During his PhD studies, Christian Ditlev Funder Castenschiold researched ice-nucleating proteins in the Arctic. When introduced into the atmosphere, ice-nucleating proteins can significantly influence cloud properties and affect regional climates. Christian Ditlev Funder Castenschiold investigated the microbial producers of these proteins in both marine and terrestrial Arctic environments and examined the contributions of these environments to atmospheric ice-nucleating protein concentrations. The research findings advance our understanding of ice-nucleating proteins and how their presence in the atmosphere is affected by the ongoing climate change in the Arctic. The PhD studies provide a framework for future research aimed at reducing the uncertainties surrounding the role of atmospheric ice-nucleating proteins in cloud formation, thereby enhancing the accuracy of climate models.

The PhD study was completed at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Wednesday, 13 August 2025. Time of day: 9am
Place: Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C. Exact location: 1531-113, Aud-D1, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 116, 8000 Aarhus C
Title of PhD thesis: Identification and Quantification of Novel Ice-Nucleating Protein-Producing Microorganisms
Contact information: Christian Ditlev Funder Castenschiold, e-mail: christian.ditlev@bio.au.dk, tel.: +45 30703132
Members of the assessment committee:
Senior Scientist and Lecturer Zamin A. Kanji, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Switzerland.
Tenure-track Assistant Professor Naama Lang-Yona, Atmospheric & Environmental Microbiology Lab, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel.
Professor Andreas Schramm (chair), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor: Associate Professor Tina Šantl-Temkiv, Department of Biology - Microbiology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Co-supervisor: 
Professor Kai Finster, Department of Biology - Microbiology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Professor Thomas Bataillon, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics – Bioinformatics Research Centre (BiRC), Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C