Lectures, exercises and excursions serve as an introduction to atmospheric sciences, soil science and hydrology. Students gain a broad vision of the cutting edge topics that are being researched and studied at D-USYS and D-BAUG at ETH, Eawag, and WSL. This will be the base for a future dialog between the field of landscape architecture and the field of natural sciences and engineering.

The purpose of this course is to provide fundamental background on the role of land surface processes (vegetation, soil moisture dynamics, land energy, water and carbon balances) in the climate system. The course consists of 2 contact hours per week, including lectures, group projects and computer exercises.