Christian Steger: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2023

Name Dr. Christian Steger
Address
Professur f. Hydrologie&Klimat.
ETH Zürich, CHN L 12.3
Universitätstrasse 16
8092 Zürich
SWITZERLAND
E-mailchristian.steger@env.ethz.ch
URLhttp://n.ethz.ch/~csteger
DepartmentArchitecture
RelationshipLecturer

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
061-0101-00LClimate / Water / Soil Information Restricted registration - show details 2 credits3GH. Joos, R. Kretzschmar, R. Weingartner, A. Carminati, S. Dötterl, M. G. Fellin, A. Frossard, T. Galí-Izard, N. Gruber, V. Picotti, S. Schemm, J. Schwaab, C. Steger, H. Wernli
AbstractLectures, exercises and excursions serve as an introduction to atmospheric sciences, soil science and hydrology. Students gain a broad vision of the cutting edge topics that are being researched and studied at the Department of Environmental Systems Science at ETH, Eawag, WSL a.o. This will be the base for a future dialog between the field of landscape architecture and the field of sciences.
Learning objectiveStudents acquire basic knowledge in atmospheric sciences, hydrology and soil science:
- Understanding basic chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere that influence weather and climate
- Fundamentals about the classification of soils, soil-forming processes, physical and chemical soil properties, soil biology and ecology, soil degradation and protection
- Knowledge of water balance, principles of integral water management and climatic factors in the field of hydrology

Students develop an understanding of the relevance of these topics in the field of landscape architecture. Temporal and physical scale, research methods, units of measurement, lexicon, modes of representation and critical literature form the framework for the joint discourse.
ContentThe course unit consists of the three courses "Climate", "Soil" and "Water", which are organized in modules.

Module 1 “Climate”, 25.–28.09.2023
- Atmospheric dynamics: weather conditions, precipitation formation, weather forecast
- Carbon Cycle: atmospheric CO2 concentrations and its interaction with the physical climate system
- Land-climate dynamics: interaction between the land surface and the climate system
- Hydrology and water cycle: extreme precipitation, influence of climate change on the cryosphere
- Introduction to geology: formation of rocks, geologic times, structural geology


Module 2 “Soil”, 2.10.–5.10.23
- Introduction to soils: definition, function, formation, classification and mapping
- Soil physics: soil texture, soil structure, soil water potentials, hydraulic conductivity
- Soil chemistry and fertility: clay minerals and oxides, cation exange capacity, soil pH, essential plant nutrients
- Soil biology and ecology: soil fauna and microflora, fungi, bacteria, food web, organic matter
- Soil degradation and threats to soil resources: erosion, compactation, sealing, contamination, salinization


Module 3 “Water”, 09.10.–12.10.2023

Basics:
- Water supply: water balance, groundwater, water quality (water protection)
- River restoration
- Flooding, evapotranspiration/cooling of landscapes
- Hydropower (everything is managed - lake levels, water flows, pumping) - hydrology in the anthropocene
- Water management and storage
Lecture notesCourse material will be provided.
LiteratureThe course material includes a reading list.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe courses "Climate", "Water" and "Soil" are organized with the Fundamental Studio I as joint one-week modules. The weekly schedules will be provided with the course materials.

Module 1 "Climate", 25.–28.09.2023
Module 2 "Soil", 2.10.–5.10.23
Module 3 "Water", 09.10.–12.10.2023

- The courses are held in English
- The written session examination covers all three courses "Climate", "Soil" and "Water".
CompetenciesCompetencies
Subject-specific CompetenciesConcepts and Theoriesassessed
Techniques and Technologiesassessed
Method-specific CompetenciesAnalytical Competenciesassessed
Decision-makingassessed
Media and Digital Technologiesassessed
Social CompetenciesCommunicationassessed
Cooperation and Teamworkassessed
Personal CompetenciesCreative Thinkingassessed
Critical Thinkingassessed
Integrity and Work Ethicsassessed
Self-awareness and Self-reflection assessed
151-8007-00LUrban Physics Information Restricted registration - show details 3 credits3GY. Zhao, D. W. Brunner, A. Rubin, C. Steger, D. A. Strebel, H. Wernli, J. M. Wunderli
AbstractUrban physics: wind, wind comfort, pollutant dispersion, natural ventilation, driving rain, heat islands, climate change and weather conditions, urban acoustics and energy use in the urban context.
Learning objective- Basic knowledge of the global climate and the local microclimate around buildings
- Impact of urban environment on wind, ventilation, rain, pollutants, acoustics and energy, and their relation to comfort, durability, air quality and energy demand
- Application of urban physics concepts in urban design
Content- Climate Change. The Global Picture: global energy balance, global climate models, the IPCC process. Towards regional climate scenarios: role of spatial resolution, overview of approaches, hydrostatic RCMs, cloud-resolving RCMs
- Urban micro climate and comfort: urban heat island effect, wind flow and radiation in the built environment, convective heat transport modelling, heat balance and ventilation of urban spaces - impact of morphology, outdoor wind comfort, outdoor thermal comfort,
- Urban energy and urban design. Energy performance of building quarters and cities, decentralized urban energy production and storage technologies, district heating networks, optimization of energy consumption at district level, effect of the micro climate, urban heat islands, and climate change on the energy performance of buildings and building blocks.
- Wind driving rain (WDR): WDR phenomena, WDR experimental and modeling, wind blocking effect, applications and moisture durability
- Pollutant dispersion. pollutant cycle : emission, transport and deposition, air quality
- Urban acoustics. noise propagation through the urban environment, meteorological effects, urban acoustic modeling, noise reduction measures, urban vegetation
- Practical exercise on climatic data collection and analyze
Lecture notesThe course lectures and material are provided online via Moodle.
Prerequisites / NoticeFor MIBS Master students 151-8011-ooL Building Phyics Theory & Application is a pre-requisit for this course or instructor permission. For others no prior knowledge is required.