Applied geology

Modern society is highly dependent on natural resources. Their handling and use affect occurrence, fate, behaviour and transport of contaminants in the environment, and are of great concern for ecosystems and human health. In order to sustainably utilize and secure drinking water, industrial minerals and rock resources, thereby achieving the national Swedish environmental objectives, society requires knowledge about the resources for their protection and management. Applied geology is a multidisciplinary theme, which encompasses the sciences of chemistry, geology, physics and biology, as well as social sciences. Our hydrogeology/environmental geology research focusses on fate, occurrence and transport of harmful substances within the groundwater system and associated risks, age determination and monitoring of groundwater, natural attenuation of contaminants and geophysical determination of their transport patterns. The research on industrial minerals aims at finding ways, based on chemical and physical properties of carbonate rocks, to optimize the industrial processing of the rocks and thereby minimize production losses, CO₂ emission and other environmental effects. Our research area includes carbon capture and storage with the overall aim is to localize sedimentary sequences suitable for sustainable storage of CO₂.