Study of natural organic matter and contaminants as a source of knowledge of the evolution of ecosystems, including climate change and transport processes, distribution, transformation and effects of organic pollution in organisms, including humans. This overall goal includes the development of analytical methods to study the concentrations of these compounds, their transfer flows between environmental compartments and their incorporation into organisms. It also covers the investigation of how organic molecules can provide geochemical information on past and present ecosystems and molecules that are useful to describe the health status of the organisms.
• Analysis of Trace Organic Compounds in Environmental Samples
• Pollutants in the Atmosphere
• Pollution Processes in Terrestrial and Coastal Ecosystems
• Paleoclimatology
• Pollutants and Human Health
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Postdoc Researchers
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Projects and Fundraising
INTEMPOL
INTEMPOL (PGC2018-102288-B-I00) INFLUENCE OF THE TEMPERATURE INVERSION ON ATMOSPHERIC ORGANIC POLLUTION
This project is aimed to give a strong leap forward into the understanding of the changes in chemical composition of atmospheric organic pollutants under temperature inversion. These episodes often involve precautionary health warnings or contaminant emission restrictions in urban areas as they encompass strong increases of atmospheric pollutants. Organic pollutants generated under several types of temperature inversions in urban, rural and high mountain environments will be studied. Urban areas will involve distinct examples such as Madrid and Barcelona. The former represents continental environments where soil radiative forcing is the main driver of the vertical structure. The second constitutes an example of coastal environments with significant breeze regime influence, involving eventual photo-oxidation in the marine atmosphere and inland transport. Rural environments will be represented by the temperature inversions in the area of Osona where highest summer O3 concentrations have been observed among those recorded in the Iberian Peninsula. The temperature inversions in the mountain-plain systems and their associated transport of organic pollutants uphill (day) and downhill (night), prior and after respective photo-oxidation will also be considered.
Start Date: 01/01/2019 – End Date: 31/12/2021
Project Leader: Joan Grimalt Obrador , Pilar Fernández Ramón
Researchers: Barend L. van Drooge
NEUROSOME
Exploring the Neurological Exposome (NEUROSOME)
EUROSOME is a European integrated training network which investigates the causal associations among genetic predisposition, cumulative exposure to multiple environmental chemicals of children and neurodevelopmental disorders. The project brings together beyond- the-state-of-the-art advances in human biomonitoring and systems biology, exposure monitoring and toxicological testing technologies and advanced tools for computational analyses of the exposure-to-health effect continuum according to the exposome paradigm. NEUROSOME involves the use of high dimensional biological data generated from multi-omics technological platforms. The ultimate goal is the development of functional links among the different components of environmental, exposure and HBM and toxicological studies in order to understand the causal associations between exposure to organic compounds and toxic metals to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Project Leader: Denis Sarigiannis. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
www.neurosome.eu