About:

General

 

2013-present:   PostDoc at NIOZ. Veni poject: A novel tool for continental climate reconstruction: long-chain diols in lake sediments.

2010-2013:      Guest PostDoc from Utrecht University. ESF-project “DEEP-Sea primary produCtion: (meta)genomic view on ecosystem functioning”.

2008-2010:      PostDoc at the NIOZ. Project: Identification of sweet spots in gas shales.

2004-2008:      PhD. student at the NIOZ. Project: Long-chain diols as palaeoproductivity proxies.

2000-2004:      Lab technician at the NIOZ. Project: Chemical fossils of diatoms for age determination of petroleum: Improved tools for solving exploration and production problems.

1998-1999 & 2001-2002: Training lab technicians at universities of Alemaya and Mekelle (Ethiopia) respectively.

1994-1999:      Student at Hogeschool IJselland (Deventer) Analytical Chemistry

  

Research Interest:

I am interested in  unique lipid molecules produced by specific groups of organisms (so-called biomarkers). These lipids can be used to reconstruct the past and present occurrence and abundance of these organisms and may be useful for climate reconstruction studies.

 

Current Research:

A novel tool for continental climate reconstruction: long-chain diols in lake sediments.

The aim of this project is to test the applicability of a novel palaeotemperature proxy for lake sediments. Recently I introduced the Long chain Diol Index (LDI) as a proxy for palaeotemperature reconstruction in marine environments,  and now I want to test its applicability for freshwater environments.

 

Previous Projects:

DEEP-Sea primary produCtion: (meta)genomic view on ecosystem functioning.

The aim of this project was to gain insights in the fixation of CO₂ and the functioning of the food web in the deep sea. My role in this project was to determine which organisms occur in the deep sea and how they obtain their carbon.

 

Identification of sweet spots in gas shales (Post Doc. 2008-2009).

With this project I provided information on the precursor material for shale gas.

 

Long-chain diols as palaeoproductivity proxies (PhD. 2004-2008).

This PhD project aimed to explore the use of long-chain diols as palaeoproductivity proxies, with special emphasis on C₂₈ and C₃₀ 1,14-diols produced by diatom algae of the genus Proboscia. We developed proxies based on long-chain 1,14-diol concentrations versus long-chain 1,13- and 1,15-diols, which were used to reconstruct upwelling intensity in the Arabian Sea and the Western Antarctic Peninsula.

 

Chemical fossils of diatoms for age determination of petroleum: Improved tools for solving exploration and production problems (Technician. 2000-2004).

The aim of this project was to identify specific lipids in diatom algae which can be used to determine the age of oil and sediments. In addition, specific lipids were identified and used for palaeoclimate reconstruction and for the reconstruction of the evolution of diatoms.

 

Sequence Manager.

The combination of specific biomarkers and the phylogenetic relationships of the organisms producing these lipids plays an important role in my research. To this end, I developed the program Sequence Manager. This program can open several types of sequence files, which can then be aligned and filtered, and finally the phylogenetic tree can be calculated. In addition, the program can perform the Relative Rate Test, and the additional program ViewTree can be used to show and rearrange the shape of calculated phylogenetic trees. Sequence Manager can be downloaded here.

 

Publications

Rampen, S.W., Willmott, V., Kim, J.-H., Uliana, E., Mollenhauer, G., Schefuß, E., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S., Schouten, S. (2012) Long chain 1,13- and 1,15-diols as a potential proxy for palaeotemperature reconstruction. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48, 204-216.

Rampen, S.W., Schouten, S., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2011) Occurrence of long chain 1,14-diols in Apedinella radians. Organic Geochemistry 42, 572-574.

Koski, M., Dutz, J., Klein Breteler, W., Rampen, S., Noordeloos, A. (2010) Seasonal changes in food quantity and quality of the common North Sea copepods Temora longicornis and Pseudocalanus elongatus: a bioassay approach. Marine Ecology Progress Series 399, 141-155.

Willmott, V., Rampen, S.W., Domack, E., Canals, M., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S., Schouten, S. (2010) Holocene changes in Proboscia diatom productivity in shelf waters of the North Western Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Science 22, 3-10.

Rampen, S.W., Abbas, B.A., Schouten, S., Sinninghe Damsté. J.S. (2010) A comprehensive study of sterols in marine diatoms (Bacillariophyta): Implications for their use as tracers for diatom productivity. Limnology and Oceanography 55, 91-105.

Rampen, S.W. (2009) Molecular fossils of diatoms: Applications in petroleum geochemistry and palaeo-environmental studies. Geologica Ultraiectina 305 , PhD thesis, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

Rampen, S.W., Schouten, S., Schefuß, E., Sinninghe Damsé, J.S. (2009) Impact of temperature on long chain diol and mid-chain hydroxyl methyl alkanoate composition in Proboscia diatoms: Results from culture and field studies. Organic Geochemistry 40, 1124-1131.

Rampen, S.W., Schouten, S., Hopmans, E.C., Noordeloos, A.A.M., Geenevasen, J.A.J., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2009) Occurrence of 23-methyl steroids in sediments in diatoms and sediments. Organic Geochemistry 40, 219-228.

Rampen, S.W., Volkman, J.K., Hur, S.B., Abbas, B.A., Schouten, S., Jameson, I.D., Holdsworth, D.G., Bae, J.H., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2009) Occurrence of gorgosterol in diatoms of the genus Delphineis. Organic Geochemistry 40, 144-147.

Rampen, S.W., Schouten, S., Hopmans, E.C., Noordeloos, A.A.M., Geenevasen, J.A.J., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2009) Diatoms as a source for 4-desmethyl-23,24-dimethyl steroids in sediments and petroleum. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73, 377-387.

Rampen, S.W., Schouten, S., Panoto, F.E., Brink, M., Andersen, R.A., Muyzer, G., Abbas, B., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2009) Phylogenetic position of Attheya longicornis and Attheya septentrionalis (Bacillariophyta). Journal of Phycology 45, 444-453.

Rampen, S.W., Schouten, S., Koning, E., Brummer, G.-J.A., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2008) A 90 kyr upwelling record from the northwestern Indian Ocean using a novel long-chain diol index. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 276, 207-213.

Rampen, S.W., Schouten, S., Abbas, B., Panoto, F.E., Muyzer, G., Campbell, C.N., Fehling, J., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2007) On the origin of 24-norcholestanes and their use as age-diagnostic biomarkers. Geology 35, 419-422.

Rampen, S.W., Schouten, S., Wakeham, S.G., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2007) Seasonal and spatial variation in the sources and fluxes of long-chain diols and mid-chain hydroxy methyl alkanoates in the Arabian Sea. Organic Geochemistry 38, 165-179.

Schouten, S., Rampen, S.W., Geenevasen, J.A.J. Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2005) Structural identification of steryl alkyl ethers in marine sediments. Organic Geochemistry 36, 1323-1333.

Klein Breteler, W.C.M., Schogt, N., Rampen, S., 2005. Effect of diatom nutrient limitation on copepod development: role of essential lipids. Marine Ecology Progress Series 291, 125-133.

Klein Breteler, W.C.M., Koski, M., Rampen, S. (2004) Role of essential lipids in copepod nutrition: no evidence for trophic upgrading of food quality by a marine ciliate. Marine Ecology Progress Series 274, 199-208.

Sinninghe Damsté, J.S., Muyzer, G., Abbas, B., Rampen, S.W., Massé, G., Allard, W.G., Belt, S.T., Robert, J.-M., Rowland, S.J., Moldowan, J.M., Barbanti, S.M., Fago, F.J., Denisevich, P., Dahl, J., Trindade, L.A.F., Schouten, S. (2004) The rise of the rhizosolenid diatoms. Science 304, 584-587.

Sinninghe Damsté, J.S., Rampen, S., Rijpstra, W.I.C., Abbas, B., Muyzer, G. Schouten, S. (2003) A diatomaceous origin for long-chain diols and mid-chain hydroxy methyl alkanoates widely occurring in Quaternary marine sediments: Indicators for high-nutrient conditions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 67, 1339-1348.