ETH News

On 2 December, Andreas Fischlin will give his farewell lecture. Time for a profile of the systems ecologist who fought against climate change at the highest political level.

Since the 1980s, it’s been known that a mysterious contaminant forms in chloraminated drinking water, but only now has a Swiss-American research team been able to identify the unknown product in US drinking water systems.

The XPRIZE Rainforest competition acknowledged ETH Zurich-led team for its development and deployment of novel, autonomous technologies that enable near real-time insights about biodiversity.

A team led by ETH climate researcher Sandro Vattioni has shown that diamond dust released in the atmosphere could be a good way to cool the climate. However, it is still not a sustainable solution to climate change, says Vattioni in an interview with ETH News.

Research areas at ETH Zurich span barriers in a wide variety of fields, including cell biology, drug delivery and spatial planning. Below, we look at examples from six different disciplines.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new way to break down a dangerous subgroup of PFAS known as PFOS. With the help of nanoparticles and ultrasound, piezocatalysis could offer an effective alternative to existing processes in the future.

Four researchers from ETH Zurich have successfully applied for Consolidator Grants funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Catastrophic volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet millions of years ago shed new light on how plants evolve and regulate climate. Researchers reveal the long-term climate effects of disturbed natural ecosystems - its implications both in geological history and for today.

Earth seen from space: ETH spin-off askEarth facilitates access to satellite images for environmental and climate monitoring. It supports businesses in combatting deforestation.

Jessica Droujko’s start-up, Riverkin, measures the water quality of freshwater ecosystems and helps quantify and respond to risks such as floods and pollution. Thanks to an ETH Pioneer Fellowship, her work is now picking up speed.

ETH researchers are using radar to scan the snow and ice on the Jungfraujoch. Sometimes, scaling an icy peak is the only way for scientists to fully understand satellite data.

The federal government has plans to tax electric vehicles to secure funding for road infrastructure. However, a new levy could delay the switch to electromobility. Alessio Levis explains how this dilemma could be resolved.

The landslide in Brienz (GR) in 2023 kept Switzerland on tenterhooks for weeks. Researchers from ETH Zurich, WSL and SLF used a model to provide a highly accurate blind prediction of where the sliding mass would come to rest. ETH Professor Johan Gaume explains how the model works and where its limitations lie.

Renewable energies are not the main driver of biodiversity loss. It is rather the other way round: renewables can limit climate change in order to preserve biodiversity. Cyril Brunner contextualises the trade-offs from a scientific perspective.

Like forests, grassland provides numerous ecological, economic and social benefits. Researchers have investigated ways to maintain and improve these benefits in the Swiss canton of Solothurn.

Natural forest regeneration is hailed as a cost-effective way to restore biodiversity and sequester carbon. However, the fragmentation of tropical forests has restricted the movement of large birds limiting their capacity to disperse seeds and restore healthy forests.

Researchers at ETH Zurich led by Robert Boes are developing specific solutions to optimise electricity production from Swiss hydropower plants. This will ensure that hydropower remains the backbone of Switzerland’s electricity supply in the future.

Environmental scientist Alice Pradel cultivates ice cores in the lab to investigate the transport and accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics. Her aim in doing so is to better understand material flows in the Arctic ice.

We can transition to pesticide-free agriculture without converting to organic farming. Robert Finger outlines the advantages and challenges involved.

Recycling is an accepted formula for sustainable resource use, but in the case of plastic it can have serious side effects, says Helene Wiesinger – and uses the example of plastic flooring in Switzerland to illustrate the dilemma.

Christoph Schär is one of the Swiss climate scientists who have shaped high-resolution climate modelling. He is now retiring after more than 35 years at ETH Zurich. In this portrait, he explains why he himself never tires of researching climate change.

The cost of removing large quantities of CO₂ from the air will fall in the medium term, but not as much as previously hoped. This is the conclusion reached by ETH researchers on the basis of new calculations. Efforts to reduce carbon emissions should therefore continue at pace, says the research team.

Vacant land, community gardens and public parks are key resources for liveable cities. Fritz Kleinschroth calls on urban planners to focus on giving nature more space and on granting equitable access to green spaces.

Researchers have found genes in the reproductive organs of bulls that influence fertility. The findings can be transferred to humans, as these genes are also present in men.

Achim Walter believes increased cultivation of legumes would bring major benefits. But how to persuade farmers in Switzerland to make the switch?

A global study shows that the world’s groundwater resources are dwindling: levels are falling sharply worldwide, and the decline has accelerated in the 21st century. Nevertheless, there is still reason for hope.

More and more people are afraid of climate change. For Cyril Brunner, this also has to do with how we talk about climate. We should focus less on problems and instead spend more time discussing solutions, suggests the climate researcher at the start of the year.

Craig Walton is the first NOMIS Fellow at the Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life at ETH Zurich. With an unconventional idea, he wants to find out the conditions under which life originated on Earth.

Snow measurement has never been so fast and accurate: ETH Zurich researchers have developed an artificial intelligence capable of determining snow depth across Switzerland using satellite images.

From the giant blue whale to minuscule microbes, all creatures on this earth continuously shed traces of their DNA. These clues help researchers to determine the degree of biological diversity.

People living on the in low-lying coastal areas will be at even greater risk from cyclones in the future. Natural ecosystems offer protection, but this protection has decreased in recent years and is expected to continue to decline. This is a finding of a model study by an international team of researchers led by ETH Zurich.

New study estimates that natural forest recovery could capture approximately 226 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon, but only if we also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving these results requires community-driven efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity.

The Alps are being increasingly affected by floods and droughts. According to Manuela Brunner, we can do something about this problem: use water more sparingly and think about hazard protection in broader terms.

They set out to study the Congo Basin’s carbon cycle and in the process have become aware of one of the world’s darkest blackwater rivers: the Ruki. In the first study on this major jungle river, an international research team led by ETH Zurich explains how this blackness comes about and what it says about the river system’s carbon balance.

ETH Professor Sonia Seneviratne has been elected as Vice-Chair of the Working Group I of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In order to take on this new responsibility, she is stepping down as Associate Vice President for Sustainability at ETH Zurich. In this interview she talks about her old and new positions.

Forests renew themselves naturally. There has been very little research into how exactly this happens – until now. Researchers at ETH Zurich and WSL have set themselves the task of solving this puzzle.

Strategy games developed by ETH ecologists bring different stakeholders to the table. By shifting people’s perspectives, they create a win-win situation for environmental protection.

The risk of fatal heatwaves has risen sharply over the past 20 years. In the future, such extreme weather will become more frequent and heat-related excess mortality will increase. Europe will be particularly affected, as ETH Zurich researchers show.

For the first time, researchers combined human and ecological factors to analyse the global scale of non-native tree species invasions. Human activity in hotspots of global trade, such as maritime ports, is linked to an increased likelihood of non-native tree species invasions. However, a high diversity of native tree species can help to curb the intensity of such invasions.

The media uproar over wolf attacks on livestock in Switzerland and a bear attack in Italy show how charged the issue of large carnivores and humans coexisting in Europe is. ETH Zurich researcher Paula Mayer has now created a participatory model to help facilitate human-bear coexistence using the example of the Apennine brown bear.

A team led by researchers from ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) advances to the finals of the competition "XPRIZE Rainforest". The international competition aims to promote the development of autonomous technologies for collecting data on biodiversity.

Researchers are using a new model to clarify why millions of years ago more animal species from Asia made the leap to the Australian continent than vice versa. The climate in which the species evolved played an important role.

Sewer systems and centralised treatment plants are not a sustainable solution for managing the world’s wastewater. Environmental engineers at ETH Zurich and Eawag have been helping to develop decentralised, closed-loop modular systems.

When microorganisms break down organic material in the soil, they actively release CO₂ into the atmosphere. This process is called heterotrophic respiration. A novel model shows that these emissions could surge by up to 40 percent by the end of the century – most significantly in the polar regions.

How we are contaminating our waters with microplastics and a multitude of chemicals.

Heavier rain, longer droughts, melting glaciers: climate change has a dramatic impact on the global water cycle.

The expansion of hydropower generation often leads to conflicts of interest, both in Switzerland and beyond. Researchers from ETH Zurich are trying to find a basis for compromise that serves the public interest.

From tackling micropollutants in wastewater to removing plastic waste from rivers, here are five solutions based on ETH expertise.

To decarbonize our economy, electricity will replace oil and natural gas as the primary energy carrier. Where should that power come from? Many people argue that all of it should be produced domestically. Careful analysis suggests some share of it should be imported, says Anthony Patt.

Switzerland is monitoring its biological diversity as part of a global effort to understand its changes and prevent further biodiversity loss. Researchers from ETH Zurich are working on a pioneering pilot study that includes the analysis of genetic diversity of native species.

Political debate is vital for a functioning democracy. And when it comes to complex issues such as climate change, scientists should be able to share their expertise and help shape opinion, says Reto Knutti.

In the Forest Laboratory "Waldlabor" on Hönggerberg, ETH Zurich researchers investigate the storage and transport processes of water in the forest. Recently they showed that forest-floor litter and deadwood have a far larger influence on the forest water balance than expected.

A study by researchers at ETH Zurich shows for the first time how a relaxation of Swiss spatial planning policy would affect the locations of wind turbines. If the aim is to have as few wind turbines as possible in the Alps and in Switzerland in general, it would be worth considering using windy agricultural areas on the western Swiss Plateau.

Many regions have suffered from heatwaves in recent years. But exactly how these form is still a matter of debate. Two researchers at ETH Zurich have now found a nuanced answer.

Atmospheric chemist Thomas Peter retired at the end of January. A profile of a man who taught us about the properties and processes of suspended particles and helped shape the second-largest department at ETH Zurich.

Efforts to restore degraded ecosystems have so far fallen short of meeting global targets. Sound restoration must better incorporate social processes promoting equity in order to effectively benefit people, climate and biodiversity, says Sara Löfqvist.

One of the greatest unknowns in climate change is the question of how particulate matter affects clouds. Yu Wang is using machine learning and satellite data to investigate the surprising role of these tiny particles in the atmosphere.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal research institute WSL have developed a flying device that can land on tree branches to take samples. This opens up a new dimension for scientists previously reserved for biodiversity researchers.

ETH Zurich researchers have been able to show which genes inhibit self-fertilisation in grasses. Plant scientists can now use this mechanism in a more targeted way to breed new varieties of forage grasses as well as rice or barley.

There has been a great deal of media focus on the near-total lack of snow in Swiss ski resorts at the beginning of the year. Sonia Seneviratne explains why we will have to get used to this scenario and what needs to be done about it.

A special year is soon coming to an end. In 2022, much has been researched, developed and invented at ETH Zurich. ETH News looks back on an eventful past year.

A new study by various Swiss universities shows that aerosols in indoor air can vary in acidity. This acidity determines how long viruses remain infectious in the air – with profound implications for virus transmission and strategies to contain it.

A nature-based economy that regenerates ecosystems and stops species extinction? Christoph Küffer believes this is possible if we strengthen ecology in research and education and make ecological expertise a basic skill for society.  

Karin Iten knows there are limits to human knowledge – and limits to what we can accomplish. But that hasn’t stopped this ETH environmental scientist and agnostic from taking on the seemingly impossible task of bringing about a culture change in the Catholic Church.

To protect tropical forests in Brazil, commodities traders have made voluntary commitments to avoid buying soybeans grown in areas that have recently been deforested. Two new studies reveal just how inadequate these guidelines are in protecting Brazil from deforestation and assess the potential effect of implementing the commitments on a much larger scale.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an approach to accurately record and fully track the biodegradation of plastics in soils.  

Researchers from ETH Zurich are studying how alpine vegetation is responding to a warming climate – and how some plant communities are continuing to stand firm against newcomers from lower elevations.

ETH Zurich is opening a new research and teaching centre with a focus on exploring the origin and prevalence of life on Earth and beyond. Under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Didier Queloz, more than 40 research groups from five departments will address the big questions posed by humankind.

A team of researchers from ETH Zurich and WSL travelled to Svalbard this summer to take a closer look at the phenomenon of Arctic greening. Lead principal investigator Sebastian Doetterl discusses research in the face of polar bears, airline strikes and war.

Researchers from ETH Zurich have established that the destruction of ozone over the Arctic in the spring causes abnormal weather throughout the northern hemisphere, with many places being warmer and drier than average – or too wet.

Biodiversity is beautiful, but it’s also vitally important. ETH researchers are getting to the heart of how species diversity and genetic diversity evolve – and why we must fight to preserve them.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and TU Delft have developed a model to generate hundreds of ways in which Europe’s energy system can become green and self-sufficient by 2050. They have made their results available on an interactive platform to provide a clearer picture of all the various options and their associated trade-offs.

Until now, research assumed that the vast forest area of the Congo Basin, like other tropical forests, releases large amounts of nitrous oxide and binds methane. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now shown that it behaves differently: methane is released, while nitrous oxide emissions are smaller than thought.

Viruses that infect bacteria could one day replace antibiotics because they precisely attack only specific pathogens. Researchers at ETH Zurich are now showing that this is not always the case. This new finding is important because bacterial viruses can transfer antibiotic resistance genes.

Most trees live in symbiosis with fungi. ETH Zurich researchers show just how important this partnership is for tree growth through the first-ever comprehensive data analysis compiled for European forests on a massive scale.

While much is known about extreme weather events on land, there has been little research into those that occur in the ocean. A study led by ETH Zurich uses models to show for the first time that marine heatwaves, and extremes with high acidity or low oxygen can also occur conjointly – with difficult to foresee consequences for marine life.

Using a new mechanistic model of evolution on Earth, researchers at ETH Zurich can now better explain why the rainforests of Africa are home to fewer species than the tropical forests of South America and Southeast Asia. The key to high species diversity lies in how dynamically the continents have evolved over time.

Oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through microscopic algae that carry out photosynthesis and then sink to the deep sea when they die. This sinking enhances the degradation processes, as ETH researchers have now discovered.

Climate researcher Sonia Seneviratne contributed to the latest assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). As she highlights here,  the new report clearly demonstrates that we can’t afford to lose any more time when it comes to climate change.

The EU funded project DAFNE has developed a methodology for avoiding conflicts of use in transboundary rivers. The model-based procedure allows for participatory planning and cooperative management of water resources. The aim is now for the DAFNE methodology to be implemented in other regions of the world.

Based on observational data from Europe, climate researchers from ETH Zurich have shown for the first time that forests lead to a rise in precipitation. Their analyses also revealed that if the available agricultural land were reforested, the amount of precipitation in Europe could increase by more than 7 percent.

This summer, students from ETH Zurich will test various technologies on the Limmat for the automatic removal of waste. The Autonomous River Cleanup project is starting with rivers to tackle the global problem of marine pollution.

Intense agricultural use is causing soil degradation in many areas. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a rapid test for measuring soil quality on site. This should allow farmers to monitor the health of their land themselves in the future.

ETH spin-off Restor aims to increase the success rate of ecosystem restoration and conservation projects by connecting people with better data and ecological transparency. To do this, it combines practical knowledge on the ground with data from ecosystem researchers and satellite imagery.  

Extreme weather poses increasing challenges to the agricultural sector. New insurance models based on satellite data may reduce the risk of drought for farmers, writes Robert Finger.

The European Research Council has decided on the recipients of its lucrative Advanced Grants. Researchers at ETH Zurich were awarded two grants – one in political science and the other in climate research. ETH is set to receive around CHF 6.6 million.

When it comes to debris avalanches and mudslides, there is usually very little warning. Using seismic monitoring and machine learning, researchers from ETH Zurich and WSL have developed an alarm system that can provide early warning of debris flows at Illgraben.

The risk of people being forced from their homes by flooding increases by half for each additional degree of global warming, as an international research team led by the Weather and Climate Risks Group at ETH Zurich demonstrate.

Microplastic pollution is a serious problem, but blanket bans won’t solve the issue, says Denise Mitrano. We should regulate plastics more precisely to create incentives for both innovation and environmental safety.

ETH Zurich and University of California Santa Barbara researchers reveal the extent to which rivers across the USA are losing flow to aquifers.

River flow has changed significantly worldwide in recent decades. An international research team led by ETH Zurich has now demonstrated that it is climate change, rather than water and land management, that plays a crucial role at a global level.

Terrestrial ecosystems help mitigate climate change by absorbing large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. A new study now confirms that changing climate conditions could reduce this effect because in warmer and wetter areas, carbon stored in the soil is released back into the atmosphere more quickly.

Chemical pollution is a global threat that demands for global action, says Zhanyun Wang. An interface body similar to the IPCC could help bridge the gap between science and policy.

ETH researchers have found a gene mutation that causes the sperm of boars to immobilize. Their discovery will help pig breeders to exclude animals with this genetic defect from breeding in future.

The second episode of the uncertainty series of the ETH podcast is dedicated to the topic of uncertainty in climate change.

ETH climate researcher Daniela Domeisen has documented how the stratosphere influences extreme weather events. What surprised her was the sheer range of potential impacts. She explains what this means for climate research and long-term weather forecasts.

There is little to suggest we’ll be eating less meat any time soon. In the last post of 2020, Lukas Fesenfeld explains why a sustainable food supply system is still possible.

Meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement means embracing a sustainable transition to renewables. Yet analyses suggest that decarbonisation can only be achieved with targeted government support for the right technologies.

Seven ETH researchers can look forward to generous funding for their projects: the European Research Council (ERC) has approved a total amount of around 15 million Swiss francs.  

Researchers at ETH Zurich have identified a self-regulating mechanism in European deciduous trees that limits their growing-season length: Trees that photosynthesise more in spring and summer lose their leaves earlier in autumn.