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ATTERSEE

A bird-eye view of the lake

Photo: L. Beckel

A. LOCATION

• Upper Austria, Austria.
• 47:52N, 13:32E; 469.2 m above sea level.

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B. DESCRIPTION

With a length of 19.5 km and a maximum width of 3.3 km Attersee is the largest lake within the Austrian borders. According to its glacial origin, most of the western and northern part of the lake is characterized by moraine material. The eastern and southern area consists of flysch and limestone respectively. Situated in the prealpine region of Upper Austria, the lake and its immediate area is primarily used for agriculture and touristic recreation. Attersee is the last link in a chain of lakes within the catchment area. Fifty-five percent of the surface inflow of the lake comes from Mondsee, via a 2 km-long river. This tributary contributes up to 60% of the total annual phosphorus load to Attersee. However, the lake is still to be classified as oligotrophic. The construction of a system of sewers collecting domestic sewage was finished in 1980. This measure was taken in order to prevent eutrophication due to continuously increasing tourist activities.

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C. PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS (Q)

Surface area [km2]	46
Volume [km3]	3.945
Maximum depth [m]	170.6
Mean depth [m]	84.2
Length of shoreline [km]	ca. 50
Residence time [yr]	7
Catchment area [km2]	464

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D. PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES

D1 GEOGRAPHICAL (Q)

• Number of outflowing rivers and channels (name): 1 (Ager R.).

D2 CLIMATIC (Q)

• Climatic data at Weyregg, 1976

Mean temp. [deg C]

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Ann.
1.6	-0.3	1.1	7.9	12.4	16.4	18.3	14.4	11.8	8.9	4.2	-2.1	7.9
Precipitation [mm]
150	3.4	14	55.8	157.1	75.4	192.7	189.6	91.6	44.2	86.7	50.6	1111.2

• Number of hours of bright sunshine: 1,651 hr yr^-1.
• Solar radiation: 242.3 MJ m^-2 day^-1.
• Water temperature [deg C]

Lake centre

Depth [m]	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
0*	3.4	4	-	4.6	12.3	18.8	22.8	18.3	14.4	-	9.3	-
10	3.7	3.9	-	4.2	6.1	11.6	20.2	17.9	14.4	-	9.3	-
20	3.9	4.0	-	4.1	5.8	6.0	6.8	6.5	7.5	-	6.5	-
30	3.9	4.0	-	4.1	4.7	4.4	4.7	4.5	4.7	-	4.6	-
40	3.9	4.0	-	4.0	4.3	4.2	4.4	4.2	4.3	-	4.3	-

* Surface.

• Freezing period: Rare.
• Mixing type: Dimictic.

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E. LAKE WATER QUALITY (Q)

E1 TRANSPARENCY [m]

Weyregg, 1975-1978

Depth [m]	Min	Max	Ann.
	5	15	8-9

E2 pH

Lake centre, 1979

Depth [m]	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
0	8	7.92	8.05	8.07	8.1	8.2	8.2	8.05	7.95	7.8	8.0	7.55
50	-	-	7.65	7.95	7.85	7.8	7.75	7.7	7.6	7.5	7.65	-
100	7.75	7.7	7.95	7.85	7.8	-	7.75	7.6	7.6	7.4	7.65	7.45

1975-1978: Epilimnion maximum 8.5 and hypolimnion 7.8-8.1.

E4 DO [mg l^-1]

Lake centre, 1975

Depth [m]	Jan-Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul-Aug	Sep-Oct	Nov	Dec
0	11-11.5	12	12	12.5	11.5	11-11.5	9-10	10-11 *	* 11-11.5.
Depth [m]	Jan-Feb	Mar-Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep-Oct	Nov-Dec
20	10-11	11.5-12	12	11	-	11.5	10-10.5	10-11
Depth [m]	Jan-Feb	Mar-Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep-Oct	Nov-Dec
50	9-10	11.5-12	12.2	11	-	11.5	10-10.5	9-10
Depth [m]	Jan-Feb	Mar-Apr	May-Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov-Dec
100	9-10	11-11.5	11-12	11	10.5	-	10	9-10

E6 CHLOROPHYLL CONCENTRATION [mg m^-2]

Unterach, 1975

Depth [m]	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
*	23.5	21.5	22	22.4	40.8	50.9	40.7	30.9	40	49.9	56.8	72.6

* Integrated, photic zone.

E7 NITROGEN CONCENTRATION

• NO₃-N [mg l^-1]

Lake centre, 1979

Depth [m]	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
0	0.360	0.402	0.292	0.460	0.427	0.346	0.416	0.428	0.256	0.398	0.379	0.539
50	-	-	0.270	0.535	0.525	0.562	0.484	0.530	0.487	0.538	0.572	-
100	0.344	0.422	0.223	0.524	0.534	-	0.528	0.537	0.520	0.520	0.535	0.741

E8 PHOSPHORUS CONCENTRATION

• Total-P, [micro g l^-1] Lake centre, 1979

Depth [m]	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
0	5.6	5.3	5.7	3.5	7.5	10.0	11.0	6.5	4.5	-	7.5	6.5
50	-	-	4.8	6.0	12.0	6.0	7.5	6.0	3.5	6.5	4.5	-
100	4.9	4.6	6.6	7.0	8.5	-	7.5	5.5	5.5	4.5	4.0	6.5

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F. BIOLOGICAL FEATURES (Q)

F1 FLORA

• Emerged macrophytes:
  Scirpus lacustris.
• Submerged macrophytes
  Chara sp., Potamogeton trichoides, P. perfoliatus, Myriophyllum spicatum, Elodea sp.
• Phytoplankton
  Cyanophyceae (Aphanotheca sp., Oscillatoria rubescens); Chrysophyceae (Dinobryon bavaricum, D. sociale, D. divergens); Diatom (Tabellaria fenestrata, Asterionella formosa, Fragilaria crotonensis, Cyclotella commensis, C. badanica); Chlorophyceae (Geminella minor); Cryptophyceae (Rhodomonas minuta).

F2 FAUNA

• Zooplankton
  Daphnia cucullata, D. hyalina, Eubosmina longirostris, Bythirephes longimanus, Cyclops abyssorum, Mesocyclops leucartii, Mixodiaptomus laciniatus.
• Benthos
  Ostracoda (Cytherissa lacustris, Limnocythere sanctipatricii); Turbellaria (Otemesostoma auditivum); Annelida (Limnodrilus sp., Peloscolex velutinus, Potamothrix hammoniensis, Rhynchelmis limosella).
• Fish
  Salvelinus alpinus*, Coregonus spp.*, Esox lucius.
  * Economically important.

F3 PRIMARY PRODUCTION RATE [C mg m^-2 hr^-1]

Unterach, 1975

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Net production	18.6-60.0	18.6	28.4	27.6	37.3	-	38.2	44.6	55.1	60.5	-	42.7

F4 BIOMASS

:No information.

F5 FISHERY PRODUCTS

:No information.

F6 PAST TRENDS

:No information.

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G. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS (Q)

G1 LAND USE IN THE CATCHMENT AREA

	Area [km2]	[%]
- Natural landscape
Woody vegetation	1,113.9	44.0
Lake & running water	488.6	19.3
Others	192.4	7.6
- Agricultural land
Crop field	192.4	7.6
Pasture land	415.2	16.4
- Residential area	78.5	3.1
- Others	50.6	2.0
- Total	2,531.6	100.0

• Levels of fertilizer application on crop fields Heavy (P₂O₅ 71.3 kg ha^-1 yr^-1)

G2 INDUSTRIES IN THE CATCHMENT AREA AND THE LAKE

No information.

G3 POPULATION IN THE CATCHMENT AREA

1970

	Population	Population density [km-2]	Major cities (population)
Rural	13,479	73.7	None
Total	13,479	73.7	(several villages)

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H. LAKE UTILIZATION (Q)

H1 LAKE UTILIZATION

• Sightseeing and tourism (no. of visitors in 1970: 727,328), recreation (swimming, sport-fishing, yachting).

H2 THE LAKE AS WATER RESOURCE

:No information.

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I. DETERIORATION OF LAKE ENVIRONMENTS AND HAZARDS (Q)

I1 ENHANCED SILTATION

• Extent of damage:
  None.

I2 TOXIC CONTAMINATION

• Present status: None.

I3 EUTROPHICATION

• Nuisance caused by eutrophication: None.
• Nitrogen and phosphorus loadings to the lake [kg yr^-1] 1978-1979

Sources		Total
T-P	1978	11,075
	1979	13,780

• Supplementary notes 55% of phosphorus load by river Mondsee Ache, unknown seepage from tourism and agriculture.

I4 ACIDIFICATION

• Extent of damage: No information.

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J. WASTEWATER TREATMENTS (Q)

J1 GENERATION OF POLLUTANTS IN THE CATCHMENT AREA

b) No sources of significant pollution.

J2 APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF NUTRIENT LOADS

	[%]
- Non-point sources	40-45
- Point sources
Tributary Mondsee Ache	55-60
- Total	100

J3 SANITARY FACILITIES AND SEWERAGE

• Percentage of municipal population in the catchment area provided with adequate sanitary facilities (on-site treatment systems) or public sewerage: 99%.
• Percentage of rural population with adequate sanitary facilities (on-site treatment systems): 99%.
• Municipal wastewater treatment systems: Ring channel.

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K. IMPROVEMENT WORKS IN THE LAKE (Q)

K1 RESTORATION

• Since 1976, sewage treatment plant (ring channel) discharging into outlet.

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L. DEVELOPMENT PLANS

No information.

N. SOURCES OF DATA

Questionnaire filled by Prof. H. Loffler, Zoologisches Institut, Universitat Wien, Austria.

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