Tanja Stratmann studies the ecology and biogeochemistry of extreme environments with particular focus on the deep sea and polar regions.
In the deep sea, she investigates the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining and mine tailing disposal on ecosystem functioning, food-web structure, and stability. For this purpose, she combines linear inverse modeling of benthic deep-sea food webs, pulse-chase tracer experiments (13C, 15N, 2H) and image analysis of the sea floor.
Tanja Stratmann also assesses the role of invertebrate megafauna, such as deep-sea sponges or sea cucumbers, on the benthic carbon and nitrogen cycle by combining in-situ and ex-situ flux measurements (dissolved organic matter, inorganic nutrients, oxygen) with still image analysis of the seafloow, and feeding studies.
Furthermore, she investigates primary production and cycling of dissolved organic matter in the Arctic Ocean and in Greenlandic fjords.