Soil Chemistry

Prof. Ruben Kretzschmar

We are a research group investigating biogeochemical processes in soils and their influence on the mobility, bioavailability, distribution, and chemical speciation of trace elements in the terrestrial environment. Current projects deal with the long-term speciation of Zn and Cd in contaminated soils, metal-humic interactions at mineral surfaces, the influence of biogenic ligands and surfactants on mineral weathering, the biogeochemistry of trace elements (e.g., As) in soils under varying redox conditions, and the isotopic fractionation of Fe in soils under different geochemical conditions. The overall goal of our work is to contribute to a better understanding of chemical processes in soils and underlying sediments, that are relevant to environmental quality, sustainability, risk assessment, and remediation of contaminated sites. Our group maintains a modern environmental chemistry laboratory specialized in trace element analysis, colloid and surface chemistry, and analysis of mineral samples (rocks, soils). In several projects, we  make use of synchrotron X-ray techniques, such as X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS), micro-XAFS and micro-XRF, and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM). Current research projects are mainly funded by ETH Zurich, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), NAGRA, and European Union.

Media Reports

Spitzmeilen 2008