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Due to their pronounced bioactivity and limited availability from natural resources, metabolites of the soft coral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae, such as erogorgiaene and the pseudopterosines, represent important target molecules for chemical synthesis. We have now developed a particularly short and efficient route towards these marine diterpenes exploiting an operationally convenient enantioselective cobalt‐catalyzed hydrovinylation as the chirogenic step. Other noteworthy C−C bond forming transformations include diastereoselective Lewis acid‐mediated cyclizations, a Suzuki coupling and a carbonyl ene reaction. Starting from 4‐methyl‐styrene the anti‐tubercular agent (+)‐erogorgiaene (>98 % ee) was prepared in only 7 steps with 46 % overall yield. In addition, the synthesis of the pseudopterosin A aglycone was achieved in 12 steps with 30 % overall yield and, surprisingly, was found to exhibit a similar anti‐inflammatory activity (inhibition of LPS‐induced NF‐κB activation) as a natural mixture of pseudopterosins A−D or iso‐pseudopterosin A, prepared by β‐D‐xylosylation of the synthetic aglycone., Applied metal catalysis: Exploiting a practical protocol for the asymmetric hydrovinylation of stryrenes in the opening move, the stereoselective total synthesis of bioactive constituents of the soft coral pseudopterogorgia elisabethae was efficiently achieved in sequence of metal‐mediated steps to provide sufficient material for further biological investigations.

The seminal synthesis of the sesquiterpene (±)-α-cedrene reported by Wender in 1981 offers a uniquely short and elegant access to the bridged-tricyclic target compound by exploiting an intramolecular arene-olefin photocycloaddition. However, the synthesis was performed only in the racemic series so far. This synthesis was now re-investigated and the catalytic methods for the enantioselective preparation of the chiral key intermediate were evaluated. It was found that Cu-catalyzed allylic substitution of a cinnamyl chloride with MeMgBr in the presence of a Taddol-derived chiral phosphine-phosphite ligand affords the corresponding (1-methylallyl)arene with high enantioselectivity (94% ee). Hydroboration and subsequent Suzuki coupling gave (R)-curcuphenol methyl ether from which (–)-α-cedrene was prepared along the route paved by Wender.

An efficient and practical protocol for the enantioselective cobalt-catalyzed hydrovinylation of vinylarenes with ethylene at low (1.2 bar) pressure has been developed. As precatalysts, stable [L2 CoCl2 ] complexes are employed that are activated in situ with Et2 AlCl. A modular chiral TADDOL-derived phosphine-phosphite ligand was identified that allows the conversion of a broad spectrum of substrates, including heterocyclic vinylarenes and vinylferrocene, to smoothly afford the branched products with up to 99 % ee and virtually complete regioselectivity. Even polar functional groups, such as OH, NH2 , CN, and CO2 R, are tolerated.

In natural coastal wetlands, high supplies of marine sulfate suppress methanogenesis. Coastal wetlands are, however, often subject to disturbance by diking and drainage for agricultural use and can turn to potent methane sources when rewetted for remediation. This suggests that preceding land use measures can suspend the sulfate-related methane suppressing mechanisms. Here, we unravel the hydrological relocation and biogeochemical S and C transformation processes that induced high methane emissions in a disturbed and rewetted peatland despite former brackish impact. The underlying processes were investigated along a transect of increasing distance to the coastline using a combination of concentration patterns, stable isotope partitioning, and analysis of the microbial community structure. We found that diking and freshwater rewetting caused a distinct freshening and an efficient depletion of the brackish sulfate reservoir by dissimilatory sulfate reduction (DSR). Despite some legacy effects of brackish impact expressed as high amounts of sedimentary S and elevated electrical conductivities, contemporary metabolic processes operated mainly under sulfate-limited conditions. This opened up favorable conditions for the establishment of a prospering methanogenic community in the top 30–40 cm of peat, the structure and physiology of which resemble those of terrestrial organic-rich environments. Locally, high amounts of sulfate persisted in deeper peat layers through the inhibition of DSR, probably by competitive electron acceptors of terrestrial origin, for example Fe(III). However, as sulfate occurred only in peat layers below 30–40 cm, it did not interfere with high methane emissions on an ecosystem scale. Our results indicate that the climate effect of disturbed and remediated coastal wetlands cannot simply be derived by analogy with their natural counterparts. From a greenhouse gas perspective, the re-exposure of diked wetlands to natural coastal dynamics would literally open up the floodgates for a replenishment of the marine sulfate pool and therefore constitute an efficient measure to reduce methane emissions.

We report first results from a study on water and element exchange across the land-ocean boundary at the southern Baltic Sea. The focus is set on ferruginous fresh ground waters escaping at the shore line, flowing in air contact before entering a subterranean mixing zone with brackish Baltic Sea water. The present study combines the results from multiple sampling campaigns that investigated the composition of several springs as well as the surface and subsurface development of fresh waters on the way to the Baltic Sea. This is achieved by a combination of hydroand solid-phase geochemical and stable isotope measurements with ground water dating. Results are compared to the composition of groundwaters recovered from wells in the catchment area and the local isotope meteoric water line developed for Warnemünde. The spring water is shown to be impacted by the dissolution of biogenic carbon dioxide and marine carbonate as well as the oxidation of pyrite in glacial sediments. Dating yields a surprisingly high diversity between some closely associated springs with average ages of about 25 to 32 years, but different mixing proportions with older tritium-free ground-water.