Environmental Engineering Institute – IIE

IIE research units pioneer adaptation to environmental changes as part of sustainable design. Our emphasis is on translational science based upon rigorous understanding our environment, seamless integration of data and models, humans as integral parts of environmental systems, and development of novel, leading-edge technologies. More…

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Climate: Iodic acid influences cloud formation at the North Pole

EPFL

An international team of scientists from EPFL, the Paul Scherrer Institute and Stockholm University has identified a novel driver of new aerosol particle formation in the Arctic during the summer to fall transition. The authors show that iodic acid is important for forming new particles which subsequently influence the formation of clouds and their radiative effect over the Arctic pack ice.

Tamar Kohn, head of EPFL's Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, and scientist Anna Carratalà conduct experiments on enteroviruses © Alain Herzog

Viruses could become harder to kill

EPFL

A recent EPFL study shows that pathogenic viruses may be able to develop resistance to warm temperatures and some types of disinfectant. That – combined with global warming and more frequent and longer heat waves – could make it even harder to keep them from spreading. 

At LAPI, Mária Lbadaoui-Darvas is working to gain molecular-level understanding of how aerosols interact with water during the formation of droplets and ice crystals. © 2020 EPFL

A scientist with her head in the clouds

Research

Mária Lbadaoui-Darvas, a scientist at EPFL’s Laboratory of Atmospheric Processes and their Impacts, has been awarded a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Her research involves developing a new method for observing and modeling cloud droplet formation – a study that could increase the accuracy of climate predictions.

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