Phosphate-oxygen isotope analysis of sediments traces sewage impacts on algal blooms
UCL Geography hosts Dr Savannah Worne (Loughborough University) to discuss how phosphate-oxygen isotope analysis of lake sediments reveals the impact of sewage management on harmful algal blooms.
Phosphate-oxygen isotope analysis of sediments traces sewage impacts on algal blooms
05 Nov 2025, 16:00 – 17:00
Join us for this week’s Physical Geography Seminar with Dr Savannah Worne (Loughborough University). Her talk explores how phosphate-oxygen isotope analysis of lake sediments reveals the impact of sewage management on nutrient cycling and harmful algal blooms.
Dr Worne examines how sewage effluent and climate change interact to influence nutrient enrichment and harmful algal blooms in UK lakes. Using innovative phosphate-oxygen isotope analysis of sediment cores, her research reconstructs historical nutrient loading and assesses how wastewater management practices have altered aquatic ecosystems and water quality.
Dr Savannah Worne is a Vice-Chancellor Independent Research Fellow at Loughborough University. Her research focuses on aquatic environmental geoscience, using geochemical and palaeoecological techniques to study nutrient cycling, harmful algal blooms, and the effects of wastewater management and climate change on freshwater ecosystems.
"Changes in tertiary treatment, undertaken to meet the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive targets, have directly altered the nutrient balance of the lagoon, leading to more intense and toxic harmful algal blooms."
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Expert in aquatic environmental geoscience, nutrient cycling, harmful algal blooms, and the impacts of wastewater and climate change on freshwater ecosystems.
UCL Physical Geography Seminar Series – weekly on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, 4–5pm, NWW 305
This seminar is part of the UCL Physical Geography Seminar Series, held every Tuesday or Wednesday during term time from 4–5pm, usually in North West Wing Room 305. The series features leading scholars exploring diverse topics across physical geography. All staff, students, and visitors are welcome to attend.
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