A Study on the Influence of Sediment in the Phosphorus Cycle in Lake Balaton

One of the principal projects of the Task on Environmental Quality Control and Management in IIASA's Resources and Environment Area is a case study of eutrophication management for Lake Balaton, Hungary. The case study is a collaborative project involving a number of scientists from several Hungarian institutions and IIASA. As part of the case study, different lake ecological models and water quality management models are under development. The sediment and its interaction with the water is of major importance for the development of both types of model, since the sediment, as an internal nutrient source, influences the short-term dynamics of water quality and also the long-term ' changes. Consequently, acceptable knowledge on the behavior of the sediment is required for the calibration and validation of lake ecological models on one hand, and for the estimation of the new equilibrium of the lake and the renewal time following a load reduction on the other hand. This latter point is a major issue from the point of view of water quality management. This report is intended to serve as a background for handling both types of problem