Speaker: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Andre Banning (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences)

Groundwater is by far the most important freshwater resource accessible to humans on earth. Its use has enabled food security, economic growth and resilience to droughts, for example. At the same time, however, groundwater is increasingly coming under pressure on a global scale due to overuse, contamination and the effects of climate change. In Germany, around 70 % of drinking water is obtained from groundwater, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania even around 85 %. Numerous eco- and/or human-toxicologically relevant substances are now known that can reduce the quality of groundwater globally and regionally and impair the fulfillment of important ecological and water management functions.
The lecture will present various substances that have a negative impact on groundwater quality (including nitrate, arsenic and uranium), their sources and conversion processes using regional examples, and will also discuss the importance of peatlands for groundwater quality.

Since 2004, scientists from the University of Greifswald have been presenting their research projects in the "University in the Town Hall" lecture series in the Bürgerschaftssaal of the Town Hall. The aim of the lecture series is to give the general public an insight into the wide-ranging research carried out at the University's five faculties. Admission is free.