Environmental Geochemistry
We are a team of scientists exploring issues in environmental geochemistry. This field examines the chemical composition and processes of the Earth's surface environment, including the interactions between rocks, sediments, soils, water, air, and living organisms. It focuses on understanding natural geochemical cycles and how human activities influence them.
Our research
Our research spans a broad range of topics, from fundamental geochemical processes to practical applications with direct societal relevance. Here are some examples:
- Geochemical and biogeochemical processes in the deep subsurface at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory and elsewhere.
- Tracing active and ancient methane production and consumption in the upper crystalline crust.
- Geochemical processes in metal-contaminated soils, including conditions for metal mobilization as well as assessment of human exposure and health risks.
- Formation of acid sulphate soils and the related leaching and dispersion of metals in the environment.
- Effects of global warming on the pore water chemistry of marine sediments and gas hydrates reservoirs.
- Methane and carbon cycling in sediments and water column in aquatic environments.
- Manganese behavior in Baltic Sea and Arctic Ocean sediments.
Research projects
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Doctoral project: Deep Life in Deep Time The deep biosphere is Earth’s largest microbial habitat and hosts ancient evolutionary lineages. This project aims to unravel the unexplored history of…
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Doctoral project: How are carbon flows in coastal ecosystems influenced by climate change? A major knowledge-gap in science is how climate change will affect biochemical processes, biodiversity, and…
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Doctoral project: Microbial methane in the crust - volumes, fluxes and consequences This project investigates the rates of microbial methane formation and consumption by indigenous deep biosphere…
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Project: Baltic Sea bays exposed to 50 years of warming can inform how biodiversity and ecosystem functioning respond to climate change While there is little doubt that climate change is occurring,…
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Project: Biogeochemical controls on primary production, primary producer community assemblage, and photic zone methane and nitrous oxide in northern Greenland fjords Global warming has large…
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Project: Characteristics and extent of microbial anaerobic methane oxidation and sulfate reduction in the deep terrestrial subsurface over geological time scales Recent discoveries indicate that…
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Project: Collaboration towards a gamified waste sorting house Can waste sorting be fun? We aim to build a new type of house for waste sorting and study the effects of gamification in connection to…
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Project: Consequences of climate change in a Baltic Sea bay exposed to 50 years of warming Today, there is little knowledge of the consequences of global warming on Baltic Sea ecosystems and aquatic…
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Project: Contamination of water resources in southern Sweden by iron and aluminium Contamination of water resources by metals is a matter of concern in areas where acid sulphate soils exist. Our…
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Project: Geochemical, mineralogical, and microbiological characterization of acid sulfate soils Acid sulfate soils exist under farmland in the coastal areas and export large amounts of acidity and…
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Project: Greenhouse gas (GHG) production in Swedish fiberbanks In the aquatic environment, heavily polluted fiberbanks, originating from pulp and paper industry discharges during the 19th and 20th…
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Project: Metal accumulation in the Baltic Sea sediments: implications for environmental monitoring programs and mitigation actions The load of trace metals to Baltic Sea waters and their accumulation…
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Project: Methane in Baltic Sea sediments – a silent threat! Large quantities of methane are produced at the bottom of the Baltic Sea and may escape to bottom waters if not consumed by microbes in the…
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Project: Mobilization and redox-cycling of uranium in two boreal sulfidic landscapes The overall aim of this project is to explore and investigate the biogeochemical processes that control the…
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Project: Production and consumption of the greenhouse gas methane in the crystalline bedrock This project is about formation and consumption (anaerobic oxidation) of the greenhouse gas methane in one…
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Project: Soil contaminant transfer to urban vegetables In this project, we study the significance of some key factors for the transfer of soil contaminants to vegetables grown in urban environments.
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Project: Syntrophy and symbiosis as mechanisms for growth and survival in deep terrestrial biosphere fracture systems Despite being separated from the sun’s energy, life exists deep underground in…
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Project: Technology-critical elements; soil-crop transfer, oral bioaccessibility and toxicity This project addresses a group of "new" metals, for which there is currently a dramatic increase in use…
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Project: The highest bubble streams on record raise questions on methane emissions from the deep Baltic Sea This project aims to understand processes that lead to a huge accumulation of methane gas at…
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Project: The potential of biochar in a circular agriculture The aim of this project is to investigate how the addition of biochar to arable land can affect the soil's ability to retain nutrients, in…
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Project: Will the microbial filter prevent methane emissions from Baltic Sea coasts in a warmer future? In a warmer future, there will be more methane production in sediments in coastal areas.…
News
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“The nastiest soils on earth” are becoming a bigger problem News
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Linnaeus University participating in the "North of Greenland" Expedition News
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Pollutants from Old Glassworks Affect Groundwater Less Than Expected News
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Marcelo is on expedition in the Atlantic Ocean to study methane gas in the ocean floor News
Staff
Staff
- Anna Augustsson Senior lecturer, head of department
- +46 480-44 62 20
- annaaugustssonlnuse
- Alexandra Nyman Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 63 19
- alexandranymanlnuse
- Anna Qvarforth Doctoral student
- annaqvarforthlnuse
- Changxun Yu Researcher
- +46 480-44 64 05
- +46 72-594 98 43
- changxunyulnuse
- Cheng Chang Doctoral student
- chengchanglnuse
- Femke van Dam Doctoral student
- femkevandamlnuse
- Henrik Drake Associate Professor
- +46 480-44 63 69
- henrikdrakelnuse
- Jacob Gustafsson Doctoral student
- jacobgustafssonlnuse
- Liubov Kononova Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 67 01
- liubovkononovalnuse
- Marcelo Ketzer Professor
- +46 480-44 62 55
- marceloketzerlnuse
- Maria Lundgren Doctoral student
- marialundgrenlnuse
- Mats Åström Professor
- +46 480-44 73 42
- +46 72-594 96 35
- matsastromlnuse
- Rupert Hough Adjunct professor
- ruperthoughlnuse
- Sebastian Lungu-Mitea Associate senior lecturer
- sebastianlungumitealnuse