Objective Because of their sensitivity remote mountain lakes are not only vulnerable to environmental change they are also excellent sensors of change, and their high quality sediment records can be used to infer the speed, direction and biological impact of changing air quality and climate. This proposal builds on the success of the EU funded AL:PE projects (Acidification of Remote Mountain Lakes: Palaeolimnology and Ecology; Remote Mountain Lakes as Indicators of Air Pollution and Climate Change), which represented the first comprehensive study of remote mountain lakes at a European level and assessed the status of remote mountain lakes throughout Europe on the basis of sediment core records and chemical and biological surveys. MOLAR focuses on detailed studies of a smaller number of key sites located across the climate and deposition gradients of Europe, from the arctic to the Mediterranean and from Scotland to the High Tatra Mountains, to provide high resolution data on their temporal dynamics that can then be used to develop and calibrate predictive models. The project has four overall objectives, each corresponding to a major work package described in the proposal: - to measure and model the dynamic responses of remote mountain lake ecosystemsto acid (sulphur plus nitrogen) deposition; - to quantify and model pollutant (trace metals, trace organics) fluxes andpathways in remote mountain lakes and their uptake by fish; - to measure and model the temporal responses of remote mountain lake ecosystemto climate variability on seasonal, inter-annual and decadal time-scales. - to continue the development of a high quality environmental database onremote mountain lake ecosystems in Europe and to disseminate results widelyto enhance public awareness, environmental education and environmentaldecision making. The main deliverable generated by this project will be the development of predictive models for acidity, pollutant flux and climate variability that can be used in scenario assessment studies, especially those scenarios associated with present and forthcoming UNECE protocols and General Circulation Model (GCM) predictions for Europe. In the future these models may be linked to evaluate the interaction between acidity, trace pollutants and climate. In addition to model development, much of the field and laboratory work proposed is innovative for studies of such remote sites, especially: the focus on the seasonal dynamics of the lake systems; the emphasis on nitrogen deposition and its biological impact; the study of microbial food webs in relation to acidity; the on-site collection and measurement of atmospheric pollutants; the use of radio-tracers to validate pollutant transport models; the study of trace metal (especially mercury) and trace organic uptake by fish; the on-site monitoring of climatic conditions and their relationship to water column behaviour; the development of a methodology to infer climate trends from the high resolution analysis of recent sediments. MOLAR conforms closely to the aims of both Section 1.2.2.1 (functioning of ecosystems) of the Environment and Climate Work Programme and the thematic network TERI. The proposal is submitted by a pan-European consortium and presents the scientific background and rationale to each work package and describes the field, analytical and integrative tasks involved. It also details the work schedule and resources required to undertake the work. Remote mountain lakes; modelling; atmospheric deposition; pollutant flux; climate variability ecosystem response; limnology; ecology; palaeoecology. Fields of science natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metalsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencespalaeontologypaleoecologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologylimnologynatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes Programme(s) FP4-ENV 2C - Specific programme of research and technological development in the field of environment and climate, 1994-1998 Topic(s) 01020201 - The functioning of ecosystems Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme CSC - Cost-sharing contracts Coordinator UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON EU contribution No data Address Bedford Way 26 SE1 9RT LONDON United Kingdom See on map Total cost No data Participants (21) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Austria EU contribution No data Address 116,Mondseestrasse 9 5310 MONDSEE See on map Total cost No data CHARLES UNIVERSITY PRAGUE Czechia EU contribution No data Address 7,Vinicna 7 128 44 PRAHA 2 See on map Total cost No data CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS Spain EU contribution No data Address 18-26,Jordi Girona 18-26 08034 BARCELONA See on map Total cost No data Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) France EU contribution No data Address Place du Docteur Peyneau 33120 Arcachon See on map Total cost No data HYDROBIOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Czechia EU contribution No data Address 7,Na Sadkach 7 370 05 CESKE BUDEJOVICE See on map Total cost No data INSTITUTE OF FRESHWATER BIOLOGY - POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Poland EU contribution No data Address 17,Slawkowska 17 Karol Starmach 31 016 KRAKOW See on map Total cost No data INSTITUTE OF THE NORTH INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY PROBLEMS Russia EU contribution No data Address 14,Fersman Street 14 Murmansk Region 184200 APATITY See on map Total cost No data INSTITUTE OF ZOOLOGY - SLOVAK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Slovakia EU contribution No data Address 9,Drienova Cesta 9 842 06 BRATISLAVA See on map Total cost No data LEOPOLD-FRANZENS-UNIVERSITAET INNSBRUCK Austria EU contribution No data Address 25,Technikerstrasse 25 6020 INNSBRUCK See on map Total cost No data NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGY Slovenia EU contribution No data Address 111,Vecna Pot 111 1001 LJUBLJANA See on map Total cost No data NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF ITALY Italy EU contribution No data Address Largo Vittorio Tonolli 50-52 28922 VERBANIA See on map Total cost No data NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE FOR WATER RESEARCH Norway EU contribution No data Address 19,Brekkeveien 19 0411 Oslo See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data SWISS FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Switzerland EU contribution No data Address 133,Überlandstrasse 133 8600 DUEBENDORF See on map Total cost No data THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL United Kingdom EU contribution No data Address Abercromby Square L69 3BX LIVERPOOL See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA Spain EU contribution No data Address Edificio Fay Luis de Granda, C/ Ramón y Cajal 4 18071 GRANADA See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA Spain EU contribution No data Address 645,Avinguda Diagonal 645 08028 BARCELONA See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN Norway EU contribution No data Address 41,Allegt. 41 Realfagbygget 5007 BERGEN See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN Norway EU contribution No data Address Allegaten 41 5007 BERGEN See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH United Kingdom EU contribution No data Address West Mains Road Kings Buildings EH9 3JW EDINBURGH See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI Finland EU contribution No data Address 20 A,Siltavuorenpenger 20 A 00014 HELSINKI See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH Switzerland EU contribution No data Address 107,Zollikerstrasse 107 8008 ZURICH See on map Total cost No data