Research

The European-wide important mussel population of Unio crassus in the Amstettner Mühlbach is being analysed using the e-DNA method from water samples. The orientation of the project is both fundamentally orientated and also includes approaches to solutions for applied questions. Module 1 (Optimisation of the documentation of FFH species in a larger spatial context) tests and evaluates e-DNA samples for their usability in the context of nature conservation issues such as the occurrence of protected species, e.g. in acute water interventions such as flood protection structures, etc., as well as an essential tool for field mapping of protected organisms. Module 2 - Impact of mussel populations on aquatic ecology issues such as purification performance and effects on the nutrient content of watercourses is intended to deepen basic knowledge of ecosystem services in the context of nature-based solutions and is anchored more in basic research.

The war in Ukraine has shown that nuclear power plants, which are essential for a country's energy infrastructure, can be the target of military attacks. This is despite international agreements designed to prevent attacks on particularly dangerous industrial plants. Although nuclear power plants are designed to withstand external impacts (earthquakes, floods, plane crashes, etc.), acts of war at the reactor site and shelling of buildings on the power plant site, as well as the deliberate destruction of the grid connection, are neither part of the design nor part of the safety analysis of a nuclear power plant. However, Russia's attack on Ukraine has shown that precisely such effects on a nuclear power plant are possible in a military conflict. However, as the effects of war were neither taken into account in the design nor examined in safety and risk analyses, a high level of vulnerability and susceptibility to failure is probable or at least possible. This applies even if neither of the warring parties has the direct intention of destroying the reactor. This project will therefore investigate the consequences of a military impact on a Westinghouse AP-1000 reactor as an example. Reactors of this type of power plant are currently planned in Poland. At the same time, however, Poland is often mentioned in the Russian mass media as a hostile country and a possible further target. Slovenia is also considering the construction of a new NPP, whereby an AP-1000 from Westinghouse is also not ruled out. On the one hand, it will be investigated how hits from weapon systems typically used by Russian combat units affect the containment of the AP-1000. The passive safety concept of the AP-1000 relies on large volumes of water as a heat sink. In order to require only gravitational forces for cooling, these water tanks are located on the roof of the containment. The first step is therefore to investigate what damage could be expected in plausible or extreme scenarios. For this analysis, cooperation with the NBC Defense Center of the Austrian Armed Forces is planned. In addition, it is assumed that there is a complete power failure in the facility (station blackout) as a result of the fighting, as one of the warring parties has damaged the external power supply and the emergency power supply has also been severely damaged. This is highly likely to lead to an accident with core damage and the release of radionuclides into the environment. It is therefore necessary to simulate not only the reactor's thermal-hydraulic system, but also the reactor containment.

The Gail river suffers from bed degradation. In addition, the morphological quality is low, which also has a negative impact on the ecological status of the river. The water authorithy of Carinthia intends to widen the Gail river in several sections in order to improve both the bed stability and the morphology and thus also the ecology. The widening should be predominantly self-dynamic and only supported by initial measures where absolutely necessary. Furthermore, the development ov the river bed should only be limited with bank protection measures where the natural dynamics would exceed the available areas. As there is still little general knowledge about the processes of self-dynamic river widenings and the associated possibilities but also risks, it is planned to investigate the planned widening in the Würmlach area over a distance of approx. 900 m in a physwical model test. The Würmlach widening begins with an outer bend, which can be expected to have good inherent dynamics, but it is also questionable whether the inherent dynamics will remain limited and whether there is a risk of the river shifting beyond the available areas. The following research questions will be addressed 1. what is the course of the river's own dynamic development after removal of the bank protections, assuming average hydrology (widening of the river, development of the bed heights and the morphological shape, also with regard to the aquatic ecology)? 2. are additional initial measures required to promote self-dynamic widening? If so, which measures are suitable? 3. is there a maximum development width or is migration of the river course to be expected? 4. which bank protection measures can be used to limit the development of the course if necessary? 5. what influence does bed load input have on morphological development? (What effect does a significantly reduced bed load input have?)