In this study the use of two radar interferometry methods, PSInSAR and SBAS, were tested as tools for measuring coastal erosion. If successful it would have allowed for measuring coastal erosion as a function of material lost. The study area used was Ystad municipality, in southern Sweden. Radar data for the study was provided by the ESA, the European space agency, from their ERS-2 and ENVISAT satellites, spanning the period 1998-2005. Unfortunately, even after many different configurations of settings were tested, the results indicated that both methods are very unsuited for use in rural areas such as Ystad, whether for measuring coastal erosion or otherwise. Both methods had severe problems achieving significant coverage after low coherence areas were masked out, and PSInSAR suffered from several anomalies. This is likely due to the highly vegetated nature of the landscape, which results in low coherence through temporal decorrelation. Of the two methods SBAS showed the most promise, but not nearly enough to be considereduseful. It is, based on the scientific literature, possible that simpler interferometry methods might have been more useful. This, and other possible ways to improve the results is something that this study discusses at length.

A considerable part of the global pool of terrestrial carbon is stored in high latitude soils. In these soils, repeated cycles of freezing and thawing creates soil motion (cryoturbation) that in combination with other cryogenic disturbance processes may play a profound role in controlling the carbon balance of the arctic soil. Conditions for cryogenic soil processes are predicted to dramatically change in response to the ongoing climate warming, but little is known how these changes may affect the ability of arctic soils to accumulate carbon. In this thesis, I utilize a patterned ground system, referred to as non-sorted circles, as experimental units and quantify how cryogenic soil processes affect plant communities and carbon fluxes in arctic soils. I show that the cryoturbation has been an important mechanism for transporting carbon downwards in the studied soil over the last millennia. Interestingly, burial of organic material by cryoturbation appears to have mainly occurred during bioclimatic events occurring around A.D. 900-1250 and A.D. 1650-1950 as indicated by inferred 14C ages. Using a novel photogrammetric approach, I estimate that about 0.2-0.8 % of the carbon pool is annually subjected to a net downward transport induced by the physical motion of soil. Even though this flux seems small, it suggests that cryoturbation is an important transporter of carbon over centennial and millennial timescales and contributes to translocate organic matter to deeper soil layers where respiration proceeds at slow rates. Cryogenic processes not only affect the trajectories of the soil carbon, but also generate plant community changes in both species composition and abundance, as indicated by a conducted plant survey on non-sorted circles subjected to variable differential frost heave during the winter. Here, disturbance-tolerant plant species, such as Carex capillaris and Tofieldia pusilla, seem to be favoured by disturbance generated by the differential heave. Comparison with findings from a previous plant survey on the site conducted in the 1980s suggest that the warmer temperatures during the last decades have resulted in decreased differential heave in the studied non-sorted circles. I argue that this change in cryogenic activity has increased abundance of plants present in the 1980s. The fact that the activity and function of the non-sorted circles in Abisko are undergoing changes is further supported by their contemporary carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes. Here, my measurements of CO2 fluxes suggest that all studied non-sorted circles act as net CO2 sources and thus that the carbon balance of the soils are in a transition state. My results highlight the complex but important relationship between cryogenic soil processes and the carbon balance of arctic soils.

In 2011, Energy saving (mud) stoves were introduced in villages around the Kachung Forestplantation in rural Uganda as part of an effort to support local sustainable development. Initial fieldwork showedthat the stoves had not been adopted as much as the apparent benefits would suggest. This has been a commonissue with improved cooking stove projects around the world. In order to find out why the stoves are notadopted, 67 women in charge of the cooking were interviewed additionally participant observations of cooking,other daily work routines and building stoves conducted, as well as interviews with other relevant stakeholders.Results show that women struggle to find enough firewood and are bothered by the smoke produced whencooking, which makes them generally very interested in improved mud stoves. Indeed many women hadadopted a local version of the mud stove in order to ease the burden of firewood collection. The reason for notadopting a mud stove in general can be mainly attributed to work burden in constructing it. As for the moresophisticated energy saving mud stoves introduced, additional factors were that the implementation strategyshows weaknesses in how the knowledge on how to build the stove is supposed to spread. Further, the stoveintroduced is rather complex in the way it is supposed to be built, which makes it difficult to spread theknowledge of how to build it. The implementation strategy needs to be revised under consideration of the localcircumstances in order to achieve a higher adoption rate.

Dricksvatten är vårt viktigaste livsmedel. I takt med klimatförändringarna kommer temperaturen öka och vädret bli mer extremt vilket gör vår tillgång till dricksvatten mer sårbar. Redan idag finns problem med dricksvattenförsörjningen i vissa delar av Sverige. Ett sätt att minska dricksvattenförbrukningen är att samla in regnvatten och använda det till processer med lägre kvalitetskrav än dricksvatten. Swedavia jobbar aktivt med att få mer miljövänliga flygplatser och som en del av detta minska dricksvattenförbrukningen. Detta projekt utreder möjligheten att samla upp regnvatten på takytor för att använda till processer som idag använder dricksvatten. Projektet är koncernövergripande och applicerbart på samtliga av Swedavias flygplatser även om arbetet utförs på Stockholm Arlanda Airport. I detta examensarbete har kvaliteten på vattnet från fem olika typer av tak studerats. Taken valdes bland annat utifrån tidigare utförda studier där föroreningsgraden på vattnet från olika sorters tak undersökts. Även faktorer som förekomst på flygplatserna spelade in. Provtagning utfördes vid två tillfällen där avrunnet regnvatten samlades in från de fem olika taken samt ett referensprov på rent regnvatten. Fem näringsämnen, löst organiskt material, suspenderat material och sex olika tungmetaller analyserades. Tre av taken gav så pass höga värden att de överskred satta gränsvärden. Det gröna taket gav höga halter fosfor och löst organiskt material. Taket med TRP-stål gav höga zinkhalter vilket tros bero på den zinkbeläggning som taket har. Taket med PVC-plastduk gav också höga zinkhalter vid en av provtagningarna, men inte lika höga som på TRP-ståltaket. Taken med FPO-plast, som är en mer miljövänlig plastduk, och taket med takpapp gav låga värden och överskred inte några satta gränsvärden. Referensprovet på regnvatten gav hög halt suspenderat material vid en av provtagningarna samt höga blyhalter som överskred gränsvärdena. Slutsatserna av detta projekt är att gröna tak, tak med TRP-stål och tak med PVC-plastduk riskerar att överskrida gränsvärden vilket gör att de lämpar sig sämre för uppsamling av regnvatten än de resterande taken. Resultatet baseras på de två provtagningar som utfördes vilket gör att fler provtagningar bör utföras för att kunna dra den definitiva slutsatsen att dessa tre typer av tak inte lämpar sig för detta ändamål. Taken med FPO-plast och takpapp överskrider inga gränsvärden och kan, utifrån de analyserade parametrarna, lämpa sig för uppsamling av regnvatten. Det är dock viktigt att poängtera att för att kunna återanvända vattnet och garantera att det håller en tillräckligt bra kvalitet behöver fler parametrar analyseras, något som inte kunde genomföras i detta projekt. / Drinking water is vital for our daily life. With climate change comes increasing temperatures and more extreme weather which can jeopardize our access to drinking water. One way to reduce our drinking water consumption is to collect rainwater and use it for processes which have lower quality demands than drinking water. Swedavia is constantly working on making their airports more environmentally friendly and as a part of this reducing the drinking water consumption. This project examines how water can be collected at Swedavia’s airports. The project results should be of intent to all of Swedavia’s airports even if the project is performed at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. In this project the water quality from five different types roofs has been studied. The different kind of roofs were chosen based on previous studies where pollutants in roof-harvested rainwater were studied. Other aspects such as location on the airports were also considered. Samplings were collected at two different occasions where water was collected from the different roofs. One sample of clean rainwater was collected as a reference. Five nutrients, dissolved organic matter, suspended matter and six heavy metals were analyzed. Three of the roofs gave water with high values that exceeded the quality limits. The samples from the green roof showed high levels of phosphorus and dissolved organic matter. The steel roof gave high levels of zink which may origin from its zink coating. The roof with PVC plastic also gave high levels of zink, but not as high as the steel roof. The roof with FPO plastic, a more environmentally friendly plastic, and the roof with roof paper gave low values and did not exceed any quality limits. The reference sample of clean rainwater gave high values of suspended matter at the second occasion and high values of lead that exceeded the quality limits. The conclusions of this project are that roof-harvested rainwater from green roofs, steel roofs and roofs with PVC plastic may exceed quality limits which makes them less suitable for collecting and re-use. The results are based on the two sampling occasions which means that sampling at more occations needs to be done to make definitive conclusions. The roofs with FPO plastic and roof paper do not exceed any quality limits and can therefore, according to the analyzed parameters, be suitable for collecting rainwater. It is important to note that to be able to reuse the water and guarantee that the quality of the water does not exceed any quality limits more parameters should be analyzed.

Glaciers are important components of the Earth's environment and are mainly found in polar and high elevation areas. They are crucial for understanding the past, ongoing and upcoming environmental changes, relevant for fresh water supply, logistical and recreational purposes. Subsurface temperature of glaciers is an important parameter heavily influencing the fluxes of mass and energy. The project focuses on how the temperature changes inside glaciers and which factors contribute to the change. Thermal conduction is one of the key processes controlling the thermodynamics of glaciers. This defines how well heat is transferred inside glaciers and how well the temperature propagates. The process of heat conduction at Lomonosovfonna ice field, Svalbard, is described using numerical simulations constrained by measured initial and boundary conditions. Simulated subsurface temperature is in line with measurements before the onset of melt in summer. After that deviations increase as the used model does not consider the process of melt water refreezing. This makes the simulation only partially successful. / Glaciärer är viktiga komponenter i jordens omgivning och återfinns främst i polarområden och områden på hög höjd. De är viktiga för att förstå tidigare, pågående och kommande miljöförändringar, relevanta för färskvattenförsörjning, logistiska och återskapande ändamål. Temperaturen inom glaciärer är en viktig parameter som påverkar flödena av massa och energi. Projektet fokuserar på hur temperaturen förändras inom glaciärer och vilka faktorer som bidrar till förändringen. Värmeledning är en av nyckelprocesserna som kontrollerar termodynamiken hos glaciärer. Detta definierar hur väl värme förflyttas inom glaciärer och hur väl temperaturen sprider sig. Värmeledningsprocessen på isfältet Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, beskrivs med hjälp av numeriska simuleringar begränsade av uppmätta initial- och gränsförhållanden. Simulering av temperaturen under ytan stämmer överens med mätningarna före smältningen på sommaren. Därefter ökar avvikelsen, eftersom modellen som använts inte tar hänsyn till processen av återfrysning av smältvatten. Detta gör att simuleringen endast är delvist lyckad.

The goal of this thesis is to understand how the Biomimicry Toolbox (BT), a practical tool for applying biomimicry, currently supports strategic thinking in order to create sustainable solutions. A pragmatic qualitative research approach was used, in which the BT was analysed through the lens of the Five Level Framework (5LF), a tool for planning and analysing in complex systems and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, the application of the 5LF for sustainability endeavours. Interviews were conducted with people experienced with the BT. Results show that the BT has several aspects of strategic thinking. It supports the application of a systems perspective, provides a success goal to move towards and offers tools for a strategic process to follow. The authors conclude that the BT could benefit from including understanding of the patterns and structures of the social system in relation with the earth system. Also, it can benefit from including a section on upstream thinking helping users of the BT consider root causes. Lastly, it could benefit from a strategic approach for evaluating how sustainable solutions are and include a simple and clear prioritisation process. The improvements can make the BT more impactful in supporting societies transition towards sustainability.

The role of streams in the global carbon budget was for a long time neglected, since they were considered passive transporters of carbon from land to sea. However, studies have shown that streams are often supersaturated in carbon dioxide (CO2), making them sources of carbon to the atmosphere. The main sources of stream CO2 are in-stream mineralization of organic matter and transport of carbon from the catchment. The catchment derived CO2 could both be of biogenic (respiration) or geogenic (weathering) origin. Most studies regarding the topic rely on measurements carried out in forest-dominated catchments, while agricultural streams are under-represented. The objective of this study was to examine partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in streams in catchments dominated by agriculture. This was done to increase the knowledge about agricultural influence on stream pCO2, and to provide a basis for planning mitigation strategies for reducing CO2 emissions from the agriculture sector. Sampling was performed in ten streams draining agriculture-dominated catchments around Uppsala, Sweden, from June to November 2017. Measurements of pCO2 were carried out with floating chambers, equipped with CO2 sensors. Nutrients, organic carbon, discharge and different chemical variables were also measured. For correlation tests, the method Kendall’s Tau was used. Catchments were delineated in a geographic information system (GIS) and the CORINE Land Cover dataset was used to examine land use. Stream specific median pCO2 varied from 3000 to 10 000 μatm. In some streams, pCO2 exceeded 10 000 μatm, which was outside of the sensor’s measurement range. Values of pCO2 were high compared to similar studies in forested catchments, which could indicate that occurrence of agriculture in the catchment increases stream CO2. Correlation was found between pCO2 and discharge, with negative correlation in five streams and positive correlation in two. Negative correlation was found between pCO2 and pH and percentage of dissolved oxygen, respectively. No significant correlation was found between pCO2 and fraction of agricultural land use, nutrients or organic carbon. Further studies are needed to examine the sources of CO2, since it is possible that a large part of the CO2 has a geogenic origin. The floating chamber method should be revised to reduce the sensor’s sensitivity to condensation and cold temperatures, and to increase the measuring range.

Utredning av lakvattnets ursprung på Brista deponiJoel NordinBrista deponi har uppvisat oväntat höga lakvattenflöden trots att deponin har sluttäckts. Före sluttäckning var genomförd förväntades flödena reduceras till 700 m3 per år från flöden på några tusen m3. Brista deponi är belägen utanför Märsta i Mellansverige.Söder om deponikroppen finns lakvattendammar som är nyrenoverade med täta dukar från vilka förorenat vatten pumpas upp underifrån dammarna. Pumpningen sker då dammduken annars bucklar upp på grund av för högt grundvattentryck. Vattnet som pumpas upp är för påverkat, av främst närsalter, för att direkt släppas ut till recipienten vilket gör att det pumpas in i de befintliga dammarna. Syftet med detta arbete har varit att utreda ursprunget till de höga lakvattenflöden som fortsätter att rinna ut från deponin samt att utreda ursprunget till de föroreningar som pumpas upp underifrån lakvattendammarna.Marken under deponikroppen har undersökts genom att geologin från flera olika befintliga undersökningar och flygfoton har bearbetats i ArcMap och lagts in i programvaran Rockworks. I programvaran har en modell byggts upp och tvärsektioner över marken tagits ut och tolkats tillsammans med grundvattenytor. Utifrån modellen i Rockworks framkommer det att huvuddräneringen under deponikroppen ligger lågt i förhållande till dräneringen runt deponikroppen. Denna information tillsammans med att deponin inte har någon tät botten har lett till en slutsats att den huvudsakliga anledningen till de höga lakvattenflödena är inträngande grundvatten.Det påverkade vattnet under lakvattendammarna har undersökts med hjälp av programvarorna SIMCA, Rockworks och genom att studera analysserier av provtagningar på vattnet som pumpas upp och vatten från provpunkter på anläggningen. I SIMCA har analysserier lagts in från olika provpunkter i området t.ex. grundvattenrör, och en principalanalys genomfördes för att hitta mönster i föroreningsnivåer. Rockworks användes för att se relationen mellan dammarna, grundvattnet och geologin. Efter sammanställning av kemin, där närsalter varit den kraftigaste föroreningen, tillsammans med analys av redoxförändring, har de olika delarna från SIMCA och Rockworks vägts ihop med kemin. Sammanvägningen gav slutsatsen att det påverkade vattnet under lakvattendammarna härstammar ifrån tiden före lakvattendammarna renoverats och belagts med täta dukar. / Investigation of leachate water origin at the Brista landfillJoel NordinBrista landfill has showed unexpectedly high volumes of leachate out from the landfill even though it has been covered. Before the cover over the landfill was done, leachate volumes were expected to be 700 m3 after the cover would be finished compared to leachate volumes of a couple of thousand m3. Brista landfill is situated south of the city Märsta, in the middle part of Sweden.South of the landfill are newly renovated leachate ponds where polluted water is pumped up from beneath the ponds. The water is pumped up due to high pressure from the groundwater which makes the liner to buckle up if the water is not removed. The water is too polluted, mostly by nutrients, to be released to the recipient directly and is therefore pumped in to the ponds. The purpose of this project has been to investigate the origin of the high volumes leachate water from the landfill and to find an answer to the origin of the polluted water under the leachate ponds.The ground beneath the landfill has been investigated by putting the geology from several old investigations and aerial photos together in ArcMap and exported that information to Rockworks. With the help of Rockworks a model was build and cross sections of the soil could be produced with levels of the groundwater. From the cross sections, it can be seen that the main drainage under the landfill body is lower than the drainage that is around the landfill body. This information together with the information that the landfill doesn’t have any liner in the bottom, have concluded in the conclusion that the main reason of the high volumes of leachate water is due to groundwater intrusion.The polluted water beneath the leachate ponds have been investigated with the software SIMCA, Rockworks and by studying the test results from analyses of the water from different sample points on the facility, compared to the water that is pumped up. In the software SIMCA the test results from the different sample points, as groundwater wells, was imported and a principal component analysis was done to find patterns in the pollutants. Rockworks was used to see the relation between the ponds, geology and the groundwater. After revision of the chemistry, where nutrients were the biggest problem, together with studies of the redox change, the different parts from SIMCA and Rockworks has been weighted together with the chemistry. The parts combined led to a conclusion that the polluted water beneath the leachate ponds is derived from the time before the ponds was renovated and installed with liners.

Increasing attention is being given to acid sulphate soils wherever they occur. The problems that leaching sulphate soils gives with significant lowerings of pH and mobilization of heavy metals influence large spectra of our society from fisheries to agriculture to construction. Mapping these soils is consequently of great importance and the methods of doing this is very much lacking in function and precision. This study was therefore carried out to investigate whether conductivity in running water can be used as a simple instrument to identify acid sulphate soils in the catchment. 31 coastal streams in the county of Västerbotten were analyzed for different catchment properties such as occurence of marine sediments and basic water chemistry including conductivity and sulphate. Sulphate proved to be the dominant factor controling conductivity in most streams, constituting up to 90 % of the anions. The results also showed that the concentrations of sulphate correlated to 67 % with marine sediments in the catchment. Where conductivity values exceeded 90 µS/cm the influence of acid sulphate soils could be determined for certain. The major conclusion drawn from this study is that high conductivity values serves as a reliable indicator of leaching acid sulphate soils whereas lower values can not exclude them. / flisik

For studies using lake sediments as a medium, understanding factors governing sediment distribution and properties is crucial for making accurate interpretations and conclusions. General lake sedimentation theory is however mainly based on larger lakes and systems, potentially leading to biased sampling and data interpretation when applied on a smaller system. In a paper published in 2008, Rippey et al. evaluated the fit of some general sedimentation theories on element distribution in the sediments of Kassjön (63°55´ N, 20°01´ E), northern Sweden. This small boreal lake reoccurs in the scientific literature, largely from paleolimnological studies on varved sediments in the lake, making the understanding of its sediment properties highly relevant. As part of a wider geochemical study on the lake, this paper scrutinizes the findings of Rippey et al. (2008) by using updated bathymetry and geochemical analyses, to provide further insight on sedimentation in Kassjön. Element composition, analysed with X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and dry weight was obtained from sediment samples at 40 sites. Depth at sampling sites, together with catchment morphometry and previous bathymetry, was used to improve the bathymetric understanding. Kassjön was found to have a less steep bathymetry than previously assumed, with distribution of sediment geochemistry and dry weight showing heterogeneity differing from that expected of general sedimentation theories only. These results indicate that previous findings on sedimentation in Kassjön might be too simplistic, and that small-lake sedimentation is influenced by factors not included in general sedimentation models. Caution is therefore advised when e.g. interpreting the environmental record in lake sediments.