Lakes accumulate water and sediments of continental watersheds, produced by erosion and runoff, by natural atmospheric input (eg. pollen produced by the vegetation close to the lakes) and by human activity (eg. industrial emissions). In addition to these inputs, chemical and biological production and physical processes are responsible for the internal transformation and transfers within the water column. The study of lake sediments that record the evolution of the natural environment and human impact, allows a better understanding of the evolution of this environment in the short, medium and long term.

The Swiss Alps are the source of major European rivers that pass through large lake basins, which have formed on the Swiss Plateau by glacial erosion. The study of these lakes, which are important drinking water reservoirs, allows improving the understanding of the evolution of the major climate cycles (glaciations / de-glaciation). Stephanie GIRARDCLOS focuses her research on the comparison of several lakes of the Swiss Plateau during the last millennia (PhD thesis of Katarina KREMER, high resolution reflection seismics, sedimentology). She also develops research on sediment dynamics in the short term, such as events linked to floods and earthquakes (particularly in the Valais catchment of Lake Geneva) since these events, which directly affect the surrounding populations, are also recorded in the lacustrine sedimentary archives.

At a larger scale, climate change in the southern hemisphere, compared to the northern Earth hemisphere, from the end of the last ice age to modern times, and the relation with the development of populations in South and Central America are studied in the palaeolimnological projects conducted by Daniel ARIZTEGUI and his collaborators (Department of Geology and Palaeontology; sedimentology, geochemistry, etc.) in collaboration with the Institute Forel.

The understanding of the history of human settlements can be enriched by the study of lake sediments, as human activities have left their footprints in lake sediments from the initial deforestation of the landscape during the Neolithic to metallurgical (pre-) industrial activities. The study of trace metals and combustion products (coal and black carbon) combined with that of other indicators to reconstruct the natural environmental variations, is central to the projects carried out by Florian THEVENON (sedimentary geochemistry). His research focuses on isolated alpine lakes (not altered by man and traps for aerosols from distant sources) and major lakes on the Swiss Plateau. This will allow to better understand the dynamics of these lakes in the long term, to determine the impact of human activities on the geochemical cycles and the effects of remediation strategies on aquatic ecosystems contaminated by local pollution sources.

The natural lake environments and hydroelectric reservoirs with strong contamination are in the focus of research by Jean-Luc LOIZEAU (limnology, geochemistry and isotope geochemistry), John POTE (microbiology, molecular biology, environmental chemistry) and Walter WILDI (environmental geology, physical limnology). This research concerns the lake current patterns and mechanisms for remobilization and transfer of sediments and substances (doctoral theses in progress: Anh Dao LE THI, Elena GASCON DIEZ, Neil GRAHAM), the interaction between sediments and microfauna, the sedimentary and geochemical balances and changes in the contribution from major sources (sewage treatment, rivers).

The numerous teaching activities in the Bachelor of earth and environmental sciences, the Master in geology (ELSTE) and the Master in environmental sciences are listed by author or subject in the catalogue of the University of Geneva, for services and scientific equipment see the specific website pages.