Sebastian Sobek
Professor at Department of Ecology and Genetics; Limnology
- Telephone:
- +46 18 471 27 18
- E-mail:
- Sebastian.Sobek@ebc.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Evolutionsbiologiskt centrum (EBC)
Norbyvägen 18 D
752 36 Uppsala - Postal address:
- Norbyvägen 18 D
752 36 Uppsala
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Short presentation
My research is about carbon cycling in inland water ecosystems, with special focus on belowground processes (carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas production in sediments) and greenhouse gas emission to the atmosphere.
For a popular scienctific portait of my research, click here.
For more information on the research and current projects, continue reading below.
Biography
Degrees
2012 Docent, Limnology, (UU).
2005 PhD, Limnology, (UU)
2001 MSc, Biology, (UU).
Positions
Since 2020 Professor in Biology, particularly Limnology, Dep. of Ecology and Genetics, UU.
2015-2018 Guest Professor (part-time) at Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
2015-2019 Senior Lecturer, Limnology, UU.
2010-2014 Assistant Professor, Limnology, UU.
2009 Scientist, Swedish Agricultural University (SLU).
2006-2009 Post-doctoral researcher, ETH Zurich and Eawag, Switzerland.
2005 Scientist, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Corporation.
2000 - 2005 PhD student, Limnology, UU.
1999 - 2000 Research and teaching assistant, UU.
Research
Inland waters, i.e. lakes, running waters and reservoirs, cover only a small fraction of the Earth’s surface, but are disproportionally active sites of carbon cycling. Inland waters receive sizeable loads of terrestrial carbon from the surrounding catchment, triggering intensive processing: the microbial degradation of organic matter leads to high carbon dioxide and methane emissions to the atmosphere, and at the same time, organic carbon burial in sediments constitutes a significant long-term carbon sink.
We combine field measurements, lab experiments and modelling, and our studies range from processes-scale understanding of degradation and preservation in sediments to catchment-scale and global-scale assessments of aquatic carbon fluxes.
A common denominator of all projects is to understand the interactions between biogeochemical cycling in aquatic systems and environmental change. A past ERC project gives a good example of the work we do.
Recently started work investigates carbon fluxes in connection to ecosystem restoration and nature-based solutions (CLIMIPHY, PredPeat).
Current projects:
- Minimizing the climate footprint of river restoration (CLIMIPHY). PI. 2024-2027, Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development FORMAS, 1.6 M€.
- Minimizing the climate footprint of restoring riverine wetlands. PI. 2024-2027, Lamm Foundation, 200 000 €.
- Anthropogenic perturbation of organic carbon burial in global lake sediments. PI. 2022-2024, Swedish Research Council (VR), 380 000 €.
- Predicting the effects of peatland rewetting on water retention and water quality (PredPeat). Co-PI. 2022-2026, Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development FORMAS, 1.6 M€.
- Sources and dynamics of greenhouse gases in agricultural streams – a process-based approach for improved understanding of a large atmospheric source. Co-PI. 2022-2025, Swedish Research Council (VR), 400 000 €.
- Leakage of environmentally problematic substances from sediment at dam removal. PI. 2021-2024, Swedish Energy Agency, 400 000 €.
Current people:
- Simone Moras, PhD student: linkning sediment methane production to methane emission
- Anna Bottone, PhD student: fate of sediment organic matter at dam removal
- Esra Reichert, PhD student: carbon burial in constructed wetlands
- Sahra Gibson, PhD student: water-related ecosystem services after peatland rewetting (co-advisor)
- Khadija Aziz, PhD student: greenhouse gas emission from agricultural streams (co-advisor)
- Ana Ayala, Post-doc: modelling of carbon burial in global lakes

Publications
Recent publications
Part of Geoderma, 2024
- DOI for Year-round CO2 emissions from the drawdown area of a tropical reservoir: Strong seasonal and spatial variation
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Predicting Methane Formation Rates of Freshwater Sediments in Different Biogeographic Regions
Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, 2024
- DOI for Predicting Methane Formation Rates of Freshwater Sediments in Different Biogeographic Regions
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Global increase in methane production under future warming of lake bottom waters
Part of Global Change Biology, p. 5427-5440, 2022
- DOI for Global increase in methane production under future warming of lake bottom waters
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Cross-continental importance of CH4 emissions from dry inland-waters
Part of Science of the Total Environment, 2022
Part of Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 2021
- DOI for Spatially Resolved Measurements in Tropical Reservoirs Reveal Elevated Methane Ebullition at River Inflows and at High Productivity
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All publications
Articles in journal
Part of Geoderma, 2024
- DOI for Year-round CO2 emissions from the drawdown area of a tropical reservoir: Strong seasonal and spatial variation
- Download full text (pdf) of Year-round CO2 emissions from the drawdown area of a tropical reservoir: Strong seasonal and spatial variation
Predicting Methane Formation Rates of Freshwater Sediments in Different Biogeographic Regions
Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, 2024
- DOI for Predicting Methane Formation Rates of Freshwater Sediments in Different Biogeographic Regions
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Global increase in methane production under future warming of lake bottom waters
Part of Global Change Biology, p. 5427-5440, 2022
- DOI for Global increase in methane production under future warming of lake bottom waters
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Cross-continental importance of CH4 emissions from dry inland-waters
Part of Science of the Total Environment, 2022
Part of Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 2021
- DOI for Spatially Resolved Measurements in Tropical Reservoirs Reveal Elevated Methane Ebullition at River Inflows and at High Productivity
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Hotspots of diffusive CO2 and CH4 emission from tropical reservoirs shift through time
Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, 2021
- DOI for Hotspots of diffusive CO2 and CH4 emission from tropical reservoirs shift through time
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Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 3643-3655, 2021
- DOI for An empirical model to predict methane production in inland water sediment from particular organic matter supply and reactivity
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Comparing methane ebullition variability across space and time in a Brazilian reservoir
Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 1623-1634, 2020
- DOI for Comparing methane ebullition variability across space and time in a Brazilian reservoir
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Predicting lake dissolved organic carbon at a global scale
Part of Scientific Reports, p. 1-8, 2020
- DOI for Predicting lake dissolved organic carbon at a global scale
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Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 1161-1174, 2020
- DOI for Where does the river end?: Drivers of spatiotemporal variability in CO2 concentration and flux in the inflow area of a large boreal lake
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The CO2-equivalent balance of freshwater ecosystems is non-linearly related to productivity
Part of Global Change Biology, p. 5705-5715, 2020
- DOI for The CO2-equivalent balance of freshwater ecosystems is non-linearly related to productivity
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Part of Biogeosciences, p. 1495-1505, 2020
- DOI for High organic carbon burial but high potential for methane ebullition in the sediments of an Amazonian hydroelectric reservoir
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Part of Inland Waters, p. 162-176, 2019
- DOI for Implications of river intrusion and convective mixing on the spatial and temporal variability of under-ice CO2
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Methane formation in tropical reservoirs predicted from sediment age and nitrogen
Part of Scientific Reports, 2019
- DOI for Methane formation in tropical reservoirs predicted from sediment age and nitrogen
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Part of Aquatic Sciences, 2019
- DOI for Carbon dioxide emission from drawdown areas of a Brazilian reservoir is linked to surrounding land cover
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Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 678-688, 2019
- DOI for Reduced Mineralization of Terrestrial OC in Anoxic Sediment Suggests Enhanced Burial Efficiency in Reservoirs Compared to Other Depositional Environments
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Dams: weigh pros and cons case by case
Part of Nature, p. 171-171, 2019
- DOI for Dams: weigh pros and cons case by case
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Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 1737-1749, 2019
- DOI for The transformation of macrophyte-derived organic matter to methane relates to plant water and nutrient contents
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Freshwater Reservoirs: What Does the Atmosphere See?
Part of Ecosystems (New York. Print), p. 1058-1071, 2018
- DOI for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Freshwater Reservoirs: What Does the Atmosphere See?
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Part of Global Change Biology, p. 711-728, 2018
Extreme drought boosts CO2 and CH4 emissions from reservoir drawdown areas
Part of Inland Waters, p. 329-340, 2018
- DOI for Extreme drought boosts CO2 and CH4 emissions from reservoir drawdown areas
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High spatial variability of gas transfer velocity in streams revealed by turbulence measurements
Part of Inland Waters, p. 461-473, 2018
- DOI for High spatial variability of gas transfer velocity in streams revealed by turbulence measurements
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Part of Limnology and Oceanography Letters, p. 156-167, 2018
- DOI for Carbon dioxide and methane emissions of Swedish low-order streams: a national estimate and lessons learnt from more than a decade of observations
- Download full text (pdf) of Carbon dioxide and methane emissions of Swedish low-order streams: a national estimate and lessons learnt from more than a decade of observations
Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 1488-1501, 2018
- DOI for Large but variable methane production in anoxic freshwater sediment upon addition of allochthonous and autochthonous organic matter
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Part of Environmental Science and Technology, p. 607-615, 2018
- DOI for Spatially Resolved Measurements of CO2 and CH4 Concentration and Gas-Exchange Velocity Highly Influence Carbon-Emission Estimates of Reservoirs
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High variability in iron-bound organic carbon among five boreal lake sediments
Part of Biogeochemistry, p. 19-29, 2018
- DOI for High variability in iron-bound organic carbon among five boreal lake sediments
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Widespread release of dissolved organic carbon from anoxic boreal lake sediments
Part of Inland Waters, p. 151-163, 2017
- DOI for Widespread release of dissolved organic carbon from anoxic boreal lake sediments
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Organic carbon burial in global lakes and reservoirs
Part of Nature Communications, 2017
- DOI for Organic carbon burial in global lakes and reservoirs
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Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 3076-3087, 2017
- DOI for Temperature Dependence of Apparent Respiratory Quotients and Oxygen Penetration Depth in Contrasting Lake Sediments
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High terrestrial carbon load via groundwater to a boreal lake dominated by surface water inflow
Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 15-29, 2017
- DOI for High terrestrial carbon load via groundwater to a boreal lake dominated by surface water inflow
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Enhanced carbon loss from anoxic lake sediment through diffusion of dissolved organic carbon
Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 1959-1977, 2016
- DOI for Enhanced carbon loss from anoxic lake sediment through diffusion of dissolved organic carbon
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Low sediment-water gas exchange in a small boreal lake
Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 2493-2505, 2016
- DOI for Low sediment-water gas exchange in a small boreal lake
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Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 233-245, 2016
- DOI for The effect of lake browning and respiration mode on the burial and fate of carbon and mercury in the sediment of two boreal lakes
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Organic carbon burial efficiency in a large tropical hydroelectric reservoir
Part of Biogeosciences, p. 3331-3342, 2016
- DOI for Organic carbon burial efficiency in a large tropical hydroelectric reservoir
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The role of sediments in the carbon budget of a small boreal lake
Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 1814-1825, 2016
- DOI for The role of sediments in the carbon budget of a small boreal lake
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Regional Variability and Drivers of Below Ice CO2 in Boreal and Subarctic Lakes
Part of Ecosystems (New York. Print), p. 461-476, 2016
- DOI for Regional Variability and Drivers of Below Ice CO2 in Boreal and Subarctic Lakes
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Temperature sensitivity of organic carbon mineralization in contrasting lake sediments
Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 1215-1225, 2015
- DOI for Temperature sensitivity of organic carbon mineralization in contrasting lake sediments
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Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 13-28, 2015
- DOI for Carbon dioxide evasion from headwater systems strongly contributes to the total export of carbon from a small boreal lake catchment
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Part of Inland Waters, p. 275-282, 2015
- DOI for Phosphorus transport by the largest Amazon tributary (Madeira River, Brazil) and its sensitivity to precipitation and damming
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Uncoupled organic matter burial and quality in boreal lake sediments over the Holocene
Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 1751-1763, 2015
- DOI for Uncoupled organic matter burial and quality in boreal lake sediments over the Holocene
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Part of Boreal environment research, p. 679-692, 2015
Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 832-846, 2015
- DOI for Temporal control on concentration, character and export of dissolved organic carbon in two hemiboreal headwater streams draining contrasting catchments
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Regional-scale variation of dissolved organic carbon concentrations in Swedish lakes
Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 1612-1620, 2014
Carbon Sequestration in a Large Hydroelectric Reservoir: An Integrative Seismic Approach
Part of Ecosystems (New York. Print), p. 430-441, 2014
Climate science: Cold carbon storage
Part of Nature, p. 415-417, 2014
- DOI for Climate science: Cold carbon storage
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Low organic carbon burial efficiency in arctic lake sediments
Part of Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, p. 1231-1243, 2014
- DOI for Low organic carbon burial efficiency in arctic lake sediments
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Part of Frontiers in Microbiology, p. 101, 2013
- DOI for Spatial variation of sediment mineralization supports differential CO2 emissions from a tropical hydroelectric reservoir
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Part of Aquatic Sciences, p. 535-545, 2013
- DOI for Water renewal along the aquatic continuum offsets cumulative retention by lakes: implications for the character of organic carbon in boreal lakes
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Global carbon dioxide emissions from inland waters
Part of Nature, p. 355-359, 2013
- DOI for Global carbon dioxide emissions from inland waters
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Part of Quaternary Science Reviews, p. 112-122, 2013
Hydroelectric carbon sequestration
Part of Nature Geoscience, p. 838-840, 2012
Hydroelectric carbon sequestration
Part of Nature Geoscience, p. 838-840, 2012
- DOI for Hydroelectric carbon sequestration
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Carbon Dioxide in Boreal Surface Waters: A Comparison of Lakes and Streams
Part of Ecosystems (New York. Print), p. 1295-1307, 2012
- DOI for Carbon Dioxide in Boreal Surface Waters: A Comparison of Lakes and Streams
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Extreme organic carbon burial fuels intense methane bubbling in a temperate reservoir
Part of Geophysical Research Letters, 2012
- DOI for Extreme organic carbon burial fuels intense methane bubbling in a temperate reservoir
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Predicting the volume and depth of lakes from map-derived parameters
Part of Inland Waters, p. 177-184, 2011
- DOI for Predicting the volume and depth of lakes from map-derived parameters
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Part of Biogeosciences, p. 2815-2831, 2011
- DOI for Eddy covariance flux measurements confirm extreme CH(4) emissions from a Swiss hydropower reservoir and resolve their short-term variability
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The burial efficiency of organic carbon in the sediments of Lake Kinneret
Part of Aquatic Sciences, p. 355-364, 2011
- DOI for The burial efficiency of organic carbon in the sediments of Lake Kinneret
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Temperature-controlled organic carbon mineralization in lake sediments
Part of Nature, p. 478-481, 2010
- DOI for Temperature-controlled organic carbon mineralization in lake sediments
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Extreme methane emissions from a Swiss hydropower reservoir: contribution from bubbling sediments
Part of Environmental Science and Technology, p. 2419-2425, 2010
Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 2243-2254, 2009
Large CO2 disequilibria in tropical lakes
Part of Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 2009
Sources and emission of greenhouse gases in Danube Delta lakes
Part of Environmental Science and Pollution Research, p. 86-91, 2009
Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 2416-2426, 2008
Integrating aquatic carbon fluxes in a boreal catchment carbon budget
Part of Journal of Hydrology, p. 141-150, 2007
Patterns and regulation of dissolved organic carbon: An analysis of 7,500 widely distributed lakes
Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 1208-1219, 2007
Part of Ambio, p. 476-483, 2006
Part of Ambio, p. 469-475, 2006
Changes in bacterial community composition along a solar radiation gradient in humic waters
Part of AQUATIC SCIENCES, p. 415-424, 2006
Organic carbon budget for the Gulf of Bothnia
Part of Journal of Marine Systems, p. 155-161, 2006
Part of Ecosystems, p. 709-720, 2005
Mapping lake CDOM by satellite remote sensing.
Part of Remote Sensing of Environment ., p. 535-540, 2005
Part of Microbial Ecology, p. 529-535, 2005
Temperature independence of carbon dioxide supersaturation in global lakes
Part of Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 2005
Part of Forskning och Framsteg, p. 50-52, 2005
Role of lakes for organic carbon cycling in the boreal zone
Part of Global Change Biology, p. 141-147, 2004
Seasonal variation of CO2 saturation in the Gulf of Bothnia: indications of marine net heterotrophy
Part of Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 2004
Emission of CO2 from hydroelectric reservoirs in northern Sweden
Part of Archiv für Hydrobiologie, p. 25-42, 2004
The catchment and climate regulation of pCO2 in boreal lakes
Part of Global Change Biology, p. 630-641, 2003
Deconstructing carbon emission pathways of a diel cycle from four tropical reservoirs
Articles, review/survey
Lakes and reservoirs as regulators of carbon cycling and climate
Part of Limnology and Oceanography, p. 2298-2314, 2009
Conference papers
Seasonal variations in carbon dioxide emissions from lakes and streams
Part of Proceedings of CRAICC Annual Meeting 2011, p. 195-199, 2011