Dr Olha Nikolenko

My research falls into intersection between hydrogeology, hydrology and microbiology fields as I am interested in hydrobiochemical coupled processes affecting transport and transformation processes of nutrients, legacy and emerging contaminants across groundwater-surface water continuum. 

My expertise covers (i) the occurrence, fate and transport of contaminants (PFAS, pharmaceutical chemicals, N-compounds) in urban and non-urban aquifers, (ii) dynamics and biogeochemical transformation of GHG and N-compounds in groundwater, (iii) multivariate data analysis for contaminant assessments, (iv) stable isotope and microbiological analysis in GHGs and N process studies, and (v) geochemical modelling of contaminant impacts on surface water and groundwater quality.

In the current MSCA project I want to determine the impact of PFAS on the activity of nitrification and denitrification microorganisms in freshwater aquatic ecosystems under changing temperature induced by climate warming. It is important as nutrient pollution of water bodies is a serious problem in Europe. This is reflected in the Water Framework Directive, which introduced broad measures against N contamination, yet only 40% of water bodies achieve good status. This issue is even more pressing given climate change, which threatens to alter global nutrient cycling. Hence, it is critical to understand natural nutrient biotransformation processes, which may be modified or constrained in rivers and groundwater by the properties of co-contaminants, among which PFAS are considered to be ubiquitous in environment due to their widespread usage in consumer and industrial products.