Research objectives: Development of concepts, methods and models to establish vectors of contamination and the quality of air and water, to estimate risks to ecosystems and to formulate mitigation measures.
Environmental risks of chemical and physical stressors
The development and scientific foundation of instruments and methods to assess the (ecological) environmental risks of pesticides on different scale levels remains an important line of research. It will be extended with risks of other environmental stress factors and include studies on individual stressors or on realistic combinations thereof (multi-stress research). The distortion of the natural smellscape by anthropogenic chemicals (“info disruptors”) represents an innovative line of research, which may be extended depending on the outcome of present investigations.
Air Quality
This theme includes studies on the dispersion of chemical substances in the atmospheric boundary layer and on the formation, transformation and removal processes of aerosols. The role of aerosols as pathways for pollutants to water systems will be investigated as well as the effects of meteorological conditions on air pollution.
Water Quality
Research within this theme looks into the fate, pathways and effects of nutrients, contaminants and salts in the unsaturated zone, groundwater and aquatic ecosystems. Research on the implications of black carbon for ecological and chemical aspects of water quality will be continued. The program will be extended with investigations on the effect of climate change on the fate and risks of substances, among others through global transport patterns and oceanic sinks. Attention will be paid to communication and implementation of the insights obtained in water management.