Research profile

I am a geologist with a particular interest in topics combining sedimentological and hydrological processes, and this in the view of ongoing climate change and human impact on natural systems.

My most recent project addresses the role of lacustrine pockmarks for the hydrological cycle via sublacustrine groundwater discharge as well as for biogeochemical cycles.

In addition, I have been working on alpine flood and hydro-climatic reconstructions for the Younger Dryas and Holocene periods using lake sediment records and on the impact of river deviations on lake systems. Also, I am interested in the properties and architecture of Quaternary deposits and sedimentary rocks in the view of groundwater resources. 

 

My fields of expertise: sedimentology, (bio-)geochemistry, limnogeology, ice ages and related landforms and deposits (Quaternary), paleo-climatic reconstructions, hydrogeology, geology of the Alps and the alpine foreland

My approaches: sedimentological, (bio-)geochemical, hydrochemical, geophysical techniques. Field and laboratory work is essential. 

 

Research interests :

  • Functioning and importance of lacustrine pockmarks: subaquatic groundwater discharge into lakes, variations of fluid-flow activity through time (Lake Neuchatel, Lake Thun, Lake Biel)
  • Geological characterization of Swiss catchments for assessing their capability to sustain stream flow during low-flow conditions due to groundwater contribution (Swiss alpine foreland)
  • Impact of river deviations on the sedimentary system and the hydrology of lakes (Lake Thun, Lake Biel)
  • Deep and shallow groundwater levels (aquifers) in Quaternary valley fillings
  • Development of high-alpine environments with glacier melting
  • Present and Holocene hydro-climate: floods, forcing, and atmospheric circulation (Alps) 
  • Varved lake sediments as high-resolution archives for annual and seasonal changes
  • And as a tool for approaching many questions: core sedimentology and geochemistry for tracking sedimentary, climatic and environmental changes.

 

Brief CV

Project Manager at GEOTEST AG (10/2020-)

Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Hydrogeology and Geothermics, University of Neuchâtel (10/2014–09/2020)

Postdoctoral fellow in Geobiology, Caltech, USA (09/2013–01/2015)

Postdoctoral fellow at the Geological Institute, ETH Zurich (03/2013–08/2013)

PhD candidate in Climate Geology, ETH Zurich (12/2008–02/2013)

MSc in Geology and Geochemistry, ETH Zurich (2008)

BSc in Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich (2006) 

 

 

 

 

 

I am a board member of CH-QUAT, the Swiss Society for Quaternary Research.

Key publications

  • Lacustrine Groundwater Discharge Through Giant Pockmarks (Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland).
    Wirth S.B., Bouffard D., & Zopfi J.

    (2020) Frontiers in Water 2:13.
    https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2020.00013/full

  • Geology controls streamflow dynamics.
    Carlier C., Wirth S.B., Cochand F., Hunkeler D. & Brunner P.

    (2018) Journal of Hydrology 566, 756-769.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydrol.2018.08.069

  • Lake-sediment based paleoseismology: limitations and perspectives from the Swiss Alps.
    Kremer K., Wirth S.B., Reusch A., Fäh D., Bellwald B., Anselmetti F.S., Girardclos S. & Strasser M.
    (2017) Quaternary Science Reviews 168, 1-18. 
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.04.026

  • Plant-wax D/H ratios inthe southern European Alps record multiple aspects of climate variability.
    Wirth S.B. & Sessions A.L.

    (2016) Quaternary Science Reviews 148, 176-191.

 

  • Combining sedimentological, trace metal (Mn, Mo) and molecular evidence for reconstructing past water-column redox conditions: The example of meromictic Lake Cadagno (Swiss Alps).
    Wirth S.B.
    , Gilli A., Niemann H., Dahl T.W., Ravasi D., Sax N., Hamann Y., Peduzzi R., Peduzzi S., Tonolla M., Lehmann M.F. & Anselmetti F.S.

    (2013) Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 120, 220-238.

 

  • A 2000-year long seasonal record of floods in the southern European Alps.
    Wirth S.B.
    , Gilli A., Simonneau A., Ariztegui D., Vannière B., Glur L., Chapron E., Magny M. & Anselmetti F.S.

    (2013) Geophysical Research Letters 40, 4025–4029, DOI: 10.1002/grl.50741.

 

  • Holocene flood frequency across the Central Alps - Solar forcing and evidence for variations in North Atlantic atmospheric circulation.
    Wirth S.B.
    , Glur L., Gilli A. & Anselmetti F.S.

    (2013) Quaternary Science Reviews 80, 112-128.

 

Full publication list.