ETH News

In a former service tunnel built for the Furka-Gotthard rail link, ETH geoscientists are looking to move mountains. We take a closer look at the underground lab.

For geodynamicist Taras Gerya, one thing is clear: our highly developed civilisation is the only one in the entire galaxy and therefore all the more worthy of preservation. To develop approaches for its protection, he has co-founded a new interdisciplinary field of research.?

At its meeting of 3 and 4 December 2025 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed eleven professors. In addition, seven adjunct professorships were awarded.

An international team of researchers including a scientist from ETH Zurich has shown that friction in magma leads to the formation of bubbles that influence whether a volcano erupts explosively or releases gently flowing lava.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have been able to measure - for the first time - how the amount of dissolved organic carbon in the sea has changed over geological time. The results reveal that our explanations of how the ice ages and complex life forms came about are incomplete.?

The Gulf of Naples is a geologically highly active region. In the following, Olivier Bachmann, Professor of Volcanology and Magmatic Petrology, assesses the various natural hazards ¨C from supervolcano eruptions to earthquakes.?

ETH spin-off Mondaic uses wave physics to analyse the interior of bridges, pipelines or aircraft components and check their stability. The story of how a scientific code for exploring Mars turned into a successful start-up.???

At its meeting of 17 and 18 September 2025 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed eight professors. The Board also awarded the title of "Professor of Practice" once.

There is much less water on the surfaces of distant planets outside our solar system than previously thought. These exoplanets do not have thick layers of water, as was often speculated. That¡¯s the conclusion of an international study led by ETH Zurich.?

Nine researchers from ETH Zurich have just been awarded Starting Grants from the European Research Council (ERC). This is a positive signal for Zurich as a research location.

For more than 100 years, scientists have puzzled over whether the Earth¡¯s magnetic field had already been generated stably back in its early days when its inner core was fully liquid ¨C unlike it is today. A team of geophysicists has used a simulation to show that this was highly likely.

Time and again debris flows cause death and destruction. A research team has measured these flows of water, earth and debris with high precision. The study shows previously unexplained factors that determine the destructive force of debris flows ¨C which allows appropriate protective measures to be put in place.

Pioneer Fellow Edoardo Pezzulli is developing software that makes it possible to continuously monitor carbon storage in the ground and reduce its risks. Now he is striving to bring his technology to market.

At its meeting of 9 and 10 July 2025 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed eight professors. The Board also awarded the title of "Professor of Practice" once.

ETH Zurich will receive 10 million Swiss francs a year from the J?rg G. Bucherer-Foundation for the next ten years. The university will use the funds to establish a competence centre for Earth observation with global appeal and a physical presence in the Canton of Lucerne. The Canton of Lucerne is to support the project as infrastructure partner.

The ETH professor has received one of the most prestigious awards in space research. According to the laudation, Thomas Zurbuchen has distinguished himself by his contributions to the aerospace community.

Many types of bacteria produce a protein complex that injects toxins into neighbouring cells to eliminate?competitors. For the first time, researchers at ETH Zurich and Eawag discovered?that these killer bacteria also use this weapon to feed on their neighbours.

Trace metals such as iron or zinc that are stored in deep-sea sediments are lost forever to phytoplankton on the ocean surface. This is what geochemists believed for a long time about the cycle of micronutrients in seawater. Now, researchers at ETH Zurich have discovered that this is not the case.

A spectacular breakthrough in geoscience?shows that our planet is in motion even at a depth of 3000 kilometres.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. ESA has helped make Europe more technologically independent and has played a key role in space exploration in recent decades. And ETH Zurich has always been one of its partners on its journey.

At the meeting on?21st and 22nd May 2025, the ETH Board appointed two female and four male professors at the request of ETH President Jo?l Mesot. The Board also awarded the title of "Professor" three times and the title of "Professor of Practice" twice.

Life needs sufficient phosphorus. However, the element is scarce, not only today but also at the time of the origin of life. So where was there sufficient phosphorus four billion years ago for life to emerge? A team of origin-of-life researchers has an answer.

In a total of 16 disciplines, the university ranks among the 10 best in the world. These are the latest results of the QS World University Rankings according to subject.

For Switzerland to achieve its net zero climate target, not only must it reduce its CO₂ emissions, it must also find a way to store the greenhouse gas permanently. Researchers at ETH Zurich have investigated whether, and under what conditions, CO₂ could be stored underground in Switzerland.

ETH students have simulated an exploration mission to Venus by launching self-built test satellites from a plane over D¨¹bendorf military airfield. These satellites glided to the ground with parachutes, recording acoustic signals during their descent.

For the first time, an international team of researchers has shown that countless tiny ice quakes take place in one of Greenland's mightiest ice streams. This finding will allow the flowing of the ice stream and associated changes in sea level to be estimated more accurately.

Deep geothermal energy is climate-friendly and base-load capable - but how can this heat be tapped safely? ETH researchers are working on minimizing the earthquake risk and developing completely new systems, for example with closed CO₂ cycles.

Few courses of study at ETH Zurich have attracted quite as much attention as the new Master in Space Systems. Teachers and students strapped in for the programme¡¯s launch this autumn.

Thomas Zurbuchen, Director of ETH Zurich Space, explains how Switzerland can do a better job of exploring and exploiting space ¨C and how there¡¯s still enormous potential to be tapped.

Brienz has just been evacuated for the second time. The decision is based, among other things, on thousands of simulations that ETH professor Jordan Aaron has produced using a computer model he developed. In an interview with ETH News, he explains why this model was used.

Catastrophic volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet millions of years ago shed new light on how plants evolve and regulate climate. Researchers reveal the long-term climate effects of disturbed natural ecosystems - its implications both in geological history and for today.

The Department of Earth Sciences at ETH Zurich has been renamed the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, abbreviated to D-EAPS, effective 1 August. Head of Department Johan Robertsson explains why the renaming was both logical and necessary.

An international team of researchers combine orbital imagery with seismological data from NASA¡¯s Mars InSight lander to derive a new impact rate for meteorite strikes on Mars. Seismology also offers a new tool for determining the density of Mars¡¯ craters and the age of different regions of a planet.

In order to understand the Earth's resilience, researchers at ETH Zurich are modelling climate changes from times long past. And they show: Plants are not simply victims of circumstances, but have helped to shape climate conditions on Earth.

It might be that what set prebiotic chemistry in motion and kept it going in the early days of the Earth was dust from outer space accumulating in holes melted into ice sheets. Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Cambridge have used a computer model to test this scenario.

Switzerland offers tremendous opportunities for technological and entrepreneurial innovation. Thomas Zurbuchen asks, ¡°How can we generate the momentum needed to maintain an edge in the face of international competition ¨C especially when times get tough?¡±

Hardly any gemstone is more difficult to find than diamonds. Geologists from ETH Zurich and the University of Melbourne have now established a link between their occurrence and the mineral olivine. This could make the search for diamonds easier in the future.

A new Master¡¯s degree programme in Space Systems will be launched at ETH Zurich in autumn 2024. Interested parties can start applying in April.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a sensor that utilises energy from sound waves to control electronic devices. This could one day save millions of batteries.

The European Space Agency¡¯s most expensive and complex mission, the LISA space antenna, has reached a major milestone: it has passed the stage of intensive testing by experts in the Mission Adoption Review process - a significant step for the LISA consortium.

Craig Walton is the first NOMIS Fellow at the Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life at ETH Zurich. With an unconventional idea, he wants to find out the conditions under which life originated on Earth.

Capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and storing it either in recycled concrete aggregate or in geological reservoirs in Iceland is not only technically feasible, but also has a positive carbon footprint. These are the findings of a pilot project lead by ETH Zurich and commissioned by the Swiss confederation.

Seismologist Andreas Fichtner uses the newest technologies to explore the interior of the Earth. His research with seismic waves has also found applicability in the field of medicine. ?

Whether on research vessels or testing her limits as an analog astronaut and pilot, alumna Sandra Herrmann has an irrepressible appetite for adventure, fuelled in part by her experiences at ETH Zurich.

Geophysicists at ETH Zurich have shown that every single wave of a magnitude 3.9 earthquake registers in the noise suppression system of fibre-optic networks. This method can be used to set up close-meshed earthquake and tsunami early warning systems at low cost.

Mars¡¯s liquid iron core is smaller and denser than previously thought. Not only is it smaller, but it is also surrounded by a layer of molten rock. This is what ETH Zurich researchers conclude on the basis of seismic data from the InSight lander.

At its meeting of 24 and 25 May 2023 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed nine professors and awarded the title of professor twice. At the same time, the Board also bid farewell to nine professors and thanked them for their service.

Yesterday, Swiss President Alain Berset toured the Carbfix plant in Iceland and visited the facilities where the pilot project "DemoUpCARMA" is implemented. The project aims at injecting and storing CO₂ in the Icelandic underground. Marco Mazzotti, project coordinator and ETH Zurich professor, explains why Swiss CO₂ is being shipped all the way to Iceland.

A strong quake in the last year of the NASA Mars InSight mission, enabled researchers at ETH Zurich to determine the global thickness and density of the planet's crust. On average, the Martian crust is much thicker than the Earth¡¯s or the Moon¡¯s crust, and the planet¡¯s main source of heat is radioactive.

In the video series "Ask the Expert", experts from ETH Zurich answer questions from the community. In this edition, Stefan Wiemer provides information on the topic of earthquakes.

ETH Zurich researcher Luca Dal Zilio offers an insightful summary of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, shedding light on the complex nature of this event. He discusses the lessons that can be drawn from it to better understand and prepare for future seismic occurrences in the region.

In the video series "Ask the Expert", ETH Zurich experts answer questions from the community. In this edition, Maren Brehme provides information on the topic of geothermal energy.

At its meeting of 8 and 9 March and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed 14 professors and awarded the title of professor five times. At the same time, the Board also bid farewell to three professors and thanked them for their service.

The Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zurich has just introduced the first seismic risk model for Switzerland. It shows the potential impact of earthquakes on people and buildings in the country.

Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? There¡¯s a good chance it does ¨C though it might look very different to life on Earth. Scientists may soon be able to offer a definitive answer.

The lander¡¯s team has tried to contact the spacecraft twice without response, leading them to conclude it has run out of energy.

Nobel laureate and astrophysicist Didier Queloz and earth scientist Cara Magnabosco on the origin of life on Earth, complex life beyond our planet, and the inevitable end of every life.

Nine scientists are receiving SNSF Starting Grants for projects they plan to carry out at ETH Zurich starting next year.

Following two large meteorite impacts on Mars, researchers have observed, for the first time, seismic waves propagating along the surface of a planet other than Earth. The data from the marsquakes was recorded by NASA¡¯s InSight lander and analysed at ETH Zurich in collaboration with the InSight Science Team. It provides new insights into the structure of the Martian crust.

Until now, Mars has been generally considered a geologically dead planet. An international team of researchers led by ETH Zurich now reports that seismic signals indicate vulcanism still plays an active role in shaping the Martian surface.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an approach to accurately record and fully track the biodegradation of plastics in soils. ?

At its meeting of 21 and 22 September 2022 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed four professors and awarded the title of ¡°Professor of Practice¡± once.

ETH Zurich is opening a new research and teaching centre with a focus on exploring the origin and prevalence of life on Earth and beyond. Under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Didier Queloz, more than 40 research groups from five departments will address the big questions posed by humankind.

Researchers from ETH Zurich discover the first definitive proof that the Moon inherited indigenous noble gases from the Earth¡¯s mantle. The discovery represents a significant piece of the puzzle towards understanding how the Moon and, potentially, the Earth and other celestial bodies were formed.

As wave specialists, seismologists map the structure of planets from the information that seismic waves carry. Now, the team led by ETH professor Andreas Fichtner is also using this knowledge for medical imaging.

An international research team led by ETH Zurich proposes a new theory for the Earth¡¯s formation. It may also show how other rocky planets were formed.

How the plates of the Earth¡¯s crust move depends largely on the behaviour of the rocks below them in the mantle. A new ETH study now shows that the grain size of these rocks is a key factor.

The InSight mission on Mars is running out of power and most of its functions could be shut down in the months to come. Some have already been deactivated. However, the attached seismometer, SEIS, will remain in operation for as long as possible. ETH Professor Domenico Giardini takes stock of three years of marsquake measurements.

An international team of researchers led by the ETH Zurich and the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS have reconstructed the early history of several asteroids more precisely than ever before. Their results indicate that the early solar system was more chaotic than previously thought.

At its meeting of 18 and 19 May and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed 13 professors and awarded the title of professor four times. At the same time, the Board also bid farewell to 15 professors and thanked them for their service.

European scientists with the participation of the Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zurich have published an updated earthquake hazard map and, for the first time, an earthquake risk map for Europe. Switzerland will follow suit next year with a higher resolution national risk map.

Geophysicist Mauro H?usler is a Pioneer Fellow at ETH Zurich. He uses a seismic method to investigate rock instabilities and wants to establish himself as a service provider in the geoengineering industry.

The Swiss Polar Institute has launched a four-year study led by EPFL in which researchers from several other Swiss institutions are investigating the impact of climate change on Greenland¡¯s fjord ecosystems. Research groups from ETH Zurich are also involved. ?

The rapid development of fauna 540 million years ago has permanently changed the Earth - deep into its lower mantle. A team led by ETH researcher Andrea Giuliani found traces of this development in rocks from this zone.

Located near Naples, Italy, Vesuvius last had a violent eruption in 1944, towards the end of the Second World War. It could be a few hundred years before another dangerous, explosive eruption occurs, finds a new study by volcano experts at ETH Zurich.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have demonstrated in the lab how well a mineral common at the boundary between the Earth¡¯s core and mantle conducts heat. This leads them to suspect that the Earth¡¯s heat may dissipate sooner than previously thought.

In the last application process for the sought-after ERC Starting Grants, the European Research Council made 11 awards to ETH researchers worth about CHF 17 million. Due to Switzerland¡¯s non-association, however, the researchers will not receive these grants. The funds will now be provided by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

Like bridges and tall buildings, large mountains are constantly vibrating, excited by seismic energy form the Earth. An international team of researchers has now been able to measure the resonant swaying of the Matterhorn and make its motion visible using computer simulations.

At its meeting of 8 and 9 December 2021 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed ten professors and awarded the title of professor twice.

Geophysicists can use a new model to explain the behaviour of a tectonic plate sinking into a subduction zone in the Earth¡¯s mantle: the plate becomes weak and thus more deformable when mineral grains on its underside are shrunk in size.

The more water is dissolved in the magma, the greater the risk that a volcano will explode. A new ETH study now shows that this simple rule is only partially true. Paradoxically, high water content significantly reduces the risk of explosion.

Switzerland may soon be facing a shortage of railway ballast. ETH geologists are heading into the wilds to track down new sources of crushed rocks.

ETH researchers have devised an ingenious method of using acoustics to conceal and simulate objects.

Many everyday activities rely on electricity. As we look to 2050, this dependence is set to increase, with demand for electricity in Switzerland likely to rise to 50 percent. The increased demand can only be met by transforming the energy system.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich have been able to use seismic data to look inside Mars for the first time. Marsquakes recorded by NASA¡¯s InSight lander provided information about the structure of the planet¡¯s crust, mantle and core.

Researchers at ETH Zurich working together with an international team have been able to use seismic data to look inside Mars for the first time. They measured the crust, mantle and core and narrowed down their composition. The three resulting articles are being published together as a cover story in the journal Science.

While Domenico Giardini, Professor of Seismology and Geodynamics, already has his hands on Mars, Adrian Glauser, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics, has to be patient. Among many others, Adrian worked on the James-Webb-Telescope that shall finally launch this fall, with a delay of many years.

Uranus and Neptune both have a completely skewed magnetic field, perhaps due to the planets¡¯ special inner structures. But new experiments by ETH Zurich researchers now show that the mystery remains unsolved.

In the latest QS rankings by subject, ETH Zurich was among the top ten in 15 different disciplines. The university remains the global leader in earth sciences.

Using the extinct niobium-92 atom, ETH researchers have been able to date events in the early solar system with greater precision than before. The study concludes that supernova explosions must have taken place in the birth environment of our sun.

Terrestrial ecosystems help mitigate climate change by absorbing large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. A new study now confirms that changing climate conditions could reduce this effect because in warmer and wetter areas, carbon stored in the soil is released back into the atmosphere more quickly.

Phobos and Deimos are the remains of a larger Martian moon that was disrupted between 1 and 2.7 billion years ago, say researchers from the Institute of Geophysics at ETH Zurich and the Physics Institute at the University of Zurich. In collaboration with the U.S. Naval Observatory, they reached this conclusion using computer simulations and seismic recordings from the InSight Mars mission.

Determining the composition of rock in the deepest layer of the Earth¡¯s mantle is impossible to do directly. But thanks to isotope measurements of volcanic rocks, ETH researchers are now able to show that the mantle is still home to material from the planet¡¯s earliest days.

Terrestrial planets versus gas and ice giants: A new theory explaining why the inner solar system is so different to the outer regions runs counter to the prevailing wisdom. The theory was proposed by an international research group with ETH Zurich¡¯s participation.

Oxygen levels in the ancient oceans were surprisingly resilient to climate change, new research suggests.

At its meeting of 9 and 10 December 2020 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed 14 professors. They will work in a total of ten departments in a wide range of research areas. In addition, an ecotoxicologist was awarded the title of professor.

A team of international scientists led by ETH researcher Paolo Sossi has gained new insights into Earth¡¯s atmosphere of 4.5 billion years ago. Their results have implications for the possible origins of life on Earth.

Researchers from four leading European technical universities, all members of IDEA League, are looking for new solutions against climate change in the EASYGO project.

Hot and humid: Using minerals from ancient soils, ETH researchers are reconstructing the climate that prevailed on Earth some 55 million years ago. Their findings will help them to better assess how our climate might look in the future.

Current understanding is that the chemical composition of the Earth¡¯s mantle is relatively homogeneous. But experiments conducted by ETH researchers now show that this view is too simplistic. Their results solve a key problem facing the geosciences ¨C and raise some new questions.