The Mar Piccolo is an inner, semi-enclosed sea located on the North of the town of Taranto showing lagoon features. It has a surface area of 20.72 Km2 and is divided by two promontories of land into two smaller inlets, called the First and the Second Inlet, which have a maximum depth of 12 and 8 m, respectively. Two canals, Navigable Canal (width 58 m, depth 12 m) and Porta Napoli Channel (width 48 m, depth 2.5 m), the most important for the water exchange, put the Mar Piccolo in communication with the nearby Mar Grande basin. The scarce hydrodinamism and the reduced water exchange, mainly in the Second Inlet, with the nearby Mar Grande determine the stratification of the water, especially in summer. Due to the strong anthropogenic impact, most of hard substrata are artificial. Soft substrata are sandy near the shore and muddy in the central zone of both Inlets. In the Mar Piccolo basin, tidal range is reduced, not exceeding 30-40 cm. Chemical-physical features of the basin, deeply studied in the last years, show a variable trend according to the seasons and to the Inlets. The two basins are characterized by different levels of confinement. Such a confinement is evident for chemichal-physical variables and let to immediately single out the two basins, as the variables values change moving from the First Inlet to the Second Inlet. Always along the same direction, besides the confinement, an evident increase of all the variables fluctuations is observable which points out a noticeable instability of the most confined basin. The lagoon features of the Mar Piccolo are mainly due to the presence of 34 submarine freshwater springs (locally called "Citri") of which 20 are in the First Inlet and 14 in the Second Inlet . The most important are “Galeso” (mean flow 600 L s-1) and “Citrello” (mean flow 350 L s-1) in the First Inlet and “Le Copre” (mean flow 80 L s-1) in the Second Inlet. The freshwater of the “Citri” has a uniform temperature of 18°C; therefore, they locally affect both the salinity and the temperature of seawater. Moreover, in the Mar Piccolo several small tributary rivers flow, of which the most important is “Galeso” (mean flow 50,000 m3day-1) in the First Inlet; other small rivers, less important because their flow is strongly affected by the seasons, are “Cervaro”, “Rasca” and “Rubafemmine” in the Second Inlet. Salinity ranges from 34.3 to 37.7. Seawater temperature ranges from 7.1°C to 33.6°C. Since the Mar Piccolo is an enclosed and therefore sheltered basin, it has been using for human activities for a long time. Indeed, it houses the biggest mussel farm in Italy with plants widely distributed in both the Inlets, which has a production of about 30,000 tons year-1 and employs about 800 people. Until few years ago, the most important Italian Navy base was located in the First Inlet of which only the dry-docks are still present. In addition, a small fishing fleet, of about 300 boats, is present in the First Inlet. The water-scooping machine of the steel industry catches seawater from the basin for the cooling plants. Moreover, the Mar Piccolo is subject to agricultural pollution because the irrigating waters of the surrounding fields flow into the basin by both the rivers and the submarine freshwater springs. Up to 2000, also 14 urban sewage outfalls flowed into the basin coming from some small cities near Taranto. Starting from this year, the outfalls of 11 of these were closed since their seawage pipes were connected to Bellavista depuration plant flowing outside the Mar Grande basin; currently, only 5 seawage outfalls (1 in the First Inlet and 4 in the Second Inlet) till flow into the basin. Therefore, the discharging of waste waters in the basin has noticeably been reduced.

UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network (UK UWMN) site. Loch Coire Fionnaraich has a catchment of 550 ha, with a range of elevation from 236 m at the outflow to 933 m at the summit of Maol Chean-dearg. Whilst a band of Cambrian basal quartzite and "Pipe Rock" crosses beneath the northern side of the loch, the catchment geology is mostly made up of Torridonian sandstones from the Applecross and Aultbea groups. Catchment soils consist of peats and peaty podsols alongside extensive areas of exposed rock. Vegetation is dominated by Molinia and Calluna and the catchment is treeless. The surrounding moorland is managed for red deer and low numbers of feral goats are also present. A popular hiking path passes along the western shore of the loch. There are a number of very small lochans and pools on the catchment's northern boundary and one more in the north-west.

UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network (UK UWMN) site. Loch Chon is a relatively large (surface area 105.7 ha) lake lying at an altitude of 92 m in the Trossachs region of central Scotland. The loch is fed by several small streams and drains to the south via Loch Ard and the River Forth. The loch has two main basins, with the deepest area (25 m) represented by a trench near the western shore. The bathymetry was first surveyed by Murray and Pullar in 1910. Some data managed by UK ECN Data Centre. Note: The area is the size of the catchment. The lake area is 106 ha

UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network (UK UWMN) site. Named Lochan a' Cheaird on historic maps, Loch Tinker lies at 418 m altitude and drains an adjacent catchment to the east of Loch Chon in the Trossachs region of central Scotland. The loch receives drainage from seepage through the catchment blanket peats and from the steep slopes to the south and east, although the main stream in this area is naturally captured just a few metres downstream of the loch outflow. The loch drains to the north east via the Allt Glasahoile which falls steeply to Loch Katrine. The loch (surface area 11.1 ha) has an irregular shoreline and the generally shallow (mean depth 3.5 m) bathymetry includes two distinct sub-basins reaching a maximum depth of 9.8 m. Three small islands are located towards the southern end of the loch. Some data managed by UK ECN Data Centre. Note: The area is the size of the catchment.

UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network (UK UWMN) site. The site lies at 298 m altitude in the Galloway region of south-west Scotland. The loch is 12.7 ha in area and receives drainage from minor streams and catchment blanket peats. The outflow drains to the south-west into the Glenhead Burn and Loch Trool. The loch bathymetry indicates a single deep basin (maximum depth 13.5 m) offset to the south with slopes rising gently away from the southern shore. An island is located just off the western shore some 250 m from the outflow. Some data are managed by UK ECN Data Centre. Note: The area is the size of the catchment.

UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network (UK UWMN) site. Blue Lough is a small (1.9 ha) circular lake lying at 340 m altitude. The lough has no discrete inflow and drains through a Sphagnum bog to a tributary of the Annalong River. The bathymetry reveals a shallow concentric basin offset to the east, with a maximum depth of 5 m. Blue Lough is situated in a col between the Silent Valley and Annalong Valley in the Mourne Mountains of south-eastern Northern Ireland, very close to Bencrom River. The catchment is small (48 ha), but is steep and rugged, reaching a maximum altitude of 703 m. The solid geology of the catchment consists of granite which is exposed as bare rock and scree on the steep backwall and is covered with thin and often eroded blanket peat, peaty podsols and peaty gleys in the less steep areas. Bare rock, scree and eroded peat characterise the catchment, but elsewhere the vegetation is dominated by Calluna which in places is mature and in others has been intensively burnt. Land-use and management is restricted to low-intensity sheep grazing and occasional heather burning. Annual rainfall is c. 1600 mm. Some data are managed by UK ECN Data Centre. Note: The area is the size of the catchment.

UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network (UK UWMN) site. Llyn Cwm Mynach lies at 287 m altitude. The lake consists of two distinct basins; the southern section comprises a shallow limb separated from the deeper northern section by an old and broken stone causeway. The maximum depth of 11 m occurs in the northern basin in a localised hollow. Discrete drainage to the lake is by three small inflows and it is drained to the south-east by a small stream which flows to the Mawddach estuary. At some stage in the past a wooden weir (now derelict) was constructed at the outflow, presumably to raise the level of the southern section of the lake. Some data are managed by UK ECN Data Centre. Note: The area is the size of the catchment.

UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network (UK UWMN) site. Loch Grannoch is a large (surface area 111.4 ha), elongated lake which lies at 214 m altitude. Small streams feed the loch along its eastern and western shores, the principal of which is the Cuttimore Burn. It drains to the north into the River Dee via the Pullaugh Burn. The loch bathymetry was first surveyed by Murray and Pullar in 1910 and was updated by a subsequent survey by the Palaeoecology Research Unit of University College London. The major basin is offset to the south of the loch and reaches a maximum depth of 20.5 m. Some data are managed by UK ECN Data Centre. Note: The area is the size of the catchment.

UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network (UK UWMN) site. Burnmoor Tarn is the largest 'tarn' in the English Lake District. It occupies 23.9 ha and lies at an altitude of 253 m in a moraine hollow on the uplands between Wastwater and Eskdale. The lake has two distinct basins close to the south-eastern shore and a maximum depth of 13 m. There are four main inflow streams to the north and north-west. The outflow at the eastern end joins the Hardrigg Beck which drains the slopes of Scafell and, in times of especially high flow, is partly diverted into the lake across a braided delta. Some data are managed by UK ECN Data Centre. Note: The area is the size of the catchment.

Hohe Tauern NP was established more than 40 years ago as one of the biggest protected areas in Central Europe to protect at long-term wide areas of the Austrian main-ridge of the Alps. The 1.856 square kilometre Hohe Tauern National Park is split into a 1.213 square kilometre core zone and a 643 square kilometre buffer zone and stretches over three provinces. Until the first and largest national park in Austria was actually created, the three provinces of Carinthia, Salzburg and Tyrol had to establish the corresponding legal framework. The Provincial Parliament of Carinthia passed the legislation to create the Hohe Tauern National Park in 1981. Salzburg followed with its national park legislation in 1984, followed by Tyrol in 1992. In this 40 years Hohe Tauern NP established the Nationalpark idea in its region working together with all stakeholders (land owners, tourism, majors, hunting organisations, governmental departments…). The International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN awarded Carinthia in 2001 and Salzburg and Tyrol in 2006 with the international recognition of a national park with its "Category II" listing. The distinction that the national park has with a core zone, where nature can develop without human influence and a buffer zone, where traditional cultivation could be continued was key for gaining this international recognition. Contractual agreements between landowners, hunters and the national park paved the way and were pioneering for many protected areas. Hohe Tauern NP contains 3 main zones: - core zone (km²): 1.078 - buffer zone (km²): 643 - special protected areas (km²): 135 About 845 km² of the area is nature zone, which remains untouched by humans (no land use based on IUCN criteria, i.e. no hunting, no grazing). The altitudinal belts from the valleys to the summits of the three-thousand-metre-tall mountains represent an exceptional biodiversity. This is home to many plants and wildlife species originating from the Central Asian tundra, the Arctic and even Southern Europe. The preservation of all significant Alpine ecosystems across large areas of the Hohe Tauern National Park has been unimpaired. More than one third of all plant species recorded in Austria can be found in the national park. For mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, this figure is at around 50%. Even those animals that were nearly extinct in almost all of Europe at the beginning of the 19th century are now provided a safe habitat in the Hohe Tauern National Park. This impressive biodiversity is a result of the different prevailing climatic, geological, geomorphological and hydrological conditions in the high mountains and the differing adaptation strategies of the plants and animals. The Tauern Window – a unique tectonic window in terms of shape and size – provides insight into the deepest tectonic layer of the Alps and is thus key for understanding the geological structure of the Alps. Rocks of differing ages, different origins and different chemical composition harbour a genuine hoard of up to 200 different minerals. Nature protection (ecosystems/Natura2000 habitats) and species conservation projects play a big role in the work and history of Hohe Tauern NP (e.g. bearded vulture, ibex, golden eagle, …). The NP and its work do not stop at the protected areas borders and for a lot of species it is important that the whole region is aware of its impacts on biodiversity. According to the altitude gradation of the Hohe Tauern National Park "high mountain habitat types" are typical. Based on the aerial photo interpretation of the National Park montane to alpine grassland and pastures dominate with a third. This also reflects the zoning with the outer zone in the sense of an Alpine cultural landscape zone with alpine pastures – and the transition to the high alpine core zone. The core zone is formed by the "eternal ice" of the glaciers around the highest mountains of Austria as well as scree slopes with and without pioneer vegetation dominate. CORINE Land Cover L3 (2018): 35 % bare rocks, 24 % natural grasslands, 20 % sparsely vegetated areas, 9 % coniferous forest, 7 % glaciers and perpetual snow, 2 % moors and heathland, 1 % pastures.