Climate / Water / Soil

Abstract

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 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 - Fundamentals about the classification of soils, soil-forming processes, physical and chemical soil properties, soil biology and ecology, soil degradation and protection - Knowledge of water balance, principles of integral water management and climatic factors in the field of hydrology 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.

Content

The course unit consists of the three courses "Climate", "Soil" and "Water", which are organized in modules. Module 1 “Climate”, 22–26.09.2025 - Atmospheric dynamics: weather conditions, precipitation formation, weather forecast - Carbon Cycle: atmospheric CO2 concentrations and its interaction with the physical climate system - 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 - Introduction to geology: formation of rocks, geologic times, structural geology Module 2 “Water”, 29.09–03.10.2025 Basics: - Water supply: water balance, groundwater, water quality (water protection) - River restoration - Flooding, evapotranspiration/cooling of landscapes - Hydropower (everything is managed - lake levels, water flows, pumping) - hydrology in the anthropocene - Water management and storage Module 3 “Soil”, 06–10.10.25 - 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

Resources