REFCOND-VOLGA: a monitoring programme for water quality in the headwaters of the Volga River (Tver region, Russia)

Abstract

Within the research expedition “Upper Volga 2005” an assessment of hydrological, limnochemical and biological parameters was carried out in the Volga River upstream of Tver, including the main channel as well as major tributaries. This assessment revealed that the headwaters of the Volga River represent conditions which are either reference or least disturbed and stipulated the establishment of the monitoring programme “REFCOND_VOLGA”, which is in operation since 2006 and includes stretches along the Volga River (Rzhev, Staritsa, Tver) as well as along the tributary Tudovka.This paper summarizes the “first 10 years” of this joint Russia-Austrian research project, focusing on a sound description of the research area and providing a complementary view on the available data as well as a view ahead.