News
News
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Girls* on Ice – Experiencing science, changing role models
The Department of Geography at the University of Zurich is a partner institution of the successful education and outreach programme. During a multi-day expedition in the high mountains, young women* experience glacier research first-hand, apply scientific methods and discover new perspectives in dialogue with experts.
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The Downside of Part-Time Work
UZH labor geographer Karin Schwiter has been awarded one of the coveted ERC Advanced Grants from the European Research Council. Over the next five years, she plans to study the problem of underemployment in Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands.
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Research Begins on Landslide in Blatten
A few days after the landslide in the Lötschental valley, remote sensing specialists from the University of Zurich (UZH) measured the debris cone from above. Analyzing the data will help prepare for future events.
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Verwundeter Regenwald
Mit Satellitendaten kann Alexander Damm-Reiser Biodiversität, Ökosysteme und Umweltschäden analysieren und in Bilder fassen. Damit lässt sich unter anderem objektiv und unabhängig der ökologische Fussabdruck von Unternehmen bewerten.
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Permafrost in den Schweizer Alpen: 2024 war ein weiteres Rekordjahr
Der Permafrost in den Schweizer Alpen war noch nie so warm wie im hydrologischen Jahr 2024. Auch der Rückgang des Bodeneisgehalts und die Zunahme der Blockgletschergeschwindigkeiten setzten sich weiter fort. Diese Beobachtungen beruhen auf 25 Jahren koordinierter Messungen im Rahmen des Schweizerischen Permafrostbeobachtungsnetzes PERMOS. In diesem Zeitraum haben sich die Permafrostveränderungen in den Schweizer Alpen beschleunigt.
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“The weakening of the mountains is irreversible”
For glaciologist and Emeritus Professor of Physical Geography Wilfried Haeberli, it is foreseeable. Landslides will soon become an annual occurrence in Switzerland due to the increasing warming of the permafrost. Can we learn to live with this risk?
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"We should definitely prepare for more of the kind in the future"
After the devastating landslide in Blatten, Christian Huggel takes a stand in the media. He is a leading expert on the risks, impacts and adaptation options to climate change, focusing on mountain regions and its people.
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Saving Miles
Rocco Bagutti analyzed researchers’ travel behavior for his Master’s thesis. His study, which has been recognized with a semester award, helps to find solutions for reducing emissions caused by air travel and is presented in the UZH Annual Report 2024.
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European State of the Climate 2024
The report provides a summary of the climate in Europe, in the Arctic, and globally, based on authoritative data sources compiled by institutions across Europe. The World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) and the Glaciology and Geomorphodynamics Group at GIUZ contributed glacier data and analyses.
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Every tenth of a degree counts
The United Nations proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation and established 21 March as the annual World Day for Glaciers to sound the alarm that accelerating glacier melt risks unleashing an avalanche of cascading impacts on economies, ecosystems and communities. Several UZH glaciologists are significantly involved in the underlying research and participate in various international and national events.
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New professorship in Urban Analytics: a warm welcome to Esra Suel!
On March 1, 2025, Esra Suel started her position as Professor in Urban Analytics, establishing a new research group within the GIScience Center at the Department of Geography, University of Zurich.
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Documentary film narrates chemicalised dispossession in Eastern India biodiversity hotspot
‘Seed Stories’ (42 min, 2024), a documentary film directed by Chitrangada Choudhury, an Indian journalist, filmmaker and a PhD candidate in Economic Geography at GIUZ, has screened at multiple cultural and educational institutions and been selected for film festivals in India, USA, Italy and Switzerland over the past year.
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"We might be underestimating biodiversity loss"
Researchers have discovered more than 200 new animal and plant species in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia. In an interview with Radio SRF, Sofia van Moorsel, biodiversity expert at the Department of Geography, explains what science can learn from this and whether these species discoveries can put extinction into perspective.
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“We must move away from silo thinking”
Ecological crises such as biodiversity loss, climate change and food security are interconnected and must be tackled in a coordinated way. This is one of the core statements of the Nexus Assessment Report published by IPBES. Maria J. Santos is one of the main authors of the comprehensive scientific analysis published this week.
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Geography of suffering – body maps express what words cannot
There are still no effective treatments for Long Covid. Health geographer Maaret Jokela-Pansini has developed an innovative tool together with patients and shows how social sciences can deepen our understanding of the disease.
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“I had a cool job”
Ulrike Müller-Böker was Professor of Human Geography at the Department of Geography at the University of Zurich until 2019. Her research focused on livelihood strategies of poor people, labor migration, development and participation processes with a focus on South Asia.
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What makes working for taxi apps and online delivery services problematic
Karin Schwiter is one of the experts who, as part of the Digital Society Initiative (DSI) at the University of Zurich, focus on topics related to digital transformation and its impact on society. The DSI Spotlights are short videos that highlight different aspects of digitalization.
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Severe melting of glaciers despite heavy snowfall at high altitudes
After the extreme circumstances encountered in 2022 and 2023, no relief is in sight for Swiss glaciers. Despite exceptionally large volumes of snow during the winter, a combination of temperatures in July and August that at times reached record levels and dust from the Sahara resulted in a loss of 2.5% of the glacier volume.
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More obligations for Uber & Co.
Digital platforms arrange jobs at short notice and promise people the chance to work independently at their own pace. But what many of these digital gig workers really need are steady employment conditions. Karin Schwiter and her team are researching work in the gig economy.
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Getting around more freely in Zurich
People in wheelchairs or with pushchairs are often led to insurmountable obstacles by navigation apps. The city and the University of Zurich want to make the city more accessible.