Only a small part of what ends up on the seafloor can be seen when we make assessments of the environmental effects of dumping waste. Photo: Peter Bruce

Exemptions granted for dumping contaminated sediments in Baltic Sea fail to consider risk to marine environment

Large amounts of often polluted dredged sediments are being dumped in the Baltic Sea – even though it is banned, shows a new study by researchers from Stockholm University (the Department of Environmental Science among the departments involved), and the Swedish Geotechnical Institute published recently in Frontiers in Marine Science. The study uncovered inconsistencies in granting exemptions for sediment dumping …

Harmful Boomerang: PFAS Pollution in Ocean Comes Back to Land

Many of the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that end up in the ocean boomerang back to shore after they are re-emitted into air with the crashing of waves, according to a study by researchers at Stockholm University published today in Environmental Science & Technology. The findings suggest that this sea-to-air transport process is a significant contributor to PFAS air …

External funding to Department researchers “considerable” in 2021

Twelve researchers at the Department of Environmental Science have secured in excess of 40 million SEK (€3,9 million) in the latest Swedish Research Council (VR) and the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (Formas) funding rounds, attracting 41,2 million SEK (€4 million) for 10 projects. In addition, Professor Ilona Riipinen was awarded 8,75 million SEK (€853.000) by The Wallenberg Foundations …

Askö Laboratory in the Stockholm Archipelago. Photo: Baltic Sea Centre

New research centre to bring marine and atmospheric scientists together

Researchers Matthew Salter, Ilona Riipinen and Christoph Humborg from the Department of Environmental Science are behind a successful infrastructure funding application to the Swedish Reseach Council (VR) on the development of a new atmospheric science laboratory at Askö, a marine research station located within the Stockholm archipelago. This funding is the latest milestone in the establishment of a multidisciplinary centre …

FORCeS members during their inaugural meeting in October 2019. Photo: Stella Papadopoulou

FORCeS: Towards narrowing uncertainty of aerosol forcing on climate

On a crisp morning in October 2019, some of Europe’s most prominent climate scientists gathered inside Geovetenskapens hus at Frescati Campus, Stockholm University, to attend the inaugural meeting about FORCeS (Constrained Aerosol Forcing for Improved Climate Projections), a pan-European research project with the ambitious goal to tackle the uncertainty of aerosol forcing on climate and one the first projects of …

Stockholm University Frescati Campus. Photo: Clément Morin

Stockholm University participates in international statement ahead of UN climate summit

Together with senior scientific advisers from around the world, Stockholm University has signed a statement to governments on climate change ahead of the COP26 climate summit. On October 31, the COP26 climate summit began in Glasgow, where countries from all over the world gathered to find ways to reduce climate-affecting emissions. Ahead of the climate summit, 38 senior scientific advisers …

PhD students Roxana Cremer and John Hader during recording of "Danger Down the Drain" in June 2021.

Insights to Science: a new podcast series produced and hosted by PhD student at the department

Without wastewater treatment, diseases and infections would ravage our modern world. At the same time, wastewater treatment is something we often take for granted. What actually happens down the pipelines when the water we flush leaves the house? “Danger down the Drain” is the pilot episode in the podcast series  Insights to Science produced and hosted by PhD student Roxana Cremer at …

Ny Ålesund research station in Svalbard, Norway. Photo: Paul Zieger

New method allows scientists to study aerosol particles inside clouds

The air around us is filled with tiny, invisible particles called aerosols. These particles affect the radiative balance of our planet in a number of ways, both directly, by scattering and absorbing light, and indirectly, by influencing cloud properties. Traditional methods to study cloud formation involve artificially activating aerosol particles or short-term direct sampling of clouds. Now a new observation …

Researcher receives large EU grant to lead work on Zero Pollution from Persistent Mobile Substances

Persistent mobile (PM) substances are being recognized as serious threats to the safety of water resources. In many cases, drinking water supplies have to be purified using expensive technologies because of contamination by PM substances. As part of this effort, a five-year wide-reaching European Research project, Zero Pollution of Persistent, Mobile substances, ZeroPM, has been launched. Fifteen partners are involved …

Plastics separated from food waste after grinding and pulping from a food waste recycling facility in Norway, as part of a process to convert food waste to biogas and fertilizer. The research project mapped how plastic gets from food waste to farmers fields. Photo: Caroline Hansen and Heidi Knutsen, NGI

Is global plastic pollution nearing an irreversible tipping point?

Current rates of plastic emissions globally may trigger effects that we will not be able to reverse, argues a new study by researchers from Sweden, Norway and Germany published on July 2nd in Science. According to the authors, plastic pollution is a global threat, and actions to drastically reduce emissions of plastic to the environment are ”the rational policy response”. …

Stockholm University researchers involved in new Horizon 2020 project to map role of polar sea ice and snow in global climate system

Researchers at the Department of Environmental Science and Department of Meteorology (MISU) at Stockholm University together with international colleagues have recently launched the new Horizon 2020 project CRiceS (Climate relevant interactions and feedbacks: the key role of sea ice and snow in the polar and global climate system). The CRiceS project aims to contribute knowledge for better understanding of the …

Prefessor Christina Rudén. Photo: Jens Lasthein

Christina Rudén to participate in high-level discussions on chemicals strategy at European Commission

Professor Christina Rudén from the Department of Environmental Science has been elected member of the European Commission’s high-level expert group whose mission is to help implement the new EU’s chemicals strategy for Sustainability published on 14 October 2020. She is one of eight representatives from the international scientific community. The expert group, officially known as High Level Roundtable on the …

Contact information

Visiting addresses:

Geovetenskapens Hus,
Svante Arrhenius väg 8, Stockholm

Arrheniuslaboratoriet, Svante Arrhenius väg 16, Stockholm (Unit for Toxicological Chemistry)

Mailing address:
Department of Environmental Science
Stockholm University
106 91 Stockholm

Press enquiries should be directed to:

Stella Papadopoulou
Science Communicator
Phone +46 (0)8 674 70 11
stella.papadopoulou@aces.su.se