Technical Visits
The technical visits will take place on Friday, 31 May 2024. Below, you will find information on the different options available.
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (University of Berne)
Meeting point:
Time: 08:05 Departure from railway station “Interlaken West”
Duration of visit: 4h (incl. lunch)
Logistical note:
For participants planning to travel home that evening, Bern is in the direction of Zürich airport. If you want to bring your luggage, you can deposit your bag at the OCCR.
The OCCR is a strategic research centre of the University of Bern and a renowned leading institution for climate and climate impact research. The OCCR brings together ca. 250 researchers from fourteen Departments of five Faculties. The OCCR carries out interdisciplinary research that is at the forefront of climate science. The focus lies on fundamental and applied climate change research and related impacts on ecosystems, ecosystem services, economies and societies. Besides world-leading research, the OCCR also contributes to the science-policy dialogue, policy advice, education at all levels and outreach, and engages in Public Private Partnerships (e. g. with the insurance sector). Researchers of the OCCR assume sustained leadership in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and in Global Research Networks under Future Earth.
The program foresees a 3-hour visit at the OCCR with an introduction by the Director at the beginning, followed by a visit to different laboratories and a small lunch at the end:
Group A:
Polar ice core facility at Climate and Environmental Physics - Projects in Greenland and Antarctica
Group B:
Mobiliar Lab for Natural Risks - An example of a Public Private Partnership (University and Insurance)
Group C:
Climate research for climate litigation - The role of interdisciplinary climate science in climate litigation: the case of “Senior Women for Climate Protection in Switzerland (European Court of Human Rights)”
Living Lab of the Wyss Academy for Nature (Bernese Highlands)
Meeting point:
Time:
Duration of visit:
Description of visit:
Research Station on the Jungfraujoch (elevation of 3,463 metres above sea level)
Meeting point: tbd
Time: 08:05 Departure from railway station “Interlaken Ost”
Duration of visit: 9h (incl. travel and lunch)
Description of visit:
The Sphinx Observatory is an astronomical observatory located above the Jungfraujoch. It is named after the Sphinx, a rocky summit on which it is located. At 3,571 m (11,716 ft) above mean sea level, it is one of the highest observatories in the world. Accessible to the public, it is also the second highest observation deck in Switzerland. The mountain top has been tunneled to fit an elevator which ascends to the observatory from the Jungfraujoch railway station, the highest such train station in Europe.
The observatory plays an important role in a range of long-term experiments; it serves as a solar spectrometer for the Institute of Astrophysics and Geophysics at the University of Liège, Belgium, and plays a key role in a LIDAR experiment conducted by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. In 1949, nuclear emulsion plates exposed to cosmic rays in the observatory provided first precise evidence for the existence of the charged K-meson
The program foresees a max. 3-hour visit to the Research Station and to the Sphinx-Observatory. The visit is followed by a light lunch at the Jungfraujoch Restaurant and free time for individual touristic tours.
Note: For participation in this visit appropriate gear (winter jacket and shoes with a good profile) are necessary. Due to the high altitude, this visit can be strenuous for the cardiovascular system (especially in combination with a flight shortly after). The SNSF decline all responsibility in the event of discomfort during the excursion.