DANUBIUS Austria: Advancing River Observatory Networks to Explore Aquatic Ecosystem Dynamics in the Upper Danube

River networks are interconnected systems comprising streams, rivers, floodplains, and groundwater bodies. They are highly sensitive to multiple pressures on global, regional, and local scales. Changes within these systems do not only compromise ecosystem integrity and functionality but also jeopardize critical ecosystem services and water resource availability, with significant societal consequences.

DANUBIUS Austria aims to establish a network of advanced river observatories in the Upper Danube River catchment to generate high-resolution, long-term biogeochemical and biological data. These observatories will enable the analysis of long-term trends and short-term fluctuations in surface water and coupled surface–groundwater systems driven by global change. Mechanistic understanding of how climate change, land-use intensification, and local human activities affect biogeochemical fluxes and aquatic ecosystem processes will be enhanced by this network.

DANUBIUS Austria focuses on two key observational regions: (1) the pre-alpine Ybbs River network to investigate system changes across altitude and land-use gradients, and (2) the Danube main stem and its adjacent floodplains within the Danube Floodplain National Park to examine lateral and vertical exchange processes, matter fluxes, and morphodynamics. Observational sites in these regions will be equipped with advanced instruments for automated, high-frequency monitoring of environmental, morphological, hydrochemical, and biological parameters, including nutrients, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon (POC) and suspended sediment flux, along with optical analyses of dissolved organic matter (DOM) using automated water sampling systems. These sites will be supported by field surveys, experiments, and laboratory analyses, emphasizing changes in organic carbon cycling and microbial responses to stressors. Additionally, data management and dissemination systems, along with protocols for operation, strategies, and data utilization, will be developed and implemented.

The scientific vision of DANUBIUS Austria is to provide innovative and internationally relevant insights into aquatic ecosystems within the pre-alpine Upper Danube catchment. This knowledge will support the sustainable management of river systems and associated water resources. The infrastructure will be integrated into the pan-European “European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures” (ESFRI) research framework DANUBIUS-RI as the “Upper Danube Austria and pre-alpine network of tributaries” supersite.