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Logo Institut für Geoökologie der TU Braunschweig

Prof. Dr. Harald Biester

Harald Biester
Prof. Dr. Harald Biester
LK19c: 303-C
+49 (0) 531 391-7240
h.biester(at)tu-braunschweig.de

TU Braunschweig
IGÖ - Abt. Umweltgeochemie
Langer Kamp 19c
38106 Braunschweig

 

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Head of the work group environmental geochemistry

I am an environmental geochemist interested in the biogeochemical cycling of trace elements and inorganic pollutants in limnic systems with a focus on peatlands and lakes. Working in these geochemical archives, I am particularly interested in the formation of environmental and climatic signals related to the distribution of trace elements (metals and halogens) and the influence of organic matter sources and decomposition processes in limnic systems. This includes in-lake processes of organic matter turnover and trace element scavenging, but also the DOM associated transport of trace elements in soils and lake catchments.

I have a special emphasis on investigations on the fate of mercury in the environment, here, I am specialized on the investigation natural and anthropogenic processes of Hg enrichment in soils, peat and lake sediments but also on the investigation and remediation of Hg polluted soils and groundwater.

curriculum vitae

Since Oct. 2007 Professor Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geoecology, Technical University of Braunschweig
2002 - 2007 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Heidelberg
2001 - 2002 Docent, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Heidelberg
1999 - 2001 Research Assistant, Institute of Environmental Geochemistry, University of Heidelberg
1994 - 1999 Research Associate, Institute of Environmental Geochemistry, University of Heidelberg
1991 - 1994 Research Associate, Harress Pickel Consult GmbH for Geo-Engineering Harburg (Research and Analytical Development)

Projekte

Peer-review Title Sponsor
2024- Assessing Hg Accumulation in Leaves and Fluxes between Vegetation and Top-Soil in Tropical Dry and Moist Broadleaf Forests: Investigating the Role of Vegetation and Seasonality in the Tropical Forest Mercury Cycle (FORVEST-Hg) DFG
2024- Controls of Primary Production on Southern Ocean Mercury Cycling (COPPSOM) DFG
2022- Bindungsformen von Quecksilber in Schwebstoffen und Sedimenten aus Bundeswasserstraßen (BiFoQueck) Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde
2022- Evaluating elemental mercury outgassing from soil-groundwater systems using passive air samplers: method development and implementation (EMOSGROW Project) DFG
     
2022-2024 Arsenic (As) and Mercury (Hg) groundwater contamination caused by oil and gas production wastewaters in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: Environmental Implications and Removal Techniques DFG
2018-2021 Mercury isotope ratios as a tool to trace and quantify Hg species transformations in contaminated soils and aquifers DFG
2015 The deep ocean as a final sink of terrestrial mercury in the global mercury cycle  
2015 Stability of mineral dust particles in peat bog: implication for paleodust record reconstruction (since 2015)  
2012-2015 Natural organic matter turnover in peatlands as major driving factor for fluxes of DOM, nutrients, and trace elements. NTH-Graduate school “Geofluxes” (Biester, Guggenberger)  
2012-2015 Potential of brass-filters to remove mercury from contaminated groundwater. Part 3 Long-term pilot scale tests at a HgCl2-contaminated site. (Umweltministerium Baden-Württemberg)  
2009-2012 Factors controlling fluxes and coastal aquatic storage of carbon at the superhumid continental margin of the southern Andes (Einzelantrag DFG
2010-2011 Potential of brass-filters to remove mercury from contaminated groundwater. Part 2 Long-term small scale laboratory and field tests at a HgCl2-contaminated site. (Regierungs­präsidium Freiburg)  
2010 Signal formation of organic matter associated trace elements in lakes (Signalbildung organisch gebundener Spurenelemente in Seen) (Einzelantrag) DFG
2004-2009 Untersuchungen zur Quantifizierung der Jod- und Bromflüsse in limnischen Systemen - eine Fallstudie am Beispiel des Bodensees (Einzelantrag) DFG
2002-2006 Atmosphärische Oxidation von Quecksilber (Hg(0)) durch Halogene als mögliche Ursache für Variationen der Hg-Deposition in verschiedenen Klimazonen Südchiles (Einzelantrag) DFG
2000-2004 Spät- und postglaziale Umweltbedingungen im Bereich der ganzjährigen südhemis­phärischen Westwinddrift, eine Fallstudie an Seesediment-, Torf- und Dendroarchiven der Südanden (Einzelantrag) DFG
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