PhD Thesis
Impact of gravel pit lakes on surface and groundwater quality
My PhD is part of a collaborative project (WasserKluster Lunz, University of Vienna) where we investigate gravel pit lakes that differ in age, size and geomorphology. My research will focus on the role of sediments as a source and/or sink of nutrients and heavy metals in these ecosystems through diffusion processes and possible consequences on the food chain. I will also use paleo-limnological tools (stables isotopes and fatty acids) to look at the sediments as archives and to assess past contributions in these artificial lakes. In the water column, the dietary quality of the organic matter will be studied for these aquatic food webs to understand bioaccumulation processes of selected essential dietary constituents and heavy metals in algae and zooplankton by field measurements and bioassays
Scientific interests
- • Sources, transfers and transformations of the organic matter
- • Degradation of the organic matter in oxic and anoxic conditions
- • Biogeochemicals processes in the water column and the sediments
- • Potential of biomarkers (stable isotopes, fatty acids)
Methods
- Gas Chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
- Wet-combustion-IR
- EA-IRMS
- Lipids extraction and TLC (Thin-Layer Chromatography