Michael Lehning Explained

Honorific Prefix:Professor
Michael Lehning
Nationality:German and Swiss
Known For:Snow dynamics and modelling
Wind and solar energy from mountains
Snow deposition and precipitation
Website:https://www.epfl.ch/labs/cryos
Education:University of Bayreuth
University of California, Davis
ETH Zurich
Thesis Title:Transport processes and regional pollutant budgets over topography of varying complexity
Thesis Url:https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-a-001747101
Thesis Year:1996
Doctoral Advisor:Albert Waldvogel
Discipline:Environmental science
Sub Discipline:Atmospheric science
Workplaces:EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
WSL (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research)
Main Interests:Environmental and atmospheric science

Michael Lehning (born 1967) is a German and Swiss environmental and atmospheric scientist. He is a professor of environmental engineering at EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), the head of EPFL's Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, and head of the group Snow Processes at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).[1] [2]

Career

Lehning received a Diploma in geo-ecology from the University of Bayreuth and a Master's degree in atmospheric sciences at University of California, Davis both in 1993.[3] He pursued post-graduate studies in statistics and a PhD in atmospheric physics and graduated in 1996 from ETH Zürich with a thesis on "Transport processes and regional pollutant budgets over topography of varying complexity" supervised by Albert Waldvogel.[4]

In 1997, he became a scientific collaborator at the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) of the WSL located in Davos, Switzerland.[5] In 2001 he became head of the research and development team on Process Models, and from 2006 to 2018 he was head of the research unit on Snow and Permafrost.[6] [7]

Since 2011 he has been a full professor at the EPFL and the head of the Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences at EPFL's School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering. Since 2018 he also been head of the group Snow Processes at SLF. Since 2021, he is co-director of the UNIL-EPFL center for climate action CLIMACT.[8]

Research

Lehning's research is focussed on snow processes and snow atmosphere interactions. This includes advancing the understanding of fluid dynamics of drifting and blowing snow,[9] and generating advanced snow models, which can be used to assess and predict changes in surface mass balance of our snow and ice surfaces. In this context, he coined the term Preferential Deposition[10] to describe the process that leads to uneven precipitation distribution in mountains. This allows for a improved assessment of avalanche danger,[11] estimating the future of snow, hydropower and stream temperatures,[12] [13] [14] and finding management practices in ski areas.[15]

Using the knowledge on wind[16] and radiation[17] processes, Lehning has more recently contributed to investigating the potential of renewable energy installations in mountains[18] to visualise how the Swiss energy turn around could be achieved.[19] [20]

He is the founder of spin-off companies such as APLsolut[21] and SUNWELL.[22]

Distinctions

In 2020, Lehning won the new research programme Swiss Energy Research for the Energy Transition (SWEET) awarded Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) that aims at the de-centralised energy supply in the Swiss energy system. The grant totals a budget of CHF 21 million, involves 15 research and more than 40 implementation partners, and runs over 6 years.[23] In 2001, Lehning received the Award for extraordinary performance in transfer of scientific knowledge to users from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research.

Selected works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CRYOS. 2021-02-22. www.epfl.ch. 26 January 2021 . en-GB.
  2. Web site: 18 new professors at the ETH Zurich and the EPFL ETH-Board. 2021-02-22. www.ethrat.ch.
  3. Lehning. Michael. Shonnard. David R.. Chang. Daniel P.Y.. Bell. Richard L.. October 1994. An Inversion Algorithm for Determining Area-Source Emissions from Downwind Concentration Measurements. Air & Waste. en. 44. 10. 1204–1213. 10.1080/10473289.1994.10467315. 7812684. 1073-161X. free.
  4. Transport processes and regional pollutant budgets over topography of varying complexity. ETH Zurich. 1996. Doctoral Thesis. 10.3929/ethz-a-001747101. en. Michael. Lehning. 20.500.11850/142941 .
  5. Lehning. Michael. Doorschot. Judith. Bartelt. Perry. 2000. A snowdrift index based on SNOWPACK model calculations. Annals of Glaciology. en. 31. 382–386. 10.3189/172756400781819770. 2000AnGla..31..382L. 140172806. 0260-3055. free.
  6. Web site: Prof. Dr. Michael Lehning - Mitarbeitende - SLF. 2021-02-22. www.slf.ch. de-CH.
  7. Web site: Jahresbericht der Eidg. Forschungsanstalt WSL. WSL.
  8. Buluschek. Marie-Christine. 2021-02-16. Development of CLIMACT Center. en.
  9. Comola. F.. Gaume. J.. Kok. J. F.. Lehning. M.. 2019-05-21. Cohesion-Induced Enhancement of Aeolian Saltation. Geophysical Research Letters. 46. 10. 5566–5574. 10.1029/2019gl082195. 2019GeoRL..46.5566C . 155516888 . 0094-8276.
  10. Lehning. M.. Löwe. H.. Ryser. M.. Raderschall. N.. July 2008. Inhomogeneous precipitation distribution and snow transport in steep terrain: SNOW DRIFT AND INHOMOGENEOUS PRECIPITATION. Water Resources Research. en. 44. 7. 10.1029/2007WR006545. 128856304 .
  11. Rütte. F.. Kahl. A.. Rohrer. J.. Lehning. M.. 2021-08-16. How Forward-Scattering Snow and Terrain Change the Alpine Radiation Balance With Application to Solar Panels. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. en. 126. 15. 10.1029/2020JD034333. 2021JGRD..12634333V . 237691527 . 2169-897X. free. 11475/22957. free.
  12. Bavay. Mathias. Lehning. Michael. Jonas. Tobias. Löwe. Henning. 2009-01-01. Simulations of future snow cover and discharge in Alpine headwater catchments. Hydrological Processes. en. 23. 1. 95–108. 10.1002/hyp.7195. 2009HyPr...23...95B . 129486703 .
  13. Marty. Christoph. Schlögl. Sebastian. Bavay. Mathias. Lehning. Michael. 2017-02-16. How much can we save? Impact of different emission scenarios on future snow cover in the Alps. The Cryosphere. en. 11. 1. 517–529. 10.5194/tc-11-517-2017. 2017TCry...11..517M . 1994-0424 . free .
  14. Michel. Adrien. Sharma. Varun. Lehning. Michael. Huwald. Hendrik. May 2021. Climate change scenarios at hourly time-step over Switzerland from an enhanced temporal downscaling approach. International Journal of Climatology. en. 41. 6. 3503–3522. 10.1002/joc.7032. 2021IJCli..41.3503M . 233927677. 0899-8418. free.
  15. Ebner. Pirmin Philipp. Koch. Franziska. Premier. Valentina. Marin. Carlo. Hanzer. Florian. Carmagnola. Carlo Maria. François. Hugues. Günther. Daniel. Monti. Fabiano. Hargoaa. Olivier. Strasser. Ulrich. 2021-08-20. Evaluating a prediction system for snow management. The Cryosphere. en. 15. 8. 3949–3973. 10.5194/tc-15-3949-2021. 2021TCry...15.3949E . 233977845 . 1994-0424 . free .
  16. Gerber. F.. Lehning. M.. Hoch. S. W.. Mott. R.. 2017-08-16. A close-ridge small-scale atmospheric flow field and its influence on snow accumulation: LEESIDE FLOW AND SNOW ACCUMULATION. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. en. 122. 15. 7737–7754. 10.1002/2016JD026258. 59332819 .
  17. Rütte. F.. Kahl. A.. Rohrer. J.. Lehning. M.. 2021-08-16. How Forward-Scattering Snow and Terrain Change the Alpine Radiation Balance With Application to Solar Panels. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. en. 126. 15. 10.1029/2020JD034333. 2021JGRD..12634333V . 237691527 . 2169-897X. free. 11475/22957. free.
  18. Kahl. Annelen. Dujardin. Jérôme. Lehning. Michael. 2019-01-22. The bright side of PV production in snow-covered mountains. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. en. 116. 4. 1162–1167. 10.1073/pnas.1720808116. 0027-8424. 6347694. 30617063. 2019PNAS..116.1162K . free.
  19. Bartlett. Stuart. Dujardin. Jérôme. Kahl. Annelen. Kruyt. Bert. Manso. Pedro. Lehning. Michael. November 2018. Charting the course: A possible route to a fully renewable Swiss power system. Energy. en. 163. 942–955. 10.1016/j.energy.2018.08.018. 115590805 .
  20. Dujardin. Jérôme. Kahl. Annelen. Lehning. Michael. 2021-06-01. Synergistic optimization of renewable energy installations through evolution strategy. Environmental Research Letters. 16. 6. 064016. 10.1088/1748-9326/abfc75. 2021ERL....16f4016D . 235285247. 1748-9326. free.
  21. Web site: ALPsolut.eu. 2021-09-20. www.alpsolut.eu.
  22. Web site: "We need a new solution for winter power". 2021-09-20. www.axpo.com. en-ch.
  23. Web site: The first consortia start the new energy research programme SWEET. 2021-09-23. www.bfe.admin.ch.

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