Altauseer See 3D: A Limnogeological analyses of Lake Altausee

Funded by the Walter Munk Foundation of the Oceans (WMFO), California, USA through cooperation with University of Natural Resources and Life Science (BOKU) Vienna, Austria (2020-2022)

PI: Ass.-Prof. Dr. Erwin Heine (BOKU)

Project leader Univ.Innsbruck: Ass.-Prof. Dr. Jasper Moernaut,

Project team at UIBK: Marcel Ortler (PhD student), Julia Rechenmacher (MSc student)

This project is part of a larger international multidisciplinary research project which investigates the Altausseer See (Salzkammergut, Austria) from a limnogeological, hydrogeological, hydrobiological and microbiological perspective. Moreover, a special focus lies on the characterization of microplastic in the lake. The overall project is led by the Universität für Bodenkultur (BOKU, Vienna), and is funded by the Cheops Privatstiftung and the Walter Munk Foundation for the Oceans. This project part (UIBK, BOKU) consists of a detailed hydro-acoustic characterization and interpretation of the sedimentary infill of the lake, the acquisition of short sediment cores (~1.5 m long) and their limnogeological analysis. This analysis consists of different core scanning techniques (Geotek Multi-sensor core logging, XRF scanning, X-CT scanning) and the processing of its data. Moreover, the sediment cores will be dated via AMS 14C and 210Pb/137Cs and selected intervals will be analyzed for their granulometric and organic matter properties. The aims of this project part is to reconstruct the evolution of the lake system and the occurrence of different geohazards (earthquakes, river floods, debris flows, rockfalls) over the past 1000 years based on the sedimentary infill of the lake.