Lake Altaussee - Hydrobiology, topography and stratigraphy of the lake bed

The objectives for this expedition are focusing on a better scientific understanding of Lake Altaussee, Austria through its cultural, geological, and ecological significance. The priority was to obtain a multi-beam sonar map of Lake Altaussee and a sub-bottom profiling of the lake bed. Biologists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, California, and from the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute (France) collected samples from all water-entry points and from the lake surface area. At the deepest part of the lake (74.2 m), a Deep Trekker remotely operated vehicle (ROV) provided an important view of a geological occurrence: images of colored sediment and rock suggested the presence of iron ore. The Team also collected water, sediment, snow and air samples destined to be tested for microfibers, with the goal being to understand the dynamics of these fibers and eventually, by collecting and analyzing two juvenile fish and a dozen copepods, determine if they enter the local food web.