Recent IGCS fellow Charlotte Draese, affiliated with Laboratory of Organic-Geochemical Analysis, Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany, participated in an exchange research program at the Department of Civil Engineering of IIT Madras, Chennai, India, between 19. February to 05. March 2023. Their research topic is “Coastal and estuarine sediment archives for flood-induced pollution in subtropic/tropic areas.”
Special thanks to their supervisor Prof. Dr. Jan Schwarzbauer of RWTH Aachen University, Germany, and Prof. Indumathi Manivannan Nambi at their host institution in Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India.
Charlotte’s research project focuses on the impact of floods and sediment particles on the pollution levels in the Adyar and Cooum river systems. The study aimed to identify areas where sediment particles accumulate undisturbed during floods, creating temporary records of flood and pollution history. The research also sought to reconstruct the pollution history of the rivers and identify indicators of anthropogenic pollution sources.
You can read more about their experiences in our latest edition of IGCS Experience Reports, which you can also download below:
IGCS’ flagship teaching project is the annual interdisciplinary Summer and Winter schools. The annual schools are held under the motto of one of our IGCS focus areas and are organized by the respective area coordinators and their partners. The itinerary is about two weeks long and consists of lectures, discussions, group work, and field trips. The Winter Schools take place at IIT Madras in Chennai in February / March, while the Summer School takes place at one German partner university in June / July. For more information on IGCS’ events, see here.