The consequences of global warming, which are already visible in mountain environments such as the Alps, are having an impact on water availability. In this project I have developed a mapping tool to provide an overview of the water supply situation in mountain huts in Switzerland. This analysis concludes that the situation is not identical for all mountain huts. Indeed, each one is established in a unique environment and context. However, in the future, the issue of water supply will become central to every community on the planet, as global warming is a worldwide phenomenon. This study provides a local understanding of a global problem, focusing on its causes, issues and possible solutions. 

This project serves as a minor contribution towards fighting the serious environmental issue of marine plastic pollution. The purpose of this work is to provide an insight into alternative “bioplastics” by examining a new approach using alginates instead of corn or potato starch as raw material. An algae-based bioplastic is self-produced and its degradability is tested and assessed. The use of (algae-based) bioplastic film can possibly become an efficient means of reducing the plastic pollution in our oceans.

Our project is nested in the water-food-energy nexus. Water quality monitoring is crucial, especially in communities dealing with water scarcity. However, current state-of-the-art systems are expensive and complex, thus unsuitable for developing countries and enthusiasts. Our innovation offers a modular, accessible, and affordable solution.
We developed a water control and monitoring unit combining the ESP-32 and Raspberry Pi microcontrollers with cloud-based databases, using well-established frameworks and industry-standard MQTT IoT protocols to ensure reliable communications and management of sensors. The system is intuitive for end-users and can be easily customized by adding sensors and switches. By using free, open-source software and custom hardware, we significantly reduced costs, making water monitoring more attainable and sustainable for communities passionate about environmental stewardship.

Our work involves building a system that integrates a RedOx cell and a culture of edible cyanobacteria, so that the dioxygen released by the algae during their growth can be used to produce electricity. The cyanobacteria used is Spirulina sp., characterized by excellent nutritional values. During the photosynthetic process, they take up CO2 from the atmosphere and release dioxygen. We used the produced dioxygen to regenerate the catholyte of a hybrid RedOx flow cell using zinc and methylene blue, materials with low toxicity. With a 2L culture of algae it was possible to produce 160 mL of dioxygen in 24 hours, which was enough to recharge the catholyte to power a LED (320 Ω) during 3 hours and 40 minutes.

Neonicotinoids are widely used pesticides whose harmful effects on biodiversity have been long recognized. This work analyzes the incidence and prevalence of five neonicotinoids in four different taxa of aquatic invertebrates in three sites of the Seyon River, in Switzerland. All samples analyzed were contaminated with at least one neonicotinoid, and two neonicotinoids found in the samples had been banned from use nine months prior to sampling: these facts highlight the substances’ ubiquity and high persistence in natural environments. The concentrations indicated a chronic exposure to neonicotinoids, except for one value which was ten times bigger than the others. These alarming results encourage further studies on the subject, in which the experimental methods developed for this work could be exploited.

The objective of this study was to find out whether microplastic particles can be found at 8 locations in the Upper Engadine with different population densities, types of land use, and distances to the source of the river Inn at Lake Lunghin, a remote location in a major European watershed.

A wooden, low-cost, light, easily transportable self-constructed LADI-trawl was used for sampling. Plastic residues were detected in all locations, and the found particles were assigned to 22 different types of plastics, showing that seemingly remote regions and sparsely populated areas are affected by microplastic pollution. The findings of this research are of key importance for alpine regions, as evidence of plastic was found at over 2400 meters above sea level.

Tardigrades are very small animals who belong to the taxon of Ecdysozoa, and are found in most water bodies, sediment and moss. They have developed the unique ability to react to rapidly changing environmental conditions by changing their physical characteristics and taking on different stages of resistance. Climate change not only has an influence on temperatures around the world, but it also affects the physical characteristics of different waters, which results in need of adaptation for all organisms living in aquatic ecosystems. The aim is to investigate the tolerance and vitality of Hypsibius exemplaris under the influence of different pH values and different dosages of UV-C light and thereby create a diagram for their tolerance and vitality for each experiment.

Littorella uniflora L. Asch. is an aquatic plant which is endangered in southern central Europe. Because of its sensitivity to environmental changes, it reflects the complexity of ecosystems along lake shores. In my study I examined the north shore of the upper Lake Zurich for the presence of L .u. and characterised the ecological conditions under which the species grows. I applied a broad spectrum of wide-ranging surveys including transects, comparisons of different sites, and soil and water analyses. These different ecological approaches enabled the identification of factors critical for the survival of the few remaining populations in Lake Zurich. They serve as a reference for the impact of human intervention on aquatic systems and biodiversity in its total.