Science that matters

A sudden drop in temperature in Lake Geneva over the Whitsun weekend is leaving swimmers feeling chilly: within a few days, the surface water temperature near the city of Geneva fell by around 8 degrees. This is due to a natural phenomenon that can be observed impressively on the Alplakes platform.

At its meeting of 21/22 May 2025 the ETH Board appointed Dr Thomas Hofstetter (*1969), currently Senior Scientist and Private Lecturer at ETH Zurich and Head of the Department Environmental Chemistry at Eawag, as Adjunct Professor in the ETH Department of Environmental Systems Science.

With its work, Eawag has made a decisive contribution to achieving a great deal for biodiversity in recent years. Water pollution from nutrients – one of the main causes of biodiversity loss – has decreased significantly in Switzerland, and the restoration of numerous Swiss lakes has improved the quality of habitats for many living organisms. Nonetheless, the challenges remain.

Tyre abrasion gets from the road into adjacent soils and affects soil organisms. A joint study by the Ecotox Centre, the aquatic research institute Eawag and the EPFL now shows that earthworms avoid soil that is heavily contaminated with tyre particles. However, the particles had no negative effects on the survival and reproduction of the animals.