ROMEO | UiT

Global warming is altering the biogeochemical cycles of key elements in marine and terrestrial environments, i.e. C, S, N, P…, creating potential feedback on future climate. Understanding, monitoring and predicting these processes bear global societal and economic implications.

Our mission:

To increase knowledge on ecosystems and biogeochemical processes in deep-sea extreme environments, i.e. methane and oil seeps, gas hydrates, and hydrothermal vents, and in shallow aquatic systems impacted by anthropogenic activities such as fjords, lakes and coastal areas.

We combine field work (marine research expeditions, field trips), experimental studies (biological, molecular and isotopic analyses), sediment characterization (sedimentology, lithostratigraphy), and numerical models to quantify elemental fluxes through the bio-geo-hydrospheres.

Multidisciplinary approach:

We believe in the importance of applying a multidisciplinary approach to solve scientific questions and for that reason, we include collaborations from many fields e.g., microbiology, environmental sciences, molecular biology, and geophysics.

Research areas:

Cold seeps and hydrothermal vents
Environmental geology
Environmental biogeochemistry in marine and terrestrial aqueous systems affected by human activities
Micropaleontology and environmental DNA (eDNA)
Sediment and pore fluid geochemistry
Marine authigenic carbonates

Research objectives:

To reconstruct past hydrocarbon and hydrothermal activities at Arctic sites using (micro)faunal and geochemical proxies (sediment and pore fluids) on sediment cores
To characterize the composition and distribution of seafloor chemosynthetic ecosystems at cold seeps and vents in relation to subsurface geochemical gradients
To reconstruct the history of hydrothermal activity at the Arctic mid-ocean ridge using (micro)faunal and geochemical proxies on sediment cores
To study the effect of submarine mine tailing disposal on seafloor communities and quantify metal fluxes in/out of the sediment
To understand and quantify the impact of human activities on the environments

People

Sabina Strmic PalinkasProfessor

Yulia MunResearcher

Giuliana PanieriProfessor (Group leader)

Claudio ArgentinoResearcher

Publications

Jakubowicz, M.*, Akam, S.A., Argentino, C., Hryniewicz, K., Panieri, G., Kiel, S. and Belka, Z., 2025. Diagenesis of hydrocarbon-seep carbonates: Common patterns, divergent pathways and conceptual pitfalls. Earth-Science Reviews, p.105210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2025.105210

Argentino, C.*, Panieri, G., Bjørnå, E., Dessandier, P.A., Jamieson, J.W. and Bünz, S., 2025. Origin and composition of hydrothermally‐influenced sediments at Aurora Vent Field, southwestern Gakkel Ridge (82.9° N). Sedimentology. https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.70018

Argentino, C.*, Mattingsdal, R., Eidvin, T., Ohm, S.E. and Panieri, G., 2025. A constellation of mud volcanoes originated from a buried Arctic mega-slide, Southwestern Barents Sea. Scientific Reports, 15(1), p.15161. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99578-5 (OA)

Angeles, I.B.*, Argentino, C., Cermakova, K., Holzmann, M., Pawlowski, J. and Panieri, G., 2025. Sediment eDNA metabarcoding reveals the endemism in benthic foraminifera from Arctic methane cold seepages. ISME Communications, p.ycaf058. https://doi.org/10.1093/ismeco/ycaf058 (OA)

Panieri, G.*, Argentino, C., Savini, A., Ferré, B., Hemmateenejad, F., Eilertsen, M.H., Mattingsdal, R., Ramalho, S.P., Eidvin, T., Youngs, S. and Colson, B.C., 2025. Sanctuary for vulnerable Arctic species at the Borealis Mud Volcano. Nature Communications, 16(1), p.504. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55712-x (OA)

De Groot, T., Kalenitchenko, D., Moser, M., Argentino, C., Panieri, G., Lindgren, M., Ferré, B., Svenning, M.M. and Niemann, H., 2024. Methanotroph activity and connectivity between two seep systems north off Svalbard. Frontiers in Earth Science, 12, p.1287226. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2024.1287226.

Wittig, C., Argentino, C. and Panieri, G., 2024. Formation of non-evaporitic gypsum in gas hydrate-bearing sediments at Håkon Mosby mud volcano, SW Barents sea, Marine and Petroleum Geology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2024.106875.

Hoff, M., Argentino, C., Huljek, L., Fiket, Ž., Mun, Y., Angeles, I.B., Palinkas, S.S. and Panieri, G., 2024. Biogeochemical impact of historical submarine mine tailings on benthic ecosystems in the Repparfjord (Northern Norway), Science of the Total Environment, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171468.

Argentino, C., Borrelli, C., Akinselure, A., Correa-Diaz, M., Panieri. G., 2024. Biogeochemical investigations of methane seepage at the ultraslow-spreading Arctic mid-ocean ridge: Svyatogor ridge, Fram Strait, Marine and Petroleum Geology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2024.106761.

Panieri, G., Knies, J., Vadakkepuliyambatta, S. et al., 2023. Evidence of Arctic methane emissions across the mid-Pleistocene. Commun Earth Environ, 4, 109. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00772-y.

Argentino, C., Kalenitchenko, D., Lindgren, M. and Panieri, G., 2023. HgCl2 addition to pore water samples from cold seeps can affect the geochemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon ([DIC], δ13CDIC). Marine Chemistry, p.104236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2023.104236

Argentino, C., Lee, A., Fallati, L., Sahy, D., Birgel, D., Peckmann, J., Bünz, S. and Panieri, G., 2022. Biogeochemistry and timing of methane-derived carbonate formation at Leirdjupet Fault Complex, SW Barents Sea. Frontiers in Earth Science, p.2010. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.1029471

Alumni

2023/2024

Carlotta Radaelli, University of Milan Bicocca (Italy), M.Sc. student.

Arianna Caneva, University of Milan Bicocca (Italy), M.Sc. student.

Christoffer L. Jørgensen, University of Southern Denmark, B.Sc. student.

2022/2023

Marie Hoff, University of Tubingen (Germany), M.Sc. student.

Eivind Urbye Bjørnå, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, M.Sc. student.

2021/2022

Abidemi Alex Akinselure, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, M.Sc. student.

Cahrin Wittig, University of Kiel (Germany), M.Sc. student.

Federica Riva, University of Milan Bicocca (Italy), M.Sc. student.

Chiara Fusca, University of Milan Bicocca (Italy), M.Sc. student.

Environmental biogeochemistry

Global warming is altering the biogeochemical cycles of key elements in marine and terrestrial environments, i.e. C, S, N, P…, creating potential feedback on future climate. Understanding, monitoring and predicting these processes bear global societal and economic implications.

Our mission:

To increase knowledge on ecosystems and biogeochemical processes in deep-sea extreme environments, i.e. methane and oil seeps, gas hydrates, and hydrothermal vents, and in shallow aquatic systems impacted by anthropogenic activities such as fjords, lakes and coastal areas.

We combine field work (marine research expeditions, field trips), experimental studies (biological, molecular and isotopic analyses), sediment characterization (sedimentology, lithostratigraphy), and numerical models to quantify elemental fluxes through the bio-geo-hydrospheres.

Multidisciplinary approach:

We believe in the importance of applying a multidisciplinary approach to solve scientific questions and for that reason, we include collaborations from many fields e.g., microbiology, environmental sciences, molecular biology, and geophysics.

Research areas:

Research objectives:

To characterize the composition and distribution of seafloor chemosynthetic ecosystems at cold seeps and vents in relation to subsurface geochemical gradients

To reconstruct the history of hydrothermal activity at the Arctic mid-ocean ridge using (micro)faunal and geochemical proxies on sediment cores

To study the effect of submarine mine tailing disposal on seafloor communities and quantify metal fluxes in/out of the sediment

To understand and quantify the impact of human activities on the environments

People

Projects

Opportunities

If you are looking for funding to begin a postdoc or become a principal investigator, get in contact with us to brainstorm and develop your network!

UiT provides support for exceptional candidates to search for funding as a postdoc or research project leader.

- The Tromsø Research Foundation provides support for l activities to train the next generation of scientific leaders here at UiT.

- The Arctic Marie Skłodowska-Curie - Individual Fellowships at UiT can provide an opportunity to receive training and mentorship on your MSCA-IF application to be a distinguished postdoctoral researcher in our group.

Publications

Alumni

ROMEO – Environmental biogeochemistry

Global warming is altering the biogeochemical cycles of key elements in marine and terrestrial environments, i.e. C, S, N, P…, creating potential feedback on future climate. Understanding, monitoring and predicting these processes bear global societal and economic implications.

Our mission:

To increase knowledge on ecosystems and biogeochemical processes in deep-sea extreme environments, i.e. methane and oil seeps, gas hydrates, and hydrothermal vents, and in shallow aquatic systems impacted by anthropogenic activities such as fjords, lakes and coastal areas.

We combine field work (marine research expeditions, field trips), experimental studies (biological, molecular and isotopic analyses), sediment characterization (sedimentology, lithostratigraphy), and numerical models to quantify elemental fluxes through the bio-geo-hydrospheres.

Multidisciplinary approach:

We believe in the importance of applying a multidisciplinary approach to solve scientific questions and for that reason, we include collaborations from many fields e.g., microbiology, environmental sciences, molecular biology, and geophysics.

Research areas:

Research objectives:

To characterize the composition and distribution of seafloor chemosynthetic ecosystems at cold seeps and vents in relation to subsurface geochemical gradients

To reconstruct the history of hydrothermal activity at the Arctic mid-ocean ridge using (micro)faunal and geochemical proxies on sediment cores

To study the effect of submarine mine tailing disposal on seafloor communities and quantify metal fluxes in/out of the sediment

To understand and quantify the impact of human activities on the environments

People

Sabina Strmic Palinkas – Professor

Yulia Mun – Researcher

Giuliana Panieri – Professor

Claudio Argentino – Researcher

Projects

Opportunities

If you are looking for funding to begin a postdoc or become a principal investigator, get in contact with us to brainstorm and develop your network!

UiT provides support for exceptional candidates to search for funding as a postdoc or research project leader.

- The Tromsø Research Foundation provides support for l activities to train the next generation of scientific leaders here at UiT.

- The Arctic Marie Skłodowska-Curie - Individual Fellowships at UiT can provide an opportunity to receive training and mentorship on your MSCA-IF application to be a distinguished postdoctoral researcher in our group.

Publications

Alumni

ROMEO – Environmental biogeochemistry