Special EESS seminar talk on "Arctic and Antarctica in Rapid Transition: The ART of not running behind"

Arguably one of the biggest challenges humanity has ever faced is the urgency to deal with global climate change. In this rapidly evolving context, the polar regions play central role. Polar regions are transforming at accelerated rates due to climate change with global repercussions resulting in enormous financial, demographic, biodiversity and political consequences. While some of the feedback processes are well understood and quantified, open questions and uncertainties remain specifically around the radiative forcing of aerosols and clouds. Aerosol and aerosol-cloud processes are the single largest contributors to the uncertainty in quantifying anthropogenic radiative forcing. These uncertainties inhibit us to reliably simulate and thereby anticipate how sensitive regions will evolve in the future, and what this means for humanity. I will present our latest results on aerosol properties and aerosol-cloud interactions at both poles, and discuss which critical gaps need to be tackled in the future.

Julia Schmale is an atmospheric scientist specializing in aerosol processes in polar environments. At EPFL and as the head of the Extreme Environments Research Laboratory (EERL), launched in 2019, she has established a recognized research group that investigates climate-relevant interactions between atmospheric aerosols, the cryosphere, ocean, land, biosphere and the anthroposphere. In addition, her group develops new aerosol analyses methods and versatile payloads for atmospheric vertical observations. Her scientific leadership is widely visible with over 100 peer-reviewed publications. She plays a key role in international scientific initiatives, such as the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, the International Arctic Science Committee, and the Tara Polar Station as well as Antarctica InSync missions. Beyond research, Julia is dedicated to scientific outreach and education. She developed EPFL’s first master-level course on climate change, which has gained attention including from private companies and other universities across Switzerland and internationally. She has been recognized for excellence in teaching with awards and contributes to public discourse on climate change through media engagements, public talks, and advisory roles.