Dr. Anja Eichler

Scientist
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Telefon
+41 56 310 20 77
Paul Scherrer Institut PSI
Forschungsstrasse 111
5232 Villigen PSI
Schweiz
Digitale Visitenkarte


My research explores how chemical signatures preserved in snow, ice, and the atmosphere can be used to reconstruct past environmental conditions and place recent changes in atmospheric composition, pollution, and climate into a long-term context. A central focus of my work has been the development and implementation of advanced analytical approaches for high-precision ice-core research, combined with the quantitative processing and statistical evaluation of datasets to establish robust proxies for past air pollution and climate variability. By improving established methodologies and introducing new analytical instrumentation, I enabled robust measurements of major ions, (ultra)trace inorganic and organic impurities, water-stable isotope ratios, and black carbon in snow and ice using techniques such as ion chromatography, wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy, single-particle soot photometry, and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Systematic optimization of these methods pushed detection limits to the ppb–ppt range, enabling ice-core–based reconstructions of long-term histories of atmospheric pollutants of both anthropogenic and natural origin.

In addition, I have been investigating the micro-scale distribution of inorganic and organic impurities within snow and ice using process-based approaches. By determining how impurities are partitioned between ice crystals and grain boundaries, this work constrained mechanisms of impurity preservation and post-depositional alteration, improving interpretation of environmental signals in cryospheric archives, particularly under warming conditions where melt and refreezing can modify chemical records.

Building on this expertise, since 2025 I have expanded my research to present-day atmospheric samples as part of the Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry. My current work includes the chemical characterization of snow, cloud-derived samples, and atmospheric aerosols (e.g., within the Beyond Cloudlab Project), linking modern observations with insights from long-term ice-core records.

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  • Since 12.2024:   Scientist in the Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry at PSI
  • 2008 – 2024:     Scientist in the Analytical Chemistry group at PSI
  • 2006 – 2008:     Marie-Heim Vögtlin fellowship from Swiss National Science Foundation at the Laboratory of Radiochemistry and Environmental Chemistry on ‘Investigation of the climate and atmospheric pollution during the past millennium in the Siberian Altai’
  • 2001 – 2006:     Parental leave
  • 1996 – 2000:     PhD at the University of Bern (2000) on ‘Deposition of trace species in firn and ice of alpine glaciers’
  • 1990 – 1996:     Study of chemistry in Dresden and Darmstadt (Germany), degree in analytical and physical chemistry with thesis on ‘Investigation of Iron gall ink using TXRF and SEM‘ at the Technical University Darmstadt
  • Lamothe, A., Akers, P., Albertin, S., Ginot, P., Eichler, A., Gautier, E., Ishino, S., Darfeuil, S., Caillon, N., Gilbert, A., Hattori, S., Savarino, J. Thousand Years of Nitrogen Oxide Sources in Western Europe: Evidence From Nitrogen Stable Isotopes (δ15N) of Nitrate in a Mont Blanc Ice Core, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 131 (4), https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JD045465 (2026).
  • Eichler, A., Nalivaika, P., Kakareka, S., Kukharchyk, T., Jenk, T., Singer, T., Münster, T., Papina, T., Eyrikh, S., Plach, A., Schwikowski, M. Recent heavy metal pollution from the territory of the former Soviet Union (FSU): Ice core records and emission estimates, Sci. Tot. Environ., 983, 179632, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179632 (2025).
  • Münster, T., Jenk, T., Eichler, A., Lee, G., Schwikowski, M. Performance of ICP-TOF-MS for ultra-trace element analyses in ice cores, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 40, 3541-3552, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5JA00286A (2025).
  • Huber, C., Burgay, F., Salionov, D., Eichler, A., Sharkov, D., Jenk, T., Schmidt, L., Bjelić, S., Schwikowski, M. Influence of Meltwater Percolation on Preservation of Organic Aerosol Tracers in Glacier Archives, Environ. Sci. Technol., 59, 24767, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c09791 (2025).
  • Burgay, F., Salionov, D., Singer, T., Eichler, A., Brütsch, A., Jenk, T., Vogel, A., Papina, T., Bjelić, S., Schwikowski, M. Non-target screening of a Siberian ice core reveals changes in the pre-industrial to industrial organic aerosol composition, Sci. Adv. 11, eadr1923, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adr1923 (2025).
  • Huber, C. J., Eichler, A., Mattea, E., Brütsch, S., Jenk, T. M., Gabrieli, J., Barbante, C., Schwikowski, M. High-altitude glacier archives lost due to climate change-related melting, Nature Geoscience, 17, 110-113, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01366-1 (2024).
  • Burgay, F., Salionov, D., Huber, C., Singer, T., Eichler, A., Ungeheuer, F., Vogel, A., Schwikowski, M., Bjelić, S. Hybrid Targeted/Untargeted Screening Method for the Determination of Wildfire and Water-Soluble Organic Tracers in Ice Cores and Snow, Analytical Chemistry, 95 (30), 11456, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01852 (2023).
  • Moser, D.E., Thomas, E.R., Nehrbass-Ahles, C., Eichler, A., Wolff, E. Review article: Melt-affected ice cores for polar research in a warming world,  TC, 18 (6), 2691–2718, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2691-2024 (2024)    
  • Eichler, A., Legrand, M., Jenk, T.M., Preunkert, S., Andersson, C., Eckhardt, S.  et al. Consistent histories of anthropogenic Western European air pollution preserved in different Alpine ice cores, The Cryosphere, 17, 2119–2137,  https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2119-2023 (2023).
  • Moseid, K. O., Schulz, M., Eichler, A., Schwikowski, M., McConnell, J. R., Olivie, D., Criscitiello, A. S., Kreutz, K. J., Legrand, M. Using ice cores to evaluate CMIP6 aerosol concentrations over the historical era, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 127 (18), e2021JD036105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD036105 (2022).
  • Eichler, A., Kellerhals, T., Schwikowski, M. Kupferspuren im Gletscher, Nachrichten aus der Chemie 68 (5), 73-75, https://doi.org/10.1002/nadc.20204095028 (2020).
  • Trachsel, J.C.; Avak, S.A.; Edebeli, J.; Bartels-Rausch, T.; Schneebeli, M.; Bruetsch, S.; Eichler, A. Microscale rearrangement of ammonium induced by snow metamorphism, Front. Earth Sci. 7, 194, http://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00194 (2019).
  • Avak, S.A.; Trachsel, J.C.; Edebeli, J.; Bruetsch, S.; Bartels-Rausch, T.; Schneebeli, M.; Schwikowski, M.; Eichler, A. Melt‐induced fractionation of major ions and trace elements in an Alpine snowpack, J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surface 124, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JF005026 (2019).
  • Avak, S.A.; Schwikowski, M.; Eichler, A. Impact and implications of meltwater percolation on trace element records observed in a high-Alpine ice core. J. Glac. 64, 877-886, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.74 (2018).
  • Eichler, A.; Gramlich, G.; Kellerhals, T.; Tobler, L.; Rehren, Th.; Schwikowski, M. Ice-core evidence of earliest extensive copper metallurgy in the Andes 2700 years ago, Nature Sci. Rep. 7, 41855, http://doi.org/10.1038/srep41855 (2017).
  • Eyrikh, S.; Eichler, A.; Tobler, L.; Gramlich, G.; Malygina, N.; Papina, T.; Schwikowski, M. A 320-year ice-core record of atmospheric Hg pollution in the Altai, Central Asia. Environ. Sci. & Tech. 51, 11597-11606, http://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b03140 (2017).
  • Eichler, A.; Gramlich, G.; Kellerhals, T.; Tobler, L.; Schwikowski, M. Pb pollution from leaded gasoline in South America in the context of a 2000-year metallurgical history. Sci. Adv. 1; e1400196, http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1400196 (2015).
  • Eichler, A.; Tobler, L.; Eyrikh, S.; Gramlich, G.; Malygina, N.; Papina, T.; Schwikowski, M. Ice-core based assessment of historical anthropogenic heavy metal (Cd, Cu, Sb, Zn) emissions in the Soviet Union. Environ. Sci. & Tech. 48, 2635-2642, https://doi.org/10.1021/es404861n (2014).
  • Eichler, A.; Tobler, L.; Eyrikh, S.; Gramlich, G.; Malygina, N.; Papina, T.; Schwikowski, M. Three Centuries of Eastern European and Altai Lead Emissions Recorded in a Belukha Ice Core. Environ. Sci. & Tech. 46(8), 4323 – 4330, https://doi.org/10.1021/es2039954 (2012).
  • Eichler, A.; Tinner, W.; Brütsch, S.; Olivier, S.; Papina, T.; Schwikowski, M. An ice-core based history of Siberian forest fires since AD 1250. Quat. Sci. Rev. 30, 1027-1034, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.02.007 (2011).
  • Eichler, A.; Oliver, S.; Henderson, K.; Laube, A.; Beer, J.; Papina, T.; Gäggeler, H.W.; Schwikowski, M. Temperature response in the Altai region lags solar forcing. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36, L01808, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL035930 (2009).
  • Eichler, A., Schwikowski, M., Gäggeler, H.W. Meltwater-induced relocation of chemical species in Alpine firn, Tellus B53, 192-201, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v53i2.16575 (2001).
  • Eichler, A., Schwikowski, M., Gäggeler, H.W. An Alpine ice core record of anthropogenic HF and HCl emissions, Geophys. Res. Lett. 27, 3225-3228, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000GL012006 (2000).
  • Eichler, A., Schwikowski, M., Gäggeler, H.W., Furrer, V., Synal, H.-A., Beer, J., Saurer, M., Funk, M. Glaciochemical dating of an ice core from the upper Grenzgletscher (4200 m a.s.l.), J. Glaciol. 46, 507-515, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756500781833098 (2000).


All publications: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0206-7463