germany.

Gehrmann, R., Yilo, N., Haroon, A., Morton, M., Djanni, A., Bull, J., Provenzano, G., Böttner, C., Schwalenberg, K., Berndt, C. and Minshull, T. (2019). Effect of acquisition uncertainties on interpretation of resistivity estimates from marine electromagnetic data. [Poster] IUGG, Montreal, Canada.

Yilo, N., Gehrmann, R., Bull, J., Minshull, T., Provenzano, G., Bayrakci, G., Böttner, C., Schramm, B. and Berndt, C. (2019). Controlled Source Electromagnetics data analysis to evaluate fluid flow pathways associated with CCS sites. [Talk] Marelec, Woods Hole, MA, USA.

Bull, J., Minshull, T., Henstock, T., Bayrakci, G., Gehrmann, R., Böttner, C., ... & Chen, B. (2018, October). Constraining leakage pathways through the overburden above sub-seafloor CO2 storage reservoirs. [Poster] In 14th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference Melbourne (pp. 21-26), Melbourne, Australia.

Böttner, C., Schramm, B., Berndt, C., Karstens, J., Schmidt, M., Haeckel, M., ... & Reinardy, B. (2018, April). Pockmark formation in the Witch Ground Basin, central North Sea. [Talk] In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts (Vol. 20, p. 8536), Vienna, Austria.

Micallef, A., Watt, S., Berndt, C., Urlaub, M., Brune, S., Klaucke, I., Böttner, C., Karstens, J., Elger, J. (2017). An 1888 Volcanic Collapse Becomes a Benchmark for Tsunami Models.  [Article] Eos: Earth & Space Science News, 48.

Böttner, C., Gross, F., Geersen, J. M., Mountjoy, J., Crutchley, G., & Krastel, S. (2017). An analysis of marine forearc extension on the northern Hikurangi subduction margin using high-resolution 3D seismic data. [Poster] In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts (Vol. 18), Vienna, Austria.

Yilo, N., Gehrmann, R., Bull, J., Minshull, T., Provenzano, G., Bayrakci, G., Böttner, C., Schramm, B. and Berndt, C. (2017). Controlled Source Electromagnetics data analysis to evaluate fluid flow pathways associated with CCS sites. [Poster] Electromagnetic induction workshop, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Gross, F., Mountjoy, J., Crutchley, G., Koch, S., Bialas, J., Pecher, I., ... & Böttner, C. (2016, April). Submarine creeping landslide deformation controlled by the presence of gas hydrates: The Tuaheni Landslide Complex, New Zealand. [Talk] In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts (Vol. 18), Vienna, Austria.

Berndt, C., Hensen, C., Mortera-Gutierrez, C., Sarkar, S., Geilert, S., Schmidt, M., Liebetrau, V., Kipfer, R., Scholz, F., Doll, M., Muff, S., Karstens, J., Planke, S., Petersen, S., Böttner, C., Chi, W. C., Moser, M., Behrendt, R., Fiskal, A., Lever, M. A., Su, C. C., Deng, L., Brennwald, M. S. and Lizarralde, D. (2015, December). Hydrothermal Activity in the Northern Guaymas Basin. [Poster] In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA.

Theses

  • Doctoral Thesis 2020 Natural and anthropogenic fluid migration pathways in marine sediments, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel. http://eprints.uni-kiel.de/48910/
  • Master of Science 2016 Seismic attribute analysis of faults and fluid migration pathways underneath a landslide: New insight from high-resolution P-Cable seismic data at the Tuaheni Landslide Complex, offshore New Zealand, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel.
  • Bachelor of Science 2014 Sediment waves and their relevance for mass wasting along the Moroccan shelf-break: An analysis of seismic and hydroacoustic data, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel.