PhD & Postdoc

Lara Schmidt

Environmental Science · University of Freiburg

Lara Schmidt is a PhD candidate in Environmental Science at the University of Freiburg, supervised by Prof. Stefan Peiffer. Her thesis characterises mercury methylation rates and sediment-water mercury fluxes in Swedish boreal lakes under scenarios of climate-driven temperature increase and seasonal ice loss, using isotopic tracer techniques and mesocosm experiments. Eight publications in Environmental Science and Technology and Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta document her field and laboratory findings. Lara received a DAAD scholarship for collaborative fieldwork with Stockholm University and contributed to a Swedish EPA policy brief on aquatic mercury risk thresholds. She has been approached by environmental consultancies and federal environmental agencies in Germany and Sweden. Her mercury flux models are informing lake management strategies across Scandinavia.

Thesis Topic

Mercury methylation and sediment-water flux dynamics in boreal lakes under climate warming

Transition Signals