It contributes to:

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Toxicology and Environmental Impacts

We integrate field observations, experiments, and predictive Earth-system frameworks to assess how ecosystems adapt to pollution and climate change. Focusing closely on marine environments, microbiome-driven processes, and vulnerable regions, we track how human activities alter the natural world.


Our research focuses on four key areas:

Global change impacts on ecosystem resilience: We investigate how the combined pressures of climate change, pollution, land-use, and extreme weather affect biodiversity and ecosystem health across land, freshwater, marine, and polar systems, aiming to identify critical ecological tipping points.

Biogeochemical processes and contaminant dynamics: We assess how microbial and natural processes drive pollutant degradation, bioaccumulation, and organic matter cycling. Through this, we develop microbiome-based strategies to clean up contaminants, especially in vulnerable marine and high-altitude aquatic systems.

Earth system dynamics and environmental reconstruction: We combine long-term observations with paleoclimate records, and multi-scale environmental datasets to better understand environmental variability over time, reconstruct past climate responses, and detect early warning signals of abrupt environmental changes.

Predictive frameworks for climate adaptation and ecosystem management: We develop predictive and policy-relevant frameworks using environmental records from marine, polar, and high-mountain environments to support biodiversity conservation, sustainable management, and effective climate adaptation strategies.

Coordinators

Maria Vila Costa

Maria Vila Costa

Permanent Researcher
Barend L. van Drooge

Barend L. van Drooge

Permanent Researcher

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