Biogeochemistry - Blog Posts

A Paradise Drowning in Trash 

This past semester I got to be part of the ETH transdisciplinary case study, investigating solid waste management on the island of Seychelles. This small island developing state is facing an immense challenge with its trash: almost exclusively relying on landfilling the island is literally filling up. Filling up - in trash. Further, current landfills are absolutely ill-equipped for the amount and types of material deposited; there is currently no capacity for leachate treatment. With various kinds of hazardous materials such as chemical residues, pharmaceutical products, asbestos etc. entering the landfill, the lack of proper lining at Providence I (one of the two main landfills) represents an incredible risk for groundwater contamination.  More info @http://www.tdlab.usys.ethz.ch/teaching/tdcs/former/cs2018.html

The ‘upside-down’ jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.) thrives in near-shore marine habitats. It is commonly found on seagrass beds or in mangrove forests, resting its exumbrella against the sediment - exposing its oral arms to the sunlight. Why this fellow is sunbathing all the time? Its oral arms carry symbiotic zooxanthellae, dinoflagellates (marine algae) of the genus Symbiodinium that assimilate carbon and nitrogen for this gelatinous friend. 

Watercolour on paper - Patella Vulgata (the common limpet)

My best friend analyzed rare earth element patterns in a series of shells - including one from the common limpet - for her bachelor thesis, this is an illustration I made for her presentation :)