Environment

An extraordinary heat wave is assailing the world’s oceans with an intensity that is surprising climate researchers. Environmental physicist Nicolas Gruber provides some context.

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.

Our oceans are acidifying rapidly. Climate researchers from ETH Zurich are now illustrating these chemical changes with colour-coded stripes. Global observations of ocean acidification over the last four decades serve as the basis.

As part of the international CLOUD project at the nuclear research centre CERN, researchers at PSI have identified so-called sesquiterpenes – gaseous hydrocarbons that are released by plants – as being a major factor in cloud formation. This finding could reduce uncertainties in climate models and help make more accurate predictions. The study has now been published in the journal Science Advances.

A study by EPFL researchers found that Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future climate strikes have influenced the environmental behavior of Swiss residents.

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