Mark Lever
- Associate Professor
- Marine Science
Contact Information
Biography
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Aug 2022 – present Associate Professor of Marine Biogeochemistry and Geobiology, Univ. Texas Austin.
2014 – present Adjunct Professor, Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University, Denmark.
2014 – 2022 Assistant Professor of Environmental Microbiology, ETH Zurich.
2013 – 2014 Research Associate, Aarhus University, Denmark.
2011 – 2012 Marie-Curie Intra-European Postdoctoral Fellow, Aarhus University, Denmark.
2009 – 2010 Postdoctoral Scientist, Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University, Denmark.
Research
My research is driven by my interest in in Earth’s carbon cycle. I pursue research questions of broad significance concerning the mechanistic (how?) and quantitative (how much?) influence of microorganisms, humans, and abiotic factors on the short- and long-term fate of organic carbon in aquatic sediments and Earth’s crust.
Currently, I am particularly interested in the following areas:
(a) Influence of human societies on organic carbon sequestration in and greenhouse gas emissions from aquatic sediments.
(b) Interactions between paleoenvironmental, sedimentological, geochemical and microbiological processes in controlling the long-term fate of organic carbon in marine sediments.
(c) Deciphering anaerobic microbial food webs by linking organic carbon chemical compositions to the microorganisms and biochemical processes that transform them.
(d) Role of macrobiota in driving carbon and nutrient cycling in marine and freshwater sediments.
(e) Design of sustainable strategies, including seaweed farming, to enhance the burial of atmospheric CO2 in aquatic sediments and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
(f) Importance of tectonic processes and deep mantle-derived energy sources in sustaining subseafloor life.
All persons who are interested in interdisciplinary research on the cycling of organic carbon in sedimentary environments are welcome to contact me (mark.lever@austin.utexas.edu).
Similarly, I am always interested in supporting students with ideas of applying research in biogeochemistry and/or microbiology in areas outside the sedimentary realm, including but not limited to wastewater treatment, food and biofuel production, bioremediation, and recreational fields.
I am also a passionate hobby birder and always interested in projects that are bird-related.
Research Areas
- Biodiversity, Ecology or Sustainability
- Microbiology
- Biochemistry
- Climate Change
Fields of Interest
- Microbial Processes
- Nutrient Cycling
- Coastal Ecosystem Processes
- Mariculture
- Coastal Geology
- Marine Ecosystem Dynamics
Centers and Institutes
- Center for Planetary Systems Habitability
Education
- PhD in Marine Sciences, Dept. of Marine Sciences, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA (2008).
- Master of Arts in Marine Biology, Boston University Marine Program, Woods Hole, USA (2002).
- Bachelor of Arts in Biology with Minor in Music, Boston University, Boston, USA (1999).
Publications
2025
Deng L, Bölsterli D, Glombitza C, Jørgensen BB, Røy H, Lever MA (2025) Drivers of methane-cycling archaeal abundances, community structure, and catabolic pathways in continental margin sediments. Frontiers Microbiol 16:1550762. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1550762.
Rodriguez P, Berg JS, Deng L, Vogel H, Okoniewski M, Lever MA, Magnabosco C (2025) Persistent functional and taxonomic groups dominate an 8,000-year sedimentary sequence from Lake Cadagno, Switzerland. Frontiers Microbiol 16:1504355. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1504355.
2024
Runion K, Deepak M, Alber M, Lever MA, O’Connell J (2024) Capturing spatiotemporal variation in salt marsh belowground biomass, a key resilience metric, through geoinformatics. Ecosphere, https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70110.
Baumann KBL, Mazzoli A, Salazar G, Ruscheweyh H-J, Müller B, Niederdorfer R, Sunagawa S, Lever MA, Lehmann MF, Bürgmann H (2024) Metagenomic and -transcriptomic analyses of microbial nitrogen transformation potential, and gene expression, in Swiss lake sediments, ISME Comms 4:ycae110.
Obradović N, Schmitz RA, Haffter F, Meier D, Lever MA, Schroth MH, Sander M (2024) Peat particulate organic matter accepts electrons during in situ incubation in the anoxic subsurface of ombrotrophic bogs. J Geophys Res 129:e2024JG008223.
Gajendra N, Deng L, Eglinton TI, Schubert CJ, Lever MA (2024) Impacts of temperature and fluid seepage on organic carbon chemical compositions in sediments of an active hydrothermal basin. Org Geochem 196:104829.
Meier D, van Grinsven S, Michel A, Eickenbusch P, Glombitza C, Han X, Fiskal A, Bernasconi S, Schubert CJ, Lever MA* (2024) Hydrogen-independent CO2 reduction dominates methanogenesis in five temperate lakes that differ in trophic states, ISME Communications 4:ycae089.
Hoehler TM, Amend JP, Jørgensen BB, Orphan VJ, Lever MA (2024) Editorial: Studies on life at the energetic edge - from laboratory experiments to field-based investigations, volume II. Frontiers Microbiol 14:1351761.
Jørgensen BB, Egger M, Lever MA, Røy H (2024) Seawater contamination by coring and pore water sampling of marine sediments. Chem Geol 651:122020.
Ajallooeian F, Deng L, Lever MA, De Jonge C (2024) The seasonal variability of aquatic brGDGTs: a mesocosm approach. Org Geochem 189:104742.
2023
Muschick M, Jemmi E, Lengacher N, Hänsch S, Wales M, Kishe MA, Mwaiko S, Dieleman J, Lever MA, Salzburger W, Verschuren D, Seehausen O (2023). Ancient DNA is preserved in fish fossils from tropical lake sediments. Molecular Ecol, https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17159.
Gajendra N, Berg JS, Vogel H, Deng L, Wolf S, Bernasconi SM, Dubois N, Schubert CJ, Lever MA (2023) Carbohydrate compositional trends throughout Holocene sediments of an alpine lake (Lake Cadagno). Frontiers Earth Sci 11:1047224.
Deng L, Fiskal A, Bölsterli D, Meier D, Meile C, Lever MA (2023) Differential impact of two major polychaete guilds on microbial communities in marine sediments: a microcosm study. Frontiers Marine Sci 10:1119331.
Lever MA, Alperin MJ, Hinrichs K-U, Teske A (2023) Zonation of the active methane-cycling community in deep subsurface sediments of the Peru Trench, Frontiers Microbiol 14:1192029.
2022
Janssen DJ, Rickli J, Wille M, Sepúlveda Steiner OR, Vogel H, Dellwig O, Berg JS, Boffard D, Lever MA, Hassler CS, Jaccard SL (2022) Chromium cycling in euxinic basins challenges d53Cr paleoredox proxy applications, Geophys Res Lett 49:e2022GL099154.
Sena C, Parkhurst DL, Tepley FJ III, Jiang F, van der Land C, Coelho JRC, Oliveira V, Lever MA, Ishizuka O, Arculus R (2022) Formation of calcium chloride brines in volcaniclastic-rich sediments, Frontiers Earth Sci 10:869567.
Huang X, Liu X, Xue Y, Pan B, Xiao L, Wang S, Lever MA, Hinrichs K-U, Inagaki F, Liu C (2022) Anaerobic methane production by wood-rot fungi via a new, halomethane-dependent pathway, Microbiol Spectrum e01700-22.
Deng L, Meile C, Fiskal A, Bölsterli D, Han X, Gajendra N, Dubois N, Bernasconi S, Lever MA (2022) Deposit-feeding worms control subsurface ecosystem functioning in intertidal sediment with strong physical forcing, PNAS Nexus 1:pgac146.
Han X, Tolu J, Deng L, Fiskal A, Schubert CJ, Winkel LHE, Lever MA (2022) Physical shielding promotes long-term preservation of biomolecules in lake sediments, PNAS Nexus 1:1-15.
Bruni ET, Blattmann TM, Haghipour N, Louw DC, Lever MA, Eglinton TI (2022) Sedimentary hydrodynamic processes under low-oxygen conditions: implications for past, present, and future oceans, Frontiers Earth Sci 10:886395.
Baumann KBL, Thoma R, Callbeck CM, Niederdorfer R, Schubert C, Müller B, Lever MA, Bürgmann H (2022) Trophic status and local conditions affect microbial potential for denitrification versus internal nitrogen cycling in lake sediments. mSphere 7:e010130-21.
van Grinsven S, Meier D, Michel A, Han X, Schubert CJ, Lever MA (2022) Role of redox zone and trophic history as drivers of methanotrophic bacterial abundance and community structure in lake sediments. Frontiers Environ Sci 10:857358.
Berg JS, Lepine M, Laymand E, Han X, Vogel H, Morlock MA, Gajendra N, Gilli A, Bernasconi SM, Schubert C, Su G, Lever MA (2022) Ancient and modern geochemical signatures in the 13,500-year sedimentary record of Lake Cadagno. Frontiers in Earth Sci 9:754888.
Awards
- Outstanding Review Editor, Frontiers in Microbiology (2022).
- Outstanding Associate Editor, Frontiers in Microbiology (2021, 2023).
- Whiteley Fellow, Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, USA (2018, 2024).
- Distinguished Lecturer, European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (2016-17).
- Outstanding Reviewer at Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Sciences (2015).
- Marie Curie Intra-European Postdoctoral Fellowship (2011-12).
- Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Dissertation Completion Fellowship (2007-08).
- NSF-East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute fellowship (2007).
- Schlanger Ocean Drilling Fellowship, IODP, U.S. Science Support Program (2006-07).
- NSF Scholarship, Microbial Diversity course, MBL, Woods Hole, MA (2003).
- Fellow, Sounds Conservancy, Québec-Labrador Foundation (2001-02).