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Prof. Dr.
Nikolaus J. Kuhn
Department of Environmental Sciences
Profiles & Affiliations
From process to planets

Processes, such as wind and water erosion, acting on the surface of Earth and other planets are the agents of environmental change. Human activities often change, at least on Earth, these rates or the processes themselves, causing environmental change. Therefore, understanding both the processes, but also their impact on the local, regional and global environment is essential to assess the relevance of human activities on the environment. My research interests therefore combine the study of processes and their controlling factors, as well as tools to upscale the effect of changing processes and their rates on the environment. For example, the combination of climate and land use change leaves rangelands exposed to an increased risk of erosion. Key questions are whether such erosion destroys soils locally, impacts environmental and human health regionally and affects global cycles, such as nutrients and carbon, globally. Our group has therefore developed a suite of tools, ranging from lab experiments, the use of UAVs to the analysis of satellite data, that connect the different scales. This expertise in the study and connection of processes and landforms has also raised the interest of the planetary science community, leading to a participation in space missions such as the European Space Agency's ExoMars mission.

Selected Publications
Nyathi, Nesisa Analisa, Musakwa, Walter, Delzeit, Ruth, & Kuhn, Nikolaus. (2022). Ecosystem Services in Southern Africa: Current and Emerging Trends-A Bibliometric Review. Diversity, 14(5), 359. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14050359
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Vos, Heleen C., Karst, Isabel G., Eckardt, Frank D., Fister, Wolfgang, & Kuhn, Nikolaus J. (2022). Influence of Crop and Land Management onWind Erosion from Sandy Soils in Dryland Agriculture. Agronomy, 12(2), 457. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12020457
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Bontognali, Tomaso, Meister, Yardena, Kuhn, Brigitte, Josset, Jean-Luc, Hofmann, Beda A., & Kuhn, Nikolaus J. (2021). Identifying optimal working conditions for close-up imagining during the ExoMars rover mission. Planetary and Space Science, 208, 105355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2021.105355
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Krenz, Juliane, Greenwood, Philip, & Kuhn, Nikolaus J. (2021). Anthropogenic erosion-induced small-scale soil heterogeneity in South African rangelands. Anthropocene, 34, 100290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2021.100290
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Salawu-Rotimi, Adeola, Lebre, Pedro H., Vos, Heleen Cornelia, Fister, Wolfgang, Kuhn, Nikolaus J., Eckard, Frank D., & Cowan, Don A. (2021). Gone with the Wind: Microbial Communities Associated with Dust from Emissive Farmlands. Microbial Ecology, 82(4), 859–869. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-021-01717-8
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Selected Projects & Collaborations
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Contribution to the Swiss science exploitation of the CLose-UP Imager on the ExoMars 2022 rover mission
Research Project  | 2 Project Members
The close-up imager CLUPI is one of the instruments that will be onboard ESA's "Rosalind Franklin" rover, searching for signs of life in the framework of the joint ESA-Roscosmos "ExoMars 2022" mission. CLUPI will acquire high-resolution images essential to investigate the geology of Mars, selecting samples with a high potential to contain biomarkers. This project includes CLUPI- science validation/training activities aimed at optimizing the scientific return of the instrument during the primary mission on Mars (e.g., determining the ideal lighting conditions and positions relative to rock surfaces, developing drive paths and imaging options enabling the identification of rock types and mineralogy,...). These simulations will be mostly carried out in the "Marslabor" of the Uni Basel, a state-of-the-art Marsyard. The project will also include the development of new image analysis approaches (e.g. using software for determining size and shape of rock forming particles or rock structures such as thickness and patterns of laminae). Starting from the third year of the project, the PhD candidate will have the opportunity to participate in the primary mission and contribute to the interpretation of the images that will be acquired on Mars. Interactions with the Space Exploration Institute of Neuchâtel (headed by Dr. Jean-Luc Josset, PI of the CLUPI instrument), the Naturhistorisches Museum Bern (affiliation of the CLUPI Co-PI Prof. Beda Hofmann), plus collaborations with the international CLUPI science team are foreseen in this highly multidisciplinary project.
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Jijiga One Health Initiative
Research Project  | 3 Project Members
The interdisciplinary project aims to improve training for students of human and veterinary medicine, and subsequently to establish an interdisciplinary centre of excellence for health at the local university. Jigjiga University aims to become the health centre for pastoralist communities in the Horn of Africa, and eventually an attractive partner for neighbouring universities in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. Cooperation between the various educational and research institutions will foster long term the activities of the SDC and its partners in addressing health and food security-related issues. The Physical Geography and Environmental Chnage Research Group contributes to the project through graduate student training, PhD supervision, exploration of remote sensing tools for assessing land quality and the development of soil and GIS labs at Jijiga University.