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Antarctica harbours a large concentration of meteorites imbuing the icy continent with an unparalleled wealth of information on our Solar System. However, these precious meteorites are rapidly disappearing from the ice sheet surface due to global warming, according to a new study in Nature Climate Change.

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.

“Respect – Reflect – Respond”: Starting today, you’ll come across this slogan at various places at ETH Zurich. It’s part of the new Respect programme aimed at all members of the university community. These three words summarise how we should treat each other at ETH: on equal terms, willing to reflect on our own thoughts and actions, and responding appropriately in a variety of contexts.

As part of the expansion of Andermatt railway station, the discharge capacity in the Unteralpreuss is to be increased by means of a new pressure bridge. A hydraulic model on a scale of 1:30 was constructed to check the feasibility of the flood engineering and is explained in the following video.

This physical model experiment shows the failure of a zoned earthen embankment dam due to overtopping. Watch the explanation of researcher Matthew Halso on our newest youtube video.

On 26 October 2023, the Association of Scientific Staff invites all students, researchers and professors to the department's annual “Meet & Share” event. Doctoral students from 10 Institutes will present selected case studies to illustrate the many ways in which research at D-BAUG helps engineer a more sustainable future. Keynotes will be given by Professors Eleni Chatzi and Max Maurer. Don't miss this exciting event and the apéro afterwards!  

Until 15 October 2023, the Zurich photography festival "Open Your Eyes" presents an extraordinary combination of world-renowned photography and groundbreaking research. The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide the framework. D-BAUG is participating with eight selected contributions, demonstrating how the department focuses not only its research but also its teaching on the SDGs.

The D-BAUG Gender and Diversity Commission (GDK) is pleased to announce the launch of a new seminar series that aims to bring highly successful and prominent female academics to ETH Zurich. It features women in engineering who are addressing key challenges of today. The first event on 27 September 2023 will focus on challenges in environmental engineering, the second event on 16 November on civil engineering challenges. Join us for this public event! Registration is requested, see details below.

Weather-related erosion causes rocks, gravel, sand and silt to enter reservoirs and reduce the storage volume. A VAW research team has now demonstrated that sediment bypass tunnels can significantly mitigate the problem.

At its meeting on 12 and 13 July 2023 and upon application of ETH President Joël Mesot, the ETH Board appointed three professors to D-BAUG and bid one farewell.

This year, six doctoral students from the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering are honoured for their outstanding achievements: four of them receive ETH medals, two the Culmann Prize. Big congrats!

On the occasion of this year's Kangaroo Goes Science (KGS) Day on 8 June 2023, 100 girls were once again able to visit the ETH Hönggerberg campus with their parents. D-BAUG also contributed to the event, offering hands-on activities at the Stocker lab, the construction hall, and the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW).

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

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

As an early career scientist, Harry Zekollari has already made outstanding contributions to glaciology, for example with his modelling of global glacier evolution. For his achievements and commitment, he now receives the Arne Richter Award from the European Geosciences Union (EGU).

Restoration and nature conservation projects have the great potential to restore and maintain important functions of our watercourses for future generations. Researchers from four research institutes of the ETH Domain, in collaboration with the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), have investigated how sediment transport and connectivity affect flood safety and river ecology. They have now compiled the scientific results from the research project for a broad audience.

VAW Glaciology presents the film ‘The Crystal Ship: First ascent of Pumari Chhish East’ on May 16, 2023 at 6.30 p.m. at AudiMax (HG F30) of ETH Zurich. In June 2022, our doctoral student Christophe Ogier along with two friends travelled to the remote Hispar glacier in Pakistan to attempt the first ascent of the Pumari Chhish East (6850m). The event will include talk by Christophe Ogier in English, as well as the original film.

Hydropeaking, the rapid and frequent flow fluctuations downstream of powerplant outlets, is estimated to affect thousands of kilometers of river networks worldwide, with multiple consequences on river ecosystems. The journal River Research and Applications just published a special issue, edited by Davide Vanzo (VAW) and others, focusing on the innovations in hydropeaking research.

In the last issue of hydrolink, members of the ecohydraulics community discuss the challenges and opportunities of ecohydraulic research in the context of climate change. Ecohydraulics is a hopeful, forward-looking endeavor tightly coupling scientific exploration, technological development, and engineering practice.

Congratulation! The VAW-led publication ‘High-​Velocity Air–Water Flow Measurements in a Prototype Tunnel Chute: Scaling of Void Fraction and Interfacial Velocity’ of Benjamin Hohermuth, Robert M. Boes (both VAW) and Stefan Felder (UNSW, Sydney) was awarded with the Karl Emil Hilgard Hydraulics Prize by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in recognition of the merit and quality of this work in the field of water resources.

Every year, the student association of ETH Zurich recognizes particularly dedicated and inspiring lecturers with a "Golden Owl". At D-​BAUG, the teaching award 2022 goes to Robert Boes, professor of hydraulic engineering at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW). Congratulations!

On the current list of Highly Cited Researchers, 21 have a connection to ETH Zurich. Four of these appear on the list for the first time, among them glacier researcher Matthias Huss from D-BAUG.

In preparation of the next Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27) UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of Nature published a short report entitled “World heritage glaciers: sentinels of climate change”. VAW-Glaciology was one of the main contributors to the report, providing the majority of the presented resutls.

Step-pool sequences represent a promising, nature-based bed stabilization measure imitating the typical step-pool morphology of steep mountain streams.

Researchers at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW) have developed a new type of guidance system to improve fish protection at hydropower plants. The protection system was recently put into operation at the ecologically refurbished power plant Herrentöbeli on the river Thur. If successful, it could be used at many other plants in Switzerland and abroad. The pilot project is supported by the Federal Office for the Environment.

A new VAW report, published by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, allows not only to determine the potential water level rise at an existing dam due to large wood accumulation at the overflow spillway, but also to design the required protrusion of the weir piers as a possible measure to safely retain large wood. For the first time, various porosities of the accumulation were also included.

If the transition to renewables is to succeed, we will need a viable means of storing surplus heat and electricity. Globe interviewed four experts from ETH Zurich about the promising technologies that could help us reach net zero. Robert Boes, D-BAUG Professor of Hydraulic Engineering, spoke about the role of hydropower and ways to make it more eco-friendly.

D-BAUG doctoral student Robert Naudascher from the group of Professor Roman Stocker investigates the influence of flow changes on the behaviour of juvenile fish. His scientific imagery is currently embedded into a film installation at the “ART SAFIENTAL – Biennale for Land and Environmental Art”.

With the help of artificial intelligence, an international team led by D-BAUG researchers has explored the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions. The information they have obtained about the area’s surface properties will help to identify suitable locations for future lunar missions.

On 26 October, the Association of Scientific Staff at D-​BAUG invites all students, researchers and professors to join the department’s annual meet and share event. Selected case studies will be presented to showcase the manifold ways in which engineering research at D-​BAUG helps to tackle societal and global challenges. Keynotes will be given by Professors Bryan Adey and Adrienne Grêt-​Regamey. In addition, there will be a poster session and, as always, a networking apéro at the end!

Researchers around Daniel Farinotti, D-BAUG Professor for Glaciology, have for the first time reconstructed the extent of Switzerland’s glacier ice loss in the 20th century. For this purpose, the researchers used historical imagery and conclude that the country’s glaciers lost half their volume between 1931 and 2016.

Innovative smart-sensors and Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry allow for novel insights into transport and depositional processes of wood in rivers. In the course of the SmartWood_3D project, these two methods were further developed and applied, for the very first time, at field scale to quantify large wood (LW) dynamics (rolling, rotation, impacts) and to assess LW accumulation characteristics (volume, porosity, structural alignment). The gained data are currently being analysed.

HyPeak is a new interdisciplinary network that promotes international research and supports hydropower planning and policy. The network links scientists from several countries where hydropeaking has been widespread for decades, as in Switzerland. HyPeak aims to integrate members from other countries where hydropower production plays a relevant role, and to become a reference group to support policy-makers, as well as researchers, stakeholders, and practitioners in the field of hydropeaking.

By changing a river for flood protection, hydropower production or navigation the biota in the river is affected by a change of their habitat. Methods to predict these habitat changes are needed for river management.

Researchers at VAW, together with Wälli AG Ingenieure and the steel water constructor Fäh AG, developed a new, innovative fish guiding rake for the best possible protection of animals passing through power plants during their downstream migration.  

Switzerland wants to expand its reservoirs to make itself less dependent on electricity imports. Swiss hydropower plants could also help lower electricity prices in EU countries. But an agreement is on ice.

How can environmental engineering students apply their knowledge gained through lectures to real river problems? TiRiLab (Ticino Rivers Lab) provides an opportunity to do so, as a collaborative science and education platform between the Institute of Environmental Engineering (IfU) and the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology, Glaciology (VAW) at ETH Zurich, and the Canton Tessin. Here a short interview on the experience and perspectives of the TiRiLab project.

Hydropower delivers renewable electricity, but comes with massive fish mortality – a global dilemma that can only be addressed by true compromises, says Luiz Silva. On the ETH Zukunftsblog, the senior scientist from the Stocker Lab outlines how to find them.

Understanding and experiencing glaciers: The annual excursion to the Jungfraujoch as part of the D-BAUG lecture "Applied Glaciology" is a highlight for many students. This time, Professor Daniel Farinotti and Andreas Bauder guided a total of 74 participants on two occasions through the research station at 3500 meters above sea level. There, the students gained exciting insights – behind closed doors and into various methods of glaciology, best weather conditions included.

A flood causes stress for organisms living in a watercourse. Their survival depends on factors such as whether there are refuge habitats to which they can retreat. Researchers from the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology and Eawag studied how river widening as part of restoration measures improves potential refugia availability. They showed that refugia provision and thereby the protection of biodiversity depends crucially on the supply of bedload.

Despite comparatively favorable weather conditions, Swiss glaciers have lost about 400 million tons of ice during the past 12 months – almost 1% of the remaining glacier volume. This was recently reported by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring network GLAMOS. "There was considerable precipitation in summer, but hardly any fresh snow in the Alps. All this shows the impact of climate change," states D-BAUG glaciologist Matthias Huss, who heads GLAMOS.

For the first time, researchers at D-BAUG have measured air-water flows with velocities exceeding 40 m/s. To this end, two challenging measurement campaigns were carried out in the tunnel spillway of a 225-meter high dam, for which special probes first had to be developed. With the new data, existing design guidelines can be validated, and so-called scale effects can be assessed more accurately. This is relevant for the safe operation of hydraulic structures.

No energy transition without hydropower: This is demonstrated by the final report of the Swiss Competence Center for Energy Research – Supply of Electricity published today. D-BAUG Professor Robert Boes led the research group on the hydropower sector.

Scientifica, the science festival organized by ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, will take place on the weekend of 4 and 5 September. This year, everything revolves around the theme "Synthetic naturally". D-BAUG will be present with nine exciting contributions, including three exhibitions, two panels, a lecture, a workshop and several guided tours.

On his recent excursion to the Jungfraujoch, Professor Daniel Farinotti conducted an interview with La Prairie. The Swiss skincare brand has been supporting the D-BAUG Professor of Glaciology since 2019. "For glaciologists, it is a unique time to create more awareness, and to inform the public about both the effects of climate change and the actions that can be taken against it”, states Farinotti in the interview. A conversation about research, innovation, and a special partnership.

Previous measurements have systematically underestimated the velocity of turbulent gas-liquid flows. The observed deviations may have far-reaching implications for engineering applications as well as for the understanding of coastal and riverine environments. This reports a recent D-BAUG study in the journal Nature Communications. In collaboration with international partners researchers have now developed a correction scheme for such measurements.

Every year, outstanding doctoral theses are recognized with the ETH Medal. In 2021, six young D-BAUG researchers were honored with this award. The medals were awarded during the Doctoral Awards Ceremony by Rector Sarah Springmann. Congratulations!

For glaciers in the European Alps, it makes a large difference whether the earth's atmosphere will warm by one, one and a half or two degrees Celsius by the end of the century. This is the finding of a new study from the Professorship of Glaciology at D-BAUG, which simulated the effects of the three climate scenarios on the nearly 4,000 glaciers in the European Alps.

Four months ago, a devastating flood ravaged the Chamoli district in the Indian Himalayas, killing over 200 people. The flood was caused by a massive landslide, which also involved a glacier. Researchers at WSL, SLF, ETH Zurich, and the University of Zurich have now analyzed the causes, scope and impact of the disaster as part of an international collaboration.

D-BAUG is top ranked in three disciplines in the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2021 (Shanghai Ranking): It is ranked world leader in the field of "Water Resources Engineering". In the fields of "Civil Engineering" and "Environmental Science & Engineering", the department achieves a 2nd and a 3rd place.