Environment

In Lake Constance, Eawag scientists have tracked down a charr species thought to have gone extinct – a surprising rediscovery raising numerous questions.

The world stands still. People work at home, cars stay in garages, planes on the ground. Determining the amount of pollutants in our atmosphere is extremely exciting, especially in these times. Empa researchers are analyzing and evaluating the amounts of pollutants measured at stations throughout Switzerland.

In gardens and hedges, the first leaves spread, and the flowers of fruit trees attract bees. In the forest too, the buds are about to burst. Spring is coming - but once again, the alarm clock has rung too early this year. Has this harmed forest trees? Researchers from the Federal Research Institute WSL and the University of Neuchâtel are studying the consequences of overly mild winter temperatures on vegetation.

CO₂ concentrations in the air continue to rise rapidly, and a rapid reduction in man-made emissions is becoming increasingly important. In order to assess the effectiveness of political measures, timely and reliable emission levels are needed. However, current methods are costly. The European Space Agency ESA is therefore working on the development of new satellites which will be able to determine CO₂ emissions in the future - with the help of Empa.

During their lifetime, trees are not only able to adapt quickly to new conditions but can even pass on the 'memory' of such environmental changes to the next generation. This amazing ability has been proved for the first time by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). The findings provide hope that trees will be better at adapting to climate change than was originally feared.