Eawag: Surface Waters Research + Management: Biogeochemistry

Research cooperation at Lake Kivu
The main findings of the most recent research partnership project “Lake Kivu: Learning from the past for managing its future”, were presented in two workshops in Kigali and Bukavu. Researchers from the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (Rwanda), the Institut Supérieur Pédagogique of Bukavu (DR Congo) and Eawag had jointly investigated this fascinating lake during the past three years. [...]

Surface Waters Research + Management

Biogeochemistry

The Biogeochemistry Group at Eawag Kastanienbaum studies biogeochemical processes in lakes and marine systems.
We have three main foci:

Following degradation of organic material from the water surface through the water column and sediments using organic geochemical and isotopic tools
Investigating the process of anaerobic methane oxidation and anaerobic ammonium oxidation in sediments and water columns of lacustrine and marine systems
Estimating methane emissions including diffusive emissions and ebullition from lakes and reservoirs

Systems under investigation include African and Siberian lakes (Kivu, Baikal), lakes in Switzerland (Lake Rotsee, Lago di Cadagno, Lake Zug, Lake Sihl), and Lake Van.

Projects

Methane oxidation pathways at oxic-anoxic boundaries in lakes [...]
Degradation and transformation of lacustrine organic nitrogen compounds: microbiology and biogeochemistry [...]
Drilling of Lake Van within ICDP (2010) [...]
Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in freshwater systems – Lake Rotsee, Lago Cadagno [...]
MAIOLICA: Modelling And experIments On Land-surface Interactions with atmospheric Chemistry and climAte, finished 2012 [...]
HYPOX - In situ monitoring of oxygen depletion in hypoxic ecosystems of coastal and open seas, and land-locked water bodies, finished 2012 [...]
Degradation of organic carbon in lakes and marine systems, finished 2008 [...]
Climate gases (CH₄ and N₂O) in lakes and marine systems, finished 2008 [...]
Redox cycling at oxic / anoxic interfaces – a biomarker and tracer study in the Eastern Black Sea, finished 2008 [...]
Amino sugar concentrations / isotopes in anoxic basins, finished 2007 [...]
EU Project CRIMEA: Methane cycling in the Black Sea, finished 2006 [...]
Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) in freshwater systems – Lake Tanganyika, finished 2006 [...]

Team

Carsten Schubert, group leader
Gijs Nobbe, technician
Serge Robert, technician
Prosper Zigah, postdoc
Dörte Carstens, PhD student
Kirsten Oswald, PhD student
Marie-Ève Randlett, PhD student
Sebastian Flöter, intern

Equipment

List of our equipment

Contact

Department Head
Carsten Schubert

Administration
Eawag
Surface Waters
Seestrasse 79
6047 Kastanienbaum
Switzerland

Phone +41 (0)58 765 21 11
Fax +41 (0)58 765 21 68