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Research in my group focuses on sediment-water exchange processes in the shelf environment. Input from rivers, runoff from land, groundwater and precipitation leads to peak concentrations of organic carbon, nutrient and contaminants in the coastal zone. Dilution and dispersal of the particulate and dissolved substances in the shallow nearshore zone is relatively slow resulting in high primary production rates and contaminant accumulation in the sediments. In the shallow shelf, a large fraction of the suspended particles and decaying plankton organisms settle to the sea floor. Biological and physical transport mechanisms mix the deposited material into the sediment linking water column and sedimentary cycles of matter. Most of the organic matter deposited in the shallow shelf are rapidly degraded and the nutrients are recycled to the water column. Availability of light at the sediment surface and nutrient release from the bed generate favorable conditions for benthic algae which can be as productive as the phytoplankton community of the water column. Bottom currents, generated by wind, waves and tides pump water through the surface layers of the sand beds that blanket most of the shelf and convert these zones in expansive filter systems. Submarine groundwater discharge flushes water containing nutrients, dissolved organic matter or pollutants through the coastal sediments. Trawling activities and mineral resource exploitation affects the shelf sediments and its fauna, flora and biogeochemistry.