| Research on chemical exchange processes at the sediment - seawater interface and early chemical diagenesis in marine sediments. One of the instruments we use in our research is a free-vehicle benthic lander which autonomously sinks down to the sea-floor, carries out measurements and sampling there, and upon signal from the surface returns there with data, samples and sediment. It is used to measure solute fluxes between sediment and water (benthic fluxes), to study solute distributions in pore waters
(including in-situ collection of pore water), and to bring undisturbed sediment cores to the sea surface. The lander is the first and only one in Sweden, and one of few in the world.
The environmental relevance of our research is e.g. that most environmental pollutants have a high affinity for particle surfaces and therefore eventually end up in the sediment, where their fate will be determined by the processes mentioned above. In addition our research is contributing to an improved understanding of how eutrophication is influencing sediment, sediment organisms and sediment processes. Investigations are also carried out on the ecotoxicological effects of environmental pollutants (tributyl
tin, brominated flame retardants) on biogeochemical processes in marine sediments. |