Projects & Collaborations 6 foundShow per page10 10 20 50 Microplastic contamination assessment in Swiss Alpine lakes: the case of Lake Cadagno Research Project | 5 Project MembersInvestigation and contamiation assesment of microplastic in the Swiss Alpine environment by the analys of sediment cores. Ultra-high-resolution, multi-indicator assessment of recent climate change impacts in remote Swiss mountain lake ecosystems Research Project | 1 Project MembersOngoing climate change is one of the most pressing environmental concerns, particularly also for ecosystem management and nature conservation. As coldwater ecosystems, mountain lakes are exceptionally vulnerable to climatic warming to the extent that they are considered "early warning systems", showing the evidence of climate impacts earlier than other ecosystem and lake types. However, considerably less attention has been given to understanding the impacts of recent climatic warming on Swiss mountain lakes compared with other similarly sensitive and vulnerable geo- and ecosystems (e.g. glaciers, alpine treeline, alpine meadows). This project will use an innovative, two-pronged palaeoecological approach to document how Swiss mountain lakes have responded to pronounced climatic warming experienced during recent decades, particularly in respect to summer temperatures. Palaeoecological reconstructions with an exceptionally high temporal resolution will be developed from the remains of organisms preserved in the sediments of 10 Swiss mountain lakes. The records will cover the past ca. 100-150 years with a particular focus on the past 30 years that are characterized by a pronounced rise in summer temperatures in the Swiss Alps. Analyses will focus on state-of-the-art and established palaeolimnological and palaeoenvironmental indicators such as chironomids and other aquatic insect remains, diatoms, cladocerans, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs, but also on novel, recently developed approaches such as stable carbon isotope analysis of chitinous invertebrate remains. This work will be supported by geochronological ( 137 Cs, 210 Pb) and basic geochemical (e.g. organic matter content, bulk sediment delta C-13/delta N-15, XRF) analyses. For the examined indicators these records will reveal recent changes in species composition and functional groups (e.g. planktonic versus benthic forms), changing abundances of taxa typical for variations in nutrient availability, lakewater pH or deepwater oxygenation, and also show whether there is evidence for variations in carbon cycling in lacustrine foodwebs with increasing temperatures, based on carbon isotope analyses of sensitive invertebrate groups. Surface sediments will be collected from a further 15 lakes that have been sampled with similar methods 30 years ago and will be examined for diatom, chironomid and cladoceran assemblages. These analyses will reveal changes in assemblage composition between two time intervals bracketing the most recent summer temperature rise in the Alps, and will allow an assessment of whether assemblage changes in these indicator groups in the high-resolution records are representative for a larger number of lakes and lake types. Interpretations will be supported by indirect evidence on changes in other global change drivers that may have affected the study lakes, provided by the analysed palaeoecological proxies (e.g. in respect to land use (pollen), fish predation pressure (cladocerans) or pH (diatoms)), and by a systematic collection of documentary, instrumental and remote sensing data for the study sites. Final analyses of the project results will combine the two lines of evidence (downcore records, surface sediment data) and will be used to critically evaluate, and potentially revise, climate responses expected for these sensitive ecosystems based on presently available ecological and ecosystem knowledge. The project will provide a broad-scale, regional assessment of the effects of ongoing climatic warming on Swiss mountain lakes and one of the most ambitious and extensive palaoeecological assessments of recent climate change response of aquatic ecosystems to date. The project will therefore be relevant, and potentially influential, for a range of different research and stake holder communities not restricted to palaeoecologists, palaeolimnologists, and Quaternary geologists but also including the broader community of ecologists, geoscientists and ecosystem managers studying and assessing ongoing global change impacts on sensitive eco- and geosystems in the modern environment. Aquatischen Invertebraten/Chironomiden-Überreste in Sedimenten des Vierwaltstättersees Research Project | 1 Project MembersNot available Klima, Umwelt, Mensch im Thurgau (KUMiT): Bohrkernuntersuchungen im Kanton Thurgau Research Project | 3 Project MembersPaläoökologische Analysen erlauben die Rekonstruktion vergangener Umwelt- und Landschaftsveränderungen und können Einsichten in den Einfluss verschiedener Treiber (z.B. Klima, menschlicher Einfluss) auf heutige Landschaften und Ökosysteme liefern. Im Rahmen dieses Projektes werden hochaufgelöste Rekonstruktionen von Ökosystem- und Umweltveränderungen während den letzten ca. 12'000 Jahren im Kanton Thurgau anhand von neu beprobten Seesedimentsequenzen und naturwissenschaftlichen Analysen erarbeitet. Ziel der Arbeiten ist es, vor allem die Veränderungen in Vegetation, Seeökosystemzuständen und menschlichen Einflüssen auf die Umwelt seit dem Neolithikum detailliert zu erfassen und zu rekonstruieren. Dadurch wird es möglich sein, bekannte archäologische Funde und geschichtliche Ereignisse im Kanton Thurgau im Kontext der entwickelten Datensätze neu zu interpretieren, sowie Erkenntnisse über die Wechselwirkung Mensch-Natur-Umwelt während der letzten 12'000 Jahre zu erarbeiten, die deutlich über den heutigen Wissensstand hinausgehen. Diese Zusammenarbeit mit dem Amt für Archäologie, Kanton Thurgau, wird weitgehend aus Mitteln des Walter Enggist-Fonds finanziert. Dissertation Christine Pümpin: «Dark-earth-Sedimente als Quellen ruraler und urbaner Siedlungsdynamik zwischen jüngerer Eisenzeit und dem frühen Mittelalter. Beispiele von Schichtbildungsprozessen aus unterschiedlichen Ablagerungsmilieus. Research Project | 3 Project MembersDark-earth- Schichten kamen in den Fokus der Archäologie vor allem bei Ausgrabungen aus dem Zeitraum des 3. und 4. Jahrhundert n. Chr. In der Regel wurden diese homogenen Sedimente - die selten deutliche Niveaus aufweisen - in grosszügigen Abstichen abgetragen und nicht weiter untersucht. Im englisch sowie französisch sprechenden Teil Europas wurde das Potenzial der Geoarchäologie (Mikromorphologie, Sedimentologie und Geochemie) für die Untersuchung der Dark Earth schon früh erkannt. Mit dieser Arbeit werden nun die Ablagerungsprozesse und Schichtgenesen der Dark Earth im deutschsprachigen Raum, mit dem Schwerpunkt Basler Münsterhügel, untersucht. Entsprechende Schichten sind in erster Linie im urbanen Kontext zu finden und werden mit Auflassungs- und Ruralisierungsprozessen in Verbindung gebracht. Um die Mechanismen die zur starken Homogenisierung dieser Ablagerungen führten, besser zu verstehen, werden unter anderem Siedlungsbefunde mit «Kulturschichten» im Aussenbereich, im halbgeschützten wie auch im geschützten Innenbereich miteinander verglichen und ausgewertet. Dabei werden auch Sedimente unterschiedlicher Epochen (u.a. Spätlatènezeit und frühe Kaiserzeit) sowie verschiedener geographischer Räume (u.a. Köln und Brüssel) miteinbezogen. Die daraus gewonnen Erkenntnisse sollen Rückschlüsse zum Verständnis der diachronen Genese der dark-earth -Bildungen liefern, aber auch zur Entwicklung und Dynamik der entsprechenden Siedlungen. Chironomid-based summer temperatures from the Eemian to the Holocene: Towards a European temperature reconstruction covering the past 130,000 years Research Project | 2 Project MembersProxy-based reconstructions of late Quaternary climate change are essential for assessing the relevance of climatic conditions for the development of landscapes, ecosystems and cultures as well as for understanding the influence of changing climate forcing factors on global and regional climates. However, for Central Europe, and notably for northern Switzerland and adjacent regions, only limited quantitative information is available on the amplitude of temperature changes during large sections of the past 130,000 years. Based on fossil chironomid records from sites in the northern Alpine region of Switzerland and adjacent regions, this project will develop a new palaeotemperature dataset that describes long-term (millennial-scale) summer temperature changes during this time interval. The presently available chironomid-temperature transfer function for the Alpine region will be expanded by analysing an additional 40 lakes to make it suitable for July air temperature reconstruction based on fossil chironomids in late Quaternary sediments from northern Alpine lowland and mid-elevation lakes. New Lateglacial chironomid records from two sites in Switzerland will be developed. Together with reconstructed temperatures obtained from previously analysed chironomid records in the study region, these data will be used to calculate a multi-site reconstruction of summer temperature change during the past 18,000 years. In collaboration with partner projects, new chironomid-based July air temperature reconstructions will also be developed from two lakes in southern Germany close to the Swiss border, covering the time interval of ca. 130,000-40,000 and ca. 40,000-14,000 years ago, respectively. Combined these records will describe July air temperature variations in the study region at multimillennial- to millennial-scale for the interval 130,000-18,000 years ago and at millennial- to multicentennial-scale for the past 18,000 years. The project will produce the first reconstruction of July air temperature change from central Europe covering a full interglacial-glacial-interglacial cycle based on a standardized and consistent methodology, and the longest chironomid-based temperature reconstruction available to date. It will therefore provide the user community (e.g., archaeologists, palaeoecologists, glaciologists, vegetation and climate modellers) with a new, high-quality palaotemperature dataset for the northern Alpine region. This dataset can be used to study the effects of past temperature change on the development of cultures, biomes and ecosystems in central Europe, and to assess the effect of variations in climate forcing factors on regional climate. 1 1
Microplastic contamination assessment in Swiss Alpine lakes: the case of Lake Cadagno Research Project | 5 Project MembersInvestigation and contamiation assesment of microplastic in the Swiss Alpine environment by the analys of sediment cores.
Ultra-high-resolution, multi-indicator assessment of recent climate change impacts in remote Swiss mountain lake ecosystems Research Project | 1 Project MembersOngoing climate change is one of the most pressing environmental concerns, particularly also for ecosystem management and nature conservation. As coldwater ecosystems, mountain lakes are exceptionally vulnerable to climatic warming to the extent that they are considered "early warning systems", showing the evidence of climate impacts earlier than other ecosystem and lake types. However, considerably less attention has been given to understanding the impacts of recent climatic warming on Swiss mountain lakes compared with other similarly sensitive and vulnerable geo- and ecosystems (e.g. glaciers, alpine treeline, alpine meadows). This project will use an innovative, two-pronged palaeoecological approach to document how Swiss mountain lakes have responded to pronounced climatic warming experienced during recent decades, particularly in respect to summer temperatures. Palaeoecological reconstructions with an exceptionally high temporal resolution will be developed from the remains of organisms preserved in the sediments of 10 Swiss mountain lakes. The records will cover the past ca. 100-150 years with a particular focus on the past 30 years that are characterized by a pronounced rise in summer temperatures in the Swiss Alps. Analyses will focus on state-of-the-art and established palaeolimnological and palaeoenvironmental indicators such as chironomids and other aquatic insect remains, diatoms, cladocerans, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs, but also on novel, recently developed approaches such as stable carbon isotope analysis of chitinous invertebrate remains. This work will be supported by geochronological ( 137 Cs, 210 Pb) and basic geochemical (e.g. organic matter content, bulk sediment delta C-13/delta N-15, XRF) analyses. For the examined indicators these records will reveal recent changes in species composition and functional groups (e.g. planktonic versus benthic forms), changing abundances of taxa typical for variations in nutrient availability, lakewater pH or deepwater oxygenation, and also show whether there is evidence for variations in carbon cycling in lacustrine foodwebs with increasing temperatures, based on carbon isotope analyses of sensitive invertebrate groups. Surface sediments will be collected from a further 15 lakes that have been sampled with similar methods 30 years ago and will be examined for diatom, chironomid and cladoceran assemblages. These analyses will reveal changes in assemblage composition between two time intervals bracketing the most recent summer temperature rise in the Alps, and will allow an assessment of whether assemblage changes in these indicator groups in the high-resolution records are representative for a larger number of lakes and lake types. Interpretations will be supported by indirect evidence on changes in other global change drivers that may have affected the study lakes, provided by the analysed palaeoecological proxies (e.g. in respect to land use (pollen), fish predation pressure (cladocerans) or pH (diatoms)), and by a systematic collection of documentary, instrumental and remote sensing data for the study sites. Final analyses of the project results will combine the two lines of evidence (downcore records, surface sediment data) and will be used to critically evaluate, and potentially revise, climate responses expected for these sensitive ecosystems based on presently available ecological and ecosystem knowledge. The project will provide a broad-scale, regional assessment of the effects of ongoing climatic warming on Swiss mountain lakes and one of the most ambitious and extensive palaoeecological assessments of recent climate change response of aquatic ecosystems to date. The project will therefore be relevant, and potentially influential, for a range of different research and stake holder communities not restricted to palaeoecologists, palaeolimnologists, and Quaternary geologists but also including the broader community of ecologists, geoscientists and ecosystem managers studying and assessing ongoing global change impacts on sensitive eco- and geosystems in the modern environment.
Aquatischen Invertebraten/Chironomiden-Überreste in Sedimenten des Vierwaltstättersees Research Project | 1 Project MembersNot available
Klima, Umwelt, Mensch im Thurgau (KUMiT): Bohrkernuntersuchungen im Kanton Thurgau Research Project | 3 Project MembersPaläoökologische Analysen erlauben die Rekonstruktion vergangener Umwelt- und Landschaftsveränderungen und können Einsichten in den Einfluss verschiedener Treiber (z.B. Klima, menschlicher Einfluss) auf heutige Landschaften und Ökosysteme liefern. Im Rahmen dieses Projektes werden hochaufgelöste Rekonstruktionen von Ökosystem- und Umweltveränderungen während den letzten ca. 12'000 Jahren im Kanton Thurgau anhand von neu beprobten Seesedimentsequenzen und naturwissenschaftlichen Analysen erarbeitet. Ziel der Arbeiten ist es, vor allem die Veränderungen in Vegetation, Seeökosystemzuständen und menschlichen Einflüssen auf die Umwelt seit dem Neolithikum detailliert zu erfassen und zu rekonstruieren. Dadurch wird es möglich sein, bekannte archäologische Funde und geschichtliche Ereignisse im Kanton Thurgau im Kontext der entwickelten Datensätze neu zu interpretieren, sowie Erkenntnisse über die Wechselwirkung Mensch-Natur-Umwelt während der letzten 12'000 Jahre zu erarbeiten, die deutlich über den heutigen Wissensstand hinausgehen. Diese Zusammenarbeit mit dem Amt für Archäologie, Kanton Thurgau, wird weitgehend aus Mitteln des Walter Enggist-Fonds finanziert.
Dissertation Christine Pümpin: «Dark-earth-Sedimente als Quellen ruraler und urbaner Siedlungsdynamik zwischen jüngerer Eisenzeit und dem frühen Mittelalter. Beispiele von Schichtbildungsprozessen aus unterschiedlichen Ablagerungsmilieus. Research Project | 3 Project MembersDark-earth- Schichten kamen in den Fokus der Archäologie vor allem bei Ausgrabungen aus dem Zeitraum des 3. und 4. Jahrhundert n. Chr. In der Regel wurden diese homogenen Sedimente - die selten deutliche Niveaus aufweisen - in grosszügigen Abstichen abgetragen und nicht weiter untersucht. Im englisch sowie französisch sprechenden Teil Europas wurde das Potenzial der Geoarchäologie (Mikromorphologie, Sedimentologie und Geochemie) für die Untersuchung der Dark Earth schon früh erkannt. Mit dieser Arbeit werden nun die Ablagerungsprozesse und Schichtgenesen der Dark Earth im deutschsprachigen Raum, mit dem Schwerpunkt Basler Münsterhügel, untersucht. Entsprechende Schichten sind in erster Linie im urbanen Kontext zu finden und werden mit Auflassungs- und Ruralisierungsprozessen in Verbindung gebracht. Um die Mechanismen die zur starken Homogenisierung dieser Ablagerungen führten, besser zu verstehen, werden unter anderem Siedlungsbefunde mit «Kulturschichten» im Aussenbereich, im halbgeschützten wie auch im geschützten Innenbereich miteinander verglichen und ausgewertet. Dabei werden auch Sedimente unterschiedlicher Epochen (u.a. Spätlatènezeit und frühe Kaiserzeit) sowie verschiedener geographischer Räume (u.a. Köln und Brüssel) miteinbezogen. Die daraus gewonnen Erkenntnisse sollen Rückschlüsse zum Verständnis der diachronen Genese der dark-earth -Bildungen liefern, aber auch zur Entwicklung und Dynamik der entsprechenden Siedlungen.
Chironomid-based summer temperatures from the Eemian to the Holocene: Towards a European temperature reconstruction covering the past 130,000 years Research Project | 2 Project MembersProxy-based reconstructions of late Quaternary climate change are essential for assessing the relevance of climatic conditions for the development of landscapes, ecosystems and cultures as well as for understanding the influence of changing climate forcing factors on global and regional climates. However, for Central Europe, and notably for northern Switzerland and adjacent regions, only limited quantitative information is available on the amplitude of temperature changes during large sections of the past 130,000 years. Based on fossil chironomid records from sites in the northern Alpine region of Switzerland and adjacent regions, this project will develop a new palaeotemperature dataset that describes long-term (millennial-scale) summer temperature changes during this time interval. The presently available chironomid-temperature transfer function for the Alpine region will be expanded by analysing an additional 40 lakes to make it suitable for July air temperature reconstruction based on fossil chironomids in late Quaternary sediments from northern Alpine lowland and mid-elevation lakes. New Lateglacial chironomid records from two sites in Switzerland will be developed. Together with reconstructed temperatures obtained from previously analysed chironomid records in the study region, these data will be used to calculate a multi-site reconstruction of summer temperature change during the past 18,000 years. In collaboration with partner projects, new chironomid-based July air temperature reconstructions will also be developed from two lakes in southern Germany close to the Swiss border, covering the time interval of ca. 130,000-40,000 and ca. 40,000-14,000 years ago, respectively. Combined these records will describe July air temperature variations in the study region at multimillennial- to millennial-scale for the interval 130,000-18,000 years ago and at millennial- to multicentennial-scale for the past 18,000 years. The project will produce the first reconstruction of July air temperature change from central Europe covering a full interglacial-glacial-interglacial cycle based on a standardized and consistent methodology, and the longest chironomid-based temperature reconstruction available to date. It will therefore provide the user community (e.g., archaeologists, palaeoecologists, glaciologists, vegetation and climate modellers) with a new, high-quality palaotemperature dataset for the northern Alpine region. This dataset can be used to study the effects of past temperature change on the development of cultures, biomes and ecosystems in central Europe, and to assess the effect of variations in climate forcing factors on regional climate.
