Comments on: Diving in Austria: Grüner See

Diving in Austria: Grüner See

filthy light thief — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 09:57:36 -0800

About 800 meters (a half mile) above sea level is Grüner See (Google maps), or Green Lake, fairly centrally located in Austria. Named for the emerald green color of the lake, which is the setting for nice hiking trails, camping and fishing in the fall and early spring when the water is lowest (Google auto-translate, original Austrian site), and a popular cold water diving location in the late spring through summer as snow melts and increases the water depth up to 12 meters (~ 40 ft), submerging trees for a few months, allowing you to swim around park benches, over hiking trails and past fish (Vimeo | more videos).

By: Artw

Artw — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:04:03 -0800

Ooh! I think I've been there! it is indeed lovely.

By: jquinby

jquinby — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:05:09 -0800

Beautiful. I've seen stills of this, but not video. Thanks.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:07:07 -0800

If you click on nothing else in this post, click the video.

By: notsnot

notsnot — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:14:41 -0800

How does that work? The plants, I mean? FLowers? Do they just take oxygen out of the water?

By: kinnakeet

kinnakeet — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:16:15 -0800

Quite near me there are lakes of extraordinary color (scroll down). Though perhaps not as interesting as the Gruner See, they are meromictic, which is pretty cool.

By: moonbiter

moonbiter — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:42:14 -0800

There are many lakes like this in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, including Mondsee, Wolfgangsee, and Attersee. The region is quite nice for all sorts of outdoor activities.

By: PercussivePaul

PercussivePaul — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 11:31:03 -0800

Breathtaking video. Thank you.

By: obiwanwasabi

obiwanwasabi — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:44:02 -0800

I love Austria. I thought the people would be all 'That's not a knife', but they're actually quite normal.

By: Eyebrows McGee

Eyebrows McGee — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 17:01:31 -0800

Do the plants and the flowers stay like that during the whole flood period, or do they waterlog and drown after a few days?

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 20:39:08 -0800

This is just speculation on my behalf and a very brief bit of research, but it looks like plants can grow underwater, if the water is clear and still enough. An extreme example of this is the moss that lives deep in Crater Lake. Given that Grüner See fills up with snow melt, the water level slowly rises and is "crystal clear," which could allow for plants to continue to grow. I'd also guess that because this is a natural occurrence that has happened for thousands of years or more, that the plants that usually get submerged would now be the sort that survive under water for months.