About Martine Kox

Dr. Martine Kox is a researcher specializing in greenhouse gas dynamics in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Her work contributes to a better understanding of the processes that govern greenhouse gas emissions and uptake in water and soil systems. This knowledge helps improve predictions of climate change impacts and supports the development of sustainable solutions for resilient, safe, and climate-adaptive deltas.

With a background in microbiology, Martine combines fundamental scientific knowledge with pressing societal challenges. Her expertise lies in unraveling complex natural processes and linking microbial activity to ecosystem functioning and climate change. She is curious, analytical, and driven to generate knowledge that can be directly applied in policy and practice. She enjoys collaborating with experts from different disciplines to develop integrated solutions to environmental challenges.

Through her work, Martine contributes to one of the greatest challenges of our time: mitigating climate change and supporting the transition to a climate-neutral society. This challenge is closely intertwined with biodiversity loss, declining water quality, and pressures on agricultural systems. By improving our understanding of the interactions between microorganisms, soil, water, and climate, she provides the scientific knowledge needed to support effective climate action and sustainable ecosystem management.

Key Activities and Achievements:

• Contributed to building an extensive portfolio of research projects at the intersection of water, soil, and greenhouse gases. This work has helped establish and develop this topic into a dedicated research theme within Deltares.
• Played a key role in expanding the greenhouse gas research facilities within the FTO Sustainability programme, strengthening Deltares’ research and innovation capacity in greenhouse gas monitoring and process-based research.
• Works on leading projects such as the National Research Programme on Greenhouse Gases in Peatlands (NOBV), Sustainable Wet Soil Relocation (Duurzaam Nat Grondverzet), and BlueCAN, where new knowledge is being developed on the role of water and soil systems in climate change and climate mitigation.

Microorganisms have been the common thread throughout Martine’s career. She is fascinated by them because they form the foundation of almost all life on Earth and are capable of adapting to an extraordinary range of environments. This fascination continues to drive her research today. After all, some of the smallest organisms often play a crucial role in addressing some of the largest challenges related to climate, water, and the environment.