One of our tasks is to reduce the risk of natural disasters such as landslides and soil erosion.
We usually say that it should be safe to live and travel in Sweden. By this, we mean that houses, bridges, roads, railways, and other things we build on the ground should not collapse and harm us.
We know a lot about soil and how to build on the ground. To find out if the ground is safe to build on, we need to know what kind of soil is at the location. The ground can be examined in different ways. Sometimes we take soil samples and analyze them in a laboratory. Sometimes we measure directly on site using different types of equipment.
Our job is to find better ways to investigate the ground. We have a laboratory where we can do different tests on soil. For example, we study what happens when the soil is under pressure or how pollutants spread in the soil.