I have integrated two disciplines, environmental chemistry, and paleolimnology. By linking these two research areas, I have developed novel analytical methods and apply multiproxy-workflows to detect and identify a wide range of organic contaminants in natural archives in the last 100 years. The approaches are being applied to study compounds that could not be detected in the past and to understand depositional systems to provide context to soil and sediment records. Some of my specific aims have been to characterize the Anthropocene and understand the transport, resuspension, transformation, and deposition of organic contaminants using different environmental compartments and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS). Furthermore, my research has extended to investigate the occurrence, fate, and environmental impact of plant protection products (organic pesticides) in soil and sediment and their effect on microbial communities.
