Prof. Walter Munk spent his youth in Altaussee and became one of the most important marine researchers in the USA. With his discoveries he not only changed the world, but also the course of history. For example, he calculated the date for the landing of the Allied troops in Normandy in World War II.
In the course of his research, he not only received numerous awards, but also the unofficial title: “Einstein of the Oceans”. As a great researcher, he returned to his beloved homeland at the age of 100 to launch a final project close to his heart - the comprehensive research of Lake Altaussee. This is how numerous young and renowned researchers have been coming to Altaussee since 2019 to make the lake the most researched lake in Europe.
On the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein side, three students (Erich Deu, Matthias Hainzl and Manuel Schrempf) took part in intensive research collaboration with numerous renowned international universities and research institutions. Around 400 samples were taken and analyzed from the lake and the surrounding area at different times of the year - including from an uninhabited cave in the Dead Mountains. It was examined how much and from where the microplastics come into the lake and subsequently whether microplastics also accumulate in organisms and are thus passed on to top predators. The results of the diploma thesis, written in English and awarded the ÖKOLOG AWARD 2022, are new and quite alarming.
After successfully completing their high school diploma, the three young researchers and their thesis supervisor Dr. Helmut Kalss even flew to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in , one of the most important research centers for marine research in the world, to write a publication in the USA together with renowned scientists and to further advance current research. The new generation of third-year students is already in the starting blocks and will be involved in the interdisciplinary research project at Lake Altaussee in the summer.
Authors: Erich Deu, Matthias Hainzl and Manuel Schrempf
