Petra Zahajská

In my PhD project I will shed light on the lake accumulation of modern diatom-rich sediment in lakes with high silica content. Lakes are considered as sink in the global silica cycle and my PhD project aims to clarify the mechanism governing diatom-rich sediment formation. Where is the silica from, how much of the incoming silica is stored in the sediment and how much is outflowing from the lake, these are the questions which need to be answered. The high latitude lakes are typical for high silica content as well as the lakes with volcanic influence. Some of the northern Swedish lakes and also Yellowstone Lake are in my focus and I will keep track of the silica in them not only with help of stable silica isotopes.

The terrestrial silica cycle is a big scientific question and the processes are also influencing the lake silica content, therefore not just lakes are in my focus, but also soils and vegetation must be considered.

Supervisors: Daniel Conley (Lund University), Johanna Stadmark (Lund University), Sophie Opfergelt (Université catholique de Louvain), Sherilyn Fritz (University of Nebraska)