Dr. Petra Zahajská

Biography

Petra Zahajská is a Postdoctoral researcher and the Sedimentology Lab Manager at the Institute of Geography. Her overarching research interest revolves around investigating biogeochemical processes in response to climate change across a wide array of aquatic and terrestrial environments, including temperate and subarctic lakes in Europe and North America, as well as coastal salt marshes and mangroves in Asia and New Zealand. Her expertise includes non-destructive scanning methods, where she operates and manages data workflows associated with techniques such as Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). She specializes in organic geochemistry and chromatography, notably sedimentary pigment extraction and analysis via HPLC-DAD. Zahajská also conducts compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis using GC-IRMS and GC-MS, and utilizes MC-ICP-MS and ICP-MS for high-precision stable silicon isotope analysis and trace metal quantification. Furthermore, she is proficient in advanced sample preparation methods and data science, collaborating on developing open-source, Python-based workflows for analytical processes. Her international field experience includes leading research campaigns in diverse and remote environments, employing a range of field techniques for sediment coring, water sampling, and collecting plant and fossil material.

Research Interests

Experience