SLU news

New funding for water research

Published: 28 November 2022

During the autumn 2022, the Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, SLU has been delighted to receive news on the approval of several research grants that can increase our knowledge of water from several perspectives. The new research will teach us more about microbiology, greenhouse gases, browning, methane turnover, leachate, drinking water, and ecosystems.

Six of the projects are financed by the state research council Formas, and one establishment grant from the Swedish Research Council. The latter is awarded to Fernando Puente-Sánchez iin the Natural Sciences category for studying what limits the global spread of freshwater bacteria and archaea.

Anna-Karin Dahlberg has received funding from Forma's call for "årliga öppna" for researchers early in their careers. She will study the formation of how greenhouse gases in Swedish fiber banks work in combination with greenhouse gas measurements and microbial analysis for improved assessment (FIB-GHG).

Kevin Bishop has received funding from Forma's "årliga öppna" for research projects and will improve the evidence base for the understanding and management of surface water brownification. Stefan Bertilsson has also been awarded funds within the same call to study how the methane turnover in lakes is affected by decreasing sulfur deposition.

Oksana Golvoko will map new environmental pollutants including microplastics in leachate from landfills, their impact on the ecosystem, and the development of sustainable purification techniques. This is now possible through funding from Formas, via the call for sustainable water resource management. Within the same call, Lutz Ahrens fhas received funding to study sustainable innovative solutions for the treatment of drinking water for large-scale water supply and process water reuse (SIDWater). Martyn Futter has also received funds in sustainable water resource management for a project entitled "PUDDLE JUMP: To improve the link between upstream-downstream in the aquatic environment - management in common vision".

Anna Székely has received continued funding for the Swedish Environmental Epidemology Center, for health-related research and monitoring with the goal of improving preparedness for pandemics. The financing takes place through SciLifeLab.

Also, Irena Creed our KSLA guest professor has been granted funding in Canada to co-lead a project called “Wetlands as nature-based climate change solutions: Quantifying carbon capture potential while building a stronger green economy”. The money is from “Government of Canada Climate Action and Awareness Fund” and will leverage some of our ongoing wetland work.

We look forward to working on these issues and seeing the results.