Environmental Chemistry at the University of Bayreuth is organized by the research groups for Atmospheric Chemistry, Environmental Geochemistry, Experimental Biogeochemistry/Microbiology, Hydrology/Hydrochemistry, Isotope Geochemistry, and Soil Ecology/Soil Chemistry. The lecturers are internationally renowned experts in their fields and have an excellent international network.
In Environmental Chemistry, Prof. Gebauer teaches Isotope Biogeochemistry. If you are interested how stable isotopes can be used to determine the nutritional habits of orchids, visit his webpage.
In Environmental Chemistry, Prof. Lehndorff and her group teach Soil and Terrestrial Biogeochemistry 1 and 2 (S1, S2) and Soil Pollution & Organic Pollutants (S3). Her group investigates the role of soils for ecosystem functioning under changing environmental conditions covering soil biological and soil chemical aspects of the element turnover.
In Environmental Chemistry, Prof. Nölscher teaches Atmospheric Chemistry and Atmospheric Aerosols (A1) and the Atmospheric Chemistry Project (A2).
Experimental Biogeochemistry / Microbiology
In Environmental Chemistry, Dr. Obst teaches Environmental Microbiology and the Analytical Microscopy Project. He is interested in how chemical micro- and submicro-environments with steep geochemical gradients control element speciation and stability and applies a large array of microscopic and spectroscopic state-of-the art analytical techniques.
In Environmental Chemistry, Prof. Peiffer and his group teach Aquatic Geochemistry (W1), inorganic and Organic Contaminant Hydrology (W2), and Biogeochemical Methods in Hydrology (W3). Research focuses on hydrogeochemistry and biogeochemistry/limnology besides hydrological processes and hydrological modeling. Of special interest in hydrogeochemistry is the analysis of reaction kinetics with the aim of resolving the tight coupling between hydrogeochemical, biogeochemical and hydrophysical processes in regard to their effectiveness in processing matter.
Prof. Dr. Britta Planer-Friedrich
In Environmental Chemistry, Prof. Planer-Friedrich and her group teach Geochemical Modeling (C1), Analytical Chemistry and Inorganic Pollutants (C2), Mass Spectrometry (C3), Environmental Toxicology and Health, Environmental Forensics (C4), and lead the Field Trip throughout Germany on Environmental Challenges and Solutions (C5). In her research she deals with elements that occur in traces but are of great concern for environmental pollution in natural systems and agricultural products, such as Arsenic or Cadmium in rice. Method development using front-end analytical techniques such as ion chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry are a strength of this group and, including hands-on experiences, part of the students trainings and theses.