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 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.

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 - Understanding the global water cycle and catchment water balance, impacts of climate change on water resources and extremes, and principles of sustainable water use - Understanding the interactions between water and sediment in the fluvial landscape, sediment transport in rivers, river restoration, and multihazard exposure in coastal zones 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, vocabulary, 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”, 21–25.09.2026 •⁠ ⁠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 •⁠ ⁠Introduction to geology: formation of rocks, geologic times, structural geology Module 2 “Water”, 28.09–02.10.2026 Session 1: •⁠ ⁠The global water cycle •⁠ ⁠Climate change impacts on the water cycle, incl. extremes •⁠ ⁠Impacts on snow and ice Session 2: •⁠ The catchment water balance and sustainable water use •⁠ ⁠Water and sediment, river restoration •⁠ Multihazards in coastal regions Excursion: •⁠ Geology and River Morphology (Elefantenbach, Zurich) Module 3 “Soil”, 05–09.10.26 •⁠ ⁠Introduction to soils: definition, function, formation, classification and mapping •⁠ ⁠Soil degradation and threats to soil resources: erosion, compactation, sealing, contamination, salinization •⁠ ⁠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 physics: soil texture, soil structure, soil water potentials, hydraulic conductivity

Resources