Research and development projects
Large international cooperation projects
Estonian-Finnish Beamline for Atmospheric and Material Sciences
FinEstBeaMS is a materials and atmospheric science beamline at the MAX IV 1.5 GeV storage ring. It provides ultraviolet and soft X-ray radiation with precisely controlled and widely variable parameters. The beamline has two branches: one branch is dedicated to ultra-high vacuum studies of surfaces and interfaces and the other to gas-phase experiments and photoluminescence in solids. The FinEstBeaMS beamline offers a bright high quality photon beam in an extended wavelength range (288 nm – 1.24 nm) with controlled polarization. The range of research extends from the electronic structure studies of free particles (atoms, molecules, clusters and atmospheric particles) in gas phase and on surfaces to formation analysis and nanoscale characterisation of surfaces and interfaces.
The design of the beamline facilitates sample transfer between the end stations, offering synergy between gas phase and solid-state research.
Foreign funded R&D projects
Implementation of national climate change adaptation activities in Estonia
AdaptEst
LIFE21-IPC-EE-LIFE-SIP AdaptEst/101069566
Duration: 01.01.2023–31.03.2032
Principal investigator (UT): Ain Kull
Leaders of subprojects: Piia Post, Tõnu Oja, Ain Kull, Marko Kohv, Mehis Rohtla
Funding (UT): 1 480 401 EUR
Funders: European Commission (61%), Ministry of the Environment (39%)
Basic Research (50%); Applied Research (50%)
Project info (about UT) in ETIS
Partners (UT):
Institute of Physics
Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences
Estonian Marine Institute
Partners outside the University of Tartu can be seen on the Project website
The main objective of the project is to increase the resilience of different ecosystems in a changing climate, to improve society’s preparedness to adapt to climate change through renewed climate projections, and to ensure positive socio-economic impacts by saving resources through several good practices, demonstrations and pilot projects and capacity building measures.
Activities related to the working groups of the University of Tartu
The working group of the Institute of Physics led by Prof. Piia Post updates atmospheric climate projections. The latest climate projections for Estonia were published in 2015 and need to be updated based on more recent scientific results and model calculations. Climate projections will serve as input for climate change adaptation in various vulnerable sectors, such as water management, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, energy, transport and health.
Three working groups from the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences are working on the project. Led by Prof. Tõnu Oja, the geoinformatics group updates and applies the fire hazard map compiling tool into operational work of the Estonian Environment Agency. The group of physical geography, led by Assoc. Prof. Ain Kull, examines the carbon sequestration capacity of former mining sites and its enhancement through the creation of quaking bogs in flooded areas and the possibilities of regulating water flow and quality in a changing climate. Led by Marko Kohv, the group from the geology department is involved in monitoring and drone monitoring of flooded meadows under restoration.
The working group of the Estonian Marine Institute, led by Mehis Rohtla, catches breeding fish for the reproduction of whitefish.
