A history of interdisciplinary research on Lake Wigry

Urszula Aleksander-Kwaterczak,Katarzyna Król

doi:10.7494/geol.2021.47.2.109

Urszula Aleksander-Kwaterczak, Katarzyna Król

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.7494/geol.2021.47.2.109

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Abstract

Lake Wigry is one of the best explored lakes in Poland, a feat which has been achieved thanks to the pas-sion and efforts of numerous scientists. This tremendous endeavour was supervised and coordinated by Professor Jacek Rutkowski and January 2021 marked the fifth anniversary of the professor’s death. To mark this occasion, a history of research on the lake was compiled on the basis of oral accounts and an overview of the works that have been created thanks to his ideas, supervision, and boundless empathy. It is crucial to continue the research, since it will allow for the even better protection of the environment, as well as the natural and landscape attributes of the Wigry region.

Highlights

Lake Wigry is located in north-eastern Poland within the Wigry National Park (Fig. 1)
The first studies concerned the lithology of glacial gravel lying on the bottom of the lake (Popielski & Rutkowski 1998, Rutkowski 2001)
It resulted from the professor’s interest in this type of sediment, as he had developed a commonly used method of examining quaternary gravel. He conducted an analysis of the gravel beds at the foot of the cliffs and the segregation of pebbles in the beach environment

Summary

Introduction

Lake Wigry is located in north-eastern Poland within the Wigry National Park (Fig. 1). 73 m) lakes in Poland, with a very diverse shape and bathymetry (Zdanowski 1992). It was formed during the last glaciation and has a mixed, ribbon and melting character (Ber 2009). Lake Wigry was created from a combination of six pools, different in terms of shape, depth and morphology, separated from each other by shallowing and/or narrowing (Rutkowski et al 2009a). The predominant type of sedimentation in this lake is the carbonate variety, which is caused by the high levels of carbonates in the lake’s catchment area. Clastic sedimentation is restricted solely to narrow belts along steep part of lakeshore, and organic in the closed bays of Lake Wigry. The present area is different in relation to the so-called pra-Wigry and it is estimated that it could have been about 30 km

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