Climate / Water / Soil

Abstract

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

Objective

Students acquire basic knowledge in atmospheric sciences, hydrology and soil science: - Understanding basic chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere that influence weather and climate - Knowledge of water balance, principles of integral water management and climatic factors in the field of hydrology - Fundamentals about the classification of soils, soil-forming processes, physical and chemical soil properties, soil biology and ecology, soil degradation and protection Students develop an understanding of the relevance of these topics in the field of landscape architecture. Temporal and physical scale, research methods, units of measurement, lexicon, modes of representation and critical literature form the framework for the joint discourse. Students will develop a graphic language in order to integrate this knowledge into design.

Content

The course unit consists of the three courses "Climate", "Water" and "Soil", which are organized in modules. Module 1 “Climate”, 14.–18.09.2020 - Atmospheric dynamics: weather conditions, precipitation formation, weather forecast - Climate physics: past and future changes in global climate and scenarios for Switzerland - Land-climate dynamics: interaction between the land surface and the climate system - Hydrology and water cycle: extreme precipitation, influence of climate change on the cryosphere - Atmospheric chemistry: aerosols, greenhouse gases, air pollution Module 2 “Water”, 21.–25.09.2020 - Water balance: theoretical fundamentals; water balance; central importance of runoff; blue, green and grey water - Water as a resource: Switzerland's water resources, water supply, hydropower use - Water as a hazard and risk: floods, flood protection, urban drainage - Water protection: qualitative and quantitative water protection, water and landscape - Water and climate change: basics, situation in Switzerland with focus on the Alpine region Module 3 “Soil”, 28.09.–2.10.20 - Introduction to soils: definition, function, formation, classification and mapping - Soil physics: soil texture, soil structure, soil water potentials, hydraulic conductivity - Soil chemistry and fertility: clay minerals and oxides, cation exange capacity, soil pH, essential plant nutrients - Soil biology and ecology: soil fauna and microflora, fungi, bacteria, food web, organic matter - Soil degradation and threats to soil resources: erosion, compactation, sealing, contamination, salinization - Practical aspects of soil protection

Resources