Overview
My research at Cardiff University is focussed on identifying environmental triggers that induce Cyanobacterial production of Geosmin. Geosmin is a naturally occurring metabolite that imparts unpalatable earthy and musty flavours to drinking water, costing the UK water industry over £200 million per annum to treat. Current monitoring of Cyanobacterial Blooms only indicates a proxy for biomass, which doesn’t correlate with the Geosmin release. During my PhD I aim to establish a link between nutrient dynamics and Geosmin synthetase activity within drinking water reservoirs. Allowing a more pre-emptive model to be implemented to prevent future Geosmin problems.
Research
Thesis
Environmental triggers for geosmin production in freshwater ecosystems
Funding source
GW4 FRESH
