Sediments and Environmental Change (SENCE) research group

The Sediments and Environmental Change (SENCE) research group uses aquatic sedimentary archives to address diverse topics from past to on-going climate and environmental change. The sediment archives we investigate reach thousands of years back in time and have recorded information on Earth history all the way to present day.

Despite the long timescales, our research uses very high – even seasonal – resolution. In addition to the sedimentary archives, we use modelling and monitoring approaches to address timely topics such as impacts of climate change and anthropogenic land use on the natural environment, the consequences of which include decreasing water quality and eutrophication, as well as emerging pollutants in lacustrine and coastal systems. Our diverse research activities include seeking solutions to efficiently measure the rate of microplastic accumulation in water bodies to answer the global call for improved monitoring and alleviation of plastic pollution. We also address the need for well-dated environmental archives by further developing geochronological methods, for example, we work to refine the Northern European tephra framework through investigations of annually laminated sediments.

Our group is based at the Department of Geography and Geology, University of Turku, Finland and we are located in the Geohouse building that offers state-of-the-art facilities and technology ranging from diverse coring devices and field equipment to specialised laboratories and modern physical and chemical analysators. You can read more about our research activities in the project section. In case you would like to reach out to us for more information or co-operation, we would be happy to hear from you. Our contact information can be found here.