The research group Contaminant Hydrology tackles water quality issues relevant for human health and ecology. We conduct basic and applied research with the goal to contribute to a sustainable water management and to be able to cope with present and future water quality problems, both locally and globally. Based on a detailed understanding of biogeochemical, mineralogical and physical processes, criteria for the assessment and modelling of water resources quality are being developed.
Specifically, our research tackles the occurrence, fate and behavior of organic and inorganic contaminants in groundwater and surface water environments, with a specific interest in biogeochemical processes
Focal points include
- geogenic arsenic contamination in anoxic groundwater and in drinking water of developing countries
- transformation, transport and retardation of groundwater contaminants
- mass flux of nutrients and micropollutants in river systems
- geospatial modelling of geogenic contaminants at local to global scales. Investigated systems hence span a wide range in size from the molecular to the macro scale, from the test tube to full-scale plants, or from river catchments to sub-continental regions.
