Environment
Collecting ice cores before it's too late
PSI researcher Theo Jenk talks about the challenges of ice core research during the climate change crisis.
The Jungfraujoch aerosol detectives
Aside from its stunning landscape, the Jungfraujoch also provides an ideal location to research the impact of aerosols on our climate.
European map of aerosol pollution can help improve human health
Researchers have measured and determined the sources of aerosol pollution at 22 locations in Europe.
Light amplification accelerates chemical reactions in aerosols
Consideration in future climate models important.
Rescuing Earth’s icy memory
An international research team with PSI participation is rushing to preserve glacier ice for posterity.
"We can now look at climate change regionally"
Margit Schwikowski is head of the Laboratory for Environmental Chemistry at PSI. In an interview, she explains what aerosols have to do with climate change.
‘Ice Memory Mission’ accomplished
During its expedition to the Monte Rosa massif, the international Ice Memory team extracted two ice cores over 80 meters long from Colle Gnifetti, the oldest ice in the Alps.
The glacial memory of the Monte Rosa
The next mission to preserve the climate heritage of the Pennine Alps has begun: For the Ice Memory Project, researchers set off for Monte Rosa’s Colle Gnifetti.
Aerosol formation in clouds
How chemical reactions in clouds can influence the global climate.
Particulates are more dangerous than previously thought
A precise look into the finest particles in the air shows how compounds harmful to human health are formed.
Which particulate air pollution poses the greatest health risk?
The composition of particulate matter can influence its harmfulness to human health just as much as the amount, PSI researchers show in a newly published study. Experiments and computational modelling showed that in Europe high concentrations of particulate matter harmful to human health occur mainly in metropolitan areas.
SwissFEL: a perfect habitat for the black mortar bee
For the construction of the SwissFEL facility in 2013, around five hectares of forest were cleared and transformed into a new habitat for flora and fauna. Biologists and forest engineers have now assessed the results of the renaturization project and are excited about the progress to date.
Iodic acid influences cloud formation at the North Pole
An international team of scientists has identified a novel driver of new aerosol particle formation in the Arctic: iodic acid, a chemical compound, which had not previously been observed in the region.
Sniffing out radioactive substances in freight transport
With a mobile measurement portal, PSI regularly carries out radioactivity checks on heavy goods vehicles. The purpose of this work, on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, is to discover stray radiation sources.
First-time direct proof of chemical reactions in particulates
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have developed a new method to analyse particulate matter more precisely than ever before. With its help, they disproved an established doctrine: that molecules in aerosols undergo no further chemical transformations because they are enclosed in other particulate matter.
Thirteen months in the Arctic
A PSI research project investigating atmospheric chemistry will be on board the icebreaker Polarstern on 20th September 2019. Researcher Julia Schmale talks about the upcoming expedition and her role in it.
Research above – and about – the clouds
At the Jungfraujoch research station, PSI scientists study particulate matter in the atmosphere. And have to deal with the fact that the human body is not made for life at 3,500 metres above sea level.
In fresh air and in smog
PSI researchers drill through millennia-old glacier ice in the high mountains and analyse the world's highest particulate concentrations in Delhi, India. They are helping to address questions regarding climate change and to reduce air pollution.
Why the Little Ice Age ended in the middle of the 19th century
In the first half of the 19th century, a series of large volcanic eruptions in the tropics led to a temporary global cooling of Earth's climate. That Alpine glaciers grew and subsequently receded again during the final phase of the so-called Little Ice Age was due to a natural process. This has now been proven by PSI researchers on the basis of ice cores.
Atmosphere in X-ray light
PSI researchers have developed an experimental chamber in which they can recreate atmospheric processes and probe them with unprecedented precision, using X-ray light from the Swiss Light Source SLS. In the initial experiments, they have studied the production of bromine, which plays an essential role in the decomposition of ozone in the lower layers of the atmosphere. In the future, the new experiment chamber will also be available for use by researchers from other scientific fields.
