Transfers & Transformations (mass budgets)

This research component focuses on carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) transfers and transformations across high-altitude catchments, from glacier-fed environments to lakes. In these climate-sensitive systems, glacier retreat, hydrological variability, and soil dynamics strongly influence nutrient and organic carbon fluxes to downstream aquatic ecosystems. The research investigates the interactions between hydrology, biogeochemistry, and land use across the atmosphere–glacier–soil–surface water–lake continuum.

Combining long-term monitoring, in situ and laboratory experiments, isotopic approaches, and spatially explicit modelling, this theme aims to quantify how climate change and anthropogenic pressures alter biogeochemical cycles and lake functioning in mountain environments. Key research questions include the consequences of glacier loss on lake hydrology and ecology, the identification of nutrient sources driving biological changes in oligotrophic lakes, and the fate of soil organic carbon under warming scenarios.

Specific research activities include assessing the impacts of glacier disappearance on lake thermal and biogeochemical dynamics, tracing nitrogen and phosphorus sources using stable isotopes, and quantifying climate-driven changes in carbon, nutrient, and greenhouse gas fluxes from mountain soils to aquatic systems. Experimental warming, snow manipulation, and soil incubation approaches will provide insights into ecosystem vulnerability and improve predictions of future changes in mountain lake ecosystems.