New Underwater Drone
New Underwater Drone
With our new underwater drone, we can now visualize what is happening beneath the water's surface. This opens up new opportunities to better understand changes in lakes and rivers.
Over the past few decades, temperatures in Swiss waters have been rising. And this trend will continue. Researchers from the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (Bundesamt für Umwelt) have estimated that Swiss Lakes and rivers will heat up by 3-4 degress until the end of the century, if no adequate measures are being taken to combat climate change.1 These temperature increases can disrupt the balance of ecosystems, when water quality decreases and invasive species spread more quickly.
A well-known example of an invasive species in Swiss waters is the quagga mussel. It has already established itself in several lakes, with Lake Geneva being particularly affected.
With that in mind, we are further expanding our research in this area. The new underwater drone helps us investigate processes below the surface while simultaneously providing important validation data for satellite-based observations
The drone is also being used in teaching. As part of a seminar at GIUZ, students have already been able to test the system and conduct their first dives.
1BAFU (Hrsg.) 2021: Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf die Schweizer Gewässer. Hydrologie, Gewässerökologie und Wasser wirtschaft. Bundesamt für Umwelt BAFU, Bern. Umwelt-Wissen Nr. 2101: 134 S.