SEK 1.1 million to research project on environmental pollution in the Baltic Sea and coastal farmland
Marcelo Ketzer, professor of environmental science, and Mats Åström, professor of environmental geology, have been granted SEK 760,000 and SEK 375,000 respectively by SGU, Geological Survey of Sweden, for a new research project and a continuation project at Linnaeus University.
“It feels great to receive this contribution that makes it possible for us to start a new important project in the Baltic Sea. The call for proposals was very competitive and only six projects in Sweden were granted funds”, says Marcelo Ketzer, professor of environmental science.
The impact of metals on the water and sediment of the Baltic Sea is a great environmental problem. In the project “Accumulation of metals in Baltic Sea sediment: significance for environmental monitoring and action initiatives”, Marcelo Ketzer and Mats Åström will study, among other things, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium in sediments, in collaboration with Geological survey of Sweden (the expert agency for issues relating to bedrock, soil, and groundwater in Sweden).
In the project, sediment will be collected and analysed, and a laboratory experiment will be carried out. The project will contribute to a broadening and strengthening of the ongoing monitoring of Baltic Sea sediments and increase knowledge on how metals behave in the Baltic Sea as a whole in the event of climate change and due to factors such as influx of oxygen-rich sea water.
In the project “Accumulation of metals in Baltic Sea sediment: significance for environmental monitoring and action initiatives” that has been granted SEK 760,000, Marcelo Ketzer is the main applicant and Mats Åström co-applicant. In the continuation project “Geochemical, mineralogical, and microbiological characterisation of acid sulfate soils – towards improved water quality in coastal plains” that has been granted SEK 375,000, Mats Åström is the main applicant.
Contact
Marcelo Ketzer, professor of environmental science, email: marcelo.ketzer@lnu.se,
phone: +4672-5949464
Mats Åström, professor of environmental geology, email: mats.astrom@lnu.se, phone: 4672-594 96 35
Liv Ravnböl, communications officer research, email: liv.ravnböl@lnu.se, +4676-760 36 66
Press photo: https://lnu.box.com/s/n70ubrxeb0ps76hdzmceft2fqmo39awo
Photographer: Anders Olsson