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Groundwater ecology

Groundwater ecology

Clean drinking water from aquifers can not be taken for granted and is connected to a functioning and healthy groundwater ecosystem. Secretly and out of our visibility range microorganisms and invertebrates (Stygofauna) are cleaning the water (self-purification of groundwater) – for this we are interested in the protection of this habitat and the biodiversity of it. We observe physico-chemical, microbiological, and faunistic parameters especially in urban regions which are model regions for future underground warming. But also numerous other contamination sources exist in urban regions: Nutrients, heavy metals, organic contaminants like pharmaceuticals or pesticides, or salts are washed into shallow aquifers. We want to observe how bacterial and faunistic communities react to these contaminations, what the communities look like in general and how the ecosystem can be protected.

Publications

Becher, J., Englisch, C., Griebler, C., Bayer, P. (2022).  Groundwater fauna downtown – drivers, impacts and implications for subsurface ecosystems in urban areas. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 248, 104021.

Blum, P., Menberg, K., Koch, F., Benz, S. A., Tissen, C., Hemmerle, H., Bayer, P (2021). Is thermal use of groundwater a pollution?Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 239, 103791.

Brielmann, H., Lueders, T., Schreglmann, K., Ferraro, F., Blum, P., Bayer, P., Hammerl, V., Griebler, C. (2011). Oberflächennahe Geothermie und ihre potentiellen Auswirkungen auf die Grundwasserökologie, Grundwasser, 16(2), 77-91.

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