Climate Change

As climate change raises sea levels, estuarine cities are facing up to the dual threat of flooding and significant erosion. Research by a joint team from EPFL and the UNSW Sydney sheds new light on the hydrodynamic forces at play and paves the way for preventive strategies.

Together with other researchers, the late WSL director Konrad Steffen co-authored a study estimating the rise in global sea level due to the melting of the Greenland ice. This will amount to at least 10 centimetres by the end of the 21st century, if global warming trends continue. The results are based, among others, on Steffen's measurements collected in Greenland over almost 30 years.

A new study which provides a global estimate of rock cover on the Earth’s glaciers has revealed that the expanse of rock debris on glaciers, a factor that has been ignored in models of glacier melt and sea level rise, could be significant.

Irrigated Scots pines in the dry Pfyn Forest (canton of Valais) had their water supply turned off after 11 years. The trees' response surprised the WSL-led international research group as it suggests that tree growth is also influenced by past conditions. Trees, you might say, do not forget.

The amount and location of available terrestrial water is changing worldwide. An international research team led by ETH Zurich has now proved for the first time that human-induced climate change is responsible for the changes observed in available terrestrial water.