The latest news from Eawag

Each year, tens of thousands of chemicals enter the market and ultimately the environment. While most of these compounds undergo safety testing before approval, their long-term effects on wildlife remain difficult to predict. To better estimate their potential threat for ecosystems, researchers at Eawag have explored biochemical signatures that indicate the level of chemical stress suffered by fish.

The conditions in mountain huts often make it difficult and impractical to meet the requirements for wastewater treatment. A new approach to assessing cleaning performance could change that.

The public can take part in a survey to decide on the names of two fish species discovered by Bárbara Calegari and her colleagues. In this interview, the biologist explains where they live and how to make the diversity of our waters visible.

Elena Gimmi received an ETH Medal for her dissertation on the influence of bacterial “bodyguards” on the co-evolution of the black bean aphid and its natural enemy the parasitoid wasp.

On the Pic du Midi in the Pyrenees, ETH researchers have analysed particulate matter, clouds and rainwater for traces of arsenic. Using newly developed measurement methods, they have elucidated the transport pathways of the environmental toxin in the atmosphere.

A series of cartoons is intended to provide food for thought across disciplines in a humorous way and invite discussion.

Today, over 60 experts from research, federal and cantonal administration, the police, politics and hospitals are meeting to discuss the current status and future of wastewater monitoring in Switzerland. The current trends: a seasonal increase for influenza and the RSV virus, stagnating or even declining for coronavirus. We spoke to environmental engineer Christoph Ort, who, together with environmental microbiologist Tim Julian, established the field of wastewater-based epidemiology at Eawag and - in cooperation with external experts - is constantly adapting it.

Plants and water can mitigate heat in cities. Using Zurich as a case study, Eawag researchers tested a climate model which indicates how large the effect of green and blue spaces is. The model supports urban planning and shows where improvements would be particularly effective.

In view of biodiversity loss, it is important that early-career researchers get involved not only in science but also contribute to biodiversity policy.

The near-natural landscaping of the green spaces around the Eawag buildings in Dübendorf not only promotes biodiversity, but also offers employees and visitors an attractive environment in which to spend time. Because of this, Eawag has now been awarded the certificate for near-natural company premises by the Natur & Wirtschaft (Nature & Economy) Foundation. 

Professor Bernhard Truffer of the Eawag Water Research Institute is among the "highly cited researchers 2024".

During ETH Day on 16 November 2024, environmental engineer Valentin Faust was awarded the Otto-Jaag Water Protection Prize for his doctoral thesis. His work provides important insights about the production of fertiliser from human urine.

The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024. The Aquatic Research Institute Eawag is organising three thematic panel discussions on the topic of ‘Swiss innovations for global climate action’ together with the Institute of Environmental Sciences at the University of Geneva.

Every year, the Hydrobiology Limnology Foundation for Water Research issues an award for dissertations and master theses on limnology. This year, the prize for the dissertation and master thesis went to researchers at the aquatic research institute Eawag.  

A nuclear waste storage facility needs to be secure, even if glaciers were to churn down from the Alps into the midlands in a distant future. This is why Nagra arranged for a study of the sediments that had been deposited in former, deep glacial lakes. The layers are around 600,000 years old, making them much older than the last ice age, which was around 24,000 years ago. Good news for Nagra: it seems that the layers of stone lying beneath have not been eroded by ice since that time.

The European Research Council is supporting the MEMELAND research project of a European research team with over 13.5 million euros. Nathalie Dubois from Eawag is a member of the group. The aim is to provide a new narrative for European environmental history, offering decisive insights for sustainable agriculture and climate protection in Europe.