freshwater
basins
advanced knowledge
about inland waters
My website is about freshwater environments such as lakes,
streams
and rivers,
which I have mainly selected from Europe and Asia. Some of
these freshwaters are popular places for holidaymakers and are hence
most relevant for tourism. Others are important for navigation and
other economic activity. Some depicted freshwaters are just
small ponds and
represent the plentiful small aquatic locations found
in our landscape. A gallery of photos showing views of the
countryside
and a general introduction is given for each lake and river. In addition, a popular science
description highlights the key role of the microscopic
primary producers in the illustrated freshwaters. These microorganisms are algae
and cyanobacteria floating in the water column or living attached to
stones on the shore area. The interaction of these microorganisms with
their environment, the control of their growth by nutrients in view of
eutrophication or restoration, or the effect of climate change are some
issues dealt with on this website. These topics are discussed for the
lakes and rivers but also for artificial water bodies such as designed
wildlife ponds and 'natural' swimming
ponds in gardens. Pictures show
the water coloured by algae and cyanobacteria, as you would find it
visiting a lake or river. Beside these overall views, many of these
microorganisms are also shown microscopically. For some pages, a short
essay is inserted in the text flow. They provide a personal view and
relate to the visit to the waters or to conversations with people met
there. The writing style in these sections is different from the other
paragraphs. They are announced with 'Listening To People', and the
letters are marked in blue colour.
When was the last time you visited your favourite pond or stream? Let’s talk about lakes and rivers! So whether you are a nature lover, gardener, landscape planner or biologist, whatever your perspective on aquatic habitats is, enjoy visiting my website!
content of this website
Preface: Waters are habitats!
Deep Lakes
Ammersee:
The lake is in synchrony
with other lakes.
Attersee:
The reference ecosystem
for the lakes in the Salzkammergut district in Austria.
Hallsteatter
See: A deep salt
mining lake surrounded by prehistoric Hallstatt and Celtic culture.
Mondsee:
The most well-studied deep
alpine lake in the Salzkammergut district.
Traunsee:
The most deep and second
largest lake in Austria has a relative short retention time.
Shallow lakes
Old Danube /
Alte Donau: Restoration
of an oxbow lake.
Dianchi:
The green jade water color.
Grosser
Mueggelsee: The perfect
lake.
Poyang:
Two seasonal scenes of
an ecosystem - the river and the lake.
Taihu: A large, shallow and turbid
lake.
Ponds
Bergknappweiher:
The four seasons.
Biotop
Auersthal: From a
reservoir
for flood control to a hotspot of urban wildlife.
Designed
water retention basins: Natural
swimming ponds and wildlife ponds.
Rivers and streams
Danube:
The river and its main
tributaries connect many European countries.
Shennong Xi:
A mountain tributary
of the Yangtze river.
Yangtze River:
The turbid water
impresses with its yellow-brown color.
Yichang,
Huangbai stream: Traditional
lift net operated on the fisher boat.
Laboratory Views:
From the
water-sampling in the field to the lab.