My research
Most of my current research focusses on how forested, snow-dominated mountainous catchments store and release water and how these processes affect water quality.
Aquifers and rivers in mountainous headwater catchments are important freshwater resources that sustain downstream baseflow in the densely populated lowlands of Switzerland as well as in many other parts of the world. There is a great need to protect and sustainably manage these fragile hydro(geo)logic systems - particularly in the face of future environmental changes. My research investigates the links and feedbacks between the different variables of the water cycle, contributing to a better understanding of how water management can be adapted to changing environmental conditions.
Some of my research projects are:
Aquifers and rivers in mountainous headwater catchments are important freshwater resources that sustain downstream baseflow in the densely populated lowlands of Switzerland as well as in many other parts of the world. There is a great need to protect and sustainably manage these fragile hydro(geo)logic systems - particularly in the face of future environmental changes. My research investigates the links and feedbacks between the different variables of the water cycle, contributing to a better understanding of how water management can be adapted to changing environmental conditions.
Some of my research projects are:
News
- The new Twitter feed of the TempAqua project is online. Check it out!
- I visited Daniele Penna's group in Florence on December 8-12, 2019. I gave two seminars and visited their new field site, the Re della Pietra catchment - it was a lot of fun!
- Have a look at an interview I gave to the EGU Hydrology Division Blog about my research at the Rietholzbach catchment (May 2019)
- Our new HESS paper is online: Studying catchment storm response using event- and pre-event-water volumes as fractions of precipitation rather than discharge
- Currently I'm a visiting researcher at the Dawson Lab at UC Berkeley, California. I'm working on isotopic fractionation effects in soils due to plant water uptake.
- Check out our Lab's Twitter account: Kirchner Lab ETH
- The Summer School on "Catchment Transport Processes" (2-7 July 2017, Einsiedeln, Switzerland) was a great success!
- Watch the rapid streamflow responses during a snowmelt event in February 2017 at the Erlenbach river - click here!
