Department Surface Waters - Research and Management

Surface Waters - Research & Management (Surf)

We focus both on processes in the aquatic environment as well as on entire systems of natural waters.

We perform basic and applied research and several projects have a problem-oriented and interdisciplinary focus, including system analysis. Read more

News

Energy transition: Bodies of water in conflict between protection and use

Water bodies and the species living in them are exposed to numerous sources of stress, of which hydropower is only one. (Photo: Alessandro Della Bella, Eawag)
February 27, 2023 –

Where is there still untapped potential in the use of water bodies for energy generation and what are the associated risks for water systems?

Where is there still untapped potential in the use of water bodies for energy generation and what are the associated risks for water systems?
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More news

Latest Publications

Perga, M. E., & Bouffard, D. (2022). Section introduction: structures and functions of Inland Waters—Lakes. In T. Mehner & K. Tockner (Eds.), Structures and functions of Inland Waters—Lakes: Vol. 1. Encyclopedia of Inland Waters (pp. 411-414). doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-819166-8.00205-X, Institutional Repository

A proper introduction needs to define the objects of attention. Yet, the term "lake," while tangible, cannot be simply defined. If the Oxford's dictionary qualifies a lake as a large area of water that is surrounded by land, it does not specify the blurred distinction between a shallow lake and a pond using more than a relative criterion for size or depth. Similarly, the distinction between large salty lakes and seas is based upon lakes not being directly connected to any ocean or marine basins. But coastal lakes or lagoons somewhat lie in between. Some confusion therefore arises from this floating definition of lakes so that undue reliance should not be put on their given names: remember that the largest lake in the World is named after a sea (the Caspian Sea). On the other end of the size spectrum, some shallow but relatively large waterbodies named ponds end up being larger than others bearing the name of lakes. Lakes are entangled within a hydrological continuum that defies the scientific practice of categorizing objects and, ultimately, definitions for lakes remain mostly operational. [...]
Many, G., Escoffier, N., Ferrari, M., Jacquet, P., Odermatt, D., Mariethoz, G., … Perga, M. E. (2022). Long-term spatiotemporal variability of whitings in Lake Geneva from multispectral remote sensing and machine learning. Remote Sensing, 14(23), 6175 (20 pp.). doi:10.3390/rs14236175, Institutional Repository

Whiting events are massive calcite precipitation events turning hardwater lake waters to a milky turquoise color. Herein, we use a multispectral remote sensing approach to describe the spatial and temporal occurrences of whitings in Lake Geneva from 2013 to 2021. Landsat-8, Sentinel-2, and Sentinel-3 sensors are combined to derive the AreaBGR index and identify whitings using appropriate filters. 95% of the detected whitings are located in the northeastern part of the lake and occur in a highly reproducible environmental setting. An extended time series of whitings in the last 60 years is reconstructed from a random forest algorithm and analyzed through a Bayesian decomposition for annual and seasonal trends. The annual number of whiting days between 1958 and 2021 does not follow any particular monotonic trend. The inter-annual changes of whiting occurrences significantly correlate to the Western Mediterranean Oscillation Index. Spring whitings have increased since 2000 and significantly follow the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation index. Future climate change in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean could induce more variable and earlier whiting events in Lake Geneva.

Surf Seminars

17.04.​2023,
11.00 am
Eawag Kastanienbaum, Seeheim & online via Zoom
Hybrid Modelling for Wastewater Processes
24.04.​2023,

Graduate Studies in our department

Video about Graduate Studies in the department Surface waters - Research and Management

Video about Graduate Studies in our department

Research Projects

Wastewater is a source of antibiotic resistant bacteria. We study their dissemination in the aquatic environment, and strategies to remove them.

Antibiotic resistance as an emerging environmental contaminant
Lakes store large amounts of heat. To what extent can this heat be used to replace the use of fossil fuels or electricity for heating and cooling purposes?

Using lakes for heating and cooling
We assess the environmental impacts of hydropower plants to support a sustainable development of this energy resource.

Effects of hydropower on surface waters
4’000 river kilometers will be rehabilitated in Switzerland over the course of the coming 80 years – a unique opportunity for learning!

Evaluating the outcome of river rehabilitation projects

More current Research Projects