Expert list – climate research from many different perspectives

Climate change: land use, water resources, and transition strategies in agriculture

My research primarily concerns transition strategies for agriculture and land-based industries in the Middle East, as well as ways in which systemic design and future-oriented methodologies can be used in change processes.
Contact: Helen Avery, Senior lecturer in Arabic, helen.avery@lnu.se

Change-oriented approaches to working with technology

I engage with technological infrastructures oriented towards imagining, materialising and sustaining forms of change.
Current project: https://regenerative-energy-communities.org/
Contact: Eric Snodgrass, senior lecturer in design, research subject: technology, energy, infrastructure, +4676-1131610, eric.snodgrass@lnu.se

Climate and information impact: a loaded combination

My research is about how climate issues and climate change have become part of conspiracy theories in the form of new narratives that mobilise resistance against established knowledge. Climate denial and eco-fascism are two movements in which expert knowledge is questioned. The field is used by various actors to influence information flow and public opinion in society, which can ultimately undermine democracy. For media and journalism, this situation is difficult to navigate.
Contact: Andreas Jahrehorn Önnerfors, associate professor in intellectual history, project manager Faktajouren, +4670-270 27 78, andreas.onnerfors@lnu.se

Climate change: effects on natural landscapes and the processes that shape them

I am a physical geographer and teach courses in meteorology, climate and climate change, and geomorphology (the study of landscape forms). Regarding climate change, my main interest lies in how it may affect (and is affecting) geomorphology and the exogenous processes: weathering, slope processes (such as landslides and rockfalls), wind (erosion), running water (including floods), glaciers (glacial processes), and coastal processes (such as beach erosion), that reshape the landscape.
Contact: Hans Andrén, PhD and associate professor in physical geography, +4670-221 31 08, hans.andren@lnu.se

Culture, cultural heritage, and climate change

How can culture and cultural heritage contribute to an adaptation to a changing climate and its impacts on human societies? Do we need a new kind of world heritage? Cornelius Holtorf has been involved in various international working groups within the global heritage sector (including with UNESCO, IPCC, ICOMOS, etc.).
Contact: Cornelius Holtorf, (not available by phone), cornelius.holtorf@lnu.se. UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures, the UNESCO Chair is a member of the Climate Heritage Network

Future visions of just living within the boundaries of planet Earth

Earth Logic is the radical proposal of a logic where the survival of the planet and all species drives all activities. Since its launch in February 2020, it has reached 1 million people globally. Earth Logic is an example of the new future visions of just living within the boundaries of planet Earth that Mathilda Tham's research aims to create. Mathilda Tham is also a co-founder of Concerned Researchers in Fashion, a global network for a systemic shift within the fashion sector. Links: www.earthlogic.info and www.concernedresearchers.org
Contact: Mathilda Tham, professor of design, +4672-536 94 66, Mathilda.tham@lnu.se

Global warming in art, literature, and other media

I research the possibilities of various media to represent the climate crisis, including how science and art have different ways of presenting the crisis – and, thus, different ways of affecting the public.
Contact: Jørgen Bruhn, professor of literature, +46 70-547 46 43, jorgen.bruhn@lnu.se

Historical disasters and environmental history about the social and ecological effects of infrastructure

Environmental history research focused on 1) disasters and 2) infrastructure and social and ecological changes in South Asia (primarily India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka).
Contact: Eleonor Marcussen, PhD in history, +4673-579 11 97, eleonor.marcussen@lnu.se

Intermedial eco-criticism

Based on my research subjects, which are intermediality and narratology, I work within IMS (Linnaeus University's Centre for Intermedial and Multimodal Studies) in a theoretical field that we have named intermedial eco-criticism, which attempts to combine our theoretical research base (intermediality) with the latest findings in eco-criticism.
Contact: Liviu Lutas, professor of French literature, +46470-76 78 59, liviu.lutas@lnu.se

Media and the ecological crisis

I research how the ecological crisis is communicated through different media types (film, websites, literature, advertising, art) with a particular focus on questions of agency, nostalgia, and food. My approach is that the ecological crisis is also a media crisis in the sense that science is constantly transformed between different media.
Contact: Niklas Salmose, associate professor of English literature, +4670-811 05 19, niklas.salmose@lnu.se

Participatory, sustainable speculative, and critical design for change

Conceptions of futures through participation, practices, materialisations, speculations, and reflection – focusing on, e.g., threatened biodiversity, living with technologies, beyond industrial modernity, alternative economies. Ongoing design research project Un/Making Matters: https://www.instagram.com/unmakingstudio/
Contact: Åsa Ståhl, senior lecturer in design, +4670 256 28 35, asa.stahl@lnu.se

The planetary climate and ecological emergency

Research area: the planetary climate and ecological emergency, particularly in the context of the scientifically supported requirements for extensive societal transformations that lack historical precedent.
Contact: Martin Gren, professor of cultural geography, +4672-594 96 92, martin.gren@lnu.se

Popular culture and imperialism. How literature and film make the important connection between global imperialism and the climate crisis

Research project 1:
Militarisation of the Anthropocene: Security, militant futures, and American climate fiction
Literary research on climate fiction shows that this new genre contributes to the climate debate by providing images of what it might be like to live in a climate-changed future. At the same time, these images set boundaries for how we can think about the climate crisis and the handling of it. This project studies literature and film that portray a climate-changed future as a time of constant violent conflict. The project shows that this type of climate narrative promotes an understanding of the climate crisis as a local or national security issue rather than a question of the planet's survival. See also https://www.rj.se/anslag/2020/militariseringen-av-antropocen-sakerhet-militanta-framtider-och-den-amerikanska-klimatfiktionen/

Research project 2 (together with Niklas Salmose):
Future food imaginaries in global climate fiction
The dominant global diet contributes to a large extent to the climate crisis. A transformation would entail significant practical problems but also pose a significant cultural challenge. This research project examines how future food cultures are conveyed in literary and visual culture in different parts of the world. In almost all climate fiction, people's access to and thoughts about food have changed fundamentally. The project's results are an important contribution to humanistic research on climate fiction, but they can also help users and climate researchers understand how people in different parts of the world will react to, and perhaps even initiate, changes in food and eating.
Contact: Johan Höglund, professor of English literature, +4673-036 09 59, johan.hoglund@lnu.se

We are living in a planetary climate emergency. It is becoming increasingly evident in all aspects of life.

But what is meant by the terms "climate" and "emergency," and what happens when they are combined into "climate emergency?" What does it mean for us to orient ourselves ethically, culturally, politically, and knowledge-wise to the unfathomable complexity of the climate? And especially to the concept of "emergency"? How can we create room for action in relation to time perspectives and scales that are difficult to grasp?
Contact: Ola Ståhl, professor in design, art/design/climate emergency studies, +4672-538 31 77, ola.stahl@lnu.se

Climate Change and Environmental Toxins

I am an environmental geochemist who uses my knowledge of the behaviour of various environmental toxins in the environment to understand and assess the risk of them spreading to humans. I earned my PhD in 2011 with a dissertation titled "Climate change and metal mobility in an environmental risk perspective." It was about how the climate affects the solubility of different metals and, thus, their ability to spread from, for example, contaminated areas. Since then, I have studied metal pollution in the environment and how people can be exposed to it in various ways. A key factor for how various environmental toxins behave in the environment is the climate. For example, environmental toxins on land spread with the water that falls as rain, sinks into the ground, and then flows into streams, lakes, and oceans. These flows are influenced by temperatures and precipitation levels. Yes, the climate can affect the environmental toxins we have around us in many ways.
Contact: Anna Augustsson, associate professor of environmental science at the Department of Biology and Environmental Science, +46480-44 62 20, anna.augustsson@lnu.se

Do microorganisms in bedrock contribute to climate change?

Microbial production and consumption of the potent greenhouse gas methane in various environments affect the flow of methane to the atmosphere, where it contributes to global warming - one of the major environmental threats of our time. Our latest findings show that these microbial processes are widespread in one of the least known and explored ecosystems on Earth - the crystalline bedrock of the Earth's crust. As this is one of the largest microbial ecosystems on the planet, a new model for methane flows and the negative environmental effects related to natural leakage, leakage from boreholes for geothermal energy, and extraction needs to be evaluated, which we are doing in one of my projects.
Contact: Henrik Drake, associate professor in environmental science, conducts research in geochemistry/geobiology, +46480-446369, henrik.drake@lnu.se

Does a combined effect of drought and grazing lead to ecosystem collapse?

Our research will answer the question of if and how high biodiversity can be combined with maintained meat and feed production during years of extreme drought. A new project is about adaptation to changes: expanding forest ecosystems in a changing climate.
Contact: Markus Franzén, PhD in ecology, +4672-594 98 21, email markus.franzen@lnu.se

Ecosystem dynamics in the Baltic Sea in a changing climate perspective

As a semi-enclosed sea, the salinity of the Baltic Sea is much lower than other seas, and this salinity decreases as the latitude increases—which also makes for lower water temperatures when compared to other seas, hence a higher relative vulnerability to climate change. The research focuses on the effects of climate change on less studied ecosystem components, such as the pelagic microbial food webs (including bacteria and algal blooms; from genes to communities), in the different basins of the Baltic Sea. Recently, efforts have increased to examine the sublittoral ecosystem that is vulnerable due to being highly exposed to runoff from the terrestrial environment.  Many of our research achievements have been transferred to the national monitoring system and are the base for research-based dialogues with governmental and local authorities. 
Contact: Catherine Legrand, professor of marine ecology, +46-704380618, catherine.legrand@hh.se and Jarone Pinhassi, professor of microbiology, +46-702756318, jarone.pinhassi@lnu.se

How does climate change affect the environmentally friendly and sustainable control of pest insects?

I have broad expertise in organic chemistry and chemical ecology. My research aims to understand the chemical communication of pest insects in order to replace insecticides in forestry, agriculture, and horticulture with environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives. In a research collaboration with research groups in Germany and New Zealand, I have found that the 3-degree temperature increase in Germany since 2004 is the reason why environmentally friendly control of a pest insect on apples is no longer effective. The odorants (pheromones) break down in the field as the temperature rises towards 32–35°C. I collaborate locally, nationally, and internationally with some ten different research groups within this research area.
Contact: Rikard Unelius, professor of organic chemistry, +4670-810 15 14, rikard.unelius@lnu.se

Impact of extreme weather on acid and metal leakage from acidic soils

The research addresses acid sulfate soils and sulfide soils. Prolonged dry periods lead to a lowering of the groundwater table, thereby increasing acid formation and the release of toxic metals in the soil. Subsequent periods of rain or snowmelt result in the leakage of these chemical substances into surface and groundwaters.
Contact: Mats Åström, professor of environmental science, research area: environmental geochemistry, +46725949635, mats.astrom@lnu.se

New climate-smart foods

My research is about the quality of food and the development of new healthy and climate-smart foods. I am interested in characterising nutrients in raw materials and foods and studying how food processing affects these nutrients. My research also focuses on the effects of food on human health.
Contact: Cornelia Witthöft, professor of food science with specialisation in nutrition/food chemistry, +46725295810, cornelia.witthoft@lnu.se

The effects of global warming in marine environments

I am studying the effects of global warming in marine environments. For example, I am investigating how greenhouse gases are chemically altering the bottom sediments of our oceans. I am also studying natural occurrences of methane leaks on the seafloor and how climate change may affect them. Methane affects sediment stability and can contribute to triggering underwater landslides and tsunamis.
Contact: Marcelo Ketzer, professor of sustainable development with specialisation in environment and geochemistry, +46480-44 62 55, marcelo.ketzer@lnu.se

The impact of extreme weather on biodiversity

My research is about how evolutionary processes contribute to the diversity of form, colour, function, and behaviour among different life forms. The research is relevant for applied nature conservation and can contribute to more sustainable agriculture, fishing, and forestry.
Contact: Anders Forsman, professor of ecology, +4670-627 27 38, email anders.forsman@lnu.se

The planet benefits from a more circular economy

I conduct research on circular economy, recycling, and sustainable entrepreneurship – often in collaboration with the surrounding community. I also teach sustainable innovation and sustainable development.
Contact: Joacim Rosenlund, senior lecturer in environmental science with specialisation in circular economy, +46480-49 71 13, joacim.rosenlund@lnu.se

Water treatment, waste disposal, phytoremediation, and more

My research is about protecting and conserving natural resources and managing rapid changes in the growing needs of humans. I conduct research on landfills and leachate treatment, energy from waste, storage of organic materials, water and material flows in urban areas, beach wrack landing, biogas production, the use of beach wrack as a soil conditioner, remediation of bottom sediments, landfill mining to reduce methane emissions, wetlands, industrial emissions, alternative toilet systems, environmental economics, and more. My research projects are usually conducted in collaboration with municipalities and companies. I work globally and have been active in 65 countries, organising postgraduate courses in the Himalayas and Southeast Asia, including issues of the rainforest.
Contact: William Hogland, professor of environmental and ecological engineering, +4670-585 83 52, william.hogland@lnu.se

Development, evaluation and dissemination of Hub conferences – an alternative to reduce academic flying

Researchers' carbon emissions are largely due to flights to international conferences. Hub conferences use digital technology to link together a number of conference venues in different time zones, which can both reduce emissions and be a more attractive alternative than fully digital conferences. The research addresses how Hub conferences can be best designed and disseminated, and what implications they have for universities' carbon emissions and academic mobility and collaboration.
My research interests are psychology, digital transformations and economics.
Contact: Viktor Kaldo, Professor of Clinical Psychology, +4670-737 38 59, viktor.kaldo@lnu.se

Tourism, transport, and climate change

My research interests include tourism and climate change, with a focus on mobility and its environmental consequences.
Contact: Stefan Gössling, professor of tourism studies at Linnaeus University and professor of human ecology at Lund University, +4670-492 26 34 stefan.gossling@lnu.se

Tourism and climate change: adaptation strategies, sustainability, and tourism water consumption

In my research, I work with issues relating to tourism and tourism development in relation to coastal and marine environments, climate change and sustainable development, placemaking and destination development.
Contact: Christer Foghagen, PhD in cultural geography and environmental science. Employed as a lecturer in tourism studies, +46480-49 71 32, christer.foghagen@lnu.se

Entrepreneurship and socio-ecological transformation

The research project is focused on how the transformation to the planet's boundaries takes place in practice, with a focus on less sustainable entrepreneurial initiatives in rural areas. The project is part of LEIS, Leadership and Entrepreneurship in Småland.
Contact: Malin Tillmar, professor of entrepreneurship, +4676-133 81 32, malin.tillmar@lnu.se

Collaboration in sustainable and circular supply chains

In her research, Helena is interested in efficiency, collaboration and innovation in supply chains, especially in the transport industry, as well as the development of circular supply chains for recycling window glass.
Contact: Helena Forslund, professor of business administration with specialisation in logistics and supply chain management, +4670-577 78 22, helena.forslund@lnu.se

The planet benefits from a more circular economy

I research circular economy, recycling and eco-entrepreneurship/sustainable entrepreneurship – often in collaboration with the surrounding community. I also teach sustainable innovation and sustainable development.
Contact: Joacim Rosenlund, university lecturer in environmental science with specialisation in circular economy, +46480-49 71 13, joacim.rosenlund@lnu.se

Value relevance of environmental information

My research focuses on environmental reporting, environmental strategy, environmental performance, climate- and environment-related risks, the value of mandatory and voluntary environmental reports, and the value of ESG/SRI.
Contact: Natalia Berg, associate professor of accounting, +4672-703 16 55, natalia.berg@lnu.se

Cement production and environmental impact

I have researched the material concrete for many years and have also worked in Japan at one of the world's largest cement-producing companies. Cement production accounts for approximately 5-7% of global carbon dioxide emissions. It has proven difficult to economically viable reduce emissions from cement production itself, which has meant that the main focus has been to replace parts of the cement with by-products such as fly ash, slag, and silica to reduce the environmental impact of the product.
Contact: Björn Johannesson, professor of building physics, +4673-062 94 14, bjorn.johannesson@lnu.se

Effective use of timber for sustainable construction

My research focuses on wood construction, particularly optimizing the utilization of wood of varying quality in products such as cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber. By strategically allocating the highest quality timber where strength is critical and lower-quality timber where requirements are less stringent, we can maximize value and expand the scope of timber structures from available resources.
Contact: Anders Olsson, professor of building technology, 070-730 51 70, anders.olsson@lnu.se

Energy and climate change

My research is focused on energy and climate change. I have two ongoing FORMAS research projects, one that examines the preparedness of Swedish single-family homes to adapt to climate change, looking at how climate change can affect homes in different climatic zones in Sweden and how this, in turn, can affect construction companies, insurance companies, property agencies, and banks. The second project is about "Leveraging synergies and balancing the trade-off between deep renovation measures and phasing out fossil fuels from district heating systems." Project: How prepared are Swedish single-family homes to adapt to climate change?
Contact: Brijesh Mainali, associate professor of environmental and energy technology, +46470-70 82 21, brijesh.mainali@lnu.se

Forest fires and private forest owners

I am conducting research on forest fires (i.e wildfires) from the perspective of private forest owners and their collaboration with the emergency services, as climate change increases the risks of forest fires.
Contact: Frida Björcman, PhD candidate in forest and wood technology, 0470-767574, frida.bjorcman@lnu.se

Forest management with focus on climate-adapted forestry and the climate benefits of forests

My main area of research is how future climate change may affect forestry in northern Europe and how forest management can be adapted to both utilise new conditions and manage potential risks and minimise damage. I also work on how forests can provide the greatest climate benefit by absorbing/storing more carbon dioxide and how forest raw material can be used in the most optimal way to provide the greatest possible climate benefit.
Contact: Johan Bergh, professor of forestry, +4670-292 25 25, johan.bergh@lnu.se

The research I conduct focuses on the climate benefits of forests and how greenhouse gas flows, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, are affected by fertilisation on forest land with young spruce forest.
Contact: Charlotta Håkansson, PhD student in forestry and wood technology, charlotta.hakansson@lnu.se

Greenhouse gas emissions from shipping

I conduct research on shipping and the marine environment, including how the negative environmental impact of shipping can be reduced. The combined greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping are significant. Measures to reduce shipping emissions are discussed in the United Nations body, the International Maritime Organization, IMO. Shipping emissions are currently not included in the Paris Agreement.
Contact: Kjell Larsson, professor emeritus in maritime science, +46480-49 76 64 (which will be forwarded to my work mobile), kjell.larsson@lnu.se

Green Software

My research interests are primarily centred on the application of methodologies within software engineering and technology in the field of distributed systems, with a special emphasis on service-oriented architecture and pervasive computing technologies such as the Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems.
Contact: Mauro Caporuscio, Professor of Computer Science, 076-102 30 75, mauro.caporuscio@lnu.se

Green Sustainable Development

My research interests are climate and forest policy, ESG and financial markets, and green investment and financing.
Contact: Andreas Stephan, professor of forest industry economics, +4636- 10 17 60, andreas.stephan@lnu.se

Mathematical Climate Models

My research concerns the properties of various models, such as what they can predict and what expectations can be placed on the predictions. Since models are always simplifications of reality, the question of what should be included in the model is always in the background, and this question is particularly difficult when it comes to climate models.
Contact: Torsten Lindström, professor of mathematics, dynamic systems, +4673-806 68 21, torsten.lindstrom@lnu.se

Renewable energy

My research is to optimise and upgrade the valorisation process of solid waste for the production of power, heat, fuel, and chemicals.
Contact: Leteng Lin, associate professor of energy technology, +4672-236 88 15, leteng.lin@lnu.se

Strategies for the Swedish forest sector

The Swedish forest sector includes the forest, industries for further processing and energy production, as well as forest products markets. My research area concerns the possibilities of connecting issues around forestry, industry, and market development in order to study different scenarios for the sector's development and what they imply in terms of biodiversity, social values, economic outcomes, and climate benefits. For those analyses, we use a large sector model, SweFor, which was developed at Linnaeus University.
Contact: Ola Ljusk Eriksson, senior professor in forest management planning, +4670-644 00 04, ola.eriksson@lnu.se

Sustainable built environment

My main research area is the implementation of innovations and measures for energy efficiency in the built environment.
Contact: Krushna Mahapatra, professor of sustainable built environment, +4672-243 58 63, krushna.mahapatra@lnu.se

Sustainable IT

My research focuses on how we can use data in new ways within the areas of environment and sustainability. My current projects explore digital support for decision-making and monitoring in climate-neutral cities, support for robust climate adaptation, limitations of data-based strategies, and the climate impact of digital technologies.
Contact: Jorge Luis Zapico, PhD in media technology and industrial ecology, jorgeluis.zapico@lnu.se

Sustainable timber structures

The building sector is responsible for almost 40% of the CO2-emissions worldwide. Thus, it is of highest importance to foster the use of sustainable building materials, like timber, and to increase the efficiency of our structures. In my research, I work on increasing the efficiency of structural elements and their connections in timber structures. Furthermore, I work on development of efficient engineering design tools for reliable timber structures.
Contact: Michael Schweigler, Senior lecturer in Building Technology, reasearch subject: timber engineering, +4670-260 28 37, michael.schweigler@lnu.se

Wave propagation and radiation transport in the atmosphere

My research focuses on wave propagation and radiation transport in the atmosphere, where calculations and predictions of the greenhouse effect and global warming are among the most important applications. I can answer questions relating to the physical basis of the greenhouse effect and global warming, especially with regard to the radiation balance between the sun and the earth, the absorption of thermal radiation in the atmosphere, and the properties and significance of greenhouse gases for this.
Project: Wave propagation and radiation transport in the atmosphere
Contact: Sven Nordebo, professor in signal processing, electrical engineering, +46470-70 81 93, sven.nordebo@lnu.se

Data analyses applicable on environmental issues

I research within the field of computational social sciences, meaning I conduct (big) data analysis, run behavioural experiments, and develop social simulation models to analyse social-ecological systems and better understand the relationships between human behavior and environmental issues. My research interests include environmental indicators, social-ecological systems, collective action in the management of common-pool resources, and environmental behavior.
Contact: Giangiacomo Bravo, professor of environmental science and behaviour, +46 470-70 87 82, giangiacomo.bravo@lnu.se

Religion and engagement for climate and environment

I have written about climate activism within the Church of Sweden and about religious motives for pursuing such engagement. I have also been actively debating in the media about the importance of the Church of Sweden taking an active role in addressing climate change.
Contact: Anders Lundberg, sociologist of religion and senior lecturer in social work, member of the Church Assembly, anders.lundberg@lnu.se