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(31-01) Remote though not pristine - High mountain lakes in Europe: Indicators of Pollution at Regional and Global Scale. Psenner, Roland*,1, 1 University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria ABSTRACT- Alpine lakes represent the most remote and least disturbed aquatic environments in Europe, yet they are threatened by acid deposition, toxic air pollutants, UV radiation, and climate change. Because of their sensitivity, remote mountain lakes are also excellent sensors of change. They can thus be used to infer speed, direction and magnitude of impacts caused by changing air quality and climate trends. Although lake water, biota and catchment characteristics of the alpine region are similar in all parts of Europe, distribution and importance of environmental impacts differ largely among high mountain lake districts. Natural processes interact with anthropogenic disturbances at different spatial and temporal scales, creating a complex pattern of links, dependencies, antagonisms and feedbacks. This presentation, based on a decade of studies on high mountain lakes funded by the European Commission, aims at elucidating not only the common characteristics but also the major differences of high mountain lakes and their environmental conditions along large longitudinal (80°), latitudinal (40°) and altitudinal (3 km) gradients. Key words: Alpine lakes, mountains, global change |
