Extreme Environments Research Laboratory EERL – Ingvar Kamprad Chair

Understanding polar and alpine environments

Mission

Extreme environments are very sensitive to climate change and are transforming at accelerated rates. This can have important repercussions for society such as changed weather patterns or sea level rise. Hence understanding processes of change is essential for future predictions.

The EERL aims to create integrated process understanding by conducting field studies looking at interactions between the atmosphere, cryosphere, ocean, land and human activities. Assuming a perspective of atmospheric science, the goal is to characterize processes that are directly influenced by humans versus natural processes that are undergoing change due to climate forcing. 

EPFL News Channel

Aboard this icebreaker the Extreme Environments Research Laboratory set up gave its first results © EERL

Scientists quantify aerosols based on sea state

— A research team led by EPFL scientists has developed a system that provides key insight into the relationship between sea spray aerosols, sea state and atmospheric conditions. The system was mounted on an icebreaker and carried across vast regions of the Arctic to collect and analyze valuable data.

Joanna Dyson - EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

”Accommodating my neurodivergence was life-changing”

— A postdoc researcher in the Extreme Environments Research Laboratory in Sion, Joanna Dyson lives with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). This topic will be addressed during the Health Days that start today at EPFL.

EPFL scientists travel to the Arctic to measure the consequences of climate change - 2024 EPFL/SENSE- CC-BY-SA 4.0

From clouds to fjords, the Arctic bears witness to climate change

— Climate change is particularly intense in the Arctic. To assess its consequences and determine what role this region plays in global warming, two teams of scientists from EPFL have visited the area. One to gain a better understanding of the region's air composition, the other to quantify the greenhouse gases sequestered in Greenland fjords sourced by glacial water.

Schmale strives to give students the teaching they expect . © 2024 EPFL/E4S - CC-BY-SA 4.0

“The variety of backgrounds in my classroom is to everyone's benefit”

— Julia Schmale is just as comfortable in an EPFL lecture hall as on an icebreaker in the Arctic. This adventurous spirit – along with the specific know-how of her students – enhances her cutting-edge research.

Au mois de septembre, où la banquise arctique atteint son minimum, elle était à son cinquième niveau le plus bas jamais enregistré, décrit Julia Schmale © iStock

Polar ice holds the key to our future on Earth

— The world’s ice shelves, glaciers and ice caps are melting at an alarming rate. The extent of polar sea ice in both the Arctic and the Antarctic is unusually low this year. Protecting the cryosphere is essential to life on Earth – which is why scientists are pulling out all the stops to understand the complex dynamics

© Lionel Favre / 2023 EPFL

A summer of intense field-work for the GreenFjord project

— GreenFjord is a four-year research program intended to investigate how climate change is affecting ecosystems in southern Greenland. The scientists just completed a first intensive field season where they won over the local residents. The next step will be to analyze the millions of datapoints they collected.

© 2023 EPFL/Pierre-Yves Gilliéron

2023 Award for Best SIE Teacher

— Prof. Julia Schmale has been voted Best 2023 SIE Teacher by the SIE students.