The Annette-Barthelt Prize Honors Young Researchers

The 37th presentation of the Annette Barthelt Prize is dedicated to the memory of Annette Barthelt, Daniel Reinschmidt, Marco Buchalla, and Hans-Wilhelm Halbeisen. In 1987, the four young researchers had traveled to Africa to take part in the 5th expedition of the new research vessel METEOR, which had been commissioned the previous year, in the Indian Ocean. On March 18, the eve of the expedition’s departure, they were killed along with nine others in a bomb explosion in Djibouti. Their families founded the Annette Barthelt Foundation in 1988, which has since honored outstanding achievements by young scientists in marine research every year.

“I am delighted that the Annette Barthelt Prize allows us to provide a platform for young researchers who are conducting outstanding research and contributing important insights to our understanding of the ocean. This year, the focus is on the deep sea, Arctic marine biodiversity, and seismic data. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the award recipients,” says Professor Dr. Katja Matthes, Director of GEOMAR.

“The three award recipients have made significant contributions and helped advance research into unresolved questions. Their work stands out for its scientific excellence—as well as for the curiosity and perseverance with which it was carried out. I am very pleased to be able to honor this achievement today,” emphasizes Professor Dr. Arne Körtzinger, Chairman of the Annette Barthelt Foundation. “This year marks the 39th anniversary of the attack in Djibouti. Through the Foundation’s awards, we wish to keep the memory of the four young researchers alive.”

The 2026 Annette Barthelt Award Winners:

Dr. Ayla Murray completed her dissertation, “Applying environmental DNA metabarcoding to investigate patterns of Arctic marine biodiversity with a focus on gelatinous zooplankton,” at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Charlotte Havermans. Ayla Murray investigated the occurrence of various organisms, particularly gelatinous Zooplankton in the Fram Strait between Greenland and Spitsbergen. The study examined the distribution throughout the entire water column, from the surface to the deep sea, across different seasons. By expanding the range of methods used, significant progress was made in studying gelatinous plankton, which is generally difficult to detect. Her findings provide important data for tracking future changes in the Arctic plankton community. Ayla Murray is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Marine Zoology at the University of Bremen.

Dr. Jenny Neuhaus earned her Ph.D. from the University of Hamburg with a dissertation titled “On Drivers of Species Distribution Patterns and Connectivity in the Atlantic Deep Sea – Case Studies on Benthic Invertebrate Taxa.” She was supervised by Prof. Saskia Brix-Elsig, Prof. Susanne Dobler, and Prof. Pedro Martínez Arbizu. Jenny Neuhaus analyzed seafloor samples from ten deep-sea expeditions along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and participated in two of these expeditions herself. Using a combination of different methodological approaches for selected invertebrates, she investigated which factors influence their distribution. Her results show that genetic exchange between eastern and western populations is possible despite the barrier of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Jenny Neuhaus currently works at the Senckenberg Institute in Wilhelmshaven.

Benedikt Haimerl receives the Annette Barthelt Prize for his master’s thesis, “Machine Learning-Based Denoising of Seismic Reflection Data for the Reconstruction of the Largest Waterfall in the Geological Record,” at the University of Hamburg. He was advised by Prof. Dr. Christian Hübscher and Prof. Dr. Conny Hammer. Using methods from the field of artificial intelligence, he filtered seismic data he collected during a METEOR expedition in the Mediterranean. The results of this innovative analysis suggest the existence of a paleo-waterfall over a steeply sloping relief 2,200 meters deep and 20 kilometers long. This is likely the largest waterfall in Earth’s history, which, at the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5–6 million years ago, when the Mediterranean Sea dried up), flooded the eastern Mediterranean with Atlantic water again as a catastrophic event in the form of a megaflood. Benedikt Haimerl is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in geophysics at the University of Hamburg.

Funding:
The Annette Barthelt Foundation Science Award comes with a research grant of 6,000 euros funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR), which was divided among the three award recipients this year.