Manuel received his BSc and MSc at the University of Freiburg, Germany. For his BSc-thesis, he investigated carbonated peridotite breccias from the Gakkel-Ridge in the arctic ocean. During his Msc, he focused on magmatic and metamorphic petrology, doing investigations on carbonatites and contact-metamorphic carbonate rocks of the Seiland Igneous Province, Northern Norway. In the course of the ABYSS project, he will investigate natural examples of carbonation reactions in ultramafic rocks. The aim is to provide insights into the role of serpentinite carbonation in the global carbon cycle and to develop strategies for CO2 sequestration by mineral carbonation of serpentinite. Detailed field studies in the Bay of Islands ophiolite in Newfoundland, Canada, are planned for summer 2015, complemented by subsequent geochemical analysis and reaction path modelling.