The LIFL-11 on the bow rail of the Balaton Limnological Research Institute boat, in the harbour among moored sailing boats

Lake Balaton survey, 2026

LIFL-11 transects across Lake Balaton on 11–14 August 2026, recording chlorophyll-a, CDOM and elastic backscatter relative to the water Raman line

Preliminary figures

Interpolated campaign fields from the team's first processing pass, before calibration and review; values may change.

Preliminary interpolated chlorophyll field along the LIFL-11 track over the eastern half of Lake Balaton, 0.4 to 2.74 a.u., 11 August 2026
Fig. 1CHL
Preliminary interpolated CDOM field along the LIFL-11 track over the eastern half of Lake Balaton, 0.92 to 1.48 a.u., highest towards the west, 11 August 2026
Fig. 2CDOM
Preliminary interpolated suspended solids field along the LIFL-11 track over the eastern half of Lake Balaton, 1.8 to 6.2 a.u., 11 August 2026
Fig. 3TSS
Lake BalatonCentral Europe
5 km
● Lake Balaton 2026, 2026-08-11100,608 measurements IDW interpolation, 600 samples
Chl-a0.501.04r.u.
CDOM0.921.43r.u.
Elastic 3552.084.16r.u.

Fig. 4 Measurement record, 11 August 2026. 100,608 lidar returns are plotted along the vessel track for Chl-a, CDOM, Elastic 355. The field view applies inverse-distance weighting to the same observations; the shoreline is from OpenStreetMap.

Lake BalatonCentral Europe
5 km
● Lake Balaton 2026, 2026-08-1228,187 measurements IDW interpolation, 600 samples
Chl-a0.421.65r.u.
CDOM0.954.80r.u.
Elastic 3552.248.94r.u.

Fig. 5 Measurement record, 12 August 2026. 28,187 lidar returns are plotted along the vessel track for Chl-a, CDOM, Elastic 355. The field view applies inverse-distance weighting to the same observations; the shoreline is from OpenStreetMap.

Lake BalatonCentral Europe
5 km
● Lake Balaton 2026, 2026-08-1339,429 measurements IDW interpolation, 600 samples
Chl-a0.581.11r.u.
CDOM0.901.48r.u.
Elastic 3552.744.05r.u.

Fig. 6 Measurement record, 13 August 2026. 39,429 lidar returns are plotted along the vessel track for Chl-a, CDOM, Elastic 355. The field view applies inverse-distance weighting to the same observations; the shoreline is from OpenStreetMap.

Lake BalatonCentral Europe
5 km
● Lake Balaton 2026, 2026-08-1443,529 measurements IDW interpolation, 600 samples
Chl-a0.451.32r.u.
CDOM1.081.65r.u.
Elastic 3552.914.34r.u.

Fig. 7 Measurement record, 14 August 2026. 43,529 lidar returns are plotted along the vessel track for Chl-a, CDOM, Elastic 355. The field view applies inverse-distance weighting to the same observations; the shoreline is from OpenStreetMap.

The LIFL-11 surveyed Lake Balaton on 11–14 August 2026 during a campaign with the Balaton Limnological Research Institute that ran from 10 to 21 August. Two mFL-12 lidars and an mHR-2 radiometer operated alongside it.

The boat worked from Balatonföldvár. On 11 August it covered the eastern Siófok basin and the north shore near Alsóörs. The next two days extended west past Fonyód and Szigliget to Keszthely Bay. On 14 August, the morning transect ran east from Keszthely towards Balatonboglár during a Sentinel-2B overpass.

Chlorophyll-a fluorescence, CDOM fluorescence and the 355 nm elastic return are expressed relative to the water Raman line at 404 nm. They are relative indices, not calibrated concentrations. On 14 August, the chlorophyll-a record continues into the afternoon; the CDOM and elastic-return records cover a shorter period.