Climate and Environmental Physics (CEP)

Climate and Environmental Physics is a division of the Physics Institute of the University of Bern and affiliated to the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research. Our team of more than 60 is committed to understand the processes of the Earth System on time scales from seasons to a million years. If you like to join our effort, please see our JOB OPENINGS.

We analyse environmental archives such as ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, groundwater and tree rings to reconstruct climate and environmental changes. With our unique palette of physical-biogeochemical climate models we investigate causes of past climate change and simulate the consequences of future man-made climate change. Since 2008 we hold the world record in the reconstruction of atmospheric CO₂ concentrations of the past 800,000 years based on an Antarctic ice core.

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Seminar Series

Research groups at CEP

Our team

Courses offered at CEP

News and Events

Jens Terhaar awarded the Ocean Science Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award

Special symposium: Climate and Environmental Physics: Past Knowledge and Future Directions

This event will explore 30 years of remarkable progress in Climate and Environmental Physics. The symposium will also honor the transformative contributions of Thomas Stocker, Markus Leuenberger and Fortunat Joos, celebrating their immense impact on the field.

Group photo of the participants to the 4th KUP PhD day

4th CEP PhD day

On August 28, CEP held its fourth PhD day, featuring four sessions where 12 PhD students shared the latest developments in their research.

Hubertus Fischer as new head of the division for Climate and Environmental Physics

Starting 01.08.24, Hubertus Fischer will take over as Head of the division for Climate and Environmental Physics from Thomas Stocker, who successfully lead the division for more than 30 years. New deputy head will be Thomas Frölicher.

Thomas Stocker's farewell lecture

In his Fairwell Lecture Thomas Stocker recounted his 31-year journey at the University of Bern and partied with a large crowd of colleagues, friends and family.

Thomas Stocker and Jakob Schwander in Antarctica

The 2023 BBVA Frontier of Knowledge Award in the categrory Climate Change goes to Jakob Schwander and Thomas Stocker, along with three other international reseachers.

Michael Sigl has been awarded the Hans Oeschger Medal 2024 of the EGU for his innovative contributions to ice-core chronologies and work illuminating the impacts of volcanic eruptions on climate and societies.

Climate Change at the European Court of Human Rights

Bernese scientists assess climate risks for older women in Switzerland for the European Court of Human Rights and publish six conclusions.

Uni Bern ranked 29th best University in Environmental Science 2023

In the new research.com ranking the University of Bern has reached rank 29 in the field of Environmental Sciences of all universities worldwide. The division for Climate and Environmental Physics has crucially contributed to this success.

Hubertus Fischer awarded with SNF Advanced Grant

Prof. Hubertus Fischer has received a SNF Advanced Grant within the SNF replacement scheme for the prestigious ERC projects. Within the new BURNice project, his group will reconstruct global biomass burning emissions using ethane in polar ice cores over the last glacial cycle. The 2 MCHF project is already the third Advanced Grant for Prof. Fischer in the last 15 years.

Climate intervention on a high-emissions pathway could delay but not prevent West Antarctic Ice Sheet demise

Bernese researchers have investigated whether it would be possible to prevent the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet by artificially "dimming the sun". The results show that artificial influence does not work without decarbonization and entails high risks.

New professor for Climate and Environmental Physics

Thomas Frölicher has been appointed by the Executive Board of the University of Bern as a full professor of climate and environmental physics as of August 1st, 2024. He succeeds Thomas Stocker, who will retire in summer 2024. Thomas Frölicher is a specialist in ocean and climate modeling, and has been an SNSF assistant professor at the University of Bern since 2017. Read the SNSF profile story here.

PhD Day 2023

After a long delay the Third CEP PhD Day took place on February 13,
2023. All PhD students presented the status of their research. It is an impressive gallery...

Dr. Johannes Sutter was awarded an SNF Starting Grant

Dr. Johannes Sutter was awarded an SNF Starting Grant to investigate the past and future evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. We congratulate Johannes on this outstanding achievement.

Compound marine heatwaves and ocean acidity extremes

Compound extreme events in two or more oceanic ecosystem stressors are increasingly considered as a major concern for marine life. Researchers from Climate and Environmental Physics present a first global analysis on compound marine heatwave and ocean acidity extreme events, identifying hotspots, drivers, and projecting future changes.

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