Lars Sonesten

• Head of the Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
• Director of the commissariat for the SLU Soil-Water-Environment Centre
• SLU representative, Steering Committee of the Swedish Environmental Emissions Data (chairman 2010, 2014, 2015, 2023) (SMED)
• NJ Faculty respresentative, Steering committee of SLU Data Management Support (DMS)
• Chairman of HELCOM working group Source-to-Sea with responsability on the work on waterbourne and atmospheric loads of nutrients and hazardous substances to the Baltic Sea, and the follow-up of national progress towards reaching BSAP nutrient reduction targets as well as the water quality of the Baltic Sea
• Chairman of OSPAR INPUT, the OSPAR expert group on waterbourne and atmospheric inputs to the North Atlantic ocean
• Member of the UN Pool of Experts for the 3rd United Nations World Ocean Assessment
• Chair of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) Environmental Research Council

My present work is mainly focused on:

• Assessments of long-term trends in water chemistry and biological composition, and food web interactions (including fatty acids as tracer substances) in lakes and watercourses.
• Nutrient cycling and source apportionment in aquatic systems and watersheds.
• Load of nutrients and hazardous substances to the Sea.
• Risk assessment of heavy metals and organic environmental pollutants in freshwaters, biota, and sediments.

Ongoing projects

• Estimates of the annual Swedish emissions of nutrients and other substances to the Baltic Sea, and the Northeast Atlantic Ocean.
• Assessments of the methodology for estimating the riverine and diffuse nutrient load on the Sea.
• Evaluation of water chemistry and biological composition in regional monitoring programs.
  The HELCOM PLC 9 reporting (Pollution Load Compilation no 9) including revision of reporting routines and responsability for the assessment of the inputs of hazardous substances.
• Assessing the world oceans with focus on inputs of nutrients and hazardous substances to the Baltic Sea and the Norteast Atlantic Ocean in the 3rd UN World Oceans Assessment.

Lecturer in Ecotoxicology at the SLU courses in Contaminated soils and Envrionmental Assessment

Former students

• Pianpian Wu, Ph.D.: Methylmercury in boreal freshwater food webs. No 2017:75.
• Robert Weimer , Ph.Lic. Fil.lic. Temporal and spatial variation of radiocaesium in moose (Alces alces) following the Chernobyl fallout in Sweden. eISBN 978-91-576-9342-6 
  Steffi Gottschalk, Ph.D.: Benthic diatoms in lakes: environmental drivers and ecological assessment. No 2014:47.
• Karin Eklöf, Ph.D.: Effects of stump harvesting and site preparation on mercury mobilization and methylation. No 2012:76.
• Maria Kahlili, Ph.D.: Macronutrient cycling in surface waters - large-scale patterns and assessment of global change. No 2012:10.
• Ida Jansson, Undergraduate student, Miljömärkning av fisk; gör det någon skillnad? (Eco-labelled fish; does it matter?).
• Linda Johansson, B.Sc.: Salinity effects on cadmium concentrations in blue mussels in the Baltic Sea.  
• Eva Kvernes, M.Sc.: Bromated flame retardants (PBDE) in fish and sediments. SLU, Department of Aquatic Sciences and assessment, Report 2003:06 (in Swedish).
• Jenny Öhlander, M.Sc.: Sediment toxicity in River Kolbäcksån – toxicity tests with Chironomus riparius and Gammarus pulex. SLU, Department of Aquatic Sciences and assessment, Report 2003:05 (in Swedish).

Limnologist and Ecotoxicologist with degrees from Uppsala University (B.Sc. in Biology with specialisation in Limnology, M.Sc. in Ecotoxikology).

PhD in Limnology: Environmental influence on Hg and 137Cs levels in perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) and roach (Rutilus rutilus L.) from circumneutral lakes